Social workers make decisions about client’s treatment. Problems arise when these assessments are not based on different needs, but rather a result of different biases towards gender. The purpose of this thesis is to study social workers in the addiction treatment field’s reasoning behind their justification concerning gender differences in their work. We used a vignette as a common reference for two group interviews and one individual interview, which were carried out on a social service office and an outpatient clinic. The interviews resulted in three forms of legitimacy: organizational requirements, professionalism and the will to do right. Organizational requirements refer to social workers relying on guidelines and research to justify their actions. Professionalism means that social workers reinforce their reasoning through previous experiences or other profession’s knowledge. The will to do right refers to the determination to live up to the ideals of society. Participants struggle with a complex and sometimes conflicting task, and to act justifiable they use reasoning based on different premises. The social workers are motivated and educated on the subject, and their goal is to make assessments based on individual needs. But it appears to be difficult to fully utilize these skills in practice

Tidigare forskning gör gällande att arbetsvillkoren för socialarbetarna har försämrats över tid, med avseende på arbetsbörda, stress och klientkontakt. Denna studie är en kvantitativ enkätstudie med 162 socialarbetare som arbetar eller har arbetat med barn där myndighetsutövning förekommer. Studien avser att undersöka hur socialarbetarna upplever sin arbetsmiljö, känsla av stress i yrket samt hur de förhåller sig till den tid som ges för möten med barn. Vidare utforskas hur möten med barn påverkas av socialarbetarnas arbetsmiljö och eventuella stress. Resultaten visar att socialarbetarna är stressade och upplever arbetsbördan som tung. Stridande mot tidigare forskning framkommer att socialarbetarna är lika positiva som negativa till de förändringar som skett inom organisationen. Mer tid för klientkontakt önskas av 98 % av respondenterna. Studien visar ett samband mellan brist på tid till att möta klienter och stress. Det finns också ett samband mellan stress och felaktigt fattade beslut. Den största faktorn som bidrar till felaktiga beslut är underlagsbrist. Studien visar att 17 % av socialarbetarna upplever maktmissbruk inom organisationen ofta eller dagligen. Studien sluter sig till att de som förlorar mest på de förändringar som skett inom organisationen är de som socialarbetarna strävar efter att hjälpa; barnen. / Research suggests that working conditions for social workers have deteriorated over time, with regard to workload, stress and client contact. This study is a quantitative survey with 162 social workers. The study aims to investigate how social workers experience their working environment and their sense of stress in the profession and how they relate to the amount of time given for meetings with children. Results show that the social workers are stressed and experience the workload too heavy. Contradictory to previous research this study reveals that social workers are as positive as negative to changes that have taken place within the organization. More time for client contact is desired by 98% of the respondents. The study finds a connection between lack of time to meet clients and stress. There is also a correlation between stress and wrongly made decisions. The biggest factor contributing to incorrect decisions is lack of background information of the child. The study show that 17% of the social workers have experienced abuse of power within the organization frequently or daily. The study concludes that those who suffer most from the changes that have taken place within the organization are those that the social workers strive to help; children.

