Det gäller att hela tiden väga förtroende med oro : En kvalitativ studie om fältarbetares syn- och arbetssätt i det uppsökande och förebyggande arbetet med unga

Sammanfattning: The social welfare committee has a responsibility to work with children and young people to prevent them from being harmed. In many municipalities, preventive work is carried out through an activity known as field work. More than half of Sweden's municipalities have field activities, but how the work is organized differs between municipalities. The purpose of the study is to investigate fieldworkers views and working methods in order to increase the understanding of fieldworkers goals and the conditions required to achieve these goals. The study is based on a qualitative approach with semi- structured interviews as a data collection method. Ten social workers with fieldwork as their explicit task have been interviewed about their perceptions and working methods. Analysis of their statements has then been made based on Bronfenbrenner's developmental ecological model, Askheim & Starrin's theory of Empowerment and Starrin's theory of Paternalism. The results of the study show that the fieldworkers goal is to discover the needs of young people, motivate them to help and create a long-term well-being of the individuals they meet. Fieldworkers believe that academic education, social skills and cooperation with others are important prerequisites for achieving these goals. In addition, it is important to have the trust of their organization, as the profession requires flexibility and results are difficult to demonstrate. The fieldworker strikes a balance between helping and controlling, aiming to help young people make wise choices and create long-term well-being.