SE26 Project
Health, Learning, Safety: Working Together to Provide Young People with the Best Possible Support
HLT (Health, Learning, and Safety) is a collaborative model in which healthcare providers, preschools, schools, and social services work together to provide early and coordinated support to children and their families. The model is based on interprofessional teams that come together to address the child’s situation and, together with the family, find ways forward.
This approach was developed in the early 2010s in Västerbotten through a collaboration between the municipalities in the county and Region Västerbotten. The goal was to create a simpler and more coordinated pathway to support for children and families. Previous experience showed that support from different services was often provided in parallel without any coordination. Since preschools, schools, healthcare, and social services lacked a shared, comprehensive view of the situation, problems were sometimes only discovered once the situation had become more serious. At the same time, parents could feel uncertain about where to turn when something wasn’t working in their daily lives.
The strength of collaboration between different areas of expertise
Through HLT, expertise from areas such as student health, social services, and healthcare is brought together in joint teams, where special education teachers, counselors, nurses, psychologists, and other professionals contribute their perspectives. When there is concern about a child, the situation can be brought up in the team, which jointly discusses needs and possible interventions.
A planning meeting is held with the family to review what is working well, what is difficult, and what kind of support can make a difference in daily life. A joint plan is then developed outlining the necessary interventions and who is responsible for what. This approach is based on voluntariness and participation, with the family actively shaping the support based on their own situation.
Early interventions that make a difference
Today, the model is used in all municipalities in Västerbotten and has also inspired similar approaches in other parts of Sweden. By bringing together different areas of expertise and focusing on early intervention, it becomes easier to identify needs in time and provide support before problems escalate. When different services collaborate on the child’s situation, better conditions are created for long-term solutions.
The goal is for the child’s health, learning, and well-being to be viewed as a whole—and for collaboration between different agencies to make a real difference in families’ daily lives.
Children and families may sometimes need support from several different services at the same time, such as preschool or school, health care, and social services. In the past, these services were often provided in parallel without being fully coordinated. HLT addresses this challenge by bringing together various areas of expertise to address the child’s situation. This allows needs to be identified earlier and support to be better coordinated.
In the short term, HLT makes it easier to identify needs and coordinate support across different services. In the long term, this approach helps create better conditions for children’s health, well-being, and learning. Through early intervention, problems can be prevented, and more children can have the opportunity to thrive and succeed in school.
HLT ties into two strategic areas of Skellefteå 2030: “Knowledge and Skills” and “A Place to Thrive.” By strengthening collaboration between preschools, schools, healthcare, and social services, the model creates better conditions for children’s learning, health, and well-being. At the same time, this approach contributes to safe growing-up conditions and ensures that children and families receive the support they need in their daily lives, which is essential for creating a place where people can thrive and feel good.
The primary target group is children and families who need extra support for a period of time. The project also involves staff in preschools, schools, healthcare, and social services who work in HLT teams. Information is disseminated through municipal and regional channels, via schools and preschools, and through dialogue with families and the relevant organizations.
HLT contributes to this vision by strengthening support for children and families in their daily lives. When different services collaborate and support is provided early on, better conditions for health, safety, and learning are created. In this way, this approach contributes to a society where more children have the opportunity to thrive and feel well.
Learn more: SE26 project
Sidinformation
- Senast uppdaterad:
- 29 April 2026