This article investigates the need and sources of knowledge among LSS administrators in Sweden (i.e. social workers handling service and support for individuals with disability according to the Swedish Disability Act [LSS]). Changing and challenging working conditions and issues concerning professional status warrant the aim. A questionnaire distributed via gatekeepers in a number of municipalities demonstrated that knowledge about ‘disability’, ‘law’, ‘ethics’ and ‘augmentative and alternative communication’ was rated highly. This result is particularly interesting given that many social work education programmes do not have compulsory courses in disability. Colleagues appear to be relied upon as essential sources of support and knowledge, but the knowledge sharing seems unorganised. Findings are discussed in relation to communities of practice (CoP) and shows that, due to the lack of essential knowledge from formal education and the strong dependence on colleagues, a locally developed praxis might be established. Inadequate theoretical and research-based knowledge, together with this local praxis knowledge, may result in the LSS administrators’ work becoming inadequate. A specialist education in disability studies is proposed as a prerequisite for being employed as an LSS administrator, and the inclusion of a theoretical and scientific framework in the regular CoP interaction is also recommended.

When the issue of welfare is addressed in Sweden analysis is usually focused on the national level, in a smaller number of cases on the local level, but rarely on the regional level. Studies of poverty are no exception. The aim of this paper is to analyse child poverty in Sweden, from a regional perspective, in 1990 and 2010. A multivariate cross-section OLS regression model is used to estimate regional factors causing child poverty. Regional macro data is used. The findings indicate that old industrial regions experience greater child poverty. The statistical analysis shows that when the share of foreign-born individuals increases in the regional population, so does the regional share of children living on social assistance. Higher incomes lower the regional share of children living on social assistance.

Har kommunerna verkligen de redskap som behövs för att bekämpa barnfattigdomen? Detta kapitel visar att det finns åtta olika former av politisk ansvarsfördelning i bekämpandet av barnfattigdom i Sverige idag, och drar slutsatsen att det finns grundläggande politisk-institutionella problem rörande ansvarsfördelningen.

I kapitlet studeras vad skälig levnadsnivå för barn innebär - förr och nu. Vidare studeras Konsumentverkets hushållsbudget och riksnormen för ekonomiskt bistånd. Det finns flera oklarheter kring vad en skälig levnadsnivå för barn egentligen innebär enligt gällande lagstiftning och rättstillämpning.

This report examines the ways in which socioeconomic (SE) factors affect educational disadvantage. As a starting-point SE could be understood as a set of structural factors that influence education and could cause disadvantages for groups of children, youths and adults. Since socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) is a very complex concept, we will present a more extensive working definition. Official perceptions of SED as well as research perspectives will be discussed. SED has intersectional dimensions and these are explored here and in the other thematic reports1. There are several different factors used to measure socioeconomic conditions. Common ways of assessing SED can include parents’ educational level, social background, living conditions and social heritage. In Eurostat, parents’ educational level, living conditions, and income are measured together with other variables such as gender and ethnic group, in a multi-dimensional structure, in order to compile a comprehensive definition of SE. Although socioeconomic circumstances have an important effect on young people’s school careers, the concept of SE is not formally and uniformly defined in relation to education in EU reports and statistics.

This report examines the ways in which socioeconomic (SE) factors affect educational disadvantage. As a starting-point SE could be understood as a set of structural factors that influence education and could cause disadvantages for groups of children, youths and adults. Since socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) is a very complex concept, we will present a more extensive working definition. Official perceptions of SED as well as research perspectives will be discussed. SED has intersectional dimensions and these are explored.

The report examines educational disadvantage in primary and secondary school and educational policies in Denmark in relation to seven factors: gender, disability, ethnic minority status, indigenous minority status, language, religion, and socio-economic conditions.

Twenty educational projects, each intended in some way to address the educational needs of a specific group of disadvantaged people

Socialtjänstens arbete med arbetslivsinriktad rehabilitering är omfattande och har på senare år kommit att få en växande betydelse genom att allt fler långtidssjuka står utan både arbete och socialförsäkringsskydd. I denna rapport undersöks hur socialtjänsten i Stockholm arbetar med långtidssjuka personer som är nollklassade hos Försäkringskassan. En forskningsöversikt görs om orsakerna till de höga sjuktalen i Sverige och vilka faktorer som kan påverka långtidssjukas möjligheter att komma tillbaka till arbetslivet. Vidare diskuteras Försäkringskassans, Arbetsmarknadsverkets, arbetsgivarnas och landstingens rehabiliteringsansvar. Därefter studeras, främst genom chefsintervjuer, hur arbetslivsinriktad rehabilitering organiseras inom socialtjänsten i Stockholms stad och fem av stadsdelsförvaltningarna. Avslutningsvis diskuteras vilka konsekvenser den samhälleliga arbetslinjen och organisationen av rehabilitering kan ha för långtidssjuka människor idag.

Denna rapport syftar till att ge en flervetenskaplig belysning av olika aspekter av barnfattigdom i dagens Sverige och i Stockholm. Perspektiven är historiska, juridiska, politiska, ekonomiska och sociala. I en historisk jämförelse framträder bl a att barnen under det senaste halvseklet kommit att bli allt mera överrepresenterade bland dem som får ekonomiskt bistånd i Sverige. De juridiska aspekterna av samhällets ansvar problematiseras i relation till tolkningen av FN:s Barnkonvention. Uppgiftsfördelningen mellan överstatliga och mellanstatliga organ, svenska staten och de svenska kommunerna är emellertid oklar på flera punkter. Detta bidrar till att det kan bli svårt att uppfylla EU:s mål att utrota barnfattigdomen till 2010. Ett stort ansvar ligger på kommunerna, som emellertid har små möjligheter att strategiskt påverka barnfattigdomen. En närmare studie av Stockholms stad visar bl a på en fortgående process av segregation mellan stadsdelarna. Samtidigt som barnperspektivet blivit tydligare i de kommunala verksamheterna de senaste åren, kvarstår stora svårigheter att agera långsiktigt inom dessa verksamheter. Avslutningsvis diskuteras ämnesövergripande och ideologiska aspekter av arbetet mot barnfattigdom.