Community Care articles from February 2005

Community Care archives from February 2005

Disputes; Staff may strike to defend colleagues.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Liverpool's social workers are considering new industrial action after five of their colleagues were suspended over their conduct during the recent strike. The investigation of the social workers relates to alleged behaviour on picket lines and...

Public order; Social workers fret over Welsh database.(Project Dragon)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The British Association of Social Workers has warned Welsh local authorities they will breach client confidentiality if they sign up to an antisocial behaviour database. BASW Wales officer Gordon Jones said it would be wrong for social workers...

Child protection; 'Tensions in councils' new Sure Start role'.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... There might be conflict between councils' core work of child protection and Sure Start's preventive agenda, it was warned this week. By April 2008 all money for Sure Start will be given to councils to distribute to local programmes. Ian...

Workforce; Care inspector says she was forced out.(Maryse Newnham)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... A former care standards officer has claimed she was forced to leave her job with the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales because it failed to provide her with proper training and supervision. Maryse Newnham also claimed the CSIW kept an...

Drugs; Filkin wants swifter drug team action.(children and families minister Lord Filkin )(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The government is considering lowering the intervention threshold for children in families where there is drugs misuse, it was revealed this week. Speaking at the launch of a manifesto for children, written by children's charities, children and...

If you ask me...(Jackie Downer)(Interview)
February 3, 2005... Jackie Downer has learning difficulties and is a self-advocate Who has had the biggest influence on you? My mother and the Lord. Which health or social care professional has been most use to you? Peter Ferns, an independent trainer...

ON ; THE ; MOVE.(Ujima Housing Association)(National Council of Voluntary Child Care Organisations)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Care UK has introduced a specialist care services division and made John Turk the managing director. Turk joins the health and social care provider from renal products and clinics operator Gambro Hospital. Cashain David (pictured) joined...

Public sector in the limelight.(Public Sector Jobs Week)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... A media campaign aimed at showcasing the valuable work of public employees is to take place next week. Public Sector Jobs Week aims to dispel myths surrounding working in the public sector, and will be backed up by articles in local and...

TV series shows lack of progress.(Someone to Watch Over Me)
February 3, 2005... viewpoint There may be talk about reforming social work but a recent TV series showed familiar problems, writes Richard Purdie BBC1's fly-on-the-wall series Someone to Watch Over Me had many strengths. By far the most important was the...

The Simon Heng column A service user's view of social care.(binge drinking)
February 3, 2005... I am convinced that the explosion in binge drinking is due to the relative drop in the price of alcohol in bars One of the favourite news topics of the moment is binge drinking, with its consequences of public disorder, pressure on accident...

Asylum seekers; Questions raised over refugee routes.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The government should question the "primary route" to refugee status, the chair of the Home Affairs select committee said last week. Speaking at the Refugee Council's AGM, John Denham MP said that, as the number of asylum claims fell, the...

Boredom accounts for teenage crime.
February 3, 2005... Yvonne roberts There is more than one message in Home Office statistics about the extent of teenage offending The Home Office says one in four teenage boys is a "serious offender". Prolific offenders account for 2 per cent of the...

Capital gains.(venture capitalists taking over social services)
February 3, 2005... Queasy at the prospect of venture capitalists taking over residential and other services for children in their unending quest for profit? Well, we had better get used to it, writes Mark Hunter In 2002, the venture capital company 3i led a...

Carers; 'Policies must deal with benefits trap'.(Princess Royal Trust for Carers)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... A carers' charity has welcomed draft guidance for the implementation of carers' legislation, but accused the government of failing to address the "benefit trap" for carers who want to work. The Princess Royal Trust for Carers praised efforts to...

Children's services; Guardians ponder tougher entry rules.(Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service is considering raising the entry bar for social workers seeking to become children's guardians. Under the plan, staff would need five years' post-qualification experience to become...

England expects.(children's commissioner)
February 3, 2005... "I'm more interested in ways of seeing a partnership with the commissioner, so they can become a contributor and supporter of services. I don't see it as an adversarial relationship" In April the children's commissioner for England is to...

Disabilities; Incapacity benefit to be at flat rate.(Department for Work and Pensions of United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The Department for Work and Pensions is expected to announce a flat rate for incapacity benefit this week. Incapacity benefit is currently set at [pounds sterling]56 a week in the first six months, rising to [pounds sterling]66 a week and...

Double trouble.(ethnic minorities and disabled people find barriers in labor market)
February 3, 2005... There are measures that can help people from ethnic minorities with sensory impairments overcome the considerable barriers they face in finding work, writes Rosemary Tozer Two groups in society face disproportionate disadvantage in the...

Electronic up heaval.(social services departments to store information electronically)
February 3, 2005... Converting paper records to electronic documents is a long, drawn-out process as some files on children can consist of hundreds of pages. So is the upheaval of creating a computer-based system really worth it, asks Katie Leason You know...

Homelessness; Councils fail to deal with hom eless people fairly, say MPs.(Member of Parliament)
February 3, 2005... A select committee has been critical of councils' treatment of homeless people but will John Prescott's plans offer a permanent solution to temporary accommodation? Craig Kenny reports Who are the homeless? Young adults still living with...

Homelessness; MPs slam councils over lack of help.(Member of Parliament)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Statutory definitions of homelessness are being inconsistently and carelessly applied, with councils appearing to be looking for reasons to refuse help, MPs warned last week. It is "extraordinary" that councils interpret homelessness so...

Leaving care ; loathing self.(female care leavers drift into prostitution)
February 3, 2005... How much does the care system do to discourage or prevent female care leavers from drifting into prostitution? Maddy Coy describes her recent research The links between young women living in or leaving council care and involvement in...

Local government; Plans outline more local service control.(Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Neighbourhoods are to win greater powers over services, the government announced this week. In its second five-year plan, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said neighbourhoods should have a greater say in decisions that affect them. This...

Men must move over.(gender pay gap)
February 3, 2005... There are still too few women in senior positions, contributing to a widening of the gender pay gap, writes Beatrix Campbell. Yet Labour seems unwilling to repair the damage done by Margaret Thatcher We're on the edge of a general election...

Mental health by Maria Ahmed; Charities protest against proposed cut in free mental health aftercare.
February 3, 2005... Charities have registered alarm at the prospect of a cut in the availability of free aftercare for discharged mental health patients to just six weeks under the draft Mental Health Bill. Under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983, detained...

Natural selection?(sex discrimination in social care)
February 3, 2005... Social care is seen as female-oriented, yet those who head its organisations are usually male. Anabel Unity Sale investigates and talks to three high-flying women in the sector Tap, tap, tap. Can you hear that noise? Yes, that one. Tap,...

Older people; Welsh assembly free personal care u-turn.(Brian Gibbons' view)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... New Welsh health and social services minister Brian Gibbons has ditched the assembly's policy of pressing for the unilateral adoption of free personal care for older people in Wales. The assembly's policy came out of the coalition...

Older people by Mithran Samuel; Wanless to head King's Fund inquiry into long-term support for services.
February 3, 2005... The government could come under pressure to commit far greater resources to social care after the launch this week of an independent review of funding for older people's services. The one-year inquiry, called for and funded by the health...

People by Amy Taylor; Mencap's Jo Williams tops list of social care's most influential people.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Jo Williams, chief executive of learning difficulties charity Mencap, has been voted most influential person in social care by Community Care readers. Williams topped the list of the 20 people who have had the most effect on the sector with...

Policy by Lauren Revans; Rethink on axing child protection register as safety concerns mount.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The government is reconsidering plans to abolish the child protection register amid widespread concerns that to do so could jeopardise the safety of children. Responding to questions at Community Care LIVE Children and Families last week,...

Let her tell her story.(disabled young woman needs help)(Panel Discussion)
February 3, 2005... Profoundly disabled and poorly looked after by her mother and sister, a young woman urgently requires social services' help panel responses kathy richardson There is much to offer Juliette and great improvements to be made in her quality of...

Stuck in the steam age.(railway system not yet suitable for disabled people)(Column)
February 3, 2005... this life Our railway system remains practically inaccessible for disabled people writes Jennifer Phillips Visit any railway station in the UK and you might find cause to complain about delays, cost, maybe even about the state of the...

We're at the; crossroads.
February 3, 2005... Recent research has revealed how the social work perspective is crucial for modern mental health services, writes Mark Blinkhorn The shifting of resources within mental health from the hospital to the community has had a major impact on the...

Workplace; Registration doubts for social care body.(General Social Care Council)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Thousands of social workers who have not completed the registration process with the General Social Care Council by the 1 April deadline might yet be eligible to work, the GSCC has revealed. Following discussions with the Department of Health...

