Community Care articles from January 2002

Community Care archives from January 2002

let public sector provision thrive.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... viewpoint The private sector cannot be relied upon to provide consistent services, says social work lecturer Peter Scourfield Recent moves by the NSPCC to close 18 projects and the Children's Society to axe its services in Wales have been...

speaking up.
January 10, 2002... Advocacy has been around for 20 years and is now backed by the government, but does it work? Project manager Andrew Eustace reports on a study that analysed the workings of a local advocacy project It is official - citizen advocacy...

readers' views; Too much funding is ring-fenced.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Too much of social services' central funding is ring-fenced according visitors to Community Care's website. The Local Government Association complained that 17 per cent of social services cash is currently ring-fenced by the government,...

research into practice.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Jill Manthorpe looks at the lessons to be learned from good practice in preventing elder abuse as highlighted in inspection reports Combating elder abuse has been re-invigorated in 2001 by the implementation of the policy guidance No...

Children's services in disarray.
January 10, 2002... The demands on children's services are widely recognised as overwhelming local authority provision in many areas of the country. Here, former assistant director of children's services Christine Doorly explores the current malaise and suggests...

reach for the high lands.
January 10, 2002... The Scottish executive is backing plans to integrate children's services in a drive to turn around the country's high rates of child poverty. Natalie Valios reports S cotland has some of the highest rates of relative child poverty in...

the Benefits of hindsight.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... welfare rights Gary Vaux offers his seasonal opportunity to impress colleagues with your knowledge of the benefit system -?and win a ?25 book token Now in its third year, the Community Care Welfare Rights quiz offers the chance to win a...

agents of partnership.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... An assessment and support service for young people won the inter-agency work category at this year's Community Care awards. Alison Miller reports In 1997 Dumfries and Galloway faced a dual problem - comparatively high exclusion levels and...

home in on wealth.(Brief Article)(Column)
January 10, 2002... The government, with its rough sleeping targets and New Deal programmes, is in danger of skating over the problem of homelessness, says Bob Holman, who advocates a new tax on expensive homes I am uneasy about the New Labour approach of...

Rough figures?
January 10, 2002... Controversy surrounds the government's claim that rough sleeping has fallen sharply but, more importantly, what is the government planning to do about the thousands of hidden homeless people in the UK? Ruth Winchester reports In 1998,...

local government; Walsall withdraws 'insensitive' diary.(Walsall Council)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Diaries produced by Walsall Council for foster carers have been recalled following complaints that the cover depicting high rise buildings and a shooting star was too reminiscent of the events of 11 September. The diary had been specially...

local government; White paper formalises carrot and stick approach to performance.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The local government white paper sets out Labour's determination to implement council scorecards to improve their accountability. Jonathan Pearce reports Billed as a "radical programme for improving council services", last month's local...

voluntary sector; Children's Society to delay pull-out.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The Children's Society has decided to delay its controversial decision to pull out of Wales until July following a meeting in Cardiff last month with a special task group set up by the Welsh assembly. Many of the society's projects were...

adoption by Jonathan Pearce; Call for more funding to support new national target for adoption.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... BAAF Adoption & Fostering has called for more adoption funding in response to the government's announcement of a new national target to speed up the adoption process. BAAF has backed health minister Jacqui Smith's announcement of a public...

workplace; Pay claim dismissed as 'unrealistic'.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Local government employers have described the unions' pay claim for 2002-3 as "completely unrealistic". At last month's national joint council meeting the unions put forward a claim for a pay increase of ?1,750 per year or 6 per cent,...

mental health by Katie leason; Charities point to referral flaw in plans for crisis resolution teams.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Mental health charities have welcomed the government's decision to set up crisis resolution teams to support people with severe mental illness but believe that more needs to be done to address the problem. Over the next two years 77 crisis...

people; Former Scottish director dies.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Ian Gilmour, former acting director of social work for Glasgow Council, has died at the age of 57. He retired in 1999 following a diagnosis of throat cancer. Throughout his 40-year social work career Gilmour worked mainly with young...

