Community Care articles from July 2006

Community Care archives from July 2006

A stark choice.(direct payments systems in UK and Norway)
July 6, 2006... Norway and the UK's direct payment systems face a similar dilemma: more local control risks growing inequality among service users, writes Karen Christensen as results from her comparative study of direct payments systems begin to come through...

Beyond tokenism.(Havering College, social work studies)
July 6, 2006... Service users are helping to shape the social work degree course at Havering College. Their input is far from a marginal afterthought, says Pam Hutton The General Social Care Council's decision to put service users and carers at the heart...

'It's a shame housing and social care can't make a joint case'.
July 6, 2006... Housing and social care can achieve a lot together but when it comes to funding the sectors have to compete, new Chartered Institute of Housing president Janet Hale tells Simeon Brody Janet Hale is keen to impress upon the social care world...

Child protection by Amy Taylor 'Witchcraft' cases may be missed by new plans for information collection.
July 6, 2006... A significant number of child "witchcraft" cases could go undetected under government plans for local safeguarding children boards to collect information on such incidents, a children's services director has warned. Andrew Webb, co-chair...

Policy Extra funds to back Scots change plan.(21st Century Social Work Review)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... The Scottish executive has unveiled detailed plans and announced [pounds sterling]15m of extra funding to deliver the recommendations of the 21st Century Social Work Review. Its five-year action plan to implement the review's Changing...

Mental capacity Lawyers set to test 'Bournewood' rules.(patient rights)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Government plans to introduce safeguards for people who are detained in a hospital or care home but lack the capacity to object could be subject to legal challenges, a lawyers' group has warned the government. The Law Society, which...

Domestic violence Social work warned on unsafe contact.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Social work practitioners should not "collude" with child contact arrangements that could endanger children, a Community Care conference on domestic violence heard last week. Jane Booth, corporate director and lead on domestic violence at...

Carers Allowance level a 'bare faced insult'.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... The government has been urged to reform the allowance paid to carers after a survey described it as "offensively low" and a "bare faced insult". The Princess Royal Trust for Carers said there were a range of problems with carers allowance,...

Workplace Government in dark over violence target.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... The government has admitted it has no idea whether a target to reduce violence against social care workers by 25 per cent from 2002 to 2005 has been met. The target was proposed in January 2001 by the National Task Force on Violence...

White paper MP lambasts social services' availability.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... GPs are ready to use practice budgets to commission social care for their patients but cannot to do so because social services are often unavailable, a parliamentary inquiry heard this week. Labour MP and GP Howard Stoate told the inquiry...

Homelessness 'Supporting People Plus' proposed.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... A strategy to end homelessness in the UK by 2020 was launched this week by charity Homeless Link. The draft document, which will be subject to consultation over the summer before being presented to MPs, suggests introducing a new...

Readers' views Behan greeted with shrug of shoulders.
July 6, 2006... Only half of visitors to Community Care's website last week thought David Behan's appointment as director general for social care would make a difference to the social care profession. This week's question asks: Should the public sector...

Education MPs find flaws in special needs.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... England's special educational needs system is "not fit for purpose" and needs to be urgently overhauled, MPs said this week. A report from the Commons education and skills committee found flaws in the consistency of provision, the...

Act now.(post-adoption support)
July 6, 2006... Councils must provide post-adoption support but is this being applied evenly across the UK, asks Diana Gollop The multiple needs of children adopted from the care system makes post-placement support crucial to the success of any...

Behan's appointment is a great opportunity.(David Behan, department of social care)
July 6, 2006... No more scrapping for the crumbs that fall from the Department of Health's top table. Social care's wish has been granted at last, with the appointment of David Behan as director general. Now we all have to stop thinking and behaving like...

Finance Lewis hints at reform of charges.(Ivan Lewis, social care minister)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Care services minister Ivan Lewis has signalled reforms to the social care charging system on the back of the Wanless report and ahead of next year's comprehensive spending review. However, at a Commission for Social Care Inspection...

Veteran losing his fight.(elderly veteran social care receiver)
July 6, 2006... A Polish man who served with the RAF in the second world war has become a recluse and is struggling on everyday tasks CASE study The name of the service user has been changed situation: Jan Cerowski is an 87-year-old man who...

