Do social workers really make a difference? Measuring client satisfaction in an occupational setting

Abstract

Considerable time, effort and money annually go into the provision of social work services. South African practitioners cannot, however, yet prove beyond a doubt that these services meet the needs of client systems. Especially one gap still remains on the accountability continuum. This is the extent to which clients themselves are satisfied with the services they receive. Part of this gap has now been filled with the development and testing of client satisfaction scales for an occupational setting. This paper will deal with the nature of these scales and the implications of their use for the broader social work field.