Programmes for Integration of Refugees and Immigrants, Street-Level Bureaucratic Behaviour and Success of Integration Policies in Danish Municipalities

Integration initiatives and integration success at the local authority level differ widely, but there are no universal solutions to a good integration effort.

Some local authorities have great integration demands with large numbers of immigrants. Successful local authorities in this position employ job training in the sector. In contrast, they employ very little job training in the public sector. Social workers in successful local authorities often draw up individual action plans in good time. They make sure to maintain a certain amount of professional distance to their clients and they use many so-called "avoidance techniques". This means they take short cuts and make things fit to make ends meet in a stressful workday – e.g. by spending the most time on the simplest cases. Thus, this success can be brief.

In other local authorities, the integration demands are not as great. They generally have a large number of family reunification cases, of which many do not need activation. Social workers in the successful local authorities in this situation use a flexible style – in contrast to the formal, consequence-oriented style – and the amount of Danish language training is limited.

The study also explores why municipal integration initiatives are so different. It is emphasised that the social workers’ personal attitudes influence their behaviour, but also that the political management has a variety of influence options at its disposal.