When social actions get translated into spreadsheets: economics and social work with children and youth in Denmark

As a means of reducing public spending, social workers in Danish municipalities are expected to take into account public sector economy when deciding on how to solve social problems. Researchers have previously investigated the impact of social work on the public sector economy, the cost and outcomes of social work and the impact of regulating social workers, but far less explored is what actually happens when social workers deal with economy in their everyday practice. My study takes some first steps to fill this knowledge gap. Through a mixed method design, the study explores social workers, leaders, and economic consultants in three Danish municipalities. Through 24 qualitative interviews and 12 observations of team meetings where social workers debate their options with their team leaders, I show how economics materializes in – and even interferes with – the processes of deciding on social interventions to help children and young people. Inspired by the sociologist John Law, my preliminary study suggests that taking into account economy often becomes a question of translating social interventions into spreadsheets, rather than making economically-based decisions. I classify three kinds of approaches that social workers develop when dealing with translations between social intervientions and economically-relevant information: a ”ticking box” approach, where dealing with economics is recognized as ”spreadsheet tasks”; a context-oriented approach, where understanding public sector economy are viewed as part of doing social work; and a critical approach, where economy is viewed as a barrier to doing social work. These different approaches influence the ways social workers produce economically-relevant information. The results of the research will be utilized in the Danish School of Social Work in order to strengthen collaborative knowledge of how to take into account public sector economy, and to reflect on how technologies can interfere with decision processes in social work.