Job Centers Research Articles

“No German, No Service”: EU Migrants’ Unequal Access to Welfare Entitlements in Germany

While existing research has analysed the intersecting migration and social security law, which stratifies migrants’ formal social entitlements, less work has been done on the informal stratifications beyond the law that determine substantive social rights. This article illustrates the informal barriers to de facto benefit receipt that intra‐EU migrant citizens may experience when claiming social assistance in local German job centres, regardless of their manifest legal entitlements. Focussing on informal, yet commonly institutionalised practices of language discrimination, analysis of 103 qualitative, in‐depth interviews reveal recurring patterns of administrative exclusion beyond individual instances of discriminatory behaviour. The unwritten rules and everyday practices shaping administrators’ claims‐processing routines often go against what the law or administrative procedures proscribe, and could be considered as forms of discrimination. The former may be explained by institutional constraints, such as a performance‐orientedmanagement culture, legalistic claims‐processing, or superficial diversity policies. By shedding light on how inequalities in access are constructed in daily administrative practice, this article adds to existing empirical knowledge on how informal inequalities in access emerge at different stages of the benefit claiming process, in contrast to formal social rights on paper, as well as social administrations’ handling of diversity in a context of transnational social protection.

Pilot Study of a Brief Intervention to Treating Internet Use Disorders

Abstract: Aim: Studies on brief interventions for Internet use disorders (IUD) are lacking. In this pilot study we tested the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an approach applying Motivational Interviewing and elements of cognitive behavioral therapy. Methods: Clients in four job centers and the job agency in Lübeck, Germany, were approached for a proactive screening in order to identify problematic Internet use or IUD with the Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS). Screening-positives were checked in a clinical interview for fulfilling three or more criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Participants were randomized into intervention (personal counselling and up to three counselling sessions via telephone) and control group. A two-month follow-up was conducted. Results: Of all 3,600 clients approached, 1680 clients could be screened and 298 were screening-positive (17.7%). After a diagnostic interview 36 participants could be allocated to intervention and control group. In the two-months follow-up, decrease of problematic Internet use was higher in the intervention group, although not statistically significant (p=.216) (0.216) a small to medium effect size could be observed. Conclusion: The feasibility of this early intervention approach was evident. Larger sample sizes are needed to examine the efficacy of similar interventions. Findings of this study are promising and suggest future research. Evidence of effectiveness of such short interventions could enhance the impact and magnitude of measures and make an important contribution to preventative efforts.

Providing Government Assistance Online: A Field Experiment with the Unemployed

AbstractWelfare programs often consist of mandated in‐person assistance services. This feature can introduce an engagement barrier for some beneficiaries. Offering some of these services online can address this problem while also reducing administrative costs. In a field experiment with about 2,700 beneficiaries of unemployment benefits, we evaluate the effectiveness of a self‐directed website that supplements assistance traditionally delivered by job center staff. Tracking employment outcomes for nearly two years, we find that the intervention significantly increased job‐finding rates for some groups. Towards the end of the first year, the effect is still 7 percentage points (25 percent higher than in the control group) for prime‐age job seekers (35 to 50 years old) and 9 percentage points (35 percent higher than the control group) for women, reversing the job‐finding gender gap. We discuss opportunities for governments to scale up similar low‐cost interventions to assist social insurance and welfare beneficiaries online.

Roma and Bureaucrats: A Field Experiment in the Czech Republic

This paper tests for discriminatory treatment of the Roma minority by public officials in the Czech Republic. Our focus is on public servants at local job centers whose job is to advise unemployed individuals and process applications for unemployment benefit. Our experimental design facilitates testing for the presence of each of two key (but intertwined) drivers of discrimination: ethnic animus and socioeconomic status prejudice. We find substantial evidence for the presence of discrimination based on both of these sources. Since Roma tend to have lower socioeconomic status, the two sources of discrimination compound for them.

Trust and mistrust in public services for people with disabilities: Analysing the gap between the perspectives of caseworkers and disabled people in Denmark

Abstract This article explores a zone of conflict and a demonstrable gap in perceptions of casework and public services in Denmark between service users with disabilities and caseworkers. First, based on a descriptive analysis of responses from two surveys, one of service users with disabilities (N = 1,427) and one of caseworkers from four human services departments (N = 428): the ‘Job Centre’, ‘Adult Disability’, ‘Children & Families’ and ‘Health’, we find significantly different levels of trust in the services between the two groups. Second, drawing on semi-structured interviews with service users (N = 20) and municipal caseworkers (N = 10), we explain this difference through the identification of a series of intersecting dilemmas that create barriers and conflict. Overall, a thematic analysis of the interviews shows that the trust between caseworkers and people with disabilities is influenced by a complex interplay of individual, relational, situational and organisational factors. Knowledge gained from this study will help shape municipal service provision for people with disabilities, by supplementing the experiences and perspectives of caseworkers and service users and by directing attention to core dilemmas in social work that challenge trust and service user involvement.

