The adoption in 1997 of the developmental approach to social welfare by the South African government has mandated a developmental role for social work in all sectors and fields, including that of local government. This approach is in line with the developmental role of municipalities. However, despite the mandate, the developmental role of social work has not yet been defined and has therefore not been widely recognised in the context of local governmental. The goal in conducting this study was to determine the developmental role of social work in the local government of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality as defined by the social workers themselves, and as also perceived by their co-workers. Social workers and their co-workers, who were from different professional categories, comprised the two groups of respondents in this study. Purposive sampling was used to select the two respective groups from one of the CTMM departments, the Department of Health and Social Development. The goal of the study required applied research. The study itself was guided by the qualitative approach and employed a case study design. The data was collected during focus groups and one-on-one interviews, following a semi-structured schedule. The findings indicated that there was a clear understanding of the developmental role of local government, but that there was a lack of clarity as to the social workers’ developmental role. The study concluded that the confusion about the role had been caused by the lack of both appropriate training for social workers in this respect and a proper tool with which to monitor and evaluate the role, as well as the existing iv discouraging environment, none of which were conducive to a satisfactory performance by social workers. It is recommended that the job descriptions of social workers be revised to include their developmental role in the CTMM and that this be formalised in a policy. This would not only demarcate the role of social workers, but would also oblige the CTMM to create an enabling environment in which they could carry out this role. CTMM should, in collaboration with all stakeholders, explore, develop and implement a suitable monitoring and evaluating tool for the developmental role of social workers. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Syftet med denna studie var ett undersöka hur socionomer framställs i facklig litteratur för att kunna belysa legitimitetsgrundade faktorer för socionomprofessionen. Studien har baserats på en kvalitativ innehållsanalys och använt sig av professionalism som teoretisk utgångspunkt. Genom ett urval av artiklar genomfördes studien med innehållsanalysen genom att koda materialet för att sedan analysera vad som är legitimititetsgrundande faktorer för socionomerna. Resultatet visade att socionomprofessionen uppfyller kriterierna för legitimation genom sin breda och specialiserade kunskap, sin autonomi som de önskar vore högre och sitt klientfokus. Vidare visade resultatet att socionomyrkena var starkt kringskurna i sin autonomi och kontrollerade av politiska instanser. Socionomerna ansåg att med sin högskolegrundade utbildning var de berättigade en legitimation för att ge större autonomi inom yrket och säkerställa klientsäkerheten. / The purpose of this study was to research how social workers are presented in union magazines to illustrate legitimacy-based factors for social workers. The study was based on a qualitative content analysis and used professionalism as a theory. Through the selection of articles, the study of the content analysis was conducted by coding the material and then analyzing what the legitimacy-based factors were for the social workers. The result showed that the social workers meet the criteria of legitimacy through its broad and specialized knowledge, its autonomy that they wish to be higher, and its client focus. Furthermore, the results showed that the autonomy of the social service professions was lacking, and they often felt controlled by political bodies. The socio-economists considered that with their college-based education they were entitled to a credential to give greater autonomy in the profession and ensure client safety.

”Det (o)hanterliga klientvåldet” är en kvalitativ intervjustudie med syftet att undersöka socialsekreterares upplevelser och hantering av klientvåld i deras yrkesutövning. Mer än var tredje socialsekreterare drabbas av klientvåld och det är även en av de mest förekommande orsakerna till utbrändhet och uppsägning. I studien utfördes sex stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer vars material analyserades med en tematisk analys. Coping- och resiliensteorin har använts som teoretisk tolkningsram för att förstå det empiriska materialet. Resultatet visade att klientvåld är situationsbunden och påverkar socialsekreterare olika. Vanligt förekommande copingstrategier var att söka socialt stöd i sin omgivning, förminska våldet och skilja på sin professionella och privata roll. Resultatet visade även att socialsekreterare härdas av klientvåld när de får erfara det upprepade gånger. / “The (un)manageable client violence” is a qualitative interview study aiming to explore social workers experiences of client violence and how they cope with the issue in their professional role. More than every third social worker is said to have been exposed to client violence and it appears to be one of the most common reasons of why social workers get burned out or quit their jobs. Six semi-structural interviews were conducted in the study and got analyzed with a thematical analysis. The coping- and resilience theory were used to understand the empirical material. This study’s result showed that client violence depends on the situation and affects the social workers differently. Common coping strategies tended to be searching for social support in their surroundings and separating the professional and the private self. The result also showed that the client violence does not feel as violent after being exposed to it repeatedly.

