Within the concomitant research on the implementation of individual care budgets in Germany, the results of verbal interviews involving 329 persons in need of care were analysed with respect to the relation between the actual time expenditure for care measures and its dependency on the level of care required (according to the statutorily regulated levels of long-term care in Germany) on the one hand as well as determining factors of the environment (social networks, milieus) on the other hand. The results of the survey showed that with a high level of care required, the social environment as a chance factor becomes particularly influential. Under disadvantageous environmental circumstances, the difference in time spent on care measures for varying levels of care required was rather low. Disadvantageous environmental circumstances were not compensated by professional services or support provided by other sectors.