This study aims to further Work-family conflict research for Social Workers by providing insight into what kind of impact the job role of social workers in Sweden has on their private lives and how they deal with it. The study operates from a qualitative approach and is based on three focus group-interviews and three semi-structured interviews with people working in different fields of social work. The empirical material has been analyzed through the Dramaturgical Perspective and Frame concept of Erving Goffman. The results of this study show that the job role impacts the psychological well-being of social workers, their family life and their social life to varying degrees, mainly due to organizational and client-based aspects, often resulting in role-conflicts and a lack of energy in their private lives. The primary strategies were found to be conversing with colleagues, spending time alone, embracing hobbies and having a clear understanding of individual responsibility.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur socialarbetare på barn- och ungdomsavdelningen bedömer föräldrars omsorgsförmåga utifrån ett fiktivt fall. Vidare undersöks om det förekommer skillnader i bedömning angående föräldraförmågan utifrån ett genusperspektiv. Slutligen undersöks socialarbetares handlingsutrymme satt i relation till bedömningen. Studien baseras på en kvalitativ vinjettmetod som omfattar intervjuer med socialarbetare, där intervjuerna har utgått från konstruerade fallbeskrivningar, som är typiska för barnavårdsutredningar. Hälften av deltagarnas intervjuer utgår från en vinjett och hälften från en annan, men vinjetterna är detsamma förutom att föräldrarnas könstillhörighet är utbytta. Social konstruktionism tillämpas som vetenskaplig utgångspunkt i studien, vilken även används som ett teoretiskt begrepp i samspel med rollteori och genusteorier samt handlingsutrymme med lagstiftning. Resultatet visar att det förekommer skillnad i bedömning mellan vinjetterna, där samma egenskap upplevs olika beroende på förälderns könstillhörighet, vilket kan tyda på att synen på mödrar respektive fäder är olika. Det framkommer även att brister framhävs tydligare än förmågor samt att mödrar riskerar att anklagas för bristande omsorg av barn, men att det ändå är mödrar som har fördel i barnavårdsutredningar. Det kan medföra ojämlika bedömningar, där en anledning till åtskillnader och framhävandet av brister kan vara det snäva handlingsutrymmet som socialarbetarna befinner sig i. / The aim of this study was to examine how social workers on child and youth department assess a child’s parents based on a fictive case. Further, the aim was also to examine whether there are differences in assessment regarding the parenting skills based on a gender perspective. Finally, the aim was to examine the flexibility that social workers have in relation to their assessment. This study is based on a qualitative vignette methodology including interviews with social workers, where the interviews are based on a constructed case study, which are typical for child welfare investigations. Half of the participant’s interviews are based on one vignette and half on another, but the vignettes are the same except that the parent’s gender is changed with each other. Social constructionism is applied as a scientific base of the study, which is also used as a theoretical concept in interaction with role theory and gender theories and discretion with laws. The results show that there is differences in assessment between the vignettes, where the same characteristics are assessed differently depending on the parent's gender, which may indicate that the experience of mothers and fathers are different. It also shows that flaws are emphasized more clearly than abilities and that mothers may be accused of lack of care of the children, but still mothers have advantage in child welfare investigations. This can cause unequal assessments, where a reason for differences and the emphasis of flaws may be the tight discretion that social workers find themselves in.

The purpose of this essay is to explore the social services work with crime victims in Sweden, according to Chapter 5, § 11 of the Social Services Act. The study examined how social workers define the victim and assessing and prioritizing victims' needs. It has also been central to study how social workers interpret and understand the regulation of social services responsible for crime victims. Qualitative interviews with 18 social workers is the basis for the study. The analysis of the social services work with victims based in the above-mentioned interviews. The interviews analyzed using the sociology of law theory. To illustrate how social workers define victims of crime have theories of crime victims been used in the analysis. The study shows that a crime victim must be innocent, weak and suffering from the crime to be defined as crime victims by social secretaries. Social workers do, however, different priorities. Some are based on an assessment of each individual victims need help, while others believe that the specific target groups will be using social services. The study also indicates that the groups which mainly receive help in the social services are victims of violence women and children. Assistance to victims in the social services designed to adapt the groups exposed to violence against women and children, such as women’s shelters, counseling and financial help.

Our main aim with this study is to shed a light over the social workers opinions about what they believe will be the consequences of introducing Housing First in the city of Stockholm. We wanted to examine the social workers perceptions about how Housing First could change their client’s autonomy and justice. Therefor we accomplished five qualitative interviews with social workers. We analyzed our empirical material with the theoretical terms; justice, autonomy and intern role-conflict. The results and analysis showed that the social workers considered that their client’s autonomy and justice increases by the Housing First model. We also found that Housing First seems to reduce the social workers intern role-conflict. We found that the reason might be that they do not have to choose between different expectations in the same extent as when they work with the continuum of care model. The result also showed that the social workers believed that the more independent the clients are towards the social services and the social workers demands, the more dependent the clients become towards the social workers, by the means of motivation work.

