The aim of this study was to describe and to analyze needs and social efforts concerning unaccompanied/separated asylum-seeking children. The responsibility for the reception of this target group was transferred on July 1, 2006 from the Swedish Migration Board to the municipalities that sign an agreement with the Swedish Migration Board. Eight qualitative interviews were carried out with representatives for transit-residents and assigned municipalities in Skåne. Our main questions were: How has the reception of unaccompanied/separated asylum-seeking children been planned, how do the municipalities and the transit-residents consider their needs and what is the level of qualifications and competence within the municipalities in order to work with unaccompanied/separated asylum-seeking children on the basis of social efforts? We chose to clarify our findings on the basis of the attachment theory, which is applicable during the critical emancipation phase that the vast majority of the unaccompanied/separated asylum-seeking children find themselves in.

The aim of this study was to examine how social workers relate to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, regarding their cultural background and potential social issues. In order to achieve a more profound and comprehensive view of the social workers views regarding the separated children, we selected to execute semi structured interviews with social workers. These interviews were aimed at those social workers who performed assessments and investigations concerning unaccompanied children. We completed nine interviews which we recorded and transcribed in a strict manor. When we analyzed the empirical material, certain themes where identified as more protuberant and thus we our selection was based on what we regarded as the most relevant topics, in accordance to the aim of the study.

The aim of this study is to examine which factors in the receiving-country that have had an influence on three now adult unaccompanied refugee children. The method used in the study is qualitative interviews with the three above-mentioned participants. The results show that some factors are perceived as helpful, having a positive influence on the participants life while other factors are perceived as worsening, having a negative influence on their life. Depending on the context some factors such as age, the Swedish language and housing arrangements have had both positive and negative influences on their life. Positive factors are among other things: access to good treatment and support, help with processing trauma and bad mental health, help with understanding coherence, access to a social network, family reunification, resilience and other internal factors.

The aim of the study was to examine collaboration and professional perspectives on the best interest of the child in regards to working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children. Firstly, our result show that counselling is available for the unaccompanied children from case workers, staff, school counsellors and emergency psychiatric care. All of the participants in this study describe the need for long-term counselling for unaccompanied children, however, providing the long-term counselling is not the primary purpose of the organisations in question. Therefore an additional service-provider working with counselling is a necessity. Secondly, the study explores the participants? professional perspectives on the best interest of the child.

Purpose: The purpose of the study reported in this thesis is to addto the knowledge concerning what public librarians do to meet theneeds of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors, thereby helpingthem to develop and establish themselves in a new environment.What tasks, activities and tools do the librarians have at theirdisposal? What problems do they encounter? What values, normsand attitudes guide their work? Method: The thoughts andexperiences of six public librarians have been captured throughqualitative semi-structured interviews, the result of which has beenthematically analysed using notions of social capital and socialexclusion. Findings: Unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors facea number of challenges which the public library with its librarians,collections and various activities can assist in coping with byproviding the children with opportunities to increase their socialcapital and decrease the risk of social exclusion. Researchlimitations: It has for several reasons proven difficult to studyunaccompanied asylum-seeking children as a distinct group, whichis why this study also uses material that deals with refugees as awhole. A significant amount of the latter are undeniablyunaccompanied minors, an especially exposed and vulnerable typeof refugees.

The aim with this study is to examine and analyze how the employees at two residential care homes for unaccompanied refugee children work with the children during their pending decision for asylum in Sweden. The purpose is to gain insight into the employees? daily work with the target audience and how they handle decisions with the children. The method to collect data is to carry 6 interviews with the employees at the residential care home. The interviews were semi-structured with purpose of letting the interviewee lead the content of the interview.

AbstractMany of the refugees around the world today are children. Some of these children are travelling alone without anyone looking after them. These children flee from their countries to save their lives and as they are children they need special care and protection. This thesis has investigated the protection given to unaccompanied children during the asylum process in the two key instruments in the area: the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The Refugee Convention does not contain any procedural rights and does not specifically acknowledge children, even though they are included in the scope of the Convention.