How to promote maternal mental well-being in refugee mothers through home visiting: the Danish experience

Abstract Refugee women are at increased risk to develop perinatal mental health problems, including postpartum depression. The fact that refugee and immigrant women suffering PPD are more likely to be exposed to poverty, lack of social support, or restricted working opportunities suggest that a comprehensive approach that addresses the broader social determinants of health is suited to effectively support their perinatal mental health needs. However, public health programs with such a comprehensive approach are scarce in most European countries. We will present qualitative findings from ‘Health nurses strengthen integration', a universal home visiting program aimed to strengthen the integration of refugee families in Denmark. The program includes a minimum of five 2-h meetings including a mind-mapping of families' psychosocial needs, a focus on parenting in a new culture, and support to connect with social and health services. Nurses are trained in cultural competencies and are provided with interpreters. We conducted 3 focus groups (n = 11) and 2 interviews with health visitors (HV) and 9 interviews with refugee mothers to identify what aspects of a comprehensive approach that foster families' integration can support the mental well-being of refugee mothers after birth. Using thematic network analysis we found how the structure, extra time, and training in cultural competence facilitated HV to use critical self-reflection and cultural sensitivity, use respectful curiosity, create a safe space for sharing, and ‘hand-hold' families in interactions with other services. These practices permitted HV understand the complex needs of families, build trust, and facilitate interactions with others services. Interviews with families illustrated how 1) feeling that someone cared ‘like family', 2) and build-bridging with services (doctor, school, job center) reduced families daily stress. Using the family stress and adaptation theory we will discuss program and policy implications.

دور القيادة الفعَّالة في تحقيق جودة الأداء الإداري دراسة ميدانية على القيادات الإدارية بقطاع التعليم بمنطقة المدينة المنورة

of managers and teachers with the developmental and training needs, and attention to the views of managers on performance evaluation, and take their point of view seriously, and give the directors of the educational zones wide powers to enable them to perform their tasks in line with the requirements of their job center, and give more confidence and feeling it is safe for school administrators to listen to positive opinions to promote teamwork, spread a culture of quality in performance by conducting several workshops, and encourage principals to participate. هدفت هذه الدراسة إلى التعرف على دور القيادة الفعالة في تحقيق جودة الأداء الإداري، ولتحقيق هذا الهدف اعتمدت الدراسة المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، وتکون مجتمع الدراسة من جميع المعلمات بالمرحلة الابتدائية وعددهم (6279) معلمة بقطاع التعليم بمنطقة المدينة المنورة، وتمسحب عينة عشوائية بسيطة مقدارها (362) معلمة من (20) مدرسة ابتدائية تم اختيارها عشوائيا، واستخدمت الدراسة الاستبانة أداة لها، وأظهرت نتائج الدراسة: أن القيادات الإدارية بقطاع التعليم بمنطقة المدينة المنورة، يمارسون المهارات القيادية الفعالة بدرجة مرتفعة جدا، ويمارسون المتطلبات اللازمة للقيادة التعليمية الفعالة بدرجة مرتفعة، ويمارسون تقييم جودة الأداء بدرجة مرتفعة، کما يواجهون معوقات تحد من فعالية القيادة بدرجة مرتفعة، ويحققون جودة الأداء الإداري بدرجة مرتفعة، وتوجد علاقة ذات دلالة إحصائية بين القيادة الفعالة وجودة الأداء الإداري بقطاع التعليم بالمدينة المنورة بدرجة مرتفعة، ووجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين متوسطات تقديرات مجتمع الدراسة حول أثر القيادة الفعالة في جودة الأداء الإداري تعزى إلى متغير (السن، المؤهل العلمي)، وعدم وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين متوسطات تقديرات مجتمع الدراسة حول أثر القيادة الفعالة في جودة الأداء الإداري تعزى إلى متغير الخبرة؛ وفي ضوء النتائج التي توصلت إليها الدراسة توصي الباحثة بما يلي: عقد مزيد من الدورات لمديري المدارس لتفعيل عملهم القيادي وتطويره مثل دورات في القيادة والتغيير، والإدارة المدرسية الحديثة، ومهارات التواصل مع المعلمين والطلبة والاهتمام بتنمية الصفات القيادية لديهم، وتشجيع المديرين على الاهتمام بالتقدم المهني الاکاديمي للمعلمين من خلال حثهم على الاشتراک بالمؤتمرات والندوات العلمية والأبحاث ومتابعتهم لدراساتهم العليا، وربط نتائج تقييم أداء المديرين والمعلمين بالاحتياجات التطويرية والتدريبية، والاهتمام بآراء المديرين حول تقييم الأداء، وأخذ وجهة نظرهم على محمل من الجدية، ومنح مديرو المناطق التعليمية صلاحيات واسعة تمکنهم من أداء مهامهم بما يتناسب مع متطلبات مرکزهم الوظيفي، ومنح مزيد من الثقة والشعور بالأمان لمديري المدارس والاستماع إلى الآراء الإيجابية لتعزيز العمل بروح الفريق، ونشر ثقافة الجودة في الأداء من خلال إقامة العديد من ورش العمل، وتشجيع المديرين على المشارکة. ABSTRACT The role of effective leadership in the quality of administrative performance A field study on Administrative Leadership in the Education Sector in Al - Madinah Al - Munawwarah region Haifa Alofi This study aimed to identify the role of effective leadership in the quality of administrative performance. To achieve this goal, the study adopted the descriptive analytical approach. The study population consisted of all primary school teachers (6279) in the education sector in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah. A simple random sample of (362) was drawn. The results of the study showed that the administrative leaders in the education sector in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah region are practicing effective leadership skills to a very high degree. There is a statistically significant relationship between the effective leadership and the quality of administrative performance in the education sector in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah with a high degree, and there are statistically significant differences between the average estimates of the society. The study on the impact of effective leadership on the quality of administrative performance is attributed to a variable (age, educational qualification) The absence of statistically significant differences between the average estimates of the study population on the impact of effective leadership on the quality of administrative performance is attributable to variable experience. In light of the findings of the study, the researcher recommends the following: - Conduct more courses for school principals to activate and develop their leadership work such as leadership courses. Change, modern school management, communication skills with teachers and students and interest in developing their leadership qualities, and encourage managers to pay attention to the academic professional progress of teachers by urging them to participate in conferences, seminars, research and their follow-up to their higher studies, and linked the results of the evaluation of the performance

