Fler länder har under Covid-19-pandemin rapporterat att deras restriktioner har inneburit en ökning av våld i nära relation. I Sverige har socialtjänsten det yttersta ansvaret att erbjuda stöd och hjälp till en våldsutsatt kvinna. Under pandemin förväntas socialtjänsten att ge ett likartat stöd som innan pandemin trots de uppmaningar och restriktioner som utfärdats. Syftet med denna studie är således att undersöka hur socialsekreterare upplever sitt arbete med kvinnor som utsätts för våld i nära relation under rådande pandemi. Studien är baserad på material från åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare från olika kommuner i Sverige. Michael Lipskys (2010) teori om gatubyråkrati används för att undersöka och förstå socialsekreterarnas handlingsutrymme i relation till den våldsutsatta kvinnan under rådande pandemi. Vidare används Randall Collins (2004) teori om interaktionsritualer för att förstå sammanhanget som studiens socialsekreterare och de våldsutsatta kvinnorna befinner sig. Studiens resultat visar att socialsekreterarnas arbete karaktäriseras av flera aspekter, bland annat av den betydelse som motivations- och informationsarbetet har för att etablera en första kontakt med den våldsutsatta kvinnan samt hur en hög grad av handlingsutrymme krävs för att både kunna ge rätt stöd och upprätthålla en interaktionsritual med klienten. Covid-19-pandemin har förändrat socialsekreterarnas arbete genom att de inte längre kan ha fysiska möten i samma utsträckning som tidigare, vilket visar sig vara en förlust i deras yrkesroll. / Several countries have reported an increase in intimate partner violence during the Covid-19 pandemic due to their restricted measures to control the spread of the virus. In Sweden, the social services have the responsibility to offer services in the form of support and help to a woman subjected to intimate partner violence. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the social services are expected to provide similar services as before the pandemic, despite the issued exhortation and restrictions. The purpose of this study is to examine how social workers experience their work with women who are subjected to intimate partner violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study is based on data from eight semi-structured interviews with social workers from different municipalities in Sweden. Michael Lipsky’s (2010) theory about street-level bureaucracy is used to examine and understand the social workers’ discretion in relation to the abused women during the current pandemic. Furthermore, Randal Collins’ (2004) theory about interaction rituals is used to understand the context in which the social workers in this study and the abused women find themselves.  The results of the study show that the work of social workers is characterized by several aspects, including the importance of motivational and information work to establish a first contact with the abused woman and how a high degree of room for maneuver is required to both provide the right support and maintain an interaction ritual with the client. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the work of social workers in that they can no longer have physical encounters to the same extent as before, proving to be a loss in their professional role.

Ungefär 20 000 barn är familjehemsplacerade i Sverige. Att bli placerad i ett familjehem och ryckas upp samt separeras från sin hemmiljö kan påverka ett barns anknytningsmönster. Teorin om anknytning påvisar vikten av att barn skapar sig trygga anknytningsmönster vilket leder till ökade möjligheter för fortsatt god utveckling. Den här studien har haft som syfte att få en fördjupad förståelse för hur socialsekreterare beskriver anknytning i förhållande till familjehemsplacerade barn mellan 0-3 år. Med stöd av en fenomenologisk studie har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts för att få en djupare förståelse av socialsekreterares syn på anknytning och hur kunskapen om den tillämpas vid familjehemsplaceringar. Studien har påvisat att olika definitioner används, olika förhållningssätt tillämpas och att anknytning som begrepp inte tydligt praktiseras vid familjehemsplaceringar. Slutsatsen med studien är att anknytningen är viktig, speciellt i förhållande till familjehemsplaceringar. Det krävs fortfarande mer forskning och kunskap inom anknytningsteorin i förhållande till familjehemsplaceringar då kunskaperna om teorin kan vara bristande. / Approximately 20 000 children are placed in foster homes in Sweden. Being placed in a foster home and separated from their biological family and environment can affect a child's attachment pattern. The attachment theory demonstrates the importance of secure attachment patterns in children leading to increased opportunities for a healthy development. The purpose of this study is to achieve a deeper understanding of how the social secretary views attachment in relation to children between 0-3 years old placed in foster homes. In order to achieve a deeper understanding of how the social secretary views attachment, and how this knowledge is being applied when placing a child in foster care, I have made a phenomenological study using semi-structured interview. The study has shown that the social secretary's view of attachment varies and the term attachment is not being routinely practiced when placing a child in a foster home. The conclusion of the study is that the attachment theory is important especially when placing a child in foster home.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine whether and, if so, how the child perspective forms a basis for the social workers work with young people/children who are exposed to honour-related violence/abuse. The following questions are specified; how do social workers describe their work with honour- related violence and oppression? How can the choices the social workers makes in the work with honour-related violence against children be understood in relation to the child perspective? Method: The study is based on six qualitative semi-structured interviews with social workers at the social services. The results in this study have been analyzed with the help of theory childhood sociology and previous research. Result: The study results show that all interviewees experienced difficulties in the work of handling different cases. Among other things, they considered that with the information they receive, it is difficult to make a correct risk assessment. Interviewees experienced difficulties in the individuals changing their stories. The study also shows that the social workers try to help children become involved in issues that concern them and that they take into account the child's perspective and the child's best interests.

