Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur unga vuxna (18–35 år) som tidigare har varit placerade inom familjehem, stödboende eller HVB, har erfarit sin övergång mot vuxenlivet, när placeringen upphört. Studien är kvalitativ och sex semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes. Tidigare forskning inom området har använts som kunskapsgrund för att stärka studiens tillförlitlighet. Denna studie tyder på liknande resultat som forskningen, att tidigare placerade unga saknade delvis stöd och delaktighet i sin utslussningsprocess och i övergången mot vuxenlivet. Empowerment och KASAM ligger som teoretisk grund i studien.En tematisk analys ledde fram till två centrala teman: Vikten av sociala hållbara relationer och, känsla av maktlöshet och brist på stöd. Hållbara sociala relationer var av vikt utifrån teorierna då kontinuitet och trygga relationer kunde stärka ungdomarnas egenmakt och förmåga att ta egna beslut samt göra övergången begriplig, hanterbar och meningsfull. Brister som identifierades var att en del av ungdomarna uppgav att de blev helt ”släppta” när de lämnade sin placering och inte fick något stöd efter det att de fyllt 18 år, vilket gjorde dem sårbara. Slutsatsen visar att det krävs en förändring i form av skärpta riktlinjer kring eftervården och uppföljningsansvar efter ungdomar har avslutat sin placering. / The purpose of the study was to investigate how young adults (18–35 years) that hadpreviously been placed in foster care, supported housing or HVB, have experienced their transition towards adulthood, when the placement has ended. The study is qualitative and six semi-structured interviews were conducted. Previous research has been used to strengthen the study and indicates that previously placed youths lacked support and participation in their aftercare and transition towards adulthood. Empowerment and KASAM form the theoretical basis of the study. A Thematic Analysis led the study to identify two themes: The importance of sustainable social relationships and, Feeling of powerlessness and deficiencies in support. Sustainable social relationships were important as continuity and secure relationships could strengthen young people's empowerment, ability to make their own decisions and make the transition understandable, manageable, and meaningful. Deficienciesthat were identified were that some of the informants were "let go" when they left their placement and did not receive any support after they turned 18, which made them vulnerable. Furthermore, the results indicate that a change is required in the form of stricter guidelines regarding aftercare and follow-up responsibility.

The heightened life expectancy in Sweden along with older peoples increased alcohol consumption means that the group of elderly with alcohol abuse problems is growing. The responsibility of this specific group is a shared responsibility between the Swedish healthcare system and social services. This paper will focus on the intersection of social services; as the concerned group is a matter both for the elderly care unit, as well as the substance abuse unit. The purpose of this study is to examine what the scientific literature gathers on the subject, in order to distinguish whether the construction of the elderly affects social work and the selection of social services. The method used for this study is a literature review with a qualitative approach. The results were coded and are presented in a thematized manner. The results of this study show a need for services tailored to the concerned group. The study finds that there is a divided view on the mission of the elder care unit and the need for more detailed guidelines in the daily work with elderly with substance abuse problems. The substance abuse unit seems to be working less actively with the older population and collaboration between the two social service units is found to be flawed. Institutions are found not to be adapted to the needs of an older person with substance abuse problems. The results are analyzed in the discussion through the lens of the life course perspective in combination with ageism theory. Through the theories it is argued that the homogenization of the elderly group affects which services are made available and how the quality of existing services is affected by current age norms. Lastly the topic of self-determination and motivation is discussed, specifically in relation to hybrid homes directed at elderly with long term substance abuse problems.

