Contemporary Adult Social Policy - Essay Example

A report on contemporary adult social policy The adult social carer policy in the United Kingdom has gone through historical developments since its introduction before the Second World War to date making it more advanced and complex. Among persons who qualify for carer are the disabled who are entitled to Disability Benefits and the unemployed who receive Income Replacement Benefits. The policy has a number of strengths for instance; it leads to improved quality of life for its beneficiaries and increases their income. The policy is, however, detrimental as with increased number of dependents; a country is financially strained. The objective of this paper is to understand the historical background of the policy and its impact on policy intervention, the policy strengths and weaknesses and the impacts of the policy and how these influence how service users are conceptualised. Introduction Social welfare is a term that denotes a complete range of organized activities offered by voluntary agencies or governments, aiming prevention, alleviation, or contribution to the solution of recognized social problems, or for the welfare of individuals, groups, or even communities (NASW 1971, p1446). Adult social care implies the responsibilities of local social service providers towards adults in need of extra support. The categories of people who benefit from these provisions includes older people, physically disabled people; people with learning disabilities, and people with mental health problems. Services are offered through the provision of home care, day centres, equipment and adaptations, meals and home care. A number of mechanisms are used in the delivery of these services such as career assessments, personal budgets and direct payments, community care assessments and adult protection procedures. The concern of welfare providers is adults at risk or harm. One can be said to be at risk if he/she is unable to safeguard his/her well-being, properties, rights or their other interests because they are disabled, have a mental disorder, are illness or are physically or mentally infirm (Manthrope and Stanley 1999, p270). History of adult welfare in the united kingdom Social care for older people and those physically disabled was publicly funded through the Poor Law also referred to as Public Assistance as of the Local Government Act, 1929 before the Second World War. The Law required every parish to charge rates to care for destitute people without family support. The service gave funds to a family member to house and care for a disabled or older person through provision of a weekly payment, clothing and health care (Baker, 1975 p20-24). The Poor Law was amended in 1834 to exclude those deemed capable of working from the benefits. If they were destitute, they could be admitted to workhouses or be granted adequate weekly benefits. By 1845, most of the English and Welsh counties had established publicly funded ‘asylums’ where patients who could pay for it were charged while others were funded by the Poor Law authorities. All Poor Law powers were transferred to Public Assistance by the Local Government Act of 1929. Poor Law hospitals were then integrated with other medical services to provide medical attention to the older and disabled expanding the focus of geriatric medicine. In 1940, a campaigning group referred to as Age Concern was founded, and it put pressure on the government to improve care for older people especially on realization that there were inadequate means-tested pensions. This led to increased awareness of the needs of disabled, with their numbers being even higher due to war service and bombing. This consequently led to the 1944 Disabled Person’s Employment Act, which required employers are hiring more than 20 people to employ at least 3% from those in the newly instituted Register of Disabled Persons (Bulter and Drakefold 2003, p58). The National Assistance Board (NAB) was established in 1948 abolishing the Poor Law/ Public Assistance Act of 1946 and took over all its institutions and responsibilities. Disabled and older people were divided into the sick that were set in hospitals while those who were in need of care and attention were placed in workhouses. In 1966, the NAB was replaced by the Supplementary Benefits Commission. NAB was then absorbed into the Department of Health and Social Security in 1968 replacing the Ministries of Health and National Insurance. A small number of new Homes and hospitals were established until the late 1950s due to financial challenges. This led to deplorable conditions in the Homes and hospitals for older and disabled people in 1960’s. The Amendment of the National Assistance Act 1948 in 1962 required local authorities to offer meals, day centers and recreational workshops for older and disabled people with the intention of helping them remain in their homes longer (Baker, 1975). The need to frequently supervise older and disabled people while they remained in their community was introduced. The growing concern of lack of co-ordination of health and social services in 1960’s contributed to the appointment of a committee called Seebohm Committee on Allied Personal Social Services and Local Authority that reported shortage of appropriately trained social workers in 1968. The report further stated that providing services for old people while in their homes would not be successful unless attention is paid to supporting the families. A single social services department was established in each local authority by the Local Authority Social Services Act, 1970. It emphasized the importance of a coordinated and comprehensive approach to supporting families, social care, detecting need and encouraging people to request for help. The Chronically Sick and Disabled Act of 1971 required that the disabled people be registered, and services be publicized by all local authorities. In 1971, the Invalidity Benefit was introduced and was supplemented in 1975 by means-tested Invalidity Pensions. Invalid Care Allowance for people of working age acting as care assistants to older and disabled people was introduced in 1975. In 1980’s and 1990’s Social Care moved faster towards Community Care and more Provision by the Private Sector. This was because of the commitment by the Government to reduce public spending and its preference for the private sector. The number of documents in the 1980s showed the need to make better services for older and disabled people (Bucker and Drakefold). In 1985, a Report of the House of Commons Social Services Committee criticized the services for mentally disabled people of which most of them were elderly people. Griffiths Report of 1988 which was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Social Services, reported that community care had been under-funded and that it was characterized by poor co-ordination especially between health and social services. He recommended for a clear framework for better coordination. The 1989 White Paper, Caring for People reaffirmed the obligation to high quality social care but emphasized on the independent sector. It stated that the government would expect local authorities to make use of services from voluntary and private providers if this is a cost effective care choice. The National Health Service and Community Care Act of 1990 attempted to implement recommendations of the White Paper but failed to provide substantially increased funding. Local authorities