Social welfare - A study on the introduction of robotic techniques in social services We have studied how administrators in social services experience the new work method with robotic techniques. Based on a focus group interview and two deep interviews, the finding shows that it is important to provide information and time when making a reorganization. The new work method has caused concern among the administrators about the future of social work. They are critical of how the implementation process has been addressed. The results we gained show that the administrators look forward to the future regarding robotic techniques, even though their attitudes have been negative. Based on our findings we have concluded that the decision of implementing robotic techniques has been made at higher level and that the administrators lacked influence in the decision-making process. We have also made observations of what have been published in the media to see how the attitudes of the administrators were influenced by what is written.    Keywords: Social welfare, robotic techniques, attitudes, mass media, social services

Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka hur barnperspektivet beaktas i socialtjänstens handläggning av ekonomiskt bistånd. Metoden som använts är en kvalitativ intervjustudie, där sex socialsekreterare som arbetar med handläggning av ekonomiskt bistånd inom en viss kommun har intervjuats. Studien utgår från handlingsutrymme som teoretisk tolkningsram. Studien är av relevans för socialt arbete då barn som befinner sig i familjer med ekonomiskt bistånd utgör en utsatt grupp som riskerar att hamna i fortsatt social utsatthet även i vuxen ålder. Studien visar att en majoritet av socialsekreterarna uppfattar barnperspektivet som otydligt angivet och att det finns en osäkerhet i hur man ska arbeta utifrån detta. Studien visar även att barn tenderar bli osynliga i handläggningen av ekonomiskt bistånd, samt att socialsekreterarna uppfattar att de inte har tillräckliga förutsättningar att arbeta utifrån ett barnperspektiv. Studien visar vidare att majoriteten av socialsekreterarna hyser önskemål om att arbeta mer utifrån ett barnperspektiv. / The purpose of the essay is to investigate how the child perspective is taken into consideration in the social services' management of financial assistance. The method used is a qualitative interview study. Six social workers within financial assistance have been interviewed. The study is based on the theory of discretion, and is of relevance to social work since children in families who receive financial assistance constitute a vulnerable group who is at risk of ending socially vulnerable even in adulthood. The results of the study show that most of the social workers perceive the child perspective as unclear. The study also shows that children tend to be invisible in financial assistance, and that the social workers perceive that they do not have sufficient conditions to work from a child perspective. The study further shows that most of the social workers have a request to work more from a child perspective.

The aim of this study was to explore job-coaches and work consultant’s discretion in work with activation of social assistance recipients. Semistructured interviews have been conducted with 4 job-coaches and 4 work consultants within 2 different municipalities. The interviews have been analyzed using Lipsky's theory on street-level bureaucracy and new institutional organization theory. The results of the study showed that job-coaches and work consultant’s report having a large discretion in the work with activation. Further results show that their experienced discretion in their work is not assessed as being affected by the level of education and age but that the work experience is seen essential. On an organizational level a large supply of activation measures and routines giving support was viewed as important. On a political level political priorities was viewed as an important aspect in regards to the discretion. / Syftet med den föreliggande studien har varit att undersöka jobbcoachers och arbetskonsulenters handlingsutrymme i aktiveringsarbetet med socialbidragsklienter. Semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med 8 jobbcoacher och arbetskonsulenter i två kommuner. Intervjumaterialet har analyserats med hjälp av Lipsky´s teori om fornlinjebyråkrati och nyinstitutionell organisationsteori.  Studiens resultat visade att jobbcoacher och arbetskonsulenter upplever en stor handlingsfrihet i arbetet med aktivering. Vidare resultat visar att det upplevda handlingsutrymmet i arbetet bedöms inte påverkas av utbildningsnivå och ålder men att yrkeserfarenhet upplevs som betydelsefull. På organisationsnivå ansågs ett stort utbud av aktiveringsåtgärder och stöd inom verksamheten vara av vikt. På politisk nivå ansågs politiska prioriteringar som en viktig aspekt när det gäller handlingsutrymme.

Huvudsyftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare upplever barnperspektivet i arbetet inom ekonomiskt bistånd innan och efter inkorporeringen av Barnkonventionen. Vi undersökte även vilken position barn har i socialsekreterarnas utredningar. Föreliggande studie avsåg att vara en kvalitativ intervjustudie där empirin grundar sig på sex stycken intervjuer med socialsekreterare som arbetar inom ekonomiskt bistånd i olika kommuner i Sverige. Empirin har analyserats med hjälp av barndomssociologi samt Michael Lipskys teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater. Analysmetoden som användes för att analysera respondenternas utsagor var tematisk innehållsanalys. Studiens resultat visade att flertalet socialsekreterare ansåg att barnperspektivet är tvetydigt och komplext i praktiken på grund av de många lagar och riktlinjer som präglar arbetet med ekonomiskt bistånd. Trots detta ansåg samtliga socialsekreterare att barnperspektivet är viktigt men att deras arbetsplatser har en del utrymme för ytterligare förbättring. Resultatet visade fortsättningsvis även att barn tenderar att bli mindre uppmärksammade än vuxna samt att socialsekreterarna saknade tillräckliga resurser, i form av tid och vidareutbildning, för att kunna arbeta enligt ett barnperspektiv fullt ut. / The main purpose of this study was to investigate how social workers in the social services’ management of financial assistance experience the use of the child perspective before and after the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We also examined how children were being positioned in social workers investigations. The method applied is a qualitative interview study and the empirical data lies in six interviews with social workers that work with financial assistance in different municipalities in Sweden. The empirical data has been analyzed through childhood sociology and Michael Lipsky's theory of street-level bureaucrats. The empirical data was evaluated through thematic analysis. The results showed that most of the social workers consider that the meaning of the child perspective appears to be somehow ambiguous and complex due to laws and regulations that characterize the work within financial assistance. Although all informants consider the child perspective to be important, they experience that their workplaces have room for improvement. The results also showed that children seem to be noted less in comparison to adults and that social workers don’t have enough resources, in terms of time and further education, to fully commit to the child perspective.

That the child perspective is something that is to be considered when making decision that affect the child is stipulated in the Social Services Act (2001:453). Since the United NationsConvention on the Rights of the Child (SFS 2018:1197) became law, the rights of the child have gained even more strength. However, research shows that children’s rights to participation when making such decisions are not always fulfilled, because the child is not viewed as an active actor. With this as a starting point the study’s purpose was formedwhich is to explore possibilities and limitations in social workers’ undertaking of considering the child perspective in their work with financial aid with a focus on the social workers’ perception of their room of action. Nine social workers within financial aid from five different municipalities were interviewed with a semi structured interview method. A thematic analysis was conducted on the collected material and three main themes were identified: “To consider the child perspective”, “Grant increased financial aid” and “The adult’s role in the child perspective”. The results showed both possibilities and limitations between the social workers’ undertaking of considering the child perspective, and that the social workers’ perception of their room of action affects the undertaking of the child perspective. / Att barnperspektivet ska beaktas vid beslut som berör barn fastställs i Socialtjänstlagen (SFS 2001:453). Sedan Lag om Förenta nationernas konvention om barnets rättigheter (SFS 2018:1197) blev lag 2020 har barnets rättigheter stärkts ytterligare. Dock visar forskning att barns rätt till delaktighet inte säkerställs, då barn inte ses som aktiva aktörer. Med detta som utgångspunkt skapades studiens syfte som är att undersökasocialsekreterarnas upplevelse av möjligheter och utmaningar i arbetet med barnperspektivet inom ekonomiskt bistånd utifrån deras upplevelse av handlingsutrymmet. Nio socialsekreterare inom ekonomiskt bistånd från fem olika kommuner intervjuades med hjälp av en semistrukturerad intervjumetod. En tematisk analys genomfördes av det insamlade materialet och tre huvudteman urskildes: ”Att handlägga barnperspektiv”, ”Bevilja utökat bistånd till barn” samt ”Den vuxnes roll i barnperspektivet”. Resultatet visade att det finns både utmaningar och möjligheter i socialsekreterarnas arbete med barnperspektivet och att socialsekreterarnas upplevelse av sitt handlingsutrymme påverkar arbetet med barnperspektivet.

