This study explores how the Social Services work with the issue of adolescents using drugs or are at the beginning of a drug abuse and how the professionals view that work. This study is highly based on the real-life experience of professionals and them valuing the profession that they in. A qualitative research method was used to go into the depth of people's feelings and knowledge and therefore got us a better understanding. Semi-structured interviews with open questions was used to create a secure and comfortable place to open up for a good conversation. We have used two different theories,  Labelling Theory and Social Learning Theories in this study to help explain the findings from research and interviews. In the results and analysis, we found four interesting themes that were prominent during the interviews, these were: social exclusion, mental illness, Attitudes towards drugs and preventive work. The themes will be explained and further developed in the analysis which was done through an un-official method with influences such as coding and thematising from the content analysis method. The results of the study showed the importance, but unfortunate lack, of preventive work by the Social Services. Keywords: Social Services, Adolescents, Drugs, Preventive Work

Studiens syfte är att få en fördjupad kunskap om hur socialtjänsten i Dalarna informerar barn och unga om sina verksamheter via webben. En kombination av kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod har använts och data har samlats in med hjälp av en innehållsanalys av samtliga dalakommuners webbaserade information. Data som samlats in har analyserats med hjälp av barnperspektivet samt teorier kring strategisk kommunikation. Av resultatet har framkommit att det utifrån ett barnperspektiv råder stora brister i kommunernas webbaserade information samt att kommunerna inte tycks ha några strategier för hur kommunikationen med barn och ungdomar bör ske. Av resultaten framkommer även att rådande lagstiftning samt FNs konvention om barnets rättigheter inte tas hänsyn till. / The purpose of this study is to reach an understanding about how the social services in Dalarna are informing children and youths about their functions and services through the Internet. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods has been used and data has been collected through content analysis of all web sites of Dalarnas counties. The data that has been collected has been analyzed from a child perspective and through theories of strategic communication. The results have disclosed that there from a child perspective are many faults in the web based information provided by the counties and it seems like they do not have any strategies for how communication with children and youths should be handled. The result also reveals that current law and the UN conventions on the rights of the child are not taken into consideration.

It is of primary concern, both from the perspective of the individual and of society at large, to take measures to prevent the occurrence of a negative development amongst young people. The starting point of this dissertation is the notion that interpersonal interactions that occur between people contribute to a process of learning, thus focus is placed upon the pedagogic interactions between society's authorities and young people in trouble. How such interactions contribute to the process of learning regarding the young people, and what that learning entails, is seen as a vital pedagogic question. The overriding aim of the dissertation is to identify aspects of learning that occur during the interactions between society's authorities and young people in trouble, in order to contribute to an understanding of how such interactions can be developed in a constructive manner. The thesis is based on the theories of man as a social being, dependent on relationships and interaction for the process of knowledge. The empirical study includes interviews with teachers, social workers, police officers and young people. Vignettes have formed the basis of discussions about the measures and initiatives taken by society and the types of experience the young people feel the measures and initiatives have led to. Since an element of authority is a component of the relationship between the representatives of society and the young people, the concept of governmentality formulated by Foucault has been used in the process of analysis. Also von Wright's concepts of punctual and relational perspective have been used in this process. The purpose of this study is to attempt to determine what consequences the various perspectives taken in the interactions may lead to, in relation to the knowledge these young people develop about themselves and about society. The result shows that society's representatives among themselves have different views of young people in trouble. Young people's experiences of interactions with society's representatives argue for the fact that their backgrounds often direct the course of the interaction and its contents. Young people testify about irrelevant measures and initiatives taken by society; that they are subject to prejudice and that the principle of "equality before the law" is not observed. Their experience has led them to feel that they have less of human dignity. The dissertation ends up in a discussion about the prerequisites necessary, in order that pedagogic interactions between a person in authority and young people in difficulties may proceed from a relational perspective. The ability to take the young person's perspective would thereby be a central aspect in the discussion about what measures and initiatives taken by society are appropriate to change a troubled lifestyle.