The aim of this study is to, from a profession’s perspective, inquire into emotions and emotional labor for social workers who work with women who are subjected to men’s violence in intimate relationships. Through this we have developed knowledge concerning the work conditions for social workers working with violence in intimate relationships. This study is based on interviews with six social workers in one municipality by a semi-structured method. By the material we got from interviewing we did an analysis of this together with previous studies and also by two theoretical frameworks; Emotional labor by Hochschild and Coping strategies by Lazarus and Folkman. The analysis proves that social workers who work with women who are subjected to men’s violence in intimate relationships get emotionally affected by the work and need to handle these different kinds of emotions with several strategies. The analysis also proves that emotional labor and using coping strategies is one of the social workers daily work tasks. Emotions, emotional labor, and coping strategies therefore influence the prerequisites as a whole within social work as a profession as these work assignments many times come as both invisible, non-qualifying and also, even at times, without paid salary.

The study examines in what way social workers who handle financial assistance experience the impact of theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge in treatment of clients with neuropsychiatric disabilities. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate what opportunities and limitations there are for acquiring this knowledge. The study is based on an inductive approach where nine social workers were interviewed through qualitative semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis has been applied as the analysis method of the study where two main categories were identified: Theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge are significant for a more favorable treatment of clients with neuropsychiatric disabilities and Theoretical and practical knowledge becomes personal. Furthermore, the results have been analyzed on the basis of previous research combined with the study's theoretical starting point: theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge, with inspiration from the theory of knowledge. The results of the study show that theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge can enable a more favorable treatment of clients with neuropsychiatric disabilities. The results also indicate that the practical knowledge is attributed to greater significance than what the theoretical knowledge is emphasized to do. Furthermore, the study results demonstrate that the social workers’ knowledge acquisition will be limited based on whether the organization provides education, methods, guidance or the opportunity to read at the workplace. The social workers’ opportunities for acquiring knowledge thus become dependent on the professional's own interest and experiences, and the knowledge can thus be thought to be personal. / Studien undersöker hur socialsekreterare som handlägger ekonomiskt bistånd upplever att teoretisk respektive praktisk kunskap kan ha för betydelse vid bemötandet av klienter med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar (NPF). Vidare syftar studien till att undersöka vilka möjligheter och begränsningar det finns för att inhämta denna kunskap. Studien utgår ifrån en induktiv ansats där nio socialsekreterare intervjuades genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer. I studien har kvalitativ innehållsanalys applicerats som analysmetod där två huvudkategorier har identifierats: Teoretisk kunskap samt praktisk kunskap har betydelse för ett mer fördelaktigt bemötande av klienter med NPF och Teoretisk kunskap samt praktisk kunskap blir personbunden. Vidare har resultatet analyserats utifrån tidigare forskning förenat med studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt: teoretisk kunskap och praktisk kunskap, med inspiration från kunskapsteorin. Studiens resultat påvisar att teoretisk kunskap samt praktisk kunskap kan möjliggöra för ett mer fördelaktigt bemötande gentemot klienter med NPF, däremot tillskrivs den praktiska kunskapen större betydelse än vad den teoretiska kunskapen framhålls göra. Vidare indikerar studiens resultat på att socialsekreterarnas kunskapsinhämtning blir begränsad utifrån om organisationen tillhandahåller utbildning, metoder, handledning eller möjlighet till lästid på arbetsplatsen. Socialsekreterarnas möjligheter för kunskapsinhämtning blir därmed beroende av den professionellas eget intresse och egna erfarenheter, och kunskapen kan därmed tänkas bli personbunden.

