Open services without guardians' knowledge

The plan establishes that policy should be designed so that children's best interests come first and that children cannot always express their own needs. The Social Services Act should be interpreted expansively and social services should be strengthened to work preventatively and with child protection. That open interventions can be provided with the child's best interests as a starting point even when parental oversight is limited follows from these commitments, although derived.

• children's interests firstdecisive»Vänsterpartiets politik ska utformas så att barnens bästa kommer i första rummet.« (party programme ↗)“The Left Party's policy should be designed so that children's best interests come first.”
• children cannot advocate for themselves»Barn har specifika behov, men de kan inte alltid uttrycka dem.« (party programme ↗)“Children have specific needs, but they cannot always express them.”
• expansive social services law»Socialtjänstlagen ska tolkas extensivt.« (party programme ↗)“The Social Services Act should be interpreted expansively.”
• strengthened child protection»förstärk socialtjänsten med tillräckliga resurser och kunskap för att arbeta både förebyggande och med barnskydd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“strengthen social services with sufficient resources and knowledge to work both preventatively and with child protection”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's explicit line is that parents shall be obligated to participate when their children need social services measures, and that the work shall be based on greater cooperation between schools, social services and others. Measures provided entirely without the guardian's knowledge go against this participation obligation. The plan simultaneously requires that the best interests of the child be considered in all decisions, which pulls in the opposite direction, which is why the position is uncertain. The plan nonetheless speaks against the demand.

• parents' participation obligationdecisive»Vi vill se fler och mer långtgående sociala insatser och föräldrar ska vara skyldiga att medverka när deras barn behöver socialtjänstens åtgärder.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to see more and more far-reaching social measures and parents shall be obligated to participate when their children need social services measures.”
• cooperation around the child»Det behövs mer samarbete mellan polis, elevhälsa, socialtjänst och skola.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“More cooperation is needed between police, student health services, social services and school.”
• the best interests of the child in all decisions»bästa ska beaktas vid alla beslut.« (party programme ↗)“best shall be considered in all decisions.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants to strengthen children's legal protection, particularly focus on children in families with violence, addiction or mental illness and ease secrecy so that no children fall through the cracks. This argues for the counter-proposal's review which enables open interventions without the guardian's knowledge with the best interests of the child as the starting point. The balance against the Parental Code is not addressed in the plan.

• children's legal protection firstdecisive»Barnets rättstrygghet måste stärkas om det« (party programme ↗)“Children's legal protection must be strengthened if”
• ease secrecy around children»lätta på sekretessen mellan områdespoliser, skola, socialtjänst och stärka samarbetet med civilsamhälle så att inga barn faller mellan stolarna i det förebyggande arbetet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“ease secrecy between neighborhood police, schools, social services and strengthen cooperation with civil society so that no children fall through the cracks in preventive work.”
• support to children in vulnerable families»Vi vill särskilt satsa på stöd till barn i familjer där« (party programme ↗)“We especially want to focus on support to children in families where”
• remove obstacles to collaboration»Hinder för denna samverkan bör« (party programme ↗)“Obstacles to this collaboration should”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires unconditional protection against violence and humiliation in the home and that society's actors take the child's perspective. The election manifesto wants to catch children at risk more quickly, among other things for honour-based oppression, where guardians can be the one subjecting the child. Looking into social services' possibility to provide open measures without guardians' knowledge is therefore in the plan's direction, even though the matter is not explicitly addressed.

• unconditional protection in the homedecisive»villkorslöst skydd mot våld och förnedring inom och utom hemmet« (party programme ↗)“unconditional protection against violence and humiliation inside and outside the home”
• child's perspective»Samhällets aktörer ska inta individens perspektiv. Av största betydelse är då barnens rättigheter och perspektiv.« (party programme ↗)“Society's actors shall take the individual's perspective. Of the greatest importance is then children's rights and perspective.”
• catch children at risk»För att snabbare fånga upp barn i riskzonen vill vi se handlingsplaner mot hedersförtryck i alla skolor och bättre utbildning av personal.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To catch children at risk more quickly we want to see action plans against honour-based oppression in all schools and better training of staff.”
• stop honour-based oppression»Ingen ska utsättas för hedersförtryck i Sverige.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“No one shall be subjected to honour-based oppression in Sweden.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants social services to offer a broad range of open services without exercise of public authority and for it to be able to prescribe mandatory measures for families even without taking a child into care, which means the child's needs can take precedence over the guardian's wishes. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as law clarifies the child's own rights. Reviewing the rules for services without the guardian's knowledge thus aligns with the plan's direction, although the plan does not address the right of access.

