Strength Perspective: An Analysis of Ageing in Place Care Model in Taiwan Based on Traditional Filial Piety

In the 1990s, the government in Taiwan proposed a series of community care related policies, in which the main care model was designed to be 'the local taking care of the local'. In response to the social problems arising from the ageing of the population and the growing demands for welfare, Executive Yuan of Taiwan formulated the Development Program for the Care Service Industry in 2001. The government designed the elderly care policies based on the notions of community care in promoting the care industry. The community care policies would better serve the elderly and encourage families to purchase affordable services. The government aimed to encourage the non-profit sector and the commercial sector to provide care services. In Taiwan, with the notion of 'in place' care, the community care model has become a new trend. This study first analyzes the policies and the practices of community care in Taiwan. Secondly, it discusses how to make use of the 'strength culture' among Chinese people to construct a community care model based on the strength perspective of traditional filial piety. Finally, it analyzes the 'community care centers' that Taiwan is currently running with the aim of constructing a system of 'ageing-in-place' community care based upon the tenets of filial piety.