Community Care articles from December 2003

Community Care archives from December 2003

Link no; longer missing.(Community Care Awards 2003)(North Staffordshire Carers Association)
December 4, 2003... In the second in a series of articles on Community Care Awards 2003 winners, Alison Miller reports on the carers category winner, the unique Carers' Link Project "Carers are a difficult group to reach out to, but their needs are often...

Appropriate acts need to be backed.(legal systems)
December 4, 2003... viewpoint Vulnerable people involved in the legal system need much better support and advocacy, writes Leslie Carr The role of appropriate adult is not given enough recognition either inside or outside social services. It is seen as low...

Women take the lead.(Russia's Women's League Initiative)
December 4, 2003... letter from saratov, russia The erosion of government social welfare provision for older people has led to a greater dependence upon the voluntary sector to provide information and support, says Olga Boiko By 2005 it is estimated that...

Parents as pupils.(training)
December 4, 2003... The government has now recognised the need forbetter parenting services, but one county is way ahead of the field. Graham Hopkinsvisits Essex The relationship between the state and parenting in the UK can at times be awkward, confusing and...

The Italian job.(social co-operative movement)
December 4, 2003... In Italy the rapidly growing social co-operative movement is creating jobs and offering accommodation for the socially excluded - an approach to provision which is being eagerly taken up across Europe. Paul Gosling reports Italy's...

Memory banks.(project information)
December 4, 2003... A Liverpool museum is turning the memories of older people into a resource and a social care programme with outreach projects and activities. Des Kelly takes a stroll through time "The mind never takes photographs, it paints pictures." A...

Care homes; MPs back a review of stamp duty.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... MPs have backed a campaign calling on the government to review new laws on stamp duty paid by children's care home providers. Several have written to government ministers urging them to re-examine the laws, which have just been passed in...

Cash for carers.(child care benefits)
December 4, 2003... New research backs the case for the payment of carers who are the friends or family of the young person, argue the Family Rights Group's Alison Richards and Robert Tapsfield Relatives or friends who have to take over the full-time,...

Recovery service for young victims.(victim support)
December 4, 2003... Young people's experience of crime is markedly different from that of adults and many are reluctant to open up. Researcher Peter Dunn looks at how Victim Support is trying to change that Fifteen-year old Jade Butcher* was on her way...

ritalin nation.(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
December 4, 2003... Many children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder rely heavily on powerful drugs to see them through. But are doctors prescribing medication without considering an alternative? Katie Leason reports Andrea Bilbow says her...

Heading for another crash?(sharing information on children's services)
December 4, 2003... Westminster is expecting councils to build databases on local children which professionals from various services can access. But can they cope with this huge task? Lindsay Clark reports Sharing information is key to the government's...

Delayed discharge; Caution urged over fall in bed-blocking.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Delayed discharge figures are falling but there are concerns that bed blockages are being shifted around the system, the deputy director of the Department of Health's Change Agent Team has admitted. In August there were about 4,000 delayed...

Green paper; 'No new funding for lead professional'.(disabled children)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... The government has said that no new funding will be provided for the role of lead professional. Speaking at a conference on services for disabled children last week, minister for Sure Start and special educational needs Cathy Ashton said...

health by Sally Gillen; Lack of child protection indicators in GPs' new contracts triggers concern.
December 4, 2003... Fears have been raised that child protection's absence from GPs' new contracts will mean that it will remain a relatively low priority among health professionals. Delegates at a conference on child protection and health professionals,...

workforce; Glasgow guilty of race discrimination.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... AGlasgow Council social work manager has been awarded [pounds sterling]49,000 after an employment tribunal ruled that he had been the victim of racial discrimination. Clarence Bvunzai, 54, from Zimbabwe, argued that he had been passed over...

legislation; Queen's Speech leaves gaps in law but a chance to strike right balance.
December 4, 2003... Groups representing people with learning difficulties and mental health issues have given the parliamentary programme a mixed reaction. Derren Hayes reports The Queen's Speech was supposed to be a landmark day for people with learning...

employment; Return to work schemes 'confusing'.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... The number of initiatives to help job seekers back into work is too confusing and complex, according to a report from the Social Security Advisory Committee. Jobcentre Plus is singled out as one of the report's main concerns. It says that...

mental health; Psychiatric hospital 'waiting list' fears.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Thousands of mentally ill people are locked up in prison, many of whom have been sectioned and are awaiting transfer to a psychiatric hospital, the commissioner for correctional services admitted last week. Martin Narey warned delegates at...

