Community Care articles from August 2007

Community Care archives from August 2007

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
August 2, 2007... Diary A lighter take on the working week. An approved social worker writes Monday I have just arrived back at my office after a week away camping during which I contemplated using the Mental Health Act manual for the camp fire well, a...

ignorant and misleading.(News)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... David Hemming has created a storm among Community Care readers. The Lib Dem MP has featured in the right-wing press accusing social workers of snatching ever increasing numbers of young children from doting birth families. Money-grabbing...

TIME FOR change at the YJB.(Editorial Comment)
August 2, 2007... The future of the Youth Justice Board was already in doubt following Gordon Brown's reorganisation of departmental responsibilities, and the YJB's admission that it will probably fall short of most of its targets will not have helped its cause....

Letters.
August 2, 2007... Eligibility criteria: Time is running out The articles on eligibility criteria thresholds for older people's services remind us of the ticking time bomb on our hands (news, p5 and "Where the poor law lives on", 19 July). Articles like...

Information needs of young people during transition.(Proven Practice)
August 2, 2007... Each week the Social Care Institute for Excellence analyses research findings behind specific social work practices proven practice: learning disabilities the evidence base for social care practice oung people with learning...

Research Realities.
August 2, 2007... LINKS AND RESOURCES The research outlined above was published as Occasional Paper 7 (2006) and also reported in Percival J, Hanson J and Osipovic D (2006) A positive outlook? The housing needs and aspirations of working age people with...

don't mention the crisis.(News)
August 2, 2007... There are lots of promising proposals from the new government but the funding woes of adult social care have been ignored service user voice The agenda for Gordon Brown's government is set. Many of the proposed bills have an element of...

Backchat.
August 2, 2007... Leo (Jul 24 - Aug 23) As a fire sign you are burning with bright ideas this month - so why not book a slot with the boss and go for that promotion. If it doesn't work - head for the pub, push your way through the saddos smoking outside,...

Everything you need to know about How to help clients through the digital TV switchover.(Cribsheet)
August 2, 2007... When will TV go digital? Starting in 2008 and ending in 2012, television services in the UK will go completely digital, region by region. Just as with the change from black and white to colour TVs, this change will bring benefits to...

Q: I'm a mature student looking to start my career in social work. How much importance should I attach to training and development - and how much should I expect or demand?(Working Lives)
August 2, 2007... A: I do believe that training and development - particularly the latter - are not just important, but essential. The importance of training and qualification is twofold. On the one hand, there is a straightforward qualification requirement in...

Policies not targets.(Features)
August 2, 2007... Debating the pros and cons of a target for a smaller care population was the job of one of the government's four working groups set up to consider last year's Care Matters green paper. Below, working group chair Martin Narey and, opposite,...

Resisting trauma.(Good Practice)
August 2, 2007... One UK woman used her Isabel Schwarz Travel Fellowship to go to the West Bank and help Palestinian victims of torture. Natalie Valios reports uring her Isabel Schwarz travel fellowship, Finola Owens would lie in bed each night listening to...

Features.
August 2, 2007... Social services have been reluctant to challenge the NHS over continuing care decisions. Will the new eligibility framework change matters, ask Cathy Score The Coughlan case was meant to be the defining moment in deciding when health or...

Remember this?(Good Practice)
August 2, 2007... With parts of the country flooded, it seems unlikely that care homes will have to worry about their residents in a heatwave. But as the weather becomes more extreme they need to be ready for anything. Corin Williams reports f there's one...

Corporate Manslaughter Act is passed.(News)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... safety Councils and other public and private bodies whose negligence leads to the death of individuals will face prosecution under a new law due to come into force next April. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act was...

News.
August 2, 2007... p9corpman Councils and other public and private bodies whose negligence leads to the death of individuals will face prosecution under a new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act due to come into force next April. The...

Beware of 'greenwash'.(Working Lives)(business strategy encouraging air travel)
August 2, 2007... 'Ecotourism' is something of a misnomer, says John Cossham, who explores holidays without airports Holidays abroad are an accepted norm. These habits have a large impact as when we fly it adds massively to our carbon footprint, eradicating...

don't neglect your spirit.(Opinion Columns)(Essay)
August 2, 2007... We allow consumerism to extinguish the fire of our inner spiritual lives at our peril as poor mental health can follow front line focus Since the Enlightenment the western world has worshipped at the altar of reason. Foucault described...

