The focus of this thesis is on social workers’ knowledge in assessing and making decisions in child welfare cases. The primary aim is to identify what skills or knowledge social workers find most useful within child welfare agencies in Swedish municipalities. Six different types of knowledge, social policy and the approach of child welfare cases are perspectives considered in the analysis. The interviews with social workers were held in three agencies in southern Sweden, in 2014. Main results: social workers’ think it is very important to have different kinds of knowledge and skills in order to perform such professional work as possible. They value peer support where they can exchange experiences and knowledge with each other. The importance to specialize after the bachelor’s degree in social work was also revealed in the results, due to the social work supplementary course only represented undergraduate studies. The approach of child welfare cases it was found that there are many different ways to manage them, but the main thing is to manage the cases with great respect and always strive to apply volunteer efforts where it’s possible. Another point is the political importance which we not counted on.

Background/aim: The purpose of this sociological study "Genus in the Child's Best Interest" was to, from the Administrative Court's decree about the child's own behavior, further clarify the concept of the child's best interest by studying how the concept is expressed in decrees with focus on genus. Theory: Three genus theories, to compare girls and boys, Mary John's power theory, the grown ups definition of what the reality is and what it should contain, and a labeling theory, where the people with power are the ones to define what's normal and what's not, have been used to analyze the result in this study. Method: A content analyses was used to analyze the decrees, with the focus on girls and boys between the ages of 12 to 19, where they have been forced into treatment by the law. Result: The concept of a child's best interest does make a difference between girls and boys in the decrees, and the girls have more power because they have more room to express themselves and are less responsible for their thoughts and actions. The concept is possible to use, but the definition is subjective and could be colored by the societies values and norms.

Background/aim: The purpose of this sociological study "Genus in the Child's Best Interest" was to, from the Administrative Court's decree about the child's own behavior, further clarify the concept of the child's best interest by studying how the concept is expressed in decrees with focus on genus. Theory: Three genus theories, to compare girls and boys, Mary John's power theory, the grown ups definition of what the reality is and what it should contain, and a labeling theory, where the people with power are the ones to define what's normal and what's not, have been used to analyze the result in this study. Method: A content analyses was used to analyze the decrees, with the focus on girls and boys between the ages of 12 to 19, where they have been forced into treatment by the law. Result: The concept of a child's best interest does make a difference between girls and boys in the decrees, and the girls have more power because they have more room to express themselves and are less responsible for their thoughts and actions. The concept is possible to use, but the definition is subjective and could be colored by the societies values and norms.