Abstract

The article analyses the re-organization of social services established by the Welfare Department of the Milan municipality. In 2013, following the analysis conducted with the Local Social Plan, the Welfare Department decided to profoundly modify the organisation of social services. It has changed from a system with services aligned with different category of needs (as elderly, family and children, people with disabilities), the so-called «organ pipe» system, to a system organised around types of services (territorial, residential, home-based services) transversal to different needs. This article reports the opinion of the Department employees (social workers and administrative staff) collected through questionnaires distributed to 690 practitioners, asking their opinions on the effect of the new organisation for service users and the impact of their own work, such as on their workload, relations and their capacity to provide qualified service. The difference between centre and periphery as well as between professional and administrative staff is presented and discussed.