Social service systems in the Council of Europe member states are not all equally developed, but they all face similar challenges. The ultimate aim is to make high-quality, comprehensive social services available to everyone in all the member states.
Over the last years, one of the key developments in the provision of social services has been to make them more client-oriented. Social welfare services have to be adapted to their individual needs. One of the most effective ways to improve the quality of services is to involve users in their design, management, implementation and evaluation. User involvement also improves their autonomy and increases their participation in society as a whole.
Since 2001 a project is concentrating specifically on user participation in social services.
An intergovernmental group Group of Specialists on User Involvement in Social Services (CS-US) was set up to examine the best practices of participation and involvement of users in social services throughout the European continent and integrated delivery of social services. The group elaborated a report and policy guidelines on user involvement in social services. They were launched in the framework of a Conference on this issue which took place in Warsaw on 14 and 15 June 2007.
Following the completion of the work of the Group, the Council of Europe is involved in disseminating its outcomes through dissemination activities in several countries.
