Aging in the shadow of the law: the case of elder guardianship in Israel

Historically, the frail elderly, as well as other vulnerable populations who are unable to care for themselves, have been subject to legal proceedings known as guardianships. Despite changes and reforms, adult guardianship law has survived as a fundamental legal institution aimed at protecting the frail elderly as well as other incompetent adults. However, very little is known on the reality of adult guardianship under Israeli law, and the experience of the adult population under guardianship was never empirically studied in Israel. The empirical void regarding the workings of the Israeli law in this area served as the impetus for this study. The study investigated the issue of adult and elder guardianship in Israel as revealed in Family Law Courts' rulings, while focusing in particular on the profile of the wards, the reasons and motives, the legal procedure, and the outcome of the guardianship process. The study was a quantitative analysis, based on a random sample that included 523 court cases requesting legal guardianship for adults due to impaired legal competence. Rulings on these cases were provided in Family Courts from Haifa, Nazareth, and the Krayot areas in the period of the years 2000-2002. A clear but somber picture emerges from the findings of this study: Every year thousands of elderly individuals are subjected to the plenary legal authority of guardians appointed by law. This severe legal outcome takes place without providing these elderly the right to express their positions, without the provision of legal representation, and without their being seen or heard by the courts. These findings lead to the conclusion that there is urgent need in Israel to carry out extensive reform in the realm of civil legislation on the issue of guardianship for adults and the elderly.     

Uses of Guardianship as a Protective Intervention for Frail,Older Adults

The uses of guardianship as a protective intervention for frail, older adults, especially those at risk for abuse and exploitation, are examined. Findings are based on results from four projects: a model project providing guardianship services to low-income older adults; an elder abuse demonstration project; a study of judicial decisionmaking on gaurdianship and the elderly; and a survey of guardianship petitions and adjudications. The findings suggest that guardianship is not always the most effective means for meeting the needs of at-risk older adults, and guardianships do sometimes fail to protect wards from abuse and neglect. Eight recommendations for developing guardianship alternative programs are offered.     

Israel vs. BDS: corporate social responsibility and the politics of human rights

ABSTRACT

This is a case-study of an organized Israeli effort to disengage the issue of corporations in the Palestinian Occupied Territories from the global CSR framework of human rights. At the centre of the study are three international CSR conferences which took place in Israel, hosting players in the global industry of corporate risk-management indices. The study underscores the importance of studying the micro-politics of producing and implementing human rights norms across the globe; designating micro-politics as the sum of informal exchanges among players who share a common platform of expertise. We find that the Israeli conveners leveraged the CSR conferences to (1) promote a campaign against BDS among CSR players, (2) invoke BDS as a trope for dissociating the human rights framework of CSR from corporate activities in the OPT, and (3) frame the activities of corporations in the OPT in terms of labour opportunities and economic development.     

Family Intervention and Services for Persons with Mental Illness in the People's Republic of China

ABSTRACT

Family services and intervention for persons with mental illness is crucial in mental health services. In this paper, the writer attempts to describe family intervention and services for persons with mental illness in the People's Republic of China. Family intervention and services like home-based care, guardianship network, family counseling, and psychoeducational programs are only preliminarily developed. Their effectiveness and challenges in future development are discussed.     

Perceived overload as a predictor of physical strain among spousal and adult child caregivers of frail elders in the community

ABSTRACT

Family caregivers of frail elders can experience physical strain associated with caregiving. Identifying correlates of caregiver strain can provide an important impetus for tackling the causes and providing effective interventions. Utilizing data from the 1999 National Long-Term Care Survey, the current study examined correlates of caregiver physical strain among 956 family caregivers, using the stress process model. As multiple regression analyses indicated, the caregiver’s perceived overload predicted greater strain for both spousal and adult child caregivers. For both groups, common correlates of physical strain were caregiving demands, the caregiver’s perceived overload, and limitations placed on the caregiver’s life. The results demonstrate that the family relationship of the caregiver (spouse or adult child) leads to variations and dynamics in caregiver strains, due to qualitatively different relationships.     

