Quality in Social Services? Intervention and Standards

Objectives and methods: Do Romanian social services offer quality? The Ministry of Labor and Social Justice is in the process of reviewing minimum quality standards in the field of social services. The qualitative research presented in this article aims to respond to this very need of improving standards. We have analyzed the situation of Romania regarding the accreditation of social service providers and the process of licensing of elderly care services in residential centers. In order to accomplish this, we examined the relevant legislation in the area and interviewed the directly involved specialists, social service providers as well as assessors/ social inspectors. Results: The analysis of the data reveals the difficulties encountered in implementing the minimum quality standards, the conditions that should be taken into account at the establishment of any residential center, the proposals for the improvement of the accreditation procedure and of the existing standards. Implications: Any legislative changes (concerning minimum standards and not only), which the Ministry of Labor intends to make, must rely on concrete studies/ analyzes conducted by qualified researchers. Only in this way we have the guarantee that the changes really respond to the real needs of all those involved (in the current version of decision-making transparency, the points of view are rather individual and non-representative for the entire population involved).

Keywords: ccreditation of social services; quality standards; intervention in social work