the Social Services Office: A study and an operational proposal at municipal level

The social secretariat is an essential service that serves as a bridge within today's Italian welfare landscape; it is a source of pride unique to Italy, as its origins can be traced back to the EISS. Although it serves as the "gateway" to social services, it has been the subject of very little research and only marginal analysis in the literature. Universal access to the service and the individual's right to information and self-determination have highlighted how the social secretariat consultation is a space for deep interaction between the social worker and the client. This acknowledges the local significance of the social services office as an observatory of needs and a starting point for the collaborative planning-among multiple stakeholders-of strategies for internal improvement, based on the input of community members. The social worker is called upon to be a co-creator of policies for change in close collaboration with service leadership, the municipal administration, and, above all, the people themselves.

Pages: 160, Paperback, Our Knowledge Publishing