Explaining variations in forms of service delivery for newcomers

Sousa Martins da Costa Santos, Adriana [UCL] Mescoli, Elsa Vandermeerschen, Hanne Mascia, Carla [USL-B]

T his chapter aims at gaining a better understanding of the functioning on the ground of welfare policies in terms of service delivery for newly arrived immigrants, and of the rationales lying behind existing variations. It also endeavours to study whether PCSWs perceive specific needs of migrant beneficiaries and how they respond to them. To do so, the chapter first analyses the organisation of the PCSWs under study with regard to service delivery for newcomers. Despite common missions of the PCSW in Belgium, diversity is present in terms of organisational cultures and choices, political orientations, and concrete services developed in each agency (see Chapter 2). PCSWs are a ‘general’ welfare institution (rather than a migration-specific service), yet they can decide at the local level how to organise the aid to migrants, and whether or not to develop devoted services and/or to have social workers specialised in addressing their specific needs. Second, the chapter also reveals what social aids are delivered to newcomers, and what conditions of access are set. Third, the question is addressed to what extent there are differences in service delivery to newly arrived immigrants as compared to other beneficiaries. Fourth, it is examined whether/to what extent PCSWs rely on other institutions and organisations for the service provision to newly arrived immigrants, who are their main partners, and what factors might hamper effective cooperation. The chapter mainly relies on the qualitative findings from the interviews with professional actors at the PCSWs. However, when possible, the qualitative findings are complemented with results from the complementary BBOX survey.