TY - JOUR
T1 - Empowerment, policy levels and service forums
AU - Brandon, Toby
PY - 2005/12
Y1 - 2005/12
N2 - This article will examine empowerment through policy at three levels: governmental, service and 'street'. It will focus in particular on 'street level' policy, drawing on qualitative interviews and an analysis of documentation within a day centre for adults with learning difficulties. The recorded behaviour of the workers and the structure of the day centre affected service users' experience of power. This is discussed through the theoretical construction of the organization's 'service forum' that contains its 'posture', a set of formal values and beliefs owned by the organization, and the 'culture', which is the unofficial day-to-day presentation of the service. Finally the use of such an approach is considered with regards to the future analysis of services for people with learning difficulties.
AB - This article will examine empowerment through policy at three levels: governmental, service and 'street'. It will focus in particular on 'street level' policy, drawing on qualitative interviews and an analysis of documentation within a day centre for adults with learning difficulties. The recorded behaviour of the workers and the structure of the day centre affected service users' experience of power. This is discussed through the theoretical construction of the organization's 'service forum' that contains its 'posture', a set of formal values and beliefs owned by the organization, and the 'culture', which is the unofficial day-to-day presentation of the service. Finally the use of such an approach is considered with regards to the future analysis of services for people with learning difficulties.
KW - advocacy
KW - empowerment
KW - policy levels
KW - service forums
U2 - 10.1177/1744629505059176
DO - 10.1177/1744629505059176
M3 - Article
VL - 9
SP - 321
EP - 331
JO - Journal of Intellectual Disabilities
JF - Journal of Intellectual Disabilities
SN - 1744-6295
IS - 4
ER -