To stand on your own in a new country. : A qualitative study on how staff at HVB-homes for unaccompanied children, strive to prepare them for a life after placement.

The aim of this study was to examine how staff at homes for care or residence (HVB-homes) work towards helping unaccompanied children to become self-sufficient. The study is based on a qualitative approach and we have done eight semi-structured interviews with staff from different HVB-homes. The study shows how staff in different HVB-homes uses different strategies to create opportunities for the children to integrate into Swedish society as well as the conditions that are necessary for the children to cope on their own. Our results have shown that routines help the unaccompanied children to manage their time efficiently and maintain a functional life with school, health and extra-curricular activities. By executing different tasks on their own such as cooking or doing their own laundry, the children learn to manage on their own. Staff shows the unaccompanied children how Swedish society works as well as the values and norms that exist to aid them in getting accustomed to their new environment. The staff motivates the children to go to school in order for them to acknowledge the beneficial aspects of education and to help develop their language. Trust, security and healthy relations have shown to be a prerequisite to maintain a functional relationship between the unaccompanied children and staff at the HVB-homes. Creating a network for the children by having them join different associations and extra-curricular activities such as soccer has also come to help the children integrate into Swedish society