Andrew Sutton begins his latest posting, "No country for old carers" as follows:
In this morning’s issue of The Australian, Sue Corrigan (2009) publishes an extensive statement of the dreadful plight of so many Australian families bringing up young children with disabilities, and then caring for them as adults.
Sue Corrigan's article "The Struggle for Care" is a powerful read and I highly recommend it.
Nice to know that so many of the Old Guard are still in the saddle, the ’young parents’ of twenty years ago now taking up their well-honed campaigning cudgels on behalf of young adults and their families/carers.
Here in Sheffield, as no doubt in many other local authorities up and down the land, efforts are being made to set up a Parent Forum, to bring parents together as 'strategic partners' with the local authority. There is Government money to be had, £10,000 of it for the 2009-10 financial year, for setting up the Forum for supporting work with parents of children aged 0-19. But, in Sheffield and, I presume, elsewhere, the "well-honed campaigning cudgels" of "the Old Guard" will not be wielded on behalf of the younger ones: membership of the new Parent Forum being only open to those with children aged 0-19.