Community Care articles from December 2002

Community Care archives from December 2002

only long-term work will succeed.
December 5, 2002... It is approaching 10 years since the Reed review tried to co-ordinate government policy for offenders with mental disorders. Jointly commissioned by the Home Office and the Department of Health, the review made more than 250 recommendations on...

letters.
December 5, 2002... Benefits of payments As professionals who are attempting to increase the uptake of direct payments among older people, we find it disappointing to read the comments in your article "The Right to Choose Wrongly" (21 November). The...

book reviews.
December 5, 2002... Rachel Wooller looks at how people with dementia can contribute to research while Karin Crawford explores risk The Perspectives of People with Dementia Edited by Heather Wilkinson, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, ISBN 1 84310 001 0,...

wrong remedy?
December 5, 2002... Will the government's plans for cross-charging alleviate the problem of delayed hospital discharges? Many social services and healthstaff doubt that the system will be effective, says lecturer Jon Glasby New Labour has frequently...

on Politics.
December 5, 2002... In the past "market failure" was cited by politicians to justify their intervention in economic life. The broad political consensus in support of the free market has reduced these interventions substantially over the past 20 years. Indeed, the...

Care delivery 'may go to volunteers'.
December 5, 2002... The voluntary sector could soon take over the delivery of all care packages to children, delegates were told last week. Rob Hutchinson, director of social services at Portsmouth Council, said the shortage of local authority child care...

Child migrant list switches to DoH.
December 5, 2002... The Department of Health is to take over responsibility for the Child Migrant Central Information Index set up by the NCVCCO. There have been more than 870 enquiries since the list was set up in April 1999 to help former British child...

Blueprint for children's services will set objectives for councils to achieve.
December 5, 2002... The new government strategy to shape children's social services will focus on setting aspirational outcomes for councils to achieve, a senior civil servant said last week. Sue Lewis, deputy director of the children and young people's unit...

time to take a stand.
December 5, 2002... The government has announced a review of residential treatment for sex offenders. But will it have the courage to put together a strategy that can stand up to the inevitable media barrage, asks author and former BBC broadcaster Jon...

education; Can mainstream schools cope with children who have special needs?
December 5, 2002... Sally Gillen reports on the Audit Commission's claim that children with special educational needs and disabilities are being let down by school league tables and a lack of training For those who had long campaigned for greater inclusion of...

change of a lifetime.
December 5, 2002... is going to local authorities and people are going to have to work together to determine how the money is going to be used based on their local strategy...But it must go on children's mental health care and not on anything else." He added...

local government; Directors greet new council autonomy.
December 5, 2002... The Association of Directors of Social Services has given a cautious welcome to the freedoms and flexibilities for local government announced last week. All councils are to benefit from greater control over how they spend their money and...

mental health; 'Fear' driving leap in detention numbers.
December 5, 2002... The sharp rise in the number of people being detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 shows services are "driven by fear", mental health groups warned last week. Department of Health figures reveal that the number of men detained under...

criminal justice; 'Jail conditions for young must change'.
December 5, 2002... The Social Services Inspectorate has pledged to improve the conditions of young people in the criminal justice system. SSI chief inspector, Denise Platt, said Safeguarding Children, a joint report by eight inspectorates including the SSI...

mental health; Scots bill 'excludes children's needs'.
December 5, 2002... Charities have hit out at the Mental Health (Scotland) Bill accusing it of failing to address the needs of children. Eddie Follan, policy officer for Children In Scotland, said the organisation had been lobbying for age-appropriate services...

children by alex dobson; Commissioner blasts child poverty in Wales as a 'national disgrace'.
December 5, 2002... strategy. Although it can be argued that the national assembly does not have the power over some of the major policy weapons to combat poverty, this does not mean that there is nothing we can do." Clarke's report continues:"An anti-poverty...

child protection; Siblings win payout for years of neglect.
December 5, 2002... The European Court of Human Rights has ordered that three Scottish sisters and their brother receive a payout totalling pound sterling57,000, following neglect by social workers. The court ruled that the family from Dumfries suffered...