Studien avser att undersöka socialsekreterares berättelser om hur de upplever samt hanterar arbetsrelaterad stress på individnivå. Två forskningsfrågor användes i studien för att kunna svara på syftet. Hur beskriver professionella socialsekreterare sina upplevelser av arbetsrelaterad stress? Hur beskriver de att de hanterar stress i relation till arbetet? Sex intervjuer gjordes med sex yrkesverksamma socionomer. För att förstå och se resultatet genom ett teoretiskt perspektiv har Karasek och Theorells krav, kontroll och stöd-modell och Lazarus och Folkmans copingstrategier tillämpats. Information från tidigare forskning har också använts för att tolka resultatet. Resultatet visar att alla socialsekreterarna upplever arbetsrelaterad stress som på olika sätt påverkar individerna negativt. Resultatet visar också att informanterna hanterar och försöker hejda stress genom olika typer av copingstrategier. Strategierna kan ha en positiv likväl negativ påverkan på den psykiska hälsan. Stöd från kollegor och chefer visar sig också vara betydelsefullt för hanteringen och minskningen av stress / This study intends to investigate the narratives of social workers of how they experience and handles work-related stress on an individual level. Two research questions have been used in this study to be able to answer the purpose. How professional social workers describes about their experience of work-related stress? How professional social workers describes about how they handle stress in relation to work? Six interviews were made with six professional social workers. To understand and see the result through a theoretical perspective, Karasek and Theorell’s demand, control and support model and Lazarus and Folkman’s coping strategies have been applied. The information from state of knowledge has also been used to interpret the result. The results show that all of the social workers experienced work-related stress and that affects the individuals in a negative way. The results also show that the informants handle and reduce stress through various coping strategies. The strategies can have a positive but also negative impact on the mental health. The support from colleagues and supervisors turns out to be important to handle and reduce stress.

The aim of this study is to understand from a professional perspective the importance of the biological children’s participation in the family home process and how family home social workers use their room for maneuver to involve the biological children in the family home process. The method used to answer the aim and the research questions was semi-structured interviews with seven women that work as family home social workers and the empirical material was analyzed through a thematic analysis. The theoretical framework we used to analyze the results was Lipsky's theory of Street-level bureaucracy and discretion. The main findings of this study were that family home social workers think that the participation of biological children is important both for the child's own wellbeing, for the whole family's dynamics and for the outcome of a family home placement. The most common methods used by family home social workers to involve biological children are relationship building and different types of conversations depending on the children's age and maturity. The study showsin the family home investigation, there are formalized guidelines that the family home social workers work according to but there are no general guidelines in the work with biological children in the further family home placement. That results in a discretion for the family home social workers. The study shows opportunities for improvement in making the biological children more involved in the family home process and that the biological children's participation is important for the work of family home social workers. Our results both confirm and contrast previous international and national research presented in the study.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the opportunities and difficulties that appears in interpreted meetings and how social workers treatment of clients is affected whilst using interpreters. Furthermore this was examined by using social workers perspectives on the matter to gain a better understanding of how the use of interpreters affect their work. The study was conducted with six social workers in two different municipalities. We proceeded the study by using a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews. The choice of method enabled follow-up questions and in-depth answers. Furthermore, the result was analyzed with two different theories which are the theory of professional competence and the theory of communication. The results of the study showed that social workers treatment towards clients is affected both in a positive and negative way depending on the opportunities and difficulties. Whether that is directly or indirectly. We found that some strategies that social workers usually use like “small talk” is affected negatively. Depending on the opportunities and difficulties we found that social workers need to adapt their strategies to fit the context of the interpreted meeting. In addition to this we found that the social workers often see the interpreter as a helpful communication tool. Finally the study concluded that social workers are in need of education or some kind of informational guide in the use of interpreters to evolve the quality of interpreted conversations.

