Margareta Kreimer
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861348562
- eISBN:
- 9781447301615
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861348562.003.0011
- Subject:
- Social Work, Health and Mental Health
Since the early 1990s, two important reforms have taken place to improve the social security and income situations of informal family carers: in 1993 the long-term care allowance was introduced and ...
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Since the early 1990s, two important reforms have taken place to improve the social security and income situations of informal family carers: in 1993 the long-term care allowance was introduced and in 2002 a universal childcare allowance replaced the former parental leave benefit. Together with reforms in the social security system, it could be argued that the Austrian welfare state is beginning to assign a higher value to informal family care. This chapter addresses several questions. First, do these reforms represent a move towards ‘caregiving parity’ for informal carers? Second, have the arguments in favour of these new payments for care focused on their role in extending freedom of choice? Third, do informal carers and/or the people they care for actually experience greater freedom of choice now, compared to before the introduction of the cash benefits? The chapter begins by discussing the concepts of ‘caregiving parity’ and ‘freedom of choice’. It then examines the new childcare and long-term care allowances to see whether these reforms do indeed reflect a new approach to supporting care arrangements, based on these concepts. The chapter concludes that, although the Austrian care system does show some trends that challenge the male breadwinner model, it is still far from reflecting a new model of care.Less
Since the early 1990s, two important reforms have taken place to improve the social security and income situations of informal family carers: in 1993 the long-term care allowance was introduced and in 2002 a universal childcare allowance replaced the former parental leave benefit. Together with reforms in the social security system, it could be argued that the Austrian welfare state is beginning to assign a higher value to informal family care. This chapter addresses several questions. First, do these reforms represent a move towards ‘caregiving parity’ for informal carers? Second, have the arguments in favour of these new payments for care focused on their role in extending freedom of choice? Third, do informal carers and/or the people they care for actually experience greater freedom of choice now, compared to before the introduction of the cash benefits? The chapter begins by discussing the concepts of ‘caregiving parity’ and ‘freedom of choice’. It then examines the new childcare and long-term care allowances to see whether these reforms do indeed reflect a new approach to supporting care arrangements, based on these concepts. The chapter concludes that, although the Austrian care system does show some trends that challenge the male breadwinner model, it is still far from reflecting a new model of care.
Margareta Kreimer and Helene Schiffbänker
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861346049
- eISBN:
- 9781447301592
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861346049.003.0009
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
This chapter starts by discussing the Austrian care system and giving some figures about female labour market participation. It also describes the social integration of family care on the conceptual ...
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This chapter starts by discussing the Austrian care system and giving some figures about female labour market participation. It also describes the social integration of family care on the conceptual level. It then verifies if the changes that are currently observed in Austria may be interpreted as a transformation of the traditional breadwinner model into a new care model. It comes to the conclusion that Austria is still far away from the realisation of a caregiving parity model. Additionally, it investigates the question of whether the Austrian care arrangement fits into a caregiving social wage model for three groups of carers: lone mothers, partnered/married mothers and long-term carers. The actual Austrian welfare state does not show a progressive development in the direction of a caregiving parity model.Less
This chapter starts by discussing the Austrian care system and giving some figures about female labour market participation. It also describes the social integration of family care on the conceptual level. It then verifies if the changes that are currently observed in Austria may be interpreted as a transformation of the traditional breadwinner model into a new care model. It comes to the conclusion that Austria is still far away from the realisation of a caregiving parity model. Additionally, it investigates the question of whether the Austrian care arrangement fits into a caregiving social wage model for three groups of carers: lone mothers, partnered/married mothers and long-term carers. The actual Austrian welfare state does not show a progressive development in the direction of a caregiving parity model.
