Stefan Wiklund
Biographic Data
| ID | 6024401 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stefan Wiklund |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stefan |
| FAMILY NAME | Wiklund |
| SIGNATURE | WIKLUND S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stockholm University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4695-0314 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 47 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 19 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
People processing in the Swedish child welfare system
Across most countries, child welfare involves complex investigative and decision-making processes to assess eligibility for services. This article analyses the sorting process from investigation to service allocation within Swedish child welfare. Data comes from a questionnaire completed by social workers, covering 2123 children across eight child welfare agencies. The findings are discussed in relation to the family service model and the legal a…
The specialization/collaboration paradox
Existing research highlights the trend of organizing social services into specialized units, addressing specific areas such as child welfare. Further specialization within child welfare extends to target groups (youth vs child) and work task dimensions. The literature remains inconclusive about whether specialization enhances or hinders social work practice. Potential drawbacks of specialization, like gaps between services and a lack of a holisti…
Eligibility for child welfare services
Child welfare work involves investigating referrals to determine whether a child requires protection or support. In Sweden, the number of children referred to child welfare authorities has increased in recent years, but most children do not receive services. This article aims to enhance understanding of how child welfare representatives reason when determining client eligibility. The article is part of a longitudinal research programme following …
Social work in an assembly line? The development of specialisation in child welfare and further internal division of work between 2003 and 2018
Organisational specialisation characterises present social work in Sweden as internationally. Specialisation is often expected to lead to higher professional expertise. This study provides an overview of the development of specialisation and workforce characteristics in child welfare based on survey data collected in 2003, 2014 and 2018. The aim was to describe the development of specialisation and discuss the conditions for professional expertis…
A Policy Decoupled from Practice
In many countries, there are calls for children to be allowed to participate in social work decision-making. This article analyses child participation vis-à-vis social assistance (SA), which is a municipal cash benefit representing the last safety net. In Sweden, SA is part of the professional field of social work and national policy recommends that children are consulted. The aim is to analyse local policies and practices regarding child partici…
Local translations of a universal concept
In recent years, scholars have called for studies exploring how key concepts originating from the children's rights discourse are understood in local contexts. In Sweden, national policy advocates that a child perspective should guide social assistance (SA), a cash benefit constituting society's last safety net. The study analyses the child perspective as an idea (i.e. an ambiguous principle), which is translated (i.e. reformulated and interprete…
Impression management in the market for residential care for children and youth in Sweden
In what has become quite a turbulent quasi‐market for residential care for children and youth, providers now compete for public contracts. To create visibility and attract customers, many providers use marketing activities to project the desired impression of themselves to maintain or strengthen their market position. In this article, we analyse how companies that provide residential care for children manage the impressions they project on their …
Harmful care. To what extent is terminology from medicine and clinical psychology applicable to out‐of‐home care
Research concerning outcomes for children who have been placed in out‐of‐home care has indicated that the care may have unwanted consequences. However, there has been no coherent terminology for differentiating between different types of such unwanted consequences. In this article therefore, we attempt to disentangle different aspects of potentially harmful care for looked after children, as well as to discuss potential pathways to more systemati…
I välfärdssamhällets marginal – om socialbidragstagande bland ensamstående mödrar av svensk och utländsk härkomst
I den här artikeln analyseras socialbidragstagande bland ensamstående mödrar, med fokus riktat mot ersättningsnivåer, varaktighet, förekomst av individrelaterade problem och skillnader mellan svensk- och utrikes födda klienter. Artikeln baseras på projektet ”Ensamstående mödrar – välfärd, försörjning och socialtjänst”, som bygger på uppgifter om 875 slumpmässigt utvalda klienter i landets tre storstäder.
