Welfare Services: Policies to Create Equality, Diversity and Democracy

A special issue of Societies (ISSN 2075-4698).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2026) | Viewed by 1886

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Welfare, Management and Organisation, Østfold University College, 1757 Halden, Norway
Interests: professions and professionalization; knowledge and digital society; multilevel governance; collaborative processes and local government service delivery to citizens
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Welfare, Management and Organisation, Østfold University College, 1757 Halden, Norway
Interests: child welfare; interprofessional collaboration; professional role; discretion; standardisation; digitalization

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Guest Editor
Department of Welfare, Management and Organisation, Østfold University College, 1757 Halden, Norway
Interests: integration and coordination of health and welfare services; organization of local service delivery to citizens; local innovation processes and digitalization; role of the professions and users

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Guest Editor
Department of Welfare, Management and Organisation, Østfold University College, 1757 Halden, Norway
Interests: the welfare state; policy; interprofessional collaboration; the organization, coordination, financing, and digitalization of health and welfare services; mental health and substance abuse services; public services for children and youth

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Guest Editor
Department of Nursing, Health and Laboratory Science, Østfold University College, 1757 Halden, Norway
Interests: professions and professionalism; knowledge, discretion, and ethical considerations; standardization; digitalization of health and welfare services; collaborative practices between professionals, patients, and service receivers; human interactions with technologies and tools

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The overarching theme of this Special Issue is that equality, diversity, and democracy are put to the test by political, economic, and environmental crises. In Norway and other countries, such uneasiness is reflected in the environment of welfare services in research and in practice, and it touches on themes as users of services, services, and service development, digitalization, the knowledge of welfare work and the professions working within the welfare sector, and policies. Papers are invited to ask what role welfare workers should take in the face of a constantly changing society, what knowledge is needed to strengthen welfare services—social work and child welfare in particular—how services support children, young people, families, and society as a whole to make them resilient and promote their co-creation of services, and the overall development of services to meet the future needs of citizens. This Special Issue will strengthen the existing knowledge on the role of welfare services, social work, and child welfare in changing times.

Prof. Dr. Marit K. Helgesen
Dr. Marina S. Sletten
Prof. Dr. Catharina Bjørkquist
Dr. Therese D. Løken
Dr. Hanna M. Ihlebæk
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • welfare services and social work
  • welfare professions
  • digitalization
  • resilience
  • children, young people, and families
  • co-creation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 278 KB  
Article
Better Safe than Sorry? An Exploration of Criminal Justice Social Workers’ Working Conditions and Users’ Needs During COVID-19 in Norway
by Hulda Mjöll Gunnarsdóttir, Håvard Haugstvedt and Marita Wassbakk
Societies 2026, 16(5), 137; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc16050137 - 23 Apr 2026
Viewed by 1052
Abstract
Social workers are an integrated part of the criminal justice system. In this field, criminal justice social workers (CJSWs) face challenges related to structure and professional autonomy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, correctional services (CS) implemented strict infection control measures through early releases, lockdowns [...] Read more.
Social workers are an integrated part of the criminal justice system. In this field, criminal justice social workers (CJSWs) face challenges related to structure and professional autonomy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, correctional services (CS) implemented strict infection control measures through early releases, lockdowns in prisons with isolation, and the cessation of visits. This research explores how CJSWs experienced working during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on perceived influence on their working conditions, changes in users’ needs, and adaptation to new demands related to infection control. This is a mixed-methods study of a small sample of social workers in Norway’s criminal justice sector (N = 75). Findings indicated that they experienced a negative impact of COVID-19 on their contact with colleagues and their target group, as well as on their ability to provide services to the latter. In addition, there is an indication of a heavier workload for CJSWs during COVID-19. Our results are analysed using the job demand–resource model (JD-R). The results suggest that infection control measures created additional demands and strain on CJSWs in caring for vulnerable and at-risk groups, while at the same time reducing contact with their own colleagues and supervisors, experiencing what we address as a ‘double negative’. Full article
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