Community Care articles from July 2007

Community Care archives from July 2007

Justice ministry digs in on extending restraint rules.(News)
July 12, 2007... maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk The Ministry of Justice is still refusing to back down on controversial legislation to extend staff powers to restrain children in secure training centres. The ministry told Community Care this week a statutory...

Hackney to give more power to front line.(News)(London Borough of Hackney restructures social work administration)(Brief article)
July 12, 2007... Traditional social work teams are being disbanded in Hackney Council's children's department as part of a radical overhaul of services. The London council is now seeking consultant social workers to work in small units with other...

New Scots direct payment laws 'disturbing', say critics.(News)
July 12, 2007... Legislation will force service users to apply for criminal records checks on employees amy.taylor@rbi.co.uk Campaigners have blasted "disturbing and disempowering" new Scottish laws forcing direct payment and individual budget users to...

Diary A lighter take on the working week. A management consultant writes.(Diary)
July 12, 2007... Daughter's GCSE has gone well. "Fine, no problem, don't stress Dad" Saturday I wake at 7am (unintentional) but realise I won't get back to sleep as I have the annual joy of putting together my accounts. (Listen to Snow Patrol and Lemon...

Take a break from illness.(Working Lives)
July 12, 2007... Do you get ill on your holiday? Well, you're not alone. Elisabeth Wilson explains how to stay fit Are you like Professor Ad Vingerhoets of Tilburg University? Professor Vingerhoets noticed that he always became ill on the first few days of...

Better than expected.(Opinion Columns)
July 12, 2007... The task now is for professionals to improve the Mental Health Bill in practice, writes approved social worker Angela Downing front line focus The Mental Health Bill has arrived after nine years of debate, and the final stages happened...

sexual desire is universal.(Opinion Columns)
July 12, 2007... Carers, assistants and relatives must recognise that disabled people have the same sexual desires as those without disabilities 10 service user voice Recently, I heard of a physically disabled man who was dying in hospital. A...

Features.
July 12, 2007... case study Up to 20,000 disabled people are in danger of being caught up in a bureaucratic wrangle that could not only deny them the opportunity to live more independently but which could also be costing local authorities millions of...

Support for carers of people with dementia.(Proven Practice)
July 12, 2007... the evidence base for social care practice t is estimated that there are 700,000 cases of dementia in the UK and around one million people caring for them. Dementia is a progressive and largely irreversible clinical syndrome that is...

Research Realities.
July 12, 2007... Research Realities 12/7 John Randall The Research Title: Children Who Commit Acts of Serious Interpersonal Violence: Messages for Best practice This is a book (ISBN 1-84310-384-2) published in 2006 by Jessica Kingsley Book...

what's blair done for us?(Opinion Columns)(Tony Blair)
July 12, 2007... Labour has tried to airbrush the words "social work" out of existence and presided over a seemingly inexorable decline 8 front line focus At last we are rid of Tony Blair. Ten years of a new Labour government should be a time of...

Features.
July 12, 2007... children in care Children make their mark Seven local authorities have signed up to the Blueprint project which sets out to improve the lives of looked-after children by asking them what they want. Lauren Revans reports Start...

Reviews.
July 12, 2007... Youth in Context: Frameworks, Settings and Encounters aaaaa Edited by Martin Robb, Open University/SageISBN 978-1-4129-3067-3, [pounds sterling]21.99 e_SFlb As part of a series published by the Open University aimed at keeping...

Parents once again.(Features)
July 12, 2007... Some grandparents have to relearn parenting skills as they take on full-time care of their grandchildren. Robert Bullard evaluates the support available for grandparents put in this position Just when some grandparents believe their...

Q: I have been bullied within my social work team over the past three years. The person who did this has now been removed, but I've been left disillusioned. Do I stay in social work, my team and authority?(Working Lives)
July 12, 2007... career clinic A: Only you have the answer to this. The after-effects of bullying can stay with you for a long time. You say that the bully has been removed from the team, rather than leaving the team of his/her own accord, so I am assuming...

Q: I have a member of staff who will not co-operate with the team. I have tried to address the issues and my manager has told me to "just manage her - that's your job". But when I've tried to do this, she accuses me of being racist, and colludes with my manager, the only other Asian woman in the team. What can I do?(Working Lives)
July 12, 2007... career clinic A: Someone raising a "discrimination flag" ought to make us all question whether we have treated that person detrimentally. Be honest about your answer. Treating people within your team "differently" is not necessarily a...

Diary.
July 12, 2007... Monday Our first ever human resources director is starting today. She has come from a bank and I hope she is not too horrified by what she sees. She is excited, which is good. Her face changes when I tell her about some of our previous...

Parenting drive is crucial.(Editorial Comment)(Brief article)
July 12, 2007... In his inaugural speech as prime minister, Gordon Brown pledged to bring together "all the forces of compassion" to end child poverty by 2020. It sounded rather hackneyed until he unveiled the super ministry for children last week. The...

