Community Care articles from February 2003

Community Care archives from February 2003

Councils defend senior managers as workers continue to be disciplined.(the Victoria Climbie chile abuse case)
February 6, 2003... Two of Britain's most senior social services managers face increasing pressure to resign for their failings in the case of Victoria Climbie after it was revealed that more action has been taken against other staff involved in the case. The...

Dramatic changes.(Creative therapy projects for kids who have suffered trauma discussed)
February 6, 2003... Creative therapy projects can help children overcome trauma and reclaim their identities, says psychotherapist Anne Bannister There is now no doubt that childhood sexual abuse, particularly if it occurs during the child's early...

Older people; Church-run nursing homes in cash crisis.(residential and nursing homes for older people run by the Catholic Church)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Residential and nursing homes for older people run by the Catholic Church face a crisis deeper than that faced by the rest of the sector, according to a new report. More than half of the 50 religious orders running homes in England have...

Users caught in the 'service trap'.(mental health services users who try to hold down jobs or gain employment)
February 6, 2003... While considerable attention has been paid to the perils of the "benefits trap", there is less acknowledgement of the "service trap" for mental health users who are trying to hold down jobs or gain employment. Why a service trap? Well, if...

publicity stunt or deterrent?(Antisocial behaviour orders issued in England, Wales)
February 6, 2003... Antisocial behaviour orders are hailed in some quarters as an effective way to restrain miscreant children and teenagers. Others dismiss them as pandering to a revenge culture. Anabel Unity Sale looks at their impact and asks whether there is...

the ask force.(Ask Us! wins award)(Company Profile)
February 6, 2003... Ask Us! is committed to giving disabled children and young people a chance to tell planners and decision-makers what they want. This dedication won the Children's Society-run initiative a Community Care award, reports Alison Miller A...

Winners are losers.(the loss of benefits for learning disabled persons)
February 6, 2003... The benefit system works in mysterious and perverse ways. Improvements in some areas can lead to problems in others - and two recent cases illustrate this point. A social worker contacted me about some people with learning difficulties...

Legal; Sexual Offences; Bill is published.(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Measures designed to increase protection of children and vulnerable people from sexual abuse were launched last week. The government's Sexual Offences Bill includes a range of new offences first aired in the Queen's Speech last November,...

Children; Concern at lack of help for runaways.(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... The needs of young runaways are being ignored, a charity director told a conference last week. Rebecca Pritchard, director of services at homeless young people's charity Centrepoint, said there was only one hostel in the UK for under-16s -...

Foster care; Council must keep contact with child.(Bradford Council)(United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Contact with a child cannot be stopped because the child's former foster carer has failed to work in partnership with professional staff and in accordance with the care plan, the local government ombudsman has ruled. The ombudsman said...

Homelessness by david brown; Client confidentiality hinders efforts to house the homeless, says Shelter.(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Concerns among social workers over client confidentiality are hampering housing departments' attempts to find accommodation for homeless people. More than three-quarters of housing departments told a survey by homelessness charity Shelter...

Child abuse; Police conclude first stage of porn probe.(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Detectives investigating an internet paedophile ring are close to completing the initial investigations into suspects who work with children. Priority has been given to 2,000 professionals who had access to children or were in positions of...

Victoria Climbie report; More training is key to helping GPs and police improve child protection.(significant improvements needed for police and health care services)
February 6, 2003... All agencies failed Victoria Climbie. Clare Jerrom reports on Lord Laming's criticism of GPs and the police, and discovers how those professions are responding None of the agencies involved in Victoria Climbie's case are spared criticism...

Victoria Climbie report; Social services directors welcome Laming's focus on accountability.(Lord Laming)
February 6, 2003... While social services chiefs back Laming's recommendations, they are concerned that the skills crisis will undermine efforts to implement change, writes Katie Leason Of the 46 social care recommendations in Lord Laming's report no fewer...

Workforce; Payback time for graduate recruits.(The Scottish Executive is to reimburse student loans for some social work graduates)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... The Scottish executive is to offer to reimburse up to pound sterling9,000 in student loans for some social work graduates as one of several measures to address the recruitment crisis. The incentive will apply only to students who accept a...

Victoria Climbie report; Laming defends proposal for new management boards and director.(Lord Laming's report on the death of Victoria Climbie)
February 6, 2003... Senior managers and front-line staff must share the blame for Victoria Climbie's death, Lord Laming tells Sally Gillen. And more money alone will not prevent it happening again In the week since his report into the death of Victoria Climbie...

