A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Whether Disabled Parents Receive Personal Assistance for Parenting and the Consequences for Children—An Interview Study

  2022. Ulrika Järkestig Berggren, Ann-Sofie Bergman. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19 (6)

  Article

  Personal assistance, since its implementation in 1993, has been shown to provide support for persons with severe functional disabilities in their everyday life, ensuring inclusion in societal roles such as working life. Personal assistance (PA) may also provide support in parenting; however, with the right to PA becoming increasingly questioned in Sweden, parents with disabilities have varying experiences of receiving support for their role as parents. Experiences also differ in regard to how access to a personal assistant is important to their child’s daily life. The aim of this article is to shed light on the meaning of PA for parents and children in everyday life, especially when PA is reduced or even withdrawn. Eleven parents who have had or presently have PA were interviewed. The results show that parents describe that PA help them to fullfil their parental roles although the support could be more flexible to the needs of parents and their children. In situations when PA has been denied, children are negatively impacted and some children act by taking on responsibilities for the care of their parent. In conclusion; childrens’ perspective of their family life needs to be taken in consideration when assessing the rights to PA.

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• Utvärdering av Relationsvåldscentrum (RVC) i Stockholms stad

  2021. Maria Eriksson (et al.).

  Report

  I föreliggande rapport presenteras resultaten av en forskarutvärdering av Relationsvåldscentrum (RVC) i Stockholms stad. Utvärderingen har genomförts av en grupp forskare knutna till Institutionen för socialvetenskap vid Ersta Sköndal Bräcke högskola och har pågått under 2020 och 2021. Utvärderingens övergripande syfte är att undersöka vilken betydelse RVC har för att säkra god kvalitet i Stockholms stads insatser mot våld i nära relation respektive hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Studien fokuserar på fyra olika områden: 1) Resultat, 2) Arbetet som bedrivs vid RVC i jämförelse med ordinarie arbete i respektive stadsdelsförvaltning, exempelvis när det gäller bemötande eller lämpliga och tillräckliga insatser, 3) Organisation, och 4) Kostnader. Studien har genomförts genom en kombination av metoder och rapporten bygger på sex olika dataset: 1) Dokument och statistik rörande RVC:s brukare och arbete, inklusive underlag om ekonomiska förutsättningar; 2) Självskattningar av traumasymptom hos RVC:s våldsutsatta brukare; 3) Tematiskt strukturerade intervjuer med personal vid RVC respektive stadsdelsförvaltningarnas myndighetsutövande enheter, här benämnda relationsvåldsteam (RVT); 4) Enkät till personal påRVC respektive stadsdelsförvaltningarnas relationsvåldsteam (RVT) om hur samverkan mellan RVC och övriga delar av socialtjänsten fungerar; 5) Tematiskt strukturerade intervjuer med brukare vid RVC, 6) RVC:s brukarundersökning.

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• Records of personal assistance applications reveal young carers: Viewed from the rights of the child

  2022. Bergman Ann-Sofie, Ulrika Järkestig Berggren. Children & Society

  Article

  The aim of this article is to investigate how children's care responsibility is recognised in records of personal assistance carried out by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA). The article consists of document analysis, examining how caring activities are made visible in the records, and professionals' views and actions regarding responsibilities placed on children. Data consist of 100 cases randomly selected from the SSIA register amongst applicants with children, focusing on parents' descriptions of their needs, the public officials' assessments, and statements from professionals. Recurring themes related to young carers were developed.

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• Child protection investigations by private consultants or municipally employed social workers: What are the differences for children?

  2022. Ann-Sofie Bergman, Kerstin Arnesson, Ulrika Järkestig Berggren. Journal of Social Work

  Article

  Summary

  In Sweden, a practice has developed where the social services have started to hire private consultants in child protection investigations. This article analyses and compares the handling of child protection investigations carried out by private consultants and municipally employed social workers with regard to the reasons for the reports, the investigations, the assessments, and the decisions taken about interventions. The concepts funnel and filtering and children's participation are used in the analysis. The study has a mixed-methods design, where qualitative and quantitative data and analysis are combined and integrated. Data consists of 120 case files regarding the social service's handling of investigations as well as interviews with managers of social service departments.

  Findings

  The results show several differences in the handling of child protection investigations carried out by social workers and private consultants in the municipalities studied. The private consultants worked to a greater extent with investigations that were initiated due to concerns about violence. Investigations conducted by consultants contained less information and specifically concerning children's perspective. These children also received interventions to a lesser extent than children assessed by the municipal social workers.

