Essay Example on Development of Social Services during the post war Period

Development of Social Services during the post war period 1945 1979 281 Public Services including the NHS were established by Clement Atlee's Labour Government of 1945 creating the cradle to the grave welfare state detailed in the 1942 Beveridge Report Many acts policies were introduced appendix 1 contributing to what we see as modern social services The National Insurance Act 1946 provided insurance against sickness unemployment pensions and maternity benefits However it was criticised for only providing for those who d made 156 weekly contributions The National Assistance Act 1948 rectified this providing help for those not covered and abolishing the poor law However benefits were set too low and many remained in poverty Francis 1997 The Children Act 1948 established children s committees and children s officers in every local authority It followed the creation of the parliamentary care of children committee 1945 after the death of Dennis O Neill appendix I After 1945 social services departments were split into health welfare and the newly formed children s departments developed in response to child care scandals Batty 2005 Problems experienced by deprived or abused children were linked closely with those of young offenders The Children and Young Persons Act 1969 introduced the idea of care and control young offenders needed care rather than punishment Horner 2009 

 This simplified the procedure for claiming benefits an advertising campaign led to several hundred thousand people claiming within a few weeks indicating success However research found 560 000 eligible pensioners were not claiming by 1974 equating to 60 million Townsend 1979 The Care Act 2014 sets out local authorities duties relating to assessments of need and eligibility to publicly funded care and services scie org uk 2016 whilst ensuring an individual's well being is centre to all actions This includes a right to assessment and support regardless of financial position a personal budget which forms part of an individual care plan and a framework to protect adults from neglect and abuse skills for care 2014 Support would be focused on prevention rather than tackling crisis with the aim of helping people to remain independent Services were not to be a postcode lottery with eligibility the same across England Although the new law suggests service users carers would be in control final decisions remain with councils guided by limited resources availability Beresford 2014 The role of the voluntary sector 220 words 

There are over 3 million volunteers within health social care settings and with the constraints of limited budgets the role of the voluntary sector has become even more crucial Naylor 2013 These organisations often start by campaigning for a certain issue then becoming service providers Morris 2017 They may charge for services but are not for profit organisations Social work originated in the voluntary sector and many original groups are still in existence today The voluntary and independent sector is vital in supporting people in the community providing help and support to those who may feel isolated due to physical and mental deterioration by supplying information about their condition and providing advocacy and counselling Mind org uk 2016 They also provide the public sector with vital information about local needs A key feature of the voluntary sector is that the very people that they serve are often active within the organisation and may have played a part in setting it up in the first place having identified gaps in services A decade ago the voluntary sector was cash rich regulation was improving and access to public services widening However rises in charitable spending couldn t last in times of austerity According to The Guardian 2017 The past two years have been tough for fundraising with higher donor expectations increased regulation cuts to traditional funding streams and more competition