The purpose of this study is to investigate the guidelines, methods and strategies of social workers supporting children and young people who live with honour-related problems – in order to deepen the knowledge of tensions between the guidelines of social work and its practices. The result of the study has emerged from qualitative interviews with six social workers working with children and young people and three local authority documents containing guidelines and routines. The social workers were asked questions about their experiences of guidelines and routines and their current work situation. To analyse and understand the results a thematic method was used along with theories on discretion. The result shows that social workers use different assessment manuals in order to assess that a child/young person is exposed to honour-related problems, but their experience is that the manuals are not complete and adapted to children and young people who live with honour-related problems. Therefore, many social workers have a discretion, where they can take available methods and adapt them to the honour-related cases. The social workers have several different voluntary and family-oriented interventions to offer, but in honour-related cases the interventions are not optimal. The social workers experience difficulties with working with the families of children and young people with honour-related problems because they are not receptive to change, which was the first tension that could be identified. The overall experience of the interviewed social workers regarding honour-related cases shows that their work is complex in relation to laws, guidelines and methods. Thereby another tension was discovered in the result and analysis between forced interventions relating to the laws and guidelines and principles of the child's best interests. The social worker experiences are that it is difficult to motivate forced interventions as it does not always improve the situation of the child.

This essay will address the topic of child abuse through healthcare interventions, ormore precisely medical child abuse - which is also called Münchausen syndrome byproxy. A social problem that is quite unusual, and therefore creates complexity. Witha quantitative method, the essay is based on a web-based survey, which social workerson the Swedish social services at the children- and family units in Småland haveresponded to. The questions in the survey processes the social workers' knowledgeand preparedness which will be analyzed by their discretionary space and reasoning.These themes are also linked to Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucracy which isused to analyze the empirical data of the study. The results from the essay are analyzedand tested through the statistics program SPSS. The results and analysis show forinstance that the longer the social workers have been working at their units and insocial work in general, the more knowledge they considered themselves to have. Theyalso possessed a higher readiness the longer they worked at the unit. They are morerecon with the term “Münchausen by proxy” than “Medical child abuse”. Regarding guidelines and legislation, they feel uncertain, which we connect to the knowledge-gaps that comes with the social problem. Medical child abuse in the Swedish social services is quite unexplored and with this essay we want to contribute to a betterresearch, to help the children who are victims of medical child abuse.

I denna studie har nio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts utifrån en kvalitativ studie med yrkesverksamma på kvinnojourer runt om i Sverige. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur yrkesverksamma på kvinnojourer har upplevt det att arbeta på en kvinnojour samt hur deras bemötande och kommunikation gentemot våldsutsatta kvinnor har påverkats under tiden för pandemin. Resultatet har analyserat med hjälp av tidigare forskning, Lipskys teorier om gräsrotsbyråkrati och handlingsutrymme samt utifrån begreppen bemötande och kommunikation. Med en tematisk analys visar resultatet på att de yrkesverksamma på kvinnojourerna har fått göra omprioriteringar i sina arbetsuppgifter i samband med de implementerade restriktioner och rekommendationer på arbetsplatsen som smittspridningen av Covid-19 har medfört.  De har även bidragit till att en del kvinnojourer har fått en hög arbetsbelastning som lett till en sliten personal. Vidare framkommer det i resultatet att opinionsbildning och föreläsningar som är en viktig del i deras arbete, inte har kunnat bedrivas såsom önskat under pandemin. Resultatet visade även på att yrkesverksamma på kvinnojourer inte har sett en ökning av stödsökande kvinnor under Covid-19, vilket de tror sig kommer att se efter pandemins slut. / In this study, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted based on a qualitative study with ten various women’s shelters representatives around Sweden. The aim of the study was to investigate how representatives in women's shelters have experienced working in a women's shelter and how their treatment and communication towards abused women has been affected during the Covid-19 pandemic. The results have been analyzed with the help of previous research, Lipsky's theories of street-level bureaucracy and discretion and the concepts of treatment and communication. Using a thematic analysis, the results show that the representatives at the women's shelters have had to re-prioritize their work tasks because of the implemented restrictions and recommendations in the workplace that the spread of Covid-19 has entailed. They have also contributed to several women's shelters having a high workload, which has led to a worn-down staff. Furthermore, the results show that opinion formation and lectures, which is an important part of their work, have not been able to be conducted as desired during the pandemic. The results also showed that the representatives at the women's shelters have not seen an increase in women seeking support during Covid-19. They do however believe that they will see it when the pandemic has come to an end.

