Realizing Child Participation in Complex Collaborative Systems: The Case of Health, Learning and Safety Teams

ABSTRACT

Child participation is a statutory right in Sweden and central to child welfare practice, yet its realizations in multisectoral settings remain challenging. This study examines how professionals working in Health, Learning and Safety (HLS) teams in Västerbotten, Sweden, perceive and seek to facilitate children's participation. Semi‐structured focus group interviews were conducted with 44 professionals from nine teams, representing health care, schools, and social services. Data were analysed inductively using conventional content analysis. Findings show that while professionals described HLS as fundamentally child centred, children were rarely present in the meetings. Children's perspectives were predominantly mediated through adults' interpretations rather than expressed through children's direct presence in meetings. Professionals highlighted tensions between safeguarding responsibilities and facilitating participation, alongside uncertainty about children's capacities and limited routines for involvement and influence. The absence of shared definitions and formalized procedures contributed to variation across teams, and collaboration itself frequently took precedence over children's participation. The study concludes that children's participation in HLS is best understood as a negotiated and conditional practice shaped by organizational complexity and professional attitudes, rather than a straightforward right. Realizing children's legal right to participation requires structural support, shared frameworks and dedicated space for ongoing professional reflection.