Navigating the boundaries of Norwegian Child Welfare Services: encounters with challenging cases in CWS work

This article investigates how Norwegian Child Welfare Service (CWS)Footnote1 workers approach challenging cases. I situate the study in the context of growing public criticism of CWS across reports, reviews, and media that targets perceived deficiencies in their professional competencies, assessment methods, and decision-making processes. These tasks are distinguished by their fundamental complexity, particularly when assessments of problems and solutions concern the intricate and variegated nature of family life situations. The empirical material consists of interviews with 17 CWS workers and observations conducted at four CWS units. Applying thematic analysis, two overarching themes were thus established: 1) Defining the CWS mandate, and 2) Defining CWS interventions. Employing the concepts of boundary work and street-level bureaucracy, the analysis demonstrates how challenges arise at the intersection of the CWS mandate and those of other welfare services, which can invariably overlap or conflict. The findings suggest that the attendant boundary work involves negotiating the very identity of CWS itself – an onerous, ongoing responsibility placed on frontline workers.