Private consultant firms lure foster homes with higher pay and more support than municipalities, but a Dalarna couple received none of the promised aid. Mia and Ola, foster parents for 17 years, took in a boy with severe issues last year but got no help from the firm. SVT's investigation reveals municipalities losing oversight of private placements.
Mia and Ola in Dalarna have been foster parents for 17 years, both through municipalities and private firms. Last year, a consultant company contacted them to take in a boy with severe behavioral issues.
"They promised gold and green forests, but then we got no help", foster mother Mia told SVT Dalarna.
When support failed to materialize, the couple terminated the contract and turned to the municipality directly, but it was too late and the boy was placed in an institution. The firm responded that they quit before support could be provided.
SVT called 15 firms posing as prospective foster parents. All claimed more support than municipalities, and half offered higher pay. "The advantage of firms is 24/7 on-call support", Ola said.
Researcher Evelina Lif Fridell, who recently earned a PhD on the foster home market, confirms promises of accessible support are key. Multiple state reports note municipalities losing oversight. Vårdföretagarna and union SSR demand stricter government supervision of consultant firms.
