Community Care articles from August 2006

Community Care archives from August 2006

Wales Strategy to call for more joint working.(social services and councils)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... The Welsh assembly government's long-awaited social services strategy will reiterate calls for greater job sharing and more joint commissioning of services between councils. The strategy will say many councils lack the staff and resources...

training Costs of induction 'must be funded'.(children's services)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... The Department of Health must find "a lot of money" to fund social care employers to induct workforce newcomers if this becomes a condition of registration, the sector's training chief has said. The comments from Skills for Care chief...

learning difficulties by maria ahmed Service cuts proposed by council criticised in abuse investigation.
August 3, 2006... Cornwall Council has angered campaigners by proposing to cut services for people with learning difficulties as it tackles a [pounds sterling]3.6m funding shortfall in adult social care. The council, which was criticised by inspectors...

ethnic minorities Involvement wanes among some users.(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Participation in social care by ethnic minority service users has declined over the past 20 years despite a marked increase in user involvement in general, research has found. A Social Care Institute for Excellence paper said public bodies...

children in care Inquiry may feed into green paper.(Every Child Matters)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... A government fact-finding mission looking at the impact of the Every Child Matters agenda could feed into the forthcoming green paper on looked-after children, according to a leading children's services director. Andrew Webb, co-chair of...

fostering New allowances can 'only cover basics'.(housing costs)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Councils should top up the newly announced minimum fostering allowances for England with extra payments to cover additional housing costs or special events, according to a charity. British Association for Adoption and Fostering chief...

adults' services Hampshire plan to restrict care slated.(Hampshire Council)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Campaigners have criticised Hampshire Council's decision to propose limiting adult services to people with critical needs. Age Concern Hampshire and Hampshire Centre for Independent Living spoke out following the council's decision to...

Children Call for training on asylum transfers.(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... More staff training on the cultures of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children would help any expansion of a project that transferred children from the care of Kent Council to authorities in Greater Manchester, a new report says. The...

performance by mithran samuel Separate client group assessments planned for adult social services.
August 3, 2006... Councils will be judged separately on their performance for each adult social care client group in the future, to counter concerns that older people's services dominate current assessments. The Commission for Social Care Inspection said...

cultural revolutioN.(organisational culture)
August 3, 2006... In the first in a short series on challenges to social care management, Trish Hafford-Letchfield argues that the role of organisational culture is crucial to deliver effective change Everybody is currently preoccupied with...

Behan takes fight for equality to Whitehall.(David Behan, Department of Health)(Interview)
August 3, 2006... David Behan, the first director general for social care, talks to Mithran Samuel about the scale of the task he faces in raising the profile of adults' services within the Department of Health "That belief in equality and the...

If you ask me...(Arlene A. McKeever)(Interview)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Arlene A McKeever uses physical disability services in Gateshead Who has influenced you the most? My mother because of her strength and humour. Which professional has helped you the most? My current GP. What one thing would...

flip side of private provision.(long-stay hospitals)
August 3, 2006... Long-stay hospitals for people with learning difficulties are being closed, while private providers queue up to fill the gap. Mark Hunter asks if the trend heralds a return to institutional care by the back door At some point in the...

asylum seekers Councils want early section 9 decision.(Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 )(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Councils are frustrated by the length of time it is taking the government to decide on the future of its policy that withdraws money and housing from failed asylum seekers who refuse to return home. Many of the councils piloting section 9...

'THEY HAVE JUST LEFT ME'.
August 3, 2006... The leaving care act was supposed to end the scandal of 16-year-olds being thrown out of care and left to cope on their own. But, as Natalie Valios reports, there is a welter of evidence to suggest that, for many care leavers, little...

stranded in the middle.(criticised services)
August 3, 2006... Disabled young people and their families have long criticised services that are intended to ease their transition to adult care. However, there are signs that the issue is at last gaining political currency. Anabel Unity Sale reports...

drugs misuse Prison treatments get partial roll-out.(clinical treatment)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... A service for drug-misusing prisoners combining clinical treatment with social and psychological support will not be rolled out in all prisons this year because of a lack of funding. John Boyington, director of health and offender...

end-of-life care Funding 'must be more transparent'.(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Anew government strategy for end-of-life care in England should look at creating a more transparent funding system for the voluntary sector, a charity says. A spokesperson for Sue Ryder Care said the strategy, announced last week by health...

