Increasing the take-up of social care by people from minority ethnic communities
Delivering Transformation Grant Work Programme - 2021/22
The Welsh Government asked ADSS Cymru to lead a programme of work to examine the use of social care and support by people from the minority ethnic communities. The purpose was to identify what must be done to increase the take-up of care, which evidence shows is less than the average for the whole population. The programme is funded by the Welsh Government’s Delivering Transformation Grant programme for 2021-22.
A statement about the report has been translated into the eleven languages used most widely by minority ethnic communities in Wales, as advised by Welsh Government. The translations are viewable by clicking the hyperlinks: Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Urdu.
The aim of the study was to develop a deeper, and clearer, understanding of the barriers encountered when people from minority ethnic communities need care and support, the decisions they make, and what influences their decisions. The findings provide the foundation for a robust programme of action to improve their access to, and use of, social care and support. As such, it will be a significant contribution to the implementation of the Welsh Government’s Race Equality Action Plan. More specifically, it aimed to:
Understand the extent to which people from minority ethnic communities access care and support when they have an identifiable or assessed need.
Examine the issues, including barriers and challenges, involved to people accessing care and support.
Identify the impact of Covid-19 on levels of confidence and engagement with social services.
Explore the informal support network provided by family, and friendship carers, and how this network and the carers themselves are supported.