The aim of this thesis is to deepen the understanding about the function of control in the inspection process and to increase the knowledge about the legitimacy and impact from inspection on different types of social and welfare services. In the thesis the form and legitimacy of the inspection process are studied in two types of social services in Sweden: a less complex service where the task to investigate and make decisions about social care dominates (IAD), and a more complex service where the task to provide treatment interventions dominates (TI). The data consists of policy documents, inspection reports, casefile documentation, and interviews with inspectors, politicians, managers and social workers. The inspection process is discussed in relation to theories about control systems and legitimacy processes. Inspection is a policy instrument whose standards are derived from legislations and where those subject to the inspection are obliged to meet the demands made by the inspectorates. This form of disciplinary control has been questioned given that its complexity makes it hard to regulate the practice of social work through detailed rules. By including a less disciplinary form of control the instrument’s ability to impact on more complex aspects of social services are expected to increase. The results show a difference in how the inspection process is set up in the two types of services. In the IAD services the process takes the form of a disciplinary control system, whereas the process in TI services initially takes the form of a non-disciplinary system. In spite of the differences observed in the initial stages of the process, the results show that the judgments of inspectors in both types of services are almost exclusively based on information about concrete and detailed aspects. This entails that the judgements of inspectors in both types of services mostly take the form of statements on simple observable and concrete conditions, whereas judgments about more complex aspects are rarely made. The study also shows that although the propriety and relevance of the inspectors’ judgements are questioned more in TI organisations inspections seem to have greater validity and impact on TI than on IAD organisations. The results of the thesis point to two explanations. One explanation is that the costs of dealing with the problems underlying the identified deficiencies are lower for TI than IAD organisations. This in turn leads to greater acceptance of carrying out the proposed measures in TI than in IAD organisations. Another possible explanation is that the potential sanctions are greater for TI than IAD organisations.

This research addresses the concern that Anglophone populations in the predominantly French speaking Gaspé region of eastern Québec are experiencing high rates of social problems such as poverty and unemployment. Anglophones in this region, as in other rural regions of Québec, have identified facing difficulties related to access to social services, an aspect which further complicates existing social problems. Using a narrative methodology and post structural, feminist and intersectional lenses, this research explores the experiences of English speaking service users in accessing and engaging with social services on the Gaspé coast. This study also explores the boundaries and reproduction of linguistic categories and identity and offers insight into resisting dominant discourses pertaining to linguistic difference in Québec, specifically within the context of social services. The results of this research demonstrate that service users’ experiences were characterised by disproportionately negative effects in regards to service access and delivery such as intensified logistical problems and social work practice related weaknesses. The research also concludes that experiences involved multiple, intersecting problems, which were irreducible to the singular dimension of language. The intersections of language and race, language and class, and language and ability were raised as critical concerns in terms of access to social services on the Gaspé coast. Finally, the encounters between Anglophones and Francophones in the context of health and social services in the region were found to be entangled and inseparable from the historical and ongoing political struggles over language on this territory. / Graduate

This thesis focuses on the role of the Church of Scotland's Board of Social Responsibility in the development and implementation of social work policy in Scotland. The thesis deploys a case study methodology and interpretive research methods to generate understanding of the Board of Social Responsibility and its intended purpose as a service-providing voluntary organisation. Links between the Board of Social Responsibility and significant social work policy developments are identified to determine the changing influence of both local authorities and central government upon the scope of voluntary social work service provision. The thesis identifies a process of incremental social work policy development in Scotland that has operated to encourage the contribution of service-providing voluntary organisations. The Board of Social Responsibility is identified as having operated as Scotland's largest voluntary provider of social work services throughout the period under review and to have implemented a changing pattern of social work service provision: first shifting from an innovative to a traditional model of participation, returning to an innovative model, and then, finally, shifting towards a developmental model of participation. The source of this changing pattern of participation is identified as individual agency allied. to interpretations of the organisation's faith-based ethos. The significant role of the Board of Social Responsibility in the development and implementation of social work policy in Scotland is established as that of provider of a range of replicative, alternative social work services. This role is related to Scotland's wider voluntary sector to establish that views of social work policy development existing within the Board of Social Responsibility are not indicative of views existing within other voluntary organisations. The Board of Social Responsibility's particular pattern of participation is also recognised to be distinctive. Ultimately the thesis finds that the approving model of governance adopted by the Board of Social Responsibility's higher-order collectives means the Church of Scotland has not exerted a significant influence upon the policy environment that has grown to control and regulate the social work undertaken by service-providing voluntary organisations operating in Scotland between 1948 and 2000.

