JO directs criticism at youth homes

JO directs criticism at youth homes

Updated 02:13 | Published at 2:03 am

The full-screen SiS home Brättegården in Vänersborg receives JO criticism. Archive image. Photo: Marcus Ericsson/TT

Children and young people with widely different needs are cared for together, which increases the risk of the children becoming violent. This is stated by JO after an inspection at the Sis home Brättegården in Vänersborg.

The youth home run by the State Board of Institutions is not built to give young people the care they need, the Justice Ombudsman (JO) believes after an unannounced inspection for a couple of days at the beginning of July.

– Children and young people with intellectual disabilities are mixed with those who move in criminal environments. This in turn risks individual children not getting the care they need in time, says Gunilla Bergerén, head of unit, JO, to TT.

The wards at the youth center are locked and there are no places for care of children in more open forms. In addition, the premises were built 20–30 years ago and are not adapted to the activities that are conducted today, according to JO.

There is a risk that children and young people become violent and violent and may be looked after with more coercion during the placement, according to Bergerén, who cannot yet say whether JO will request a report back from the home.

– We point out the shortcomings and assume that Sis has a dialogue with the government about this, she says.

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