This unique addition to the literature on aging policy will help you understand devolution - the decentralizing of service provision. It will show you how to initiate innovations and make positive changes in ageing policy through state and local initiatives, collaborations between the government and other government agencies, public/private collaboration, and strictly private initiatives. From the editors: Around the world, the ground rules are being questioned about the role of national governments in addressing domestic needs. During the twentieth century in countries throughout the world, central governments assumed major responsibilities for a wide variety of human needs. Whether the concern was income security, health, housing, or education, interventions were premised upon convictions that a strong public sector role was essential and that major involvement of national governments was needed. More recently, a significant pattern [devolution] has emerged in many countries wherein these responsibilities have shifted away from national governments to regional and local governments as well as from the public to the private sector.
Thoughtfully divided into five sections that illustrate distinctly different forms of devolution, this book first provides an essential overview of devolution and then examines its implications for vital aspects of service provision to the elderly.