Accountable welfare reform: What consumers think

The purpose of this study is to understand what type of public welfare service constitutes quality service from the consumer's perspective. Welfare recipients were interviewed to determine the degree of consumer (dis)satisfaction with current welfare programs. Seven focus groups were conducted to assess services and propose improvements. Although there are limitations with this approach, it does provide a comprehensive overview of consumer opinions to help develop valid consumer satisfaction measures and define quality service. Participants were found to be most dissatisfied with the treatment they received when seeking service from the public welfare system. They reported uncaring and insensitive responses, demeaning and disrespectful treatment and they questioned the competence of personnel. Several organizational practices were identified that waste time, discourage recipient improvement and in total, work against efforts to become self-sufficient. A consumer-focused public welfare system that empowers workers to be accountable to consumers is proposed.