Social Work, Social Welfare, Unemployment and Vulnerability Among Youth

Social Work, Social Welfare, Unemployment and Vulnerability Among Youth critically analyses contemporary welfare state interventions on unemployment and poverty among youth in a context of societal transformation. It also considers how we can develop future knowledge and methods in evolving welfare institutions. Young people constitute a group that is particularly exposed to high unemployment, identity and future uncertainties, economic difficulties, and educational and housing challenges. Experiences from social work and research have shown that young people often face multiple issues, which are often interlinked. In social work this is a challenge owing to little knowledge on the most pressing needs of different groups - seen from the perspective of young people themselves. The authors focus on the tension points in practice and examine policy developments around young people and welfare dynamics based on discussions and research in the Nordic countries and beyond. In doing so, this book connects research-based knowledge with the challenges social workers meet in their everyday practices. It will be of interest to all scholars, students, and professionals working within the following fields: social work, social policy, child and youth studies, and sociology.

Vibeke Bak Nielsen is Assistant Professor of Social Work in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Aalborg University, Denmark. Petra Malin is a PhD researcher with the Faculty of Social Sciences at The University of Helsinki. Ilse Julkunen is Professor of Social Work in the Faculty of Social Sciences at The University of Helsinki. Lars Uggerhøj is Professor of Social Work in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at Aalborg University, Denmark.

1.Introduction. 2.Theorising local variations on social assistance and its constraints: A time geographical perspective. 3.Action strategies among young people on the margins of Danish society. 4.The emergence of productive understandings of sustainable community development in youth responses to a neo-liberal discourse. 5."You get a feeling that they are taking well care of you" - Young people's perception of Ohjaamo in Helsinki. 6.Activation policies and activation in a working-class town over two decades. 7.Using participation to understand and address the anxieties of European youth about unemployment, future work and community. 8.Hearing the voices of the young - dilemmas in research on activation. 9.The voice of young people in shaping future youth policies - towards a paradigm shift.