Backchat.
July 12, 2007... Competition Win an iPod! How far would you be prepared to keep your service users or colleagues happy? Would you dress up as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? Yes. Would you ride through town on the back of a camel? Apparently so. Erect...

Features.
July 12, 2007... A bridge to better days Contact centres, which bring together fractured families, are playing a full part in the bid to improve parenting. If only there were more of them and their funding was more secure, writes Natalie Valios. More on...

Good Practice.
July 12, 2007... hen Valuing People was launched in 2001 it was described as a ground-breaking government strategy. We were told that people with learning disabilities were no longer to be seen as just service users, but would become equal citizens able to...

Opinion Columns.
July 12, 2007... Don't judge us on one story Two years ago, anyone reading the national papers would have received the impression that Essex Council had a policy of removing children from parents with learning disabilities based on one case that attracted...

Working Lives.
July 12, 2007... Our extravagant consumption patterns aren't just down to powering our houses, driving and flying. They are a lot to do with how much we shop, and what we choose to buy. In short, "retail therapy" is killing the planet. Our love of imported...

GP Column.(Column)
July 12, 2007... Quicker process of sectioning patients makes GPs' life easier GPs now rarely need waste time on mediating between professionals at war over compulsory admissions, says Dr Michael Fitzpatrick s a result of the endless reforms and...

Where foster carers assess.(Good Practice)
July 12, 2007... A pioneering scheme putting children and parents together in foster care so that parental skills can be assessed has been launched in Suffolk. Anabel Unity Sale reports good practice examining what works ffectively assessing how a...

Backchat.
July 12, 2007... Fifteen years ago In July 1992, performance artist and wheelchair user Tony Heaton used an artificial leg to demolish his seven-foot high pyramid sculpture of collecting cans - entitled 'Shaken, not stirred' - as part of a protest against...

Opinion Columns.
July 12, 2007... Jen Harvey Frontline focus At last! Whether your tipple is Boddingtons, Bacardi Breezer or a bottle of Beaujolais, you can go to any bar, pub or restaurant in the country and enjoy it smoke free, as long as you stay inside. As a non...

Features.
July 12, 2007... n a small room in Greenwich, south east London, seven people are learning how to be good parents. They are doing an "ice breaker" exercise, designed to remove social barriers. They have divided into groups and have been asked by the facilitator...

Father where art thou?(Good Practice)(Brief article)
July 12, 2007... Parenting schemes find fathers harder to reach than mothers but in south London one targeted project is beginning to bear fruit. Graham Hopkins reports good practice examining what works what the fathers said * "Very enjoyable. It...

Reviews.
July 12, 2007... BOOKS Parental Alienation: How to Understand and Address Parental Alienation Resulting from Acrimonious Divorce or Separation aaaaa Ludwig F Lowenstein, Russell House Publishing ISBN 9781905541102, [pounds sterling]34.95 ...

Backchat.
July 12, 2007... Cancer (Jun 23 - Jul 23) A message from an old friend will leave you hankering for the past. But how to recapture it? Tip: plastering your desk with old photographs is probably more advisable than digging out your old wardrobe. After all,...

Heavy hand of the state.(Opinion Columns)
July 12, 2007... Finding a good personal assistant is hard enough without a government seemingly set on bullying immigrants Throughout my life I have always understood that the more independent you are, the less help you receive and the more you contribute...

campaigning must go on.(Editorial Comment)(Brief article)
July 12, 2007... After nine years of endless debate, the reform of the Mental Health Act 1983 has finally been agreed. MPs approved the bill last week after peers agreed compromise amendments with ministers. While minister Ivan Lewis called it "historic", the...

can Lewis finish the job?(Editorial Comment)(Ivan Lewis)(Brief article)
July 12, 2007... Byline: Janet SnellDeputy Editor The fact that Ivan Lewis has not been shuffled out of his role at the Department of Health is good news. It would have been hard to find someone else as passionate and knowledgeable about social care as our...

who's in control now?(Editorial Comment)(Brief article)
July 12, 2007... Scottish Executive officials have found themselves in hot water over new guidance on self-directed support (the Scots' neat shorthand for direct payments and individualised budgets). The guidance is aimed at improving take-up but critics...

Cribsheet.
July 12, 2007... The Leaving Care trap The issue: leaving care services for former asylum-seeking children The case: H & Others v Wandsworth LBC & Others What was the case about? The case was about identifying the power under which...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
July 12, 2007... Lettters Issue of the week - The ongoing row over physical restraint of young people in custody I want to respond to comments made by the interim chair of the Youth Justice Board Graham Robbs (letters June 28). Graham is someone of...