Disabilities; Kirklees ordered to pay compensation.(Kirklees, England)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Kirklees Council has been ordered to pay pound sterling5,000 to the parents of a boy with severe mobility problems and review its complaints procedure. The decision followed an investigation by the local government ombudsman who found...

How many more must die before front-line issues are addressed?(Lord Laming's report on Victoria Climbie)
February 6, 2003... the laming report has failed to confront problems on the ground - a huge omission if we are to prevent another damning inquiry further down the line, says jim wild The long-awaited report on Victoria Climbie has as its "big idea" national...

Standards; Smith gives details of inspection body.(Health Minister Jacqui Smith gives details on the new Commission for Social Care Inspection)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... The government has released details on how the new Commission for Social Care Inspection is going to work when it takes over monitoring of the care sector in April 2004. The CSCI will cover all of the work of the Social Services...

Children; Children's trusts to organise services.(United Kingdom Department of Health report)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... The long-awaited details outlining the standards and functions of children's trusts have been published by the Department of Health, a month later than originally planned. The trusts will bring together children's services within one...

Charities by david brown; Children's charity admits corporate cash was crucial to helpline move.(National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children)
February 6, 2003... The NSPCC has confirmed that its controversial plan to move part of its telephone helpline operation to Manchester was dependent on a record-breaking corporate donation. The children's welfare charity said its new "listening centre" was...

Donor conception; More information may be released.(sperm, egg or embryo donors)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Children conceived as a result of sperm, egg or embryo donation might soon be able to find out more information about their donors, the government announced last week. Subject to parliament's approval, those conceived by donor since 1990...

Child protection; Barnardo's calls for protection in homes.(report by Barnado, a children's charity)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Anew report by children's charity Barnardo's claims that hundreds of thousands of children in the UK are being emotionally scarred as unrecorded victims of violence in the home. It calls on the government to give a higher priority to the...

Child protection; Birmingham review of toddler tragedy.(Birmingham, England)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Birmingham area child protection committee has launched a serious case review into the death of Jordan Reid who was drowned by his mother days before he turned two. Mirlene Stewart, who this week admitted manslaughter at Swansea Crown...

Foster care by Derren Hayes; Councils could be forced to pay foster carers a minimum allowance.
February 6, 2003... The government is considering making local authorities pay a set national allowance to carers to cover the costs of fostering children. Directors of social services are currently being consulted over the proposal, which is being considered...

Children; Siblings abducted during contact visit.(Shropshire, England's social services)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Police are searching for four children whose parents abducted them from the care of social services during a contact visit. The children, three boys and a girl aged three to 12, are subjects of an interim care order and were being looked...

Youth justice; Young offenders face drugs tests.(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Teenage offenders are to be tested for drug abuse under a pound sterling40m Home Office programme. The Youth Crime Programme will use new powers proposed in the Criminal Justice and Sentencing Bill to test 14- to 17-year-old offenders for...

Homelessness; Roche to limit use of B&Bs by councils.(Homelessness Minister Barbara Roche)(bed and breakfasts)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Homelessness minister Barbara Roche has announced plans for legislation banning councils from housing families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than six weeks. The move follows her pledge to address the issue last...

Events.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
February 6, 2003... See www.community care.co.uk for more comprehensive events listings 12 February Early intervention, early prevention - effective partnerships for children Neil Stewart Associates London 020 8693 9857 13 February ...

Book reviews.(Good Practice in Childcare)(Cultural Competence in the Caring Professions)(Book Review)
February 6, 2003... Amy Weir evaluates a guide for staff who work with young children, and Vijay Patel on culture and race This book has been written to provide those involved in early years care and education services with a basic understanding of good...

Workforce; Swindon Council sacks whistle-blower.(Swindon, England)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... A Swindon social worker who set up a website criticising the performance of the social services department was sacked last week at a council disciplinary hearing. Deborah Rees described the hearing as a farce and said that the council had...

