Mental Health Services: An International Perspective

This paper provides an introduction to this special edition on international mental health perspectives. The importance of an international perspective is discussed and key questions are raised to provide the reader with a frame of reference for examining the mental health systems in the countries presented. An orientation to some of the current mental health issues in Europe, the United States, and developing countries is given as point of comparison for the reader. Questions discussed relate to the status of institutional care, outpatient services, the composition of mental health staff, the role of community interventions and prevention, and the availability and accessibility of mental health services

The Self and the Conduct of the People-Working Professions

This article discusses the evolution of people-working professions through four synchronic eras: 1) the traditional era, 2) the voluntaristic era, 3) the professional era, and 4) the cybernetic era. People-working professions are conceptually distinguished from traditional (craft) professions which serve as the model for most sociological analyses of the professions. In addition to differences in the nature of the knowledge used and the context of the service rendered, a distinction is drawn regarding the focus of the work done. People-workers give service to other selves (egos) while craft professions work with objects or parts of the person. The historical evolution of people-workers, as well as current issues and future prospects for the people-working professions, are considered within the context of this separate identity

Long Term Care Insurance Beyond the CLASS Program

The Community Living Assistance and Supports (CLASS) program, created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, established a federally-administered, voluntary insurance program that allows for working adults to purchase insurance to cover the cost of long term support services. The CLASS program is the first step towards moving away from a welfare-based system, improving consumer choice, and creating a stable funding source for long term care needs. Enrollees in the CLASS program who meet benefit eligibility requirements and need care assistance will receive a cash benefit to pay for supportive services such as home health care, adult day services, assisted living, nursing home care, housing modification, assistive technologies, and transportation assistance. The authors apply David Gil\u27s (1992) model of social policy analysis to assess the effectiveness of this policy alternative to aid in the development of a viable national long term health care solution for the anticipated ongoing health and support service needs of the older adult population

Geriatric Home-And Community-Based Care Training Project for Transitional Societies From Central and Eastern Europe Through Asia

Societies from Central Europe through Asia are struggling to develop home-and community-based care programs prompted by the poor quality and limited quantities of institutional care for older adults. A three-year home-and community-based care training and program development project has provided education and training to 130 professionals from the disciplines of social work, medicine, nursing, and rehabilitation who reside in 20 countries. The project has resulted in the initiation of approximately 90 pilot projects focusing on geriatric home-and community based care

Social work’s role in ensuring enabling and supportive environments for older persons. A global perspective

Social work’s role in ensuring enabling and supportive environments for older persons. A Global perspective The rapid growth of the older adult population worldwide, as well as the increasing urbanization of the world, will impact international trends in living arrangements, family structure, and informal caregiving options available for older persons. Since the United Nations’ Second World Assembly on Ageing where the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) was adopted in 2002, social workers have been integral to the advancement of goals of ensuring enabling and supportive environments for older persons in micro and macro practice settings, yet many challenges remain. The social work role in achieving supportive environments for older persons is discussed within a global perspective. De rol van het sociaal werk in het waarborgen van een stimulerende en ondersteunende omgeving voor ouderen. Een universeel perspectief De snelle toename van het aantal ouderen wereldwijd en de toenemende verstedelijking van de wereld zal van invloed zijn op internationale trends in woonvormen, gezinssamenstelling en informele zorgmogelijkheden voor ouderen. Tijdens de Tweede VN-Wereldassemblee over Vergrijzing in 2002 werd het Madrid Internationaal Actieplan over Vergrijzing aangenomen. Sindsdien spelen sociale professionals een belangrijke rol bij e ontwikkeling van een stimulerende en ondersteunende omgeving voor ouderen, zowel op micro- als op macroniveau. We staan echter nog voor veel uitdagingen. De rol van het sociaal werk in het verwezenlijken van een stimulerende en ondersteunende omgeving voor ouderen wordt in dit artikel besproken vanuit een mondiaal perspectief