This thesis explores state-society relations in China by focusing on the interactions between grassroots NGOs and local government departments. It presents the notion of positive-sum reciprocal engagement as one form of relationship that can emerge between the state and social organizations. Such engagement can be characterized as a dynamic and interactive process implying proximity, communication, joint action, mutual influence, mutual benefit and mutual empowerment, resulting in added value for society. Drawing on fieldwork carried out in six rural or semi-rural Chinese localities, including interviews and questionnaires with local government departments and indigenous grassroots NGOs, this study seeks to identify the conditions under which positive-sum reciprocal engagement is likely to emerge. It finds that the presence of reformist officials, the strengthening of NGO capacity in framing issues to open social spaces and to engage in effective action while communicating the results of such action are particularly important to establishment of reciprocal engagement. Significant structural or contextual factors include positive associational experience and openness in the locality. This study also explores the extent to which grassroots NGOs are able to affect the formulation and implementation of policy at the local level, and finds policy influence to be one of the significant outcomes of positive-sum reciprocal engagement. One mechanism through which policy influence occurs is in the context of a mass-line model of communication, in which NGOs participate in discourses on social issues and act as channels for the conveyance of policy information and suggestions. Grassroots NGOs are also able to model innovations and contribute to policy formulation and reform in carrying out concrete programs, which is made possible by an environment characterized by policy flexibility and amenable to experimental points.

This study examined the perceptions and behaviors of clergy and faith-based social service practitioners within the African-American faith community, in relationship to HIV/AIDS education and prevention. This study employed a descriptive exploratory design, utilizing quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the secured data. The independent variables were clergy and faith-based social service practitioners. The three dependent variables were identified as perceptions (composed of health beliefs, attitudes, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control), intended behavior and actual behavior regarding HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Findings revealed a lack of significant difference in the perceptions of clergy and church workers regarding HIV/ AIDS education and prevention. However, there was a statistically significant difference in their intended and actual behaviors to provide HIV/AIDS information to various age groups in the church community.

The purpose of this study is to examine collaboration between social services and secondary education in a municipality in Sweden regarding adolescents diagnosed with ADHD. Swedish legislative texts stipulate that authorities working with adolescents should collaborate in matters relating to children in risk of harm. Earlier research shows that children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD often behave contrary to how students are expected to behave in the classroom, that they may need support from social services, and that they rarely get such support to manage their education. The method used in this study was qualitative and the empirical data were obtained through semi structured interviews. Eight respondents participated in total, four social workers and four school counsellors. The results were analysed using profession theory and collaboration theory. The results show that the two professions both have a positive attitude towards collaboration, but that it rarely happens and when it does it feels unstructured and irregular, particularly for the social workers. Almost none of the respondents had any experience of working with students in secondary education diagnosed with ADHD, and instead spoke generally about their experience of collaboration. There seems to be a gap between the tendency to direct efforts, both divided and conjoined, to adolescents in an educational setting after they move on from elementary school.

The thesis offers and systematizes the knowledge of the social services provided by the Law Digest, number 108/2006. This thesis is focused primarily on the most significant conceptual changes. In particular, the provision of new social benefits - care allowance, contract for the provision of social services, registration of providers, social services inspection, defining of required qualified assumptions for the work in social services and, of course, financing the entire region. Main shortcomings of these institutes are solved separately. Of the many services offered the thesis deals with one particular - personal assistance, its treatment in the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. The thesis brings information concerning the non-profit organizations, primarily because they belong to one of the leading providers of social services.