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The paper analyses the processes of assessment of situations of dependency in Spain and the role of Social Work in them. The study provides new information, trying to detect possible influences of Covid-19 on these processes and analysing existing territorial disparities. From an intentional documentary search, information was subsequently collected from the General Directorates or Subdirectorates, or the autonomous Institutes of social services through an ad hoc questionnaire, obtaining responses from the universe of analysis units (17 autonomous communities). Said information was organized into three categories of analysis: mandatory nature of the social report in the assessment of situations of dependency; place of application of the DAS and the SRS; and professional profiles of the teams for assessing dependency situations. The results show, among other results, the existence of very different interprofessional teams, the application of the scale in divergent contexts, and the different relevance of the social report in the processes. In conclusion, the need to deepen the inclusion of the social report and the professional figure of Social Work in the assessment processes is evident by contributing to the improvement of the coordination of objectives, processes, and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts the Council of Europe political view of care need. This is defined in psychosocial terms and takes place within a socio-medical framework. Obviously, people may be in need of care for a number of reasons such as becoming old or with disability or a combination of both situations. Thus, regardless of these reasons, what appears is a population having difficulties to get by with basic daily activities. Therefore, the bigger the change in the social structures of the living-together, the higher the need of care. Likewise, the less developed the social services, particularly the so-called socio-medical space, the more vulnerable the people in need of care. With respect to the prospects of the 1999 Survey on Deficiencies, Disabilities and Health Conditions, we think that if an efficient National Care Need System is not developed the biological success attained in the past century will be followed by a resounding social failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]