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'I have got my life back': users' experience of direct payments
- Authors:
- STAINTON Tim, BOYCE Steve
- Journal article citation:
- Disability and Society, 19(5), August 2004, pp.443-454.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
After years of activism by disabled people's organizations, the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 made Direct Payment (DP) schemes a reality. Proponents of DP argue that it allows greater freedom and control for those people using it, but as these programmes only came into effect in 1997, few studies have tried to substantiate these claims. This paper reports on a two-year evaluation of two DP schemes in Wales. Using primarily users' feedback the paper focuses on the effects of DP and difficulties encountered, as well as why people chose--or did not choose--DP in the first place. User responses indicate a broad range of beneficial outcomes, including improved self-esteem, increased control over lives, deeper and more lasting relationships, and new interpersonal, vocational and lifestyle opportunities, as a result of the greater flexibility and freedom of choice enabled by DP. Family carers expressed similar satisfaction with DP schemes, also citing greater freedoms as a result of increased flexibility. While some potential users expressed concern over the administration of a DP scheme, users found that, with support from a user driven Independent Living Scheme, the administrative burden was manageable, and that ultimately the DP scheme was a welcome approach to support.
Taking rights structurally: disability, rights and social worker responses to direct payments
- Author:
- STAINTON Tim
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Social Work, 32(6), September 2002, pp.751-763.
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
This article examines the link between a justice and rights discourse and disability policy and practice. Specifically, it considers social worker responses to direct payments, a policy which has been linked to a discourse of social justice and rights. The article initially considers the nature of justice and rights, arguing that these can plausibly be seen to be grounded in the idea of autonomy and that a rights or justice based social policy and practice must be grounded in the protection, enhancement and development of the capacity for autonomous action. The article then presents partial findings of a research project, which sampled social workers' views and attitudes towards direct payments in three local authorities. The findings suggest that social workers are aware of the link between direct payments and autonomy and are generally very supportive of the move to a rights based approach to policy and practice as evidenced by programmes such as direct payments. The article concludes that structural constraints limit social workers' ability to fully function from a rights based approach to disability.