Opinion Columns.
August 2, 2007... root out honour killings The government must pursue without mercy all perpetrators of so-called honour killings or violence, says Aisha Gill There is a need for immediate, co-ordinated, full and effective investigations into all cases...

Isolated and at odds with each other.(Practice Panel)
August 2, 2007... An abused wife, a father who drinks heavily and a reclusive son live together on a cut-off farm but are failing as a family Panel response 2 David Glover-Wright In 2001 Chris Philo and Hester Parr published Inclusion and Exclusion...

Reviews.
August 2, 2007... I Can't Walk But I Can Crawl: Living with Cerebral Palsy aaaaa Joan Ross, Paul Chapman Publishing ISBN 1412918723, [pounds sterling]17.99 In recent years there has been an explosion in the survivor narrative, writes Anika...

Out of thepublic eye.(Features)
August 2, 2007... Campaigners fear that the recent exemption of private care homes from the Human Rights Act human rights act articles Article 2: Right to life Article 3: Prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment Article...

'My son taught me to see people first'.(Interview/Profile)(Interview)
August 2, 2007... Philippa Russell is mother to Simon, 43, who has learning disabilities. She is also a disability rights commissioner, an adviser to the NCB and a member of the National Learning Disability Task Force. Maria Ahmed spoke to her interview ...

festival review Let's twist again.(Working Lives)(Silver Social festival at Ministry of Sound nightclub)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Mark Drinkwater gyrates with some senior clubbers Silver Social aaaaa Ministry of Sound London Normally the preserve of young ravers, the Ministry of Sound proved an unusual setting for "Silver Social", the finale to a...

News.
August 2, 2007... Last week we were inundated with responses after Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming offered to respond to your comments or questions on his claims that newborn babies were being taking from loving families in order for councils to meet adoption...

Miscarriages of justice or conspiracytheory?(News Analysis)
August 2, 2007... Social care leaders dismiss John Hemming's claims as scare John Hemming's allegations that social workers are unnecessarily taking children into care to meet adoption targets has caused outrage across the sector. Campaigners have described...

Ruling highlights councils' duties towards offenders.(News)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... sally.gillen@rbi.co.uk Councils could face more pressure to treat young offenders requiring accommodation as looked-after children, rather than as homeless, thanks to a Court of Appeal judgement against Sutton Council, London, last week....

Independent inquiry ordered into Feltham suicide bid.(News)(Feltham Young Offender Institution)
August 2, 2007... Judges have ordered an independent inquiry into how a young prisoner was left irreversibly brain-damaged following his suicide attempt at Feltham Young Offender Institution in west London. The man, known as "JL", was found hanging from a...

Youth board admits targets failure.(News)
August 2, 2007... Only one of the six Home Office performance measures are "on track" as YJB's role and even its future comes into question maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk The Youth Justice Board is set to miss key targets to reduce the number of children going...

Call for donations to child abuse charities.(News)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... child protection Charitable donors looking to help tackle child abuse have been urged to spend their money on eight projects whose work includes helping offenders to change and supporting survivors. A report last week by New...

Hughes says 'cutting edge services' key to youth plan.(News)(Beverley Hughes )
August 2, 2007... Excitement and empowerment on the agenda to attract young people in new 10-year plan comcare.news@rbi.co.uk Children's minister Beverley Hughes has said the government's new 10-year youth services strategy is the most ambitious policy...

Call to reverse cash cuts to drug treatment programme.(News)
August 2, 2007... Anger over existing funding greets government launch of consultation on drug strategy substance misuse maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk The government should reverse cuts to a scheme that helps drug-using offenders into treatment,...

Working Lives.
August 2, 2007... on the move Ann Keen has been given responsibility for health services, including children's health services and maternity. The MP for Brentford and Isleworth has a background in nursing and was formerly parliamentary private secretary to...