Kommuner kan ha olika rutiner vad gäller utbetalning av ekonomiskt bistånd som på olika vis kan påverka jämställdhet och våld i nära relationer. Det råder även ett begränsat forskningsläge kring utbetalningsrutiners påverkan på dessa faktorer. Därför ville vi med hjälp av denna studie undersöka vilka erfarenheter socialsekreterare besitter av och hur de resonerar kring att utbetalningsrutiner kan påverka jämställdhet och våld i nära relationer. Utöver det ville vi även undersöka socialsekreterarnas handlingsutrymme gentemot dessa rutiner. Även om socialsekreterare i vissa situationer vill handla i enlighet med klientens bästa kan de nämligen hindras av olika rutiner och riktlinjer. I denna kvalitativa studie har vi intervjuat sex socialsekreterare från tre olika kommuner och data har bearbetats genom en tematisk analys. Resultaten visade att samtliga socialsekreterare hade svårt att se hur eller om deras utbetalningsrutiner kunde påverka våld i nära relationer samt att handlingsutrymmet varierade beroende på vilken utbetalningsrutin som tillämpades. / Municipalities have different routines regarding payments of financial support which in different ways can affect equality and intimate partner violence. There are also limited studies about payment routines effects on these factors. Therefore, we wanted to investigate social workers experiences and reasonings regarding the effects payments routines can have on equality and intimate partner violence. We also wanted to investigate social workers discretion to these routines. Although social workers in certain situations want to act in the clients best interests, they can be limited by different routines and guidelines. In this qualitative study we have interviewed six social workers from three municipalities and the data has been processed through thematic analysis. The results showed that all social workers had difficulties seeing how or if their payment routines could affect intimate partner violence. It also showed that the discretion varied depending on what payment routine they were using.

The honor killing of Fadime Sahindal in 2002 sparked a debate in Swedish media about honor-related violence and oppression. As a professional social worker, it is important to have knowledge in the field to help young women who are exposed to honor-related violence and oppression. The aim of this study is to analyze the working methods and attitudes of social workers and their discretion in the work of honor-oppressed young women. The study is based on six qualitative interviews conducted with professional social workers. Through the interviews, the social workers' experiences, thoughts and opinions about the social service's way of working with honored young women were highlighted. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis and interpreted by the theory of honor and discretion. The results show that social workers do not have the right knowledge about honor problems and that they do not have the right tools to meet these young women who are exposed to violence and oppression.

