Socialtjänstens arbete för barn till föräldrar med substansmissbruk och beroende

Sammanfattning: Authors: Julia Berghällen och Isabelle Österström. Title: The social services work for children who have parents with substance use- disorders. Supervisor: Johan Billsten. Assessor: Torbjörn Forkby. The purpose of this study was to provide an increased knowledge and understanding of how social workers work with children whose parents have a substance use disorder. The background to this study is that a large number of children live with parents who don't have the ability to care for them because of their disorder. Despite the parents lack of abilities to nurture and protect the child, the family or the individuals in the family don't always get the help and support that they are in need for by their surroundings. There is a perception that the social workers ability to help the children is affected by laws and regulations as well as by the structures of the system. The study was conducted by using a qualitative method, where six interviews were made with social workers from two different departments children, and adults. The interviewees were from two different municipalities. The interviewees were selected through a strategic selection where we only selected the profession area to social workers. The study was analyzed on the basis of three theoretical points, thematic analysis, hermeneutics and system theory. The results of the study are for the most part consistent with previous research. The most prominent results from the study are the importance of the social workers competence to utilize their abilities regarding interacting and cooperating. But also, being able to work within the structures regarding laws and regulations, and being able to see individuals as individuals in different systems.