The wide-meshed safety net. Decision-making on social assistance eligibility in Sweden
This article explores and analyses, with the help of both client and social worker data on 423 applications for social assistance in Sweden, (i) the extent to which social assistance benefits and labour market strengthening measures are granted and (ii) factors concerning clients as well as social workers that are associated with the granting of benefits. Considering (i), the results show that social assistance is granted in about 74% of cases wh…
Big Business in a Thin Market
This article analyzes the transformation of Swedish residential care for children from a regionally coordinated, public social service system into a thin, but highly profitable, national spot market in which large corporations have a growing presence. Marketization and privatization are theorized as complex processes, through which the institutional structure and logics of this small, but significant, social policy field changed profoundly. Using…
Middle Managers in Social Work
With respect to marketisation and managerialism, the changes in the Swedish social services resemble the changes in many other countries. This article analyses how Swedish middle managers within the personal social services reason about professional identity, everyday work and leadership in the context of these changes. The study draws on four focus group interviews with a total of twenty-two managers. The results suggest a persisting social work…
Child Welfare Activities Targeting Single Mothers on Social Assistance
By utilising data on nearly 900 single mothers on social assistance (SA) in Sweden, this article examine (i) prevalence of child welfare interventions and factors associated with such interventions in this population and (ii) case managers’ reporting activities and considerations in relation to this group. The main findings in relation to (i) are (a) that about 30 per cent of the sample was subject to CWS involvement during the time of enrolment …
One for All or All for One? The Collaboration of Swedish Personal Social Services with Regard to Lone Mothers on Social Assistance
Lone mothers on social assistance (SA) constitute a client group where collaboration between agencies may be of particular importance due to their difficulties in maintaining full-time provision and the vast number of children involved. This article aims to analyse to what extent, and with whom, welfare agencies in the field of personal social services collaborate in individual cases. The significance of client factors with regard to collaboratio…
Welfare resources among children in care
In a study on living conditions among children, 13–18 years old (n = 272) in on-going foster and residential care, concepts from welfare theory and empirical research are applied. We argue that using a welfare perspective and the concept of level of living when assessing looked after children's situation provides several advantages. From this perspective, children are agents for whom access to resources will influence their discretion and possibi…
Risk factors of long-term social assistance recipiency among lone mothers. The case of Sweden
For decades, lone mothers have been vastly overrepresented among Swedish social assistance recipients. In Sweden, social assistance is administered in the personal social services. The study aims to explore and analyse factors associated with long-term recipiency among lone mothers. The empirical material consists of micro data on 875 randomly selected lone mothers receiving social assistance in any of the three major cities of Sweden in 2007. In…
The Material Side of Foster Care
Outcome studies in foster care have tended to focus on children's development and long-term adjustment. The economic aspects of placements and their effect on children's immediate welfare have been little explored. Stefan Wiklund and Marie Sallnäs compare the economic circumstances of Swedish foster carers with adults in the wider population and contrast the situation of 125 older children in foster homes, teenagers in the community and a group i…
United we stand? Collaboration as a means for identifying children and adolescents at risk
The study describes collaborative involvement of child welfare agencies in Sweden with mandated reporters and analyses the association between socioeconomic and demographic factors as well as collaborative involvement on referral rates. The empirical material consists of data collected on location in 100 Swedish child welfare agencies, augmented with register data. The study shows that: (i) collaboration is common in the child welfare field, (ii)…
Signs of child maltreatment. The extent and nature of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies Barnavårdsanmälningar i Sverige
This article addresses an area of Swedish child welfare work that has not previously been researched, i.e. the prevalence and nature of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies. Four issues are addressed in the article: (1) the number of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies; (2) case workers’ workload; (3) report sources; and (4) conditions reported. The main findings are the following. The majority of referrals concern adolescents, whi…
The wide-meshed safety net. Decision-making on social assistance eligibility in Sweden
