Referring young people to psychosocial support in the context of a youth active labour market/education strategy

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explores how experienced Danish caseworkers who work with young people at municipal job centres justify and make decisions regarding referring young clients to psychosocial interventions. Twelve caseworkers and a line manager from two municipalities were interviewed. A thematic analysis was conducted. Key themes were: in-house and out-of-house collaboration; referral as an ongoing process; matching the young person with the service provider based on information about the service providers’ target groups, and information about personal factors and individual contextual factors; dealing with regional gatekeepers; and the role of financial constraints and bureaucratic procedures. The caseworkers experienced a high degree of autonomy and were pragmatic in their approach to referring their young clients to service providers.