Activation in social work with social assistance claimants in four Swedish municipalities

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the practice of activation in social work with social assistance claimants in four Swedish municipalities. Since the 1990s, social policies across the OECD countries have stressed activation as society's main tool to (re-)integrate unemployed SA claimants into the labour market. Two diverging activation models, the Labour Market Attachment model (with a focus on quick job entry) and the Human Resource Development model (with a focus on claimants’ resources), constitute the analytical framework. Social workers were interviewed retrospectively about activation during one year in a random sample of 372 social assistance claimants’ cases. Findings suggest that the extent of activation varies significantly between municipalities, from 20% to 60%. There was no distinct alignment toward the Labour Market Attachment or Human Resource Development models in the municipalities’ activation. Irrespective of work- or resource-orientation in the activation programmes, participation was for the most part obligatory and the participants were facing sanctions.

Syftet med denna artikel är att undersöka aktivering i socialt arbete med biståndsmottagare i fyra svenska kommuner. Sedan 1990-talet framhåller OECD-ländernas socialpolitik vikten av aktivering för att biståndsmottagare skall komma in på arbetsmarknaden. Två olika modeller av aktivering, ‘Labour Market Attachment’ (fokus på arbete och snabbt inträde på arbetsmarknaden) and ‘Human Resource Development’ (fokus på utbildning och varaktigt fäste på arbetsmarknaden) utgör analysramen i undersökningen. Socialarbetare har intervjuats retrospektivt i 372 slumpmässigt valda biståndsärenden om aktivering under ett års tid. Resultaten visar att aktivering förekommer i väldigt olika utsträckning i kommunerna, mellan 20 och 60%. Kommunernas aktivering återspeglade inte entydigt någon av modellerna Labour Market Attachment eller Human Resource Development. Oavsett om ett aktiveringsprogram var orienterat mot arbete eller utbildning var deltagandet obligatoriskt för de flesta deltagare och sanktioner tillämpades.

Keywords:

• Social Work
• Social Assistance Claimants
• Activation
• Activation Policies
• Labour Market Attachment
• Human Resource Development

Keywords:

• Socialbidrag
• Ekonomiskt Bistånd
• Biståndsmottagare
• Arbetsmarknadsinsatser
• Aktiveringspolitik

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Åke Bergmark, Renate Minas and Hugo Stranz at Stockholm University; Ulla Jergeby and Annika Eriksson at the National Board of Health and Welfare; Bjørn Hvinden at REASSESS: Nordic Centre of Excellence; Ivar Lødemel at Oslo University College; and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.

Notes

1. Immigrant background is when both parents are born outside of Sweden.