Uppsatsens syfte var att undersöka upplevelser hos socialarbetare inom socialtjänst och kvinnojour, vilka kommer i kontakt med barn som utsätts för våld i nära relationer, utifrån två teman; stödinsatser samt barnperspektivet. Fem socialarbetare som arbetar med barn som upplevt våld i nära relationer intervjuades. Det empiriska materialet har analyserats utifrån systemteori och handlingsutrymme. Resultatet visar att flera stödinsatser erbjuds till familjer där det förekommer våld, men enbart ett fåtal riktas mot barnet. Informanterna förmedlar vikten av samverkan samt olika aspekter av hur barnperspektivet tillämpas i arbetet. Resultatet visar även att informanterna upplever dilemman i arbetet, exempelvis kravet på föräldrarnas samtycke för att barnet ska få stödinsatser och gränslandet mellan frivillig och tvingande lagstiftning som utsätter barn för risk. Avslutningsvis redovisas informanternas upplevelser av brister och utvecklingsområden i arbetet med våldsutsatta barn. / The purpose of the thesis was to investigate experiences of social workers regarding children who has experienced domestic violence with focus on two themes; support and the child's perspective. Five professionals who work in the same municipality and are in contact with children who have experienced domestic violence have participated in qualitative interviews. The result of the interviews have been analyzed on the basis of systems theory and room for manoeuvre. The result shows that there are several support offered to families who experience violence, but only a few are directed to the child. The informants convey the importance of collaboration and various aspects of how the children's perspective is applied in work. The result also shows that the informants experience different dilemmas, such as the need for parental consent for the child to receive support and the borderland that exists between voluntary and mandatory legislation that puts children at risk of harm. Finally, the informants' experiences of deficiencies and developmental areas are reported in the work with children who have experienced domestic violence.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka socialsekreterares och familjebehandlares professionella möte med klienter. Det professionella mötet studeras och analyseras i studien utifrån tre huvudteman: bemötande, allians- och relationsskapande samt rollkonflikter. Studien är av kvalitativ metodansats och grundas i åtta stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer varav fyra med socialsekreterare och fyra med familjebehandlare. Beträffande bemötandet går det att urskilja olika centrala delar av bemötandet. Dessa är lyhördhet, respektfullhet, ärlighet, tydlighet, empati, delaktighet samt val av klädsel. Allians- och relationsskapande är också ett tema som analyseras i studien och respondenterna uppger viktiga faktorer såsom humor, kroppsspråk, tillit och en minskning av klientens fientliga inställning. Dessa faktorer anses vara viktiga i form av att de möjliggör skapandet av en relation mellan den professionelle och klienten. Ytterligare ett tema som analyseras i studien är socialarbetarnas professionella roll, samt rollkonflikter. En slutsats som framkommer är att socialsekreterarnas yrkesprofession innefattar olika roller. De roller som nämns är myndighetsrollen, föräldrarollen och den stödjande rollen. Familjebehandlarna nämner att de har liknande roller, men att de inte besitter någon myndighetsroll, utan den rollen som nämndes som central var rollen som behandlare. I sin yrkesutövning förklarar respondenterna att deras olika roller kan leda till att det uppstår rollkonflikter. / The aim of this study is to investigate the social workers professional meetings with their clients. The professional meeting is studied through three main themes: personal treatment, the building of a relationship and role conflicts. The study is a qualitative method that is built up through eight semistructured interviews. Four of the interviews were conducted with social workers, who works with child and family investigations, while the remaining four were accomplished with social workers who works with family treatment. Regarding the personal treatment, the study found a number of key factors, which were: responsiveness, respectfulness, honesty, clarity, empathy, participation and choice of clothes. The building of a relationship is also a main theme, which is analyzed in this study. Factors mentioned by the respondents are humor, body language, confidence and a reduction of the client's attitude. These factors are considered important since they enable the building of a relationship between the social worker and the client. Another theme that is analyzed in the study is the socialworkers professional role and role conflicts. A conclusion in the study is that social workers who work with investigations have multiple different roles. The roles mentioned are the authority role, the parent role and the supportive role. The social workers who work with family treatment all mentions the same roles. However, they claim that they do not have an authority role but instead, their work includes a treatment role. The respondents explain that the different roles can lead to roleconflicts.

