Rättsliga spänningsförhållanden i arbete med samarbetssamtal

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study has been to investigate and analyze legal tensions in work with family law regarding mediation with a focus on consensual solutions and the will of the child as a legal and normative ideal. The method used in the study was semi-structured individual interviews with eight social workers, who work within the municipal social service with family law issues. The respondents work in five different municipalities of varying sizes and from different parts of the country. The results have been analyzed based on three different institutional logic influencing their work, cooperation logic, participation logic, and child protection logic. The results are also discussed in relation to Annika Rejmer’s thoughts on interest and value conflicts (2003), which are based on Aubert’s (1989) research. In the final discussion, the results are also discussed in relation to the best interests of the child in the limited/extended sense that both Anna Kaldal (2010) and Johanna Schiratzki (2019) use. Social workers in general have a positive attitude towards work with mediation, but they are also saying that the work includes complex cases. The result also shows that there are strong presumptions in the field which govern the work.