A boost for parents.(parents with learning difficulties)
July 6, 2006... With half of all children born to parents with learning difficulties being taken into care, a support group in south Gloucestershire has provided some lessons for staff also. Graham Hopkins reports In Valuing People, the government...

The Simon Heng column A service user's view of social care.(Column)
July 6, 2006... The subject of disabled people and their sexuality is one of the last taboos Encarna Conde is the 45-year-old president of the Andalusian Ataxia Groups. She has ataxia (a condition causing an unsteady gait and shaky movements) and is a...

Get on the case.
July 6, 2006... welfare rights Gary Vaux uses readers' questions to highlight the latest significant changes to benefits rules My client has been in hospital for three months. We've just been told that her housing benefit has been reduced and that she...

What should be David Behan's priority in the new Department of Health top job of director general of social care?(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Jean Stogdon Grandpar- ents Plus I hope that he will talk to front-line workers. Civil servants always talk to the top people, yet the people on the front line struggle with things that the managers don't know about and have to implement...

Adults' services Changes for council complaints panels.(adult social services )(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Council review panels that examine complaints against adult social services will need an independent majority, under government regulations issued last week (news, page 7, 29 June). The regulations, which will come into force on 1...

Asylum seekers Leicester reports rough sleeping rise.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... There has been a steep rise in asylum seekers sleeping rough in Leicester, according to a new report. The number of asylum seekers sleeping rough more than trebled from 32 in 2005 to 100 in February 2006, while 200 said they were sleeping...

Benefits Welfare Bill lays out reform plans.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... The government published its long-awaited Welfare Reform Bill this week but there is still no indication of the new levels of benefits. The bill contains powers to replace incapacity benefit with a new employment and support allowance from...

Book reviews.(Practising Welfare Rights)(The Child's Own Story: Life Story Work with Traumatized Children)(Beyond Listening: Children's Perspectives on Early Childhood Services)(Book review)
July 6, 2006... Practising Welfare Rights ----- Neil Bateman, Routledge ISBN: 0415358906, [pounds sterling]19.99 I have a confession to make, that I probably should have mentioned when asked to review this book - I am listed in the acknowledgements...

Children's fund Report questions targeting services.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... The rationale for selecting areas to provide Children's Fund services was "not always clear and logical", a new report claims. The study, part of the National Evaluation of the Children's Fund and commissioned by the Department for...

Education Peers seek 'fairer' admissions policy.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Liberal Democrat peers are trying to change the school admissions code of practice to give all children fair access to education. Baroness Walmsley and Baroness Sharp want to amend the Education and Inspections Bill, which is in committee...

Exclusive by Sally Gillen Officials lay out action plan to cope with feared expats' care timebomb.
July 6, 2006... Civil servants have drawn up an action plan to tackle fears that services could be overwhelmed by British expatriates returning to the UK for care when they develop conditions such as dementia. An early draft document prepared by officials...

Frontlines.(private schooled dominate key government positions)
July 6, 2006... One of our team of practitioner columnists gives his take on whether the UK has become more classless According to Conservative party leader David Cameron, the "great thing about Britain is that it matters more where you are going than...

Housing by Derren Hayes Minister plans Wales GP network to provide special service for homeless.(Edwina Hart, social justice and regeneration minister )
July 6, 2006... The Welsh assembly government could be set to develop a network of GPs dedicated to working with homeless people in all 22 local health boards in the country. Social justice and regeneration minister Edwina Hart is pushing the plan as a...

How much has changed?(abuse of people with learning difficulties )(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... The official report on the widespread abuse of people with learning difficulties in Cornwall - both in institutions and the community - makes frightening reading. It's hard to believe that in this day and age staff are hitting people and giving...

Inspections Behan's job to go internal candidate.(David Behan, Commission for Social Care Inspection )(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Commission for Social Care Inspection chief inspector David Behan will be replaced by an internal candidate when he becomes the Department of Health's director general for social care (news, page 6, 29 June). The CSCI told Community Care...

Learning difficulties by Simeon Brody Cornish abuse findings expose 'lack of understanding' of rights.(abuse of people with learning disabilities)
July 6, 2006... Two national inspectorates have slammed the "widespread lack of understanding" about the rights of people with learning difficulties after uncovering years of abuse in institutions, including physical abuse, run by Cornwall NHS trust....

