ABSTRACT
Social care development aims at improving people’s lives through processes in which they are key participants. Social care development is based on the belief that, in a truly human society, people - individuals, families, groups and entire communities - should determine their destiny rather than be forced to dance to an elite tune. Rural social planning should be congruent with local demographic, cultural, social, spiritual, geographic and climatic realities and with residents’ lifestyles, resources, knowledge and skills. Social care practitioners can contribute to this process in a number of ways, most importantly by conducting social impact assessments. Social impacts can include demographic, financial, cultural, social, psychological, political, institutional and aesthetic changes in relation to individuals, groups and whole communities. As with local area planning, social impact assessment has been neglected by social care practitioners and, perhaps more significantly, by those who contribute to their education. Community development is not the sole province of social workers, welfare practitioners and community developers.
