Mutatio Sub Pressura

An Exploration of the Youth Policy Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Germany

Bibliographic Data

ID7893202
AuthorsFlorian Sichling (0000-0002-0532-291X, University of Missouri–St. Louis, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume50
Issue4
Pages706-724
Publication date2021-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Social Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2794 • E-ISSN: 1469-7823
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0047279420000392
OpenAlexW3040042078
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited58

This article explores the response of the child welfare system in Germany to the recent refugee crisis. Drawing on administrative data and qualitative interviews with administrators, front-line workers and refugee youth in Nuremberg, the article provides a contextualized account of how the crisis led to the collapse of established bureaucratic procedures, new forms of interagency collaboration and a flexible distribution of responsibilities and tasks. Combining a street-level bureaucracy (SLB) perspective with insights from the literature on crisis and policy change, the analysis shows how the responses of front-line workers effectively altered the content of services, introduced new actors and expanded the professional capacity of the local child welfare system. On a broader level, the findings indicate that front-line practice is not merely guided by policy mandates, but also responds to situational and institutional circumstances. For the child welfare system in Nuremberg, the findings raise important questions about the extent to which aspects of the crisis response will remain a part of the service delivery process moving forward, and whether the recent experience will better prepare them for future crises

Bureaucracy · Economics · Economy · Front (military) · Front line · Perspective (graphical) · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Refugee · Refugee crisis · Service (business) · Service delivery framework · Situational ethics · Welfare · Engineering · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Public Administration · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Work Education and Practice

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