Enligt den svenska socialtjänstlagen ska allt klientarbete som utförs vara av hög kvalitet (SFS 2001:453). Socialt arbete beskrivs som känslomässigt krävande och därför framställs handledning som ett viktigt stöd för socialarbetare i deras yrkesroll. Syftet med denna studie var att belysa socialsekreterares erfarenheter av extern och intern handledning inom Socialtjänsten. Metoden som valdes för denna studie var kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex olika yrkesversamma socialsekreterare inom ekonomiskt bistånd i Södra Sverige. Vid analysen av våra resultat tillämpade vi systemteorin baserat på Parrish, Öquist, Pettit och Olsons sammhälsvetenskapliga tillämpning av teorin. Detta för att ilustrera förhållandet mellan handledning och den kunskap som det ger socialsekreteraren samt arbetsmiljön som en cirkulär process. Denna studie fann att socialsekreterare upplever handledning som något positivt. Intern handledning hjälper dem att utföra sina arbetsuppgifter, medan extern handledning hjälper dem på ett emotionellt plan. Dessutom framhäver de socialsekreterare som deltar i denna studie erfarenheter av otillräcklig handledning. Otillräcklig handledning kan uppstå när handledaren saknar kompetens, när tid inte avsätts för handledning eller när den tillhandahållna informationen inte är anvädbar i deras arbete. Detta resulterar i att handledning istället blir en källa till stress. Denna studie har därför försökt lyfta fram vikten av handledning för professonell kompentens samt handledningens betydelse i relation till socialsekreterares funktionalitet på arbetsplatsen. Om handledning utförs på rätt sätt blir det en tillgång för socialsekreterarens yrke. / According to the Swedish social services act, all client work performed should be of high quaitly (SFS 2001:453). Social work is stated as emotinally demanding therefore supervision i described as an essential aid for social workers in their professional role. The aim of this study was therefore to highlight social workers experiences of external and internal supervision within social services. The method chosen for this study was qualitative semistructured interviews with six different professional social workers within economic support int the southern region of Sweden. In analysing our results, we applied the system theory based on Parrish, Öquist, Pettit and Olson's societal application of the theory, to illustrate the relationship between supervision and the knowledge it brings the socialworkers and the atmosphere as a circular process. This study found that social workers experience supervision as something positive. Internal supervision helps them in carrying out their tasks, while external supervision helps them in an emotional sense. Furthermore, the social workers participating in this study highlight experiences regarding inadequate supervision. Inadequate supervision may occur when the supervisor lacks competence, when time is not given for supervision or when the information provided is not useful in their work. This results in supervision becoming a source of stress. This study has therefore attempted to bring out the importance of supervision for professional competence. Also the significance of supervision in relation to social workers functionality in the workplace. I supervision is carried out correctly, it becomes an assest to the social workers profession.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how children who have been exposed to violence between their parents are involved in the social workers investigation process. For this study the empirical material has been collected through six qualitative and semi-structured interviews with social workers who are working with child protection cases. Through the study we explore social workers' descriptions of the children's involvement, and what factors they emphasize as limiting and enabling for the children's participation in the investigation process. By an analysis with the help of The Lundy model and Shier’s model of participation, we found out that children's age and maturity are a recurring pattern in terms of the extent to which children become involved and how their opinions are taken into account in the investigation process. The interviewees emphasize that there are different ways to involve the children based on children's different conditions, for example through observations and conversation methods. There are no one-sided explanations of how children exposed to violence were involved in social workers' investigation processes, but participation was influenced by a number of factors. The factors that the interviewees describe as limiting and enabling are structures in the organization, laws and methods, and parents.