Young offenders; Owers: Staff broke inmates' bones.(Anne Owers' report on Hindley Young Offender Institution)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... Young prisoners' bones were broken as they were forcibly strip-searched by staff at Hindley Young Offender Institution, the chief inspector of prisons has said. Anne Owers' report for 2003-4 raises concerns that methods of force resulted in...

Youth offending; Information-sharing; failures revealed.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The school and the youth offending team attended by a 15-year-old boy who killed his classmate failed to share information about his self-harming and aggressive behaviour, a serious case review has found. Alan Pennell, now 16, was jailed for...

'Tear up bill' say doctors' leaders.(draft Mental Health Bill)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... The draft Mental Health Bill should be torn up and rewritten, according to the British Medical Association. Giving evidence to the parliamentary committee scrutinising the bill last week, chairman of the BMA ethics committee Dr Michael Wilks...

Affordable homes lure staff to high-cost housing regions.
February 3, 2005... Plans to develop more flexible approaches to home ownership and renting will help employers to recruit social care staff, writes Derren Hayes The government's plans for building thousands of new affordable homes and giving 300,000 housing...

Lost in translation.
February 3, 2005... Those with little or no English are reliant upon interpreters to use social care and other services. Bogusia Temple, Rosalind Edwards and Claire Alexander look at why many still prefer to use family and friends rather than professional...

ON ; THE ; MOVE.(delegation of authority)
February 3, 2005... MURIEL KELLY has joined the team of fieldworkers at Scope, the disability charity. She will work in Teesside, providing information, advice and support for disabled people. MICHAEL BOYALL is newly appointed as one of seven trustees for the...

ON ; THE ; MOVE.(appointments)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2005... MURIEL KELLY has joined the team of fieldworkers at Scope, the disability charity. She will work in Teesside, providing information, advice and support for disabled people. MICHAEL BOYALL is newly appointed as one of seven trustees for the...

home work.
February 3, 2005... Lewisham schools are providing school home workers to help students with emotional problems and their families. Alison Miller reports on the winner of the Community Care Awards' interagency category "This is absolutely what Every Child...

book reviews.(Book Review)
February 3, 2005... USING THE LAW IN SOCIAL WORK Robert Johns, Learning Matters ISBN 1903300843, [pounds sterling]14 This book is a readable introduction to the law for students in the first year of the new social work degree course, writes Ed Mitchell. Its...

in for the long haul.(Social Care Association; Dick Clough)(Interview)
February 3, 2005... Dick Clough is stepping down after a quarter century at the helm of the Social Care Association and its predecessor. He tells Terry Philpot about his achievements - and disappointments When Dick Clough became general secretary of the...

Recording contraCT.(social work records)
February 3, 2005... Despite its importance, case recording is often the first thing sacrificed if time is short. However, a peer audit scheme in Reading looks set to change all that. Graham Hopkins reports Recording is an integral part of social care work but...

they think ; it's all over.(abused children)
February 3, 2005... What will be lost, and how will children gain when Sure Start local programmes are absorbed into services provided by council children's centres? Mark Ivory evaluates the changes It will be years before the true impact of Sure Start on the...

television review.(Dad)(Television Program Review)
February 3, 2005... Dad BBC1, 24 February, 8pm Have no doubt: issues that are important to older people have become crucial politically, writes Graham Hopkins. And with 10 per cent of older people suffering some sort of abuse, the Department of Health has...

leEp over the learning gap.
February 3, 2005... Tutors are placed alongside students on practice learning in an initiative to bridge the divide between work and classroom. Gary Clapton and Maura Daly look at the Leep project in Scotland The new social work degree highlights the...

Where's the carrot?(unemployment insurance)
February 3, 2005... welfare rights Those on means-tested benefits have little incentive to test out paid employment, writes Gary Vaux. How would you feel if you hadn't had a pay rise since the 1980s? And do you think that the government is really serious about...

Are social workers protected when they blow the whistle?
February 3, 2005... The social work code of practice came into force to encourage whistleblowers, but there are concerns that it is failing to defend staff. Derren Hayes reports Social workers may have unrealistic expectations of the protection on offer if...

Mental health by Maria Ahmed and Sally Gillen; Cuts in free aftercare may lead users to seek community treatment orders.
February 10, 2005... Proposed cuts to free aftercare for mental health clients compulsorily detained in hospital could lead to a rise in community treatment orders, charities have warned. Under the draft Mental Health Bill, free aftercare would be cut to just six...