  Application

  The study indicates that from a child’s perspective, it matters whether a municipally employed social worker or a private consultant performs an investigation. Consultants generally work temporarily in a workplace, and it may therefore be more difficult to establish a trusting relationship with the children, which can be a barrier to children's participation and the implementation of a child’s perspective.

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• Samarbetssamtal vid oenighet om barn

  2023. Ann-Sofie Bergman, Maritha Jacobsson. Medling vid konflikter som rör barn och unga, 65-90

  Chapter

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• More trouble in a welfare paradise: Sweden's problematic welfare policy and practice response to the pandemic

  2023. Pringle Keith, Ann-Sofie Bergman, Maria Eriksson. Post-Pandemic Welfare and Social Work, 123-134

  Chapter

  The chapter explores the apparent contradiction between Sweden’s pre-eminent international welfare reputation and its strikingly limited welfare response to the pandemic. We survey the Swedish welfare impact within two domains: first, the domain of public and social policies during the pandemic and their impact on the welfare of citizens; second, the domain of social work practice and its impact within two fields – disability and gendered violence to women. Finally, we ask how far international social work can learn about its future trajectory from the Swedish experience.

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• ”Man får inte ta någon genväg in i konsultarbetet”: En studie om privata konsulters som genomför barnavårdutredningar inom svenska social förvaltningar

  2023. Kerstin Arnesson, Ulrika Järkestig Berggren, Ann-Sofie Bergman. Arbetsmarknad & Arbetsliv 29 (2), 26-44

  Article

  I artikeln fördjupas kunskapen om den privata konsultens väg in i arbetet som konsult, tiden som konsult och väg ut mot andra uppdrag. Resultatet visar att vägen in och vägen ut, utifrån ett tidsgeografiskt perspektiv, vilar på samma restriktioner, det vill säga brist på makt och inflytande och krav på samordning. Tilläggas kan en önskan om frihet som sedan övergår till en längtan efter trygga anställningsvillkor. För studiens respondenter blev tiden som konsult ett tillfälligt mellanrum och det är viktigt att det blir så även för socialförvaltningar. Risken finns dock att det blir en mer permanent lösning på svåra situationer.

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• ”Andra ögon idag?”: Socialtjänstens hantering av barnavårdsutredningar om våldsutsatthet

  2023. Ann-Sofie Bergman, Ulrika Järkestig Berggren, Kerstin Arnesson. Socialvetenskaplig tidskrift 30 (3), 739-758

  Article

  Social work involving child protection investigations is extensive within social services. The largest proportion of investigations are initiated due to reports of concern. Between the years 2010 and 2021, national statistics indicates that reports of concern increased by 200 percent. This article analyses the social services’ handling of child protection investigations initiated due to concerns about violence. The article is part of a larger study of privatisation in child protection investigations in six municipalities, with comparisons between investigations carried out by municipally employed social workers and private consultants. A high proportion of the investigations examined were initiated due to concerns about violence. The article analyses child protection investigations regarding 70 children, where the reports of concern contain information about violence, either concern about violence against the child or concern that the child experienced violence in close relationships. The article is based on qualitative and quantitative content analyses of the investigations and interviews with professionals. The results show that violence could tend to disappear in the documentation during the investigation process. The investigator could reformulate the questions that guided the investigation and reformulate the statements about violence from one person (father) towards another person (mother) into parental “conflicts”. Instead of a focus on violence, the focus of the investigation could be directed towards the parents’ own problems or the child’s behaviour. One explanation could be that, according to the reports of concern, children who were exposed to violence did not always have the opportunity to express themselves in safe and secure ways during the investigation process. The study shows differences between investigations carried out by private consultants and employed social workers in terms of children’s participation and the extent to which investigations led to any intervention.

