Street-level case work and mentally ill jobseekers under the Social Code II in Germany

Abstract

"The German welfare-to-work system sets a low threshold of three hours a day for capacity to work. People with mental health problems are a relevant subgroup among those receiving benefits. Caseworkers in job centres are responsible for the placement, counselling and support of the benefit recipients. For this article, we examined the role of work for mentally ill people in treatment settings, how caseworkers in the jobcentres recognise mental problems, what the impact is of a psychiatric diagnosis on the process of counselling and what happens to benefit recipients close to incapacity for work.<br> - The study is based mainly on expert interviews with caseworkers from jobcentres, health care providers and mentally ill benefit recipients.<br> - The results show that recognising mental illness is often challenging for caseworkers. Often, they seek help of medical and psychological services. Since there are no reliable standards how to deal with this group of clients, caseworkers often reduce the amount of counselling.<br> - Frequent conflicts occur when clients are considered unfit for work by case managers. For them, the institutional context may not be adequate." (Publisher information, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Kupka, P. & Popp, S. (2018): Street-level case work and mentally ill jobseekers under the Social Code II in Germany. Counselling and the role of medical services. In: Tijdschrift voor Bedrijfs- en Verzekeringsgeneeskunde, Vol. 26, No. 7, p. 340-343. DOI:10.1007/s12498-018-0234-5