The following study aims to study how social workers in the processing of social assistance relate to child perspective after the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It has been also examined how organizational guidelines and rules affect the processing of social assistance. This study has a qualitative research approach, and the empirical data has been collected through five interviews with social workers, who are working with social assistance in two different municipalities in Sweden. The empirical material has been analyzed through Michael Lipsky´s theory of street-level bureaucrats and discretion. All the social workers in this study consider that taking into consideration to child’s perspective is very important in the processing of social assistance but it is somehow ambiguous and complex. As a result, sometimes the social workers do not have the opportunity to consider child perspectives, even though there is now a law stipulated after the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Swedish law. Some of these factors that make the work difficult for social workers in the processing of social assistance are lack of time, rules and laws, indistinct organizational guidelines, etcetera. The results of this study also show that the social workers do not want to talk to or meet the children during the processing of social assistance and the working process can differ between the municipalities, where one municipality has much more difficulty in considering child perspectives due to too much workload and lack of time.

The aim of this study was to analyze how social workers in social assistance use communication and treatment in their work for clients with psychosis. The study is based on a qualitative method, where a vignette method and a semi-structured interview have been conducted with four social workers within the investigation unit for social assistance. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the empirical material where three themes were created; 1) Flexibility in contact, meetings and the work with clients, 2) The significance of the relationship, and 3) crooked path to self-sufficiency. The empirical material was analyzed through communication theory, discretion and empowerment. The results showed that relationship building is an important part between the social worker and client diagnosed with psychosis, to have a functional communication and to motivate the client to a plan which leads to self-sufficiency. Social workers can use empowerment to motivate clients to self-sufficiency, by raising the strengths of the client. Further it appeared that social workers need to use their discretion to plan the work with the target group. The result from this study also showed the social worker had good opportunities to use their discretional space to adapt the work individually with the target group. / Syftet med denna studie var att studera hur socialsekreterare inom ekonomiskt bistånd använder kommunikation och bemötande i sitt arbete för klienter med psykosproblematik. Studien utgick från en kvalitativ metod, där en vinjettstudie och semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes tillsammans med fyra socialsekreterare inom utredningsenheten på ekonomiskt bistånd. Tematisk analys tillämpades som dataanalys där tre teman identifierades; 1) Flexibilitet i kontakter, mötet och arbetet med klienter, 2) Relationens betydelse samt 3) Krokig väg till självförsörjning. Studiens empiriska material analyserades utifrån teorierna kommunikationsteori, handlingsutrymme och empowerment. Resultatet från denna studie visade att relationsskapande mellan socialsekreterarna och klienter diagnostiserade med psykossjukdomar var en viktig del för en fungerande kommunikation, samt motivera klienten till planering som leder till självförsörjning. Socialsekreterarna kan använda Empowerment för att motivera klienten till en självförsörjning, genom att lyfta upp styrkor hos klienten. Det framkom även att socialsekreterarna hade goda förutsättningar att använda sitt handlingsutrymme till att individanpassa arbetet med klienterna i målgruppen.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka socialsekreterares upplevelser av hur digitaliseringen har förändrat arbetet inom ekonomiskt bistånd. I studien genomfördes fem kvalitativa intervjuer med socialsekreterare från samma kommun där verksamheten nyligen genomgått en digitaliseringsprocess. Intervjuerna analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av det strukturella perspektivet samt tidigare forskning som berör dokumentation, administrativt arbete samt digitalisering i socialt arbete och offentliga verksamheter. Resultatet visade att det administrativa arbetet minskat till följd av digitaliseringen samt att det är enkelt och tidseffektivt för socialsekreterare. Avsikten med digitaliseringen var att klientkontakten ska öka när de administrativa arbetsuppgifterna minskar. Detta har utifrån studiens resultat inte kunnat ske då rådande pandemi, Covid-19, fört med sig en rad restriktioner i syfte att minska smittspridningen. Pandemin har tvingat verksamheten att ändra sitt arbetssätt vilket resulterat i att nya digitala lösningar växt fram. Resultatet visade även att det finns en förhoppning hos socialsekreterarna att digitaliseringen ska förändra synen på den professionella rollen och göra arbetet inom ekonomiskt bistånd mer attraktivt. En slutsats av studien var att det finns tekniska förutsättningar inom socialtjänsten för att ytterligare anpassa arbetet efter klienters enskilda behov och de förändringar som sker i samhället. / The aim of this study was to explore social workers experiences of how digitalization has changed the work within financial aid. The study is based on five qualitative interviews with social workers from the same municipality, where the organization has recently undergone a digitalization process. The interviews were analyzed by qualitative content analysis. The results were analyzed with the help of the structural perspective and previous research concerning documentation, administrative work and digitization in social work and public organizations. The results showed that the administrative work has decreased as a result of digitalization and that it is simple and time-efficient for both social workers and clients. The purpose of the digitalization was that client contact would increase when the administrative tasks decrease. Based on the results of this study, this has not been possible as the current pandemic, Covid- 19, has brought with it a number of restrictions in order to reduce the spread of infection. The pandemic has forced the organization to change its way of working, which has led to the emergence of new digital solutions. The results also showed that there is hope among the social workers that digitalization will change the view of the professional role and make the work within financial aid more attractive. One conclusion of the study was that there are technical opportunities within the social services to further adapt the work to clients' individual needs and the changes that take place in society.

