User Participation and Modernisation in Municipal Child Welfare Services

What share has been assigned to user participation in the modernization of social welfare administration in Norway? Arguments in favor of user participation draw partly on established conceptualizations of democracy, but also on recent ideas about the adaptation of public services to customer demands. This article presents the results of a study of organizational reform in child welfare protection agencies. The study shows that while these reforms include elements characteristic of New Public Management, they cannot be said to exhibit a comprehensive modernization effort. The article particularly discusses reforms that affect participation and utility for users. A tentative conclusion is that the current drive for increased user participation originates from childcare professionals rather than from superior levels of the organization