Public order; Teenager on conduct order found dead.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... An 18 year old who was given an indefinite antisocial behaviour order last December was found dead at his mother's home last week. Damien Brown, who along with brothers Daniel and Darren became the first people to be handed lifetime Asbos,...

Workforce; Skills drive only dents vacancy rates.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Councils' efforts to train more social workers have only contributed to a 1.5 per cent fall in the vacancy rate, figures from the Social Care and Health Workforce Group have shown. Spending by councils on training social workers went up...

Disabilities; Targets needed to tackle inequalities.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... The government should set explicit targets to tackle inequality between disabled and non-disabled children or risk an increase in the levels of family breakdown, the Disability Rights Commission warned last week. The DRC also said there...

Young people; Councils fail to fulfil runaways guidance.(Children's Society study )(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Half of local authorities in England do not have policies to protect young runaways a year after guidelines were issued, a study shows. The Children's Society found that about half of the 91 councils that responded were unable or unwilling...

Legislation by Derren Hayes; Green paper inspires bill to protect children but the jury is out on trusts.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... education officer and social services director roles to create children's services directors with statutory responsibility for all children's education and social services. It will also legislate for councils to appoint a lead member for...

asylum seekers; Fury over handling of top support post.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... The government has been slammed for filling a top post at the National Asylum Support Service (Nass) with a member of an independent team that was still reviewing the body. Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesperson, said...

workforce; Agency staff subject to new vetting rules.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... New safeguards to vet agency staff working with vulnerable children and adults have been announced by the government. Under the new rules, agencies supplying temporary staff to work with children, older people and disabled people will be...

asylum seekers; Shake-up in law to include tagging.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Electronic tagging will monitor asylum seekers as an alternative to detention. The proposal is outlined in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Bill, which was published last week. If enacted, the bill will also make...

children; Emphasis on school results leaves children with needs on periphery.
December 4, 2003... Although there are moves to base planning and delivery of children's services around schools, Sarah Wellard reports that there is still a lack of inclusiveness for many children For most children, school is their community. Yet too often...

mental health; Inquiry into killer's release from unit.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Anthony Hardy, who murdered three prostitutes last year, was released from a psychiatric unit in north London less than two months before he murdered two of his victims. It is believed that the mental health act review panel that examined...

Exclusive by Clare Jerrom; Children at Stoke Heath stripped and locked in cells without light or toilet.
December 4, 2003... Children displaying disruptive behaviour in Stoke Heath Young Offenders' Institution in Shropshire are being stripped naked and locked in small cells with no light, furniture or toilet for days at a time, Community Care has learned. Martin...

mental health; Registers proposal 'needs clarification'.(Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Local registers of people with severe mental illnesses proposed in the new GP contract need further clarification, it has been warned. The registers would be similar to those set up for other conditions such as diabetes and asthma. They...

older people; Scooters offer to Christmas shoppers.(Gowrings Mobility lends mobile wheelchairs)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Care home residents in southern England will be able to go Christmas shopping on mobility scooters provided free this year. Gowrings Mobility, a supplier of wheelchair passenger vehicles based in Berkshire, is lending new mobility scooters...

Legislation; Parental loophole on murder closed.(familial homicide)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... A legal loophole which allows parents co-accused of their child's murder to escape punishment by remaining silent or blaming each other is to be closed. The move is contained in the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill published this...

readers' views; Opinion divided on asylum proposals.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Fifty-four per cent of visitors to Community Care's website believe that the government's threat to take the children of failed asylum seekers into care will not make them more likely to leave the country. This week's question asks: "Will...

regeneration; Volunteers suffer blow on pay hopes.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Pay for residents involved in regenerating their communities will not be considered by the government in the "foreseeable future", a civil servant confirmed this week. Gill Taylor, of the Department for Work and Pensions, told delegates at...