training; Student's exam woe might end in court.
December 5, 2002... A social work student is threatening legal action against his university over its refusal to allow him to retake an examination. After completing the two-year Diploma in Social Work course at University College Chichester, West Sussex, Gary...

education; League tables harm special needs.
December 5, 2002... Many schools are rejecting children with special educational needs and disabilities because they fear they will bring down their performance and affect their place in the league tables, according to an Audit Commission report. The report...

disabilities; Older people with sight loss 'isolated'.
December 5, 2002... The needs of older people who have late onset sight loss are not being met, according to a new study. The research, carried out on behalf of independent housing and care provider Thomas Pocklington Trust, finds that many older people with...

young people by amy taylor; Barnardo's slates runaways study for failing to tackle sexual exploitation.
December 5, 2002... Children's charity Barnardo's has criticised the absence of specific recommendations on the risk of sexual exploitation in a new report on helping young runaways. Although the children's charity broadly welcomed the report, it has warned...

www.communitycare.co.uk.
December 5, 2002... For a daily information service go to Community Care's website. A special report on child poverty and poor housing in England and Wales - available from Friday. News as it breaks reported from England, Scotland and Wales. A searchable...

funding by lauren revans; Public spending boost brings cheers from Unison and children's charities.
December 5, 2002... Public sector union Unison has welcomed the chancellor's decision to increase borrowing rather than renege on public service investment plans. Delivering his annual pre-budget report to the House of Commons last week, Gordon Brown...

social care; More schizophrenia guidance urged.
December 5, 2002... Social care advice should be included in guidance on how to treat schizophrenia, mental health charity Rethink said last week. The charity cautiously welcomed the guidelines published this week by the National Institute for Clinical...

policy; Children's trust pilot plans revealed.
December 5, 2002... The Department of Health is planning to pilot children's trusts in 14 local authorities, Community Care has learned. Details of the functions the DoH expects the trusts to perform, and accompanying standards, are to be included in a...

carers; Commons motion backs carers' rights.
December 5, 2002... MPs including shadow minister for work and pensions Oliver Heald tabled an Early Day Motion in support of carers this week, to highlight the need for more respite care. The motion, to mark Carers' Rights Day, followed a debate in...

children by clare jerrom; High Court ruling extends Children Act protection to young offenders.
December 5, 2002... The High Court ruled last week that children in young offenders institutions are entitled to the same welfare safeguards as other children. The ruling came after the Howard League for Penal Reform successfully challenged the Home Office...

residential care; Lottery over billing spouses for care.
December 5, 2002... Apostcode lottery has emerged on billing spouses for the residential care of their partner. Research by King's College London shows that one in three councils have a policy to pursue spouses for payments and contributions, while the rest...

Learning difficulties; Guidance needed on mental health.
December 5, 2002... Doctors need guidance on how to refer people with learning difficulties to appropriate mental health services, a GP urged this week. Speaking at the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities conference on meeting the mental health...

Behind the headlines.
December 5, 2002... Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news The question whether social workers - and social care workers more widely - should have a stronger presence on the national stage was raised again at the recent Social Work History Network...

children by Derren Hayes; External placements for looked-after children lead to budget overspends.
December 5, 2002... and lacked co-ordination and integration. After analysing files, inspectors had concerns about child protection issues in 12 per cent of cases, double the number from the previous inspection programme. Most councils were poor at...

news in brief.
December 5, 2002... l The Department for International Development has awarded disability experts at De Montfort University a pound sterling500,000 contract to provide disability equality training in Russia and Mozambique. Sex and relationship education...