This article explores and analyses, with the help of both client and social worker data on 423 applications for social assistance in Sweden, (i) the extent to which social assistance benefits and labour market strengthening measures are granted and (ii) factors concerning clients as well as social workers that are associated with the granting of benefits. Considering (i), the results show that social assistance is granted in about 74% of cases wh…
Middle Managers in Social Work
With respect to marketisation and managerialism, the changes in the Swedish social services resemble the changes in many other countries. This article analyses how Swedish middle managers within the personal social services reason about professional identity, everyday work and leadership in the context of these changes. The study draws on four focus group interviews with a total of twenty-two managers. The results suggest a persisting social work…
Signs of child maltreatment. The extent and nature of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies Barnavårdsanmälningar i Sverige
This article addresses an area of Swedish child welfare work that has not previously been researched, i.e. the prevalence and nature of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies. Four issues are addressed in the article: (1) the number of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies; (2) case workers’ workload; (3) report sources; and (4) conditions reported. The main findings are the following. The majority of referrals concern adolescents, whi…
Big Business in a Thin Market
This article analyzes the transformation of Swedish residential care for children from a regionally coordinated, public social service system into a thin, but highly profitable, national spot market in which large corporations have a growing presence. Marketization and privatization are theorized as complex processes, through which the institutional structure and logics of this small, but significant, social policy field changed profoundly. Using…
Risk factors of long-term social assistance recipiency among lone mothers. The case of Sweden
For decades, lone mothers have been vastly overrepresented among Swedish social assistance recipients. In Sweden, social assistance is administered in the personal social services. The study aims to explore and analyse factors associated with long-term recipiency among lone mothers. The empirical material consists of micro data on 875 randomly selected lone mothers receiving social assistance in any of the three major cities of Sweden in 2007. In…
The Material Side of Foster Care
Outcome studies in foster care have tended to focus on children's development and long-term adjustment. The economic aspects of placements and their effect on children's immediate welfare have been little explored. Stefan Wiklund and Marie Sallnäs compare the economic circumstances of Swedish foster carers with adults in the wider population and contrast the situation of 125 older children in foster homes, teenagers in the community and a group i…
Social work in an assembly line? The development of specialisation in child welfare and further internal division of work between 2003 and 2018
Organisational specialisation characterises present social work in Sweden as internationally. Specialisation is often expected to lead to higher professional expertise. This study provides an overview of the development of specialisation and workforce characteristics in child welfare based on survey data collected in 2003, 2014 and 2018. The aim was to describe the development of specialisation and discuss the conditions for professional expertis…
United we stand? Collaboration as a means for identifying children and adolescents at risk
The study describes collaborative involvement of child welfare agencies in Sweden with mandated reporters and analyses the association between socioeconomic and demographic factors as well as collaborative involvement on referral rates. The empirical material consists of data collected on location in 100 Swedish child welfare agencies, augmented with register data. The study shows that: (i) collaboration is common in the child welfare field, (ii)…
Welfare resources among children in care
In a study on living conditions among children, 13–18 years old (n = 272) in on-going foster and residential care, concepts from welfare theory and empirical research are applied. We argue that using a welfare perspective and the concept of level of living when assessing looked after children's situation provides several advantages. From this perspective, children are agents for whom access to resources will influence their discretion and possibi…
Impression management in the market for residential care for children and youth in Sweden
In what has become quite a turbulent quasi‐market for residential care for children and youth, providers now compete for public contracts. To create visibility and attract customers, many providers use marketing activities to project the desired impression of themselves to maintain or strengthen their market position. In this article, we analyse how companies that provide residential care for children manage the impressions they project on their …
Child Welfare Activities Targeting Single Mothers on Social Assistance
By utilising data on nearly 900 single mothers on social assistance (SA) in Sweden, this article examine (i) prevalence of child welfare interventions and factors associated with such interventions in this population and (ii) case managers’ reporting activities and considerations in relation to this group. The main findings in relation to (i) are (a) that about 30 per cent of the sample was subject to CWS involvement during the time of enrolment …
