The participatory and child-friendly LSS investigation – prerequisites, conditions and considerations

Although there are currently various forms of child-adapted information and communication support materials, including municipal routines and knowledge support that should make it easier for children to speak up in LSS investigations, research shows a number of hindering factors from the perspective of case social workers. The project therefore aims to examine both organizational and professional conditions for using existing communication support methods and materials that can strengthen children's participation in LSS investigations.

The project design includes combined methods to examine conditions and considerations that are crucial for social workers' use of communication support materials. Organizational conditions will be studied with participant observations in four different types of municipalities that have experience of using the materials. In addition, semi-structured interviews with social workers and individual in-depth interviews with LSS managers will be conducted. Furthermore, a comparative document analysis of existing materials, guidelines, procedures, etc. will also be included.

The goal is to respond to the societal challenge of facilitating meetings between children and welfare organizations exercising authority. By analyzing reflected experiences from successful organizations, the project can contribute to the child becoming safer and gaining a better understanding before an LSS investigation, and to the social worker becoming more confident in his or her professional role in enabling children's participation. From a national, regional and local perspective, it is about creating the conditions to better respond to the intentions contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The project builds on the research group's previously completed projects on children's participation in LSS investigations. Based on a pilot project and a previous project within Forte's program for TVF (including a utilization effort), the upcoming study intends to further contribute knowledge about what is required for participation-promoting methods within LSS to gain a foothold and benefit children with disabilities. In relation to previous projects, a new case study design is applied that, with combined methods and partly new theoretical inputs, deepens the understanding of the importance of the organizational context in enabling children's participation.