Långvarigt biståndstagande : En kvalitativ studie om långvariga biståndstagare med utländskbakgrund – utifrån socialsekreterarnas perspektiv

Sammanfattning: Individuals with a foreign background are particularly financially exposed group in society,who are more likely to receive financial assistance. This study investigates long-term welfarerecipients with a foreign background and their path to self-sufficiency from the perspective ofthe social workers. The study answers two main questions: Firstly, what factors contribute tolong-term acceptance of aid among individuals with a foreign background? Secondly, whatdoes social workers' work look like with long-term welfare recipients with a foreignbackground? The study is based on a qualitative methodological approach, through semi-structured interviews with five social workers from various municipalities within theStockholm area who work within their respective units for financial assistance. The empirical data have been processed with thematic analysis, and the presented results havebeen analyzed with the theoretical frameworks of capital theory and empowerment. Theresults of this study show that both individual- and structural factors can contribute toindividuals with a foreign background getting stuck as long-term welfare recipients. Some ofthe factors are, for example, lack of language skills, low education level, segregation, alimited social network and the demands of the labor market. The results also show that socialworkers' work with long-term welfare recipients who have foreign background is mainlyabout motivational work and finding new individual-strengthening ways to help the clientsbreak their dependence on benefits, where the work can be particularly challenging with thistarget group. In conclusion, this study has contributed to an enhanced understanding of along-term welfare recipients among individuals with a foreign background and how socialworkers work in relation to these clients.