Interview/Profile.(Interview)
August 2, 2007... Philippa Russell is a Disability Rights Commissioner and disability policy adviser to children's charity NCB. She is also a member of the National Learning Disability Task Force and mother to Simon, 43, who has learning disabilities. Q:...

Reviews.
August 2, 2007... Child use of antidepressants up four-fold over past decade The use of antidepressants and other pills to combat mental health problems among children have qaudrupled in the past decade. Under-16s were given drugs for mental health...

Working Lives.
August 2, 2007... social skirmishes Social work wannabe and reality TV "star" Katarina Flapp on student life * One problem being a famous student is putting up with the attentions of non-famous students. A philosophy student, whom I shall call David...

Opinion Columns.
August 2, 2007... The agenda for Gordon Brown's government was set in his speech to the House of Commons on 11th July. Many of the proposed bills have an element of a social conscience to them: the headlines picked up on his aims to build affordable and social...

True Partnerships.
August 2, 2007... Two years after meeting care worker Debbie Ching, 13-year-old James Chester* is on track to fulfil his ambition to become a 'normal boy'. Below, they tell their story. Debbie Ching: "When James came to us two years ago he was described...

Diary.
August 9, 2007... Diary A lighter take on the working week. A social worker in a local authority adults' team writes Monday Thirty e-mails accumulated since Friday lunch, 11 relevant. Two for office furniture "surplus to requirements" looking for new home....

Advocacy services for African-Caribbean men.(Proven Practice)
August 9, 2007... Each week the Social Care Institute for Excellence analyses research findings behind specific social work practices en from black and minority ethnic backgrounds are over represented in the mental health service in Britain. But a large...

Research Realities.
August 9, 2007... Social pedagogy and the children's workforce Claire Cameron reviews three studies that are informing the increasing interest in social pedagogy in Britain The RESEARCH Title: New ways of educating: pedagogy and children's services...

Opinion Columns.
August 9, 2007... what about the social life? While thankful for all the knowledge and support she received at university, Anika Baddeley would have liked more fun As the A-level results are published and people make plans to go off to college, it...

Features.
August 9, 2007... Workers at the disability employment company's factories are disabled people case study i I am usually laid back but I was so angry that day I had chest pains," says Adam Jones, a worker at Remploy Birkenhead central cutting...

Backchat.
August 9, 2007... The tale of a qualified social worker, by Emil Rowe Once upon a time (around three years ago), in the picturesque setting of Hatfield, a young man with four years' voluntary service in social care, upon passing an Access to Social Work...

Opinion Columns.
August 9, 2007... much ado about asbos It must be hoped that a change of government view on Asbos heralds a return to a more intelligent policy, writes Juliet Lyon Last Friday, when Ed Balls, the new Secretary of State for Children, Schools and...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
August 9, 2007... The latest opinions from our social care web diaries. For more blogs, go to www.communitycare.co.uk/blog word on the web A round up of social care views from www.communitycare.co.uk From The Inspector by Mithran Samuel "The...

Home.(Features)
August 9, 2007... Most people want to be cared for and die in their own homes, and the hospice-at-home model allows them to do so. Robert Bullard looks at an award-winning example comforts he place where people are cared for in their dying days is in...

Carer Column.(Column)
August 9, 2007... Down side of summer holidays Juggling a delicate work-family balance in the holidays is far more difficult for those with disabled children. Sally Anfilogoff looks at the pitfalls he summer holidays are upon us and, for me, they bring...

Reviews.
August 9, 2007... BOOKSSexual Issues in Social Work aaaaa Steve Myers and Judith Milner, BASW/Policy PressISBN 9781861347121, [pounds sterling]17.99 e_SFlb This comprehensive review of research on sexual issues in social work also provides guidance...

Working Lives.
August 9, 2007... Edinburgh Festival Fringe Highlights August 5 to August 27 2007 www.edfringe.com With over 28,000 performances, 17,000 artists and 261 venues there's certainly plenty to see at the Edinburgh Festival. Mark Drinkwater sifts through...

Backchat.
August 9, 2007... The tale of a qualified social worker by Emil Rowe Once upon a time (about three years ago), a young man with four years' voluntary service in social care began his BSc Social Work degree course. With a spring in his step he got stuck...