• measures even against parents' wishesdecisive»För att förhindra att barn far illa och förebygga placeringar bör socialtjänsten kunna föreskriva obligatoriska åtgärder, även när ett omhändertagande inte är aktuellt.« (party programme ↗)“To prevent children suffering harm and prevent placements, social services should be able to prescribe mandatory measures, even when a child being taken into care is not relevant.”
• broad open services»Socialtjänsten ska erbjuda ett brett utbud av öppna insatser som ges utan att de medverkande blir föremål för myndighetsutövning.« (party programme ↗)“Social services should offer a broad range of open services provided without the participants being subject to exercise of public authority.”
• the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as law»Genom att FN:s barnkonvention införlivats i svensk lag tydliggörs barns och ungas rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“By incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Swedish law, children's and young people's rights are clarified.”
• early measures for children»Tidiga och förebyggande insatser är avgörande.« (party programme ↗)“Early and preventive measures are crucial.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires that the public through legislation respects the family's sphere and rights and that the family is not deprived of its natural functions, and that measures are prioritized that strengthen parents' ability to provide support and set boundaries. Measures for children without parental knowledge cut directly against this. The plan builds support for children on the close network around the child, not on bypassing it.

• the family's own functionsdecisive»Familjen ska inte berövas sina naturliga uppgifter« (party programme ↗)“The family shall not be deprived of its natural functions”
• respected family sphere»familjens sfär och rättigheter.« (party programme ↗)“the family's sphere and rights.”
• strengthened parental responsibility»ska prioritera insatser som stärker föräldrars möjlighet« (party programme ↗)“shall prioritize measures that strengthen parents' ability”
• the child's safe upbringing»Barn har rätt till en trygg uppväxtmiljö.« (party programme ↗)“Children have the right to a safe upbringing environment.”

The counter-proposal wants to enable interventions without the guardian even knowing about them, thereby limiting oversight. The plan's line is that parental responsibility shall be emphasized and strengthened, and that society instead intervenes formally through care orders under the Child Care Act when children are suffering. The ideology programme also protects personal integrity, which is why the plan does not support a secret intervention track.

• strengthened parental responsibilitydecisive»Betona och förstärka föräldraansvaret« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Emphasize and strengthen parental responsibility”
• formal interventions in case of abuse»Säkerställa att fler omhändertas enligt LVU« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Ensure that more are taken into care under the Child Care Act”
• protection for privacy»Den personliga integriteten ska värnas« (party programme ↗)“Personal integrity shall be protected”

The election manifesto wants to give social services tools to earlier intervene with strong measures when young people are in trouble and goes far in allowing interventions against guardians' wishes, including apprehension of children in negative environments and regular home visits in households where honour norms are suspected. The counter-proposal's demand for open measures without guardians' knowledge, with the child's best interests as a starting point, aligns with that direction. The plan's emphasis on families' freedom of action pulls in the opposite direction but weighs less than child protection.

• early strong interventionsdecisive»Socialtjänsten behöver också verktyg att tidigare gå in med skarpa åtgärder när det kommer till unga som far illa.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Social services also need tools to earlier intervene with strong measures when it comes to young people who are in trouble.”
• intervention against guardians»omhänderta barn och unga som växer upp i en negativ miljö« (2022 manifesto ↗)“apprehend children and young people who grow up in a negative environment”
• child's best interests»Att barnets bästa alltid ska beaktas« (2022 manifesto ↗)“That the child's best interests should always be considered”
• families' freedom of action»Politikens uppgift är att stötta familjerna utan att inkräkta på deras« (party programme ↗)“Policy's task is to support families without infringing on their”

flags: spanning_mot_familjens_handlingsfrihet

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.