The role of social
care in the community
Social care (otherwise known as institutional care) plays an important
role in the community. Where a community does not have the skills ad
resources to look after the needs of it's members various services and
organisations provide the care.
Social care, as opposed to community care, is structured around ...
... a social need (as
opposed to a
personal need)
... a set of policies, charter,
Strategic Plan, or agenda that determines service delivery
(roles/goals).
... a set of behaviours and expectations that determine how the service
works (institutions).
Social care is about a service that conforms to a governing body that
sets the
rules. This happens in all parts of society, Social order and stability
allow society to function in a way that benifits the members. Within
socity we see all sorts of social care. Universities, hospitals, day
care centers,
nursing homes and even sporting organisations and religious
institutions fulfill important roles in
providing skills and resources that are not available in the wider
community. Social justice, social security and welfare and social
services (water, electricty. gas, telephone) are all forms of social
care that we all take for granted. These services are provided to allow
us to participate in our normal day to day activities. New technology
has changed our world for ever and each new generation grows up in a
different world. Services are evolving through each new innovation. New
ways are found to provide these services. Old services become worn out
and antiquated. Government policy and practice is also redifing it's
own roles in providing services. What was relivent 10 years ago is no
longer relivent today. New political parties try to persuade us that
they have all the answers.
Social care: An asset or a
liability?
But how many people do not have these conveniences that we depend on.
Unfortunately, through this process, all members are not benefited.
Social care provides specialised support around a spicific issue or
charasteristic within society.
Social care is about supporting people that ...
... conform to a criteria,
standard or
definition that allows entry. Government policy and process usually set
the agenda of the service through laws, funding etc.
... can not be supported within their own community.
A person or group may be
disadvantaged in that there
is no service (skills or resources) that supports their needs.
In remote areas where there are no services,
or where they do not fit
the criteria
of a service,
or where a service does not have the skills and resources,
they have to rely on their own networks and support mechanisms or
others in the community for support.
A lack of skills and
resources in the
community also means that the
person may be seen as:
a sick person : the person
is treated
differently to others
a nuisance
: takes up resources that are needed elsewhere
a
troublemaker : is always trying to standup for their basic rights
an
object of pity : the person can not look after themselves
subhuman or retarded : is
not capable
of making their own decisions
If fact some members of these groups are often placed in the same
settings
today (both literally and figuratively) that Goffman, Wolfensberger and
others wrote about in the past.
Asylum seekers
Aboriginals
Aged
People with drug and
alcohol problems
People with mental
illnesses
People with high support
needs
Etc.
Sometimes people are
separated
for
their own good and in the best
interests of their community ...
they are a harm to
themselves
they are a harm to others
in their
community
The above can happen in any place at any time where the community
does
not have the skills and resources to look after their needs. How many
of us rely on our telephone or computer these days? New generations
grow up in a world where these are taken for granted. They could not
imagine a world with out them, There are children that think that milk
comes from a bottle these days and have probally never seen a cow. We
are becomming more dependent on social care to provide for our needs
and are loosing those important skills in looking after our own needs.
Why bother to do it ourselves when we can get it somewhere else.
When providing the most
appropriate
care for people with high support
needs ...
1) The community is not
where the
person is living, but where the
person participates, shares experiences and has valued relationships
with others.
2) People with high
support needs
(severe disability, aged etc.)
will always need support structures as a part of their lives.
3) The amount of
participation in a
community (living, education,
employment or recreation) is directly related to the skills and
resources of the person, and, the skills and resources of the
community that the person wishes to participate in.
4) Institutions are going
to be around
in one form or another
whether we like it or not, It is the way that they are used that is the
problem.
5) The institutions of a
society
towards a particular group
determine the way the group participates in society.
6) The institutions of a
particular
government department,
organisation,
profession or service define the way the person is supported within
that society.
7) Facilities that support
people with
high support needs do not
need to be the nursing homes or prisons in the
sense
that they are today, but can become warm inviting community places that
offer a range of services to the community, as well as be a part of the
wider community within that society.
8) People with high
support needs are a
minority group in our
society, and will have the same problems as other minority groups in
being a part of society.
Peter Anderson
http://www.psawa.com