Studien syftade till att undersöka hur socialsekreterare arbetade med barns delaktighet i socialtjänstens barnavårdsutredningar samt hur covid-19-pandemin påverkade detta. Kvalitativa intervjuer hölls med åtta socialsekreterare om deras erfarenheter av utredande arbete med barn innan och under covid-19-pandemin. Socialsekreterarna visade stort en­gagemang för barns delaktighet, men det framkom att delaktigheten främst handlade om att inhämta information från barn om deras situation. Resultatet visade att pandemin har haft negativ påverkan på barns möjligheter till delaktighet. Socialsekreterarnas handlings­utrymme påverkades i varierande grad beroende på verksamhetens förhållningssätt till riktlinjer och restrik­tioner. Det framkom stora skillnader mellan hur socialsekreterare har träffat och inkluderat barn både innan och under covid-19-pandemin. Av resultatet att döma var arbetet med barns delaktighet en utmaning sedan tidigare, men det har ställts på sin spets under covid-19-pandemin. För barn kunde situationen liknas vid ett lotteri för i vilken utsträckning de gjordes delaktiga, utifrån den socialsekreterare de tilldelats. / The aim of this qualitative study was to examine how social workers at child welfare agencies implemented the principle of children's right to participation in child protection investigations and how the covid-19-pandemic has affected it. Eight social workers were interviewed on their experiences before and during the covid-19-pandemic. The social workers showed much interest in children’s participation, but findings showed they mostly thought of it as acquiring information from children. The study found that the covid-19-pandemic had a negative effect on the possibilities of participation. Experiences of how the covid-19-pandemic affected discretion and relative autonomy differed between the social workers. Notable differences emerged regarding how they met and included children in investigations both before and during the covid-19-pandemic. The challenges of implementing children’s right to participation seems to persist. The situa­tion appeared much like a lottery, where children’s level of participation greatly depended on which social worker they were assigned.

Previous research on the social services' work with honour-related issues has shown that knowledge is limited and poorly recognized among professionals when exercising official authority. This has led to many consequences including misjudgement in cases regarding victims of honour-based violence. The aim of this study has been to investigate social workers' conceptions of working with young women who are exposed to honour-related violence. Five semi-structured interviews with social workers in one of Stockholm's west district administrations, were conducted and the subsequent data has been analysed using a thematic content analysis. Results show that social workers' perception of honour-related violence is affected by their preconceived notions. The difficulties in their work have primarily been in the complexity of the problem, more specifically in maintaining relationships with the young women and to involve the family in transformation work. The results of the study on social workers' notions of honour-related violence and oppression have shown that the phenomenon is associated with cultural customs. It is concluded that a prerequisite for social workers in the investigation process and during the transformation work is a good relationship with the victim and other parties involved. / Enligt tidigare forskning om socialtjänstens arbete med hedersrelaterade frågor har det visat att kunskaperna är begränsade och dåligt erkända bland yrkesverksamma vid myndighetsutövning. Detta har lett till konsekvenser såsom felbedömningar i ärenden för offer som utsatts för hedersrelaterat våld. Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka socialsekreterares föreställningar om att arbeta med unga kvinnor som är utsatta för hedersrelaterat våld. Insamlingen av empiri har gjorts genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare vid en av västra Stockholms stadsdelsförvaltningar och data har analyserats ur en tematisk innehållsanalys. Vidare har de huvudsakliga resultaten visat att socialsekreterares föreställningar om hedersrelaterat våld påverkats av deras förutfattade meningar. Svårigheterna i arbetet har bestått av problemets komplexitet och att involvera familjen i förändringsarbetet. Slutsatserna i studien kring socialsekreterares föreställningar av hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck har visat att fenomenet är förknippat till kulturella sedvänjor. En förutsättning för socialsekreterare i utredningsprocessen och under förändringsarbetet är en god relation till den våldsutsatta samt andra involverade parter.