local government by jonathan Pearce; White paper sets out plans for 'scorecards' and more deregulation.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Councils in England will be classified as either high-performing, striving, coasting or poor-performing, according to plans in the new Local Government White Paper. Described as "a radical programme for improving council services,...

standards; Institute sets out to gather opinions.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The Social Care Institute for Excellence (Scie) has embarked on a "listening exercise" to help shape the way it works. The scheme is to run between January and June and relevant organisations, such as the British Association of Social...

disability; Campaigners critical of single body plan.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Plans by the government to implement European anti-discrimination laws have met a mixed response from the the Disability Rights Commission (DRC). The government has begun consulting on a European directive that will outlaw discrimination...

standards; Codes of conduct promise to rejuvenate social care sector.
January 10, 2002... The publication of draft codes of conduct and practice for social care this week has provided nationally agreed standards across the UK. Anabel Unity Sale reports Just a few days old and 2002 is already special. Not only is it a...

residential care; Charities subsidise older people's care.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Charities that run care homes for older people are paying significant sums towards the costs because of a shortfall in government funding. Charitable support for state funded older people rose by 19 per cent during 2000-1 according to a...

foster care; Essex compensates family for errors.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... A former foster family has received around ?190,000 compensation in an out of court settlement after a teenage boy with a history of sex offending was placed with them and assaulted their children. In 1993 Essex Council placed the boy with...

children; BBC screens series on care home life.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... A26-part television series that depicts the rollercoaster life of a 10-year-old girl in care began on children's BBC this week. The Story of Tracy Beaker, which is based on a book by award-winning author Jacqueline Wilson, is set in a...

child protection; Police to research child abuse cases.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The police aim to improve their investigation of child abuse cases with the establishment of a new UK-wide research team. The unit has been set up at a time of increasing disquiet over the way the police gather evidence in child abuse cases...

too much apple pie.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The long-awaited codes of conduct and practice for social care staff and their employers marks another step in the long journey to raise the status of the profession. The employers' code is based squarely on good employment practice....

two-tier democracy.(more say for municipal governments in local affairs)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The local government white paper promises to devolve power away from central government, reversing a trend begun by Margaret Thatcher who distrusted councils and was determined to emasculate them. Stephen Byers, secretary of state for local...

adoption; Kilshaws claim '600 more internet cases'.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Alan and Judith Kilshaw, the couple at the centre of the internet adoption controversy, are claiming that another baby has been adopted in "identical circumstances". They claim that the new adoptive parents are being allowed to keep the...

standards; Draft codes out for public comment.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The UK's four social care councils have launched the first draft codes of conduct and practice for social care professionals this week. The draft code of conduct for social care workers and the draft code of practice for employers set out...

standards; Joint review details Wakefield problems.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Wakefield Council social services are not serving local people well and have uncertain prospects for improvement, a joint review by the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate published last month has revealed. The report...

Learning difficulties; Partnership boards receive guidance.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Learning disability partnership boards must make the development of person-centred approaches to commissioning, providing and organising services a top priority, according to Department of Health guidance published this week. Planning with...

People; Gibb awarded CBEin honours list.(Moira Gibb)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Former president of the Association of Directors of Social Services, Moira Gibb, has been awarded a CBE for her contribution to social services in the New Year Honours List. Gibb is director of housing and social services for the London Borough...

youth justice by Paul Donovan; Long-term rise in prison custody for young people breaks past pledges.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The number of 15 and 16-year- olds being remanded into prison custody during the past nine years has tripled despite a past government commitment to end the practice. For the first six months of 2001, 1,284 young people were remanded into...

workplace by Clare jerrom; Government recruitment campaign helps improve social work's image.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... The first part of the government's recruitment campaign to attract people into the social work profession has been declared a success by health minister Jacqui Smith. The ?1.5m national newspaper and radio advertising campaign encouraged...

