This study is based on a qualitative study with 8 semi-structured interviews. The aim of the study was to describe how social workers in the individual- and family section in social services in two different municipalities in Sweden reason about reporting obligations and to understand what lex Sarah means in the decisions making to report incongruity or not. We interviewed social workers that work in the department of individual- and family section, a municipality worker who works with state governance with all kinds people in the society. We asked the social workers altered questions about how they handle lex Sarah in their work. Three different topics were identified in our study and became the themes: Description, management and conflicting thoughts. Our analysis is based on two different theories, one about the choices a person make being in an organization, the other about how a professional individual have altered pressures to handle in their everyday work. By doing a semi-structured study of the social workers opinions, we found out that the description of incongruity was not the focus just in managing lex Sarah. Results of the study showed that there is several different aspects to take in considerations when social workers in individual- and family section in social services decide whether to report or not. The description is one part and their own individual worries affected them in their decision to report incongruity or not. They all had faith in lex Sarah and thought it could be used as a tool to make their work better.

The purpose of the study is to describe how financial management functions within the individual and family care services in three mid-sized municipalities. 27 interviews with managers and key personnel at three management levels in Örebro, Växjö and Jönkö-ping were conducted using a descriptive approach and qualitative method. In addition governing docu-ments and delineations in regards to these municipalities have been studied. The combined findings show that all municipalities have separate visions and control systems/models for their municipality with focus on management by objectives and politically determined goals, which in-clude economical measurements and requirements for the departments. Moreover, are also tracking sys-tems, which are described as following up on the results thru indicators and/or measurable goals. The municipalities utilize framework financials and budget processing on a high level and its timings appears similar in each municipality. Additionally the study has shown that there is a desire and aspiration to implement central economic goals in all three municipalities. The interviewees describe how they use their leadership to anchor, follow up and create participation in economic objectives and results thru instrumental and institutional leadership. All describe the importance of good forecasting in order for the financial management to work and create legitimacy, but they also see difficulties in anticipating needs arising mainly from livelihood support and external placements. None of the municipalities have a specific resource allocation model for individual and family care services. The study shows relatively small changes in the budget year over year, which in addition to difficulties in forecasting affects their perceived ability to take action. Conclusive, the study shows dilemmas in the individual and family care services and the difficulty of combining legal certainty and protection for the most vulnerable in our society, all while utilizing shared public resources in a responsible and appropriate manner.

Samverkan är ett mångfacetterat begrepp och kan förstås och uppfattas på många olika sätt. Därigenom syftar vår studie till att undersöka på vilket sätt barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin (BUP) och socialtjänstens individ- och familjeomsorg (IFO) samverkar, hur samverkan fungerar mellan dessa verksamheter samt på vilket sätt kan förändring och utveckling av samverkan ske mellan dessa verksamheter. Studien genomfördes utifrån semistrukturerade intervjuer med två respondenter vid BUP och två respondenter vid IFO. Resultatet visar sammantaget att samtliga respondenter tycker att samverkan fungerar bra i stort, men att det naturligtvis finns situationer där samverkan kunde fungera bättre. Vidare framkommer det att lagarna som styr deras respektive verksamheter begränsar inte deras möjlighet att samverkan. Respondenterna upplever att handlingsutrymmet i sina yrkesroller är stort och de anser inte att det begränsar samverkan. I studien framkommer det att personkemin är en av de faktorer, vilken kan vara av betydelse och kan försvåra samverkan mellan BUP och IFO. Slutsatser utifrån resultatet av studien visar att både BUP och IFO ser samverkan som en nödvändig och viktig del av det egna arbetet som utgår ifrån klientens behov. Eftersom respondenterna är relativt nöjda med hur samverkan fungerar i dagsläget har inte utvecklingen av samverkan någon hög prioritet.

