| Popis: |
This comparative report looks at the quality and regulation of homelessness services in Europe. The report is the second one in a series looking at how homelessness services operate in Europe, which commenced with the 2018 study on the range and nature of homelessness services in Europe. A standardised questionnaire was sent to experts in 16 current EU member states: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and the UK. The report begins by describing the methods used for the research before moving on to present the key research questions. Chapter three focuses on the use of legislative frameworks to set and monitor standards in homelessness services, also encompassing patterns of regulation, guidance and monitoring of services. Chapter four examines the ways in which quality is defined in homelessness services, including consideration of how quality is determined in different service types. The fifth chapter provides a series of summaries, designed to provide both a picture of the specific arrangements within each of the 16 countries and to help give the reader a more detailed picture of the extent of variation in how quality is defined, measured and regulated. Chapter six discusses the findings of the research and considers the challenges in enhancing the quality in homelessness services. Considerable variation exists in how service quality is defined and regulated. Both good regulatory practice and evidence of unregulated services working with homeless people are reported, sometimes within the same country. Marked differences in resources that services have available, alongside differing views on effective homelessness service design, create challenges in developing universal quality standards. Experts from Croatia conducted fieldwork and contributed to this comparative report. |
