The aim of this study was to examine the representation over time of the Swedish social service in the national daily press. More specifically, its aim was to compare the years 1997, 2007 and 2017 and examine any differences and patterns in the reporting due to social changes in society. As this study was based on quantitative content analysis, all articles published in four of the largest national papers during those years, containing the word ”socialtjänsten” [the social service] were read. A code schedule with six themes were made to be used when reading the articles. The themes were: 1) Name of the newspaper. 2) Year of publication. 3) Character of article; news or editorial. 4) Field of social service; e.g. ’child welfare’. 5) Level of analysis; micro, meso or macro. 6) Rating of the social service; positive, negative or neutral. The analysis was based on three media theories; agenda setting, news valuation and framing. As a conclusion the valuation of the social service seems to be pretty much the same over the years; almost two of five articles has a negative valuation of the social service and three of five articles has a neutral valuation of the social service. In relation to that approximately two of one hundred articles has a positive valuation of the social service. Editorial material tends to valuate the social service more negative than news material. The level of analysis seems to have changed to fewer articles on a micro-level in 2017 than in 1997. The five most common fields associated with the social service are youth criminality, child welfare, social service as an organisation, economic aid and migration.

Many children in society live in families where one or both parents have drug-addiction prob- lems. Early life conditions for these children may result in a need of support, which may be a requirement for a more favourable psycho-social development. The study purpose was to in- vestigate social worker’s experience of work with children with drug addiction problems in their primary family, based on the criticism of social service assistance. The study was based on a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Six social workers in central Swe- den were interviewed about their experience of structural and individual preconditions and difficulties in the work. The study shows that the majority of the difficulties are experienced on the structural level within the organization while the majority of the preconditions are ex- perienced on the individual level. The structural difficulties are not experienced to affect the respondent’s own individual preconditions in their work and neither the feeling that they in their profession are able to do a good job. In addition, all the respondents feel that the support for the children and young people meet the current needs. / Många barn i samhället lever i familjer där en eller båda föräldrarna har en missbruksproble- matik. Uppväxtvillkoren för dessa barn kan resultera i ett behov av stödinsatser vilka kan vara en förutsättning för en mera gynnsam psykosocial utveckling. Studiens syfte var att undersöka socialsekreterares uppfattning av arbetet med barn som lever med missbruk i sin primärfamilj utifrån den kritik som riktats mot socialtjänstens stödinsatser. Undersökningen utgick från en kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer . Sex socialsekreterare i Mellansverige in- tervjuades om upplevda strukturella och individuella möjligheter och svårigheter i arbetet. Studien påvisar att majoriteten av svårigheterna upplevs återfinnas på strukturell nivå inom organisationen medan majoriteten av möjligheter återfinns på individuell nivå. De strukturella svårigheterna upplevs inte påverka respondenternas egna individuella möjligheter eller upple- velsen av att de i sin yrkesroll kan utföra ett bra arbete. Dessutom framkom att samtliga re- spondenter upplever att stödet till barn och unga tillgodoser de aktuella behoven.