Spatial inequality of job accessibility in Shanghai: A geographical skills mismatch perspective

This study explores the spatial inequality of job accessibility in urban China, focusing on geographical skills mismatch in Shanghai. Our results suggest that geographical skills mismatch should be a critical concern in measuring job accessibility because the urban villages create residential sites for low-skill workers in central Shanghai. Based on the job accessibility index considering geographical skills mismatch, the floating population has high job accessibility in the periphery of the central urban area because there are affordable housing prices. The spatial distribution of the registered population's job accessibility still follows the core-periphery pattern. The spatial mismatch between the job centers for floating and registered populations might enlarge the segregation between them. The path analysis reveals that the housing/rent market, urban structure, and education attainment collectively shape job accessibility through residential segregation. Furthermore, path analysis manifests that high-skill people, mainly living in the central urban area, have significantly higher job accessibility. The polycentric development fails to create self-contained job centers for low-skill people. Future policies should pay attention to connecting the low-skill workers and their job markets through public rental housing or improving the public transit system.

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

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.

"We Would Never Write That Down"

This paper draws attention to new complexities of deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to sensitive contexts, such as welfare allocation. AI is increasingly used in public administration with the promise of improving decision-making through predictive modelling. To accurately predict, it needs all the agreed criteria used as part of decisions, formal and informal. This paper empirically explores the informal classifications used by caseworkers to make unemployed welfare seekers 'fit' into the formal categories applied in a Danish job centre. Our findings show that these classifications are documentable, and hence traceable to AI. However, to the caseworkers, they are at odds with the stable explanations assumed by any bureaucratic recording system as they involve negotiated and situated judgments of people's character. Thus, for moral reasons, caseworkers find them ill-suited for formal representation and predictive purposes and choose not to write them down. As a result, although classification work is crucial to the job centre's activities, AI is denuded of the real-world (and real work) character of decision-making in this context. This is an important finding for CSCW as it is not only about whether AI can 'do' decision-making in particular contexts, as previous research has argued. This paper shows that problems may also be caused by people's unwillingness to provide data to systems. It is the purpose of this paper to present the empirical results of this research, followed by a discussion of implications for AI-supported practice and research.

