Strengths-based social work with unaccompanied minors and newly-arrived families: A qualitative study of Barn i Start

Sammanfattning: This thesis explores strengths-based social work with unaccompanied minors and newly-arrived families in Lund, Sweden, through a qualitative study based on par-ticipant observation and interviews at Barn i Start (BiS), a program for refugees. Previous research claims that welfare provision in Sweden has changed from a purely state-run service provider toward a heterogenic landscape of various public, private and non-governmental actors, and that different normative discourses in-form social work with migrants. This study explores the practice of strengths-based social work in a mixed public/non-governmental organization, against the back-drop of challenges related to the social integration of refugees in Sweden. Combin-ing theoretical foundations from both the concept of social integration and the pro-fessional field of social work provides an effective basis in the analysis of the situ-ation of unaccompanied minors and newly-arrived families in Sweden. Findings suggest certain structural benefits to a mixed public/non-governmental approach, as well as apparent practical gains of the strengths-based social work performed by BiS in Lund as a family-centered approach aiming at the strengths and capabil-ities of participants. Considering a wide range of obstacles when having arrived in Sweden, BiS offers unaccompanied minors and newly-arrived families safe and re-liable services and group workshops promoting both self-awareness and practical information through discussion, exercises and reflection.