Social Services and Plans for People with Special Needs

Resources and Services for People with Special Needs

Four large groups of services:

• Those who are to serve users in their own homes.
• Residential services.
• Alternative accommodation services for long stays.
• A broad mode of service which we call intermediate.

Home Care Services

Includes a comprehensive set of services whose aim is to encourage users to stay at home, which in the case of older people would be in the logic of the principle of "aging in place."

Residential Services

In cases in which people cannot be addressed adequately by relatives or by existing services in their own home, another option is the entrance to a residence.

Alternative Accommodation Services

Alternative housing means a residential complex established with the intention that people with special needs can live independently, organized, and in a standardized environment.

• Collective you attend: We find homes for the elderly, persons with physical or mental disabilities, people with mental illness, for women, etc. Age also is often a requirement: flats for young people, living accommodations for persons between 18 and 60, for over 65 years, etc.
• Level of supervision or support provided will depend on the level of independence of the group to be targeted: the higher the degree of dependence, the more support and supervision needed by users. Thus, there may be centers where supervision is simply monitoring, while others will require continued vigilance, very professional support, even at night.
• Number of people who formed the unit convivial: yes we can find single-story, two-person, small group, shared, etc.

Immediate Services

The immediate services include a wide range of services which have an intermediate care between home care and residential or alternative accommodation.

In some cases, these services are also referred to as respite care, as its primary objective is to lighten the load or stress of family care and dependent care, dealing with it for an hour or a season.

The aim of these services is twofold: to meet the person in a situation of dependency and provide relief to the family.

Plans for Social Intervention

The plans are planning instruments establishing long-term and affect large groups or sectors of the population.

The Action Plan for Older People 2003-2007

• Make available to older people a network of social resources and quality services that improve their living conditions (home care, day care center, etc.).
• Promoting empowerment and full participation of older people, based on the principles of active aging (excursions).
• Advancing policies to protect older people reliant on (try that more and more protection for older people who have some sort of dependency).
• Improve the social image of old age and aging.

The Action Plan for People with Disabilities 2003-2007

• Care for people with severe disabilities.
• Labor market policies.
• Promotion of accessibility.
• Cohesion of social services.

The National Accessibility Plan 2004-2012

• Economic investment to different bodies, both public and private.
• Promote a regulatory system to ensure accessibility.
• Co-accessibility in public transport.
• Sensitization campaigns and studies and specialized training, taking into account the research and technical development.