Föreliggande arbete kommer att behandla problemet barnfattigdom, vi kommer att belysa problemet genom att se på hur barnkonventionen format beslutsfattandet av ekonomiskt bistånd. Syftet med uppsatsen är titta på hur socialsekreterares handlingsutrymme har formats sedan barnkonventionen blivit svensk lag 1 januari 2020. De centrala frågeställningarna vi vill besvara är för det första hur använder socialsekreterare det relativt nyförvärvade handlingsutrymmet, för det andra har socialsekreterarnas handlingsutrymme formats för att möjliggöra bedömningar utifrån tillämpningen av barnperspektivet? För det tredje har barnkonventionen nått en handlingsmässig tyngd i det arbete som en socialsekreterare på ekonomiskt bistånd utför i ärenden som rör barn? Resultatet visar att socialsekreterarnas handlingsutrymme har förändrats genom att de kan bevilja ekonomiskt bistånd utifrån barnkonventionen men också att handlingsutrymmet är begränsat utifrån organisationens riktlinjer och att professionens ansvar läggs över på föräldrarna. Handlingsutrymmets förändring ligger också på den yrkeserfarenhet och kunskapen en socialsekreterare har. Resultatet visar också att barnkonventionen inte har nått en riktigt handlingsmässig tyngd för att den inte tillämpats tillräckligt i handlingsutrymmets olika delar. Arbetets resultat visar på en önskan om tydligare riktlinjer och en konkretisering av barnkonventionen som verktyg för att beslut om ekonomiskt bistånd ska vara kunna tas som den kräver. / The present work will address the problem of child poverty. We will discuss the problem by looking at how the Convention on the Rights of the Child is shaped by the decisions on financial assistance. The purpose of the essay is to look at how the discretion of social workers has been shaped since the Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law on the 1st of January 2020. The key questions we want to answer are firstly how social workers use the relatively newly acquired discretion found in the convention, in the practice of using a child perspective? Thirdly, has the Convention on the Rights of the Child reached a weight of action in the work carried out by a social worker in financial assistance in matters concerning children? The results show that the social worker’s use of discretion has changed in a way in which they can grant financial assistance based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. But also, that the discretion is limited based on the guidelines of the organization and that the responsibility is transferred to parents rather than onto the responsibility of the professional. The change in the discretion is also based on the professional experience and the knowledge a social worker has. The results also show that the Convention on the Rights of the Child has not reached a real weight of action because it is not yet applied sufficiently in the various parts that make up the discretion of a social worker. The results of the paper show a desire for clearer guidelines and a concretization of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as a tool for decisions on financial assistance. This is required if we are to use the convention to the extent it needs.

Previous research has focused on honor as a phenomenon, but has had less focus on socialservices work against honor-related matters. The purpose of this study is to analyze howsocial workers in the social services experience handling honor-related violence andoppression and what they find challenging and difficult. The study was conducted with thehelp of interviews with social workers. To gain a deeper understanding of the subject, wehave also used previous research, articles and reports on the topic in question. Due to theongoing pandemic with Covid-19, all interviews were conducted via video calls using Zoom. The result of this study shows that there are several types of difficulties in working withhonor related issues. Social workers highlight that there is a risk of discriminating againstsomeone based on, for example, ethnicity and how it can difficult to work from a familyperspective. It has also been emphasized both in previous research and in the interviews thathonor violence is not equated with domestic violence, it requires a deeper comprehension.This study also concludes that there is a need for further research regarding howhonor-related matters are to be handled by social service, as well for the development ofrelevant interventions. The results are analyzed using relevant theories; intersectional perspective, systems theoryand psychodynamic theory.

Motivational interviewing is a widely used psychosocial intervention, both in general and more specifically in Swedish social services. It was developed within the substance abuse field and has later been adapted to many other fields, for example domestic violence. Up to this point there has been some research about MI in this context, but there is a lack of knowledge about how social workers working with domestic violence use and perceive the method in their practical work. This qualitative interview study explores seven Swedish social workers’ perception of this within the theory of affordances. The results have been thematically analyzed and shows that MI is viewed as a flexible, versatile and useful method within domestic violence. The results also show three themes which are called The learning process of MI as an affordance in itself, MI as a useful method in the work with domestic violence and MI applied partially in relation to contextual circumstances. The results further implicate more extensive future studies with a quantitative approach.