Individual funding schemes are increasingly implemented to organize public welfare services and can be considered as a prime example of the marketization of social care. Clients receive a budget and can “shop” on the welfare market. Current knowledge about the impact of individual funding schemes on choice opportunities for people with an intellectual disability is inconclusive. We conducted a vignette experiment in the context of the Flemish (Belgian) individual funding scheme for people with a disability, using 610 close relatives of people with an intellectual disability as subjects. The respondents were presented with hypothetical situations in which they had to express their intention to change current care provision into care via personal assistance. We find that dissatisfaction with services and having a supportive network increases the intention to change care. Professional support from the incumbent provider does not have a significant impact. We conclude that the promise of choice, as assumed with marketized public services, is likely to be fulfilled only under particular conditions. This entails risks in terms of equal opportunities for clients receiving public services in the context of welfare markets.
Summary This article presents the results of a research project involving 10 people with intellectual disabilities concerning their idea of “a good life” in a residential care setting, within a context of personal budgets. We introduce the capability approach as a framework for focusing on the opportunities personal budgets offer for people with intellectual disabilities. We make use of qualitative interviews following a photovoice project in which people with intellectual disabilities documented their lives in order to research what they deem valuable and aspire to. Findings In the analysis section, we present the elements which the participants identified as limiting and enhancing for imagining their future. From their stories, we learn that their aspirations are nourished by the encounters and social bonds that they engage in within a residential care context. The results make clear that the use of money offers opportunities to elaborate on what is already known and enables the realization of aspirations, while interactions with significant others more often than not encourage participants to explore and try out changes and thus further develop people’s set of aspirations. Applications In drawing the discussion to a close, we explore the implications these stories might have for understanding the role of aspirations in the practice of care and support for people with intellectual disabilities. The findings encourage us to think about a relational pedagogy and to address this in the practices of personal budgets.
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