Youth justice by Amy Taylor; Lord Warner criticises government's ban on young offenders at school.(Lord Warner, chairperson of the Youth Justice Board, criticises the government's treatment of juvenile offenders)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... The chairperson of the Youth Justice Board has criticised government guidelines that force head teachers to remove young people who are in prison for short periods from their school rolls. Speaking at a YJBconference on the role of learning...

don't let mistakes hinder investigation.(the present hounding of Sir Roy Meadow in the aftermath of Sally Clark's release from prison)(Brief Article)
February 6, 2003... Mothers can and do kill their babies. Yet, professionals are likely to be deterred from acting when they witness the present hounding of Sir Roy Meadow in the aftermath of Sally Clark's release from prison. The jury in her original trial...

pride and prejudice.(valuable services of the Maumbury House children's home leaving care team)
February 6, 2003... Since leaving the Maumbury House children's home last year I have found the leaving care team in Dorchester extremely supportive, understanding and empathetic. Their forward-thinking attitude and readiness to respond to all eventualities has...

research into practice.(the Mori Social Research Institute report on the role of fathers)
February 6, 2003... Bernard Moss examines recent research on the role of fathers How to balance the conflicting demands of home and work has been a debate that has tended to focus upon women's lives. The debate challenges traditional male and female roles at a...

the Victoria Climbie report - what next?(Lord Laming's inquiry report into the death of Victoria Climbie)
February 6, 2003... More needs to be done to ensure there are enough experienced practitioners in front-line roles When I managed a wide range of council services, including leisure, libraries and housing, as well as social services, child protection services...

Angels and devils.(juvenile criminals)
February 6, 2003... Using legal sanctions against young people to prevent their trouble-making is necessary. But care must be exercised to prevent the law being influenced by stereotypes, writes Yasmin Alibhai-Brown My nine-year-old daughter - who thankfully...

trouble at the top.(Lord Laming's report recommending structural reform in child protection holds council members and senior management accountable)
February 6, 2003... Whatever the fate of Lord Laming's recommendations for structural reform in child protection, his report will be remembered for putting council members and their senior management in the dock. There have been more than 30 child death reports...

Diary.(This week's diary is by a social worker who has started a job in a local authority children and families team.)
February 6, 2003... This week's diary is by a social worker who has started a job in a local authority children and families team Monday New Year, new job, new team, new local authority. Set off from home feeling excited and nervous. The team I am joining has...

Project yourself.(project management)
February 6, 2003... An eye for detail with the other on the big picture. Disciplined yet flexible. Not everyone's dream job description. Here, John Belcher and Claire Smart share advice on how to survive the nightmare of project management TOP TIPS Set...

Prodigal daughter.(Sonia Garnett transformed her life from recalcitrant teenager to role model)
February 6, 2003... Sonia Garnett (left) is back at the project that helped transform her life from recalcitrant teenager to role model. Graham Hopkins talks to her and project worker Angela Ben-Arie (right) The Oak Avenue project in Croydon, south London,...

hope in a dog's life.
February 13, 2003... New research recommends the creation of a network of services to help end the isolation many homeless people feel, reports social policy researcher Gerard Lemos That homeless people need "more than a roof" is well known. They are often...

courses; of action.
February 13, 2003... Giving carers a chance to widen their skills and improve their self-esteem has won a West Midlands project a Community Care award. Anita Pati reports Lifelong learning may not be a national buzz word but it is flourishing in the West...

publish and be damned.
February 13, 2003... As Newcastle Council found, ad hoc inquiries into allegations made against staff can prove at best embarrassing or at worst costly. Natalie Valios reports on how other local authorities can avoid the pitfalls Last year Newcastle...

the spirit to survive.(Column)
February 13, 2003... this life Martin Reynolds describes how community life with a spiritual base has helped him overcome adversity Care in the community is a much-maligned phrase, but it is essential for mental health service users as there are so many of us...

with restraint...(safer restraint options need to be implemented in residential care)
February 13, 2003... Researchers David Leadbetter and Michael Budlong describe how safer restraint options should be implemented in residential care The issue of physical restraint lies at the heart of the debate about control of service users who are...

how stress might fracture a sector.(difficulties of adult care service employees)
February 13, 2003... viewpoint The patience of many competent staff in adult care services is being stretched irreparably, warns Patricia Shonibare I work in an area of adult care that often feels like a backwater. The client group I work with have profound...

vulnerable to cuts?(analysis of mental health budgets )(Column)
February 13, 2003... Mental health budgets are under pressure and services remain dislocated in many areas despite aspirations set out by the National Service Framework. Consultant Nigel Goldie explains Mental health services, like other areas of health and...

the blame cascades down.
February 13, 2003... Lord Laming criticises senior managers even more strongly than front-line staff in the Victoria Climbie Report but it is the social workers who get sacked. Mark Ivory looks at social work's cult ure of scapegoating, and a former Haringey...

client confidentiality; Homelessness charities frustrated by social services' secrecy over clients.
February 13, 2003... Confusion over confidentiality rules and a desire to protect clients' personal details is stalling efforts by charities and councils to house some service users. Amy Taylor reports T he Homelessness Act 2002 is meant to bring housing and...

