Om socialt stöds betydelse för socialsekreterare vid arbete med barns placering i familjehem

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study was to investigate how child and family social workers on the basis of a specific mentor model express their discretion in their professional role. The data was collected by using qualitative interviews with five social workers from the same workplace.The benchmark of the municipality was determinative for the social embeddedness, the social climate and the social network of the discretion for the social workers, as it did for the social workers in providing the social support for the foster homes’ within the mentor model network. The social workers could benefit from the social support provided by the mentor homes on the placed child's needs combined with the knowledge of the foster homes qualifications.The study shows that the level of social support the mentor model can provide is beneficial for all parts on different levels in the system and in the process. The use of the attributes of social support: instrumental, emotional, informational, and appraisal gives a lesser experience of bureaucracy in the process which is in the best interest of the child.