The reading let me wondering why the author was so opposed to the idea of care being viewed as work; he seemed dismissive of the value of care if labeled as work. Reading Response Week 10

In this reading, Fine examines how coordination efforts have impacted the provision of health and social welfare services in Australia. He specifically addresses two different, but related issues: community-based care services for elderly individuals and people with disabilities, and increased coordination between different service providers such as community-based care organizations, residential care services, hospitals, and other healthcare providers. What he attempts to show is how increased coordination has led to clients receiving higher quality services at different levels of care, and should, ideally, result in clients being placed in the appropriate care environments. He also looks at governmental policies and how those policies impact coordination between care-providers, suggesting that when government policies do not support coordination, the natural result is fragmentation. I agree with what Fine has to say about coordination. I believe that much of Australia's caregiving approach remains very fragmented, so that the lack of coordination has a negative impact on the level of care that clients can receive. In fact, I believe that this lack of coordination results in some clients having inappropriate placements. Furthermore, I agree with Fine's seeming endorsement of Austin's opinion about care management, suggesting that care management is only necessary because of societies that emphasize outcomes and financial costs rather than focusing on health and the provision of healthcare. I am left wondering if there have been any real, significant changes in care management in Australia since Fine wrote his article, or if the capitalist influence on care provision makes real change impossible without restructuring the entire system.

Reading Response Week 11

In this reading, Brennan discusses the relationship between the government and civil society. Brennan posits that Australia's social services have come about through a unique relationship between the government and civil society, which makes that relationship a focus in any discussion of social services. That is because early Australian social...

These private organizations served functions that would have been considered state functions in other countries. The government attempted to restructure the way that social services in Australia are provided by making more of it a governmental responsibility and less of a private responsibility. This governmentalization of social services led to an increase in accountability and a greater emphasis on administration. The Australian government and people were left trying to decide which services would be a public responsibility and which services would be a private responsibility. I agree with Brennan's historical discussion of the role that private organizations played in Australian social services throughout much of history. I believe her account to be accurate, though I admit that my own independent knowledge is sufficiently limited that I would not necessarily notice inaccuracies. The reading did leave me wondering if government is the appropriate means of distributing social services because large-scale government operations tend to lack the flexibility needed to be truly responsive to local concerns and issues.