Social Care & Social Services

Existential Field 6: Social Care & Social Services

The report on Social Care & Social Services has been written by Marjo Kuronen, Kimmo Jokinen & Teppo Kröger at the Family Research Centre (University of Jyväskylä) in Finland.

Keywords: social care, childcare, care for older people, intergenerational relations, comparative research, research review.

Abstract: The aim of this Existential Field is to review European comparative research on social care and social welfare services since the mid-1990s. Social care is defined as the assistance and surveillance provided in order to help children or adults with everyday daily activities. Formal service provision from public, commercial and voluntary organisations, as well as informal care from family members, relatives and others, are included within social care. In addition, this review covers more targeted and means tested social welfare services and support for children and their families with special needs and in specific demanding life situations. Existing research is reviewed from the perspective of families and family members. The focus is on the care needs of families and family members but also on families as care providers.

Four major themes were identified in the European comparative research on social care:

1. discussion on the possibility to identify and locate individual countries into different social care regimes;
2. childcare policies;
3. social care for older people;
4. intergenerational care relations between family members.

Previous studies show that the trend described as “social care going public”, formalisation, institutionalisation and professionalisation of care will continue especially in the field of childcare, but in the care for older people it is not as obvious. Childcare will also remain in the core of social care policy because it is related to the needs of the economy, labour market, and gender equality policy. Still, social care remains a combination of formal and informal care where the role of families and especially women in families is remarkable in providing care for children, old people and other family members.

In social welfare services, child welfare/protection seems to be the area where there is an increasing interest in cross-national comparisons. However, this area is much less developed than the field of comparative social care research. Many of these studies concentrate on the working practices of social workers in child welfare, multi-professional cooperation, or on specific working methods in child welfare.

Globalisation and internationalisation of care and care work with their various forms and consequences have been previously studied rather little but these are now quickly becoming major interests within comparative care research. Other gaps in existing research were also identified. In spite of different care regimes and national differences across Europe, many researchers emphasise similarities rather than differences in future developments of social care.

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Please find available to download the summary and the full working reports (to the left of this text). The Summary highlights key points and findings of the work, whilst the Full Report should be read by those wanting a more in-depth knowledge of the subject area.

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