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Examine the role of the state and society in respect of their obligations to care and wellbeing of adults. This needs to have Harvard referencing with 8 books and 8 journals.........NO WEBSITES. This module explores and analyses relevant social policy in relation to well-being and care practices. In doing so the traditions of social policy, the role of government and politics along with the associated values, norms and customs embodied in delivering legislation, are assessed.

The module seeks to unpack, through consideration of diverse philosophical approaches, social policy issues surrounding elderly, vulnerable people, and their families, in contemporary society. This aim of this brief introduction to social policy is to assess how a whole range of policy issues might affect well-being and care delivery. For example, changes in working practices can have a significant impact to either the betterment or disadvantage of the client. As the module progresses, the historical and political debate about social policy, and its impact on the clients will also be analysed. In addition how social policy affects practitioners in the field will be a theme that runs throughout the module.
Evaluate the practical effects of social policy in the context of the students own setting.

Social Policy

In any society, there are people who need external help for their care and wellbeing. The governments are responsible for ensuring that these people are given proper care and for this, they create institutions and residential homes and employ skilled people who could provide personal care to the needy (La Placa, McNaught and Knight 2013). Care and wellbeing are delivered to people in need but these have to follow and maintain certain policies drafted by the government and some by the society.

The essay will highlight and explain the impact social policies have on the delivery of care and wellbeing. It will begin with a detailed explanation of social policy followed by a discussion on the role of the state and the society in the delivery. Then, the essay will discuss on the practical implications of the social policies on a chosen setting, which is a residential home for adults, where five service users with mental illness are looked after.

As Spicker (2011) defines, social policy refers to the “study of social services and the welfare state”. It includes the idea of social wellbeing and the relationship it bears with the society and politics. Social policy in detail involves the administration of the policies framed for health, income, maintenance, housing, social work and education.  Further, social policy encompasses the desires and issues faced by the service users that include old age, illness, disability, poverty and family issues (Blakemore and Warwick-Booth 2013). The most important aspect of social policy however, is the delivery of care and wellbeing.

Policies are formed to cater to the needs of a large population that fall under different categories and who face different types of social issues. Inequality based on gender, race and class, mental health and so on are some of the social issues for which social policies are formed. It is however important to note that policies regarding these aforementioned social issues often lead to issues of other types and become ineffective. To cite an example, when a policy is formed to reduce gender inequality, it can worsen another social issue that is inequality between the rich and the poor where richer women are also benefitted because of the gender policy (Millar and Hall 2013). Therefore, it is important to frame policies that could aim at equal treatment, opportunity and outcome of the ones concerned.

In the United Kingdom, social policy attained prominence during the Second World War when the concept of ‘welfare state’ began to emerge (Bradshaw 2016). William Beveridge, the chief architect behind the formation of the welfare state of UK  termed the issues like poverty, poor housing, insufficient education, ill-health and unemployment as the ‘five giants’ that formed the five social ills (Beveridge 2014).

Prior to the Beveridgean welfare state, social policies were not given that much importance in the country owing to its obsession with military power. Apart from that, the people during those eras viewed mentally ill people as lunatics and witches and refused to provide any care to them. Instead, these people were badly treated and even punished. Gradually, perceptions changed and people realized the need to address such issues more openly. The only social care that was publicly funded was the Public Assistance under Poor Law during the early 20th century (Weare 2013). The formation of the National Health Services (NHS) was one of the major influences of the social policy framework. The NHS has been a revolutionary part of the social work policy in the UK, boasting an existence of over 70 years. It has been instrumental in forming policies, funding projects and assisting practitioners that concern the social care, health and wellbeing of the people.

Policies for Different Social Issues

In regards to the formation of social policies concerning adults, the government has made several implementations and plans. The Care Act 2014 is one such endeavor that ensures a safe and healthy living of a person. According to this Act, every local authority must make enquiries if it witnesses an adult facing abuse or neglect. Further, the act also provisions for the creation of a Safeguarding Adults Board when necessary. Arranging for an independent advocate that represents and encourages the adult is also included in the Act (Galasso and Profeta 2013). The six principles that guide the citizens to care and safeguard the adults include empowerment, prevention, proportionality, protection, partnership and accountability. The Care Act changed the landscape of social work in the UK largely. After the implementation of the Act, the delivery of care and wellbeing became obligatory for the social work practitioners. Apart from that, the act helped in introducing policies that aimed at helping healthcare organizations and local councils in providing integrated healthcare. The budget for social care also increased from 100 million pounds in 2013 to 200 million pounds in 2014. Further, the act also allowed social workers to help users to shift from one service to another.

 Apart from the Care Act 2014, the government of UK has also implemented the Mental Capacity Act 2005 that underpins the five principles with which adults suffering from mental illness are treated (Roy et al. 2013). These principles are – a person must always assume that an adult has capacity unless it is proved; an adult must be enabled to make his or her own decisions and so on. Various social policies were introduced after the implementation of this act that empowered the social work practitioners to understand their roles more clearly. The social policies introduced after the act defined the roles and responsibilities of the practitioners more clearly. In addition, the act also increased the responsibility of the NHS in ensuring that the policies implemented under the act are successfully carried out by the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

The state authorities also make sure that the common citizens of the country are aware of the needs of the people and work towards it. The two acts discussed above include a significant role of the people in general towards identifying the adults in distress and acting in their best interest Alexander (Haslam 2014).

