IDEOLOGIES OF CARE IN COMMUNITY RESIDENTIAL SERVICES - WHAT DO CAREGIVERS BELIEVE

Ideologies of care, or systems of beliefs about the importance of part icular goals and activities, help guide how care is provided. One curr ently pervasive ideology of care is that of normalization. In this pap er, the ideologies of care of both house managers and direct care staf f in group homes are contrasted. Results indicate that the ideology of direct care staff is less differentiated than that of the house manag ers. In addition, house managers are more likely to subscribe to a nor malization ideology and less likely to subscribe to a family orientati on ideology than are direct care staff. Ideological differences betwee n house managers and direct care staff are only partially explained by differences in the demographic composition of the two groups.