The aim of this study is that from a gender perspective, highlighting how investigating social workers assess and justify the decisions concerning youth with socially destructive behavior. The focus is on the similarities and differences constructed. In order to respond to our study, we interviewed six social workers in six municipalities who work with youth investigations. The interviews took place in the southern and central Sweden. Parallell to the interviews, we used a vignette that we designed and constructed ourselves. It contains a fictitious case of a youth with socially destructive behavior. Half of the interviewees had to answer the case where the youth had a girl's name and the other half in which the adolescent had a boy's name. Selected theories that have been used to create an understanding of our research problem is the gender system and professional ethics. The results of our empirical data gave us several conclusions. The outcomes of this study shows that social workers holds a gender awareness when working with investigations of teenaged boys and girls. However the results also show the complexity that exists in regard to possess a conscious approach to the gender impact of youth investigations among social workers. It appears that the social workers seem to react and act slightly different depending on whether the youth is a boy or a girl. Furthermore, the results indicate that the heavy workload affect the social workers investigative work and in turn the young people. Interesting findings were also the social workers descriptions of the importance of school's role in getting the girls and boys gone wrong to return to a healthy path in life.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how the social services in the municipality of Falun is managing social work related to prostitution. It is a qualitative study based on three focus group interviews conducted in parts of the social services organization in the municipality of Falun. The empirical data collected was analyzed from an intersectional perspective. Several distinct findings emerged from the study. Social work against prostitution does not exist in the social services organization in the municipality of Falun. The organization possesses no procedures or guidelines for this kind of work, and no preventive work or cooperation with other organizations is carried out. It also emerged, that several social work officers had a stereotype image of who a potential sex- seller could be. This fact may influence who would be able to get any support from social services regarding to this social problem. / Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om och hur Falu kommuns socialtjänst arbetar gällande prostitution. Studien är en kvalitativ studie som baseras på tre fokusgruppsintervjuer utförda på delar av Falu kommuns socialtjänst. Den insamlade empirin har analyserats utifrån ett intersektionalitetsperspektiv. Resultatet av studien var entydigt, arbete riktat mot prostitution förekommer inte på socialtjänsten i Falu kommun. Verksamheten besitter inga rutiner eller riktlinjer för detta arbete, och inget förebyggande arbete eller något samarbete med andra organisationer eller myndigheter utförs. Det framkom även att handläggarna hade en stereotyp bild av vem som är en potentiell sexsäljare, något som kan komma att påverka vem som skulle kunna få ett eventuellt stöd från socialtjänsten gällande denna problematik.

Insatsen kontaktperson används flitigt inom socialtjänsten, trots det finns det ytterst lite forskning kring insatsen och dess effekter. Detta arbete strävar efter att få en ökad förståelse för socialsekreterares användande av insatsen kontaktperson för ungdomar samt hur socialsekreterares handlingsutrymme har påverkat det användandet. För att nå en ökad förståelse kring detta har en kvalitativ intervjustudie genomförts där socialsekreterare från olika socialkontor fått berätta om sina erfarenheter och upplevelser kring insatsen. Utifrån de uppgifter som framkommit under intervjuerna har olika teman skapats som beskriver skäl att använda insatsen, vilka effekter som ses av insatsen samt skillnader och likheter mellan olika handläggares agerande. Resultatet visar att kontaktperson kan beviljas av många olika anledningar och att de upplevda effekterna varierar. Det blir också tydligt hur fritt det är för varje socialsekreterare att själv utforma insatsen, vilket gör att det går ifrågasätta klienters rättssäkerhet då detta skiljer sig mellan olika kommuner. / In Swedish social services work with youths one of the most common ways to help is to grant the youth a sort of grownup mentor, a contact person. Despite of this, there is very little research about this kind of mentoring and its effects. In this study, we wanted to increase our understanding of the use of contact person for youths and also how the social workers discretion affects the use of contact person. To be able to do that a qualitative interview study was made where social workers from different social service offices shared their knowledge and experiences about contact person. Based on the information that was given during the interviews we were able to identify different themes that describe reasons to use contact person, which effects the social workers can see and also the differences and similarities between the different social workers way to use it. The result shows that social workers can provide youths with a contact person for a variety of reasons, and that the experienced effects differ between the social service offices. The result also makes it clear how the social workers in a free way are allowed to form the setup and implement of the contact person, which makes it possible to question the client’s rights to receive the same help no matter where you live or who you meet with.