echoes of punitive past.(Editorial)
December 4, 2003... Talk of progress is one thing, achieving it quite another. There is no better example than the government's policy on youth justice, where youth offending teams have been briefed to reduce the numbers of young people sent to prison and...

children's services; Partnerships 'should be a legal necessity'.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Social care sector coalition Inter-Agency Group wants all statutory organisations to have a duty to take part in partnership working across children's services. In its submission to the children's green paper consultation, the IAG said...

assault on violence.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Violence against women and children is blighting our society. Two women die every week as a result of domestic violence and it accounts for a quarter of all violent crime. Vulnerable men, women and children suffer at the hands of the...

nick or treat?(drug and alcohol usage by youth)
December 4, 2003... Pilot schemes will direct arrested young people who use drugs and alcohol to treatment programmes in thehope it will break the relationship between their use of substances and their behaviour, says Kendra Inman For young people who commit...

McTernan.(Labour Party Big Conversation)(Column)
December 4, 2003... Tony Blair wants our ideas for Labour's hoped for third term. It's good to talk Tony Blair has launched a Big Conversation with the British public. The prime minister who famously proclaimed that he had no "reverse gear" has now signalled...

standards; Hutt avoids using sanctions on Cardiff.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Welsh health minister Jane Hutt came within one vote of being ordered to impose statutory directions on Cardiff Council last week following two critical inspection reports on its social services for children and young people. During an...

older people; Edinburgh may end care home choice.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Older people in Edinburgh may lose the right to choose their care home if plans to tackle delayed discharge are given the go ahead. Under proposals drawn up by Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian, older people waiting to be discharged from...

disabilities; 'After-school clubs need transport'.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Many disabled children are missing out on after-school activities because councils are failing to provide them with transport home, a leading disability campaigner warned last week. Speaking at a conference on services for disabled...

workforce; Records check fee increase attacked.(Criminal Records Bureau)(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... Voluntary groups, politicians and care homes have hit out at the government's announcement that the Criminal Records Bureau is to raise its fees for the second time in less than a year. From next April, the cost of applying for a standard...

learning difficulties by janet snell; Minister demands health authorities speed up long stay hospital closures.(Brief Article)
December 4, 2003... C ommunity care minister Stephen Ladyman has accused strategic health authorities of dragging their feet on plans to close long-stay hospitals for people with learning difficulties. Speaking at the Learning Disability Today conference in...

blunkett's policy may ruin children's lives.
December 4, 2003... Yvonne roberts Asylum seekers' contribution to society is being ignored in the pursuit for tougher sanctions "I am not King Herod," home secretary David Blunkett insists, desperately trying to inject as many "ifs" and "buts" and "last...

learning difficulties by katie leason; MPs and lords call on government to introduce new incapacity legislation.
December 4, 2003... The government has been urged to press ahead with mental incapacity legislation, despite it not appearing in last week's Queen's Speech. MPs and lords said that they would be "extremely disappointed" if the government did not give the...

'WHat can i tell others?'.(Diana Ford, a gay woman)
December 4, 2003... this life Diana Ford was born a boy but knew she was female. Here she retells her struggle for gender transition I am a woman who has the word "boy" on my birth certificate. I really could not do anything about this until nearly four years...

cash can cure you.(poverty, depression)
December 4, 2003... Poverty lies behind so much depression and mental illness, writes Bob Holman, that only a concerted effort to fight inequality coupled with skilled counselling by social workers can tackle it Explanations of depression are varied and...

Is mental health the key issue?(juvenile delinquents)
December 4, 2003... Young people who offend are more likely to experience mental health problems. Once locked up, they are further than ever from the treatment they need. Clare Jerrom reports Sixteen-year-old Joseph Scholes was nine days into his...

Tag of war.(juvenile offenders)
December 4, 2003... A bewildering array of sentences is now open to youth courts. And it appears to be the more punitive options that are the least effective and most costly, writes Mark Hunter With 14 different community sentences in existence in England and...

targeting teenagers.(juvenile justice system)
December 4, 2003... In opposition Labour said imprisoning children should be avoided. In power they have locked up record numbers of teenagers. Ruth Winchester asks whether the government's punitive policies are simply driven by tabloid hysteria? What can be...

culture of safety.(Column)
December 11, 2003... In the third in a series of articles on Community Care Awards 2003 winners, Sarah Bartlett reports on the child protection category winner, the Madressah Project Bridging the gap between cultures can be difficult. Add sensitive issues such...

