JOURNAL CIT Family Matters; n31 p40-55 Apr 1992

This article presents an argument for reforming Australian public policy in favor of social care, rather than family, residential, or community care, for the elderly, sick, and disabled. After noting policy assumptions that families are the focus of caring and women are the natural caregivers, the paper describes changes in Australian family structures that militate in favor of policy reform. Trends related to marriage and childbearing, women in the labor force, family incomes, the aging population, legislation, and employment practices are analyzed. The paper then corisiders the impact of financial cutbacks on community care. The terminology of "care " and "caring " is analyzed, and hidden assumptions and connotations of this terminology are discussed. The paper then provides estimates of the numbers of Australians with particular needs for care and offers evidence that women are the main caregiver