The purpose of the study was to gain a greater understanding of how the amount of stress and workload that exists in Swedish social services affect the clients. The study was based on interviews with socialworkers responsible for childcustody enquiries. I chose to interview socialworkers in two different cities that resembled eachother. One of the interviews was individual and two was in focusgroups. The socialworkers were interviewed with a semi structured interview manual. The results showed that one of the cities social services, the socialworkers had a more difficult worksituation than the other city. The reason to why one city was more well functioning than the other depended on how the organization had handled the past years amount of workload. Both differences and similaritis was found. In the city that had a more difficult work situation the socialworkers had to prioritize with their time more and their clients were more affected than in the other city. Prioritizing time is something that was found in both cities but the city with more difficult worksituation had to prioritize more with their time and that lead to less time with their clients. It also lead to lower quality enquiries.

Vykstant demografiniams pokyčiams: mažas gimstamumas, jaunimo emigracija, šeimos transformacija, didėja socialinės pagalbos poreikis pažeidžiamoms visuomenės grupėms, ypač neįgaliems bei senyvo amžiaus asmenims, kurie dėl negalios ar ligos negali pilnai savimi pasirūpinti. Lietuvos Statistikos departamento duomenimis, Lietuvoje, kaip ir kitose Europos Sąjungos valstybėse, kasmet vis didesnę dalį sudaro 60 metų ir vyresni žmonės. Ši tendencija turi polinkį didėti. Zarasų mieste, kaip ir visoje Lietuvoje, amžiaus struktūros pokyčiai ryškūs - vyksta gyventojų senėjimas: net 26 proc. Zarasų rajono gyventojų yra pagyvenę ir senyvo amžiaus, dar 11 proc. sudaro neįgalieji. Šioms žmonių grupėms ypač svarbi yra socialinė pagalba. Socialinių paslaugų organizavimo įstatymai suteikia vietos savivaldybių specialistams teisę nustatyti paslaugų teikimo lygį, vertinti poreikius, atsižvelgiant į vietinius standartus. Magistro darbe yra apžvelgti pagrindiniai teisės aktai, reglamentuojantys socialinių paslaugų organizavimą bei teikimą, išanalizuota teorinė socialinių paslaugų samprata ir ištirtas jų poreikis Zarasų rajone senyvo amžiaus ir negalią turintiems asmenims, įvertinant teikiamų paslaugų grįžtamąjį ryšį. Tiriamojoje dalyje naudojant anketinę apklausą išanalizuoti socialinių paslaugų kokybiniai rodikliai ir įvertinta ekspertų nuomonė apie socialinių paslaugų poreikį Zarasų rajone. / Rapid demographic changes in the country: low birth rates, emigration of youth and transformation of family, increase needs for the social support of the vulnerable groups of our society, particularly disabled and elderly persons who cannot fully care for themselves because of their disability or illness. According to the information of the Department of Statistics of the Republic of Lithuania, the proportion of 60 year-old and older people is increasing each year in Lithuania, as well as in the other EU countries. This trend has a tendency to increase. In Zarasai, as in the whole Lithuania, changes of the age structure of population are moving in the direction of aging. 26 percents of the population of Zarasai district are the elderly, 11 percents of the population are people with disabilities. Social assistance is important especially for this group of people. In the field of organization of the social service, the legislation gives the right to determine the level of services, assess needs, according to the local standards, to the local professionals of municipalities. This graduate paper represents a theoretical analysis of social services and research on the requirement of such services for elderly and disabled persons in Zarasai district, taking account of feedback. The paper reviews the main legal acts, which regulate the organization of social services and their rendering. There are the evaluation of the quality indicators of the social services, which are made... [to full text]

