SOCIAL CARE POLICY

Social Care Policy



Social Care Policy

Introduction

In the 1970s, there was increased emphasis on the establishment of organizations in respective local authorities to provide care services to people who belonged to dependency groups. The actions of the government were coordinated and comprehensive, which aimed at providing social care and aid to the suffering families. In addition, the social care policies aimed at identifying people who needed help. However, after the period of 1970s, governments started to shift the focus from public organizations to the private sector to provide the social care services to the needed population.

Care and Dependency

Older People

Policy towards the dependency groups such as old people is defined as the implementation of the policy interests of the elderly. It pertains to the needs and living conditions of older people and is aimed at activities, which in a planned and purposeful way, improve the lives of older people. This is achieved by a system of benefits associated with social security. Social policy calls for action on the rights of this category of people. This applies to education, culture, health, organization of leisure time, labor protection of the elderly, bedridden assistance, social work with older people, making adequate housing, institutional support and material conditions of seniors (O'Connor 2006, pp. 239-242).

Social policy takes into account the rights of the elderly. Furthermore, it should take into account the dignity of the elderly people. The attitude toward the older man is the measure of human relations in society. Social policy towards the elderly can be defined as a system implemented in the framework of activities aimed at a comprehensive compensation with age decreasing the possibility of self-satisfaction of needs, integration with local community and to prepare for old age.

One can point toward a guiding principle of contemporary social policy towards the elderly. These are the right to self-determination and decision about their future and shape their own hierarchy of needs and responsibility for their fate. The formation of social policy objectives towards the elderly is a process that requires not only taking into account the objective needs of older people and their environment, but also the financial capability of the entities responsible for implementing this policy. The approach toward assisting the elderly may be as follows (Almgren 2007, pp. 323-347):

Autonomy - the behavior of sovereignty in making decisions about ways of life in old age.

Integration - ensuring conditions for the older generation to participate in social life.

Care - to provide assistance in the event resulting from age or health status of loss of physical strength or mental.

The organization, whose mission is to coordinate the activities of the entities policies towards older people.

Mental Health Users and Policy

On the other hand, there are other dependency groups such as mental health service users. It is an indivisible part of health and welfare of a human being that results from the interaction of people with natural and social environment. Thus, mental health is indisputably linked to the socioeconomic and cultural ...