family courts Efficiency drive 'will hit care cases'.(case management)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Proposals to improve efficiency in the legal aid system will undermine the representation of children in care cases, solicitors' and court guardians' leaders have warned. The plans, which involve paying solicitors fixed fees rather than...

funding Wiltshire chief calls for voluntary help.(Ian Davey, Wiltshire Counci)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... The man charged with managing Wiltshire Council's adult social care funding crisis wants to use volunteers to help people affected by cuts to services. Ian Davey, the council's interim director of adult and community services, said this...

hard work finding jobs.(job opportunities for Learning disabled persons)
August 3, 2006... When the Valuing People white paper was published in 2001 one of the key issues flagged up was a lack of job opportunities for people with learning difficulties. So here we are five years on and the Department for Work and Pensions has...

homelessness Brighton pioneers therapy project.(homeless people)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... A team of psychologists is to work with homeless people in Brighton, in what is believed to be one of the first projects of its kind in the UK. The four-strong team will initially help supported housing workers adopt psychological...

improvement Standards bodies to share information.(Social Care Institute for Excellence and the Care Services Improvement Partnership)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Two bodies charged with improving the quality of social care in England have signed a partnership agreement to share information and influence each other's work. The pact between the Social Care Institute for Excellence and the Care...

learning difficulties by maria ahmed Clients paid below minimum wage as work providers ignore guidance.
August 3, 2006... A "worrying" number of employment providers for people with learning difficulties are paying workers less than the minimum wage, a report this week revealed. Many local authority and voluntary sector providers are in breach of national...

SAFE AS HOUSES?(Sexual Offender Registration Act of 1994)
August 3, 2006... The enactment of Megan's Law in the US has proved problematic and has done little to increase safety, says Robert E Longo In the US, convicted sex offenders and innocent citizens have suffered serious and negative consequences resulting...

mental health by simeon brody Delay to children services's grant leaves primary care trusts fuming.
August 3, 2006... The Department of Health has failed to pay primary care trusts a major children's mental health service grant four months after the payments were due. Trusts are still waiting to find out how much they will receive this year for child and...

mental health NHS children's services targets 'too ambitious to hit'.(National Health Service)
August 3, 2006... Child and adolescent mental health services are falling short of key indicators, despite recent progress. Simeon Brody reports Aleaked government letter revealed last week that the NHS would fail to meet a key target...

A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME.(mental health services)
August 3, 2006... Ben Taylor and Sandi Lowing outline the difficult - but worthwhile - year-long journey to restructuring mental health day services in Bromley In March 2005, trustees and managers of Bromley Mind faced a room full of angry service users...

my practice.(community support workers)
August 3, 2006... How does a department's culture affect practice? Giles Gardner believes that communication is vital Debbie Fox, a community support worker in my locality, believes "change is always something that is going to happen in the future". Well,...

Rough sleepers Cash plea to help job seekers from EU.(European Union)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Westminster Council has called for more government funding to help people from parts of eastern Europe who are sleeping rough on the city borough's streets. A [pounds sterling]200,000 grant from the Home Office ends in October, but the...

on cloud nine at home.(Al Davidson)
August 3, 2006... this life Al Davidson finally realised a lifelong ambition and moved into his own house, and it feels good I'm on cloud nine. I'm 41 and have the keys to my own house, which has been my dream since I was 13. I moved in earlier this year...

white paper Wanless tells MPs of concerns over costs.(Derek Wanless)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... Sir Derek Wanless has criticised the government for producing the health and social care white paper without a clear understanding of its costs, despite its "ambitious rhetoric". Wanless told an inquiry by MPs that ministers relied on...

'better than training'.(Yvette Jones of Association of Social Care Communicators )(Interview)
August 3, 2006... In the first of a new series, Graham Hopkins talks to national social care umbrella organisations about the importance of networking. Here, Yvette Jones, the chair of the Association of Social Care Communicators (ASCC), explains the usefulness...

shoestring projects deliver big returns.(charitable events)(Viewpoint essay)
August 3, 2006... I dislike the use of celebrities to boost charitable events. Like the royals, their wealth and lifestyles reinforce inequalities. Recently, I was at a gathering where Patsy Palmer, former star of Eastenders, took the mike to make an award to a...

summer holiday reads.(social workers)
August 3, 2006... We asked some of our reviewers what books they'll be packing for their holidays. As Alan Bennett's Untold Stories made the most telling impression in last summer's recommendations (and Christmas come to that) it was unceremoniously barred -...

deal with drink problem.(alcoholics)(Brief article)
August 3, 2006... The member of the Scottish parliament who suggested that the children of drug-misusing parents should be taken into care caused a storm all right, but the same recommendation in the case of alcohol abuse would have brought a hurricane down on...

minor myths.(African child)
August 10, 2006... Africans are the fastest growing ethnic minority group in the UK but, says charity leader Debbie Ariyo, migration for a better life makes African children vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Graham Hopkins reports Think of an...

we know who you are.(social workers in family courts )
August 10, 2006... Social workers appearing in family courts may be named if government proposals for greater public scrutiny of proceedings are followed through. But will they be blamed and shamed by the press as a result, asks Sally Gillen "Your biggest...

asylum seekers Home Office denies guidance rumours.(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... The Home Office has denied rumours that it is drawing up guidance on leaving care support for unaccompanied asylum seeking children. Councils have raised concerns that they do not receive enough funding for the group and many currently have...

carers Campaign urges tax breaks for carers.(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Community Care is calling on the social care sector to support a campaign calling for tax breaks for workers with caring responsibilities. The carers campaign is also backed by Community Care's sister magazine Personnel Today, which plans...

mental health Call to clarify EU treatment rules.(European Commission)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... The European Commission must clarify the basis for mental health service users to travel abroad for treatment, according to a member of the European Parliament. John Bowis, Conservative MEP for London, said service users could be treated...

extra care Councils to gain share of [pounds sterling]40m fund.(extra care housing schemes)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Social services departments in England can bid for a share of a [pounds sterling]40m pot to develop extra care housing schemes in 2007-8. The Department of Health said last week it would consider bids from authorities that had not already...

inspections 'Adults should have same protection'.(Action on Elder Abuse policy)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Adult protection campaigners have attacked plans for tougher mandatory inspection arrangements for some children's services than for all adult care services. Action on Elder Abuse policy development officer Daniel Blake said it was...

learning difficulties Cornwall cuts may face legal challenge.(adult social care services)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Campaigners are planning to take Cornwall Council to judicial review after its cabinet waived through a range of cuts to adult social care services. East Cornwall Mencap chair Reg Broad said it was looking for people with learning...

local government Funding too low for immigrant numbers.(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Councils are not being funded to cover the social care needs of all immigrants because levels of migration are not fully recognised by government figures, town hall leaders have claimed. The Local Government Association is seeking more...

If you ask me...(Craig Jones)(Interview)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Craig Jones, 21, has a learning difficulty and uses KeyRing Living Support Networks in Wrexham Which professional has helped you the most? Gaenor Wright, KeyRing's supported living manager, and Ian Madley at social services. How...

MENTAL HEALTH Big discrepancies in spending revealed.(medical economics)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Mental health spending varies hugely around the country, even when the different costs of providing services and levels of need are accounted for, research has found. The King's Fund think-tank said this week that spending per head by...

Public order Asbo issued to ban care home thief.(antisocial behaviour)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Magistrates in Cleveland have issued an antisocial behaviour order banning a 35-year-old man from entering residential care homes in England and Wales. Ian Lamming, who is from Middlesbrough, has a total of 99 convictions, most involving...

children's services Better news for Sure Start as fresh study reveals benefits.
August 10, 2006... The government's flagship early intervention scheme has received a boost in the light of a new evaluation of its influence in deprived areas, reports Amy Taylor Children's services practitioners who leapt to Sure Start's defence last...

asylum seekers Fast-track system unfair, finds charity.(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Asylum seekers detained in order for their claims to be fast-tracked are being set up to fail as the system works too quickly to give them a fair chance, according to research out last week. The research, by charity Bail for Immigration...

book reviews.(Raising Biracial Children, The Developing World of the Child, Global Perspectives on Foster Family Care )(Book review)
August 10, 2006... Global Perspectives on Foster Family Care ----- Edited by Matthew Colton and Margaret Williams, Russell House Publishing ISBN 1903855888, [pounds sterling]19.95 The title intrigued me and looking at the 10 nations selected for inclusion...

