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Social care in England is defined as the provision of social work, personal care, protection or social support services to children or adults in need or at risk, or adults with needs arising from illness, disability, old age or poverty. The main legal definitions flow from the Health and Community Care Act 1990 with other provisions covering responsibilities to informal carers. That provision may have one or more of the following aims: to protect people who use care services from abuse or neglect, to prevent deterioration of or promote physical or mental health, to promote independence and social inclusion, to improve opportunities and life chances, to strengthen families and to protect human rights in relation to people's social needs.〔Social Care Institute for Excellence http://www.scie.org.uk〕 Local commissioners, mainly based in Councils oversee a market with many different types of social care provision available, either purchased by public bodies after assessments or accessed on a self funded basis by the public. These include community support and activities, advisory services and advocacy, provision of equipment to manage disabilities, alarm systems e.g. to manage the outcome of falls, home/domiciliary care or daycare, housing options with levels of care support attached, residential nursing home care, as well as support for informal carers. Social care is frequently used as a synonymous term with social welfare, and as an alternative to social work.〔Dearing, A. (1993) The social welfare word book, Harlow: Longman〕 The term often implies informal networks of support and assistance as well as services funded following assessments by social work and other professions. ==Brief history== Social care has long existed as an informal concept, through family and community support and charitable works. The earliest Act of Parliament to offer formal support was the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601, which referred those in need of health or domestic care, housing, or employment to the care of their parish. This ‘care’ could include payments, food, apprenticeships, boarding or referral to a workhouse. Social care became more formalised with the advent of social work in the 19th century. This shift is attributed to the end of the feudal system and the rise of industrialisation,and a more urbanized population which bought greater social deprivation. It also bought a decline in the support provided by family and close-knit communities as people became more mobile and moved to different areas for work.〔Blackwell Reference Online http://www.blackwellreference.com〕 Social care was often provided by voluntary organisations, but some services were financed through health insurance contributions collected through mutually owned societies.〔BBC History http://www.bbc.co.uk/history〕 The development of social sciences such as psychology and sociology in the early 20th century bought social structures under further scrutiny and opened the way for social work to become an area of academic study and for a staff group to develop claims to be a profession. When the Liberal UK Government came into power in 1906, the first means-tested pension came into force for people aged 70 and over. Further formal health and social care provision followed with the creation of the NHS and the welfare state in England in the 1940s, making statutory health and social care free at the point of access]for residents.〔 From this point a separation grew between policies to support income maintenance and those to support social care. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Social care in England」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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