The main purpose of the national recommendation entitled ’Quality Management in Social
Welfare and Health Care for the 21
st
Century’ is to:
• promote a client-focused approach;
• show how quality management supports good services;
• foster the initiation and development of quality management in all areas
of social welfare and health care;
• fine-tune the agenda published in 1995;
• encourage co-operation in line with approved objectives and principles
of quality management.
The recommendation applies to both public and private social and health care services. In
addition to service providers, major participants in quality management include instructors,
researchers and customer and trade organisations operating in the field.
Early childhood education and care is part of these national efforts to develop quality management.
For example, the Early Childhood Education Centre at the University of Oulu has
launched a joint day-care quality project with 22 municipalities. Efektia, an organisation
operating in conjunction with the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities,
organises various development projects in municipalities. Several municipalities also have
their own projects related to quality management and development of early childhood education
and care.
For about ten years now, local authorities have conducted client satisfaction surveys concerning
children’s day care, as with other municipal services. The results concerning children’s
day care have been positive.