To Örebro University

In fact today most of the adolescents placed in residential care (in Sweden called HVB-Homes) have a family and relative background entailing conflicts. It is of great emphasis that the adolescent has the opportunity to process these conflicts in the residential care environment. This is to allow for the residential care to assist the youth with their difficulties and furthermore for the staff to work with the adolescent’s family during the placement time. This study aims to investigate how the staff at two residential care facilities (HVB- homes) works to involve, maintain and possibly create contact with the adolescents’ family in their daily work during their time in care knowledge. To answer the aim of this study a qualitative element has been used to get an increased understanding of the staff’s own perception of the importance to involve the families in the youths’ treatment. The empirical data in the study has been collected through two semi-structured group interviews in a formal setting. The result of this study has shown that the residential care make up for an extremely small part of the adolescents’ life, hence the importance of having the families included in the treatment. This is to avoid having the adolescent without any network after their placement period. In the end there is also a discussion emphasizing the importance of including the adolescents’ family. It is said to increase the conditions for the youth to develop as favorable as possible during the placement time as well as for the treatment to be as effective as possible.