One for All or All for One? The Collaboration of Swedish Personal Social Services with Regard to Lone Mothers on Social Assistance
Lone mothers on social assistance (SA) constitute a client group where collaboration between agencies may be of particular importance due to their difficulties in maintaining full-time provision and the vast number of children involved. This article aims to analyse to what extent, and with whom, welfare agencies in the field of personal social services collaborate in individual cases. The significance of client factors with regard to collaboratio…
United we stand? Collaboration as a means for identifying children and adolescents at risk
The study describes collaborative involvement of child welfare agencies in Sweden with mandated reporters and analyses the association between socioeconomic and demographic factors as well as collaborative involvement on referral rates. The empirical material consists of data collected on location in 100 Swedish child welfare agencies, augmented with register data. The study shows that: (i) collaboration is common in the child welfare field, (ii)…
Signs of child maltreatment. The extent and nature of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies Barnavårdsanmälningar i Sverige
This article addresses an area of Swedish child welfare work that has not previously been researched, i.e. the prevalence and nature of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies. Four issues are addressed in the article: (1) the number of referrals to Swedish child welfare agencies; (2) case workers’ workload; (3) report sources; and (4) conditions reported. The main findings are the following. The majority of referrals concern adolescents, whi…
The Material Side of Foster Care
Outcome studies in foster care have tended to focus on children's development and long-term adjustment. The economic aspects of placements and their effect on children's immediate welfare have been little explored. Stefan Wiklund and Marie Sallnäs compare the economic circumstances of Swedish foster carers with adults in the wider population and contrast the situation of 125 older children in foster homes, teenagers in the community and a group i…
Welfare resources among children in care
In a study on living conditions among children, 13–18 years old (n = 272) in on-going foster and residential care, concepts from welfare theory and empirical research are applied. We argue that using a welfare perspective and the concept of level of living when assessing looked after children's situation provides several advantages. From this perspective, children are agents for whom access to resources will influence their discretion and possibi…
Risk factors of long-term social assistance recipiency among lone mothers. The case of Sweden
For decades, lone mothers have been vastly overrepresented among Swedish social assistance recipients. In Sweden, social assistance is administered in the personal social services. The study aims to explore and analyse factors associated with long-term recipiency among lone mothers. The empirical material consists of micro data on 875 randomly selected lone mothers receiving social assistance in any of the three major cities of Sweden in 2007. In…
Middle Managers in Social Work
With respect to marketisation and managerialism, the changes in the Swedish social services resemble the changes in many other countries. This article analyses how Swedish middle managers within the personal social services reason about professional identity, everyday work and leadership in the context of these changes. The study draws on four focus group interviews with a total of twenty-two managers. The results suggest a persisting social work…
Child Welfare Activities Targeting Single Mothers on Social Assistance
By utilising data on nearly 900 single mothers on social assistance (SA) in Sweden, this article examine (i) prevalence of child welfare interventions and factors associated with such interventions in this population and (ii) case managers’ reporting activities and considerations in relation to this group. The main findings in relation to (i) are (a) that about 30 per cent of the sample was subject to CWS involvement during the time of enrolment …
One for All or All for One? The Collaboration of Swedish Personal Social Services with Regard to Lone Mothers on Social Assistance
Lone mothers on social assistance (SA) constitute a client group where collaboration between agencies may be of particular importance due to their difficulties in maintaining full-time provision and the vast number of children involved. This article aims to analyse to what extent, and with whom, welfare agencies in the field of personal social services collaborate in individual cases. The significance of client factors with regard to collaboratio…
I välfärdssamhällets marginal – om socialbidragstagande bland ensamstående mödrar av svensk och utländsk härkomst
I den här artikeln analyseras socialbidragstagande bland ensamstående mödrar, med fokus riktat mot ersättningsnivåer, varaktighet, förekomst av individrelaterade problem och skillnader mellan svensk- och utrikes födda klienter. Artikeln baseras på projektet ”Ensamstående mödrar – välfärd, försörjning och socialtjänst”, som bygger på uppgifter om 875 slumpmässigt utvalda klienter i landets tre storstäder.
