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Social Inclusion and Individualised Service Provision in High Risk Community Care: Balancing Regulation, Judgment and Discretion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 November 2012

Anne-Maree Sawyer  and
David Green
Anne-Maree Sawyer
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University E-mail: a.sawyer@latrobe.edu.au
David Green
Affiliation:
School of Social Work and Social Policy, La Trobe University E-mail: d.green@latrobe.edu.au
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Abstract

Since the late twentieth century, health and welfare policy in Australia and the UK has focused on enhancing the freedom, life choices and participation of service users. Public policy, based on the construct of social inclusion, requires greater individualisation of services, active engagement with service users, and innovative partnerships between different providers. At the same time, however, the management of risk through a range of compliance procedures can discourage the exercise of discretion by workers, limit the participation of their clients and reduce incentives for innovative cooperation between services. Drawing on in-depth interviews with community care professionals and their managers engaged in high risk social care in Australia, this article gives particular attention to the relevance of risk to social inclusion and individualised service provision.

Keywords

Community caresocial inclusionrisk managementindividualised careAustralia
Type
Themed Section on Risk, Social Inclusion and the Life Course
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 299 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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