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Beyond Modernisation? Social Care and the Transformation of Welfare Governance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2008

JANET NEWMAN ,
CAROLINE GLENDINNING  and
MICHAEL HUGHES
JANET NEWMAN
Affiliation:
Professor of Social Policy, Open University email j.e.newman@open.ac.uk
CAROLINE GLENDINNING
Affiliation:
Professor of Social Policy, University of York
MICHAEL HUGHES
Affiliation:
Honorary Professor of Public Policy, University of Birmingham
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Abstract

This article reflects on the process and outcomes of modernisation in adult social care in England and Wales, drawing particularly on the recently completed Modernising Adult Social Care (MASC) research programme commissioned by the Department of Health. We begin by exploring the contested status of ‘modernisation’ as a descriptor of reform. We then outline some of the distinctive features of adult social care services and suggest that these features introduce dynamics likely to shape both the experiences and outcomes of policy ambitions for modernisation. We then reflect on the evidence emerging from the MASC studies and develop a model for illuminating some of the dynamics of welfare governance. Finally, we highlight the emerging focus on individualisation and on user-directed and controlled services. We argue that the current focus of modernisation involves a reduced emphasis on structural and institutional approaches to change and an increased emphasis on changes in the behaviours and roles of adult social care service users. This focus has implications for both the future dynamics of welfare governance and for conceptions of citizenship.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 37 , Issue 4 , October 2008 , pp. 531 - 557
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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