Learning difficulties Chair of L'Arche UK set to leave his post.(Brian McGinnis )(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... A charity chair who faced sex abuse allegations is stepping down from his post this week. However, learning difficulties charity L'Arche UK said Brian McGinnis was leaving the role anyway because he had come to the end of his four-year...

Management Shared managers mooted for Wales.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... A major report out next week is expected to pave the way for Wales's social services departments to share senior managers. The report, by Local Government Association vice-chair Sir Jeremy Beecham and NHS Confederation head Gill Morgan,...

Mix or match?(ethnic diversity in the UK)
July 6, 2006... The UK's increasing ethnic diversity is putting pressure on councils to recruit foster carers from minorities. Kate Saines reports A young child from Somalia arrives in the UK without their parents. They already have to cope with...

Mubarek report Prison murder inquiry slams individual and systemic failings.(Zahid Mubarek)
July 6, 2006... While Zahid Mubarek's family want to see individuals brought to account for failures that led to his murder, others believe that the prison service itself should face charges. Maria Ahmed reports The damning report into the murder of...

Mubarek report by maria ahmed Feltham YOI still dogged by racism years after Zahid Mubarek's murder.(Feltham Young Offender Institution)
July 6, 2006... Continuing problems at Feltham Young Offender Institution have been revealed just as the inquiry into the death of inmate Zahid Mubarek published its damning report. The Independent Monitoring Board's annual report on Feltham, published in...

Older people Care homes key for 'highly dependent'.(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Care home leaders and older people's charities have claimed a census of over 30,000 residents proves the need for a flourishing residential care sector to cater for highly dependent people. The UK-wide census, produced by CCC, a coalition...

Prisons must improve.
July 6, 2006... The saying that you can judge a civilisation by its prisons seems particularly apt in the aftermath of the Mubarek inquiry, whose scathing report on the death of Zahid Mubarek at the hands of his racist cellmate Robert Stewart was published...

Send for the paras.
July 6, 2006... Conceived as a solution to Glasgow's recruitment crisis, the city's social care workers are now using their grade as a stepping stone to full qualification. Derren Hayes reports The creation of a new grade of para-professional...

Sick of being doubted.(employee benefits, Department for Work and Pensions)
July 6, 2006... this life Katie Lord finds claiming benefits to be a weary struggle mired in assessors' lack of trust Since I had to have two medical assessments before being considered for benefits, I have not been able to trust the Department for...

Training materials.(Firm Foundations: A Practical Guide to Organisational Support for the Use of Research Evidence)(Keys to Citizenship: A Guide to Getting Good Support for People with Learning Disabilities)(Book review)
July 6, 2006... Firm Foundations: A Practical Guide to Organisational Support for the Use of Research Evidence ----- Research in Practice ISBN: 1904984126, download from www.rip.org.uk/foundations Research in Practice is a large UK child care research...

Voluntary sector Charities and firms plan joint ventures.(Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... Charity and business leaders are drawing up plans to develop hybrid organisations in a bid to win major public service contracts. Large voluntary and private sector agencies aim to create arm's-length partnership bodies to win contracts in...

Whose rights should prevail?(child sex offenders)
July 6, 2006... While many parents remain convinced that more needs to be done to protect children from paedophiles, introducing a version of the US Megan's Law to this country would be at best unworkable and at worst counterproductive, according to many...

Workforce Social worker faces conduct committee.(Anthony Peter Jacks)(Brief article)
July 6, 2006... An unnamed social worker who allegedly did not disclose a full criminal record when registering with the General Social Care Council is due to appear before the regulator's conduct committee at a one-day hearing today (Thursday). Last...

'Sorry, we can't tell you that'.
July 6, 2006... The problems faced by agencies trying to contact survivors of the 7 July London bombings have highlighted confusion over data protection and how it inhibits the work of social care agencies. Mark Hunter investigates the source of the...

'you can always talk to maxine'.(Werrington Young Offender Institution)
July 13, 2006... Social workers' arrival at young offender institutions in 2005 was long overdue as inmates' relationship with prison officers was, and remains, fraught. Anabel Unity Sale visits Werrington YOI and finds out how social workers have made...

two into one does go.(disability nursing and social work)
July 13, 2006... Joint working between health and social care is all the rage but the field of learning difficulties has been pioneering a joint practitioner role since the 1980s. Dave Sims looks at new research on the success of the role...

'Councils lack power to check'.(adult care)
July 13, 2006... Cornwall adult care director Carol Tozer explains why councils need more power to intervene to prevent the kind of abuse that last week came to light. Simeon Brody reports Most of the blame for the widespread institutional abuse of...

performance Call for more care services scrutiny.(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Councils and health boards in Wales should "ambitiously" scrutinise their health and social care services to make them reflect the wishes of citizens, public sector experts have recommended. A review of Welsh public services led by Sir...

Carers Cabinet champion for England urged.(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... England needs a cabinet-level champion for carers, campaigners said last week. Members of the all-party parliamentary carers group called on the government to follow the example of Wales, which last month appointed John Griffiths as...

scrutiny must be fair.(social workers)
July 13, 2006... Last summer, the Daily Mail memorably (mis)reported the case of social workers in Essex "stealing" children from parents with learning difficulties. In an attempt to end the furore that ensued, anonymised transcripts of the judgements given...

laxness on adult abuse.(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Care services minister Ivan Lewis hit the nail on the head when he said society needed to rethink its attitude towards abuse of vulnerable adults and treat the issue as seriously as it does child abuse. There has been a spate of stories...

asylum seekers Minimum standards for child services.(right of asylum)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Inadequacies in services for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children will be addressed in a consultation paper out this month, a Home Office official told a Community Care conference this week. Brian Kinney, the new director of the...

voluntary sector Task force repeats cost recovery call.(Department of Health)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... F ailure to remove the barriers to third sector delivery of health and social care are no longer justified, a report concluded this week. The Department of Health's third sector commissioning task force called for charitable providers to...

Bournewood carers call for investigation.(Bournewood Hospital)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... The carers at the centre of the landmark Bournewood case are demanding an independent investigation into alleged ill-treatment of HL, a person with severe learning difficulties, when he was illegally detained on a psychiatric unit. The...

Children in care Education remains green paper focus.(foster children)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... The green paper on looked-after children is likely to address how social workers engage with education staff. Officials have said the paper is also likely to recommend introducing local authority champions for looked-after children, a Local...

Coming into my time.(personality disorder)
July 13, 2006... this life Alex Williams used to be held back by a lack of self-esteem but now she's ready to live a little While anyone who sees me thinks I look fine, people close to me realise the struggles I have around my identity and body image....

Department of Health moots greater role for councils at primary care trusts.(public health)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Officials charged with increasing social care's influence over health commissioning are considering giving councils seats on primary care trust boards, according to a government adviser. Department of Health adviser Tony Elson told...

Education bill 'will not improve schools'.(Education and Inspections Bill)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... The bill to introduce independent trust schools in England is a distraction from both improving school standards and promoting well-being for children, a children's services leader told the conference last week. Association of Directors of...

If you ask me...(Carl Mayers )(Interview)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Carl Mayers has learning difficulties and has lived on the streets. He uses the KeyRing Living Support Networks in Wrexham Who has influenced you the most? KeyRing manager Gaenor Wright and worker Paula Broddle. They have helped me...

Lewis pledges to tackle adults' abuse.(Ivan Lewis)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Care services minister Ivan Lewis has pledged to tackle the abuse of adults with learning difficulties. Speaking in parliament, he said society needed to take such abuse more seriously. "We take it as read that it is evil to abuse...

shifting up a gear.(front-line manager)
July 13, 2006... Becoming a front-line manager for the first time can make for a challenging transition. New manager Susan Ashworth tells Graham Hopkins how she has adapted to her role Unlike nurses, social workers don't have career practitioner...

Should prison staff be made more accountable when people die in custody?(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Len Smith Gypsy activist The inquiry into the death of Zahid Mubarek made the importance of accountability clear. That accountability needs to go right to the top and there should be policies in place to ensure that it does. But...

Hard choices, little thanks.(social worker persuades an old woman to go to a nursing home)
July 13, 2006... A 95-year-old woman in failing health lives in squalor by choice with her family, who obstruct attempts to assess her needs. Kristina Powney (left) tells Graham Hopkins how she went about the task of persuading her to go to...

The Simon Heng column A service user's view of social care.
July 13, 2006... One man, in his forties, was tied up, in his wheelchair, for up to 16 hours a day. The staff claimed they did this to prevent him from slapping himself in the face One of my friends has a brother with severe learning difficulties. Brought...