U-turn on cannabis highlights lack of logic in 'war on drugs'.(GP Column)(marijuana)
August 9, 2007... With Brown set to revoke Blair's reclassification, it's time to scrap the whole unscientific drugs league table, argues Dr Michael Fitzpatrick n an early posture of toughness, new Prime Minister Gordon Brown has proposed that the...

Opinion Columns.
August 9, 2007... inclusion can be stressful Nobody wants to live in a run-down area, so why do we expect vulnerable people to put up with them, asks Jennifer Harvey We all want to be green now, to cut carbon emissions, to live healthy, stress-free...

Secrets in the c are sector.(Features)
August 9, 2007... Discrimination among social care staff against people's sexual orientation is unexpected, and yet a recent report shows "stark evidence" that it occurs. Anabel Unity Sale discovers how some staff have been told they must keep their sexuality a...

Worthy target for a Wanless.(Features)(Sir Derek Wanless)
August 9, 2007... As demand for services for people with learning disabilities grows and suitable services fail to keep pace, a Wanless-style review of this area could prove useful, writes Heather Honour emands for a "Wanless" into future services for people...

Editorial Comment.(Editorial)
August 9, 2007... homophobia betrays ethos "Don't ask, don't tell" was the name of Bill Clinton's compromise policy allowing gay service personnel to stay in the military as long as they kept quiet about their sexuality. Judging from a new report from...

the forum readers' views.(News)(Letter to the editor)
August 9, 2007... It's not bad apples, it's bad barrels I read Lord Carlile's comments on staff's propensity to use violence in secure training centres (news, p7, 26 July) with some concern. His comments appear to imply that the use of restraint in such...

News.
August 9, 2007... Action on DEMENTIA - at last While the furore continues over the authenticity of the "death scene" in ITV's Malcolm and Barbara, a documentary about someone with Alzheimer's, the real story is being missed. Our health and social care...

Switching on to new media.(New Ideas in Practice)
August 9, 2007... Social networks aid fight against abuse n May, the NSPCC launched an eight-week communications campaign to encourage children and young people experiencing all forms of abuse to speak out. Using its dedicated website,...

Social workers left out of drugs training equation.(News Analysis)
August 9, 2007... A new government drugs strategy is on the way but there seems little recognition of the vital role of social care staff, reports Maria Ahmed As the government opens its consultation on the next drugs strategy due next March (news, p9, 2...

'Hackney frogmarched my children to their deaths'.(News)(forcible death blamed to London Borough of Hackney's social service system)
August 9, 2007... child protection simeon.brody@rbi.co.uk The father of two children killed by their mother has slammed Hackney children's services for enabling her to have unsupervised access to them after she was released from a psychiatric hospital....

News.
August 9, 2007... Buried report shows lack of help for child prisoners with history of abuse Almost half of social work posts in child prisons lie empty despite high need maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk sally.gillen@rbi.co.uk The Youth Justice Board has...

News.
August 9, 2007... p5custody - by Maria and Sally The Youth Justice Board has been accused of "burying" a report that shows up to nine out of ten child prisoners have been abused before they enter custody but do not get the help they need. The...

Drug misuse services for under-18s 'unacceptable'.(News)
August 9, 2007... young people maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk Variations in the quality and funding of specialist substance misuse services for young people in England are "unacceptable", according to an unpublished government review. The review by the...

News.
August 9, 2007... click-o-meter More than 100,000 people visit www.communitycare.co.uk every month. The top stories you read last week were: 1 Win an i-Pod in our summer photo competition. 2 John Hemming's attack on social work: you hit back. 3...

Lewis pledges to turn round lives of dementia patients.(News)(Ivan Lewis )
August 9, 2007... Minister bids to bring condition "out of the shadows" with first national strategy in England older people comcare.news@rbi.co.uk The lives of people with dementia will be transformed under a new government strategy, care services...

News.
August 9, 2007... play it again Deputy mayor of London Nicky Gavron join a group of African drummers at an event to mark the annual Playday - the national campaign to promote play for children. The drummers were among the entertainers at the event in Southwark,...