Voluntary sector; Liverpool may slash charities' funding.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Voluntary bodies in Liverpool are facing cuts of a third in funding. The council's voluntary sector funding panel has recommended [pounds sterling]3.2m of grants for the next financial year, down from [pounds sterling]4.7m this year. Liverpool...

Family courts; Mixed reception for Bill's contact plans.(laws imposed on parents)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Children's charities have welcomed government proposals to give courts powers to improve and enforce contact arrangements between children and parents following a separation. Plans to give judges the authority to direct parents in a contact...

Criminal checks; Bureau to overhaul registration process.(Criminal Records Bureau)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... The Criminal Records Bureau is to cut the number of registered bodies that can apply for disclosures, following the government's decision to check all adults working with children. A threshold for the number of applications a body submits will...

Workforce; Professional bodies' offer to directors.(Association of Directors of Social Services and Association of Directors of Education and Children's Services)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Children's services directors are to be offered joint membership of the professional bodies for social care and education. The Association of Directors of Social Services and the Association of Directors of Education and Children's Services...

child protection; GPs 'not trained' to commission services.(Dr Andrew Dearden of British Medical Association)(General practitioners)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Doctors' leaders have warned that the commissioning of child protection services by primary care trusts should only happen where there are experienced GPs with sufficient resources. The call follows reports that the children's national service...

disabilities; Welsh call for wider view of disability.(Wales. National Assembly)(Disability Wales and Age Concern Cymru)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Disability and older people's groups are lobbying the Welsh assembly to create a broader definition of disability that would make more people eligible for free personal care when it is introduced. Both Disability Wales and Age Concern Cymru...

Disabilities; Benefits change will deepen exclusion.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Government proposals to replace incapacity benefit with two separate benefits that differentiate between people were branded as a "mistake" this week. Kate Stanley, head of social policy at the Institute for Public Policy Research, warned that...

workforce; New bid to enhance leadership skills.
February 10, 2005... Aproposed five-year social care workforce development plan has identified leadership as a skills gap that must be addressed. The proposed strategy was put out to consultation by training body Topss England this week. A spokesperson for Topss,...

Mubarek inquiry by Maria Ahmed; Thousands inside prison are 'at least as dangerous' as Mubarek's killer.(Zahid Mubarek)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Zahid Mubarek's killer Robert Stewart was just one of an "overwhelming" number of prisoners with mental illness who did not receive psychiatric care, an inquiry heard this week. Martin Narey, director general of the prison service at the time...

readers' views; Keep the child protection register.
February 10, 2005... More than 70 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website said the child protection register should not be scrapped. This week's question asks: Should former director general of the prison service Martin Narey have resigned at the time of...

Workforce; Biggest ever rise; in overseas staff.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... There has been an 82 per cent increase in the number of overseas social workers entering the UK, according to research commissioned by the Department of Health. Between April 2003 and May 2004 numbers rose from 1,390 to 2,524 - the largest...

Excellence on the cheap.(Social Care Institute for Excellence)
February 10, 2005... If ever there was proof of the government's cavalier approach to social care, it is the decision to scrap plans for a massive investment in the future of the Social Care Institute for Excellence. When Scie's takeover of seven Department of...

Youth justice by Derren Hayes; Groups rush to back Scots hearing system after increase in offending.
February 10, 2005... Scottish social care groups have defended the children's hearing system after figures showed the number of young offenders in Scotland has risen considerably. The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration's (SCRA) annual report for 2003-4...

If you ask me...(social worker)(Brief Article)(Interview)
February 10, 2005... Angie Smith,* 15 has been in residential care with the Boys & Girls Welfare Society for five years Who has had the biggest influence on you? My family. Which health or social care professional has been most use to you? My social...

Is it reasonable for a six-week time limit to be imposed on free mental health aftercare?(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... joan scott Action Unlimited The time restriction on aftercare is wrong. By the time they've come out and settled down, the six weeks will be up. I think free aftercare should be for a good six months or longer. Otherwise they won't get the...

MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR ETHNIC MINORITY CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 10, 2005... Edited by Mhemoda Malik and Carol Joughin, Jessica Kingsley ISBN 184310 2374, [pounds sterling]16.95 This collection of expert contributions considerably helps the reader in critical analysis of existing provision of mental health services...