HOMElessNESS; Charities highlight plight of children.
December 5, 2002... More than 100,000 children and up to 81,250 families are homeless, according to a new survey by homeless charity Shelter and the End Child Poverty Campaign. Under New Labour, the number of families in England living in temporary...

disabilities; Transport talks thrown off track.
December 5, 2002... A woman in a wheelchair on her way to talk to rail bosses about policies for disabled people last week missed the meeting after being sent on a two-hour train journey to change platforms. When Ann Bates, a member of the Rail Passengers...

readers' views; Child protection voted top priority.
December 5, 2002... Child protection should be one of the four key priorities in the new national policing plan, according to 85 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website. This week's question asks: Is pound sterling100m a year from the government...

an enlightened ruling.
December 5, 2002... The landmark legal ruling that the Children Act 1989 applies to children under 18 held in young offenders institutions has to be welcomed because it is not only an enlightened move but also common sense. We know children held in custodial...

keep up the momentum.
December 5, 2002... As we come to the end of our Changing Minds campaign, we are delighted to say that we and our readers have done just that: we changed minds. Our campaign petition, which collected more than 5,000 signatures, was presented this week to health...

news in brief.
December 5, 2002... l Local government employers and unions have agreed terms of reference for the new commission to look at pay and rewards for local government services staff. Establishing the commission was one of the key proposals made by Acas as part of the...

young offenders; Brothers receive 'indefinite' orders.
December 5, 2002... Indefinite antisocial behaviour orders have been awarded for the first time to three brothers from Dartford, in Kent. Damien, 17, Daniel, 15, and 14-year-old Darren Brown were issued with the orders by Dartford Magistrates' Court. The...

McTernan.
December 5, 2002... on Politics

drugs; Home Office backs heroin prescriptions.
December 5, 2002... All drug misusers who would benefit from a regulated supply of heroin are to be prescribed it under the Home Office's updated drugs strategy. Currently, between 300 and 480 people receive heroin treatment each year. This is to be extended...

workforce; Tribunal upholds Cardiff dismissal.
December 5, 2002... The social worker at the centre of a controversy over whistleblowing has lost his case for unfair dismissal. Cardiff Council has always maintained that Charles Faber was sacked because of financial mismanagement and not for whistleblowing...

delayed discharges by katie leason; Extra cash to prevent bed-blocking fails to stem social care anger at bill.
December 5, 2002... Social services are set to receive an extra pound sterling300m over the next three years to tackle bed-blocking. Health secretary Alan Milburn announced the additional money last week during the second reading of the Community Care (Delayed...

youth pay the price for adult failings.
December 5, 2002... It is breathtaking that we should even need Mr Justice Munby's judgment that the Children Act 1989 applies to children in prison service establishments. It is a disgrace that a government which constantly mouths, "modernisation" with all the...

Behind the headlines.
December 5, 2002... Phil Frampton, national chairperson, Care Leavers Association "No one should be surprised that the prisons are overcrowded. The government has abandoned serious attempts at improving the lot of young people and has instead gone in for...

one day at a time.
December 5, 2002... First of all I will introduce myself. My name is Parveen Chowdhury. I was born in Bangladesh in 1962. I came to England when I was five years old. In 1973 I went back to Bangladesh with my mum - she was ill with typhoid and had been advised to...

keep on taking the pills.
December 5, 2002... Strictly one should not use the words because they belong to manic depression, but schizophrenia has its own ups and downs, in and outs, highways and byways. "In" because so many people are caring and concerned, "out" because an individual...

proceed with caution.
December 5, 2002... Our multidisciplinary panel considers the case of a disabled man in care whose sister is determined to look after him in her home CASE study Situation: Peter Rogerson is 73 years old. He had been living in his own home with his...

events.
December 5, 2002... l 9 December Meeting the needs of very young disabled children National Children's Bureau London 020 7843 6042 9 December Working with people who self-harm: psychodynamic approaches Respond London 0207...

on the rights side.
December 5, 2002... Immigration can lead to a shake up of values. But support for human rights should stop practices, such as hitting children, which are explained as part of a people's culture, writes Yasmin Alibhai Brown One of the hardest consequences of...

information please.
December 5, 2002... l Projects in the UK supporting children and parents during transition from primary to secondary school. Julie Shepherd Trust for the Study of Adolescence 23 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1WZ Tel: 01273 693311 or e-mail...

child protection; Damning report could be trigger for change for Scottish child protection.
December 5, 2002... A Scottish executive report has revealed how children are being failed by poor information sharing by agencies. So what has to change, asks Anabel Unity Sale The findings of the Scottish executive's report into child protection make for...