Rise in young adult prisoners prompts demand for action.(News)
August 9, 2007... simeon.brody@rbi.co.uk Criminal justice campaigners have called on the government to fill the policy "black hole" facing young adult offenders after government figures showed an 8% annual rise in the number held in custody. The number...

News.
August 9, 2007... p9quotes "The system I obeyed has frogmarched my children to their deaths." Gabriel Ogunkoya hits out at Hackney children's and mental health services in Hackney for allowing his ex-partner, who was diagnosed schizophrenic, to have...

Working Lives.
August 9, 2007... The stress test The stress test: where are you in the stress zone? Compiled by author and freelance trainer Ray Braithwaite Workplace stress is costing the economy [pounds sterling]3.8bn annually. Over five million workers feel...

Backchat.
August 9, 2007... social skirmishes From fire to flood, Rosie Warlock, a senior practitioner in children's social services, is back * So, I returned to work on Monday, fresh-faced (pink-faced might be more apt) from my two weeks with the kids in Greece....

The stress test.(Features)(Brief article)
August 9, 2007... Workplace stress is costing the economy [pounds sterling]3.8bn a year. More than five million workers feel very or extremely stressed by their work. And public sector workers feel it more than most: a recent survey of human resources managers...

Features.
August 9, 2007... There is little flesh yet on the bones of the government's recent announcement to spend [pounds sterling]60m over the next three years to support schools working with mental health practitioners. But there will be no shortage of advice from...

Reviews.
August 9, 2007... Raising school leaving age 'could give thousands a criminal record' Plans to force teenagers to stay in education or training until they are 18 could cause mass truancy and criminalise thousands of young people, a teachers' leader claimed...

Working Lives.
August 9, 2007... Stressbusting How to tame your 'to-do' list In the 1930s, the owner of a company called Charles Schwabb challenged a young man to find a way to double the productivity of his company, writes Elisabeth Wilson. The young man told...

Tame your 'to do' list.(Working Lives)
August 9, 2007... opopiopiopi. Elisabeth Wilson explains poipoiopiop Elisabeth Wilson is a counsellor and author of Stress-proof your life (Infinite Ideas, [pounds sterling]12.99). ends Back in the 1930s, the owner of a company called Charles...

Young carers say: 'Read all about us!e_SSRq.(Good Practice)
August 9, 2007... Norfolk-based young carers have a magazine that highlights their important role. Nina Jacobs reports on how their involvement is crucial to its success ara Purdy never dreamed she would one day see her articles in print....

Editorial Comment.(Editorial)
August 16, 2007... Tell us what music you would want to listen to if you were in a home or day centre in later life A* Win an i-pod in our summer photo competition A* Check out our new search facility - Zibb search A* Join in our...

Diary.
August 16, 2007... Monday Start work at the Refugee Support Group where I completed my last year's student placement. Am nervous as I assume it will be a different experience this time: don't think they will hold my hand just as much as they did then and am also...

playing the funding game.(Opinion Columns)
August 16, 2007... Most voluntary bodies rely on some public funding, but are they compromised when wooing large contributors? asks Simon Heng I've been involved with the voluntary sector for many years, as an employee, as a trustee, and eventually, in...

Assessing the suitability of new adoptive parents.(Proven Practice)
August 16, 2007... Each week the Social Care Institute for Excellence analyses research findings behind specific social work practices olitical initiatives in the UK have long encouraged the greater use of adoption as a solution to the care of children who...

Risk and older people.(Research Realities)
August 16, 2007... Bob Hudson looks at two studies that find social care professionals assess risk for older people on the basis of experience rather than evidence or theory The RESEARCH Title: Risk Management Paradigms in Health and Social Services for...

Editorial Comment.(Editorial)
August 16, 2007... More than 3.5 million older people have mental health problems and yet, according to a new inquiry report, few of them receive the support and treatment they need. Conditions such as depression, dementia and schizophrenia either go undiagnosed...

why the long delay?(Opinion Columns)
August 16, 2007... The lessons of Zahid Mubarek's murder surely indicate that the Corporate Manslaughter Act should apply immediately Now the Corporate Manslaughter Act has been passed, the government has finally conceded that a duty of care is owed to those...