The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to investigate the empowering and limiting factors that social workers are subjected to when they are to involve children in child welfare investigations. The empirical collection for the bachelor thesis is based on qualitative data collected by interviewing five social workers working mainly within the children- and family units and a sample of 17 scientific articles. The articles are international with origins from England, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Taiwan. When the empirical collection was compiled we could establish that the term “children’s participation” is in fact a complex field to put into practice by the social workers. Even if the children in some cases showed willingness to participate this could be limited by the social workers' fear to overburden them. Among other factors that limited the children’s participation was the social workers’ ambiguous view on children’s participation, the high workload, the caretakers influence on children’s participation, the child’s age and maturity as well as the social worker’s lack of competence and communication skills. Through the collection of former research, interviewing material, and Harry Shier’s Pathway to Participation model (2001) we could analyze how children’s participation is shaped by forming a thematic analysis. Finally, we can note that the reached stage of participation is relatively limited and does not reach a higher stage than stage two in Shier’s Pathway to Participation model (2001). Due to our limited possibility to conduct more interviews we couldn’t draw any general conclusions. However, we were able to shine a light on the critical and challenging aspects social workers could face when trying to enable child participation.

The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which children participate in the social services childcare investigations but also what impact the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child had on the investigations according to the social workers. A qualitative method was used, and the study was based on six interviews with social workers from the Swedish social services working with childcare investigations with children in the ages between 0-18 years. The theoretical framework used in this study was Shiers model of pathways to participation. The result of this study shows that the social workers place themselves at least at the third level in Shiers model of pathways to participation while most of the respondents placed themselves at the fourth level of participation before the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Half of the respondents placed themselves higher on the model of pathways to participation regarding after the convention was incorporated. Although, most of the respondents agreed that the incorporation of the convention has not had any significant impact in practice and expressed that they do not work differently after the incorporation.

Brottsligheten i Sverige har ökat. Två av fem individer återfaller i brott efter frigivning. De individer som lever i utanförskap och kriminalitet är i en utsatt position. Flertalet av kriminalvårdens klienter har behov av insatser från olika verksamheter för att klara sig från återfall i kriminalitet. Syftet med studien är att få en djupare förståelse om vad före detta kriminella anser har varit betydelsefullt i deras process att lämna sin kriminella livsstil. Syftet är även att belysa vilken inverkan kriminalvården och socialtjänstens insatser har utgjort i denna process. De frågeställningar som studien ämnar besvara är: Vad har varit betydelsefullt för att kunna lämna den kriminella livsstilen? Vilken betydelse har insatser från kriminalvården utgjort i processen att lämna den kriminella livsstilen? Vilken betydelse har insatser från socialtjänsten utgjort i processen att lämna den kriminella livsstilen? För att besvara dessa frågor har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ ansats. Åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med medlemmar från KRIS och X-cons. Resultatet har analyserats utifrån teorin om sociala band samt tidigare forskning inom den valda studiens område. Det informanterna har uppgett som mest betydelsefullt är att känna ett sammanhang och meningsfullhet till sådant som sysselsättning, fritid och sociala relationer. Det som också har haft betydelse är de vändpunkter som informanterna har kommit i kontakt med. Dessa har varit sådant som fängelsestraff, försämrad hälsa, kontakt med föreningar och insatser från kriminalvården och socialtjänsten som sedan lett dem till insikt och möjlighet till förändring av deras livssituation. / Crime in Sweden has increased. Two out of five individuals reoffend after release from prison. Those individuals who are living in alienation and crime are in a vulnerable position. Most of the prison service and probation clients are in need of support from various authorities in order to desist from crime. The aim of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of what ex-criminals think has been important in their process to leave their criminal lifestyle. It also aims to view the impact of prison service and probation and social services support in this process. The questions which the study intends to answer are: What has been important to be able to leave the criminal lifestyle? How important has the efforts of the prison and probation service been in the process of leaving the criminal lifestyle? How important has the efforts of social services been in the process of leaving the criminal lifestyle? To answer these questions, we used a qualitative approach. Eight semi-structurerd interviews were conducted with members of KRIS and X-cons. The results have been analyzed according to the theory of social bonds and previous research of the selected study field. The informants have indicated that the most important factor is to feel a connection and meaningfulness such as employment, leisure and social relationships. What also played an important role were the turning points that the informants have come in contact with. These have been such as a prison sentance, impaired health, contact with organizations and efforts of prison and probation service and social services which then led them to the knowledge and ability to change their lives.

