The Swedish Foster Care Market in an International Context
A new study from researchers at the Department of Social Work, Stockholm University, directs attention to the role of independent foster care organizations in the Swedish foster care market. Evelina Fridell Lif, Tommy Lundström, David Pålsson, Marie Sallnäs and Emelie Shanks place this development in an international perspective and analyze how market logic shapes child welfare services.
The study is based on data from the Health and Social Care Inspectorate’s (IVO) registers, framework agreements, and a national survey in which social services’ experiences and assessments of quality and costs are presented. In Sweden today, there are around 400 organizations, ranging from small companies to large care corporations, that recruit and support foster homes on behalf of the social services.
The researchers point out that these actors function as intermediaries and are often run for profit, which raises questions about both cost-effectiveness and quality in a service that fundamentally relies on trust and relationships that are difficult to scrutinize.
The results show that social services’ ability to organize foster care on their own is affected by the expansion of the market. At the same time, the perceived quality varies greatly. The study therefore emphasizes the importance of continued research on both the economic consequences and quality aspects of public and private foster care.
Last updated: 2026-02-03
Source: Department of Social Work