Swedish government launches inquiry into social services after misconduct revelations

The Swedish government has appointed an inquiry to strengthen legal certainty within the social services system, following investigative reports by SVT’s Uppdrag granskning and other media that exposed cases of children being taken into care based on incorrect grounds.

Recent investigations revealed that a newborn was separated from its mother, Malin, a childcare worker, after she was wrongly labeled as intellectually disabled by maternal healthcare services. Another case involved an eight-year-old girl, Elsa, whose removal by social services was also based on flawed assessments, as reported by Kaliber in Swedish Radio.

This is the second inquiry into the issue this year. In February, the government received a report proposing measures to prevent arbitrary and legally uncertain child removals, including the involvement of specialized experts in social welfare committees.

The new inquiry, led by the same investigator, Anders Hagsgård, will examine whether politicians or civil servants are better suited to make decisions in cases under the Care of Young Persons Act (LVU).

“The inquiry will assess how the current division of responsibility between elected officials and professionals actually functions,” said Lina Nordquist (Liberal Party). “The investigator will determine and propose in which cases professionals should make the decisions.”