FN:s barnkonvention blev svensk lag januari år 2020, med målsättningen att barnets bästa och barns rättigheter tydligt skulle genomsyra praktiken. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur chefer inom barn- och ungdomsenheten på socialtjänsten beskriver förändringar i verksamheten med anledning av barnkonventionens införande som lag. För att besvara studiens syfte användes en kvalitativ studiedesign i form av semistrukturerade intervjuer, där totalt sju respondenter från sex olika kommuner fick representera empirin. Empirin analyserades med stöd av kvalitativ innehållsanalys och som teoretisk förklaringsmodell användes grunderna i en implementeringsteori. Studiens resultat visade att barnkonventionen implementerats olika mycket och på olika sätt i Sveriges kommuner. Skillnader i arbetssätt var till stor grad beroende av i vilken omfattning verksamheterna hade implementerat barnkonventionen. Den främsta skillnaden var att implementeringen har lett till en större tydlighet i arbetet, samt att barnets rättigheter har fått ett större fokus. Slutsatsen av studien visade på att staten behöver utveckla riktlinjer för hur barnkonventionen ska implementeras, samt säkerställa att samtliga kommuner får samma förutsättningar. Studien visade på ett vidare behov av att forska på vilka förändringar implementeringen har lett till inom socialtjänstens andra områden som inte direkt riktar sig mot barn. / The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law in January 2020, with the aim that the best interests of the child and children's rights should permeate the practice. The purpose of this study was to examine how social services managers within the children and youth unit describe changes in the organization due to the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child as law. In order to answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative study design was chosen in the form of semi-structured interviews where seven respondents from six different municipalities were allowed to represent the results. The empirical data was analyzed with support from the implementation theory. The results of the study showed that the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been implemented to varying degrees and in different ways in Sweden's municipalities. Differences in working methods were largely dependent on the extent to which the organization had implemented the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The main difference was that the implementation has led to greater clarity in the work, and that children's rights have received a greater focus. The conclusion showed that the state needs to develop guidelines for how the Convention on the Rights of the Child is to be implemented, and that all municipalities receive equal conditions. The study showed a further need to research what changes the implementation has led to in other areas of social services that are not directly aimed at children.

Abstrakt Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka på vilket sätt socialarbetare inom socialtjänsten arbetar för att bygga och bibehålla förtroende hos klienterna. Studien är baserad på intervjuer med fyra socialsekreterare från fyra olika verksamheter inom socialtjänsten i södra Skåne, Sverige. Resultatet är presenterat utifrån de olika teman som framkommit under intervjuerna och har analyserats utifrån Scheff’s teori om sociala band och den socio-emotionella världen. Studiens resultat har visat att socialsekreterarna bygger och bibehåller förtroende samtidigt som de bygger och bibehåller trygga sociala band med sina klienter genom trovärdighet, klientinflytande och relationsskapande. Trovärdighet nås genom att kommunicera kunskap, korrekt och tydlig information och transparens i ärendet. Klientinflytande nås genom klientens deltagande i processen, socialarbetarens flexibilitet när det gäller att inkludera klienten, och socialarbetarens förmåga till kontroll och myndighetsutövning när det är nödvändigt. Relationsskapande innebär att förmedla välmening, att kunnaavdramatisera myndighetskontakten, att lyssna in klientens åsikter och känslor, att finnas där både fysiskt, mentalt och som moraliskt stöd och att kunna bekräfta klientens framsteg och upplevelser. Utifrån Scheff’s perspektiv kan detta sätt att arbeta med förtroende även ses som respektfull kommunikation, en djupare förståelse för varandra genom attunement och rolltagning, liksom en strävan efter att vända klientens otrygga sociala band och känslor av skam, ilska eller misstro till ett tryggt socialt band och samhörighet. / Abstract The aim of this study was to examine in what way social service workers in social services operate in order to build and maintain the trust of their clients. The study was drawn upon interviews with four social service workers from four separate agencies within