According to his research, children placed in foster care are at greater risk of being exposed to violence and more serious abuse, as well as falling into crime.

The question of family homes has become highly topical due to the much-publicized Esmeralda case in Norrköping, where a three-year-old girl died after returning to her biological parents from being placed in a family home. Rikard Tordön has followed the case.

"Unfortunately, it is often this type of event that makes us as a society wake up, roll up our sleeves and see what needs to be done so that it does not happen again," he told SVT Nyheter Öst.

"Will lead to better systems"

After the Esmeralda case, most political parties have commented on the issue and the government has appointed a special investigator.

- I believe that the Esmeralda case will lead to a better system, with smaller cracks in the system. But I'm as curious as anyone about what's going to happen. But I hope that it leads to a change in the view of family home placements, especially when it happens early and that adoption is instead considered in more cases, he says.

The reason why Esmeralda was allowed to return to her biological parents, where she died about a year later, was a judgment in the Court of Appeal.

- I have no basis for being able to blame the verdict in any way. As I understand it, the verdict is based on a precedent from the Supreme Administrative Court where it was concluded that parents should have the right to get their children back. You should only test whether the conditions for care are valid or not. Seen from that perspective, the decision of the Court of Appeal is completely logical, says Rikard Tordön who is also employed at Barnafrid, a national knowledge center at Linköping University.

"It is not possible to blame the Court of Appeal"

Rikard Tordön is more into the fact that this is a system error.

- It is not possible to blame the appellate court as I see it. It is the law that contains these possibilities for children to get sick and not cover up well enough. 

See the full interview with Rikard Tordön in the clip above.