Social support and access to justice at the kitchen table? An assessment of the legal capabilities of community social care professionals in the Netherlands

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research examines the legal capabilities of social care practitioners involved in a new decision-making process, ‘the kitchen table conversation’, used since the introduction of the 2015 Social Support Act in the Netherlands. This law delegates social care allocation to the local authorities, who employ social care practitioners to assess and decide upon the needs of applicants for personalised services. During the kitchen table conversation, social care practitioners, applicants and specialised services providers discuss the needs of applicants. The extent to which social care practitioners possess legal capabilities to deal with this new process is unknown. In a case study (Utrecht), data from kitchen table conversations with applicants suffering from cognitive impairment were gathered using participant observation techniques, semi-structured individual interviews and one group interview with social care practitioners, between October 2016 and May 2017. Content analysis showed the legal knowledge of social care practitioners and their awareness of the legal consequences of the kitchen table conversation. However, social care practitioners rely heavily on their interpersonal skills and on elective communication to avoid conflicts leading to legal procedures or involving their individual liability. More research is needed on the universal accessibility of social care services in the context of decentralisation.