Previous research shows that women who are victims of intimate partner violence and also have asubstance abuse have difficulties getting access to services to aid with their experience of violence.This study has examined social workers experiences of working with women with these problems,what types of services are provided and how their service needs are assessed. The study has ahermeneutical approach and the data consists of interviews with nine social workers in lines ofwork that come into contact with women in the previously described client group. The data hasbeen analyzed using content analysis. The result of the study indicates that women who are victimsof intimate partner violence and also have a substance abuse do not get their needs provided forthrough the current services in the field of social work. These women are described as havingcomplex problems and are therefore in need of more and other services than those currentlyprovided. The result suggests that these women need long-lasting and coordinated services and thatthere is a need for a shelter where this group of client is welcome. To get there work is needed fromthe social services, in part by reaching out to these women and in part by providing services toalleviate the feeling of guilt and shame these women are experiencing. The result indicates that thesocial services are not good at identifying both sides of the multi problematic these women haveand therefore have difficulties offering services adapted to the needs of these women. Instead eitherside of the problem is prioritized regarding services in the line of social work. Continued work isneeded to give this client group a higher priority because they are discriminated against based ontheir gender. / Tidigare forskning visar att våldsutsatta kvinnor med en missbruksproblematik har svårt att fåtillgång till insatser för sin våldsutsatthet. Denna studie har undersökt socialarbetares erfarenheterav att arbeta med kvinnor med denna problematik, vilka insatser som ges och hur deras insatsbehovbedöms. Studien har en hermeneutisk ansats och studiens datamaterial består av intervjuer med niosocialarbetare inom verksamheter som kommer i kontakt med kvinnor inom den ovan beskrivnaklientgruppen. Intervjumaterialet har analyserats med hjälp av innehållsanalys. Studiens resultatantyder att våldsutsatta kvinnor med ett missbruk inte får sina behov tillgodosedda genomnuvarande insatser inom socialtjänsten. Dessa kvinnor beskrivs ha en komplex problembild ochdärför behövs fler och andra insatser än vad den nuvarande insatsrepertoaren kan erbjuda. Resultatetpekar på att dessa kvinnor behöver långvariga och samordnade insatser samt att det finns behov avett eget skyddat boende där denna klientgrupp kan vistas. För att nå dit krävs ett arbete frånsocialtjänsten, dels med att nå ut till dessa kvinnor och dels med olika insatser för att minska denskuld och skam dessa kvinnor känner. Resultatet indikerar också att socialtjänsten är dålig på attidentifiera båda sidorna i dessa kvinnors multiproblematik och har därför svårigheter med atterbjuda insatser anpassade till dessa kvinnors behov. Istället prioriteras antingen den ena eller denandra delen i problemet när det gäller insatser i det sociala arbetet. Ett fortsatt arbete krävs med attge denna klientgrupp en högre prioritet då de diskrimineras utifrån sin könstillhörighet.

The purpose of this essay was to examine and compare what attitudes Swedish and Belgian social workers may have towards residential care and foster care for children and young people. To answer the purpose eight qualitative interviews with four Swedish and four Belgian social workers were made. The results were analyzed by theory of organization and professional acting space. The results of the study show that the social workers in both countries preferred foster care, especially for small children, and that the Swedish social workers had a more negative attitude towards residential care than the Belgian social workers. Even though the Belgian social workers preferred foster care, they found themselves forced to choose residential care due to lack of available foster care facilities, something that did not seem to affect the Swedish social workers. Factors that affected the Swedish and the Belgian social workers professional acting space were the consent from parents, discussing with colleagues and specialization of interventions.

