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“Activation Policy in Action” a Street-Level Study of Social Assistance in the Swedish Welfare State

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“Activation Policy in Action” a Street-Level Study of Social Assistance in the Swedish Welfare State “Activation Policy in Action” A Street-Level Study of Social Assistance in the Swedish Welfare State Acta Wexionensia Nr 163/2008 Vårdvetenskap och socialt arbete “Activation Policy in Action” A Street-Level Study of Social Assistance in the Swedish Welfare State Katarina H. Thorén Växjö University Press “Activation Policy in Action”: A Street-Level Study of Social Assistance in the Swedish Welfare State, Växjö University Press, Växjö universitet 2008. Skriftserieredaktör: Kerstin Brodén ISSN: 1404-4307 ISBN: 978-91-7636-641-7 Tryck: Intellecta Docusys, Göteborg 2008 Abstract Katarina H. Thorén (2008) “Activation Policy in Action”: A Street-Level Study of Social Assistance in the Swedish Welfare State This dissertation investigates the street-level implementation practices of the municipal activation policies within the context of the Swedish welfare state. Work-related activation policies are currently developing in most western wel- fare states. Sweden is no exception and municipal activation policies were intro- duced in the 1990s in the municipal social services organizations. The Swedish form of activation policies target unemployed social assistance recipients and re- quire them to participate in local activation measures in return for financial sup- port. The purpose of the study is to highlight how street-level workers in the Swedish municipal social service system “produce” activation policy in their dai- ly interactions with the social assistance recipients. The study builds on approaches that perceive street-level implementation practices as embedded in politically and organizationally shaped contexts. The key theme in this study is that street-level workers develop various forms of in- formal coping strategies as responses to working conditions marked by ambigu- ous legislation, organizational pressures, limited resources, unlimited service demand, and little program accountability. The study adds to this exploration of the role played by the normative assumptions about unemployed social assis- tance clients and how these assumptions interact with political-institutional and organizational factors. The research project is a multiple-case study that examines the street-level practices of activation policy in two Swedish municipal social service settings. The data collection consists of observations of the daily work operations in these two settings, interviews with local politicians and other key personnel, and anal- ysis of formal policy and program documents. Findings from the study suggest that street-level implementation practices entail a number of informal practice strategies that remove activation policy delivery from formal policy intentions and program goals. Activation policy practice entails, for example, mass referrals instead of individual needs assessments and tailor-made solutions. Clients were sorted and categorized on the basis of moral perceptions about behavioral defi- cits instead of employment needs. Thus, the study demonstrates that normative assumptions about the policy’s target populations structure and form the practi- cal delivery processes, and that social work principles and formal activation pol- icy rhetoric – both of which emphasize individual needs assessments and tailor- made solutions – do not influence activation policy-as-practiced to any greater extent. Keywords: Activation Policy, Street-Level Bureaucracy Theory, Street-Level Implementation Practices, Social Assistance, Swedish Welfare State, Social Work 5 Preface This dissertation was submitted to the faculty of the School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 2008. Dissertation Committee: Sydney Hans (Chair), Tapio Sa- lonen (Member), Jennifer Mosley (Member), Jeanne C. Marsh (Reactor) and Colleen Grogan (Reactor). 6 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................ 5 Preface.............................................................................................................. 6 Table of Contents.................................................................................................. 7 Acknowledgements............................................................................................... 9 1. Introduction..................................................................................................... 13 Problem Statement.......................................................................................... 14 Purpose of the Dissertation............................................................................. 16 Research Approach......................................................................................... 17 Organization of the Dissertation..................................................................... 18 2. Theoretical Background and Literature Review ............................................. 20 History of Policy Implementation Research................................................... 20 Street-Level Bureaucracy Theory................................................................... 22 Political-Institutional Perspective on Street-Level Implementation Practices...................................................................................................... 26 What Factors Shape Street-Level Welfare Implementation Practices? .......... 27 The Analysis of Municipal Activation Policy Implementation in Sweden..... 34 3. Activation Policy Background ........................................................................ 38 The Global Activation Policy Development................................................... 38 Different Activation Policy Models................................................................ 39 The Swedish Welfare State............................................................................. 42 The Legal and Administrative Foundation of Swedish Activation Policy ..... 48 Activation Policy and Social Work Practices................................................. 53 The Swedish Activation Policy Context and Implication for Research.......... 55 4. Research Methodology and Study Design ...................................................... 56 Case Study Design.......................................................................................... 56 Data Collection Strategies and Data Analysis Approaches ............................ 60 5. Local Political-Institutional Activation Policy Contexts................................. 65 Organizational Arrangements of Local Activation Programs......................... 65 Political-Institutional Approaches to Activation Policy at the Local Level ... 70 Summary ........................................................................................................ 79 6. Local Social Assistance Arrangements and Social Work Practices ................ 82 Description of the Local Social Assistance Administrations.......................... 83 The Role of Social Workers in the Social Assistance and Activation Process........................................................................................................ 84 Local Dynamics in the Social Assistance Administrations ............................ 84 Street-Level Referral Practices to the Local Activation Progams .................. 87 Street-Level Gate-Keeping Strategies ............................................................ 89 Exemptions From the Local Activation Policy Norms................................... 92 Street-Level Sorting Patterns and Related Activation Recommendations...... 94 7 Summary ........................................................................................................ 97 7. Activation Worker’s Daily Practice Routines................................................. 98 Introduction to the Local Activations Programs............................................. 99 Assessment Practices in the Local Activation Programs.............................. 101 Local Program Activities.............................................................................. 107 Street-Level Responses to Social Needs and Employment Barriers............. 118 Program Accountability in Street-Level Activation Practices...................... 121 Summary ...................................................................................................... 122 8. Client Participation and Activation Policy Experiences ............................... 124 Client Negotiation Processes........................................................................ 125 Street-Level Labeling and Categorization Strategies ................................... 127 Tensions in the Local Activation Process..................................................... 130 Street-Level Sanction Practices .................................................................... 133 Local Client Reviews ................................................................................... 135 Program Participation Outcomes.................................................................. 138 Summary ...................................................................................................... 140 9. Final Discussion............................................................................................ 142 Discussion of Findings in Relation to Street-Level Implementation Literature .................................................................................................. 144 Implications for Activation
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