Long term care of the elderly has become an important issue in recent years. Researchers and policy-makers are urgently seeking ways of improving social service systems in response to a dramatic increase in the number of older people as a percentage of the total population. @3In this comprehensive collection of original papers, leading scholars and practitioners draw on the latest empirical research in their discussion of: the role of family members as informal care-givers; the interaction between families and social service systems, both community based and institutional; and the policy implications of integrating family members into the continuum of long term care of the elderly.