Description (eng)
In Austria, there are few research papers on Social Work Case Management (SWCS) that include the users’ perspectives. To fill this gap, at least partly, this master’s thesis focuses on users’ perspectives of case management programmes in three research fields: 1) migration and flight (Interface – Startbegleitung for asylum seekers and persons entitled to subsidiary protection, Diakonie ALVENI - mobile supervised housing, Diakonie Refugee Service – Women’s Counselling, Beratungszentrum für Migranten und Migrantinnen – Women’s Counselling Centre) 2) corporate reintegration management (ÖBB/Austrian Federal Railways) and 3) Child and Youth Welfare - Styria (Kinder- und Jugendhilfe Steiermark). The paper focuses on users’ experiences with SWCM, which aspects receive particular attention, and which criteria can be deducted from these experiences for theory and practice. The research question was tackled with an empirical approach using narrative interviews with SWCM users. Questions were evaluated with the help of the reflexive grounded theory method (R/GTM). Due to this approach, the emphasis was on ascriptions of meaning-shaping experiences and criteria of relevance in the case-management-process. The interviews represent aspects relevant for professional practice, including elements of orientation towards the world in which the interviewees live, their personal strengths, and their participation and appreciation. Key findings relate to the partnership-based design of the working relationship between user and case manager, however, the findings also go beyond this to discuss along various processes of self-empowerment. For a successful process design, it is particularly relevant to have continuous mutually appreciative encounters between actors on an equal footing that achieve tailormade aid measures through participative elements and trust. The findings are a contribution to the Austrian discourse on case management and open a window to further fields of research.