Long-term care: a comparison of policies and services in Israel and the United Kingdom and implications for the United States

The issue of long-term care continues to be a main concern in the United States. As the country wrestles with the development of policies and services, the experiences of Israel, whose system rests upon national insurance, and that of the United Kingdom, which is based on grants to local authorities, can act as valuable teaching aids in the development of programs in the United States. Although both countries focus on community care with virtually universal access, concern over resources is forcing each to target their services increasingly to the most frail. The findings underscore the necessity for accurate planning and adequate resources if services are to meet the needs of the frail elderly population.     

Financial Exploitation of Elders: Analysis of Risk Factors Based on County Adult Protective Services Data

ABSTRACT

While all types of elder abuse and neglect are serious problems affecting thousands of vulnerable elders, financial exploitation has especially serious implications for the victims’ economic well-being and quality of life, because it may deprive the victims of their life savings and assets and thus their economic foundation for independence. In this study, data from the case files of a county adult protective services program were analyzed to identify risk factors associated with financial exploitation of and mismanagement by elders. The elders who were financially exploited were, on average, in their late seventies and tended to be cognitively impaired. We also found that owner-occupant elders were especially vulnerable to exploitation and that financial mismanagement and exploitation often occurred together. Approximately 60% of the perpetrators were relatives of the elderly victims, mostly their adult children, and the rest of the perpetrators were not related to the victims. Implications for interventions include case management for frail, cognitively impaired elders; preventive educational programs; and ongoing collaboration among adult protective services, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies.     

The transnational effect of multicultural policies on migrants' identification: the case of the Israeli diaspora in the USA

While it is difficult to gauge the effect of multicultural policies within countries, it is even more difficult to measure them across countries. In this article, I use fundamental multicultural changes that have occurred in Israeli society in recent decades as a case study, and track their effect on how Israelis who reside in the USA identify with Israel. Analysing the US census and the American Community Survey, I have focused my research on three groups of Israeli‐born migrants in the USA – Israeli Arabs, ultra‐Orthodox Jews and the Jewish majority. Findings indicate that originating from a minority community in the homeland predicts not only a different rate, but also different longitudinal trends of Israeli identification. I offer several possible explanations for these variations, but an in‐depth analysis of the Israeli case indicates that the transnational effect of the changing multicultural agenda in Israel is the leading mechanism at play.     

Australia's leading social work authors: the devil in the detail

Abstract

Many care leavers with disabilities face difficulties as they transition from out-of-home care (OoHC), and suffer multiple, ongoing forms of disadvantage after they leave care. This paper is drawn from a study comprising six focus groups, involving 21 participants employed in disability and OoHC services in Victoria, Australia. The findings suggest that care leavers with disabilities do not receive the transitional and postcare support and housing they need. Many are transitioned into housing options that are unsuitable for their needs, or unsafe. The argument of this paper is that care leavers with disabilities may benefit from adult guardianship legislation. When appropriate an application for a guardianship order should be made prior to the young person exiting care, to enable a smooth transition between the child and adult systems. Adult protection services with an advocacy function should be given the opportunity to advocate for care leavers with disabilities.     

Oriental Othering and National Identity: A review of Early Israeli Anthropological Studies of Palestinians

Israeli culturalism, like Israeli identity at large, is premised on a two-pronged negation-that of the Jewish diaspora and that of the Arab East. Its emergence was assisted, directly or indirectly, by academic anthropology. The formative cohort of Israeli anthropology, mainly male researchers who came of academic age in the 1960s and 1970s, displayed stronger preoccupation with the Palestinian citizens of Israel than is normally recognized. This preoccupation, and the marginal status of Palestinians as a minority trapped within the ethno-territorial Jewish project, render the relationship between anthropological knowledge, Israeli statehood and constructions of Israeli identity particularly suggestive. The combination of these elements, so deeply integrated into Israeli public discourse, resurfaces in a grotesque, exaggerated form, as Israelis grapple to make sense of the Palestinian Intifada of 2000-2001 and of Wahabist inspired terrorism and America's 'War Against Terror' further a field.     

Association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels with the frailty syndrome in Mexican community-dwelling elderly

Objective: Since vitamin D is an important regulator of muscle function, the effect of vitamin D deficiency on frailty syndrome has been recently studied. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the association between 25(OH)-vitamin D levels and frailty status in Mexican community-dwelling elderly.