Under år 2020 sökte omkring 198000 hushåll i Sverige socialbidrag i form av ekonomiskt bistånd, som syftar till att öka levnadsvillkoren för medborgare i den svenska välfärdsstaten. Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka hur informanter som söker ekonomiskt bistånd upplever att de förhåller sig till institutionell makt i mötet med socialtjänsten samt att undersöka om informanterna upplever en stigmatisering av biståndstagare utifrån normer i samhället. Metoden som använts i studien är en kvalitativintervjumetod där sex intervjuer genomförts i semistrukturerad form. Avgränsningar som gjorts har landat i att informanterna av sjukdomsbaserade och/eller sociala skäl inte kunnat uppnå självförsörjning på egen hand intervjuades i studien. Slutsatser som dragits i studien är att biståndstagare upplever sig vara mycket granskade och kontrollerade av Socialtjänsten, vilket påverkar dem negativt ur flera aspekter: allra främst finns en stark upplevelse av oro och stress till följd av detta. Informanterna upplever även att det finns en svårighet att ta sig ifrån ekonomiskt bistånd då det i det långa loppet skapar ett beroende av hjälp istället för att fungera förebyggande. Vidare är den egna självbilden starkt präglad av fördomar gentemot biståndstagare ochdet finns en känsla av stigmatisering hos informanterna. / In 2020, around 198,000 households in Sweden applied for social assistance in the form of financial assistance, which aims to increase the living conditions of citizens in the Swedish welfare state.The purpose of this study was to investigate how informants seeking financial assistance feel that they relate to institutional power in the encounter with the social services and to also investigate whether the informants experiencea stigmatization of aid recipients based on norms in society. The method used in the study is a qualitative interview method where six interviews were conducted in a semi-structured form. Delimitations that have been made have landed in that the informants for illness-based and/or social reasons could not achieve self-sufficiency on their own were interviewed in the study. Some conclusions drawn in the study are that recipients feel that they are highly examined and controlled by the Social Services, which has a negative effect on them from several aspects: above all, there is a strong experience of anxiety and stress as a result. The informants also experience that there is a difficulty in recovering from financial assistance as in the long run it creates an addiction to help instead of functioning preventively. Furthermore, one's own self-image is strongly marked by prejudices towards beneficiaries and there is a feeling of stigmatization among the informants.

The purpose of the thesis was to examine the social services’ routines for handling financial assistance from a gender perspective, to gain an increased understanding on how social workers' working methods related to financial assistance are designed in relation to women's exposure to men's violence in close relationships and gender equality goals. This study has been conducted because there is relatively little research specifically focused on financial issues and the economic dimension of abuse in close relationships and gender equality. This study used seven qualitative semi-structured interviews with a total of eight interviewees from six different municipalities. The main themes for the interviews were how the social services that work with financial assistance apply a gender equality perspective to their work and how they link their work with intimate partner abuse to a gender equality and gender perspective. Analysis of data was based on gender theory from gender researcher Yvonne Hirdman. In summary, the study showed that the different municipalities had different ideas about gender equality and therefore met the requirements of the Social Services Act and gender equality goals to varying degrees. Some municipalities reproduced gender norms and had contributing factors to violence in close relationships, while some municipalities challenged notions of gender and counteracting violence in close relationships from a gender perspective. Despite these varying results, our study showed that professionals have an interest and demand for improving gender equality work, which provides good conditions for developing the work.