ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the missing ethical dimension in implementation of policy to protect elders from abuse. It outlines the M. Lipsky’s thesis of street-level bureaucracy, to situate what follows within its originating context. The chapter considers J. C. Tronto’s several elements of an ethic of care, and the location of the missing ethical voice within those findings. It explores some ways by which a stronger ethical presence can be imprinted into policy making, planning and delivery of services to older people, as well as safeguarding more specifically. ‘Ethics’ and ‘ethical’ were not an initial focus of the research design. References to an ethic of care in social work made only fleeting appearance in the research proposal and early literature review. Social workers have an ethical and moral duty to safeguard older people; organisational and policy context within which they operate must similarly manifest this ethical and moral obligation.
