Correctness of Decisions and Quality Control in Kela’s Basic Social Assistance
Legislation sets several quality targets on the decisions regarding basic social assistance: Decisions must be made in accordance with the law, and they must be handled with precision. Furthermore, decisions must be justified and given within a statutory time frame. On the other hand, the implementation of decisions must also be efficient. In part, these objectives are difficult to combine.
According to the estimates, different quality problems related to decisions have increased since the administrative responsibility for basic social assistance was transferred from the municipalities to Kela in 2017. At first, the processing times grew longer and there were errors in the decisions, which burdened both the clients and Kela’s employees. Despite the increase in Kela’s personnel resources, it appears that not all problems with the quality of decisions have been solved. The problems have also attracted the attention of the Deputy Chancellor of Justice, who has stated that since Kela has the administrative responsibility for basic social assistance, it also has the duty to ensure the quality of decisions.
This study investigates the measures taken by Kela to ensure and monitor the quality of decisions. In addition, we analyse the sufficiency of these measures from the perspectives of those steering, executing, and monitoring the decisions as well as the goals set for the social assistance reform. Furthermore, we examine the possible problems related to ensuring the quality of basic social assistance work and the quality assurance measures related to other goals set for decision work. The research material comprises interviews with people working in Kela’s administration and those who make the decisions to grant social assistance. We also utilise administrative documents regarding the quality assurance of basic social assistance decisions and monitoring of development activities.
Researchers
- Hanna-Mari Heinonen, Leading Researcher
- Markku Laatu
Project Implementation Period
1.1.2021–31.12.2023