In the sphere of mental health illness amongst adults, the social policies adopted by the government and the attitude of the society towards these people have drastically changed. The evolvement of new policies and the amendments in the old policies have also affected the practice of social care practitioners. The changes brought in by the UK Welfare Reform Act 2012 during April 2013 to 2017 have had the most remarkable impact on social care and wellbeing practices. The Act replaced the Disability Living Allowance with Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which meant that only those who are below the age of 16 years could claim the DLA and the PIP was meant only for those between the ages of 16 to 64 years (Beatty and Fothergill 2016). The DLA used to be allowed to those adults who have added need of care because of physical or mental disability. Other changes within the social policy framework like the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) in place of Incapacity Benefit have also had an impact upon the work of the practitioners delivering care services at residential home sheltering mentally ill service users. Many have criticized the introduction of ESA because it bases itself on certain mistaken assumptions. It depends on the “medicalised perception”, as Grover and Piggott (2010) remark, rather those emotional and social needs.

The Emergence of Social Policies in the UK

To those who work at residential homes looking after the adults with mental health issues, these policies have both negative and positive impact. The Care Act had several positive implications on the social work practices performed by organizations and professionals. The act made sure that the adults and older people no longer had to fit into the social care framework, rather, social care must be formed as per the needs of the users. In simpler words, the act made it obligatory for individuals to look after and care for the older people in the country.

After the implementation of this act, social work practitioners and professionals have been able to address the issues of mentally ill users of all age groups. The ‘best interests’ principles introduced by this act have helped practitioners to make decisions on behalf of the user without having to worry about any repercussions. However, many social workers have had concerns regarding the policy. Mostly in cases where they had to face the dilemma of catering to the needs of the user and doing the things that were in the best interests of the user. The social workers found it difficult to compromise one for the other.

The state and the society have always worked together to ensure that the people receive maximum assistance and wellbeing. Throughout the world, the importance of social policy was realized majorly after the Second World War. In the UK, the social policy was reshaped by the introduction of the Beveridge Report in 1945 that included the ‘five giants’ or the five social evils. The essay provided a detailed description of this report and analyzed its loopholes. Further, the report presented the new reforms and policies and acts introduced by the government in order to address all the issues that the Beveridgean report missed to include. It has been observed while discussing the impact of welfare policies that the practitioners working for the delivery of care and wellbeing at residential homes face many challenges. These were also discussed in the essay.

References:

Alexander Haslam, S., 2014. Making good theory practical: Five lessons for an applied social identity approach to challenges of organizational, health, and clinical psychology. British Journal of Social Psychology, 53(1), pp.1-20.

Beatty, C. and Fothergill, S., 2016. The uneven impact of welfare reform: The financial losses to places and people. Sheffield Hallam University.

Beveridge, W.H., 2014. Full Employment in a Free Society (Works of William H. Beveridge): A Report (Vol. 6). Routledge.

Blakemore, K. and Warwick-Booth, L., 2013. Social Policy: An Introduction: An Introduction. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Bradshaw, J. ed., 2016. The Well-being of Children in the UK. Policy Press.

Galasso, V. and Profeta, P., 2013. From Family Culture to Welfare State Design (No. 14). Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD)-CCA.

Grover, C. and Piggott, L., 2010. From Incapacity Benefit to Employment and Support Allowance: social sorting, sickness and impairment, and social security. Policy studies, 31(2), pp.265-282.

La Placa, V., McNaught, A. and Knight, A., 2013. Discourse on wellbeing in research and practice. International Journal of Wellbeing, 3(1).

Millar, R. and Hall, K., 2013. Social return on investment (SROI) and performance measurement: The opportunities and barriers for social enterprises in health and social care. Public Management Review, 15(6), pp.923-941.

Roy, M.J., Donaldson, C., Baker, R. and Kay, A., 2013. Social enterprise: New pathways to health and well-being?. Journal of Public Health Policy, 34(1), pp.55-68.

Spicker, P., 2011. Generalisation and phronesis: rethinking the methodology of social policy. Journal of Social Policy, 40(1), pp.1-19.

Weare, K., 2013. Promoting mental, emotional and social health: A whole school approach. Routledge.

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My Assignment Help. (2020). The Impact Of Social Policies On Care And Wellbeing Delivery. Retrieved from https://myassignmenthelp.com/free-samples/l590-policy-impact-the-delivery-of-care-and-wellbeing/practical-implications-of-the-social-policies.html.

My Assignment Help (2020) The Impact Of Social Policies On Care And Wellbeing Delivery [Online]. Available from: https://myassignmenthelp.com/free-samples/l590-policy-impact-the-delivery-of-care-and-wellbeing/practical-implications-of-the-social-policies.html
[Accessed 29 March 2024].

My Assignment Help. 'The Impact Of Social Policies On Care And Wellbeing Delivery' (My Assignment Help, 2020) <https://myassignmenthelp.com/free-samples/l590-policy-impact-the-delivery-of-care-and-wellbeing/practical-implications-of-the-social-policies.html> accessed 29 March 2024.

My Assignment Help. The Impact Of Social Policies On Care And Wellbeing Delivery [Internet]. My Assignment Help. 2020 [cited 29 March 2024]. Available from: https://myassignmenthelp.com/free-samples/l590-policy-impact-the-delivery-of-care-and-wellbeing/practical-implications-of-the-social-policies.html.

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