young people, who has been in protective custody or has received preventive social measure in their childhood, the transition to adulthood can be particularly difficult. Social studies shows that young people who has been in protective custody more often has mental and physical problems, are unemployed, homeless and suffer from addictive behavior as adults. During the latest years the social legislation has been expanded with focus regarding this specific challenge. The municipalities are now required to offer a higher number of young people preventive actions past childhood in the transition to adulthood. This has shown to cause difficulties in the municipalities. The difficulties especially occur during the cooperation in the different departments working with these young people, due to problems with determining responsibilities among the departments, during the transition to adulthood and change of social legislation. These can lead to incoherent support efforts and general lack of experienced continuity. This thesis is focusing on how young people and social workers experience the cooperation during the difficult periods of transition from childhood to adulthood, when they change to a different social legislation.
The thesis contains an empirical study, and consists of qualitative interviews with five social workers and two young people, who has experienced the cooperation. The collection of the data is build upon an inductive phenomenological approach in order to achieve detailed and unaffected descriptions of the informants experiences. My preconception has been set aside during the data collection and in the first analysis. In the end of the first analysis, I have created analytical second-order conceptions, in order to achieve a better understanding of the experiences and I order to include theories in the interpreting analysis.
The first analysis shows, that young people is experiencing lack of continuity and left with a feeling of not being involved. The Social workers talk about difficulties in the cooperation regarding disagreements in professional values, economicals and responsibilities.
The second analysis has an interpreting aim, based on a philosophic hermeneutic point of view. Three theoretical approaches; Bourdieu´s structural theory, Honneths recognition theory and organizations theory has been used to achieve an understanding of the experiences and the actions of the social workers during the cooperation with young people and social workers from other departments. With these theoretical approaches it is seen, that the difficulties of the cooperation concerns cultural and structural differences inside the organization. It is seen that lack of communication, varying structural factors, including the over-all framework, economic limitations and legal standpoints create obstacles for effective cooperation. With Bourdieu it is seen, that the cooperation-field contains professional disagreements and differences in the value of capitals. Honneths approach, opposite the two others, is focusing in the interpersonal interactions and feellings. The analysis highlights how lack of recognition in the interaction with the social workers provides anger and passivity concerning the young people. In addition the social workers also experience violation of their professional abilities, which has a negative affect on cooperation. The results of these theories will contribute to a better understanding of the young people and social workers actions in the cooperation in the transition from childhood to adulthood.