New effort to boost middle manager skills is under way.(Employers Organisation)(Institute for Leadership and Management)
February 10, 2005... Middle managers are often promoted to their posts without adequate training in managing people, writes Derren Hayes. But moves are afoot to change this W ith so much of senior managers' time taken up with meetings about strategy, the role...

ON ; THE ; MOVE.(appointments)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Dawn Warwick has been promoted to deputy chief executive, community and cultural services for Slough Council. Warwick was previously director of social services at the council. The Family Support Unit at the National Children's Bureau has...

The Simon Heng column A service user's view of social care.(Column)
February 10, 2005... People with learning difficulties lead shorter lives than the general population. What efforts have been made to promote healthy living to this group? Recently, the government announced an initiative to provide better health care for...

WHY I LOVE MY JOB.
February 10, 2005... Dr Charlotte Chapman is a doctor at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, an organisation for the rehabilitation of survivors of torture and organised violence Thinking about the horror of torture can keep me awake at...

A poisonous form ; of modern slavery.(exploitation of migrant workers)
February 10, 2005... Yvonne roberts We will all pay for agencies' exploitation of vulnerable people working in key sectors How low can you go? The government has failed in its attempt to postpone, until after the general election, the publication of a...

Adults' services; Directors call for cuts to be realistic.(Association of Directors of Social Services )(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Social care leaders have warned the government against using the efficiency review to press for unrealistic savings from adult services through discredited methods. With the first phase of the Department of Health's programme examining the...

Asylum seekers; More restrictions on refugee rights.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Refugees will only be granted temporary leave to remain rather than permanent residency while the government reviews the situation in their countries of origin, under the Home Office's five-year strategy announced this week. The department's...

Benefits; Mental health claimants fear slide into poverty in benefits shake-up.(incapacity benefits)
February 10, 2005... The proposed changes to incapacity payment rules will encourage claimants to find work. But those who belong to the most marginalised group in society face being excluded even further, reports Craig Kenny People on incapacity benefits may...

RESEARCHERS AND THEIR SUBJECTS: ETHICS, POWER, KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
February 10, 2005... Edited by Marie Smyth and Emma Williamson, Policy Press ISBN 1861345143, [pounds sterling]23 This is an unusual and fascinating book. It is not a textbook on research methodology but would nonetheless be useful for researchers, both those...

Carers in the night.(Blackpool Council's Primary Night Care Service, UK)
February 10, 2005... Blackpool Council is pioneering an overnight carers service for older people that is helping them live independently. Alison Miller reports on the winners of Community Care's older people award "Not one of us will ever forget that day" says...

Criminal justice; Councils seek role in work with offenders.(Local Government Association)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... The Local Government Association has called for a greater role for councils in the government's proposals to tackle reoffending. The LGA said it was disappointed that councils were "ignored" in the Management of Offenders and Sentencing Bill...

Cupid's arrows miss.(sexual needs of disabled persons)
February 10, 2005... Christopher Marlowe's "Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?" reflects society's view of attraction. But does this apply to all people? Katie Leason looks at the barriers faced by disabled people when it comes to forming intimate...

Disabilities; Judgement reserved in Wandsworth case.(Michael Spink and Henrietta Spink to pay towards their children's care)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... Two appeal court judges have reserved judgement in a case to determine whether services for disabled children should be provided as a right, or whether parents should be means-tested. Michael and Henrietta Spink have been battling in the courts...

Exclusion zone.(leisure services for disabled persons)
February 10, 2005... Leisure provision for disabled people is failing to keep pace with government policy, says Pippa Murray as character style In 2002 a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report found a gap between the inclusive intent of initiatives, such as...

Exhibitions.(Maudsley psychiatric hospital exhibiting the art works of Justin Konstam)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2005... JUSTIN KONSTAM UNTITLED Until 30 June Maudsley Hospital, Camberwell, London Recently the Maudsley psychiatric hospital has become a popular space for exhibiting the artwork of people who have had mental health problems and the...

Eyes shut to; social care.(reports of long term conditions)
February 10, 2005... How is it that the government's strategy to take forward the support of people with long-term conditions fails to see past health services? Mark Hunter reports The familiar refrain of "breaking down barriers between health and social...

Family; head steps; down.(Gillian Pugh retiring from Coram Family)(Biography)
February 10, 2005... After making an unlikely career choice in social care, Gillian Pugh is retiring as chief executive of Coram Family, having clocked up 40 years' service in the children's sector. She tells Anabel Unity Sale about her career in social care and...