Deserving of Social Support? Street-Level Bureaucrats’ Decisions on EU Migrants’ Benefit Claims in Germany

Migration raises the question of how street-level bureaucrats treat non-citizens when it comes to the distribution of limited welfare resources. Based on a German case study, this article reveals how local social administrators rationalise practices of inclusion in and exclusion from social assistance receipt and associated labour market integration services for mobile EU citizens, who are perceived first and foremost as ‘foreigners’. The findings from fifty-five qualitative interviews with job centre representatives show how politics of exclusion are justified by nationalistic and ethnic criteria of membership. Insofar as EU migrants are considered outsiders to the imagined welfare community of their host country, they are seen as less deserving than German-born claimants. However, mobile EU citizens can earn their legitimacy to access benefit receipt through sustained participation in the host society, demonstrating knowledge of the German language and societal norms so as to appear ‘German’. Such a cultural performance-based logic of deservingness tends to be intertwined with nationality-based and racialising stereotypes of welfare fraud to frame exclusionary practice.

Employer Engagement and Active Labour Market Policies. Evidence from a Norwegian Multi-Method Study

Using Work Training in Norway as a case, this article provides insight into motivation and structural factors that impact employer engagement with active labour market policies (ALMP) targeting young people. Drawing on mixed-methods data, we find a substantial proportion of Norwegian employers engage in Work Training. Both social responsibility and the economic interests of the company influence employers’ motivation for committing to Work Training. The findings reveal that the structural factors of business size and sector are crucial determinants of employer behaviour when it comes to hiring Work Training candidates. Although improved outreach activities by local job centres may be important, the article argues that efforts towards opening up sectors closed by sector-specific regulations on hiring, and increased awareness of structural constraints, are similarly important.

Employment situation of persons with disabilities in Russia during the the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods

The object of this research is the transformation of the institution for employment opportunities of the persons with disabilities in the context of modernization of the state social policy aimed at increasing the level of their social integration. The subject of this research is the employment situation of persons with disabilities as a result of the transformation of the institution for their employment opportunities. The goal consists is to determine how the changes in the mechanism of functionality of the institution for employment opportunities of persons with disabilities affected their employment situation during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods. The author notes that as a social phenomenon, disability is the consequence of physical and social barriers formed by the society towards its citizens, which do not correspond to the accepted standards of a normal person. The assistance to employment inclusion of the persons with disabilities, as a condition for their successful social adaptation and integration, is one of the priority vectors in social policy of the state. The main results consist in the following: determination of the towards an increase in the share of persons with disabilities of working age on the background of the continuing decline in their overall number; emergence of positive changes in functionality of the mechanism of the institution for employment opportunities of persons with disabilities, namely the growing number of disabled people employed by the job center; no effect of these changes upon the employment situation of the persons with disabilities of discredited stigmatization. The author believes that the transformation of the institution of employment of the persons with disabilities affected only thee category, which does not have external manifestations of disability. The persons with visible disabilities still do not feel the positive impact of changes in the institution of employment. The novelty of this research consists in establishing correlation between the increase of the share of employed persons with disabilities and changes in the institution for employment opportunities and proving the fact that these changes have no effect upon the employment situation of persons with disabilities of discredited stigmatization. The scientific value of the acquired results lies in broadening the range of research fields towards the problem of employment of persons with disabilities of discredited stigmatization.

Proposing new measures of employment deconcentration and spatial dispersion across metropolitan areas in the US

AbstractA well‐known challenge is measuring employment concentration across metropolitan areas and analysing the evolving spatial structure. We introduce a new approach that avoids identifying “job centres” and conceptualizes the distribution of employment based on two dimensions: (1) employment deconcentration; and (2) spatial dispersion of high employment locations. We apply this framework to study 329 US metropolitan regions based on 1 sq km. grid cells. We find diverse trajectories of metropolitan restructuring between 2000 and 2010, and substantial variation across regions in employment concentration. The new framework enables researchers to compare metropolitan regions to gain insights into the dynamic nature of metropolitan spatial structure.

Pilot Study Characterizing the Hematology-Oncology Fellow Job Search Process: Tools Used and Identification of Potential New Resources

While the search for post-fellowship employment is an essential part of early career development, little is known about the tools and techniques fellows use during their job search and the specific challenges they face during the process. In this pilot survey study of hematology-oncology (HO) fellows at a large academic training program, the majority of 20 respondents (43% of all fellows) reported a plan to specialize in medical oncology, and most planned to practice in an academic setting. Fellows who had started the job search process reported using several tools/techniques including online job centers and email distribution lists, word of mouth, prior connections with other institutions, and their HO fellowship program leadership, and most reported that their current institution provided help for their job search in at least one way. Job search challenges included learning about available positions, lack of mentorship on the process, lack of sufficient time for the process, and lack of preparation for negotiation. Fellows suggested additional resources that could be helpful to future job searchers including access to information about prior HO fellowship graduates, training in negotiation and interviewing, and career development mentorship. We plan to use this information to expand our own Career Development program for fellows enacting many of these suggestions, and we encourage the use of this information as pilot data for the development of larger studies across other medical and surgical specialties.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13187-021-01967-7.

