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Building capacity and bridging the gaps: Strand 1: Social care practice with older people, people with learning disabilities and physically disabled people who use alcohol and other drugs: final report
- Authors:
- DANCE Cherilyn, ALLNOCK Debbie
- Publisher:
- University of Bedfordshire. Tilda Goldberg Centre for Social Work and Social Care
- Publication year:
- 2013
- Pagination:
- 68
- Place of publication:
- Luton
This report conveys the findings of one part of a three strand project which set out to examine the current state of training to work with alcohol and other drug problems (AOD) in social work and social care. This strand highlights the experiences and needs of social work and social care practitioners when encountering AOD problems in their work with older people, adults with learning disabilities and physically disabled adults. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from a survey undertaken in 2010-11, this secondary analysis has identified that practitioners in these areas encounter AOD problems relatively infrequently (compared with child protection or adult mental health fields), but that significant challenges are faced when they do so. Many practitioners in these fields feel under-prepared for this work; and they struggle with a lack of confidence in their knowledge about AOD, and with balancing their duty of care with respect for an individual’s right to self-determination, each of which affects their sense of entitlement to discuss AOD issues with service users. The current mode of service delivery, case management, focuses on signposting and referring on, and thus limits the perceived opportunities for practitioners to develop the sort of relationships with service users which would permit meaningful discussion of their AOD use. In addition, there is a lack of clarity about what is, or should be expected of adults’ social practitioners with respect to problematic AOD use. While the focus of the new Health and Well Being Boards is yet to be established, it is hoped that by bringing together health and social concerns under one body responsible for strategic planning and commissioning of services might offer the opportunity for tackling some of these issues. The project was funded by Alcohol Research UK. (Edited publisher abstract)
Changes in the patterns of social care provision in England: 2005/6 to 2012/13
- Authors:
- FERNANDEZ Jose-Luis, SNELL Tom, WISTOW Gerald
- Publishers:
- University of Kent. Personal Social Services Research Unit, London School of Economics
- Publication year:
- 2013
- Pagination:
- 40
- Place of publication:
- Canterbury
Even before the current public spending austerity programme was introduced, the adequacy of adult social care spending was of concern. This report quantifies what changes have taken place in net local spending and provision (recipients of care) between 2005/06 and 2012/13. The authors produced two sets of indicators of social care coverage over time: an observed and a standardised data series. The first is based on the raw data for the number of adult social care recipients collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. The second was generated using multivariate regression analysis to ‘control for’ the influence of socioeconomic indicators of social care need. Recent trends in the number of adults receiving social care services indicate that across all user groups, some 320,000 fewer people received local authority brokered social care in 2012/13 than in 2005/6, a 26% reduction in the number of care recipients. 260,000 or 31% fewer older people received services in 2012/13 than in 2005/6 (observed data). The standardised estimate of reduction was greater: 333,000 or 39% fewer clients. Some 37,000 or 24% fewer adults aged 18-64 with physical disabilities received social care support in 2012/13 than in 2005/6. The standardised estimate showed a reduction of 50,000 or 33%. A reduction of 30,000 (21%) was observed in the number of service recipients aged 18-64 with mental health problems. The standardised estimate for this group showed the largest proportional fall in the volume of service recipients (48%). In contrast with other client groups, the observed data for adults aged 18-64 with learning disabilities receiving services increased by about 7,000 (5%). However, the standardised indicator suggests a fall in activity: some 7,000 fewer service recipients in 2012/13 than in 2005/6. Recent trends in net adult social care expenditure demonstrate that changes in levels of expenditure vary significantly, depending on the user group considered. Aggregated across all user groups, the analysis suggests a drop in need-standardised net social care expenditure between 2005-06 and 2012/13 of approximately £1.5 billion at 2012/13 prices. Moreover, almost all reductions in expenditure are concentrated in 2010/11 and 2011/12. The largest reduction in expenditure is concentrated on care services for older people: an £890 million reduction between 2005/06 and 2012/13. The shortfall increases to just above £1.6 billion using the standardised estimate. Local changes in social care coverage find marked differences in patterns of changes across local authorities and between service user groups. Some 95% of local authorities in England were observed to have reduced the number of older people receiving services in the period 2005/6 to 2012/13: in 35% of authorities, the decrease was 40% or more. Overall, the findings indicate significant reductions in service provision, both in terms of coverage (numbers of people receiving care) and in terms of the amount of public resources invested (net expenditure). This analysis was partly funded with a grant from the Care and Support Alliance. (Edited publisher abstract)