The European Social Network (ESN) has been actively working on community care since 2008 at European and national level advising public administrations across Europe. In 2011, we launched ‘Developing Community Care’ a publication which was the result of a Working Group on this theme that ran for three years. In 2023, we ran a questionnaire with our members, identified good practice and looked back at efforts over the past 10 years at our autumn seminar in cooperation with Spain’s EU Presidency. This publication covers what is community care, why we need it, how we can put in place, and ends with a checklist for directors who manage community-based social services.

The full ESN briefing ‘Enhancing Community Care: Social Services – A Force for Change’ can be found in the link below. And its Executive Summary is available in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian.