Damned if you do, damned if you don´t

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this paper is to explore the social worker’s perspective on working for the government as a professional in care of children, in relation to the family's right to self determination. The essay's empirical material is gathered from qualitative, semi-structured interviews with social workers who work with children and youth in communities and districts in Skåne and Stockholm City, Sweden. The analysis was conducted in line with theories of social constructivism. The results and analysis show that the interviewed social workers did not believe that the state has too much power over the citizen. On the contrary, they believe that the family has substantial power. The power that social workers feel that they have, as professionals, can only be exercised when the criteria stated in the law are fulfilled. The social workers believe that the public’s opinion of the social workers’ authority and power mostly comes from the media. They believe that a negative image of social services may lead to fewer reports regarding children in need. The social workers also state that their professional role is inextricably linked to the workplace and they do not view themselves as authorities outside that sphere.