ABSTRACT
This chapter argues to the contrary, that dependency does not exist prior to and without its assessment instrument. It describes the emergence of dependency as a social risk in France in the 1990s, first through the action of geriatricians, then of the State, despite the criticism of opponents. The chapter then shows how this new issue has fluctuated since the 2000s, comforted by the action of street-level bureaucrats, and supported but eventually threatened by insurers and geriatricians themselves. Gerontologist Sydney Katz and his team published 'Studies of Illness in the Aged' in the leading Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). It proposed an Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (ADL) to advance study of the elderly and chronically ill. Michael Lipsky described the dilemma of street-level bureaucrats, faced with the allocation of public resources that are usually insufficient for meeting the needs of their clientele.