child poverty Uniform child benefit rate urged.(Child Poverty Action Group)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... The government should increase child benefit to the same rate for all children in order to meet its child poverty targets, a leading campaign group said this week. The Child Poverty Action Group has launched a campaign, backed by charities...

guilt-edged insecurities.(prisoners)
August 10, 2006... When a parent goes to jail, the whole family can suffer. Anabel Unity Sale looks at the effects of this separation on children and speaks to an agency that addresses their issues When a parent is sent to prison the shattering impact on...

'the council is picking on us'.(Wiltshire Council)
August 10, 2006... Anger has greeted Wiltshire Council's decision to cut direct payments for leisure opportunities. Gordon Carson finds out how the cuts have affected service users and staff. While, on page 32, Martin Green and Ray Jones debate the proposal to...

education by amy taylor Courses cut for adults with learning difficulties as skills priorities shift.
August 10, 2006... Courses for adults with learning difficulties are being cut across England due to government training priorities, it has emerged this week. Further education leaders have said the government's emphasis on courses leading to level 2...

a job well done.(employing learning disabled persons)
August 10, 2006... Employing people with learning difficulties is a social duty and local authorities should be setting a good example, says Blair McPherson Supermarkets put most of us in social services to shame with their policies on employing people with...

funding by mithran samuel Treasury spending review unlikely to resolve social care funding woes.(Department of Health)
August 10, 2006... The Department of Health is playing down expectations that its funding review of social care will translate into a good settlement for the sector in next year's comprehensive spending review. That was the message from a report of meetings...

good start, more to do.(Sure Start)
August 10, 2006... As Sure Start funding is channelled through local authorities, which are building a new generation of children's centres to deliver the programme, the joins with child protection will be under the spotlight as never before. There is little...

learning difficulties Job opportunities study 'hidden away'.(Working Group on Learning Disabilities and Employment report)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... The government has been accused of burying a key report on employment opportunities for people with learning difficulties. The Working Group on Learning Disabilities and Employment report, published last week (news, page 8, 3 August), was...

learning difficulties Employment research left on the shelf.
August 10, 2006... The handling of a study on barriers to employment facing people with learning difficulties suggests that the issue remains politically marginalised. Mithran Samuel reports A government-commissioned report (news, page 8, 3 August), into the...

mental health Trusts debate way to get users' views.(National Health Service)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... NHS mental health foundation trusts appear divided over how to involve service users in running trusts. Foundation trusts are run by governing bodies elected by constituencies of members. While trusts must set up two separate constituency...

'I am proof there is a future'.(Adrian Smith )
August 10, 2006... Former psychiatric in-patient Adrian Smith is carving out a career on the other side of mental health. He spoke to Simeon Brody about the importance of providers employing service users When Adrian Smith is asked whether he ever imagined as...

mental health by simeon brody Shake-up in payments system could give NHS service users wider choice.(National Health Service)
August 10, 2006... Service users could be given more choice over NHS treatments as part of the introduction of a new payments system to mental health. Campaigners believe that the extension of payment by results (PbR) to mental health could provide a way to...

mental health Scots children put in wards for adults.(Scotland)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Children and young people in Scotland with mental health problems are routinely receiving treatment in adult facilities even though guidance states this should happen only in exceptional circumstances. Figures from the Mental Welfare...

on the sunny side.(Disability Discrimination Act 2005)
August 10, 2006... In the first of two articles covering learning difficulties, Kate Linsky looks at how beacon councils have been helping people with learning difficulties live independently; while on page 36, Blair McPherson looks at employment...

some hope at last for the bottom 2 per cent.(poverty)
August 10, 2006... The government has declared it wants to do more for the poorest 2 per cent of the population and for many needing community care this will be welcome news. At last there appears to be a resurgence of interest in social exclusion. The...

policy by derren hayes Sector welcomes Welsh strategy despite lack of detailed proposals.(social services)
August 10, 2006... Welsh social services departments will continue to be led by a single director under proposals in the country's long-awaited 10-year strategy for the sector. The draft strategy, published for consultation last week by the Welsh assembly...