In mental health time is the healer.
December 11, 2003... How can the mental health needs of looked-after young people be better identified and treated? I have heard young people in a children's home say that it's "not cool" to be involved with mental health services or that "the mental health...

'Cultural expert role is harming ethnic minority staff and clients'.(Transcript)
December 11, 2003... Institutional racism and the stereotyping of ethnic minority social workers as cultural experts could have been a factor in the death of Victoria Climbie, the director of anti-racism body the REU has said. Ratna Dutt said institutional...

I refused to give up.
December 11, 2003... When my son Robbie died two and a half years ago in the horrendous way that he did, I didn't believe I could survive the experience (This Life, 20 November). I most certainly could not believe that I would ever be happy again. I haven't...

no claim, no gain.(council tax benefit)
December 11, 2003... Recently, council tax levels have featured heavily in the press. There are some indications of a national "non-payment" campaign being organised, with pensioner groups to the forefront. Kent Council, before being warned off by its lawyers, even...

children; Connexions needs to help young refugees.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Connexions personal advisers need to do outreach work in local communities to ensure they reach young asylum seekers and refugees, new guidance advises. The guidance, aimed at helping Connexions partnerships and partner agencies to deliver...

children by Derren Hayes; Green paper strategy is 'tokenistic' in dealing with young people's views.(United Kingdom. Barnardo's Bureau)(United Kindom. Children and Young People's Unit)
December 11, 2003... The government is in danger of taking a tokenistic approach towards involving children and young people in shaping policy, children's charities have warned. As the deadline for responses to the children's green paper passed last week, both...

charity starts at home.(Home-Start)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 11, 2003... CASE STUDY Tanya Webster* lives alone with her three children: Martin*, 10, Lesley*, seven, and Ian*, three. Ian has, among other disorders, chronic chest and respiratory problems, a large head, global development delay and hypotomia...

power to the people.(Empowerment of service users)
December 11, 2003... We all feel we should "empower" service users, but our attempts are often tokenistic. John Belcher, Sheena Doyle, Claire Smart and Kathryn Stone suggest how to encourage creativity Walk into any office or meeting today and you are likely to...

after ; the ; chalk ; dust ; settles.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Brid Featherstone is NSPCC reader in applied childhood studies, University of Huddersfield, b.m.featherstone@hud.ac.uk Martin Manby is director of the Nationwide Children's Research Centre, m.manby@hud.ac.uk References 1 B...

Workforce; Transferred staff to get pension option.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Hertfordshire Council has delayed transferring its mental health staff to the NHS following a proposed change to the local government pension scheme. Most of the 250 mental health workers were due to transfer to Hertfordshire Partnership...

consumer; society.(binge drinking)
December 11, 2003... Research shows that teenage Britons don't have a drink, they have several. Alcohol worker Miles Couchman wonders whether the government's strategy to reduce intake will make much difference if support services are few Whether it...

what do ; we know?(Social Care Institute for Excellence)
December 11, 2003... "Better knowledge for better practice" is the credo of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (Scie). But what do we mean by knowledge? In 2002, Scie commissioned a project to explore the published social care knowledge base. The project's...

children in care; Rise in adoptions may have peaked.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Government policies to increase the number of adoptions may be neither desirable nor achievable, a study commissioned by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (Scie) has found. Scie's knowledge review of research into foster care...

Too Much Information?(adoption regulations)
December 11, 2003... New adoption regulations put the onus on councils to provide "warts and all" background details of children to prospective adopters. But will this mean a much reduced pool of people willing to adopt? Anabel Unity Sale reports It never...

pat rescue.(Performance action teams)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 11, 2003... Teams of management consultants were sent into failing social services departments last year. What effect have they had and were they worth the money, asks Ruth Winchester Remember the scene in Superman where Lois Lane's helicopter crashes...

primary care; New contracts could see GPs opt out of services to social care clients.(National Association of General Practitioners Co-operatives)(National Health Service)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 11, 2003... Health managers feel that GPs are being asked to do too much. So new contracts could well see more peripheral service users losing out. Clare Jerrom reports While the new GP contract has been heralded as "the most ambitious attempt to...

legislation; February date for softer children's bill.(Association of Directors of Social Services)(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... The children's bill and its regulations and guidance are expected to be published in February, Community Care understands. It is likely that the plans for the development of children's trusts will be softened, with the removal of the 2006...

