This third edition of Community Care Practice and the Law has been substantially rewritten and restructured to reflect the rapid legal and policy changes affecting the community care field. It provides comprehensive and jargon-free explanations of both community care legislation and other areas of the law directly relevant to practitioners. Topics covered include:

• assessment and eligibility criteria (`fair access to care') and waiting times

• placing people in care homes

• non-residential, domiciliary and home care services

• carers' assessments and services

• home adaptations and disabled facilities grants

* direct payments

* continuing health care and health services generally, including community equipment services

* joint working between local authorities and the NHS

* single assessment process, intermediate care

* decision making capacity and incapacity

* information sharing

* adult protection

* human rights and disability discrimination

* health and safety at work legislation including manual handling

people subject to immigration control, including asylum seekers

care standards.

Numerous examples of legal cases and ombudsman investigations clearly illustrate the practical impact of legislation on community care. A separate chapter provides an at-a-glance view of the whole range of legislation underpinning the everyday work of practitioners. The author also identifies the underlying mechanisms, tensions and problems affecting community care law and practice. Primarily covering England in detail, much of the legal case law covered and the legal principles involved are of general relevance across the United Kingdom, and where material is not directly applicable to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, short summaries offer general pointers for the position in these three countries.

This book is an essential guide for practitioners and managers in both the statutory and voluntary sectors, policy makers in local and central government, advocates, lawyers and social work students.