Tidigare forskning har visat att kvinnor tenderar att prioritera omsorgsfrågor i högre grad än män gör. Det har även i en undersökning för perioden 1976–1997 bevisats ett samband mellan andelen kvinnor i Sveriges kommunfullmäktige och offentliga konsumtionsmönster. Nutida forskning har dock indikerat att könsskillnader bland Sveriges förtroendevalda avtagit sedan mitten på 1990-talet. Denna uppsats syftar till att vidare undersöka sambandet mellan andelen kvinnor i kommunfullmäktige och kommunernas offentliga konsumtionsmönster. Analysen baseras på data för perioden 1995–2013 och de beroende variabler som undersöks är barnomsorg samt individ- och familjeomsorg, som andel av summan av kommunens kostnader för all sin verksamhet med undantag för affärsverksamheten. Effekterna skattas med hjälp av paneldataregressioner med fixa effekter. Studien finner inga säkerställda samband mellan andelen kvinnor i kommunfullmäktige och kommunens kostnader för barnomsorg och individ- och familjeomsorg.

The purpose of this study is to examine how supervisors within individual and family care handle the area for burnout among social workers. The study also examined supervisors view on the psychosocial environment and its significance for burn-out. In this qualitative study, interviews were conducted with 7 professionals supervisor. The result show that supervisors within individual and family care have experience of burn-out among social workers. All informants point out that the occurrence of burn-out looks different for different individuals who are affected. The result also show, based on the informant’s responses, that the psychosocial work environment in the workplace has a connection with the mental illness of the employee and that in combination with each other, affect the individual's well-being. The majority of informants illustrate various challenges regarding these areas, including privacy life versus professional life in the occurrence of burn-out. The result of the study show that there is a need for more research on the subject. / Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur chefer inom individ- och familjeomsorg hanterar området för utmattningssyndrom bland socialsekreterare. Studien undersökte även chefers syn på den psykosociala arbetsmiljön och dess betydelse för utmattningssyndrom på arbetsplatsen. Till studien valdes en kvalitativ ansats där sju stycken yrkesverksamma chefer intervjuades. Resultatet visar att chefer inom individ-och familjeomsorg har erfarenheter av utmattningssyndrom bland socialsekreterare. Samtliga informanter pekar på att uppkomsten av utmattningssyndrom ser olika ut för olika individer som drabbas. Resultatet visar också, utifrån informanternas upplevelser, att den psykosociala arbetsmiljön på arbetsplatsen har ett samband med psykisk ohälsa hos medarbetaren och att dessa i kombination med varandra påverkar individens mående. Majoriteten av informanterna belyser olika utmaningar gällande dessa områden, däribland privatliv kontra yrkesliv i uppkomsten av utmattningssyndrom. Resultatet av studien visar att det finns ett behov av mer forskning kring ämnet.

The aim of this study was to investigate newly graduated social workers and soon to be graduated students of social work and their experiences regarding legal knowledge as practitioners working in individual and family care. The study was carried out with the help of a qualitative method. The material was collected through semi-structured interviews with social workers working in different areas such as child and family-care, financial assistance and addiction-intervention care. The interviewees presented their experiences of differences and gaps, confidence in their own legal knowledge, the inevitable possibility to interpret, time during education, further development of legal knowledge, and promotional and inhibiting factors for learning. The theory being used is Aristotle's theory of knowledge and its further development of Kant and Ryle. The study consistently contains a professional-theoretical perspective. In addition, previous research has been used to link the results with both the theoretical perspective and the interviewees' statements. The result shows that there is a difference and a gap between studies and working life and that a large part of the legal knowledge comes from the work. The majority considered that they had acquired basic legal knowledge from their education but they wanted more in-depth knowledge. They also considered that the work as a social worker is complex, as the different areas within the law they work with leave a great deal of room for individual interpretations. Half of all interviewees also described a need for further development. A large part of previous research correlates with what emerged from the study's results. According to the interviewees, a large part of their knowledge derives from practical experience while there is an imminent desire to combine the practice with the theory. / Studiens syfte var att undersöka nyexaminerade socionomers och snart utexaminerade socionomstudenters upplevelser av sina juridiska kunskaper som myndighetsutövare inom området individ- och familjeomsorg. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod och materialet samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare som arbetade inom områdena barn- och familj, ekonomiskt bistånd samt missbruk. Intervjupersonerna återgav sina erfarenheter av skillnader och glapp, förtroendet till den egna juridiska kunskapsnivån, det oundvikliga tolkningsutrymmet – en utmaning, tiden på socionomprogrammet, vidareutveckling av juridiska kunskaper samt främjande och hämmande faktorer för inlärning. Den teori som har använts är Aristoteles kunskapsteori samt dess vidareutveckling av Kant och Ryle. Studien innehåller genomgående ett professionsteoretiskt perspektiv. Därtill har tidigare forskning använts för att knyta samman resultatet med både teorin och intervjupersonernas utsagor. I resultatet framgår det att det finns en skillnad och ett glapp mellan studier och arbetsliv och att en stor del av den juridiska kunskapen kommer från arbetet. Majoriteten ansåg att de fått med sig grundläggande juridiska kunskaper från socionomprogrammet men att de önskat mer fördjupning. De ansåg även att arbetet som socialsekreterare är komplext då lagtexterna de arbetar med lämnar ett stort utrymme för individuella tolkningar. Hälften av alla intervjupersoner beskrev därtill ett behov av vidareutveckling. En stor del av tidigare forskning korrelerar med det som framkom i studiens resultat. Enligt intervjupersonerna härstammar en stor del av deras kunskaper ifrån praktiska erfarenheter och det finns ett överhängande önskemål om att kombinera praktiken med teorin.