Methods: Sample of 331 community-dwelling elderly aged 70 or older, a subset of those included in the “Coyoacán cohort” were included. 25(OH)-vitamin D assay and frailty status were measured.

Results: Mean age was 79.3 years and 54.1% were women. Those classified as frail were more likely to have lower Mini-Mental State Examination score (p?=?0.015), more disability for instrumental activities of daily living (p?p?p?Conclusion: These results suggest that older adults with low 25(OH)-vitamin D levels are associated with the probability to being frail compared with those with sufficient vitamin D levels.     

Achieving Permanence in Foster Care for Young Children: A Comparison of Kinship and Non-Kinship Placements

ABSTRACT

A number of child welfare policies have reinforced the use of kinship care as the most preferred placement for foster children, reflecting the philosophy that maintaining children within their own extended family system contributes to their stability and well-being. Given the growing utilization and legislative emphasis on kinship care along with the push for an immediate implementation of permanency plans for children in foster care, this study examines how the permanency goal under the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) is being implemented and achieved. The reunification and permanency placement (adoption or legal guardianship) outcomes of children in relative and non-relative care are analyzed, focusing on the experiences of young children. Based on public child welfare agency data from 2000 to 2003, child, case, and placement variables are explored to identify which set of factors best explains case outcomes. The present study identifies the total length of foster placement (kinship and non-kinship), the length of family maintenance services, and the number of placement changes as the most important variables in determining family reunification and permanent placement (legal guardianship and adoption) outcomes for young children.     

The Long-Term Care Insurance Law in Israel: Present and Future

Aging in place is a core component of the policy on aging in Israel. This was well expressed in the Long-Term Care Insurance law enacted in 1986 and implemented in 1988. Under the law, disabled persons can receive in-kind home- and community-based services to enable frail older adults to age in place and to complement or supplement the care provided primarily by family caregivers who are legally responsible for caregiving of their elderly family members. This article presents the main principles of the law and reviews the amendments that this law has undergone during the past 22 years. Finally, some core issues and dilemmas are discussed.     

The long-term care insurance law in Israel: present and future

Aging in place is a core component of the policy on aging in Israel. This was well expressed in the Long-Term Care Insurance law enacted in 1986 and implemented in 1988. Under the law, disabled persons can receive in-kind home- and community-based services to enable frail older adults to age in place and to complement or supplement the care provided primarily by family caregivers who are legally responsible for caregiving of their elderly family members. This article presents the main principles of the law and reviews the amendments that this law has undergone during the past 22 years. Finally, some core issues and dilemmas are discussed.     

Arab students of social work in Israel: adjustment difficulties and coping strategies

Israel is a multi-cultural society, and this can no longer be ignored. However, there is a serious lack of theoretical and empirical literature dealing with the implications of Israel's multi-cultural social context for social work education in Israel, as well as its impact on social work practice with different ethnic and national populations in that country. The dearth of material is even more pronounced in the case of Arab students attending Israeli universities.

This paper documents the first stage of a project focusing on Arab students at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A triangulation method was applied for collection of data from students enrolled in the 3-year programme, graduate students, faculty members and field work supervisors, as well as reports from previous years.

Personal, academic and socio-cultural difficulties are documented as well as coping mechanisms and recommendations for schools of social work in Israel. The results are used to demonstrate cultural misunderstanding, educational dilemmas and differences in professional ideologies.     

Post-Soviet Nostalgia in Israel? Historical Revisionism and Artists of the 1.5 Generation

ABSTRACT

The article examines contemporary Israeli poetry and visual art by Russian-Jewish artists of the 1.5 generation, artists who were born in the Soviet Union but resettled in Israel during the 1990s. By focusing on the representation of the Soviet–Jewish past in their works, I show that in contrast to the largely negative view of the Soviet experience by the previous generations of Russian-Israeli authors, the historical understanding of the 1.5 generation is fundamentally different. This cohort of artists resists the lachrymose portrayal of Jewish life in the USSR and the “Happily Ever After” finale in Israel. Instead, they propose a counter-narrative that is hinged on a romanticized depiction of life in the USSR and disillusionment in Israel that followed. I argue that nostalgic representations of the Soviet–Jewish past by these artists derive from the suffering, humiliation, and rapid downwards social mobility that the Russian-speaking community experienced in Israel.     