There are few studies done on the work of social services on women exposed to violence. The work of social services with women exposed to violence has been a hot topic in the social policy debate. There have also been legislative changes to strengthen the work and help around women who are exposed to violent. The overall issues of the study focus on investigating the importance of social workers experiences in the work around the womens exposed to violence with the different types of policies, guidelines, action plan and regulations? We also wanted to explore how we can understand the importance of policies, guidelines, action plan and regulations and how it works when social workers use these in their work around women exposed to violence?                                                                   The empirical study has mainly been gathered through qualitative semistructured interviews with professional social workers in the Swedish municipalities social services. We have interviewed six different social workers in four different municipalities all in the southern part of Sweden. Previous research has also been studied, national and international. The collected empiricism has been analyzed using the theory developed by Michael Lipsky, and we have also used Roine Johansson's interpretation of grassroots bureaucracy to gain a deeper understanding of our data material. We received data showing that the social worker decides on actions motivated by the policies, guidelines, action plans and regulations they relate to. We saw that the policies, guidelines, action plan and regulations that the social workers worked with were very different in their design, which meant that there were different structured structures within the organizations in the different municipalities, which resulted in differences in how to work. We also saw that the social worker had different experiences of how far and wide the use of these documents was, and that we could see the significance of social workers who experienced the documents in their work. The study depicts how social workers perceive that policies, guidelines, action plans and regulations affect their work around women exposed to violence, and how we can understand the importance of policies, guidelines, action plan and regulations and how it works when social workers use them in their work around women exposed to violence. The main conclusion in this study is that the social worker provides assistance, support and assistance to the woman as she fits into what the social worker's policies, guidelines, action plans and regulations describe. If the woman exposed to violence does not comply with the criteria such as policies, guidelines, action plans and regulations, then there are reasons for granting the victim of violence to receive support and assistance. The study also shows how clients are categorized to fit into the organization, they are interpreted renegotiated and adapted to fit the social services organization. The study also shows that some of the social workers use and follow the policies, guidelines, action plan and regulations more than others and it is also clear that they can be used in order to give more specialized efforts to the victim of violence. / Det finns få studier kring socialtjänstens arbete med våldsutsatta kvinnor. Socialtjänstens arbete med våldsutsatta kvinnor har utgjort ett hett ämne i den socialpolitiska debatten. Det har även skett lagförändringar för att stärka arbetet och hjälpen kring de våldsutsatta kvinnorna. Studiens övergripande frågeställningar fokuserar på att undersöka vilken betydelse socialarbetaren upplever att olika typer av policy, riktlinjer, handlingsplan och föreskrifter har i sitt arbete kring de våldsutsatta kvinnorna. Vi ville även undersöka hur vi kan förstå betydelsen av policy, riktlinjer, handlingsplan och föreskrifter och hur det går till när socialarbetaren använder sig av dessa i sitt arbete kring våldsutsatta kvinnor. Studiens empiri har huvudsakligen samlats in genom kvalitativa, semistrukturerade intervjuer med yrkesverksamma och professionella socialarbetare inom Sveriges kommuners socialtjänster. Vi har intervjuat sex olika socialarbetare inom fyra olika kommuner alla inom området södra Sverige. Tidigare forskning har även studerats, nationell och internationell. Den insamlade empirin har analyserats med hjälp av teori som har utvecklats av Michael Lipsky och vi har även använt oss av Roine Johanssons tolkning av gräsrotsbyråkrati för att få en djupare förståelse för vårt datamaterial. Vi fick fram data som visar att socialarbetaren beslutar om insatser begrundat i den policy, riktlinjer, handlingsplaner och föreskrifter som finns att förhålla sig till. Vi såg att de policys, riktlinjer, handlingsplan och föreskrifter som socialarbetarna arbetade utefter var väldigt olika i sin utformning och det gjorde att det blev olika uppbyggda strukturer inom organisationerna i de olika kommunerna vilket resulterat i att det är skillnader i hur man arbetar. Vi kunde även se att socialarbetaren hade olika upplevelser av hur stor och bred användning dessa dokument har samt att vi kunde se vilken betydelse socialarbetarna upplevde att dokumenten hade i sitt arbete. Studien skildrar hur socialarbetare upplever att policy, riktlinjer, handlingsplaner och föreskrifter påverkar deras arbete kring våldsutsatta kvinnor. Studien skildrar även hur vi kan förstå betydelsen av policy, riktlinjer, handlingsplan och föreskrifter och hur det går till när socialarbetaren använder sig av dessa i arbetet kring våldsutsatta kvinnor. Den huvudsakliga slutsatsen i den här studien är att socialarbetaren ger insatser, stöd och hjälp till kvinnan när hon passar in i det som socialarbetarens policy, riktlinjer, handlingsplaner och föreskrifter beskriver. Om den våldsutsatta kvinnan inte stämmer överens med de kriterier som policy, riktlinjer, handlingsplaner och föreskrifter har så krävs det motiveringar för att bevilja att den våldsutsatta kvinnan ska få stöd och hjälp. Studien visar även hur klienterna kategoriseras för att passa in i organisationen, de tolkas omförhandlas och anpassas för att passa in i socialtjänstens organisation. Studien visar även att en del av socialarbetarna använder sig och följer de policy, riktlinjer, handlingsplan och föreskrifter mer än andra och det är även tydligt att de kan användas i syfte att ge den våldsutsatta kvinnan mer specialiserade insatser.