The aim of this study is to describe and analyze how social workers experiences internal collaboration within child and welfare social services and how social workers describe the forms of internal collaboration in their practical work. The study is based on seven semi-structured interviews in seven municipalities with social workers, from three units within child and welfare social services. The collected empirical material were analyzed with theoretical concept discretion, cooperation theory and former research. The results of the study shows that social workers primarily have a positive attitude towards internal collaboration, due to the fact that clients with complex problems are in need of support from various social workers from different units. Furthermore the study found that social workers ordinarily use two different methods when collaborating: informal collaboration and formalized collaboration. Moreover social workers express a variety of obstacles in collabortation with other untis, such as lack of knowledge about each other´s duties, confidentiality and lack of time. It also shows that geographical nearness, good relationships and knowledge are important components for serviceable collaboration. Finally, the study results shows that internal cooperation in child and welfare social services is a necessary working method in order for social workers to be able to meet the needs of clients with complex problems.

Mellanchefer inom socialtjänstens sektion för barn och unga arbetar i en motstridig organisation. Mellancheferna blir länken som fogar samman politiskt fattade beslut med förvaltningens krav och förväntningar, personalgruppens behov och klienternas rätt till hjälp och stöd. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur mellanchefernas ledarskap skapas utifrån de förutsättningar som ges och den komplexitet som rollen innebär. Sex kvalitativa intervjuer med mellanchefer inom sektionen för barn och unga i fem mellanstora kommuner har genomförts. Genom att undersöka hur mellancheferna navigerar mellan domänerna politik, förvaltning och profession och med hjälp av begreppet parallellprocesser kan mekanismer som utgör viktiga faktorer för ledarskapandet synliggöras. Tydligt är att socionomernas starka professionsidentitet präglar ledarskapet i alla led och att prioriteringar och val många gånger motiveras mot bakgrund av den starka professionstillhörigheten. Resultatet visar också att mellancheferna i studien främst ser sig som socionomer och identifierar sig mer med sin profession än med sin funktion som chef. Professionsidentifikationen utgör många gånger en legitimerande grund för hur ledarskapet bedrivs i sin operativa form. / Middle-managers leaders in the social services´ department for children and young people work in a conflicting organisation. These middle-managers become the link which joins together political decisions with requirements and expectations from the management, the needs of personnel and the clients´ right to aid and support. The aim of this study has been to investigate how middle-management leadership is created within given conditions and the complexity that their role entails. Six qualitative interviews with middle- managers in the department for children and young people in five intermediate municipalities have been realized. By investigating how these middle-managers navigate between the political, management and professional domains and, with the aid of the concept of parallel processes, mechanisms, which can constitute important factors for leadership, have been made visible. It is clear that the professions identity of social workers influence their leadership at all levels and that priorities and choices are often motivated because of this strong professions identity. The result also shows that the middle-managers in this study regard themselves as social workers and identify themselves more with their profession than with their function as managers. Professions identification often constitutes a legitimizing basis for how leadership is conducted in its operative form.