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People with disabilities

The effects of offering flexible work practices to employees with unpaid caregiving responsibilities for elderly or disabled family members

Approximately one in 10 employees in Australia, the United States, and Europe have unpaid caregiving responsibilities for elderly or disabled family members. This combination of employment and caregiving roles is problematic when there is conflict between their simultaneous demands. Flexible work practices can be an important mechanism for assisting these employees. However, limited attention has been given to determining the benefits of flexible work practices for these employees, or the process by which these effects arise.

Sat, 11/28/2020 - 15:02

Neglect by carers

There have been two widely reported criminal cases where informal carers, including family members, have been found guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of the vulnerable person in their care. In this article, Richard Griffith considers the duty on informal carers when caring for a person and the duty on district nurses to protect vulnerable persons from harm. 

Tue, 10/16/2018 - 16:18

Confronting the care penalty: the case for extending reasonable adjustment rights along the disability/care continuum

Informal caring for adults with disabilities is a source of unacceptable disadvantage in employment, finances, social inclusion, and health; here termed the ‘care penalty’. This penalty can be appropriately tackled through equality law, making care a ground for unlawful discrimination. Carers are not adequately protected from indirectly discriminatory disadvantages by other grounds such as sex and disability. Nor are carers adequately protected by carer-specific provisions such as the UK right to request flexible working.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:19

'Just being selfish for my own sake . . .': balancing the views of young adults with intellectual disabilities and their carers in transition planning

In contrast to other forms of family caregiving, becoming the parent or carer of a child with an intellectual disability (ID) implies an ongoing responsibility beyond the attainment of chronological adulthood (Meyers et al., 1985; Todd and Shearn, 1996). At the same time, a discourse of self-determination pervades policy around transition to adult services in ID in England (Valuing People, 2001). In this paper we present a subset of data from a project which aimed to examine how the process of transition from child to adult services in ID is managed.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:18

The Simon Heng column

Presents views on social care among children. Overview of a 2005 report by The Education Network about young carers; Decision to be a good parent upon the acquisition of a disability; Reasons why parents should impose responsibilities on their children when they risk damaging their futures.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:17

The physical functioning and mental health of informal carers: evidence of care-giving impacts from an Australian population-based cohort

Informal carers represent a substantial proportion of the population in many countries and health is an important factor in their capacity to continue care-giving. This study investigated the impact of care-giving on the mental and physical health of informal carers, taking account of contextual factors, including family and work. We examined health changes from before care-giving commenced to 2 and 4 years after, using longitudinal data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. The sample comprised 424 carers and 424 propensity score-matched non-carers.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:14

People into Employment: supporting people with disabilities and carers into work

Carers and people with disabilities are two disadvantaged groups at risk of social exclusion. Work is an important route to social inclusion, but carers and people with disabilities are under-represented in the work force. The present paper reports key findings from a new study that evaluated People into Employment (PIE), a pilot employment project in the north-east of England designed to support people with disabilities, carers and former carers in gaining mainstream work.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:12

Editorial

The article presents a letter from the editor of the journal discussing the articles presented within, which are centered on the subject of the lived experience of intellectual disabilities. The author summarizes the articles individually, which include research on the interactions of mothers with a learning disability with professionals, and the views of informal carers on a variety of topics.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:10

Young Carers in Canada: An Invisible Population

The article provides an overview on what is known about young carers in general and identify in and services in Canada. Young carers are defined as being anyone under the age of 18 years who is the primary caregiver in the family due to the parental illness, disability or addiction. It discusses the potential short and long term consequences of having to take on a care giving role within one's family that is age appropriately greater than one would expect in most families.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:09

Older carers in the UK: who cares?

Long-term care in the UK relies heavily on informal and unpaid carers. Statistical data regarding the number of carers in the 2001 Census compared with the 2011 Census identify an increase of around 600 000 carers. It is also significant that many of these carers are themselves in their late middle age. The reasons for taking on the caring role are varied, but there are significant potential physical, mental and financial issues associated with taking on the caring role. Positive benefits in terms of support provision for the carer do exist, but support services across the UK are variable.

Thu, 07/20/2017 - 15:09