Vulnerable people often helped too little, too late by Dutch municipalities

Municipalities do not always know how to reach people who need care and support, which can cause a group of vulnerable people to find themselves in a worse position than they should have been, said the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP). New methods are needed to approach these people, said the government think tank responsible for studying how political policy affects the public.

The SCP advocated a “change of perspective” in the thinking and working methods of municipalities after researching different approaches. It noted that when people do not make use of facilities and available office hours at town halls, they are often lumped together as “non-users” of those particular services.

However, it would be beneficial for municipalities to “examine why some residents are not reached and what the needs of these people are,” according to the SCP. In addition, the SCP recommended that municipalities find other ways to approach people to offer assistance other than waiting for them to show up at walk-up counters, or to use digital forms of customer service.

It is now often assumed that people always act rationally, develop a plan, and ask their municipality for help when they have problems. In reality, many people may not do this out of shame, mistrust or fear of having to repay subsidies, according to the SCP.

A third piece of advice is that municipalities make more of an effort to learn more about why people underutilize local services, as well as when people interact with local government. One way in which this can be done is by gathering knowledge from people with complex problems who have not been properly reached, and listening to their stories about their situation, the SCP said.