A network of help for Englands elderly

114 Social services for the elderly in the sources designed to support the elderly United States have always suffered low in their own homes to institutional priority in the expenditure of public support services, which can be either funds and low status in the public eye. temporary or long-term. It is impor Sporadic outbursts of public indignatant to note that nearly the entire tion over news of old people made system is publicly supported by high homeless by urban renewal or killed income taxes and high local property in nursing home fires fail to arouse taxes. and maintain sufficient concern for The social worker in England func the health and welfare of the elderly, tions as a generalist in a social ser Care of the elderly has also received vice department under a local author insufficient attention from social workity. The department usually serves ers. The large caseloads of people reseveral counties, except in large urban ceiving old age assistance in public areas where sections of a city consti welfare systems are symptomatic of tute a local authority. This is the case both society's failure to adequately dein London. Since the passage of the fine and meet the needs of old people Local Authority Social Service Act of and the frustration of social workers 1970, the responsibilities of a general trying to do the best they can. In nursist social worker have included service ing homes, too, social work consultto clients of all ages, as well as re ants often lack the time, the resources, ferrai and follow-up work that links and in some cases the skill to meet the clients with other public and volun social and emotional needs of longtary agencies, such as housing depart term health care patients. ments, the Supplementary Benefits In England, services to the aged Commission which provides cash as are much more comprehensive and istance to the poor, the Red Cross, better developed, with social work inand various voluntary services. Thus, tervention playing a pivotal role. A social workers in local departments look at this part of the health and b°th make and receive referrals, and welfare systems in England can recomprise a team of social service per veal a wealth of ideas for new policies sonnel serving a specified geographic in the United States that would better area. serve the elderly. In England, the term "generic social Many concerned professionals in work" refers to a combination of tar England declare that no real system Sets of social work that includes chil exists for the care of the elderly. But dren, the elderly, the mentally re when English services are compared tarded, and the mentally ill; in con with the rudimentary care system that trast, the same term in the United we know in the U.S., quite a compreStates refers primarily to a combina hensive network of services emerges. tion °f social work skills used in case Figure 1, which depicts this network, work, group work, and community is based on information from interwork. In England as in the United views with social workers, physicians, States there is much debate over administrators, and educators in five generic practice, and there are signs different local authorities.1 Because a resurgence of specialization in health services and social services are both countries, interrelated and not necessarily se