This thesis contains a main focus of perceptions among professionals in the process of social rehabilitation. The pivot of the thesis is the cross-sectoral cooperation between the professionals in the departments of social service in the municipalities (defined as Ydelse) and of the professionals at the probation service (defined as KiF). The professionals will be defined as caseworkers.
There has during the last decades been an increasing political focus on regulatory cooperation in the process of social rehabilitation. Qualitative studies focusing on the process and how the offenders and convicted clients experience the process are conducted frequently. Furthermore quantitative studies, focusing on socio-economic factors, provide an analysis of the individuals position after released from prison. These studies conclude that the main part of the population of clients, is considered as economically underprivileged, which is a condition that for the majority is considered close to the poverty line. An inventory of the social fund Dansk Forsorgsselskab for the last years shows an increasing need of economically support for this group of clients. Requests given by the casework manager of KiF, who assessed a need for support to cover up expenses purchasing basic furniture after release on parole, to cover up missing rent during the imprisonment or expenses related to needed dental treatments. The assessment is made by the caseworker, after an equivalent application has been refused by Ydelse. All supports that have been refused after applying Ydelse. I therefore find it interesting to examine how the practitioners within this field of social rehabilitation estimate the application for economic support. Applications given from the group of economically underprivileged, parolees or clients subject to a suspended sentence.
This thesis provides a study of perceptions between the caseworker in Ydelse and KiF in the question of how the application is to be estimated: If economic support is considered as entitled or should be refused. Furthermore I examine which factors in the vignettes are considered crucial. I also investigate how the need of cross-sectoral cooperation is assessed, including the involvement of the client in the process of decision making. This is carried out by using the vignette technique. This method containing a case study, is very suitable for the measurement of caseworkers (and professionals in general) estimations and perceptions. The empirical material of this thesis is based on quantitative data supported by elaborations and descriptions given from the respondents during the survey. Not only are the respondents in this way given the opportunity to explain their perceptions. On this basis an opportunity is also given to demonstrate the relationship between the perceptions and the estimations. With the exception of one department, all of the KiF departments and eight departments of Ydelse from the municipalities all over the country participated in the vignette survey. The professionals in both departments of Ydelse and KiF have responded to three fictive cases. All cases are constructed similar to the type of requests of economic support assessed in real life practice
The research shows that there is no clear pattern in the assessments (and perceptions) between and among the two groups. There are few statistical significant differences between the estimations. This concerns the assessment of the missing rent applications. Furthermore it concerns the question whether or not the client must be included in the process before the final decision is made on the application of economic support for dental treatment. An interesting finding is the variation in the caseworkers weighting of main factors which primarily lead to the decision on whether the economic support should be granted or refused. The purpose of the application seems to be essential for these assessments, and as a result no clear pattern is found. Although in most cases the financial/economical aspect is of great importance. The research findings provide no clear answer to whether the perceptions depend on the educational background. This seems to be a possible explanation. It do, however, seems more likely that the differences between the estimates can be characterized as dependent on organizational affiliation.
Keywords in this thesis: Perceptions among practicians, vignette study, Department of Social Service, Probation Service, social rehabilitation, cross-sectoral cooperation, Dansk Forsorgsselskab.