Studien handlar om ett av mig identifierat fenomen inom den sociala barnavården i Sverige som jag benämnt skyddsuppmaning. Studiens syfte har varit att ta del av socialsekreterares förståelse av skyddsansvaret när barnets vårdnadshavare är skilda och en av dem utgör en risk för barnet. Ytterligare ett syfte har varit att ta del av hur socialsekreterare problematiserar fenomenet skyddsuppmaning. Studien bygger på intervjuer med sex socialsekreterare vid olika socialförvaltningar i landet, som alla arbetar med utredningar enligt socialtjänstlagen gällande barn.  Resultatet visar att socialsekreterare uppfattar att det är vårdnadshavarens skyldighet att skydda barnet och att det är ett beslut som endast vårdnadshavare kan fatta. När socialsekreterare kommunicerar skyddsansvaret med vårdnadshavarna uttalar de sig med olika grader av styrka i sin uppmaning. Socialsekreterare anser att skyddsuppmaning främst vilar på det generella föräldraansvaret som finns angivet i föräldrabalken (1949:381). De problematiserar skyddsuppmaning genom att bland annat ange de känslomässiga påfrestningar som uppstår för vårdnadshavarna, samt att skyddsuppmaning späder på en redan konfliktfylld relation dem emellan.  När intervjumaterialet betraktas i ljuset av teorin kan det förstås som att skyddsuppmaningen blivit institutionaliserad och för givet tagen inom den sociala barnavården, vilket återfinns i Bordieus begrepp doxa. Den låga graden av laglig reglering av skyddsuppmaning gör att det finns få likheter med Webers byråkratiska, rättssäkra modell, men däremot utrymme för socialsekreterarnas överväganden. Det öppnar för normerande inslag som finns inom socialt arbete.  En analys av materialet visar dels att socialsekreterarna implicit beslutar om skyddet med förväntan att vårdnadshavaren verkställer det, dels att det finns en växelverkan mellan socialsekreterarnas styrka i skyddsuppmaningen och vårdnadshavarnas responser. Utifrån det kan skyddsuppmaningen leda till fyra olika typer av intagna positioner hos vårdnadshavarna. Dessa är ”De naturliga”, ”De övertalade”, ”De skrämda” och ”De övergivna”.

To use standardized questionnaires for questions about domestic violence within the social services' elderly units Intimate partner violence (IPV)and the way women are  exposed to violence in close relationships has been recognized in recent decades as a problem at a societal level, both nationally and globally. As a result, work on IPV has  received new laws and regulations to strengthen women's right to protection in society, which has also led to work with these issues is being developed and prioritized at a  municipal level. While IPV has gained more visibility, IPV that affect older women also has received greater attention. IPV and aging can mean a special vulnerability as aging  can mean more isolation, greater need for care by or for a violent partner and that the violence may have lasted for a longer period of time. Research on the subject also shows that there is a knowledge gap about the elderly's exposure to violence and the work to discover it, and that there are no specific figures that show how widespread the problem is. Despite the increased focus on older women's exposure to IPV, interest in skills development regarding elderly is lower in comparison with other categories within the group  of women exposed to violence in Sweden's municipalities. At the same time, the development of welfare has moved in a direction towards an evidence-based practice and  developed standardized assessment instruments. Based on an attempt to combine work against violence in close relationships with evidence-based practice, the assessment  instrument FREDA was developed, which social workers and social service agents can use to detect and identify violence and make protection assessments, which is considered  an important part of violence prevention and violence protection work. Nevertheless, several studies and evaluations show that there are several obstacles to asking questions  about violence, such as insecurity and lack of knowledge. The purpose of our study has been to investigate how social workers at social agencies that works with elders ask  questions about violence in IPV and whether underlying factors such as knowledge, experience and supervision affect the tendency for social service agents to ask the question  about violence. The purpose is also to investigate the extent to which social service workers use standardized assessment instruments in matters of violence and whether  standardized assessment instruments is experienced as a support in their work. With a quantitative method and with a survey design to collect data, we have created a web survey with 49 statements and questions that we have sent via link to social service agents who work with development assistance and the elderly. The survey received a total of 79 respondents and the results have been processed in SPSS and to some extent in Excel. To present the results we have used SPSS to create graphs and crosstabs and through using Cramres V we report the strength of the relationships between the  variables. We have also developed a significance measure based on Cramers V. The results of the study shows that a significant proportion of the respondents do not agree that they ask questions about domestic violence to their clients and that there is a connection between not asking questions about domestic violence and not feeling that you have  enough knowledge of the subject. The results of the study cannot show where the knowledge about violence comes from, but it shows that within our sample there is a slight  tendency for the use of FREDA-short questions to have a positive impact on the experience of knowledge about IPV. The results of the study show that approximately one third  of the study respondents use FREDA-short questions at their workplace. The study also shows that of the respondents who stated that they fully or partially agree that they ask questions about violence in close proximity to a greater extent use FREDA-shortquestions. In conclusion, our study shows that there was a tendency for respondents who  stated that they did not agree that they ask questions about domestic violence also had the opinion that older people find it more intrusive to talk about IPV.