Previous studies show that elderly people with mental illness tend not to have their needs met due to lack of interaction between authorities (Grundberg, Hansson, Religa & Hillerås 2016). The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate what care managers in social psychiatry and elderly care experience affect their work and collaboration between them. In this way, we want to create a deeper understanding of how work and collaboration affect the care of older people with mental illness. This qualitative study is based on semi-structured interviews with six care managers. We have used a thematic analysis to analyze our empirical material. Through transcription and reading of the empirical material, we have highlighted quotations that have identified repetitions, similarities and differences that have since shaped themes. Furthermore, the material was analyzed based on theories of collaboration (Danermark & Kullberg 1999; Grape 2015) and Lipsky's street level bureaucracy. Our study shows that care managers feel that collaboration is a prerequisite for being able to meet the needs of elderly people with mental illness, but opinions differ on whether the support needs of the target group are actually met. Collaboration between social psychiatry and elderly care is generally perceived to work well, even though our results show some contradictions to this claim. Finally, the study shows that collaboration and social work is influenced by various factors such as proximity and distance, as well as laws and guidelines and knowledge about these. These factors affect the care manager's room for manoeuvre and professional identity, which is also perceived to affect the possibilities for collaboration. Collaboration, room for manoeuvre and professional identity seem to be related and through interaction all parts form a whole.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka socialarbetares position genom deras upplevelser av hur lagstiftning, kommunala riktlinjer samt egna värderingar harmonierar i arbetet med missbruksärenden. I studien besvaras frågor gällande hur socialarbetare upplever att deras värderingar och kompetens harmonierar med lagstiftning och kommunala riktlinjer men även hur socialarbetare hanterar eventuella spänningsförhållanden mellan lagstiftning, kommunala riktlinjer, egna värderingar samt klienters förväntningar. Uppsatsen bygger på sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialarbetare som i sitt dagliga arbete handlägger missbruksärenden och det insamlade materialet analyserades med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Studiens resultat ger inte en lika negativ bild av socialarbetarnas upplevelser som tidigare forskning pekar på. Studien visar att socialarbetare upplever olika situationer där deras värderingar inte överensstämmer med kommunala riktlinjer eller lagstiftning. Exempel på situationer där socialarbetare upplever konflikter är hög arbetsbelastning, begränsat handlingsutrymme samt den rådande tvångslagstiftningen gällande missbruk. Beroende på vilken motstridighet som upplevs varierar hanteringen av denna. Hanteringen av motstridigheterna handlar i denna studie om hur socialarbetaren i situationen väljer att agera genom att exempelvis vara lojal och anpassa sig, protestera i någon form eller det sista alternativet, göra en sorti, vilket innebär att man lämnar organisationen. / The purpose of the study is to examine the position of social workers through their experiences of how legislation, municipal guidelines and their own values ​​harmonize in the work with substance abuse cases. The study answers questions not only regarding how social workers feel about their values ​​and skills harmonizing with legislation and municipal guidelines, but also how social workers handle any tensions between legislation, municipal guidelines, their own values ​​and clients' expectations. The essay is based on six semi-structured interviews with social workers who in their daily work handle substance abuse cases and the collected material was analyzed with the help of a qualitative content analysis. The results of the study do not give us a negative picture of the social workers' experiences as previous research points out. The study shows that social workers experience different situations where their values ​​do not comply with municipal guidelines or legislation. Examples of situations where social workers experience conflicts are a high workload, limited room for maneuver and the current coercive legislation regarding abuse. Depending on the contradiction experienced, the handling of this varies. The management of the contradictions in this study is about how the social worker in the situation chooses to act by, for example, being loyal and adapting, protesting in some form or the last alternative, making a sortie, which means leaving the organization.

The aim of this study is to analyze school counselors' experience regarding their work with children living under difficult home conditions. The objective is the counselors' view on their profession, their perceived mandate within their professional role, and the resources allocated to them. The method applied in this study is a qualitative approach. The data collection is characterized by interviews conducted with seven school counselors. Previous research has shown that the professional role as school counselor is unclear, and that the profession lacks precise policies. In research studies, Lipsky's theory of grassroots bureaucrats has been used, where we also have chosen to use the informal and formal scope. Through analysis, the result has shown that several of the school counselors perceive their professional role as undefined. Some of the school counselors said that they appreciate the unclear role because it provides them with an extensive and flexible mandate within their professional role. Furthermore the result shows that the school counselors perceive that some laws, such as the confidentiality law for example, limits their professional mandate. In the realm of available resources, the result has shown that most school counselors experience insufficient resources, often in the form of time and lack of competence development. Overall the school counselors experience limitations within their role and there are thus opportunities for development.

