Debureaucratization of child welfare services in three free communes: A case-based analysis and discussion
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/politica.v54i3.133918Nøgleord:
bureaucracy, innovation, free commune experiment, vulnerable children, case workResumé
This article analyzes and discusses a case of successful debureaucratization; the free-commune experiments regarding child welfare services from 2017-2020 where three Danish municipalities were allowed to replace key provisions in the social laws stipulating how to perform social work and administer social cases, with newly developed forms of social work. The analysis starts from the trifecta of rule exemptions, employee motivation and managerial focus, and shows – based on repeated survey data and qualitative interviews – how each of the three has materialized in this “debureaucratization success”. Furthermore, we discuss the relation between the three components. We argue that rule exemptions are significant as a launch-pad for changing how social work is done locally, via unleashing managerial focus and employee motivation. Rule exemptions appear almost redundant, since the largest debureaucratizing changes happen via the initiated change processes, where managerial focus appears to play a decisive role.
Referencer
Andersen, Lotte Bøgh og Lene Holm Pedersen (2014). Styring og motivation i den offentlige sektor. København: Jurist- og Økonomiforbundets Forlag.
Andersen, Lotte Bøgh, Nicolai Kristensen og Lene Holm Pedersen (2011). Do documentation requirements reduce intrinsic motivation and increase worker absence? 11th Public Management Research Association Conference, The Maxwell School Of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, USA, 2.-4. juni.
Andersen, Lotte Bøgh, Carsten Greve, Kurt Klaudi Clausen og Jacob Torfing (2012). Forvaltningspolitisk debatoplæg: En innovativ offentlig sektor, der skaber kvalitet og fælles ansvar. https://polsci.ku.dk/forum/bibliotek/Debatoplg_lang_version.pdf
Andersen, Simon Calmar og Morten Jakobsen (2017). Policy positions of bureaucrats at the front lines: Are they susceptible to strategic communication? Public Administration Review 77 (1): 57-66.
Ankestyrelsen (2011). Ankestyrelsens praksisundersøgelser om Inddragelse af børn og forældre i sager om frivillige foranstaltninger.
Ankestyrelsen (2021). Børnesagsbarometret 2021.
Askim, Jostein, Ulf Hjelmar og Lene Holm Pedersen (2018). Turning innovation into evidence-based policies: Lessons learned from nordic free commune experiments. Scandinavian Political Studies 41: 288-308.
Bekaert, S., E. Paavilainen, H. Schecke, A. Baldacchino, E. Jouet, L. Zabłocka-Żytka, B. Bachi, F. Bartoli, G. Carrá, R.M. Cioni, C. Crocamo og J.V. Appleton (2021). Family members’ perspectives of child protection services, a metasynthesis of the literature. Children and Youth Services Review 128: 106094.
Bentzen, Tina Øllgaard (2019). The birdcage is open, but will the bird fly? How interactional and institutional trust interplay in public organisations. Journal of Trust Research 9 (2): 185-202.
Bentzen, Tina Øllgaard (2020). Samskabt styring – Nye veje til afbureaukratisering. Samfundslitteratur.
Bozeman, Barry (1993). A theory of government “red tape”. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 3 (3): 273-304.
Bozeman, Barry og Mary Feeney (2011). Rules and Red Tape: A Prism for Public Administration Theory and Research: A Prism for Public Administration Theory and Research. New York: Routledge.
Campos, Daniel G. (2011). On the distinction between Peirce’s abduction and Lipton’s inference to the best explanation. Synthese 180: 419–442.
Cheng, Tyrone C. og Celia C. Lo (2016). Linking worker-parent working alliance to parent progress in child welfare: A longitudinal analysis. Children and Youth Services Review 71: 10-16.
Damiani-Taraba, Gissele, Gary Dumbrill, James Gladstone, Andrew Koster, Bruce Leslie og Michelle Charles (2017). The evolving relationship between casework skills, engagement, and positive case outcomes in child protection: A structural equation model. Children and Youth Services Review 79: 456-462.
