Mental health of refugees under Social Code II: Perspectives and practices of job centers

Abstract

"Refugee-related immigration has an impact on the work of street-level organizations in receiving countries. The article looks at job centers in Germany. It examines the experiences of professionals and managers in job centers with the mental health of refugee clients entitled to benefits and the institutional handling of these challenges. A standardized online survey shows that these employees of job centers often observe relative mental stability among refugees and rarely perceive mental health as a major challenge. However, they estimate the prevalence of mental illness among refugees to be similar to that of non-refugees. Street-level organizations seem to have few strategies for dealing with mental illness among refugees, but rather shift responsibility towards street-level bureaucrats. In order to improve professionalization, these should should be better qualified and existing professional guidelines should be further developed with the support of health science experts." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku, © De Gruyter) ((en))

Cite article

Osiander, C., Hartosch, K., Kupka, P., Rauch, A. & Schreyer, F. (2025): Psychische Gesundheit von Geflüchteten im SGB II: Sicht- und Handlungsweisen von Jobcentern. In: Zeitschrift für Sozialreform, p. 1-22. DOI:10.1515/zsr-2025-0001