This volume is concerned with outpatient care as an increasingly critical aspect of the social infrastructure. It conducts a stocktaking exercise on current developments and possible developments in relation to home support for persons in need of long-term assistance and care, and the ways in which these are related to the expectations and promises that are shaping public and professional discourse. The relationship between expectations and reality is critically analysed in order to articulate prospects for the future, particularly for those who are responsible for organizing and managing outpatient care.