000			01647nam a22001457a 4500
999			_c524799 _d524799
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100			_aNørup, Lben and Jacobsen, Betina _948149
245			_aSearching for “the usual suspects”: The role of discretion and target group constructions in the frontline of policy implementation
260			_aPublic Administration: An international Quarterly
300			_a101(2), Jun, 2023: p. 671-692
520			_aThis study investigates the implementation of preventive policy targeting children. Based on longitudinal survey data we analyze how frontline workers assign meaning to core concepts of the policy and categorize the children and in this light how their exercise of discretion affects policy implementation. Many studies problematize the effects of limiting the discretion in the frontline. We identify a case where the policy is highly ambiguous, the definitions of target groups, core concepts, or central goals are vague, and the general steering of the frontline is not characterized by a lack of discretion but a lack of organizational boundaries to shape the discretion. This expands not only the policymaking role of the frontline but also becomes a barrier to developing a stronger preventive effort. The findings give nuanced insight into how organizational boundaries affect the discretion and target group construction in the frontline during frontline implementation of welfare policies. – Reproduced https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/padm.12820
773			_aPublic Administration: An international Quarterly
906			_aPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
942			_cAR