Syftet med studien har varit att genom intervjuer med yrkesverksamma socionomer undersöka socialarbetares erfarenheter och uppfattning kring det sociala arbetet med barn och föräldrar. Studien har särskilt ämnat att studera socialarbetares handlingsutrymme samt dilemman, svårigheter och utmaningar som socialarbetare tvingas hantera i det sociala barnavårdsarbetet. Studien har sin grund i en kvalitativ forskningsansats och har utgått från åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer där professionellas erfarenheter i det sociala barnavårdsarbetet har undersökts. Empirin har sedan bearbetats utifrån en tematisk analys som i sin tur har tolkats i relation till teorier om gräsrotsbyråkratens handlingsutrymme och dilemma. Resultatet påvisar att socialarbetare har ett stort handlingsutrymme vilket ger dem möjlighet att påverka olika beslut samt att handlingsutrymmet är konstant närvarande i socialarbetarens vardag. Studiens resultat belyser också svårigheten i att bedöma barnets bästa och att det råder en tveksamhet i hur socialarbetare arbetar efter barnets bästa. Frågan ställs om barnets bästa alltid är i centrum eller om föräldrars rättigheter tar för stor plats i dagens barnavårdsarbete. Ett annat ämne som framkommer i resultatet är socialarbetarens stora tolkningsutrymme. Resultatet lyfter svårigheterna i att ha ett stort tolkningsutrymme och att det kan innebära att olika socialarbetare tolkar lagar och föreskrifter på olika sätt beroende på vem socialarbetaren är som person. Resultatet belyser också det sociala arbetets komplexitet och vikten av att våga ta hjälp av kollegor när socialarbetare ställs inför olika dilemman. Slutligen berör resultatet bristen på resurser och den höga arbetsbelastningen som råder bland socialarbetare. Resultatet lyfter konsekvenser som kommer med hög arbetsbelastning och resursbrist samt vad som kan tänkas förbättras inom socialt arbetet med barn och familjer. / The aim of the study has been to investigate social workers' experiences and perceptions of social work with children and parents through interviews with professional social workers. In particular, the study aims to delve into the social worker's room for maneuver, conflicts, difficulties and challenges that social workers are forced to deal with in social child welfare work. The study is based on a qualitative research approach and is based on eight semi-structured interviews where professionals' experiences in the social childcare work were examined. Empiricism has been analyzed with a thematic analysis, and with theories of street-level bureaucracy. The result of the study shows that the social worker’s room for maneuver is constantly present in a social worker’s everyday life. The result shows that social workers have a large room for maneuver and a great opportunity to influence different decisions. The result of the study also indicates the difficulty in assessing the child’s best interests and that there is a doubt in how social workers work according to the best interest of the child. The question is asked whether the best interests of the child are always at the center or whether parents’ rights take up too much space in today’s child welfare work. Another topic that emerges in the result is the social worker’s large scope for interpretation. The result highlights the difficulties in having a large scope for interpretation and that it can mean that different social workers interpret laws and regulations in different ways depending on who the social worker is as a person. The result also highlights the complexity of social work and the importance of daring to enlist the help of colleagues when social workers face different dilemmas. Finally, the result concerns the lack of resources and the high workload of social workers. The result highlights the consequences that come with high workload and too few resources and what might be improved in social work with children and families.

Den föreliggande uppsatsens syfte är att begripliggöra hur yrkesverksamma inom socialtjänst och ideella föreningar arbetar med våldsutsatta och våldsutövande ungdomar som lever med våld i sina parrelationer. Fokus har lagts vid handlingsutrymmets påverkan för hur de insatser och stöd som finns att tillgå formas och används. Uppsatsen har en kvalitativ ansats, bestående av sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med yrkesverksamma som analyserats med hjälp av en tematisk tolkning. För att tolka de inkomna resultaten har de teoretiska begreppen handlingsutrymme, stigma och normaliseringsprocess använts. Två teman identifierades utifrån resultatet: insatsernas utformning och begränsning, där kunskap hos både ungdomar och vuxna visat sig vara av betydelse, följt av bemötandets roll, där ett gott bemötande visat sig vara av stor vikt för att skapa goda förutsättningar för att hjälpa ungdomen på bästa sätt. Faktorer som normer och den hjälpsökandes skamkänslor, påverkar mottagligheten av insatser och bemötandet från den yrkesverksamma kan vara skuldavlastande samt tillitsskapande. Detta främjar samarbetet och mottagligheten för insatserna. Samverkan mellan olika samhälleliga aktörer och att visa sin verksamhet utåt, är två komponenter som kan skapa goda förutsättningar för insatsernas tillgänglighet och kunskap för ungdomar om var hjälp finns att få. / The purpose of the present thesis is to understand how professionals in social services and non-profit associations work with abused and abusive youths who live with violence in their intimate relationships. The focus has been on the impact of the scope of action on how the efforts and support that are available are shaped and used. The thesis has a qualitative approach, consisting of six semi-structured interviews with professionals that were analyzed using a thematic interpretation. To interpret the results obtained, the theoretical outset of scope of action, stigma and the normalization process have been used. Two themes were identified based on the results: the interventions design and limitation, where knowledge in both youths and adults proved to be important, followed by the role treatment have, where a good treatment proved to be of great importance to create good conditions to help youths in the best way. Factors such as norms and the help-seeker's feelings of shame, affect the receptivity of interventions and the response from the professional can be debt-relieving and confidence-building. This promotes cooperation and receptivity to the interventions. Collaboration between different societal actors and showing their activities to the outside world are two components that can create good conditions for the intervention’s accessibility and knowledge for youths about where help is available.