Presentation given by Piotr Olech, PFWB, Poland at a FEANTSA Conference on "Quality in Social Services from the Perspective of Services Working with Homeless People", Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, 2011

1. Quality Standards in Homelessness
Services in Poland – bottom up
aproach
Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City
21.10.2011
The project is co-financed by the European Union from
the resources of the European Social Fund

2. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
Major problems
1. Lack of comprehensive social policy towards
homelessness
2. Services are temporary in nature (emergency)
3. Current solutions and the homeless assistance system
are based on assumptions and judgements
4. No cooperation among stakeholders
5. Participation of the homeless
7. Support provided under certain conditions -
behavioural model
8. Lack of economic perspective
9. Homelessness is frequently seen as a social pathology
rather than a housing problem

3. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
Problems related to service
quality
1. Lack of regulations and service quality standards
in the field of homelessness
2. Access as a priority - not quality
3. NGO sector is too independent and detached -
no possibility to coordinate and monitor the
quality of standards
4. Considerable diversification of service quality
5. Costs determine contracting services
6. Complete lack of services in some spheres

4. The Model of District
Standard of Getting Out
of Homelessness
Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011

5. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
Organisers
Human Resource Development Centre (CRZL) is the
partnership leader and representatives of six
organisations dealing with homelessness, including
FEANTSA members, are responsible for the factual
aspects of the project implementation:
• Pomeranian Forum in Aid of Getting Out of Homelessness
(PFWB),
• Saint Brother Albert’s Aid Society, Main Board (TPBA ZG),
• Barka Network,
• MONAR Association,
• CARITAS of the Kielce Diocese,
• and the Open Door Association from Warsaw.

6. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
1.18 – Development of Assistance and Social Integration Service
Standards, Task 4 – Harmonization of Work with the Homeless and
Development of the District Standard of Getting Out of Homelessness.
Main project activities include the following
stages:
diagnosis (9.09 - 6.10) - 10 months
model (7.10 - 6.11) - 12 months
education and information (7.11-2.12) - 8 months
pilotage (3.11-8.13) - 18 months
recommendation (6.13-11.13) - 6 months
report - promotion (12.13-4.14) - 5 months
Budget - about PLN 35 million (EUR 8.5 million),
pilotage support (PLN 15 million)

7. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
What is GSWB
The model of District Standard of Getting Out of
Homelessness (GSWB) is a model of solving the problem
of homelessness, active on the levels of Prevention,
Intervention and Integration, which provides a full range
of service standards in the following fields:
1. Street work,
2. Social work,
3. Housing and temporary assistance,
4. Health,
5. Local partnerships,
6. Employment and education.

8. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
What are Standards
Standards - statements recorded as a document or a set
of documents, agreed on and considered binding, which
provide a detailed description and characteristics of the
standardised entity. The name “standard” does not have
to appear in documents in which these standards are
presented, they may be referred to as norms,
requirements, conditions, rules or regulations concerning
the standardised entity.
Each standard is presented according to 13 points, e.g.
target, range, competence, organiser, cooperation, legal
situation, financing, documentation, monitoring and
evaluation

9. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
Research Team and Expert
Groups
Six Expert Groups (about 60 people) and the Research
Team (6 people) form the basis of Partnership activity in
the area of diagnosis and development of models and
standards
Pilotage - Partnership
- Education phase - research, trainings - 30 partner
organisations from different regions of Poland
- Pilotage phase - testing standards - minimum 15
partner organisations from different regions of Poland

10. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
Innovation and experiment
1. Grass-roots project - involvement of all entities
2. Quality standards - as an element of the strategy
or plan of solving the problem of homelessness in
Poland
3. Elements of standards - housing first method,
prevention programmes, street work, health
services
4. Diagnosis - Model - Pilotage - Recommendations
and legal changes
5. Implementation of legal solutions

11. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
Strengths
1. Participation process – different
stakeholders – service providers, users,
policy, public sector
2. Building up a National Alliance
3. Learning process – exchanging
experiences
4. Quality standards – reflects reality, close
to real problems
5. Self regulation – our standards

12. Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
Weaknesses
1. Quality of quality standards
2. Participation in process – ministry
responsible for homeless services
3. Acceptation process – time, differences
4. Self regulation – low quality
5. Services providers perspective (policy,
research)
6. All stakeholders – mission impossible

13. I wish you a successful
Conference with fruitful
discussions
Quality in Social Services – Luxembourg City 21.10.2011
The project is co-financed by the European Union from
the resources of the European Social Fund