In research, the transition from foster care to adult life has been pointed out as a significant and problematic period in young people´s lives. However, we know less about how this transition is handled professionally. Through qualitative interviews, this study examines social worker´s views and experiences of this transition process. The research questions focus on what needs social workers see in young people´s transition, how they describe their own work, and what strategies and tools that may promote the transition. The results are analyzed using the following theoretical concepts – discretion, emotional support, informative support,instrumental support and evaluative support. The study shows that young people need long-term relationships, certain practical skills and each type of support. Work with the transition is based on these needs. Here, social workers have an exploratory and coordination role thatconsists of many tasks. While they describe some specific strategies and tools, the results show that there are difficulties within this work. The roles of foster carers and social workers in young people´s transition to adulthood are discussed.

Att uppleva våld mellan föräldrar är en av de värsta formerna av våld ett barn kan utsättas för, och det kan medföra trauman och hälsoproblem ända in i vuxenlivet. När kvinnan tar sig ur relationen och får en placering på skyddat boende får barnen ofta följa med. Barnen får inget eget placeringsbeslut och det finns inga direkta riktlinjer för skyddade boenden. Tas det ett samhälleligt ansvar för dessa barn? Syftet med denna studie var att bidra med kunskap om vilka insatser som finns tillgängliga för barn som lever i skyddat boende tillsammans med sina mammor. Vi ville uppmärksamma barnens behov och vilka rättigheter barnen har enligt lag, samt ta reda på om de insatser barnen erbjuds kan anses tillräckliga för att tillgodose dessa behov. Studien har genomförts genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju professionella med erfarenhet av barn på skyddat boende i Stockholms län. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av en teoretisk referensram bestående av utvecklingsekologi, anknytningsteori och traumamedveten omsorg, samt kompletterades med nationell och internationell forskning. Studiens resultat visar att många barn mår dåligt och har behov av kris- och traumabearbetning, samt att de kan lida av tristess på boendena. Vidare visar resultatet att andra viktiga aspekter som spelade en stor roll för barnens återhämtning var mammans föräldraförmåga samt möjligheten att skapa normalitet i sin vardag med hjälp av rutiner, skola och sysselsättning. Andra vuxna att ty sig till var också betydelsefullt. Det framkommer dock att det finns en problematik runt samarbetet med andra aktörer som bland annat socialtjänsten, barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin och kommunen. Vilka insatser barnen erbjuds och får tillgång till visade sig skifta oerhört mycket beroende på vilket boende de hamnade på. / Intimate partner violence is one of the worst forms of violence a child can experience and it can lead to trauma and health problems all the way into adulthood. When a woman leaves a relationship and is placed in a women's shelter, the children often accompany her. Children are not subject to separate placement decisions and there is no direct regulation of shelters. Does society take responsibility for these children. The aim of this study was to contribute knowledge about the services available for children who live in shelters with their mothers. We wanted to shed light on the needs of these children and their legal rights, and to see if the services offered to these children could be considered sufficient to satisfy their needs. The study was conducted through qualitative, semi-structured interviews with seven professionals who have experience with children in sheltered housing in Stockholm county. Results were analyzed using a theoretical framework composed of developmental ecology, attachment theory, and transforming care, complemented with national and international research. The results show that many children are emotionally distressed and in need of crisis intervention and trauma-focused therapy, and that they suffer from boredom at the shelters. The results also show that other important aspects that played a major role in children's recovery were the mother’s parenting competence and the chance to create normality with the help of routines, school and activities. The presence of other adults also mattered. It appears however, that there are problems in collaboration with other actors such as, among others, social services, child and adolescent psychiatry and the municipality. The services that are available to children differ greatly among shelters.

The aim of this study was to investigate how the best interest of the child was considered and reasoned with in cases where one parent has been using violence against the other parent and child has been exposed to this. The focus of our study was to see how the different units in social services cooperate for the best interest of the child and also how they reason their own assessment in these cases. The empirical data of this study consists of 8 qualitative interviews with social workers in family law or child protection services. We have chosen to base our study with three scientific theories, which are: collaboration theory, interorganizational organization theory and the theory of professions. The outcome of this study has been coded and themed in diverse steps to pinpoint the fundamental categories. These categories are: factors of importance in collaboration and factors that affect what is considered to be the best interest of the child. Based on our results and the empirical data studied, we have drawn a conclusion that there are many different and complex factors that can influence the decision making of a child's contact with an abusive parent. The interpretation and collaboration can be influenced by different factors such as the goals and purpose of the unit. It can be stated through our study that there is a positive view of collaboration between family law and child protection services. However, it can also be stated that the collaboration does not occur to the same extent as one would have liked within the units and that this could be due to various factors. We have also noticed that there has not been a lot of research on our topic regarding the interaction between family law and child protection services, especially regarding cases of violence. There is a need for more research regarding an internal collaboration within the social services that can be implemented as there are shortcomings in practice that have emerged in our study. We believe that the social workers in the social services and the families in question would have benefited from a more comprehensive research on how to interact with each other for the best interests of the child.

