Studies in international social work is a joint report series between the Department of Social Work and INSWED (International Social Work Education and Development), both of which are at Stockholm University. The series was started in 2002 in order to reflect some of the international work relevant for social work that is being done by or in cooperation with these entities. It is open for ‘traditional’ academic work as well as international development cooperation projects. The research reports selected for publication in the series concern projects conducted in collaboration with Stockholm University and which can be expected to be of common interest to a wide range of readers. For this reason they are published in English. To date, the series has been devoted mostly to child welfare issues.