It’s normal, you just gotta get used to it.” Professional, institutional and organisational challenges for social work in residential care
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12965786 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marianne Buen Sommerfeldt (0000-0002-8463-4312, Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration), Cecilie Basberg Neumann (0000-0001-8785-6044, Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-14 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nordic Journal of Social Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1892-2783 • E-ISSN: 1892-2783 |
| Publisher | Scandinavian University Press (PUBLISHER • NO) |
| DOI | 10.18261/njsr.17.1.1 |
| OpenAlex | W7125527032 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 27 |
This article explores institutional, organisational and professional challenges facing social work in the context of residential childcare. Starting from the experiential knowledge of one youth as an exemplary case, we examine representations of systemic challenges as they unfold in her story. Using her knowledge as point of departure, the article shows how social workers in residential care units tend to be placed in a squeeze between institutional and organisational regulations and professional ideals that may contradict children’s needs for trust and long-term relationships. Despite the good intentions and efforts of governmental bodies and legislators to prepare the professional context for providing young people with not only care and trust, but even love, both social workers and youth experienced with residential care are at risk of being marginalised. This becomes especially clear when young people are about to exit a residential care unit. After analysing this situation, we call for a revitalisation of the social in social work, and of practices aligned with ethical work (Banks, 2016) and interstitial work (Andersen, 2022). This is important, as the focus by state governance on judicial frameworks and human rights increasingly challenges foundational principles of social work by individualising social workers’ ethical responsibility
Context (archaeology · Corporate governance · Ethics of care · Experiential knowledge · Residential care · Social environment · Work (physics · Child Welfare and Adoption · Children's Rights and Participation · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
Å beslutte med henblikk på risiko? – Når politikken dytter ansvaret over på barnevernets ansatte
Evidence and risk discourses
What Troubled Children Need’ Constructions of Everyday Life in Residential Care
Everyday ethics in professional life
Sometimes I feel at home” adolescents’ narratives of everyday life in residential care
Reaching the person—social work research as professional responsibility
Youth Experiences of and Views on Un-locked Coercive Placement in Residential Child Care
You and me and all of us
Phronetically Guided Use of Knowledge
Catharsis, Containment and Physical Restraint in Residential Child care
Secondary Traumatic Stress, Burnout and Compassion Satisfaction among Norwegian Child Protection Workers
Solution-focused approach
Developing Child-Centered Social Policies
Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |