Community Care articles from July 2002

Community Care archives from July 2002

COUNCILS RESIST ANTI-RACIST POLICY.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... viewpoint Bureaucratic inertia is undermining local authorities' attempts to tackle racist practices, writes trainer Helen Best Local authorities' failure to meet deadlines set by the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 comes as no surprise...

Suicide ; watch.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Long-term prisoners are offered support on release from prison but no such option exists for short-term prisoners leaving them vulnerable to isolation and even suicide. Claire McCarthy, from the Howard League for Penal Reform, looks at the...

write offs?(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... The Victoria Climbie Inquiry highlighted poor standards of literacy among some social workers. Is this problem being addressed, asks Ruth Winchester It's a familiar refrain from employers: job applicants these days are increasingly...

A taste of the front line.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Community Care's Care in the Capital Week, which ran from 17-21 June, focused attention on staff shortages in London. One of the ways it promoted social work as a career was by offering two women from the world of business the opportunity to...

positive changes.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Organisations serving people who are HIV-positive or have Aids have had to transform themselves as a result of new medication, shifts in the populations of those with the condition, and changes in funding. Anabel Unity Sale reports As the...

misconceived secrecy.
July 4, 2002... The law needs to be changed to allow people born as a result of donor-assisted conception to learn about their background, argues Julia Feast, not just for reasons of openness, but of medical necessity too As the number of children...

little sign of progress.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... this life Many organisations in the disability field are reluctant to employ disabled people, says Julie Turner In the summer of 1987 I, like many other graduates, began my search for employment. I was uncertain about what reception I would...

inspiration as well as help for the poor.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Yvonne roberts says community groups and self-help show the way forward for people in poverty R esearchers monitoring social exclusion, based at the London School of Economics, tell us we have no permanent underclass. Only 3 per cent...

prisoners of society.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Because the criminal justice system is increasingly focusing solely on punishment, large numbers of short-term prisoners are leaving jail with little support and few prospects outside, argues Alison Taylor Judging by the high rate of...

pining for answers.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... letter from trondheim Norway, like the UK, is facing a rise in drug-related crime, often involving children and young people. Hans Eriksson reports on how changes in Norway's child welfare system will address this On 12 February, 2002,...

are you managing?(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... Graham Hopkins introduces a new column on practical guidance for front-line managers, which will run fortnightly from September Being a manager is easy, isn't it? A pushover, a piece of cake. A no-sweat doddle. A trawl of...

fostering retention.(Brief Article)
July 4, 2002... welfare rights Benefits rules are lagging behind the needs of today's foster carers, writes Gary Vaux One of the constant themes of this column has been the inflexibility of social security policy in the face of a changing world. One...

Let's rally round an ethical code.(regulation of social work has changed swiftly in the past few years)(Brief Article)(Column)
July 11, 2002... viewpoint Liz Timms and Nushra Mapstone of the British Association of Social Workers say regulation should be welcomed Never before has social work been subject to the degree of scrutiny and regulation it faces today. In England alone, in...

Councillors' concerns on assessments; lead to call for more transparency.(assessment of performance of local government councils)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Serious questions were raised at the Local Government Association's sixth annual conference in Bournemouth last week about the new comprehensive performance assessment and its ability to improve services. Concerns about the system, which...

who inspects reviews?(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The Victoria Climbie Inquiry has also raised crucial questions about the way in which we monitor the performance of social services departments. The fact that the department at the centre of the case - Haringey - received a glowing joint...

a sense of place.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... For many people who provide foster care for disabled adults, the government's new regulations, designed to raise the overall quality of care, represent an unwelcome burden. They could even prove self-defeating as carers decide to opt out....

Child protection; Clywch abuse case inquiry reopened.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The children's commissioner for Wales, Peter Clarke, is to reopen the Clywch inquiry into alleged abuse at a school in south Wales. The inquiry, the first of its kind in the UK, was set up to examine alleged abuse by John Owen, who taught...

Pictures of health.(Scottish executive reviews health information leaflets in view of people with learning difficulties)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Illustrated health information leaflets have been drawing inspiration from the needs of people with learning difficulties. Graham Hopkins profiles one scheme already exploiting this successful approach "Knowledge," said Samuel Johnson in...

another fine messa.(the problem of bed-blocking examined)
July 11, 2002... The government's plan to punish local authorities in England for bed-blocking are under fire from health-care professionals and local government alike. Drew Clode examines the proposals, while on page 34 Caroline Glendinning casts an expert eye...

adoption by Derren Hayes; Quicker adoption could jeopardise children's safety, government told.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The former head of social services at Brighton and Hove Council has warned the government that setting time limits for assessing adoption applications could jeopardise child safety. Allan Bowman, who stepped down last month as strategic...

race; Schizophrenia linked to social factors.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Higher rates of schizophrenia among African-Caribbeans in the UK may be caused partly by unemployment and earlier separation from both parents, according to research. A study carried out by the Centre for Caribbean Medicine, King's College...

child protection; by derren hayes; Police check delays disrupt staffing at children's homes.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Delays in the processing of Criminal Records Bureau checks are seriously disrupting services in children's homes and could force some to close. Some providers of children's services are reporting an eight to 10-week wait for CRB enhanced...

a charge too far.(management of hospital beds is complex)
July 11, 2002... The introduction of penalties for local authorities who fail to prevent delayed discharges, and corresponding incentives for hospitals, does not take account of the complexity of care services on the ground, as experience in Sweden shows,...

Funding; Council categorising comes under fire.(Audit Commission must consider funding when evaluating local councils)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The Audit Commission has been criticised for refusing to consider levels of funding and deprivation when classifying councils in the comprehensive performance assessment. Despite initially saying the CPA grading must take deprivation and...

Support for single faith schools.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Single faith schools promote greater understanding of other cultures, offer children more opportunities and deliver better academic performance, according to delegates. Speaking at a session on faith schools, Bill Taylor, leader of...

mental health; Two-year wait for services, says report.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... One in three people who seek help for severe mental health problems are turned away, according to a report by mental health charity Rethink. The report, Reaching People Early, also found that people experiencing early signs of mental...

Drug services must act within 24 hours.(drug abusers need rehabilitation as soon as possible)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Rehabilitation programmes for drug misusers must be more responsive and education initiatives should be extended to parents and carers, a fringe meeting on drugs strategy heard last week. Ruth Henig, Lancashire councillor and chairperson of...

residential care; Residents protest over home closure.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Residents at a social care residential unit are occupying their care home in defiance of the Church of Scotland, one of the largest care providers in Scotland. Leslie House in Fife was one of nine care units marked for closure by the...

prison reform; Government recognises need for new effort to cut re-offending.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... A report from the social exclusion unit has highlighted prisons' failure to prevent re-offending. Clare Jerrom examines what is needed to supplement custodial sentences Custodial sentences must be reformed if they are to have any success...

workplace; Unison's strike warning for services.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Anational one-day strike over pay by council workers is likely to affect the provision of social care services, according to Unison. The union's national officer for social services Owen Davies, said that the action planned for 17 July...

policy; Minister wants more say for local people.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Labour's thinking on social care took a surprise turn last week when a government minister advocated community organisations managing some social care services. Public health minister Hazel Blears said that the move would offer an...

Conservative leader refuses to promise extra resources.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith told local government leaders that he could not promise extra resources for social services under a Conservative administration. Responding to questions from delegates, Duncan Smith said he could...

older people; Help the Aged to sell its care homes.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Help the Aged is to sell its 32 care homes across the country because it can't guarantee their long-term financial viability. Ownership and management of the homes is to be taken over by Hanover Friends, a joint venture specially created by...

child protection; Platt apologises for delayed document.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The chief inspector of social services, Denise Platt, failed to submit a vital document to the Victoria Climbie Inquiry because she was unaware of its relevance. The document, an internal review of a 1999 joint review of Haringey social...

child protection by lauren revans; Police audit leads to launch of new London-wide child protection body.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Draft London-wide child protection guidelines were published this week to reduce inconsistencies in practice across the capital and to improve inter-agency working. The guidelines, published at the launch of the London Child Protection...

readers' views; Children should be free to complain.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Ninety-two per cent of visitors to Community Care's website agree with a consortium of children's charities that the Adoption and Children Bill should be amended to make it easier for children in care to make complaints. This week's...

disability by Sally Gillen; Multiple sclerosis services failing.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Social care services are failing people with multiple sclerosis, according to a new report. The report, commissioned by the Multiple Sclerosis Society, found that almost 70 per cent of people with the illness do not have a care manager or...

abortion is part of the poverty equation.
July 11, 2002... Yvonne roberts says trials of the "abortion pill" must lead to an honest debate about teenage pregnancy "Abortion Pill for Teenagers" read a front-page headline in the Daily Mail last week, as if Armageddon is nigh. The truth is that...

my rights were denied.
July 11, 2002... this life People with learning difficulties still face discrimination when they want a family, writes Julie Graysmark My name is Julie and I live in Milton Keynes. I am the chairperson of Milton Keynes People First, Kathleen Franklin, who...

maturity needed.
July 11, 2002... It is time that adults grew up and developed mature views of children that do not veer between sentimentality and oppression - and treat young offenders accordingly, writes Peter Beresford Adult ambiguity about children only seems to be...

joint review; Mixed news at East Sussex services.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... A joint review of East Sussex social services department found many older people and some vulnerable adults are not able to access services. The report from the Social Services Inspectorate and the Audit Commission highlights long waits for...

living with Asperger's.
July 11, 2002... The possibility of an adult with Asperger's syndrome should be considered when there is conflict and domestic violence in a family, say counsellor Ruth Forrester and children's services manager Maxine Aston The public...

renewal; Sharper focus for neighbourhoods.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The government's neighbourhood renewal unit has promised to generate new sources of data to help understand the changing nature of deprived communities and assess the impact of the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal. The move is...

Survey reveals mixed support.(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... Despite fears about the Comprehensive Performance Assessment, more than half of respondents to a survey believe it will benefit their local authorities. A postal survey of 152 delegates reveals that one in four councils expect to gain...

dangerous liaison?
July 11, 2002... Declan Henry (pictured left) faced a tough task in trying to rehabilitate a murderer and habitual drug user. His client, who stabbed his father to death, refuses to acknowledge that he has a mental illness, and is expressing a hatred of his...

continental divide.
July 11, 2002... Do the circumstances of children who arrive in the UK from Africa make them particularly vulnerable to abuse, asks Frances Rickford Would Victoria Climbie have died had she not been African? Of course, other children have been neglected,...

child welfare; More children deprived of liberty as welfare and justice systems collide.
July 11, 2002... The number of younger children in secure units is set to rise, but many have not even committed a crime. Dominique Hammond reports on the findings of new research S ecure accommodation is increasingly "silting up" with younger children...

Met's step is a start.(London's Metropolitan Police takes steps to improve training to provide protection to children)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... The Victoria Climbie Inquiry heard disturbing revelations about police child protection work: poor or non-existent training, low or even derided status within the police service, recruitment problems, and lack of investment. At least the...

Soundbites.
July 11, 2002... l "Local election after local election has seen a victory for the stay at home party." Andrew Rawnsley, political columnist and broadcaster "I have no doubt that, ultimately, the success of public services in this country depends on reform...

short and sweet.(health care literature should be readable)(Brief Article)
July 11, 2002... the write stuff When it comes to sentence length, less is more. So stop rambling and embrace the full stop, says Graham Hopkins While reading something in a paper, magazine or book, have you ever found yourself lost - and having to go back...

Real involvement is yet to come.(youth involvement in social services)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... viewpoint Quality Protects' emphasis on involving young people must survive the policy's demise, writes Martin Hazlehurst Children's participation is a key theme in social care these days. People welcomed Quality Protects' requirements to...

readers' views; Record checks delay harms work.(online poll)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... An overwhelming majority - 88 per cent - of the visitors to Community Care's online poll say their work has been adversely affected as a result of delays in processing checks at the Criminal Records Bureau. This week's question asks:...

Silenced by stigma.(children of HIV positive parents)
July 18, 2002... Social work academics and researchers Viviene Cree, Helen Kay, Kay Tisdall and Jennifer Wallace report on a study of Scottish children whose parent or carer is HIV positive, which has led to recommendations being made to the Scottish parliament...

A place on the web.(virtual social service education program)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Social work teachers and software specialists Mark Doel and Tarsem Singh Cooner describe how their web-based interactive software could ease the difficulties surrounding practice placements There is much talk about the new three-year social...

Culture of negaTIVITY.(black children separated from mothers)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... this life Social services have failed to meet the mental health needs of black communities, writes Carol Jenkin My past and present experience of social services is negative, both as a member of the black community coming into contact with...

Housing; Trust faces legal action over noise.(London and Quadrant)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... A group of social housing tenants are planning to take their landlord to court, claiming that the poor condition of their properties has damaged their mental health and left them unable to work. The tenants, who live in flats owned by...

An habitual problem.(the habitual residence test)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... welfare rights Guidance on the habitual residence test should ease the burden on social services, writes Gary Vaux Asylum seekers make headlines, but many social services departments are faced with heavy demand from people who have failed...

White collar crime.(child abuse by priests in Australia)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Concerns about church institutional abuse and mismanagement of abuse allegations have again emerged in Australia. There have been numerous revelations in the media, not just about what happened in religious organisations, but how it was either...

Workers of the world.(foreign workers fill UK social service positions)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... As councils increasingly come to rely on foreign workers to solve the recruitment crisis in social care, Anabel Unity Sale finds out how social workers who have moved to the UK view working conditions and cultures here Nelson Shabare is...

The select few.(learning disabled help select staff for social services)
July 18, 2002... A project in which people with learning difficulties were trained to help recruit staff had mixed results. But, writes Ruth Townsley from the Norah Fry Research Centre, the most successful examples depended on behind-the-scenes commitment ...

Young people: Nacro says football helps reduce crime.(Nacro and Football Foundation)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Sport can help combat crime in communities, a joint Nacro and Football Foundation conference heard last week. Reported crime rates decreased by 77 per cent in Barking and Dagenham, east London where a football-based project has been...

Maximum: discretion?(social services disclosure)
July 18, 2002... The increase in joint working means more information-sharing between agencies concerning personal details of service users. To ensure all parties are comfortable with this, professionals need to be fully aware of data protection protocols,...

Back home.(home care)
July 18, 2002... Everyone agrees that home care with support is preferable to institutionalised care, but outlooks diverge among health and social care professionals once the front door has been opened and the client crosses the threshold. Ruth Winchester...

Children: children in care at risk of offending.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... Looked-after children are three times more likely to commit an offence than children not in care, according to the latest Department of Heath statistics on outcomes for looked-after children. Ten per cent of looked-after children aged 10 or...

Workforce: Leadbetter to head new training force.(Mike Leadbetter)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... President of the Association of Directors of Social Services, Mike Leadbetter, is to head a new practice learning task force. The task force has been set up to meet the demand for more practice training in the new social work degree and...

Substance misuse; Decline in glue and gas-related deaths.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... There were 64 deaths associated with misusing gas fuels, glues, aerosols and other solvent-based products in 2000, according to the latest Department of Health figures. This compares with 75 deaths from volatile substances in 1999. Half of...

Healthy hospitals.(planning congenial facilities)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Most of the discussion around the expansion of intermediate care has focused on appropriate means of rehabilitation, but the environment in which it is provided is also very important, writes Anna Coote If the current expansion of...

