Unga omsorgsgivare i Sverige – en socialrättslig inventering

Young carers are a concept and a distinct group of children that has not been much researched from a legal perspective, especially not in a Swedish context. In this article, the research focus is on how the Swedish social law regulation can be applied to this group. First, the group itself is discussed and defined, then this definition is tested against a couple of regulations within the field of social law in Sweden. One conclusion is that this group is not specifically recognized in Swedish social law. This implies that the group can be “hidden” in the sense that potential support and help won’t be targeted at this group of children. Another conclusion is that much of the support and help is dedicated to the relative of the young carer, the person that the young carer takes care of. A young carer can therefore have to rely on the outcome of the relative’s applications within the social systems to see a change in their situation, rather than have the right to support regarding their own needs.