Boundary practices: A fruitful perceptive on the wicked problem surrounding young people with complex needs from the welfare services?

In the Nordic countries, there is an increasing concern for the growing number of young people in neither education nor employment (NEET), and who simultaneously struggle with mental health issues. Research show a gap between... [ view full abstract ]

In the Nordic countries, there is an increasing concern for the growing number of young people in neither education nor employment (NEET), and who simultaneously struggle with mental health issues. Research show a gap between the identified needs of this heterogeneous group of young people and the help they are offered from the public welfare services. The specialized silo organizations of the different welfare sectors limit their ability to attend to the complexity of problems characterizing this group of young people. Different welfare services (public employment services, education, social services and health care) often address and approach the problems in different manners. The need for better and more effective collaboration around such wicked problems is well recognized, but the question of how to achieve this collaboration is to a lesser degree explored. In the paper, we approach this above described wicked problem by presenting findings from a research study on an intervention- a so called Mental Health Support Team (MHST)- in upper secondary schools in Norway, and by use of the boundary literature. We ask how crossing of institutional borders can create a new leeway, to extend the understanding of, and contribution to solutions of, the wicked problem surrounding this group of youth in vulnerable transitions.

Keywords:

Collaboration, wicked problems, youth, mental health, marginalization, transition, boundary, brokers