The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services is the leading body in social care in England.
The members are the serving directors of adult social care employed by the 152 local authorities in England with social care responsibilities. Former directors are associate members, and deputy and assistant directors are also involved in the work of the association.
The association acts as a lobbying voice for social care, pressing, for example, for adequate funding, and defending the performance of social care departments. It is increasingly forming alliances with other organisations such as the Care and Support Alliance, the Care Provider Alliance and the NHS Confederation whose members are affected by the pressures on social care.
It issues guidance to local authorities on professional standards and the law, for example in respect of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, subsequent to the decision in the case in Cheshire West.
It reports that 400,000 fewer people received social care services in England in 2014-5 than in 2009-10, despite an increasingly elderly population. The proportion provided directly by local councils is also falling.