This text aims to provide a unique insight into the world of community care in the 1990s. It presents findings from a national study of social care from the perspective of the older service users, their carers and care managers. Descriptive findings from this longitudinal study - conducted by the PSSRU from 1994 and funded by the Department of Health - are set in the context of the history of community care and developments since the passage of the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act. The study's findings highlight important challenges for policy and practice development in the new millennium.