["Child &Family Social Work, Volume 31, Issue 2, Page 881-891, May 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nChildren have the right to be informed and to express their views on all matters affecting them. When children are placed in foster care, social services are responsible for ensuring that the child receives ‘good care’. This requires a matching process. Matching means that children and foster families must ‘fit together’. Matching can be understood as a multistage process in which the child has the right to participate. With Sweden as the case in point, this article examines children's participation in the matching process and addresses the following research questions: What factors are associated with children's participation? How and when are children involved in the matching process? When children are involved, which aspects of matching are important to them, according to the professionals? Data was drawn from case files in six municipalities (n = 90) and interviews with professionals (n = 50) working with foster care. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were combined to provide a comprehensive understanding. Quantitative analysis shows significant associations between child involvement and certain child characteristics, including gender, age, and whether the child has a diagnosis. Qualitative analysis shows that children's involvement is limited, and when they are involved, it is generally at a late stage in the process.\n"]