Green paper is key to better casework.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... The director of the Bridge Child Care Development Service said the challenge of the children's green paper was not the structural changes but "how it makes a difference at casework level." Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent told delegates that the green...

supporting people; Providers 'fighting' over funding shares.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Uncertainties surrounding the Supporting People funding pot and delays in making up-to-date payments are leaving service providers with a financial shortfall, the chief executive of a housing association has warned. Speaking at a...

limited shock value.
December 11, 2003... The public does not believe that one in three people in the UK lives in poverty, so Barnardo's latest eye-catching awareness campaign will succeed in shocking, but not persuading, argues Lisa Harker No one, especially someone who mostly...

residential care by natasha salari and maggie wood; Charities and consumers' watchdog urge probe into care homes market.
December 11, 2003... The Consumers' Association and a coalition of 28 charities have complained to the Office of Fair Trading about the "dysfunctional" care home market. Represented by the umbrella organisation Social Policy Ageing Information Network (Spain),...

children; Government orders out Cafcass board.(Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... The board of the crisis-hit Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has been ordered to resign by the government. An independent review led to the demand from lord chancellor Lord Falconer, and steps have already been taken...

carers; Low benefits take-up is barrier to a better quality of life for carers.
December 11, 2003... Lack of awareness of carers' rights among professionals, the public and carers themselves has stalled progress on eradicating a "gap in the system". Amy Taylor reports The third annual Carers' Rights Day comes at a time when new research...

older people; Law on 'familial homicide' hailed.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... A charity which has spent a year lobbying the government for legislation to protect older people at risk of abuse has welcomed moves to tighten the law. The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill includes the creation of an offence of...

disabilities by amy taylor; Call for draft bill to include an end to exemption for accessing transport.(British Council of Disabled People)
December 11, 2003... Disability campaigners have expressed dismay at the failure of the draft disability bill to set a deadline for making public transport, including coaches and trains, accessible to disabled people. Although the draft bill gives the transport...

workforce; Social workers likely to lead joint teams.(United Kingdom. General Social Care Council)(Opinions on green paper)(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Fears that social work might become dominated by health and education professionals once the children's green paper is implemented have been dismissed by the chief executive of the General Social Care Council. Lynne Berry told delegates at...

young people; Connexions 'failing to address needs'.(Connexions)(Institute for Public Policy Research)(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... The Connexions service is too focused on education and work at the expense of social and emotional support, a leading think-tank has warned this week. A report from the Institute for Public Policy Research states that Connexions has failed...

youth justice; Racist comments are 'commonplace'.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Flaws in the Prison Service's complaints procedures are causing young black prisoners to suffer racism in silence, research from the charity the Children's Society has found. The majority of black teenagers in custody interviewed for the...

substance abuse; Minister says war on drugs is slipping.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... The battle against drugs is being lost by government, the regeneration and housing minister has admitted. Yvette Cooper said that, despite the progress made in areas such as teenage pregnancy, solutions to drugs problems in many poor areas...

joint working; BT clinches deal for care record service.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... BT has won the 10-year, [pounds sterling]620m contract to set up and run the electronic care record service designed to revolutionise health and social care information. By 2010 every NHS patient in England will have an electronic care...

workforce; Strike ultimatum at Manchester trust.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... Staff at one of the first care trusts will go ahead with a strike ballot if managers fail to come up with a plan to end "intolerable" conditions in the wards. Bosses at Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust averted a ballot last...

readers' views; Checks fees will hinder services.(Brief Article)
December 11, 2003... More than 50 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website believe the latest increase in fees for checks by the Criminal Records Bureau will have an adverse effect on services. Fifty-four per cent said the rises in standard and enhanced...