The wide-meshed safety net. Decision-making on social assistance eligibility in Sweden
This article explores and analyses, with the help of both client and social worker data on 423 applications for social assistance in Sweden, (i) the extent to which social assistance benefits and labour market strengthening measures are granted and (ii) factors concerning clients as well as social workers that are associated with the granting of benefits. Considering (i), the results show that social assistance is granted in about 74% of cases wh…
Big Business in a Thin Market
This article analyzes the transformation of Swedish residential care for children from a regionally coordinated, public social service system into a thin, but highly profitable, national spot market in which large corporations have a growing presence. Marketization and privatization are theorized as complex processes, through which the institutional structure and logics of this small, but significant, social policy field changed profoundly. Using…
Harmful care. To what extent is terminology from medicine and clinical psychology applicable to out‐of‐home care
Research concerning outcomes for children who have been placed in out‐of‐home care has indicated that the care may have unwanted consequences. However, there has been no coherent terminology for differentiating between different types of such unwanted consequences. In this article therefore, we attempt to disentangle different aspects of potentially harmful care for looked after children, as well as to discuss potential pathways to more systemati…
Local translations of a universal concept
In recent years, scholars have called for studies exploring how key concepts originating from the children's rights discourse are understood in local contexts. In Sweden, national policy advocates that a child perspective should guide social assistance (SA), a cash benefit constituting society's last safety net. The study analyses the child perspective as an idea (i.e. an ambiguous principle), which is translated (i.e. reformulated and interprete…
Impression management in the market for residential care for children and youth in Sweden
In what has become quite a turbulent quasi‐market for residential care for children and youth, providers now compete for public contracts. To create visibility and attract customers, many providers use marketing activities to project the desired impression of themselves to maintain or strengthen their market position. In this article, we analyse how companies that provide residential care for children manage the impressions they project on their …
A Policy Decoupled from Practice
In many countries, there are calls for children to be allowed to participate in social work decision-making. This article analyses child participation vis-à-vis social assistance (SA), which is a municipal cash benefit representing the last safety net. In Sweden, SA is part of the professional field of social work and national policy recommends that children are consulted. The aim is to analyse local policies and practices regarding child partici…
Social work in an assembly line? The development of specialisation in child welfare and further internal division of work between 2003 and 2018
Organisational specialisation characterises present social work in Sweden as internationally. Specialisation is often expected to lead to higher professional expertise. This study provides an overview of the development of specialisation and workforce characteristics in child welfare based on survey data collected in 2003, 2014 and 2018. The aim was to describe the development of specialisation and discuss the conditions for professional expertis…
People processing in the Swedish child welfare system
Across most countries, child welfare involves complex investigative and decision-making processes to assess eligibility for services. This article analyses the sorting process from investigation to service allocation within Swedish child welfare. Data comes from a questionnaire completed by social workers, covering 2123 children across eight child welfare agencies. The findings are discussed in relation to the family service model and the legal a…
The specialization/collaboration paradox
Existing research highlights the trend of organizing social services into specialized units, addressing specific areas such as child welfare. Further specialization within child welfare extends to target groups (youth vs child) and work task dimensions. The literature remains inconclusive about whether specialization enhances or hinders social work practice. Potential drawbacks of specialization, like gaps between services and a lack of a holisti…
Eligibility for child welfare services
Child welfare work involves investigating referrals to determine whether a child requires protection or support. In Sweden, the number of children referred to child welfare authorities has increased in recent years, but most children do not receive services. This article aims to enhance understanding of how child welfare representatives reason when determining client eligibility. The article is part of a longitudinal research programme following …
Political science (17 works) · Psychology (12 works) · Welfare (12 works) · Economics (11 works) · Social Work Education and Practice (10 works) · Business (9 works) · Economic growth (9 works) · Law (8 works) · Homelessness and Social Issues (7 works) · Social Welfare (7 works)