Welfare and the Welfare State

Organisation profile:1. Social care use by elderly persons: study of the longitudinal patterns in formal and informal care use of the over-75s 2. Care as a new social risk: we intend to study empirically how the public and private markets for (child)care services can be expanded within existing budgetary restrictions and with maintenance (or improvement) of minimum incomes from work and benefits. The possibilities for and consequences of a transformation of the breadwinner model into a care-oriented policy will be studied by means of: a) a macro care budget analysis that provides insight into public spending in relation to 'care risks'; b) a micro-distribution analysis on the basis of survey data on the incomes, expenditures, care needs and care use of households with children; c) simulations and assessments of policy alternatives. 3. Local Social Policy Barometer: this short term project aims to construct a comprehensive overview of relevant numbers and indicators for local social policy. First, an overview of available, usable and accessible indicators and numbers on the different federal levels is gathered. Among the selection criteria for the relevant numbers and indicators the local autonomy and the possibility to have an impact in the field are the most important. Second, a lot of attention is given to the user friendliness of the final instrument, which will be tested with the local actors. 4. The personal assistance budget: instead of providing care services for disabled persons, the authorities could provide them with a budget to organise their own care. This would lead to a transformation of the sector: clients would be free to recruit their own caregivers and -within certain limits- they would also be able to call on assistance for specific tasks and at specific moments. By 2001, the personal assistance budget, which had started out as a small-scale experiment, had been incorporated into law. Our research group carried out the evaluation of the experimental phase as well as a new study based on a large survey in 2003, with face-to-face interviews in addition.

Keywords:PERSONAL ASSISTANCE BUDGET, CHILD SUPPORT, BAROMETER OF WELL-BEING, SOCIAL CARE, CARE INSURANCE, DISABLED PEOPLE, ELDERLY PEOPLE

Disciplines:Public health services, Applied sociology, Social work, Other sociology and anthropology