SOCIAL POLICY FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Social Policy for Children and Families



Introduction2

Discussion and Analysis3

Identification of Social Problem3

Policy Proposals5

Evaluation of Policy and Effects8

Conclusion10

References13

Social Policy for Children and Families

Introduction

This essay is concerned with the UK government's social policy since 1997 (when New Labour came to power). The integration of social policy in UK has certain limitations which discourage the policy makers to adopt the integrated social policy in the context of UK. The precarious living conditions are highly prevalent in UK in the form of increased unemployment and economic strain. Social Exclusion has been known to be an important limitation in the context of integrated social policy. New Labour (1997 - 2010) made efforts to create efficient standards with aid of newly created bodies that improved the benchmarks sufficiently adequate to handle the void left by the 1990 Act. The party regulated social care conduct and trainings through establishment of the General Social Care Council (GSCC). Further, Care Quality Commission (CQC) was formulated to monitor healthcare services and adult social care facilitators. Thus, the efforts were made to regulate and monitor provisions of the NHS and social care services (Himmelweit, 2004).

In 2007, an initiative, “Putting People First' was initialized by the New Labour government. This program aimed to develop personalized health and social care in alignment with individual budgets. The objectives empowered the needy with provision of funds to determine and organize their own health and social care. These individual budgets (IBs) equipped the people with self-assessment tools, restricting the former dependence on varying social and healthcare staff and agencies to formulate the concerned person's care services. These new amendments in health and social care are positively anticipated by the healthcare providers too (Lister, 2006).

An ideal social policy is characterized by social equality, provision of welfare, income security for individuals and families and a collective response to need and risk. Sadly, the UK's social policy lacks these factors to a great extent. There have been two factors that have been dominant in the UK social policy integration. Migration is a booming phenomenon in Europe. It has been observed that the political, social and cultural integration of migrants has not been catered to in an effective manner.

Thus the integration of social policy demands that the policy makers should recognize their failure in addressing the needs of migrants. A key factor in the social policy integration is to address the needs of migrants in an effective manner. Thus the UK should devote its attention to the development of integrated social policy as it is a great need of the society (Harper, 2009).

Discussion and Analysis

Identification of Social Problem

A large number of people were affected by social exclusion as they were having a lack of recognition and are thus plagued by being alienated. Social exclusion has been known to be a significant limitation in the context of social integration. Economic resources, labour market conditions, social networks are some of the factors of social ...