Targeting Long Stay Residential Disability Support Services for Older People

Rob Brown

In April 1993 a new standardised targeting regime was introduced by the Department of Social Welfare to determine entitlement to subsidised assistance for long stay residential disability support services for older people.

This paper provides some background on the new regime, describes its features and discusses a number of policy issues arising from its development. The two key premises driving the reforms were a recognition that (1) people receiving similar services should not be treated differently because they receive services from a different provider (Department of Social Welfare or Department of Health), and (2) before people qualify for a taxpayer-funded subsidy on long stay residential disability support services it is reasonable to expect them to use their own resources, down to a certain level, by contributing towards the cost of the services. Services are to be rationalised under one provider (Regional Health Authorities), which can be seen as an example of the cross-sectoral  and cross-portfolio approaches that are increasingly becoming a feature of social policy development and delivery. However, it will be some time before we will know the effects of the new targeting regime on service purchase decisions and the behaviour of applicants and their families.