The Quality of Homelessness Services: An Overview of the Current Situation and Challenges in Croatia

Abstract

Although homelessness is a multifaceted phenomenon that has aroused interest in the Croatian scientific community over the last decade, the quality of homelessness services has not been explored so far. Based on a qualitative research that included key participants in the homelessness sector, this theme is problematized through various aspects of service quality. Following an introduction and a description of the method used, this paper describes the legal regulation of quality of services for homeless people, as well as the problems that homelessness services providers encounter in practice in relation to legal documents. More specifically, this paper analyses: the availability of services for homeless people, financing models, quality of accommodation facilities, quality of social services and quality control. All these aspects of service quality are supplemented by a number of first-hand practical experiences as well as some examples of good practice.