The objective of the dissertation is to identify the main features of Western personal social services in institutional and organizational structure of post-communist Lithuania. The first part of the dissertation is devoted to get analytical frame of personal social services. Part two presents the research strategy used to analyze the institutional and organizations structure of personal social services in post-communist Lithuania: object of research, data sources and data gathering techniques, data analysis process and techniques. The analysis of institutional and organizational structure of personal social services in post-communist Lithuania is conducted in the third part of dissertation. Findings: the institutional and organizational structure of personal social services in post-communist Lithuania corresponds to Western structures, but the development was influenced by the legacy of communist period. / Disertacijoje tyrinėjama asmeninių socialinių paslaugų institucinė ir organizacinė struktūra Lietuvoje. Pagrindinis darbo tikslas – ištirti Vakarų šalių asmeninių socialinių paslaugų institucinės ir organizacinės struktūros pagrindinių bruožų raišką Lietuvoje. Disertacijos struktūrą lėmė išsikeltas tyrimo tikslas. Pirmoje darbo dalyje siekiama pateikti asmeninių socialinių paslaugų sampratą, išskiriant ją sudarančius elementus, kurių transformacijos analizuojamos kitose darbo dalyse. Antroje darbo dalyje pristatomi tyrimo objektai, duomenų šaltiniai ir duomenų rinkimo metodai, duomenų analizės metodai ir procesas. Trečiojoje darbo dalyje analizuojama Lietuvos asmeninių socialinių paslaugų institucinė ir organizacinė struktūra, siekiant identifikuoti Vakarų šalių asmeninių socialinių paslaugų institucinės ir organizacinės struktūros bruožus, bei atskleisti atitinkamo bruožo raišką sąlygojančius mechanizmus. Disertacijoje konstatuojama, kad Lietuvos asmeninių socialinių paslaugų institucinėje ir organizacinėje struktūroje galima identifikuoti tam tikrus Vakarų šalių bruožus, tačiau jų raiška yra veikiama iki nepriklausomybės atkūrimo buvusios institucinės ir organizacinės struktūros.

