Development of Social Ombudsman Service. Helsinki 2008. 70pp. (Reports of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, ISSN 1236-2115,2008:17), ISBN 978-952-00-2562-5 (PDF)

It is essential from the point of view of the realisation and promotion of social welfare clients’ status and rights that every citizen can, irrespective of the municipality of residence, obtain expert social ombudsman’s service when he or she so wishes. The availability, skills and neutrality of the social ombudsman are of vital importance for the social welfare client.

At first the Working Group for Development of Social Ombudsman Service examined the present state of social ombudsman services in municipalities. A questionnaire was sent to all municipalities, and replies were also received from all the persons who worked as social ombudsmen in 2005. Most social ombudsmen in Finland meet the qualification requirements laid down for them in the Act on Qualification Requirements for Social Welfare Professionals.

Social ombudsman services are provided as municipal service, based on municipal authorities’ mutual agreements or as a service purchased from another municipality, and as services purchased from nonmunicipal organisations. Purchased services differ from the municipal production of social ombudsman services in particular in that they are intended for a clearly larger population and the social ombudsman most often works on a fulltime basis.

Some social ombudsmen feel that their independent and neutral position is at risk for reasons related either to their other duties, to the employer or to the manner of providing the service. Many social ombudsmen are also of the opinion that their skills and knowledge are inadequate due to insufficient education. Furthermore, social ombudsmen working on a part-time basis feel that they have not enough time to attend to the duties laid down in the Act on the Status and Rights of Social Welfare Clients. Therefore, there is not much time for instance for the information work and promotion of clients’ rights as required in the said Act.

The social ombudsmen’s annual reports submitted to the municipal board are different in content and scale, and there is no information about the measures that the reports have caused. Analysing the considerable feedback information received through social ombudsman services regarding the state of social services is in many respects inadequate, and so is also the cooperation with central government bodies.

The development proposals issued by the working group concern the organisation of social ombudsman services, securing the independent position of social ombudsmen, development of their work and skills, and improving the monitoring and supervision of the social ombudsman service.

Key words: social services, social services sector, staff