Kontrol og demokrati TRÆK AF DANSK BØRNEFORSORGS HISTORIE 1933-1958

Resumé

A number of crucial changes took place in Denmark's child welfare services from 1930 to 1960. In 1930 institutions were largely privately run, poorly financed, characteristically Christian in origin and spirit, authoritarian in attitude and staffed by persons who thought of their work as a vocation. By 1960 child welfare had developed in the direction of professionalism, democracy, pedagogy and objectivity.

Parallel developments can be seen in a number of other public institutions,
such as the educational system and care for the retarded, all of which mark
important steps in the development of the welfare state.

A major source of inspiration for my research has been found in Anglo- American studies, which stress the functions of social and educational institutions as instruments of societal control. This concept affirms that above and beyond the declared objective of aiding children and families in trouble, child welfare institutions basically serve larger society by protecting it against and controlling potentially disruptive ./idividuals: criminals, loafers, amoral persons etc.

The present study shows that the function is maintained throughout the period, even though it is explicitly stated in the sources with decreasing frequency. It can also be demonstrated that in numerous areas the state expanded its jurisdiction and ability to take measures against children and families that failed to adjust to socially acceptable standards.

Control, however, is not only expanded, it is also modified. The rights of parents and children are given better protection, it becomes possible to negotiate with the authorities, there is an improvement in the opportunities for contact between parents and children who have been removed from their homes, etc. Thus a democratization of the child welfare services took place.

These developments, as the present study shows, did not take place without a struggle. For years parent organizations exerted constant pressure in an attempt to modernize child welfare services - largely without results. It was only when professional experts, psychiatrists, psychologists and others together with the press began to take an interest in the matter that politicians and officials were forced into allocating the necessary resources and changing legislation in the direction of modern child welfare services.

Translated by Michael Wolfe