Våld i ungas parrelationer är ett problem som fått ökad uppmärksamhet bland annat ur ett politiskt perspektiv de senaste åren. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka socialarbetares erfarenheter av att arbeta med våld i ungas heterosexuella parrelationer med ett fokus på unga tjejers våldsutsatthet. Studien ämnar undersöka hur socialarbetare beskriver sin egen samt unga tjejers kunskap kring och syn på våld, vilken form av våld socialarbetare beskriver att unga tjejer blir utsatta för samt om socialarbetare ser några särskilda utmaningar i arbetet med unga våldsutsatta tjejer. Studien grundar sig på en kvalitativ metod och tematisk analys av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med socialarbetare från olika verksamheter. Studien behandlar även teorier såsom kunskap i socialt arbete, normaliseringsprocessen, strukturell feministisk förklaringsmodell samt ett intersektionellt perspektiv. Resultatet visade att intervjupersonerna upplever att de själva besitter god kunskap kring ämnet men att det finns en avsaknad av kunskap bland unga tjejer samt andra professionella som arbetar med målgruppen. Vidare framkommer det i resultatet att fysiskt, psykiskt, sexuellt samt digitalt våld är de våldsformer som unga tjejer främst blir utsatta för. Utmaningar som intervjupersonerna beskriver samt som återfinns i resultatet är att identifiera samt nå ut till unga våldsutsatta tjejer. Ytterligare beskrivs machokultur och normer vara en utmaning i intervjupersonernas arbete. / Violence in young people’s relationships is a problem which has received an increased amount of awareness in the last years, especially in a political sense. The purpose of this study is to investigate social workers experiences of working with violence in young people’s heterosexual relationships, focusing on young girls’ exposure to violence. This study aims to examine how social workers describe their own knowledge of and view on violence, as well as how they experience the knowledge of young girls. Furthermore, this study aims to see which type of violence young girls are exposed to according to social workers and if social workers identify any challenges in their work with these young girls. A qualitative method has been used and a thematic analysis of ten semi structured interviews with social workers from different establishments has been performed. The study also makes use of knowledge in social work, normalization process theory, structural feminist theory and an intersectional perspective. The results revealed that the social workers who were interviewed experience that they themselves have good knowledge on the topic. However, they described a lack of knowledge among young girls as well as among other professionals who work with the target group. Furthermore, the result showed that physical, psychological, sexual, and digital violence are the most common types of violence which young girls are exposed to in their relationships. Challenges which are described by the social workers who were interviewed, and which are presented in this study’s result, is to identify and reach out to young girls who are exposed to violence. Macho behavior and attitude and social norms are furthermore described as challenges by the interviewees.

The purpose of the following qualitative study was to explore social workers' perspectives on children's experiences of being exposed to domestic violence due to men's violence against women. The purpose was also to explore social workers' perceptions of support measures that used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six social workers who work with children and families in the social services. The study takes its theoretical starting point in trauma theory and attachment theory. The results showed that factors such as finances, mental illness and substance abuse are common causes to the child being exposed to indirect domestic violence. Children may show fear and anxiety, they may also show signs of psychosomatic disorders, behavioral difficulties, difficulty concentrating, and they may develop insecure attachment relationships with their caregivers. The results also showed that children who are exposed to indirect violence can be supported in various ways, where the child's family can also be included in the process. According to the interviewees, the function of the support interventions depends on the parent’s active participation in the process, which determines whether the support interventions work. / Syftet med studien var att undersöka socialarbetares perspektiv på barns upplevelser av att bli utsatta för indirekt våld, som en följd av mäns våld mot kvinnor. Författarna har även som avsikt att undersöka socialsekreterarnas uppfattning om vilka stödåtgärder som används för att stödja barn som utsätts för indirekt våld som en följd av mäns våld mot kvinnor. För att besvara syftet användes en kvalitativ design, där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med sex socialsekreterare som arbetar med barn och ungdomsutredning i socialtjänsten. Studien har sin teoretiska utgångspunkt i traumateori och anknytningsteori. Resultaten visade att faktorer som ekonomi, psykisk ohälsa och missbruk är vanliga orsaker till att barn utsätts för indirekt våld i hemmet. Barn som utsätts för indirekt våld kan visa rädsla och oro, men också tecken på psykosomatiska störningar, beteendesvårigheter och koncentrationssvårigheter. De kan även utveckla otrygga anknytningsrelationer med sina omsorgspersoner. Resultaten visade också att barn som utsätts för indirekt våld kan stöttas på olika sätt där även barnets familj kan inkluderas i förändringsprocessen. Stödinsatsernas funktion beror enligt intervjupersonerna på föräldrarnas aktiva delaktighet, vilket är en avgörande faktor för om stödinsatserna fungerar.