Client satisfaction with developmental disabilities services

Abstract

Data from a representative sample of 312 developmentally disabled clients of Florida's Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services are analyzed to discover the characteristics of the clients and to determine the extent to which the clients are satisfied with various services, reasons for any dissatisfaction that exists, and the factors which are related to satisfaction with services. Clients are least likely to be satisfied with the caregiver support services and the vocational and rehabilitative services they receive. Across all categories, reasons most often given for dissatisfaction with services are inappropriateness and insufficient amount. The factors most strongly related to client satisfaction with services are age, living arrangements, and number of services received. Adolescents are less likely than persons at other ages to be satisfied with the services they receive, persons living in a family setting are less likely than persons in nonfamily settings to be satisfied with services, and the greater the number of services received the lower the likelihood of client satisfaction. Combined with information showing that most of the clients have multiple disabilities, these data suggest that the service delivery system does a better job of delivering some services than others. A “slot” oriented program such as that in Florida may pay insufficient attention to the existence of multiple needs among persons who are developmentally disabled and to providing services to the networks which form the client's economic and social support system.