Baserat på en explorativ studie behandlar denna artikel frågan om utrikesfödd bakgrund, kön och ålder har någon betydelse för behovsbedömningsdokumentation inom svensk äldreomsorg. Med hjälp av kvantitativ innehållsanalys och multipel logistisk regressionsanalys av akter (n=202) innehållande utredningar (n=489) av ansökningar om välfärdstjänster, undersöker denna studie om identifikationsgrunder för äldre har någon betydelse för dokumentationspraktiker. Innehållsanalysen visade att beskrivningar i akterna av utlandsfödda äldre är mer omfattande än beskrivningarna av svenskfödda. Den multipla logistiska regressionsanalysen tyder på att kön och bakgrund verkar vara relevant för hur beslut motiverades i akterna. Ålder är inte lika relevant som de andra kategorierna. Det väsentligaste fyndet är att utlandsfödda äldre i detta material beviljas hemvårdsbidrag i större utsträckning än svenskfödda. Resultaten stöder delvis den kritiska debatten om hur klienter konstrueras i dokumentation av socialt arbete eftersom de indikerar att bakgrund, kön och ålder kan spela roll för hur äldre människors ansökningar om omsorgsinsatser behandlas i akter.

Based on an exploratory study, this article asks whether foreign-born background, gender, and age have any relevance for needs assessment documentation in Swedish elderly care. Using quantitative content analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis of case files (n=202) containing investigations (n=489) into requests for welfare services, this study explores whether the identification grounds of older people matter for documentation practices. The content analysis unveiled that case file descriptions of foreign-born older people are more extensive than the descriptions of Swedish-born. The multiple logistic regression analysis suggests also that gender and background seem to be relevant for how decisions are justified in case files. Age is not as relevant as the other categories. The most substantial finding is that foreign-born older people in this material are granted home care allowance to greater extent than Swedish born. The results partially support the critical debate about how clients are constructed in social work documentation since they give some indication that background, gender and age can play a role in how older people’s applications for care are processed in case files.

This presentation departs from the ongoing debate about how care managers - who often function as ‘street level bureaucrats’ – perceive different aspects of professional discretion in needs assessment practice. Few studies within gerontological social work today have explored if length of work experience affect how care managers experience discretion in the decision-making process which is why this paper focuses on this. The presentation is based on a study that uses focus group interviews (n=12) with 60 care managers in Sweden. The findings show that care managers struggle with ambiguous expectations in balancing clients’ needs and requests against organizational systems, local guidelines and resources. Length of work experience seems to play a role in how they use their discretion and cope with the lack of clarity embedded in the needs assessment process. Experienced care managers describe how they deviate from the guidelines and in this way create an increased scope of action for themselves in decision making. Those with less time in the profession describe, greater difficulties in this respect. The results partially support the critical debate that professional discretion can be experienced in different ways by ‘street level bureaucrats’. The study also adds knew knowledge to this discussion by showing that length of work experience and other work experience-related aspects can play a role in the actual way in which care managers reason about and assess clients’ needs in the decision making process.

Research has explored how care managers in elder care – who often function as ‘street-level bureaucrats’ – regard professional discretion. The way in which length of work experience affects care managers’use of professional discretion remains, however, unexplored. This article present findings from 12 focus groups with 60 care managers. By bringing attention to how care managers experience the needs assessment process, this article sheds light on how these ‘street-level bureaucrats’ struggle when they try to balance their clients’ needs against institutional frameworks and local guidelines. Length of work experience seems to play a role in how care managers claim to use professional discretion. Experienced care managers describe how they deviate from the guidelines at times in order to create an increased scope of action in their decision-making process. Those with less time in the profession describe greater difficulties in this respect. Findings suggest that research should explore if length of work experience plays a role in the actual way in which care managers assess needs and make decisions. As such, they contribute to our understanding of how needs assessment processes are navigated by professionals while also pointing towards the nature of professional discretion in gerontological social work.