What sort of help can social services provide?

Who can receive help from social services?

If you or someone you know is feeling bad in some way and not getting help at home, you can contact EN Infobubbla soc.

Some examples of such situations are

your parents have difficulty taking care of you because, for example, they themselves are feeling bad, they argue a lot, they drink alcohol or take drugs.
you are doing things that are not good for you or others, for example, you are cutting yourself, skipping school, or you often get angry and involved in fights.
you do things that are against the law.
you feel that you always limited by stricter rules than everyone else, you are not allowed to fall in love with whoever you want, or you feel threatened by your family.

There are many other kinds of circumstances as well.

What sort of help can one get?

The most common intervention is for the family to talk to someone at social services who listens to them and gives advice on what needs to be changed in order for the family members to feel better and for things to function better at home.

Sometimes the parents may need help in order for all members of the family to feel better. For example, they may need help with stopping drinking alcohol or with managing their money better. If there is a lot of arguing in the home, they may need help with that.

The child may also need help in order to feel better or stop doing things that are dangerous or against the law. This may involve talking to someone at social services, being given a EN Infobubbla kontaktperson, or getting help so that things work at school.

For some children, it’s better for them to live away from home for a period of time. This is called being placed in out-of-home care.

While the child is placed in out-of-home care, the parents need to be given support so that they can function better and the child can move back home.

Here you can read more about being placed in out-of-home care

Should I contact social services?

Speech balloon with the text: If you are in danger and need help, contact the Police by phoning 112.

Should I contact social services?

If you are not sure about whether you need to contact social services, you can start by talking to an adult you trust or you can contact EN Infobubbla Bris (Children’s Rights in Society) by phoning 116 111.

You can also talk to an adult at school or at a youth clinic but in that case you need to know that if you are under 18 years of age, they must EN Infobubbla anmäla to social services if they suspect you are suffering in some way. That is stipulated in Swedish law.

You can always contact social services to ask questions or ask for advice. Initially you EN Infobubbla inte berätta vem du är.

If you or your family makes an EN Infobubbla ansökan for help from social services, they must start an assessment process.

You can contact social services yourself. You can also contact them together with your parents.

It is not always easy to find social services’ contact details. If you know which municipality (kommun) you live in, you can call the municipality’s telephone exchange and ask to be put through to social services’ department for children and young persons. You can also search for social services’ contact information on the municipality’s website or ask an adult you trust for help.

Will social services contact my parents?

If you are under 18, normally social services must inform your EN Infobubbla vårdnadshavare that social services are in contact with you and also tell them what you and social services have been discussing.

It’s important that you tell social services if you are afraid of what will happen if they talk to your parents. If the situation is very serious, social services have the possibility to protect you without telling your parents where you are.

If you are over 18, your parents will not be informed that you are in contact with social services, nor what has been discussed, unless you give your consent.

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