recruitment; Scotland joins social work employers with creative answers to skills crisis.
February 13, 2003... Holyrood's policy to reimburse student social work fees has won praise. But in England, councils have been pioneering local initiatives to reduce vacancy rates, writes David Craik The Scottish executive's offer to reimburse up to pound...

barred from parenting.
February 13, 2003... While support programmes do exist for young prisoners who are parents, offenders need better links with their families and communities on the outside to limit the damage to young families and children caused by their...

joined-up sentences.
February 13, 2003... Society is sitting on a social time bomb if it allows young offenders who are parents to rot away in custody, writes Alison Taylor. But the government appears confused over sentencing policy These are tense and troubling times: almost...

poverty; Poor missing out on essential services.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Essential goods and services are failing to reach the most needy people, according to research by the National Consumer Council. Ethnic minority groups, people living in deprived areas and those with young children on low incomes are likely...

spending by katie leason; Older people's services face cuts under new council spending formula.
February 13, 2003... Funding for older people's services run by local authorities in England looks set to be slashed from April. The government's allocation for the services under the new formula spending share is pound sterling797m less than the pound...

learning difficulties; Council fined for funding blunder.(East Sussex Council )(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... East Sussex Council has been fined after a funding delay deprived a client of a place at a specialist education facility. Jerry White, the Local Government Ombudsman, ruled that councils were obliged to make financial decisions quickly when...

child protection; Police 'should take lead on abuse cases'.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Police - not social workers - should take responsibility for protecting children from abuse because they are "less easy to intimidate," according to a group of prominent paediatricians. Professor David Southall, Martin Samuels, senior...

workforce by david brown; Renewed hope of congestion charge exemption for social care workers.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... London mayor Ken Livingstone has agreed to review the decision not to exempt local authority or voluntary sector social care staff from the capital's new congestion charge. Trade unions are collecting evidence to support their campaign to...

legal; Scots court convicts father of killing son.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... An 11-week-old baby was killed by his father, despite warnings from hospital staff that the boy should be taken into care. The decision to allow Caleb Ness home was taken at a social work case conference even though an experienced nurse...

older people; Nurses reveal wide problem of abuse.(almost 9 out of 10 district and community nurses in the UK have come across abuse of older people)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Nearly nine out of 10 district and community nurses in the UK have come across abuse of older people in their work, with some claiming it was happening regularly. A survey of 5,000 senior nurses shows that in most cases the abuse was...

Integration best achieved through promoting 'sense of belonging'.(asylum seekers should be integrated into the United Kingdom immediately )(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Asylum seekers must be integrated into the UK the moment they arrive and not just when they receive refugee status, a conference on asylum integration and citizenship was told last week. Speaking at Capita's Asylum: Moving Towards the Goals...

Local communities lack 'true picture'.(United Kingdom has something to learn from neighbors about helping asylum seekers)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... The UK can learn from the experience of its European neighbours about how to help asylum seekers integrate into society, according to a senior official from the Home Office. Giving the keynote address at the conference, the immigration and...

Seekers may be sent to 'safe havens'.(UK government may begin deporting asylum seekers to "safe haven" regions)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... The government is considering operating a scheme to deport asylum seekers to "safe haven" countries in the regions they have left in order to reduce the numbers in the UK. A Home Office spokesperson confirmed that the idea was raised in a...

young offenders; Welfare 'is key' to successful release.(keeping young people out of prison)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... A welfare charity has called for a national co-ordinated strategy to keep young people out of prison and prevent re-offending. The Michael Sieff Foundation says the current system of locking up young offenders is not working and an...

homelessness; Older people need tailored service.(findings of Salvation Army report)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Older homeless people should have a specific resettlement service that provides them with support, a report by the Salvation Army has urged. Old Before Our Time is based on the resettlement work of older homeless people by the Salvation...