hence found it quite difficult to provide affordable care with the inadequate funding. From 1980, lodging supplementary benefit allowances were availed to residents of all independent sector homes, and this encouraged the expansion of the private sector. By the late 1980s only the most disabled were targeted to cut costs and by 1990 it was becoming even more difficult for some older and disabled people to access help not unless they had intensive care needs and were unable to pay for private services. Other mechanisms used included: Disability Living Allowance (1992), Cares (Recognition and Services) Act (1995), Mental Health Act (1995), Disability Discrimination Act (1995) and the Community Care Act (1996). These enabled local authorities make payments to the disabled people so as to assist them buy community services depending to their needs. The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) that was founded in 1999 was absorbed into the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2007. Extra measures used since 2000 aiming to improve support for older and disabled people and their cares, include; Cares and Disabled Children Act (2001), the Private Hire Vehicle Act (2002), Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001) and the New Deal for the Disabled. All these compose the consolidated the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 followed by the Disability Equality Duty (2006). Family care has been crucial for the survival of older and disabled people in the community. Equality Act of 2010 Equality Act outlines how people in work places should be treated that is, fairly and equally. The Act advocates for equal employment opportunities for the disabled. It warns employers against using mechanisms that are meant to reduce chances of the disabled to make it through the recruitment process. For example by using a pre-employment disability related enquiries. According to the equality Act, people of different ages need to be treated equally. For instance old people should not be told they are too old to do things they are capable of doing and which they enjoy doing (Government Equality Office, 2010). Conceptualization of dependent social groups This report will focus on Direct Payment as one of the social welfare policy. Direct payment is a type of welfare that involves making cash payments directly to the individual to purchase the services that they require. Some of the individuals who are entitled to welfare benefits in United Kingdom in the form of payments include the disabled people and the unemployed. The benefits include Income Replacement Benefits (JSA, IS, IB, ESA) which are for the completely un-employed adults and those working for few hours in a week. Beneficiaries are subdivided into; those able to work. These are individuals actively seeking full time employment but are jobless. They receive Job Seekers Allowance. The second category is of those who are not capable of working due to illness or disability (Beatty and Fothergill, 2005p. 837-854). They are entitled to Incapacity Benefits or Income Support. The last group is composed of lone parents with young children and carers to dependents. They get Income Support. Another benefit is the Disability Benefits (DLA). Claimants of this help are those individuals who need assistance with every day’s tasks and have mobility challenges (DWP, 2010 p.3). Strengths of direct payment Direct payments are flexible and thus can be used to support a wide range of activities including employment. This reduces the greater risk of poverty that is associated with exclusion from employment. Disability in old age is a common occurrence and lowers quality of life as it demands extra resources for care and rehabilitation. Disabilities whether mental or physical predispose one to hospitalization, need for residential care or even premature death. Helping the disabled through the Disability Benefit in the elderly can improve the quality of life (Stone, 2010, p 21-23). Financial benefits given to the disabled and the unemployed increase their income. This gives them a chance to have a better standard of living as with the money they can provide what they would otherwise not afford. A review of the law on adult social care in the United Kingdom represents an important step towards achieving a single, contemporary and progressive statute on adult social welfare for its citizens. The Law Commission has been reviewing confusing laws on adult protection, adult residential care, and support for carers and henceforth giving recommendations with the intention of introducing better laws. This will in turn lead to a perfect Law statute on adult social care. The adult care policy proposes a checklist that guides decisions around provision of adult social care that includes the need to pursue a persons preference and desires, and a proof that even those who lack mental capacity to make choices and take control can still have their wishes and needs attended to. Through this policy, advocacy for the rights of the dependents safeguarded and brought into the modern understanding (Stone, 2010 p21-23). Weaknesses of the policy The policy makers used a very narrow focus. Their plan lacked adequate emphasis on user’s voice. Policy makers strayed into focusing on services with their own narrative being outcomes and needs. The practitioner views of risk tend to differ from the service user’s view of the same risk. What is significant to the service users as far as addressing a risk may also differ from that of the service provider (Ryan 2000, p.32). In most cases practitioners turn to their colleagues when exploring issues of risk rather than the person using the service (Taylor 2006, pg.23). Provision of welfare to the aged and the disabled other than being a vast expense to the state, also relieves citizens of personal responsibility, and this has inadvertently promoted irresponsible attitudes. The welfare state has been described as an arrangement under which we majority cease to be responsible for their behavior but instead become responsible for everyone elses. Impacts of direct payment The use of direct payments has contributed to the Government’s goal of raising rates of economic productivity and tackling poverty. Through Direct Payments, more job opportunities are created especially through private investments and thus making it easier for dependents to earn their living (Pearson, 2000 p.4, 20). Conclusion Direct payments have the potential to make a contribution to the acquisition of social justice for disabled people and those unemployed through independent living. Caution should, however, be taken to ensure direct payments do not become a mainstream option as this may make the policy lose its potency for significant social change. Direct payments have also been opposed by public sector workers and labour controlled authorities as it is argued that they exemplify privatised and individualized services which threaten the principles of universal public services and the pay and conditions of lowly paid workers (Unison, 2004). REFERENCES Ageing and Society. Special Issue, Family Support for Older People, 10 (11), 2006 Baker, A. (1975) Granny bashing. Modern Geriatrics, 5, 8, 20-24. Beatty, C. and Fothergill, S. (2005) ‘The diversion from “unemployment” to “sickness” across British regions and districts’. Regional Studies Vol. 39, No.7, pp.837–854 Butler, I. and Drakeford, M. 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