Dansk Socialrådgiverforening (2015). Bureaukrati tynger børnearbejdet – men der er veje ud af det! https://socialraadgiverne.dk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/2015-11-17-Undersoegelse-BureaukratiTyngerBoernearbejdet.pdf
Deci, Edward og Richard M. Ryan (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum.
DeHart-Davis, Leisha (2009). Green tape: A theory of effective organizational rules. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 19 (2): 361-384.
DeHart-Davis, Leisha (2017). Creating Effective Rules in public sector Organizations. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
Douglas, Scott, Thomas Schillemans, Paul ‘t Hart, Chris Ansell, Lotte Bøgh Andersen, Matthew Flinders, Brian Head, Donald Moynihan, Tina Nabatchi, Janine O’Flynn, B. Guy Peters, Jos Raadschelders, Alessandro Sancino, Eva Sørensen og Jacob Torfing (2021). Rising to Ostrom’s challenge: An invitation to walk on the bright side of politics, governance and public service. Draft version.
Finansministeriet (2018). Færre regler og mindre bureaukrati. København
Frey, Bruno S. (1997). Not Just for the Money: An Economic Theory of Personal Motivation. Cheltenham and Brookfield: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Gladstone, James, Gary C. Dumbrill, Bruce R. Leslie, Andrew Koster, Michelle D. Young og Afisi Ismaila (2012). Looking at engagement and outcome from the perspectives of child protection workers and parents. Children and Youth Services Review 34 (1): 112-118.
Hjelmar, Ulf (2021). The institutionalization of public sector innovation. Public Management Review 23 (1): 53-69.
Hjelmar, Ulf og Niels Ejersbo (2019). Frikommuneforsøg 2016-2020. Status over forsøg. København: VIVE
Hjelmar, Ulf, Bente Bjørnholt og Anne Mehlsen Christiansen (2016). Nye styre- og arbejdsformer som led i moderniseringen af den offentlige sektor. København: KORA.
Holm-Petersen, Christina, Alexandrina Schmidt, Rikke Povlsen, Emilie Hjermitslev Jonsen og Mads Leth Jakobsen (2021). Én plan for en sammenhængende indsats sammen med borgeren. Slutevaluering af et frikommuneforsøg (2016-2020). VIVE – Det Nationale Forsknings- og Analysecenter for Velfærd.
Loon, Nina M. Van og Mads Leth Felsager Jakobsen (2022). Connecting the dots between performance management and red tape perceptions. International Public Management Journal.
Montes de Oca, Lis og Anne Marie Villumsen (2022). At evaluere liv. CEPRA-Striben 29: 16–27.
Olsen, Johan P. (2005). Maybe it is time to rediscover bureaucracy. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 16 (1).
Produktivitetskommissionen (2014). Slutrapport. Det handler om velstand og velfærd. København.
Svendsen, I.M.L. (2015). Reglerne er gode nok – eller? – om proceskrav og tommelfingerregler i kommunernes almindelige tilsyn med børn og unge. Uden for nummer. Tidsskrift for forskning og praksis i socialt arbejde 30: 24-33.
Sørensen, Ole Henning (2013). Direkte medarbejderindflydelse ved organisatorisk forandring: konsekvenser for arbejdsmiljøet. Tidsskrift for arbejdsliv 15 (1): 32-51.
Thuesen, Frederik, Rebekka Bille og Mogens Jin Pedersen (2017). Styring af den kommunale beskæftigelsesindsats: instrumenter, motivation og præstationer. SFI – Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Velfærd, 17:11. København: SFI.
Thygesen, Niels Thyge (2012). Tillid giver verdensklasse – ti anbefalinger til en reform, der kan styrke og udvikle den offentlige sektor. København: Offentligt ansattes organisationer.
Xu, Yanfeng, Haksoon Ahn og Charlotte L. Bright (2017). Family involvement meetings: Engagement, facilitation, and child and family goals. Children and Youth Services Review 79: 37-43.
Publiceret
Citation/Eksport
Nummer
Sektion
Licens
Copyright (c) 2022 PoliticaOphavsretten tilhører Politica. Materialet må ikke bruges eller distribueres i kommercielt øjemed.