the social services of Southern Scania, Sweden. The results were presented by different themes from the interviews and were analysed through Scheff’s theory of social bonds and the social-emotional world. The results of the study revealed that social service workers were building and maintaining trust while also building and maintaining secure social bonds with their clients, through credibility, user influence and building of relationships. Reliability was attained through communication of knowledge, correct and clear information and transparency of the case. User influence was attained by the clients’ participation in the case, the social service workers’ flexibility regarding inviting the clients to participate, and the ability of the social service workers to take charge and exercise their authority when needed. The building of relationships meant expressing good intentions, being able to defuse the clients’ worries about authorities, attuning to the views and feelings of the client, being there both physically, mentally, and morally, and being able to validate the progress and experiences of the client. From the perspective of Scheff, this way of working with trust could also be interpreted as respectful communication, a deeper understanding of each other from attunement and role-taking, and an aim at turning the client’s alienated social bond and emotions of shame, anger or distrust into a secure social bond and feelings of pride and solidarity.

The working environment in social services has long been talked about. Recently, the working environment of child case workers has been in particular focus on the basis that it is difficult to retain and recruit new staff for this profession. Previous research shows that the work environment affects the child case worker's well-being and job satisfaction. Previous research also shows that the work environment can affect confidence in one's own ability to handle different parts of the professional role. This study aims to investigate whether there is any relationship between psychosocial work environment, work-related self-efficacy and social self-efficacy. The study has been conducted through a quantitative research method using a web-based survey. The survey was emailed to 144 municipalities, out of which 28 municipalities and 116 child case workers chose to participate in the study. In the survey, several scales have been used to measure work-related self-efficacy, social self-efficacy and the psychosocial work environment. The study has 116 participants, of which women made up a majority of the sample (n=108). The result shows that the degree of social self-efficacy has a connection with the psychosocial work environment. Degree of work-related self-efficacy has a positive relationship with work experience. One of the conclusions drawn from the study is that years in the profession have a correlation with the degree of work-related self-efficacy. This means that the more years child case workers have in their professional role, the higher the degree of work-related self-efficacy they estimate. Keywords: Self-efficacy, social worker, work environment, child welfare and social worker within child welfare. / Arbetsmiljön inom socialtjänsten har länge varit omtalad. På senare tid har barnhandläggares arbetsmiljö varit i särskilt fokus utifrån att det är svårt att bibehålla och rekrytera ny personal till yrkesrollen. Tidigare forskning visar att arbetsmiljön påverkar barnhandläggarens mående samt trivsel på arbetsplatsen. Tidigare forskning visar även att arbetsmiljön kan påverka tilltron till den egna förmågan att hantera olika delar av yrkesrollen. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka om det finns något samband mellan arbetsmiljö, arbetsrelaterad och social self-efficacy. Studien har genomförts med en kvantitativ forskningsmetod med hjälp av en webbaserad enkät. Enkäten mailades ut till 144 kommuner varav 28 kommuner och 116 barnhandläggare valde att delta i studien. I enkäten har flertal skalor använts för att mäta arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy, social self-efficacy och den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Studien har 116 deltagare, varav kvinnor utgjorde en majoritet av urvalet (n=108). Resultatet visar att grad av social self-efficacy har ett samband med den psykosociala arbetsmiljön. Grad av arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy har ett positivt samband med arbetslivserfarenhet. En av slutsatserna som dras av studien är att år inom yrket har en korrelation med grad av arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy. Detta innebär att desto fler år barnhandläggare har i yrkesrollen desto högre grad av arbetsrelaterad self-efficacy skattar de. Nyckelord: Self-efficacy, barnavårdsutredningar, socialtjänsten, arbetsmiljö samt socialsekreterare.

