The Swedish Minister for Social Services, Camilla Waltersson Grönvall, is on a 2-day visit to Karlstad University this week.
– This is the first stop on my tour around Swedish universities that offer programmes in social work. And it feels extra special to start off in Karlstad since this is where I began my teacher training in the 1990s, back when it was a university college.
During the visit on Monday, the minister and her entourage met representatives of the social work programme, the faculty and the university’s executive management.
– We’ve had a good, interesting, open and straightforward dialogue. It is crucial to meet with representatives of the education that forms the foundation of our social services. I’ve learned about shortcomings they’ve identified and what they feel needs to be added in connection with review of the Social Services Act and the social work programme, says Camilla Waltersson Grönvall.
The review of the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Social Work started in the autumn of last year with the purpose of ensuring that students acquire the knowledge and skills to work with preventive measures, in particular with regard to children and young people. And the report on a new Social Services Act is intended to be submitted to the Council on Legislation in the summer for formal consultation.
– The goal is to present a bill for the new Social Services Act in the Riksdag on 1 July 2025, says Camilla Waltersson Grönvall.
– I’m visiting social services in both small and large municipalities. My overall impression from these visits is that everyone is looking forward to the new act.
More focus on preventive measures
– This has been an interesting and very important visit in light of the commissions of inquiry of social work education and the Social Services Act, says Johanna Elfgren, Lecturer in Social Work, active in FoU Välfärd Värmland and teacher in the social work programme.
– I’m also responsible for practical placements of our social work students. When they come back after their placement, more or less everyone says that the work tasks were very interesting, but that the working environment is bad.
Camilla Waltersson Grönvall nods in agreement.
– The purpose of our review of social work education is to develop programmes that support students to an even greater extent as they step into their role as professional social workers. Social services have a high staff turnover, which makes it very important that we ensure that new graduates feel confident in their role, she says.
– We want to facilitate early and preventive interventions to better help those in need of assistance from the Social Services and to free up resources for this purpose so that they’re not taken up by administrative tasks. When it comes to all the misery related to crime, it has never been clearer that a large part of the solution lies in preventive measures by the social services. And early preventive interventions are also important when it comes to protecting vulnerable children and young people.
Meeting with students
The visit at Karlstad University continues on Tuesday, when Camilla Waltersson Grönvall will meet with students of the social work programme.
– I’m really looking forward to it. I used to be a teacher after all, the minister says smiling.
– It will be exciting to hear their thoughts about the programme and their future profession, what made them choose to become a social worker and the hopes and fears they have.
Some 50 students have registered that they will attend when the Minister for Social Services returns to Karlstad University on Tuesday.
– This is an opportunity for our students and us as staff to get the latest updates on the Social Services Act, says Jenny Höglund, Programme Coordinator of the Social Work Programme and Senior Lecturer in Social Work.
She is pleased with the minister’s visit.
– It was positive to have an informal and open dialogue, and it was also good to meet politicians from Karlstad municipality and the region, who also attended during the visit. It feels good that we, as part of the social work programme, got the chance to raise issues that we find important.
– My impression is also that the Minister for Social Services shows a genuine interest in the terms and conditions of the social work programme. It’s great that she is visiting the universities, starting with us, says Jenny Höglund.