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• Factors Associated With Stability for Children in Family Foster Care: A Study of Case Files in Six Municipalities in Sweden

  2024. Ann-Sofie Bergman (et al.). Child & Family Social Work

  Article

  Stability is vital for the development, health and relationships of children in family foster care. Instability can lead to social and school issues, low self-esteem and diminished trust in caregivers. This article examines the risk and protective factors for stability for these children. Data, drawn from case files in six municipalities (n = 116), combine qualitative and quantitative analyses for a comprehensive understanding. Twenty children from each municipality were selected, with 10 in stable placements (lived in one family foster home for over a year) and 10 in unstable placements (lived in at least two different family foster homes). Quantitative results highlight the importance of factors like familiar placements, a child's age at the time of placement, behavioural challenges and the number of children in the foster home. Stable placements were more common in homes with fewer children (including foster and biological children). Qualitative findings show that in some instances, breakdowns in foster care placements could not be foreseen, often arising from stressful events within the foster family's life after the child's placement. Additionally, we observed that breakdowns sometimes resulted from foster parents lacking the necessary resources to address the child's requirements, particularly in cases involving children with behavioural challenges or extensive needs.

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• Specialiserade team vid våld i nära relation: en studie i tre kommuner

  2024. Maria Eriksson, Karin Robertsson, Ann-Sofie Bergman.

  Report

  I föreliggande rapport redovisas resultat av en studie av hur tre kommuner hanterar socialnämndens ansvar för insatser på våldsområdet. Den undersöker hur kommunerna organiserar och genomför arbetet med att ge stöd till vuxna personer som utsatts för våld i nära relation respektive insatser till personer som utövar våld i nära relation. Studien genomfördes under åren 2020-2022 av forskare knutna till Institutionen för socialvetenskap vid Marie Cederschiöld högskola, inom ramen för det sexåriga forskningsprogrammet ”Samordnade interventionssystem mot våld i nära relationer” finansierat av Forte (2019-01492).

  Resultaten pekar på betydelsen av särskilda enheter eller mottagningar inriktade på våld i nära relation för att säkra god kvalitet i kommunernas insatser. Samtidigt synliggör både brukares och personalens beskrivningar utmaningar i socialtjänstens arbete med våld i nära relationer. Dessa handlar om implikationer av socialtjänstens funktionsindelning och specialisering, komplexiteten i att komma ur våld i förhållande till begränsade resurser till stödet till våldsutsatta, särskilt sårbara våldsutsatta brukare och hur arbetet är anpassat till deras behov, samt problemet med att interventionssystemet kring våld i nära relationer tenderar att vara vuxencentrerat trots att det finns minderåriga barn i familjen de flesta fall av våld i nära relationer som socialtjänsten kommer i kontakt med.

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• Matching Process Concerning Children With Disabilities in Family Foster Care

  2024. Kristina Engwall (et al.). Child & Family Social Work

  Article

  Children with disabilities are over-represented in foster care and exposed to more disruptions. This is unfortunate because theyneed long-term relationships and predictability, as well as access to special schools and health care. Disruption can be the resultof a poor match between the child and the foster family. In this article, we focus on the matching process in relation to childrenwith disabilities. Zeijlmans et al. describe matching as the process by which social workers move from principles of good matching to realistic matching, depending on existing premises. Using their model, we analyse the matching process for children withdisabilities in Sweden. The study is based on 31 individual interviews and six group interviews with social workers and socialwork managers. They describe how they take into account the family climate, family composition and prior knowledge and/orexperience of disability in the foster home. However, disruptions occur even when these conditions are met. Stable placementsseem to be more related to the fostered child's progress when the family's efforts are rewarded. We also address the complexissue of what disability actually means in the context of foster care, given the interrelatedness of trauma, maltreatment andimpairment.

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• Matching in practice: how to find the right family foster home for the right child

  2024. Ann-Sofie Bergman (et al.). European Social Work Research, 1-16

  Article

  The concept of matching refers to the process of selecting a family foster home to fit an individual child in placement. Matching is important for the quality of care, as the carers need the necessary resources to meet the child’s needs. Failure in matching can have negative consequences, such as a ‘breakdown’. The aim of this article is to explore the social workers’ practice when matching children and foster carers to ensure the children will receive good care and avoid a placement change. The article uses a qualitative approach and is based on interviews with 31 participants. Social workers and managers at municipal social services, as well as consultants, were interviewed about their work. The professionals reflected on what aspects they perceive as most important in matching and what challenges they encounter that complicate the process. Narratives of successful matches often focused on the characteristics, competence and experience of the foster carers to meet the needs of the children. Some of the challenges highlighted were time pressure and a lack of family foster homes to choose from. This means that professionals have to compromise and prioritise what is most important in relation to the needs of the child.

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Show all publications by Ann-Sofie Bergman at Stockholm University