2022 Volume 13 Issue 3 Pages 139-149
This study analyses the incentive that led the private sector to be entrusted with consultation services, which are positioned as part of social policy, as well as the impact of this phenomenon. Further, it examines in-home care support centers and community comprehensive support centers to clarify the policy process and impact of outsourcing.
The private sector was introduced to reduce the rigidity of consultation in in-home care support centers.
In in-home care support centers, the scope of private contracting was limited to consultations made in direct contact with the client. On the other hand, in the case of community comprehensive support centers, private contracting was linked to the Long-Term Care Insurance and this system was required to be applicable in municipalities throughout Japan. For this purpose, the outsourcing of the entire consultation service to the private sector was enabled. Consequently, the administration strengthened the aspect of control over the contractors, resulting in a paradoxical situation in which the originally intended elimination of the rigidity of consultation has been hindered.
Annals of the Society for the Study of Social Policy