Computer Games for the Frail Elderly

Summary

The benefits of computer use by the elderly are named in this article. Described here is a project instigated to determine feasibility of computer use with frail institutionalized elderly. The four games used in this project are presented, as are participant reactions to these games. Computer use was found to be not only valuable as a learning tool, but a diagnostic one as well The author looks to practitioners in the future to investigate the possibilities of using computer games in their work with the elderly.     

The clash between legal and business logic: business groups in the new Israeli corporate law

Planned institutional change presents an uncommon opportunity for institutional entrepreneurs to advance their innovations. The dispute of why the new Israeli corporate law, enacted at the end of 1990s, does not refer to business groups, which form a salient part of Israeli big business, opens a window through which the conflict between two different and competing types of logic may be viewed. The carriers of legal-professional logic were legal academics and state officials, who opposed the inclusion of a special chapter or any other reference to business groups within the new corporate law based on US legal ideas, and especially on the ‘Law and Economics’ perspective. In contrast, the carriers of business logic were interest groups and professional associations that sought to appropriate the legal and economic advantages resulting from organizing business in the form of business groups within the new law, without protecting the rights of minority shareholders and, more importantly, without enabling state agencies to intervene in the governance of their businesses.     

Migration,Motherhood, Marriage: Cross‐Cultural Adaptation of North American Immigrant Mothers in Israel

This study probes the cross‐cultural adaptation patterns of North American women who immigrated to Israel with their Israeli‐born husbands (or married there) and are mothers in their new country. In order to undertake a cultural analysis of the interplay between immigration, motherhood and bicultural marriage, we examine: the effects of motherhood and North American culture of origin on cross‐cultural adaptation; the effects of immigration to Israel on motherhood and childrearing; the influence of family of origin on the immigrant motherhood experience; and the role of Israeli husbands and their families in the women’s cross‐cultural adaptation process. We study patterns for the entire group as well as bringing out individual differences. Our main finding is that motherhood serves as the principal social link to the Israeli host society. The high status of North American culture and English proficiency facilitate cross‐cultural adaptation in Israel. Our findings reveal transnationalist tendencies co‐existing with various adaptation strategies. We propose an expansion of previous acculturation models to accommodate this dual modus vivendi.     

Beyond Guilt and Stigma: Changing Attitudes among Israeli Migrants in Canada

Over 60 years ago, the Jewish nationalist movement known as Zionism culminated in the creation of the State of Israel. Millions of Jews immigrated to Israel over the twentieth century, a process known as aliya (literally, “going up”). Yet over the years, thousands of Israelis have also chosen to leave Israel in a movement termed yerida (“going down”). As the term suggests, this reverse migration has been highly stigmatized. During the 1960s and 1970s, emigrants were publicly disparaged in the Israeli media for having abandoned a struggling state. Consequently, Israeli migrants suffered strong feelings of guilt that often, hampered their integration process abroad, a phenomenon observed as late as the 1990s. This paper, however, reveals that feelings of stigmatization have greatly decreased among Israeli migrants in recent years. The study is based on research that I conducted in 2008–2009, involving nine months of participant observation in Vancouver’s Israeli community and 34 in‐depth interviews. Unlike in previous studies, most of my informants expressed no feelings of guilt over having left Israel. Of those who did, most framed their guilt as a longing for family and friends rather than the patriotic longing for the land as expressed by previous generations. Previous studies have also found that Israelis harbour a “myth of return”– a continuously expressed desire to return to Israel and a reluctance to accept their stay abroad as permanent. However, I have not found that the myth of return is still strong today, despite the continued prevalence of a strong sense of Israeli identity among Israelis abroad. I suggest that these changing attitudes are the product of shifting ideals in Israeli society that have developed as the state of Israel has matured. This paper thus serves to update the outdated image of Israeli migrants as it exists in the prevailing literature.