Dishing up know-how.
December 5, 2002... Interagency teamwork in Rotherham has helped older residents with mobility problems to get to grips with the internet, empowering them to improve their diet and to shop online. In the first of our series on Community Care Awards...

protection on the agenda.
December 5, 2002... Initially denied, allegations of abuse at Islamic schools have prompted a war of words between two politicians. Now there are signs that the mosques are stepping up their child protection procedures. Sally Gillen reports of the area...

boom turns to bust.
December 5, 2002... Background Ireland has a population of 3.8 million and covers 70,280 sq km - less than a third of the size of the UK. Social care and health services are the responsibility of the Department of Health and Children, set up in 1997....

diary.
December 5, 2002... This week's writer is a voluntary sector social worker planning to move jobs Monday Having decided to change jobs, I view with trepidation the drawers full of articles torn from journals and magazines, along with memo slips saying...

research into practice.
December 5, 2002... Graham Hopkins looks at the importance attached to service users' views when assertive outreach practice is evaluated How do social care workers know whether they are doing a good job? The obvious but not necessarily well-worn answer is to...

beacon of hope.
December 5, 2002... An innovative mental health project in the East Midlands is engaging young people who are homeless, have offended or who are looked after, and has become a beacon NHSservice. Graham Hopkins reports While recognition of the importance of the...

diagnostic difficulties.
December 5, 2002... A new study has revealed that the disproportionately high number of young people with learning difficulties who also develop mental health problems are not having their illness diagnosed. Anabel Unity Sale reports, in our final campaign...

book reviews.
December 12, 2002... Julia Tugendhat on promoting responsibility among young people and Anthony Douglas on a cathartic autobiography BYLINE: Contentious Issues Marianna Csoti, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, [pounds sterling]18.95, ISBN 1 84310 033 ...

present and correct.
December 12, 2002... For some managers giving a presentation is meat and drink, for others it's no picnic. Christine Doorly, Sheena Doyle and Kathryn Stone turn the flipchart to offer some practical tips If asked to give a presentation, do not be so flattered...

the onus is on adults.
December 12, 2002... The Stop It Now! campaign and helpline provides a route for potential child abusers to seek help before they offend. Terry Philpot reports It is perhaps unfortunate that the title of The Lucy Faithfull Foundation's campaign, Stop It Now!...

half way there.
December 12, 2002... It is mistaken to think that intermediate care has to mean a care home, says housing association chief John Gatward, who argues that very sheltered accommodation is a better option The provision of intermediate care services is a central...

all-round friends.
December 12, 2002... Looked-after children in the UK are grossly disadvantaged. Compared with their peers, they come off worse in terms of health care, juvenile offence rates, educational achievement, employment and homelessness. Work in the UK on improving the...

famous and eligible.
December 12, 2002... Despite the disclaimer at the bottom of my column, my desk is festooned with letters seeking advice from social services staff and the public. Here are a few that I have received. Q. I was accused of theft from my previous employer, but was...

research into practice.
December 12, 2002... How aware are councils of the contribution of black women's groups in the voluntary sector? Gaynor Wingham reports on a recent study Black women's voluntary sector organisations have the ability to release benefits to black families, black...

picking up the pieces.
December 12, 2002... Alcohol and drug use by parents is causing harm to children on an alarming scale and gaps in policy and practice are hindering the response of services, a new study by researchers Donald Forrester and Judith Harwin has found ...

no substitute for continuity.
December 19, 2002... viewpoint Judy Weleminsky argues that continuity of care of vulnerable children is vital and can best be provided by a guardian The real protectors of children, and the promoters of their welfare in "good" families, are their parents. This...