Training New standards for children's workforce.(children's services)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Induction standards for new entrants to the children's services workforce were launched last week. The Children's Workforce Development Council standards will be implemented in children's social care services from September. This will...

Welfare reform Charities' role may compromise values.(Welfare Reform Bill )(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Proposals in the Welfare Reform Bill may force voluntary sector organisations to act to the disadvantage of their clients, a disability charity warned this week. Leonard Cheshire said plans for services relating to the new employment and...

adoption Welsh pragmatism wins staff plaudits.(British Association of Social Workers)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... The British Association of Social Workers has welcomed the "pragmatic" stance taken by the Welsh assembly government towards the regulation of independent social workers doing adoption support work. The assembly government confirmed this...

book reviews.(Book review)
July 13, 2006... Child Care Law - A Summary of the Law in England and Wales (5th edition) ----- Deborah Cullen and Mary Lane, British Association for Adoption and Fostering ISBN: 1903699738, [pounds sterling]9.95 This book remains a useful quick reference...

children Child policy review has three strands.(Department for Education and Skills and the Treasury)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... The government's joint children and young people policy review will focus on disabled children, youth services and families and children at risk of low achievement and harm, it announced last week. The review, which is being carried out by...

drugs misuse 'Addicts should not have children'.(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... A member of the Scottish parliament wants drug misusers to be barred from having children. In a discussion paper, Labour backbencher Duncan McNeil said drug services had not focused enough on the rights of the children of drug misusers....

catch the meaning?(emotional and psychological abuse)
July 13, 2006... Kieran O'Hagan clarifies the distinction between emotional and psychological abuse Imagine the scene: you are a social worker in court being questioned about a child who you allege is being significantly harmed by being subjected to...

exclusive Arthurworrey slams registration wait.(Lisa Arthurworrey)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... The social worker at the centre of the Victoria Climbie case has criticised delays to her attempts to register as a social worker after being left waiting more than nine months. Lisa Arthurworrey applied to the General Social Care Council...

family courts by mithran samuel Plan to end court anonymity could see social workers exposed to risk.
July 13, 2006... Social workers could be threatened, subject to press vilification or held publicly responsible for child protection failings if government plans to remove their anonymity in family proceedings go ahead. That was the warning from social work...

frontlines.(families eating dinner together)
July 13, 2006... One of our team of practitioner columnists gives her take on food as a social bond Is the idea of families eating dinner together at a table an antidote to society's ills? If so, has everybody got the space, asks Helen Bonnick...

homelessness London council wins appeal over girl.(Howard League for Penal Reform)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... The Howard League for Penal Reform could appeal in the House of Lords against a ruling that means councils do not need to automatically classify young homeless people as children in need. Last week, it lost a second legal challenge to...

learning difficulties by maria ahmed Police may not be able to prosecute staff named in Cornish trust inquiry.(Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust)
July 13, 2006... Staff who allegedly abused people with learning difficulties at Cornwall Partnership NHS Trust could escape prosecution because of the trust's failure to involve the police when the allegations first came to light. The inquiry, published...

mental health by simeon brody Mind adds to fears over true number of sexual assaults in service units.(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... A leaked report that revealed more than 100 incidents of sexual assault and harassment in mental health units over a two-year period could underestimate the problem, according to a charity. Mind has called on the government to publish the...

my practice.(social work)
July 13, 2006... Giles Gardner explains how social work placements for police officer trainees are helping challenge prejudices within the force I'm sure that many people will have watched the BBC's expose of police cadets in The Secret Policeman in 2003...

no wonder he's distressed.(mental health services at young offender institutions)
July 13, 2006... At last there is recognition that mental health services at young offender institutions need a total rethink, but can young people with mental health problems be treated in such settings, asks Natalie Valios They are bleak, isolating...

performance Most children rate workers highly.(surveys)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... Most children who receive social care rate their social workers highly but many are unhappy about them breaking promises and the multiple changes of practitioner, a report this week finds. The study by children's rights director Dr Roger...

personal care 'Councils should lose care managers' role'.(English Community Care Association)(Brief article)
July 13, 2006... An independent sector leader has called for many social work posts to be stripped out of councils to help deliver the government's vision of more personalised care. English Community Care Association chief executive Martin Green told...