Denna studie undersökte samarbetet mellan tandvård och socialtjänst i att identifiera barn som utsatts för våld. Syftet med studien var att identifiera hinder, utmaningar och möjligheter för förbättringar i samarbetet. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med fyra tandvårdspersonal, två socialtjänstarbetare och en universitetsadjunkt som även är tandläkare med specialistutbildning. Resultatet visade fyra huvudteman: utbildning, hinder och utmaningar, dokumentation och samarbete. Respondenterna betonade vikten av utbildning om våld och samarbete mellan professionella grupper för att förbättra samarbetet mellan tandvård och socialtjänst. De hinder som identifierades var brist på riktlinjer för tandvårdspersonal att rapportera oro för ett barn och undviker skyldigheten att rapportera. Dessutom ansågs detaljerade journalanteckningar inom tandvården vara avgörande för socialtjänsten för att få ett helhetsperspektiv för barn som utsatts för våld. Samarbetet betraktades som avgörande för att få en övergripande bild av situationen och tillhandahålla adekvat vård. Dessa resultat kan användas för att utveckla och förbättra samarbetet mellan tandvård och socialtjänst i att identifiera våld mot barn. / This study examined the collaboration between dental care and social services in identifying children exposed to violence. The purpose of the study was to identify obstacles, challenges, and opportunities for improvement in cooperation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four dental care professionals, two social service workers, and one university lecturer. The results showed four main themes: education, barriers and challenges, documentation, and collaboration. Respondents emphasized the importance of education on violence and cooperation between professional groups to improve collaboration between dental care and social services. The obstacles identified included the lack of guidelines for dental professionals on reporting concerns about a child and the absence of exemptions from the obligation to report. Additionally, detailed journal entries in dental care were deemed essential to investigating the overall situation of children exposed to violence. Collaboration was considered crucial to obtaining an overall picture of the situation and providing adequate care. These findings can be used to develop and enhance collaboration between dental care and social services in identifying abused children.

I Sverige är socialtjänsten formellt underställd politiken. Denna studies syfte var att undersöka socialtjänstens enhetschefers perspektiv på socialnämndpolitikernas roll och möjlighet att påverka socialtjänstens arbete. Studien hade en kvalitativ ansats och datamaterialet samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem enhetschefer för olika myndighetsutövande enheter inom socialtjänsten. Tematisk analys, rollteori och teori om social makt valdes ut till analysen. Studiens huvudresultat visade att enhetschefer ansåg att socialnämndspolitikerna ska sätta övergripande mål och riktlinjer för socialtjänstens arbete utan att detaljstyra. Tillit till tjänstepersonernas kompetens är viktigt. Politikerna har makten över strukturella beslut som exempelvis budget, medan socialsekreterarna har störst inflytande över individärenden. Enhetscheferna önskade högre budget för att kunna öka antalet anställda. Till skillnad från tidigare forskning visade resultatet i denna studie att tjänstepersonerna oftast är de som står för yrkesetiken. Goda relationer och tätare samarbete beskrevs som gynnsamma faktorer för framtida samarbete vilket är relevant för yrkesutövande att stäva efter. / Swedish social services are formally subordinated to municipal politics. This study’s purpose was to examine the perspective of middle managers in social services regarding the role of social committee politicians and their capacity to influence the work of social services. This qualitative study obtained data through semi-structured interviews with five middle managers. Thematic analysis, role theory and theory of social power were chosen for the analysis. Main results of the study showed that managers expect politicians to set the overall goals and guidelines, but not control in detail. Politicians have power over structural decisions such as budget, while social secretaries exert the greatest influence over individual matters. In contrast to previous research, this study showed that social workers more common than politicians take responsibility for professional ethics. Good relationships and closer cooperation were described as favorable factors for future cooperation, which is relevant for professionals to strive for.

The importance of self-care cannot be overstated in the field of social work, where practitioners are repeatedly exposed to high-stress and high-pressure situations and work directly with clients who have experienced trauma. Without sufficient preventative efforts, this facet of the field leads to job burn out and vicarious trauma (Wilson, 2016). Current research indicates that self-care is an important protective factor in preventing these negative impacts and enhancing professional satisfaction (Caurtero & Campos-Vidal, 2018; Lewis & King, 2019). Social work students consistently endorse high levels of stress due to the high volume of coursework combined with the field practicum experience (O’Neill, Slater, & Batt, 2019). Incorporating self-care education and practice into social work education is vital to preparing emergent social workers for success and longevity in the field. In response to this important problem, one social work faculty member offered a class assignment incorporating self-care in a meaningful way. MSW students conducted a case study, either using themselves or a first-year MSW student as the subject. They identified and tracked problem behaviors or emotions using evidence-based measurement tools and then implemented intervention techniques relating to self-care. This assignment served to not only recreate a clinical experience but also to encourage students to incorporate and measure the effects of self-care techniques. Satisfaction with study outcomes, motivation to continue the self-care intervention, and confidence level related to continuing were assessed at the end of the course. Study outcomes and continuation of interventions were re-assessed at a three-month follow-up. Fifteen MSW students completed the class assignment with eleven using themselves, and four choosing first-year MSW students, as subjects. All students (100%) were either satisfied or completely satisfied with their self-care study results; 77% indicated they were either motivated or completely motivated to continue their interventions with 55% responding they were either confident or completely confident they would continue their interventions. Of the eleven participants who participated in the three-month follow-up, 46% continued to decrease occurrences of their problem behaviors/emotions in comparison to their last reported rate of occurrence, 27% maintained consistent rates of occurrence, and 27% reported an increase in the rates of occurrence. All eleven participants stated that they still regularly utilize their interventions. Many social work students and faculty agree that self-care is important, but actual efforts to integrate realistic, meaningful educational opportunities encompassing self-care are missing from the curriculums. This study demonstrates that student self-care study and practice can be meaningfully incorporated as an engaging assignment, improving student well-being as well as in preparation for social work practice.