Victoria Climbie inquiry by Community Care reporters; Kouao claims she did not kill Victoria Climbie and that photos were faked.
January 10, 2002... Convicted murderer Marie-Therese Kouao pleaded her innocence and refused to answer questions about her personal life at the Climbie inquiry this week. Kouao, Victoria's great aunt, and her boyfriend Carl Manning, were sentenced to life...

obesity surveys are too much to swallow.(Column)
January 10, 2002... Yvonne roberts Is the rising tide of obesity a real cause for concern, or just a vehicle for media worriers? Hello, to the fat of the land. And, according to research published last week, that includes an awful lot of people - in more...

no longer on the fringes.(Column)
January 10, 2002... this life Mental health survivor Richard Jameson writes about his long-term struggle for survival and acceptance A s president of Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club, I was invited up to Edinburgh to play a madman on the fringe....

partnerships; Surrey's bid for joint body rejected.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... Proposals by Surrey Council to run an organisation integrating health and social care have been rejected by the government. The council had planned to set up a body dealing with health and social care in Surrey alone. But the government has...

events.
January 10, 2002... See www.community-care.co.uk for more comprehensive events listings 25 January Involving service users in planning, implementation and monitoring of mental health services Butterworths Tolley London 020 7420 3500 29...

flooded with responsibility.
January 10, 2002... When a care home for older people had to be evacuated during a severe flood, staff had to decide whether to split up the residents in order to find safe accommodation, even though this could lead to their isolation. Phil Carpenter...

diary.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2002... This week's writer is a voluntary sector provider of domiciliary care Monday A long-standing and steadily deteriorating client accuses our care worker of stealing. A previous accusation against a different member of staff is still fresh in...

NSPCC must focus on the front line.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... viewpoint Independent social worker Joan Rowland says managerialism has got the better of one leading children's charity It was with a heavy heart that I read that NSPCC staff were angered by job losses and scrapping of local projects (News...

readers' views; Small majority feel codes help practice.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Fifty-five per cent of respondents to Community Care's online poll believe new draft codes of conduct will help them improve their practice. This week's question asks: In view of the crisis in care home provision should the national...

will adoption bi ll bear fruit?(Statistical Data Included)
January 17, 2002... The government may have reinstated birth parents' rights in the Adoption Bill but many omissions remain, says the Children's Society's Julia Feast The government has said that it wants a complete overhaul of adoption services and to...

an oasis for young people.(Brighton Oasis Project for children of substance abusing mothers)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... A Brighton-based support group for young people whose mothers misuse drugs and alcohol won their category at this year's Community Care awards. Alison Miller reports "Cool!", "Wicked!" "Fantastic!" These were among the comments of young...

research into practice.(study into the importance of self-esteem)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Neil Thompson studies a research report into the importance of self-esteem that challenges assumptions long held in social work The concept of self-esteem has long been recognised as an important one in social work. However, in these days...

youth justice; National voice for youth crime teams.(National Association of Youth Offending)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... The National Association of Youth Offending Team Managers has been launched in a bid to create "an authoritative voice on youth crime issues with the aim of preventing offending by young people". The association, which aims to bring...

time for some risk-taking.(learning disability director Rob Greig)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Rob Greig explains why he feels passionate about implementing the Valuing People strategy Despite warnings from peers that the post of learning disability director of implementation is "a very difficult job", Rob Greig remains refreshingly...

top of the policy queue?(learning disabled)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... A recent blaze of activity has raised hopes that the Valuing People strategy for people with learning difficulties is back at the centre of the government's agenda. But are new structures and guides sufficient to make the strategy work, asks...

damaged beyond repair?(treatment of sex offending children)
January 17, 2002... If the level of sex offending in the UKis to be reduced it would seem obvious that the treatment of child sex offenders should be a priority, as they could turn into the dangerous predatory adults of tomorrow. But, reports Natalie Valios,...

