A poll was carried out in the City’s social services outlets and services for the homeless in September 2009. For two weeks, a questionnaire was given to all clients visiting a social worker or a counsellor. The objective was to find out e.g. the clients’ view of the impact of social work/counselling on their own lives as well as their experience of interaction with social workers and counsellors. Customer satisfaction and some background info of the clients were also items in the questionnaire.

The questionnaire was answered by 275 people. About 73% of those answered saw that their meetings with social staff had given them strength to better cope with their everyday, and 70% felt that the meetings had helped them to find solutions to their problems. Almost all were of the opinion that the permanency of a social worker is important. Interaction between clients and staff was generally considered good. The mark given to social services was 8,8 on a scale of 1 to 10.

The improvement proposals that were given were about the staff’s attitudes and the service processes such as the staff’s reachability. In future, the poll will be carried out every second year, in turn with the income support query.