SOS2180 Social work with work inclusion, housing and health Course description

In this course, the focus is on how a social worker (sosionom) can work in a targeted manner with people in vulnerable lifesituations, including assisting them in establishing a stable housing situation and inclusion in employment. Emphasis is placedon how such services can be provided in an ethically and legally sound manner within the Labour and Welfare Administration.The course consists of two modules with a joint examination.In the first module, students will learn how work, housing, health, and ill health affect quality of life. Work inclusion and socialhousing work are important components of this knowledge. Employment is a central arena for preventing social problems,promoting inclusion, and supporting participation in society.Housing and the individual’s housing situation are fundamental to a person’s welfare and influence their life chances in otherareas, including working life. Paid employment contributes to self-sufficiency and, in turn, provides greater rights and access tokey welfare-state benefits. Both characteristics of the labour market and individual-level challenges—such as substance use,mental and somatic illness, disability, and language barriers—can affect opportunities in the labour market. This forms part ofthe social worker’s knowledge of working life, where holistic follow-up may be necessary both to obtain and to retainemployment.The second module focuses on the tasks of the Labour and Welfare Administration, with specific knowledge about theresponsibilities, measures, and benefits of the municipal social services. Legal studies and social work are integrated in themodule, providing insight into the relationship between help and control and the exercise of power that may characterise bothvoluntary and involuntary measures proposed to users of the social services.Students practise applying legal rules based on authentic but anonymised cases. They train in labour and welfare work relatedto assessing employment-oriented measures and social services in meetings with hypothetical individuals in vulnerable lifesituations who need financial counselling, financial social assistance, and/or other advice and guidance. The course involvesclose cooperation with the municipal social services at various NAV offices.

At the beginning of the course, the interprofessional teaching programme "Communication with children, young people andtheir families" (INTER1200) will be conducted. See the INTERACT website for a more detailed description of the content ofINTER1200: https://www.oslomet.no/forskning/forskningsprosjekter/interact

The language of instruction is Norwegian.

The student must have completed and passed the first year of the bachelor’s programme in social work.

After completing the course, the student should have the following overall learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student:

• has broad knowledge of the relationships between work, health, housing, and welfare
• has knowledge of poverty, health-related and social challenges, including living conditions, substance use, and mental health at the individual level
• has knowledge of inclusion work for poverty reduction in work with marginalised groups in the labour market and the housing market
• has broad knowledge of follow-up of individuals with complex and compound needs within the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV), including the requirement for individual assessment
• has knowledge of key financial benefits, financial counselling, and the Debt Settlement Act (Norwegian: gjeldsordningsloven) in order to prevent and alleviate debt and private financial problems
• has knowledge of guidance and intervention work in practice, and how to facilitate user participation in mapping and case processing
• has knowledge of the importance of documentation in case processing and the importance of sound record keeping
• has insight into the requirement of due diligence (forsvarlighet) in connection with investigation, mapping, and guidance
• has broad knowledge of labour law, the Act relating to Social Services in the Labour and Welfare Administration (the Social Services Act; Norwegian: sosialtjenesteloven), circulars/guidelines, and general public administration law, as well asconditions regulating Norwegian working life, including main features and concepts in labour law

Skills

The student:

• can apply professional knowledge and methods in work aimed at inclusion in the housing and labour markets
• can map and conduct holistic assessments of the individual user’s life situation
• can apply legal rules, provide information about rights and obligations, and exercise legal and professional discretion
• can prepare basic case notes that are professionally and ethically sound and legally correct
• can meet and assist individuals with needs for guidance and financial and social assistance
• can apply professional knowledge of labour-oriented inclusion in meetings with jobseekers, employers, and other partners
• can reflect on dilemmas related to the choice of voluntary versus mandatory measures
• can analyse how politics and structural framework conditions influence social work within work inclusion
• can identify and assess resources in the life situations of different groups, and help strengthen people’s coping strategies indemanding life situations

General Competence

The student:

• is familiar with mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion that are significant for the areas of work, housing, and health
• can critically reflect on their own role in inclusion work
• has insight into how to exercise judgement in situations involving incomplete and/or contradictory information
• has insight into the relationship between help and control, the exercise of power, and ethical issues linked to social work carried out within work inclusion and social housing work

The teaching takes place with in-person attendance on campus, and alternates between lectures and student-centred learning. Module 2 also includes group-based assignments based on updated, authentic, and anonymised cases. Feedback is provided on group assignments.

The following coursework requirements must have been approved for the student to take the exam:

• Coursework 1:Three written group assignments

Students must write three case notes in groups, based on cases, to practise investigation, mapping, and case processing in NAV. The length of the three coursework assignments will vary depending on the type of case note, and students must assess the scope necessary to meet the requirements for sound administration (forsvarlig forvaltning). Written and oral feedback is provided on the coursework. Students are obligated to contribute equally. The purpose of submitting the coursework is to train the student in case processing and public administration work.

The coursework requirements are assessed collectively as approved / not approved. If the coursework is not approved, thestudent is given the opportunity to submit an improved version one time. The coursework must be completed and approved bythe set deadline in order for the student to be allowed to sit the examination.

The exam in the course is an individual home exam over a period of 72 hours.

The exam paper must have a scope of 12 pages (+- 10 %). Font and font size: Calibri 12 points. Line spacing: 1,5. The approved reference style for academic writing, APA, must be followed.

All aids are permitted, as long as the student follows the rules for examinations, source use and referencing, and OsloMet's guidelines for using artificial intelligence (AI) in student assignments.

Graded scale A-F.

Both internal and external examiners are used to grade all submissions.

The course is equivalent to the courses SOS2130 Work, health and housing and SOS2140 Social work in welfare services.