Housing; Benefit processing delays cause poverty.(some local authorities in the UK take over 5 months to process housing benefit claims)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Some of the worst local authorities take more than five months to process housing benefit claims - five times longer than the best performers. Government figures show that 17 local authorities are taking more than 100 days to process...

young offenders; Board culls Ashfield as patience runs out.(Youth Justice Board to make a phased withdrawal from Ashfield Young Offenders Institution in Bristol, England)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... The Youth Justice Board is to make a phased withdrawal from Ashfield Young Offenders Institution in Bristol. The board, which commissions and buys places at the privately-run centre, confirmed last week that 212 places would be reduced to...

workforce; Cardiff manager loses dismissal case.(social services manager who refused to discipline whistle-blower loses claim for unfair dismissal)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... A social services manager who refused to discipline a whistle-blower has lost his claim for unfair dismissal. Neil White claimed he had been asked to carry out "morally indefensible" instructions by his council bosses. White was sacked...

children by david brown; Foster carers quit councils that fail to lend support over complaints.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Many foster carers facing complaints or allegations are leaving the service because local authorities are failing to support them, it is claimed. In some parts of England four out of 10 foster carers who are the subject of a complaint...

older people; Ageist spending policies revealed.(report on age discrimination finds many social services departments operate "ageist" policies )(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Many social services departments operate "ageist" policies by limiting the amount they spend on care packages for certain age groups, according to a new report on age discrimination. The report, by the health policy think-tank The King's...

readers' views; Climbie managers 'should take blame'.(for failing to protect Victoria Climbie)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Most visitors to Community Care's website thought that the senior managers in place at the time of Victoria Climbie's death should accept responsibility for their part in the failure to protect her. Eighty-four per cent said senior...

where's the will?(new way of handling juvenile offenders is necessary)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... The way we lock up young offenders harms both them and the community - which expects offenders to be rehabilitated, and has a right to clear information from ministers about what works in preventing reoffending. We have evidence that...

goodbye to cohesion.(United Kingdom's asylum policy and integration)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... If there was one message that came across loud and clear from last week's London conference on the UK's asylum policy, it was that integration needs to start on day one of arrival. It stands to reason of course. If you lock people up, shift...

children; Refugee mobility 'disrupting schools'.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... The mobility of refugee and asylum seeking children is holding back some schools, according to Ofsted's latest annual report. The 2001-2 report says the number of refugee children moving around the education system is having a negative...

delayed discharge by amy taylor; Audit Office reinforces view that bed-blocking bill is unworkable.
February 13, 2003... The findings of a new report have raised further doubts about the viability of the government's Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Bill. A National Audit Office report released this week reveals that on any given day more than 4,000...

asylum seekers; Directors force retreat over grants.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Government plans to scrap grants for councils accommodating 16 and 17-year-old asylum seekers have been abandoned following strong protests from directors of social services. The climbdown came out of talks this week between the Home Office...

Older people; Where robots are treated like carers.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... A robot that functions as a nurse, friend and security guard has been launched in Japan as a home aid to older people living alone. The Wakamaru, the idea of electronics giant Mitsubishi, will go on sale in April next year for pound...

young people; 'Watch out for signs of mental illness'.(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Young people have been urged to look out for signs of mental health problems on the back of new research unveiled by health minister Jacqui Smith. The study shows that nearly nine out of 10 young people aged between 15 and 21 know someone...

substance abuse; Alcohol remit for drug treatment unit.(National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse may treat alcohol addiction)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse may take on responsibility for alcohol, Community Care has learned. The agency was set up in 2001 to increase the availability and effectiveness of treatment for drug abuse in England. But...

discrimination; Survey reveals funding grievances.(ethnic minority organisations find discrimination when getting grants)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Ethnic minority organisations in the voluntary sector encounter red tape and discrimination but no empathy when applying for grants, according to new research. A survey of 115 ethnic minority voluntary and community groups by the Home...

communities by Anabel unity sale; Prescott's building bonanza set to benefit public sector workers.(John Prescott introduces plans for low-cost housing)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... Deputy prime minister John Prescott outlined plans last week to invest pound sterling4bn into building low-cost homes in areas of high demand. A quarter of this money will be for the development of housing for key public sector workers. ...

a little landscaping can go a long way.(Learning Through Landscapes shows that landscape can impact children's behavior)
February 13, 2003... Yvonne roberts on the link between children's behaviour and their access to interesting spaces for leisure Imaginatively utilised space is not often on the list of requirements for the socially deprived child - but it ought to be. ...

care is not enough.(children with needs in foster care with reduced residential care services)(Brief Article)
February 13, 2003... letter from Australia Areduction in residential care has led to the use of foster carers for children with complex needs. But the need for specialist support services is proving expensive, write Nigel Spence and Eric Scott Increasingly...

abused and abandoned.
February 13, 2003... Day centre staff failed to take action when a woman in their care was sexually assaulted. Our multi-disciplinary panel advises practice panel Learning difficulties team - Bath & North East Somerset panel responses Lisa Loveridge...