Provision of services and demand for care support centers. Results of the evaluation of all care support centers in Baden-Wurttemberg

The counseling infrastructure for elderly and vulnerable people is characterized by overuse, underuse and misuse. According to the German care reform, care support centers should solve this problem by putting all relevant counseling services under one roof. The aim of this study was to analyze the type of services and demand of German care support centers 5 years after the German care reform came into force. The study was based on an analysis of the documentation of all 48 care support centers in Baden-Wurttemberg after the German care reform came into force and of counseling services for elderly and vulnerable people. The results of the evaluation of all care support centers in Baden-Wurttemberg showed that they offer a wide range of services ranging from counseling services for simple assistance to promoting self-help, up to comprehensive case management. The wide variety of counseling services offered also showed that these care support centers can meet the many different needs and requirements of the clientele. Findings from this study enabled a positive conclusion about the demand to be drawn. It became clear that the services offered are used by many people of all ages who are already in need of care or who are trying to prevent this need from occurring. A consensus about the conceptual development of care provision models employed by care support centers has not yet been achieved in Germany. Findings from this study could be useful in highlighting the need to further develop the care support centers.