Social workers encounters with cultural differences in child rearing : "All children should have it equally good, but I must be able to understand that one can have it good in different ways"

Based on the disinformation campaigns against Swedish social services in recent years, this study examined social workers cultural understanding and the challenges they face in working with children and families from diverse cultural backgrounds, with focus on parenting. The study is based in Malmo, a multicultural city where, in 2021, more than half of the population had foreign heritage, with at least one parent born abroad. A qualitative approach was adopted, focusing on interviews with social workers in Malmo’s child and family investigation units. The results show that social works possess a cultural understanding and value openness, curiosity, acceptance, and respect in their work. However, they draw a clear boundary when children are harmed or at risk of harm. Social workers reported challenges related to the disinformation campaigns against social services, organizational issues requiring cultural competence at all levels, time constraints in meeting families, particularly when language barriers and interpreter needs are present, and professional development. Social works called for formal training in cultural competence, insights from families experiences with social services, and the importance of fostering open workplace dialogue about cultural aspects to counteract generalizations, biases, and to improve understanding of the families they work with. The study emphasizes the need for both further research within this field and the development of competencies and organizational structures to support social workers in their efforts with children and families from diverse cultural backgrounds.