This study examines collaboration between social services, inpatient- and outpatient psychiatric care regarding to discharge from psychiatric inpatient care. The research questions examined in the study were how professionals working in these organizations perceive the discharge process with regards to limiting factors, facilitating factors and their experiences of how the patient have experienced discharge. The study is based on two focus group interviews with professionals working in psychiatric inpatient- and outpatient care and three individual interviews with professionals working in the social services. The results show that facilitating factors for collaboration are clear communication, when patients already have contact with the social services since before, and when the professionals already have an established professional relationship. Poor communication, unclear responsibilities, and lack of respectfor each individual profession, were the main limiting factors. The legislative requirement for a fast discharge process was a limiting factor due to social care efforts long lead time. / Den här studien undersöker samverkan mellan socialtjänst och psykiatrisk sluten- och öppenvård när patienter ska skrivas ut från psykiatrisk slutenvård. Forskningsfrågan för studien är hur professionella som arbetar inom dessa verksamheter ser på utskrivningsprocessen utifrån begränsande och främjade faktorer samt hur de tror att utskrivningarna upplevs av patienterna. Studien bestod av två fokusgrupper med professionella från psykiatrisk sluten- och öppenvård samt tre individuella intervjuer med socialsekreterare. Resultaten visar att främjande faktorer för samverkan är när det finns tydlig kommunikation, när patienter redan har kontakt med socialtjänsten sedan tidigare samt när samverkansaktörerna har upparbetade relationer. Bristande kommunikation, oklara ansvar och brist på respekt för yrkesroller var begränsande faktorer i samverkan. Lagstiftningenskrav på en skyndsam utskrivningsprocess var en begränsande faktor utifrån långa uppstartstider för vissa sociala omsorgsinsatser.

Integration is perceived as an important political matter in Sweden. Despite the high priority of integration interventions, people with migrant backgrounds hold a marginalised position and are excluded from Swedish society. On this basis, the aim of this study was to understand how integration is constructed and how people with a migrant background are categorised in Swedish integration interventions. To achieve the aim of this study two texts that regulate integration interventions conducted by the Public Employment Service Agency and Swedish municipalities were examined. The regulating texts were examined by conducting a poststructural discourse analysis according to the analytic tool “What´s the problem represented to be” by Carol Bacchi. The findings of the study have been conceptualised using postcolonial theory, intersectionality, and ideas regarding postraciality which are derived from critical race theory. The study shows that people with a migrant background are categorised and constructed as the Others in relation to what is perceived as Sweden and Swedishness in the examined integration interventions. By colonial and racist discourse, the Swedish cultural identity is constructed as superior, while the Others cultural identities are constructed as inferior. The study also shows that employment is depicted as crucial to integration. Integration is expected to be achieved through the acquiring of knowledge and experience by people with a migrant background. Sweden’s structural racism is at the same time made invisible. The integration interventions can consequently increase exclusion of people with a migrant background by being characterised by colonial and racist ideas, despite their aim to favour inclusion. The study suggests that through awareness of colonial and racist power structures that influence social work, Swedish integration interventions could favour participation in society on equal conditions.

The aim of this qualitative study is to examine how social secretaries’ work with homeless clients and the factors that contribute to their recovery process from homelessness. Data from interviews with seven social secretaries were analyzed using Maslow's hierarchy of needs (2015) and the concept of social exclusion (2014). The study found that social secretaries take a holistic approach in investigating all clients' problem areas. However they experience limited room for maneuver due to social services laws and guidelines, as well as divided opinions on housing interventions. The research also identified central factors that strengthen clients' recovery process, including access to resources, strengthening social relationships and the clients' own motivation. Furthermore, social secretaries identified hindering factors such as negative social relationships and social exclusion that may impede the clients' recovery. The study also found that the lack of job opportunities and affordable housing, can act as an additional hindering factor. In conclusion, the study highlights the need for a comprehensive approach in social work with homelessness that takes into account the complex and multifaceted nature of the recovery process. A holistic perspective can help create sustainable solutions that help homeless individuals recover and rebuild their lives.

