Welfare Reform on the Web (August 2001): Social Care - UK - Community Care
CARERS OF OLDER PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA: ASSESSMENT AND THE CARERS ACT
D. Seddon and C. A. Robinson
Health and Social Care in the Community, vol. 9, 2001, p. 151-158
The Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995 came into force on April 1st 1996. It entitles carers who are providing substantial amounts of care on a regular basis to an assessment of their needs and ability to care. Local authorities are required to take the results of this assessment into account when making decisions about services. This paper reports the results of a two-year study, conducted in Wales, that evaluated the process and outcomes of assessments carried out under the Carers Act. Findings suggest that separate carer assessments are not an established feature of care management practice, and that care managers lack an explicit framework to direct the assessment of carers' needs.
CARERS' RIGHTS
S. Sugarman
Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Care, vol. 4., 2001, p. 316
The Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 accords new rights to carers, including:
- the right to an independent needs assessment;
- access to direct payment;
- access to short term break voucher schemes.
However, the Act also gives local authorities power to charge for services.
GENDER, CARING AND EMPLOYMENT IN BRITAIN
L. McKie, S. Bowlby and S. Gregory
Journal of Social Policy, vol. 30, 2001, p. 233-258
This article sets out, 'evidence of economic, legislative and attitudinal changes, that have improved equality of access to paid employment for women without recognising their relationship with caring in the home'. It starts by looking at home care and employment before looking at the equality legislation and policies on caring work. It goes on to look at the significance of women's roles as a carer to the nature of the involvement in paid work over the last fifty years.
TO CHARGE OR NOT TO CHARGE?
J. Dow
Managing Community Care, vol. 9, Apr. 2001, p. 38-40
Charging for domiciliary care services by local authorities has always been an emotive issue. Recent government draft guidance is unlikely to resolve the issue, as it leaves local politicians with flexibility to determine their own charging policies.
UNPROTECTED BY THE SWEDISH WELFARE STATE REVISITED: ASSESSING A DECADE OF REFORMS FOR BATTERED WOMEN
R. A. Elman
Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 24, 2001, p. 39-52
In the mid-1980s, Swedes attributed the relative lack of assistance for abused women to low demand. Thanks to feminist activism, reforms were introduced and provision expanded. Study surveyed battered women in refuges to assess the effectiveness of the changes. Results suggest that while police and prosecutors appear to be somewhat more responsive to abused women, social workers have not improved.