Scotland; Tagging to replace prison for some.(electronic community supervision)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Scotland's justice minister Jim Wallace last week announced that more people will be subject to community supervision with electronic tagging following their convictions. The move is aimed at reducing the prison population. As part of the...

tiggers like support.(social care services)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... this life Gloria Gifford finds inspiration in a Disney movie and advises users not to be fearful of social workers I started using mental health services way back, before care in the community. And I've spent the past 10 years working for...

on the home front.(care homes for the elderly want increased fees)
January 17, 2002... Care home owners are uniting to force local authorities to raise fee levels. It is a desperate move but homes, councils, and residents are running out of options. Ruth Winchester reports The idea of joining forces to ensure a particular...

standards; Gloucestershire services under fire.(social services department)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Areas of weakness have been highlighted at Gloucestershire social services department, according to a report published last week. Key areas of concern include the targeting of resources, long waiting times for a service or assessment,...

residential care by alex dobson; Older care home residents told to leave over 'disruptive behaviour'.(Abbeyfield Society)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Three elderly women have been asked to leave their sheltered accommodation because of their alleged disruptive behaviour. The Abbeyfield Society, which runs the home and is now liaising with social services in a bid to resolve the situation,...

Remembering the man and the music.(social worker Ian Gimour)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Jim Dickie and Kate Pryde reflect on the life of an important figure in Scottish social work - Ian Gilmour The Association of Directors of Social Work lost one of its most distinguished members and past presidents with the death of Ian...

Disability; Tender row over New Deal cash.(controversy over employment services for disabled persons)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Calls for the government to reopen the tendering process for New Deal for Disabled People money have been rejected, prompting claims that it may not meet its target of getting 30,000 disabled people into employment. The Association for...

children; Bill aims for safer play for disabled.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... A House of Commons private members' bill from Adrian Sanders, Liberal Democrat MP for Torbay, in Devon, is calling for councils to incorporate the needs of disabled children when they renovate, or build unsupervised play areas. The bill is...

adoption; Single father at last able to adopt son.(Britain's House of Lords overturns ruing)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... A single father has been allowed to adopt his own child, after two and a half years of court proceedings. Last month the House of Lords overturned a decision of the Court of Appeal refusing an adoption order, although it had been made with...

Workplace; Welcome for draft code of conduct.(social service work)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... The councillor overseeing the UK's largest social services department says continued reference to the Victoria Climbie inquiry threatens to overshadow the introduction of the new code of conduct for social workers. Susanna McCorry,...

Child protection by Rachel Downey; Speed and co-operation at heart of Suffolk's new child protection rules.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... A spate of child abuse cases in Suffolk, including three child deaths, has prompted new child protection guidance in the region. Interim guidance covering the NHS eastern region was issued last week to ensure a consistent approach to the...

Reform; Professionals doubt devolution plans.(deregulation of health care services)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Health and social care organisations have questioned whether government plans to devolve power to the front line will actually happen, according to a Department of Health paper last week on the implementation process for its Shifting the...

Learning difficulties BY Jonathan Pearce; Health service ombudsman criticises NHS trust over hospital detention.(United Kingdom National Health Service)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... An NHS trust was wrong to detain a man with severe learning difficulties for four months, according to a report by the health service ombudsman. The man, L - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was detained in hospital in July 1997 by...

Long-term care; Delayed discharges rise in Scotland.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 17, 2002... Delayed discharges in Scotland have increased for the second year running in spite of executive strategies to reduce the figures. In the latest NHS Scotland statistical report, snapshot figures for 15 October last year show a 6.2 per cent...

Integrated care; Therapists aim to fill service divide.(occupational therapists may offer new services)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... O ccupational therapists could deliver both health and social care in future under proposals from the College of Occupational Therapists. In a consultation document launched this week the College suggests a community-based "general"...

funding; Call to raise funding for social services.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... The Local Government Association is fighting for more government funding for social services, in the wake of the latest proposals for this year's local government finance settlement. An LGA delegation met local government minister Nick...

PEOPLE; Disability charity director dies at 53.(Neil Walker)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Neil Walker, executive director of disability services at the Shaftesbury Society, died of a heart attack on Saturday at the age of 53. He joined the organisation in 1999 as director of care and community services and became an executive...

the path to redemption.(social policy of the Catholic Church)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... "Suffer the little children to come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Our society is nowhere near following Christ's example of valuing children. Perhaps unfortunately, we don't claim to. But the Catholic Church does, and it has...

indicators on the blink.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Local authorities have become so intensely monitored and measured in every aspect of their work that there is now to be a "balanced scorecard" compiled from the mass of data crunched out daily by the scrutineers. Performance indicator data,...

