| Abstract: | Correspondence to Karl Atkin, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD. Summary The multi-racial nature of British society can no longer beignored by those responsible for planning and implementing socialcare policy, particularly since community care is presentlyat a crossroads. Informal care provides a useful starting pointfrom which to introduce the notion of race into social caredebates. The paper, by reviewing a mix of empirical studiesand policy debates emerging from the literature on informalcare and black communities, examines the experience of informalcare within black communities. By discussing topics such asthe demography of care, the nature of informal care, and serviceprovision to black carers, it gives coherence to a fragmentedliterature and illustrates gaps in present understanding. |