Overview of recent cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union (September 2020-December 2020)

The reporting period (September 2020-December 2020) was a particularly intense time in terms of important judgments on social security with no fewer than four judgments from the Grand Chamber of the Court. This overview reports five cases in total. First, there are three cases on the Posted Workers Directive. The first two are on the dismissal of the annulment procedures regarding the adoption of the new Posted Workers Directive (Directive 2018/957) started by Hungary (C-620/18) and Poland (C-626/18). Then, the FNV case (C-815/18), which is on the application of the Posted Workers Directive (Directive 96/71) to the transnational provision of services in the road transport sector, is discussed. The overview continues onto other subjects, with a follow-up of the Dano and Alimanovic saga in the Job Center Krefeld case (C-181/19), which relates to the access to social assistance for a job-seeker who is the primary carer of a child receiving education in the host Member State. From there, commentary is given on the A v. Veselï bas ministrija case, which deals with the difficult balance between the freedom of religion and the system of prior authorization for planned healthcare. Finally, the Syndicat CFTC case (C-463/19) is reviewed, and it concerns the conditions under which an additional maternity leave can be reserved to female workers without being considered as discriminatory.

"My private theory is that it's all in the head": Understandings of chronic widespread pain among social workers from municipality job centers in Denmark.

People with chronic widespread pain (CWP) are often unfit for work, and consequently they are dependent on the municipality job center to receive social support and sickness benefits. The job center’s case management is based on a social worker’s assessment of the citizen’s health condition. This qualitative study investigates social workers’ understandings of CWP. Interviews were carried out with 12 social workers. The results showed that the participants predominantly experienced the citizens’ illnesses as psychosocially mediated—referring to trauma, or a lack of meaning in the citizens’ lives. Only a few participants mentioned possibilities for somatic explanations of CWP.

The technocratic rationality of governance - the case of the Danish employment services

ABSTRACT This study analyzes technocracy as a distinct rationality and shows how this rationality continues to inform the adoption and restructuring of new governance arrangements within the public sector. The recalibration of governance arrangements according to a technocratic rationality offers a way for governments to retain control amidst increasing decentralization and local self-governance. This is empirically illustrated through an analysis of recent changes in the governance of the Danish employment services. The analysis shows how recent changes in economic incentives, procedural regulations, and the performance monitoring of municipal job centers – officially adopted to increase local self-governance and autonomy – have been reshaped to accommodate the Ministry of Employment’s strategy of evidence-based policymaking. The article argues that this technocratic reshaping of governance arrangements increases central government control, while – at the same time – running the risk of ignoring the democratic aspects of public sector governance.

ECJ 6 October 2020, Case C-181/19 (Job Center Krefeld), Social Insurance

ECJ 6 October 2020, Case C-181/19 (Job Center Krefeld), Social Insurance

Self-organization Simulation Applied to Migration across a Peaceful Border

Self-organization using simple dynamic laws has been applied to migration across a common border between two entities, states or countries. The motion of the migrants and their final positions are presented. In the system there were two sets of objects. One set is on a side of the boundary. One side, the right side, is considered to be the better entity. That is it has a good government and the economy is strong. On the left side the entity is decidedly different with respect to the governance and the economy. Each side's objects are further divided into two groups. The two groups are referred to as strong and weak. The strong represent the governance, rich or elite and weak refers to the general population. Initially the objects are randomly distributed in this two dimensional square bounded region, and then allowed to dynamically interact for a number of iterations. The forces among all of the particles as groups can be defined to be attractive or repulsive and can be adjusted to study the resulting configuration from the dynamics. Four experiments were conducted to see how self-organization applies for these scenarios. In Experiment 1 the migration takes place with only the object-to-object forces active. In Experiment 2 the concept of employment was introduced. An unemployed object was allowed to move faster than an employed object thus giving the unemployed greater mobility. The employment rate on right side is considerably higher than on the left side. Experiment 3 explores changing one of the forces from repelling to attract. Experiment 3 is the same as Experiment 2 except for this and it went for twice as many iterations. Experiment 4 created employment centers on the right side. These centers provided jobs to left side migrants that came close enough to a center. If the left side object got a center job then that migrant did not move for the remainder of the simulation. In Experiments 1 and 2 there was no incentive for a migrant to remain so the migrant traveled back and forth across the border. In Experiment 4 it was assumed that the job provided incentive for the migrant to remain at a fixed location. Thus clusters of migrants formed around the job centers.