Victoria Climbie inquiry by Community Care reporters; Team manager Baptiste claims she held regular supervision sessions.(social worker Carole Baptiste)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... The team manager criticised in evidence to the Victoria Climbie Inquiry for her management style denied claims earlier this week that she had only held one supervision session with Victoria's allocated social worker during a three-month period....

asylum seekers; Deportation rule changes under fire.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... The Refugee Council is warning that asylum seekers are in danger of being deported from the UK with such speed that they will be unable to seek legal advice or explore any legal avenues open to them. Following the announcement by the Lord...

A case for; training.(social workers' duty to protect children from physical abuse entails serving as court witnesses)
January 17, 2002... Social workers encounter many difficulties and dilemmas when attending court as witnesses, and it is one of the most stressful areas of their work. Children and families worker Margaret Willis reports on her study of staff's court experiences...

down; on record.(mental depression)
January 17, 2002... Depression is widely encountered by social workers in the course of their work, but they themselves are also vulnerable. Researchers Nicky Stanley, Jill Manthorpe, David Brandon and Woody Caan report on a survey of Community Care readers on...

information please.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... l Views of staff, parents and people with learning difficulties on the rights of people with learning difficulties to determine their own sexual relationships. Marianne Seager Flat 3, Triscombe House Triscombe, nr Taunton ...

child protection; Catholic Church moves on abuse.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Eileen Shearer has been appointed the first director of the Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults by the Catholic Church in England and Wales earlier this week. Shearer will oversee the Catholic Church's...

workforce by sally Gillen; Social workers' association faces fight for recognition at five councils.(British Association of Social Workers)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... The British Association of Social Workers may mount a legal challenge against five councils that refuse to allow the organisation to represent its members at disciplinary meetings. The move follows a long-running case involving a former...

charities; NSPCC to redeploy half of laid-off staff.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Half of the 88 NSPCC employees due to be made redundant at the end of February are expected to accept alternative posts with the children's charity, chief executive Mary Marsh told Community Care last week. The redundancies are the result...

we feEl their pain, but do they feel ours?(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Yvonne roberts The powerful are not immune to tragedy but it seems empathy is often a one-way street A the funeral of Gordon Brown's infant daughter a photograph of Jennifer, taken at one hour old, printed on the order of service, was...

Performance management by Jonathan Pearce; MP challenges Milburn over 'naming and shaming' of West Berkshire.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 17, 2002... The government has rejected claims that it was wrong to "name and shame" West Berkshire social services department. In a House of Commons debate last week, David Rendel, Liberal Democrat MP for Newbury, said health secretary Alan Milburn...

education; Gender gap at schools leaves girls' needs unmet, claims new report.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 17, 2002... Girls make up a small minority of school exclusions. But could this be because boys' behavioural problems often mask those of girls? Anabel Unity Sale reports A typical mixed-sex secondary school classroom. A boy at the front is giving the...

Behind the headlines.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news The government finally acknowledged recruitment and retention problems in social work with the launch of a ?1.5m national and radio advertising campaign last October. Nearly 14,000 calls,...

comes with the job?(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Alison Taylor explains why social work can exact a heavy toll on practitioners' mental health - yet another reason why government, councils and the voluntary sector must spend more on it There are six universal emotions: fear, sadness,...

mental health; Charities use delay in drafting bill to scrutinise white paper proposals.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... Charities and professionals have used the past year to discuss proposed mental health reforms but are now wondering when they will be implemented. Katie Leason reports It's all quiet on the Westminster front as far as mental health reform...

standards; Coalition upset by Conservative call.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2002... The Coalition for Quality in Care has said it is "outraged" by Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith's calling for the scrapping of the care standards regulations. Kina Avebury, chairperson of the group, which represents older people and...