Corporate Social Responsiblity is today a well known concept in the business world. The concept contains responsibility and sustainability for those who chose to work with Corporate Social Responsibility and the three responsibility areas within the concept. Responsibility and sustainability is of importance, no matter what core business a corporation has. The responsibility goes both out from the corporation, to take care of the surrounding society and the environment. The responsibility also concerns the corporation interal, aiming for a sustainable work enivornment and good working conditions. Social workers are a group or workers in a risky work environment. Earlier studies shows that it is not uncommon with stress, fatigue and work burnout. Social worker have an important duty which is supporting an helping people with needs and that are not feeling well. It is not a sustainable work to help others when social workers are not feeling well themselves. The lack of sustainability in social workers work environment needs to improve. Eariler studies show that corporations that implements Corporate Social Responsibility tend to have more satisfied employees. Can the implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility and its areas of responsibility create a more sustaianble work environment for social workers? The empirical study has been made in a help organization working with guidelines for sustainability and where social workers are working. The empirical study is made using an open directed interview. The interviews have been recorded and transcribed, and the transcribated material have then been interpreted with a thematic analysis. The analysis of the result shows well-being among social workers in the chosen help organization, and that there is a connection between well-being among social workers and an active sustainability work according to Corporate Social Responsibility. / Corporate Social Responsibility är i dag ett välkänt och utbrett begrepp inom företagsvärlden. Begreppet innebär ansvar och hållbarhet för de som arbetar utifrån Corporate Social Responsibility och de tre ansvarsområden begreppet inbegriper. Oavsett verksamheters kärnverksamhet är ansvar och hållbarhet viktigt. Ansvaret sträcker sig delvis ut från verksamheten och syftar till att ta hand om det omgivande samhället och miljön. Ansvaret berör även verksamheten internt och syftar till exempel till en hållbar arbetsmiljö och goda arbetsvillkor. Socialarbetare är en yrkeskategori som befinner sig i ett riskyrke. Tidigare forskning har visat att det inte är ovanligt med stress, utmattning och utbrändhet. Socialarbetare har en viktig uppgift i att stötta och hjälpa människor som har behov av det och som mår dåligt. Det är inte hållbart att de som arbetar med att hjälpa människor som inte mår bra själva riskerar att må dåligt. Den ibland bristande hållbarheten i socialarbetarens yrkesroll behöver förstärkas. Tidigare forskning har visat att verksamheter som implementerar (och använder sig av) Corporate Social Responsibility tenderar att ha nöjda medarbetare som trivs i arbetet. Kan implementeringen av Corporate Social Responsibility och dess ansvarsområden i en verksamhet skapa mer hållbarhet för socialarbetare? Den empiriska undersökningen har utförts i en hjälporganisation som arbetar med riktlinjer för hållbarhet och där socialt arbete bedrivs. Den empiriska undersökningen är utförd genom en öppen riktad intervju. Intervjuerna har spelats in och transkriberats, och transkriberingarna har sedan tolkats utifrån tematisk analys. Analysen av resultatet visar på välmående socialarbetare inom den valda hjälporganisationen, och att det finns en koppling mellan välmående medarbetare och ett aktivt hållbarhetsarbete utifrån Corporate Social Responsibility.

This study illustrates how the power relation between the trustee and principals are experienced and maintained in proportion to the missions design. The main focus lies on understanding of how trustee perceives and applies the mission`s cornerstones and how power can be expressed in the relationship between trustees and principals. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with trustees whose principals were mentally disabled. The interviews were then analyzed with the support of Foucault's concept of discipline, knowledge, control, surveillance and reward/punishment and Tilly's theory of persistent inequality We have obtained an understanding of the complexity of the assignment regarding the mission`s cornerstones who goes into every other, and all respondents agreed that the cornerstones should be considered as a whole. We concluded that the trustee on the basis of the mission's design possesses a power that is necessary and important to have regarding the relation to his principal and its social network. Half of the trustees were well aware of the power they possess; however, all agreed that power is a negatively charged word that not necessarily needs to be operated in the guardianship. We could, based on empirical data, see that the power is used in various ways, both directly and indirectly against their principals and its social networks.