Child protection; Police check delays build backlogs in recruitment and fostering.(Criminal Records Bureau's services)
July 18, 2002... The voluntary sector has reacted with dismay to the Criminal Records Bureau's failure to meet its targets, pointing to the effects it has on their work. Derren Hayes reports The message on the Criminal Records Bureau telephone information...

child protection; Abuse expert slams interviewing skills.(social workers)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... An expert in child abuse investigations has urged the government to introduce training for social workers who carry out interviews with people who allege they were abused. William Thompson, human sexualities lecturer at Reading University,...

youth justice by clare jerrom; Number of young women in secure units rises by nearly half in a year.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... The number of young women in secure facilities has risen by 40 per cent over the last year, according to the Youth Justice Board. The figures show there were 155 young women in secure facilities in April 2001, rising to 218 in April 2002....

Victoria Climbie inquiry by Sally Gillen; Investigation criticises joint review into Haringey's social services.(London Borough of Haringey)(United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Problems with the processes used for collecting information for joint reviews led to an an "overly positive" review of Haringey social services department in 1999. That was the conclusion of an internal investigation of the 1999 review,...

Asylum seekers; Probe into refugee housing in Liverpool.(Liverpool, England)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... The Home Office is to commission an internal inquiry into dealings between the National Asylum Support Service (Nass) and Landmark, a Liverpool firm that has been providing accommodation in the city for refugees. Beverley Hughes, minister...

Child protection; Does all-London committee signal a shift towards standardisation?(London, England)
July 18, 2002... The pan-London child protection committee will enable staff to track children as they move within the capital, but how much standardisation is desirable, asks Lauren Revans The face of child protection in London was given a make-over last...

Asylum seekers by Frances Rickford; Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will face new controls.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... The immigration service is to introduce new controls on unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. They will be routinely subjected to interviews and reporting arrangements will be introduced for those 16 and 17-year-olds who face deportation...

Mental health; Inquiry tells Reading to improve records.(Reading, England)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Reading social services has been told to improve its record-keeping after an inquiry into the care and treatment of Winston Williams found failures in reporting and recording information. In May 2000, Williams, who had a diagnosis of...

Voluntary sector: Welsh MPs attack Charity Commission.(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Welsh politicians have condemned the Charity Commission's verdict on the Children's Society's exit from Wales as "feeble, disappointing" and "unduly lenient". They are calling for changes in the law so that other charities will not be able...

Workplace: national strike for better minimum pay.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... Unison sent notices to more than 400 councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this week informing them of the national strike that was due to take place on 17 July. The action was expected to affect social services, residential care...

Older people; Troubled charity to consider merger.(Centre for Policy on Ageing planning with The Beth Johnson Foundation)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... The Centre for Policy on Ageing is facing financial difficulties and is considering merging with older people's charity The Beth Johnson Foundation. In its latest annual report the CPA states that "the future of the Centre can best be...

young people; Care leavers guidance launched.(Children (Leaving Care) Act 2001and Homelessness Act 2002, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Guidelines aimed at improving the life chances of young care leavers were launched by the Department of Health, the government's homelessness directorate and homelessness charity Centrepoint this week. They are designed to give UKcouncils a...

spending review by lauren revans; Brown insists extra cash for public services must lead to improvements.(Gordon Brown on child care and education, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... The chancellor this week promised to increase annual spending on public services by [pound]61bn by 2005-6 - but insisted that the resources must be matched by reform and results. Announcing the outcome of the government's third...

so many mouths to feed.(Gordon Brown on social services, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... Few genuine believers in social welfare would take issue with the principles underlying the comprehensive spending review, the outcome of which was announced by chancellor Gordon Brown this week. More money for Sure Start, more money for the...

divisive monitoring.(asylum-seeking children in the United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... This week saw the announcement of new measures to monitor asylum-seeking children who have no leave to remain in the country. The Home Office has said social workers should be preparing young people in this predicament for a return to their...

Children; Guardians wary of use of agency staff.(The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 18, 2002... The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has been forced to employ agency staff to tackle the chronic shortage of children's guardians in legal cases. Waiting lists for care order cases are increasing across the country,...

mental health by Katie Leason; Services caught in 'circles of fear'.(Blacks and the mental health system, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
July 18, 2002... Fear is preventing black people from engaging with mental health services, according to a report by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health. It highlights how staff view black service users as potentially dangerous and the ways in which...