Social work and the (in)accessibility of the welfare state: welfare mediation between street-level bureaucracy, clients’ everyday life, and policy-making

Social rights are not equally accessible to all. This article presents findings from a research project in Germany which aimed to analyse how and to what extent German social work actors represent or support the interests of unemployed benefit recipients and their families. In contrast to previous studies, our approach considers social workers not only as ‘street-level bureaucrats’, that is, as part of the public welfare administration, but also as ‘welfare mediators’. That is, we conceptualise social workers as intermediaries between street-level bureaucrats, clients, and public policy. We show that practices of welfare mediation involve important tasks, such as balancing existing power asymmetries at street level, supporting clients in accessing social services, and advocating for their interests in (local) political arenas. Our reconstructive findings from a qualitative study using semi-structured expert interviews with social workers in social counselling services and local family centres show how professional and political dimensions of welfare mediation are interwoven: In addition to addressing the complex individual and family needs, some social workers address structural problems and raise public awareness about barriers to access, administrative burden, or discriminatory practices. The article discusses various welfare mediation strategies and their impact on the politicisation or depoliticisation of issues.