Mellan stöd och kontroll - Genomförandeplanens komplexa och mångbottnade användningsområden

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to examine and analyze social workers' views on working with individual plans and how they use them in working with their clients. Further, the aim was to emphasize and problematize how the client’s self-determination, responsibility, and effort to change are discussed and can be understood using different theories regarding power and by examining the organizational conditions under which the social workers operate. Nine qualitative interviews were performed with social workers working in social assistance. The interviewees had a rather positive view of working with individual plans as a tool. Mainly it was perceived to clarify the demands and expectations of the client, who was expected to take responsibility to follow the plan and achieve the stated goals in it. The individual plan was stated to derive from the clients´ self-determination despite the exercise of public authority and legislation limiting the client’s autonomy in the planning. An important finding was that the individual plan could have multiple parallel purposes for the social workers. Two contradicting purposes were that the individual plan should constitute both a plan in common with the client based on the client’s trust and participation but at the same time a list of demands and prerequisites for receiving economic aid. By analyzing the empiric material in relation to Foucault’s theories on governmentality and Lipsky’s theories on discretion, the study showed how the individual plan could be subject to more or less subtle forms of exercise of power. The analysis was further complemented by the social workers’ views on their discretion which was put in relation to the organization’s guidelines and demands regarding individual plans. The social workers experienced themselves as having a relatively large amount of discretion. Despite that, the discretion was frequently limited by a high workload and organizational and political demands stemming from quantitative goals which impeded their ability to carry out quality social work.