Abstract:

Until recently 'residential' services for people with learning difficulties have been conceived in essentially monolithic terms. That is to say the place in which people live, and the kind of support they would expect to get there, have been inextricably bound up with each other. The aim of this paper is to discuss the possibility that separating out the two elements of housing and support, both in conceptual and organizational terms, may provide a contribution to continued improvement of life for people with learning disabilities who need somewhere to live. Recent reviews of research have underlined the inadequacy of a framework which distinguishes between models of provision solely on the basis of major structural factors (e.g. size, staffing ratios). At the same time there has been increasing interest in the idea of 'supported living', an approach in which a split between housing and support services is important for both philosophical and structural reasons. Finally there is the broader policy context, in which services for people with learning difficulties are just one small part. From all three areas there are arguments which suggest that a reformulation of residential care in terms of 'housing and support' could have important advantages.