AbstractMany of the refugees around the world today are children. Some of these children are travelling alone without anyone looking after them. These children flee from their countries to save their lives and as they are children they need special care and protection. This thesis has investigated the protection given to unaccompanied children during the asylum process in the two key instruments in the area: the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The Refugee Convention does not contain any procedural rights and does not specifically acknowledge children, even though they are included in the scope of the Convention.

AbstractMany of the refugees around the world today are children. Some of these children are travelling alone without anyone looking after them. These children flee from their countries to save their lives and as they are children they need special care and protection. This thesis has investigated the protection given to unaccompanied children during the asylum process in the two key instruments in the area: the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The Refugee Convention does not contain any procedural rights and does not specifically acknowledge children, even though they are included in the scope of the Convention.

Unaccompanied children that arrives in Sweden are usually placed in homes for care and residence, called HVB. It is the municipality's responsibility to provide adequate care and protection for the children. The aim of the study is to examine how a workgroup on a HVB home for unaccompanied children is working to meet the needs of the children, and how the workgroup improves the children?s integration process. The study also aims to examine the emotional labour of the workgroup, which illustrates how they can manage their own emotional behavior when working with the unaccompanied children.The study is based on a qualitative approach with detailed descriptions of five semi-structured interviews with the workgroup and assistant managers.

This phenomenological study explores the mental health problems of asylum- seeking children in Sweden and highlights possible ways of meeting their needs. Open interviews with 13 clinically experienced psychologists were conducted.The results of the analysis suggest that experiences of trauma and separation, the child's developmental level, parental functioning and family dynamics contribute to the mental health problems of asylum- seeking children. When meeting these children the psychologists continuously face ethical dilemmas since the asylum-seeking process seems to aggravate the problems as well as complicate the use of traditional interventions. Promoting structure and activity, normalizing symptoms, educating about trauma and crisis, sharing and accepting anxieties and sometimes thoroughly working through traumatic experiences are treatment strategies found clinically useful. Systematic follow-up studies are needed to decide the effects of these interventions..

Children and adolescents without a parent, or other representative, annually come to seek asylum in Sweden. In the work with unaccompanied children there are many actors who have different responsibilities and interaction between these actors is essential to meet the unaccompanied children?s needs. Our purpose with this study was to generate knowledge for professionals for a possible development in the receipt of unaccompanied children. We have conducted a qualitative study, through interviews with eight professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to examine motivation in studies and/or work among unaccompanied adolescents who received asylum in Sweden. We have examined how six unaccompanied refugee boys? ages 15-18 years describe their motivation, regarding both current studies and their potential future studies or work. We have attempted to capture the children?s stories about what the factors are that increase or decrease their motivation through qualitative research interviews.

The aim of this study was to reach an understanding of how young adults with permanent residence permit, who came to Sweden as unaccompanied asylum seeking minors, experience their confrontation with the Swedish society. Another purpose was to understand how these young adults view Sweden and its inhabitants, as well as the experience of starting a new life in Sweden. In order to investigate these questions, a qualitative method consisting of five interviews with five young men was conducted.The results showed that the respondents feared the meeting with the immigration board and that they feel that school is divided in two groups, Swedes and immigrants. People with nonethnic Swedish background who have lived in Sweden for a long time are seen as Swedes, and in that meaning assimilated. One important conclusion we made was that the division between Swedes and immigrants have a negative influence on the immigrants´ integration in the society.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out how the Swedish authorities comply with international law by studying the protection of asylum-seeking children that are apprehended by Swedish authorities according to the legislation of LVU because of abuse or neglect and thereafter are deported together with their parents. The aim of this thesis is to find out if Swedish legislation and praxis is consistent with international law through the Convention on the Rights of the Child and EKMR. Would it be possible to increase the protection of these children through incorporating the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Swedish law, through a wider interpretation of the principle of non-refoulement or through more morality in the law? The thesis has been conducted as a literature study where the right-dogmatic method has been used to compare Swedish and international law. The theories by Dworkin about morality and law have been compared to Peczeniks right-dogmatic theories.The review shows that Swedish authorities are infringing article 2, 3, 12 and 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, when it comes to the protection of asylum-seeking children. The best way to increase the protection is to incorporate the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Swedish law.