Syftet med denna studie är att med ett genusperspektiv undersöka hur flickor respektive pojkar som misstänks för brott beskrivs i socialtjänstens yttranden som upprättas enligt § 11 i Lagen (1964:167) med särskilda bestämmelser om unga lagöverträdare. Studien baseras på 28 yttranden inhämtade från två olika domstolar i Stockholm. Yttrandena gäller 14 flickor och 14 pojkar i åldrarna 15–18 år som antingen är misstänkta för misshandel, stöld, våld mot tjänsteman eller brott mot knivlagen och andra farliga föremål. Empirin har bearbetats genom tematisk analys och analyserats utifrån begreppen genusregimer, genus, den manliga normen och avskiljandets logik, samt genusrättvetenskap. Vi har även analyserat resultaten utifrån tidigare beskrivna perspektiv på ungdomsbrottslighet. Vårt resultat visar på att det finns skillnader i beskrivningarna av flickor och pojkar, där flickor beskrivs mer positivt och pojkar mer negativt. Det finns vidare skillnader i fokus, där flickornas familjerelationer och pojkarnas fysiska hälsa och fritidsintressen betonas. Flickorna beskrivs i förhållande till sin kriminalitet som passiva och mindre farliga för samhället, medan pojkarna ses som aktiva och mer kriminellt farliga. Resultatet indikerar också att flickors kriminalitet konstrueras på olika sätt, men med övergripande kvinnligt kodade ord. För pojkarna framkommer både aggressivitet och sårbarhet i beskrivningarna. / The purpose of this study is to explore, from a gender perspective, how girls and boys accused of crimes are described in the social services' statements regarding juvenile delinquents. The study is based on 28 statements retrieved from two different courts in Stockholm. The statements concern 14 girls and 14 boys between the ages of 15 and 18 who are accused of various crimes. The empirical data has been processed through thematic analysis. Our results show that there are differences in the descriptions of girls and boys, where girls are described more positively and boys more negatively. There are also differences in focus, where girls' family relationships and boys' physical health and hobbies are emphasised to a greater extent. In relation to their criminality, girls are described as passive and less dangerous to society, while boys are seen as active subjects and more criminally dangerous. The results also indicate that girls' criminality is constructed in different ways, but with overall female-coded words. For boys, both aggressiveness and vulnerability emerged in the descriptions.

Based on an assumption that legal space can contribute to improved collaboration in social work, while at the same time it with its scope for interpretation can create obstacles to collaboration, this study has been made. This qualitative study has been limited to a smaller municipality in southern Sweden, where all interviewees, work at the social services in the adult unit, but in different sections thus problems specialized specializations. During the course of the study, another study was discovered on collaboration between the police and social services, where collaboration and cross-border cooperation work better in smaller municipalities. Based on interviewee statements, this can be confirmed even if these cannot generalize all municipalities' social workers' experience of collaboration. The social services on which the study is conducted are focused on problems for adults and collaborate with a number of different actors, units and authorities at the same time, including within the unit. In order to be able to understand and explain how collaboration takes place and is experienced, the study has been structured in such a way that the social services as the organization are described and explained based on, among other things, organizational theory. The social services are clarified based on which structure, the social secretaries work. Where both collaboration theory and complexity theory can be applied, it is also explained in more detail about internal and external collaboration, intraorganizational collaboration, interorganizational collaboration. The social secretaries are then described in their role and work performance, with a special focus on collaboration.Where specialization, legitimacy and profession form the basis for a desirable and evidence-based practice (EBP) performance of social work.  Finally, based on previous research and interviewees' statements, it has been possible to make a reflection from the clients' perspective of how they experience collaboration. This structure has facilitated the explanation of each component for a functioning collaboration and created an overview to be able to develop and clarify the social workers' experience of the collaboration.