Based on media's influence on society, the study aims to investigate how social workers feel regarding their work with children and youth investigations which is affected by how the media portrays social services and social work. The study also aims to investigate how the media affects social workers as a profession. Through its reporting and review of social services, the media can reach out, generate interest, and create opinions among the public. Social workers who work with child and youth investigations establish strong emotions through their professional role and through their decisions. Previous research shows that social workers nationally and internationally share the image that the media's portrayal of social services and their work in negative terms is affected by social work and professions to varying extents. In this study, we have chosen to use scientific reviewed articles from Australia, England, New Zealand, USA, and Sweden. The implementation of the study consisted of five semi-structured interviews with social workers working in Malmo, which together with our theories; The agenda setting theory, the organization theory, and the profession theory, form the basis for our analysis and results. The result of the study shows that the social workers we interviewed experience a common image that the media's reporting regarding the social service and its work with child and youth investigations is predominantly negative. Although they see media's negative reporting as a good thing due it leads to improvement and keeps the work legally secure. Furthermore, our interviewed participants share a common view that a good collaboration with the media could have led to a positive image of the social services but also the profession. / Utifrån medias inflytande över samhället syftar studien till att undersöka hur socialsekreterare upplever att deras arbete med barn- och ungdomsutredningar påverkas av hur media framställer socialtjänsten och det sociala arbetet men även hur media påverkar socialsekreterare som profession. Media kan genom sin rapportering och granskning av socialtjänsten nå ut, väcka, intresse och bilda åsikter hos allmänheten. Socialsekreterare som arbetar med barn- och ungdomsutredningar väcker i sin tur starka känslor genom sin yrkesroll och sina beslut. Tidigare forskning visar att socialsekreterare nationellt och internationellt delar bilden av att medias framställning av socialtjänsten och dess arbete i negativ bemärkelse påverkar det sociala arbetet och professionen i olika utsträckningar. Vi har i denna studie valt att använda oss utav vetenskapligt granskade artiklar från Australien, England, Nya Zeeland, USA och Sverige. Studiens genomförande bestod av fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialsekreterare yrkesverksamma i Malmö, vilket tillsammans med våra teorier; dagordningsteorin, organisationsteorin och professionsteorin utgör grunden för vår analys och vårt resultat. Resultatet i studien visar att socialsekreterare som vi intervjuat upplever en gemensam bild av att medias rapportering gällande socialtjänsten och dess arbete med barn-och ungdomsutredningar övervägande negativ men menade på att den negativa rapporteringen leder till att socialtjänstens arbete granskas vilket är en fördel så att arbetet förblir rättssäkert. Vidare delar våra intervjudeltagare bilden av att ett bra samarbete med media hade kunnat leda till en positiv bild av socialtjänsten men även professionen.

The sharing of personal information among health and social service organisations is a complex issue and problematic process in present-day England. Organisations which provide services to children face enormous challenges on many fronts. Internal ways of working, evolving best practice, data protection applications, government mandates and new government agencies, rapid changes in technology, and increasing costs are but a few of the challenges with which organisations must contend in order to provide services to children while keeping in step with change. This thesis is an exploration into the process of sharing personal information in the context of public sector reforms. Because there is an increasing emphasis of multi-agency collaboration, this thesis examines the information sharing processes both within and among organisations, particularly those providing services to children. From the broad principles which comprise a socio-technical approach of information sharing, distinct critical factors for successful information sharing and best practices are identified. These critical success factors are then used to evaluate the emerging national database, ContactPoint, highlighting particular areas of concern. In addition, data protection and related issues in the information sharing process are addressed. It is argued that one of the main factors which would support effective information sharing is to add a timeline to the life of a dataset containing personal information, after which the shared information would dissolve. Therefore, this thesis introduces Dynamic Multi-Agency Collaboration (DMAC), a theoretical model of effective information sharing using a limited-life dataset. The limited life of the DMAC dataset gives more control to information providers, encouraging effective information sharing within the parameters of the Data Protection Act 1998.