Government considers joint working teams to improve care for children.
December 19, 2002... The government is looking at setting up dedicated children's teams working across all relevant departments as part of its new strategy for children at risk. As well as setting standards for the care of vulnerable children, the strategy,...

a comprehensive mess.
December 19, 2002... Nothing better illustrates the silliness of the comprehensive performance assessment than the cases of Hull and Coventry. The CPA is supposed to tell local people how their council is performing by rating it as excellent, good, fair, weak or...

the road to recovery.
December 19, 2002... this life A period of mental illness can actually turn out to be part of a beneficial cycle, says Chris Whitehouse Far from being a complete phenomenon in human experience, "mental illness" may be a name we have given to just a part of a...

looking for closure.
December 19, 2002... Closing care homes can be a minefield, both in terms of the distress caused to residents and staff and the legal issues involved. But home owners can minimise these problems by careful planning and consultation, writes Rosemary Hart ...

asylum seekers; Refugee housing policy is 'confused'.
December 19, 2002... The government should establish detailed settlement plans that recognise the different stages of refugee housing need, a new report by the Housing Associations' Charitable Trust has urged. The study on housing and community development...

education; Social skills lag behind exam results.
December 19, 2002... More must be done to ensure all pupils benefit from improvements in Scotland's schools, the Inspectorate of Education warns in its report on inclusion in education. The report says achievement goes beyond success in examinations and tests,...

double the drama.
December 19, 2002... Staff working with people with both drug use and mental health problems often feel ill-equipped, but now an innovative workshop created by an east London theatre company is helping staff empathise with their clients, writes Alison Miller in the...

Youth justice; More cash needed to reduce offending.
December 19, 2002... The Youth Justice Board's push for child and adolescent mental health services to help reduce offending rates will only be achieved by increasing funding, a leading psychiatrist has warned. Dr Lynne Daly, consultant adolescent forensic...

fostering discontent.
December 19, 2002... The government is in the midst of a major review of foster care arrangements. But it is keeping very quiet about it. Ruth Winchester finds out what carers will be looking for from the review lation, and almost no publicity at all. This is a...

youth offenders; Young people 'live in fear of attack'.
December 19, 2002... Fifty per cent of neighbourhood crime is committed by young people, the chief executive of Crime Concern told a youth crime conference last week. Nigel Whiskin said about 70 per cent of police evening work involves youth nuisance and youth...

Rise in mental health issues at school unit.
December 19, 2002... The number of young people presenting mental health problems at a school clinic has risen sharply in the past two years. Andrew Havercroft, a GP in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, said that since 2000 the level of under-16s attending the...

Child sex internet warning.
December 19, 2002... Police investigations into users of child pornography websites could have major implications for the vetting of carers, the former president of the Association of Directors of Social Services warned. Mike Leadbetter said the scale of the...

social inclusion; Public order issues at the heart of community cohesion plans.
December 19, 2002... Guidance to promote community cohesion focuses on reducing racial tension. But there are fears that it is neglecting the needs of other social groups. Sally Gillen reports Launching Community Cohesion: Building Communities based on Trust...

education by Amy Taylor; Plans to let head teachers issue fines to parents of truants are 'dangerous'.
December 19, 2002... Head teachers could be placed in a compromising position under government plans to give them powers to fine parents who ignore or condone truancy, a senior trade union official has warned. John Bangs, head of the National Union of Teachers'...

big apple therapy.
December 19, 2002... letter from new york Every New Yorker thinks he or she needs therapy. Allen Y Wood says through innovations such as The Psyche-Deli the food industry aims to bring new meaning to the phrase "couch potatoes" You may have read of the...

disability; Keep child care at school, parents say.
December 19, 2002... Four in five parents of disabled children are in favour of child care based around schools, according to an unpublished survey of more than 1,000 families conducted by the Council of Disabled Children. The findings reinforce the...