"It's about empowering the family"
en deskriptiv studie med komparativa inslag om familjerådslag i Helsingborg, Höör och Belfast
EmpowermentSocial WorkFamily Group ConferenceFamiliesPaternalismSocial changesTheory of social workSociala förändringarTeorier om socialt arbeteSocial problems and welfareNational insuranceSociala problemSocial välfärdSocialförsäkringSocial SciencesLaw and Political Science
In August 2007 we went to New Zealand for a placement at Child Youth and Family Services. There our interest in Family Group Conferences (FGC) took off. FGC is not near as common in Sweden as in New Zealand. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine how the Social Services in Helsingborg and Höör in Sweden and Belfast in Northern Ireland work with FGC. We had the privilege to go to Belfast in Northern Ireland as part of the project Insight Europe. Our aim was further to study how professionals within the Social Services reflect around working with FGC's and giving families influence on statutory social work. Our focus is on FGC's in respect to children up to the age of 18. Nine qualitative interviews were conducted, three in each municipality. Both social workers, FGC co-ordinators and Supervisors in charge of FGC were spoken to. Questions about how the different Social Service agencies work with FGC, the method's strengths and weaknesses and family influence on statutory social work were asked during the interviews. Two different perspectives; empowerment and paternalism, together with previous research on the subject applied on our own material, constitute the analysis of this study. Our conclusion is that all our interviewed Social Service staff is positive towards Family Group Conferences. FGC is according to research and our interviewees, also a well liked method among families. Höör is the municipality which uses FGC most out of the three while Helsingborg uses it the least. Reasons for not using FGC's is partly explained by interviewees because of the high workload that the social workers manage. They simply do not have the time to get to know a new method. Being a professional Social Worker does not necessarily mean that you always know what's best for families. Family Group Conferencing takes a big step away from the paternalism's way of thinking and promote empowerment. These are two of the main conclusions of this study.