Factors in Differential Utilization of Services by Urban Elderly

This paper examines the extent to which people aged 60 years and over living in the inner city of New York utilize community services. It was found that agencies providing income maintenance were utilized by the highest percentage of fhe respondents, followed, in order, by the police, religious organizations, and the housing authority. Among the lowest in reported utilization were voluntary social agencies such as settlement houses and family service agencies. There was also a low level of utilization of visiting nurse and homemaker services. Differences in utilization were found among ethnic groups represented in the population. Reasons for the low level of service utilization are discussed.     

Staff-Family Relations and Institutional Care Policies

As institutional care providers increasingly recognize the importance of the family, the quality of staff-family relations has become a concern. This study investigated the relationship between selected facility care policies and staff-family relationships. Data secured from staff members and family members in rural nursing homes revealed a relationship between the family role that the care policy prescribed and the degree of staff-family integration. The study concluded that care policies viewing family members as clients will have positive consequences for staff and families and ultimately the residents.     

Which Champions,Which People? Public and User Involvement in Health Care as a Technology of Legitimation

This paper concerns two practices, public consultation and user involvement, whose adoption has been urged upon the UK National Health Service in recent years. Public consultation is a local attempt to seek the views of a broad constituency of persons. User involvement is a local attempt to include organized groups of service users in the planning, and occasionally the management, of such services. The paper has four objectives. First, it locates the topic in the context of several related current debates. Second, it outlines the main findings of a recent empirical study of public consultation as they relate to the above debates. Third, it summarizes the relevant findings of an empirical study of user involvement. Finally, it examines these two practices as "technologies of legitimation" which can be seen as a means by which managerial legitimacy is maintained in the context of an increasingly pluralistic policy arena.     

Making Policymakers More Gender Aware: Experiences and Reflections from the Women's Budget Group in the United Kingdom

SUMMARY

The UK Women's Budget Group (WBG) is a think tank focusing on the gender implications of economic policy that attempts to influence UK government policy to be more gender aware and adopt policies that decrease gender inequality. The WBG has had the overarching aim of encouraging the government to take account of gender in policy formation and to monitor and hold itself accountable for the gender effects of its policies. At the same time the WBG has advised the government on the gender effects of particular policies and proposed modifications to make policies more supportive of (or less harmful to) women, and poor women in particular. Such advice has covered a number of areas, including fiscal policy, tax credits, income support, financial support for children, childcare policy, maternity and parental leave, work-life balance policies, pensions, pay equity, training and productivity, the use of indicators and the collection of government statistics. While the government has been keen to acknowledge the WBG's influence on certain policies, in other areas the WBG has had no discernible effect on policy. This analysis focuses on several common gender issues, including taking account of gendered life-courses, intra- as well as inter-household gender inequalities, valuing and remunerating care and accounting for unpaid work, to assess the WBG's impact and possible reasons for success or failure.     

(Re)Envisioning Human Service Labor: Worker-Owned Cooperative Possibilities

This article explores the viability of worker-owned cooperatives as a promising human service delivery model that prioritizes the well-being of both care recipients and providers. In so doing, the current labor conditions of those providing direct care services are presented, followed by a review of cooperatives as a promising countertrend within human service delivery. Three case examples of worker-owned, direct-care cooperatives are presented, concluding with a discussion of the challenges and possibilities of this model and suggested next steps as we continue to (re)imagine modes of care provision premised on worker sovereignty, economic equality, and social justice.     

Father's involvement in the lives of children in foster care

Limited understandings exist about non‐resident fathers' views of their involvement with their children in foster care placements. Guided by the ecological systems framework, the purpose of this exploratory study was to gain insights into fathers' perceptions of their involvement with a child in foster care. Data were collected from demographic questionnaires and two focus groups with 17 men. Fathers expressed how kinship compared with non‐kinship placements affected their involvement. Fathers were also in agreement that their financial hardships were a significant factor affecting their involvement. Several fathers also reported how they experienced discrimination in the child welfare system as men. Surprisingly, uncommon to findings from other studies, few men viewed the child's mother as being a barrier to their involvement. The findings provide insights into factors requiring attention to help non‐residential fathers become involved with their children.     

Health and Well-Being for Late Middle-Aged and Old Lesbians in a Rural Area

Abstract

Previous research on lesbian health care has drawn primarily from samples of young lesbians living in metropolitan areas. Through face-to-face interviews with twenty-one lesbians aged 54 or older and living in rural communities, this exploratory, naturalistic inquiry begins to fill a gap in the literature by examining the health care experiences of older, rural lesbians. Five themes emerged from the narrative data: issues of access; good health/good care; open to her own diversity; family and community; and visions-ideals and fears. We present these themes through informant quotes and discuss implications for policy and practice.     

Long-Term Care Insurance in Japan

Abstract

Among all the industrialized countries, Japan has the fastest rate of population aging and the highest life expectancy at birth. It is projected that the proportion of elderly people will reach 35.7% in 2050. In this demographic environment, Japan launched a social insurance program for long-term care for the elderly in 2000. What were the forces that led Japan to establish a long-term care program for elderly people? What are the provisions for financing, benefits, and service delivery? What aspects of policymaking in developing such a program are unique to Japan? This article presents answers to these questions.     

Childcare: welfare or investment?

Conley A. Childcare: welfare or investment? Int J Soc Welfare 2010: 19: 173–181 © 2009 The Author, Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Childcare (also called day care or preschool) has generally served three purposes: to care for children while parents are employed; to provide early childhood education; and to cater to the needs of poor and disadvantaged children. This article proposes that the welfare approach to childcare be augmented by a social investment approach to enhance human and social capital investments among low income families and communities and to contribute to wider social development goals. The Head Start program in the United States and the Integrated Child Development Scheme in India are used to illustrate this argument.