should care managers be brokers?(social workers)
August 10, 2006... The adult green paper proposed that care brokers or navigators should help people buy their own care. Martin Green and Ray Jones argue for and against this role being carried out by existing care managers Martin Green, chief executive,...

the case has been made.(Stand Up for Social Care campaign)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... The countdown to next July's comprehensive spending review has begun and the next 11 months will see some frenetic activity in the attempt to influence Treasury plans that will shape services for years to come. Community Care got in early...

labels are for jars.(labelling disabled people)
August 10, 2006... this life Wheelchair user Arlene A McKeever objects strongly to services' culture of labelling disabled people Ibecame a wheelchair user 17 years ago. I have had chronic lung disease since birth and after years of struggling to walk it...

white paper Councils funded for self-assessment trial.(health and social care)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... Eleven councils are receiving government funding to allow people with long-term conditions to assess their own care needs, in line with the health and social care white paper's proposals. The councils, including Barnet, Hull and...

workforce Stonham pay offer fails to please staff.(Amicus)(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... The UK's biggest supported housing provider, Stonham, faces the possibility of industrial action as union members consider a management pay offer. Trade union Amicus is holding a consultative ballot over a 2.55 per cent pay offer this year...

workforce Jones named as international chief.(International Federation of Social Workers appointed David N. Jones )(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... The International Federation of Social Workers has named David N Jones as its new president. Jones, who has just finished a secondment from the Commission for Social Care Inspection to the Department of Health, will hold the post for the...

Young offenders Institution praised despite relapse.(Brief article)
August 10, 2006... I nspectors have praised a young offender institution in Wales for developing a "perceptible" child-centred culture "rarely achieved" in other units. The juvenile unit at Parc Prison in Bridgend, which also holds adult prisoners, was well...

revealing voices.(children's experience)
August 10, 2006... Chris Goddard and Neerosh Mudaly report on Australian children's experience of unhappy lives at home through abuse, domestic violence and neglect through the words of the children themselves Inquiries into child deaths, in Australia as...

let's stay together.
August 17, 2006... key features of the SMP project: * Specialised practitioners. * A single referral route. * Clear, open information sharing. * Intensive contact with home visits. * Regular drug testing. * Care co-ordination across the drug and alcohol...

'Welsh strategy is a win-win'.
August 17, 2006... Directors' leader Joe Howsam warns that the new blueprint for Welsh services must be well resourced. He spoke to Derren Hayes Joe Howsam, co-chair of the Association of Directors of Social Services Wales, admits that on first reading the...

DISABILITIES Talks on care costs of education places.(Learning and Skills Council)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... A proposal for the Learning and Skills Council to stop funding the health and care costs of education packages for people with learning difficulties or disabilities is being discussed in government. As part of a review of provision for...

social care Worry over care for Lebanon returnees.(social services)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... People coming to Britain from war-torn Lebanon could be in need of social services but are unaware of where to find help, a social services director has warned. Roy Taylor, the Association of Directors of Social Services lead on the...

older people TUC calls for end to age discrimination.(Trades Union Congress)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... The government and employers must tackle age discrimination and provide more training and support to older workers to ensure they do not end up on benefits and put more pressure on pensions. That was the message from a Trades Union Congress...

voluntary sector State funds said to undermine charities.(government funding)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... The independence of charities is being undermined by their increasing reliance on government funding, according to a right-wing think-tank. The Centre for Policy Studies also claimed that public support for charities was "on the wane"...

FUNDING Cherie Booth backs Wiltshire couple.(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... The prime minister's wife has stepped into the row over cuts to adults' services in Wiltshire after a plea from the husband of a woman with multiple sclerosis. James McGee wrote to Cherie Booth after Wiltshire Council suggested his wife,...

vulnerable adults Nurses to challenge job ban list in court.(Protection of Vulnerable Adults)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Nurses working in social care are to legally challenge the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list because of the length of time innocent staff can be banned from work. They are seeking a judicial review after being included on the Pova...

domiciliary care Islington denies privatisation claim.(Islington Council)(Brief article)
August 17, 2006... Islington Council has denied claims from trade union Unison that it has decided to privatise its in-house home care service to save money. The north London council said the issue was still up for debate, after its Unison branch reported it...