Prior studies have shown that individuals with disabilities, especially those with communication disabilities, are at higher risk for being exposed to domestic violence. The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare recommend the municipal social services to use Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) as a means to facilitate communication with such individuals. Further, it is recommended that the social services use a standardized instrument called FREDA-risk assessment to ask clients about domestic violence. However, little is known about the use of those instruments among LSS administrators who handle service and support for individuals with disabilities, who may also have communication disabilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of FREDA- risk assessment and AAC among LSS administrators, and to explore whether the use of AAC affects the use of FREDA-risk assessment. In order to do so, a digital survey was conducted, in which 366 respondents spread over 144 municipalities participated. The results show that both instruments are not use at their full potential and that the use of AAC could facilitate the use of FREDA- risk assessment. Implications for social work practice and further research are discussed.

Den psykosociala arbetsmiljön har tydliga kopplingar till medarbetares psykiska hälsa och välbefinnande. Höga krav i arbetet i samband med låg kontroll som att kunna styra sitt arbete och otillräckligt med stöd är bland de främsta indikatorerna på en arbetsmiljö som föregår med stressrelaterade sjukdomar och missnöje bland medarbetare. I människovårdande yrken är stressrelaterade sjukdomar överrepresenterade bland samhällets övriga yrkesgrupper, därför är en studie om hur olika faktorer antingen bidrar till en bättre arbetsmiljö eller inte av relevans för området där medarbetare lider på grund av arbetsförhållandena idag. År 2020 utlöste Covid-19 en pandemi som fick en hel värld att ställa om i spåren av att begränsa virusets framfart. För mig blev pandemin tydlig i en nära kontext av socialtjänstens arbete då jag befann mig på min verksamhetsförlagda praktik i utbildningen. Som en del i ett större program som anordnades av kommunen där jag gjorde min praktik fick jag möjlighet att bekanta mig med flera delar av socialtjänstens verksamhet, såsom Barn- och ungdom, Försörjningsstöd, Missbruk, Funktionsnedsättning och Äldreomsorgen. Varje område hade sitt sätt att organisera arbetet på, men även olika strategier för att ställa om i verksamheterna för att begränsa en smittspridning av Coronaviruset bland både klienter och medarbetare. Denna studie tar avstamp i vad tidigare statistik och forskning visat om arbetsmiljön i människovårdande yrken och den omställning som socialtjänsten genomförde där arbetet till stor del förlades på distans. Min förhoppning är vidare att denna undersökning ska bidra med kunskap om hur distansarbetet har fungerat i relation till arbetsmiljön. Sammanfattningsvis har denna undersökning visat att distansarbetet är önskvärt om än i varierande grad. Majoriteten av socialtjänstens medarbetare vill alltså i viss mån arbeta på distans, vissa mer än andra, men dock inte för att arbetet görs mycket bättre hemifrån alla gånger. Därmed finns det anledning att fördjupa sig mer i orsakerna till att socialarbetare vill arbeta på distans. / The psychosocial work environment has clear links to employees' mental health and well-being. High demands at work in connection with low control to be able to manage their work and insufficient support are among the main indicators of a work environment that precedes stress-related illnesses and dissatisfaction among employees. Stress-related diseases is overrepresented in human service professions among, therefore is a study of how various factors either contribute to a better work environment or not is relevant to the area. In 2020, Covid-19 triggered a pandemic that caused an entire world, societies to change their ways of operating. Companies and institutions had to adapt and change its traditional way of conducting its work in order to best limit the spread of covid-19 infection. For me, the pandemic became clear in a close context of the Social services government work, when I had my internship in education. As part of a larger program organized by the municipality where I did my internship, I had the opportunity to gain insight in several parts of the Social services government work, such as helping Children and Youth, Financially support, Addiction support, Disability and Elderly Care. Each area had its own way of organizing the work, but also different strategies for reorganizing their ways of work to limit the spread of the dangerous virus among both clients and employees. Against the background of what previous statistics and research have shown about the work environment for human care professions and the adjustment that the social services carried out where the work was largely placed at distance from the traditional office work to employees' homes, this study will be an attempt to contribute with knowledge of how telework has worked. In summary, this study has shown that teleworking is desirable, albeit to varying degrees. The majority of social service employees thus want to work remotely to some extent, some more than others, but not because the work is done much better from home all the time. Thus, there is reason to delve more deeply into the reasons why social workers want to work remotely.