Ethiopia is a country well endowed with a number of development related NGOs who have been involved in socio-economic development at national, regional and grassroots level. In a country like Ethiopia, where natural and man-made hazards persist, NGOs play a crucial role in terms of reducing poverty and other human sufferings. As one of the non-governmental organizations, the Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church Development Program (EKHCDP) has played an important role in supporting and encouraging the development aspirations of local communities in the areas of environmental rehabilitation, water and sanitation, agriculture, health, education, credit and saving schemes.<br /> <br /> The study focused on the Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church community development program in five selected project areas, namely Lambuda, Durame, Shashamane, Debraziet and Nazret. The analysis subsequently examined the nature and extent of community participation in the project planning, implementation and decision-making phases. Thereafter, the study brought into focus general observations gleaned from the investigation and provides recommendation to the EKHC and other stakeholders that have been involved in development activities.<br /> <br /> Quantitative and qualitative methods of research have been applied throughout the investigation. Accordingly, observation, in depth interviews, focus group discussions and structured and semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather information. The qualitative mode was employed to gather socially dynamic information on issues relating to beneficiaries&rsquo / perceptions of processes in order to gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play. On the other hand, the quantitative mode was used to test variables related to the research problem. <br /> <br /> The findings indicate that the Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church development program has played a significant role in terms of community development. Moreover, its development approach is responsive to local needs and able to mobilize local and external resources to support the poor, so that through empowerment and participation they will be released from the deprivation trap that they find themselves in. The study also indicates that the EKHCDP has good linkages and networks with other communities and partners. However, the study indicated that the intensity of community participation in decision-making is still low in certain cases. Meanwhile, the beneficiaries did not show a clear understanding of aspects such as project ownership. Finally, this study recommends that genuine community participation should be maintained because it is the core activity contributing to beneficiary empowerment and grassroots institutional capacity building and an essential ingredient for self-reliance and project sustainability.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the social services and the police co-operate with each other when they come into contact with an individual within their realms of influence. It has been shown in a report by Fridolf (2008) that co-operation is not the aim itself but used as a mean to reach for better processes and better results. We have used qualitative interviews in the study, where three social workers and three policemen have participated from the same municipality to answer our questions. To analyze our result we have used system theory and organization theory. The result of our study shows that within this specific municipality the two agencies co-operate very well. The main reasons why are that co-operation has been going on for a long time and that because of this they have been able to build up a good strategy that works well. Another reason is the fact that this very municipality is relatively small, which in its turn leads to closeness to each other which makes it easy to get in contact and to be aware of who the others involved are. However, this very co-operation can sometimes cause friction, because of the fact that the police and the social services do not always get the same picture of the youth that they are working with. This is because both agencies get to see the youth in different circumstances. The police see the youth from the perspective of being a perpetrator and the social services see the youth from the perspective of needing help. This is something that from both sides can be looked upon as being unfavorable in certain circumstances which could also in other words cause a friction in the co-operation. / Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka hur organisationerna socialtjänsten och polisen samarbetar. Det har visat sig, precis som Fridolf (2001) påstår i sin rapport, att samarbete inte är målet i sig utan en resurs för att skapa en bättre process och ett bättre resultat. Vi använde oss av kvalitativ metod för att utföra vår studie. Vi utförde därmed kvalitativa intervjuer där tre socialtjänstarbetare och tre poliser har deltagit från samma kommun för att svara på våra frågor. För att analysera vårt resultat har vi använt oss av systemteori och organisationsteori. Fungerar inte arbetet mellan de båda organisationerna kan detta bli förödande för individen. Resultatet av vår studie visar att inom denna specifika kommun fungerar samarbetet mycket bra. De skäl som nämns är att samarbetet har pågått under en lång tid och att man därför har lyckats bygga upp en god strategi som fungerar väl. Andra skäl som nämns är att just denna kommun är förhållandevis liten, vilket i sin tur leder till att närheten till varandra gör att man lätt kan få kontakt och att man vet vilka alla de som är involverade är. Det som kan ses som negativt i samarbetet och som ibland kan skapa friktion mellan dem, är det faktum att polisen och socialtjänsten inte alltid får samma bild av ungdomen de arbetar gemensamt med. Detta eftersom de båda aktörerna oftast får se ungdomen i olika sammanhang. Polisen ser ungdomen från perspektivet förövare och socialtjänst ser ungdomen från perspektivet hjälpbehövande. I och med detta bemöter de olika aktörerna ungdomen på olika sätt. Detta är något som från båda håll kan ses som ofördelaktigt i vissa tillfällen vilket med andra ord kan skapa friktion i samarbetet.

The aim of this study is to investigate how social services handles and experiences threats in the workplace with focus on prevention and how follow up work is conducted. Data collection involved six qualitative interviews with four social workers and two unit managers. The results indicate that social workers normalizes threats at the workplace and that the leadership is crucial for both prevention and follow up. Routines at work are important but social workers are rarely informed or updated about these routines. Social workers experience that follow up is not a priority by their unit managers and after a threat social workers have a lack of time to take care of themselves. Unit managers experience the importance of routines for prevention of threats in the workplace. As unit managers they have the biggest responsibility when threats occur in the workplace and follow up should include an individual plan for every social worker. Both social workers and unit managers agrees that the experience is enough when determining if a threat is real or not.

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