Letters.(Letter to the editor)
July 12, 2007... issue of the week Physical restraint of young people in custody Experts speak up over restraint s a former children's home supervisor I accept that much of the moral and legalistic theorising denouncing restraint may be sound. But I...

lifestyle review A Bush-whacking evening.(Features)(Refugee Council's annual charity event )
July 12, 2007... Chris Martin is tickled pink at a Refugee Council event **** No Laughing Matter aaaaa Refugee Council event at the Comedy Store, London Monday 18th June 2007 With comic irony, the Refugee Council's annual charity...

Working Lives.
July 12, 2007... lifestyle review A canvas for experience T No Laughing Matter aaaaa Refugee Council event at the C Raw creativity is on show at a Kids Company exhibition Demons and Angels aaaaa 20 June to 31 August ...

Creative help for troubled homes.(New Ideas in Practice)
July 12, 2007... innovation: new ideas in practice Graham Hopkins investigates three projects trying new ways of working with some of the three million children who witness domestic violence each year Peer educator pilot project heartstrings ...

News.
July 12, 2007... news in brief EDUCATION The government will spend [pounds sterling]13.7m from 2008-11 extending nationally a pilot scheme teaching secondary school children emotional and social skills to improve learning and behaviour. The Social and...

Adapt and prosper.(Good Practice)
July 12, 2007... "A lot are shocked by British children'sbehaviour in the classroom. They experimentto see if they can behave as badly" Refugee children find it hard to settle in at school. Natalie Valios reports on how an Oxford project is helping them...

News.
July 12, 2007... simon.brody@rbi.co.uk The body which represents local authority secure children's homes has welcomed a government pledge to prevent further home closures, with numbers having fallen by 40% in the past five years. The Secure...

Charities want to see action in wake of dementia report.(News)
July 12, 2007... Dementia goes undiagnosed through lack of awareness among professionals finds National Audit Office maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk Campaigners have renewed calls for the government to make dementia a priority after parliament's spending...

News.
July 12, 2007... Campaigners have given a mixed reception to plans to reform community punishments for young offenders, announced in last week's Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill. The bill would introduce a generic community sentence for young...

News.
July 12, 2007... older people Far more Scots receiving personal care at home amy.taylor@rbi.co.uk The number of older people in Scotland receiving personal care at home rose by almost two-thirds in the three years after it was made free. New...

News.
July 12, 2007... seaside fun Casey, from Clacton in Essex, enjoyed a day out by the sea with her family to mark Young Carers' Day 2007. Essex Council's adolescent services in partnership with local young carers' groups organised the outing for more than 300...

News.
July 12, 2007... news in brief SUBSTANCE MISUSE A "treatment tax" on alcohol to fund detox programmes was expected to be proposed this week by the Conservative Party's Centre for Social Justice. A report, Breakthrough Britain, recommends that the...

Young offenders tipped to benefit from reshuffle.(News)
July 12, 2007... Shake-up promises a more joined-up approach to young offenders but reservations over the YJB remain social care sector thankful for winning balls Disability campaigners were much cheered by the appointment of Ed Balls as secretary of...

News.
July 12, 2007... maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk The government has been heavily criticised for pressing ahead with legislation to extend staff powers to restrain children in secure training centres following a damning verdict in the inquest of 15-year-old Gareth...

Prejudice against people with mental illness rises.(News)
July 12, 2007... simeon.brody@rbi. Public attitudes towards people with mental health problems in England have deteriorated across a range of indicators since 1994, according to a government survey. The number of people who would be happy to live next...

'Make it easier to report elder abuse cases'.(News)(Brief article)
July 12, 2007... Tackling the barriers that older people face in reporting cases of elder abuse must be made a priority if the problem is to be tackled, new research suggests. Interviews with almost 40 older people drawn from the Comic Relief and...

News.
July 12, 2007... ASYLUM-SEEKING CHILDREN Weak welfare duty slammed Campaigners disappointed by scope of immigration agency's welfare responsibilities amy.taylor@rbi.co.uk A new duty on the immigration service to keep asylum-seeking children...

News.
July 12, 2007... p9click 1. Councils face legal action over single status pay deals. 2. Who's who in the Brown reshuffle. 3. Ed Balls to head new children's department in Gordon Brown government. 4. Ethical practice in socila work - the GSCC...

News.
July 12, 2007... At least 80% of people with a learning disability not treated properly Deteriorating adult services need [pounds sterling]340m investment maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk The government must deliver [pounds sterling]340m in extra investment...

News.
July 12, 2007... diSABLED CHILDREN New children's secretary Ed Balls has appointed Contact a Family chief executive Francine Bates as a special adviser. Bates and Contact a Family, which provides support for families with disabled children, have played a...

News.
July 12, 2007... Union pursues gender pay gap in courts Councils are facing at least 72 legal cases across the UK over failures to implement equal pay, says public service union Unison. Head of local government at the union, Heather Wakefield, said it...

Working Lives.
July 12, 2007... on the move Gillian Tee, former head of children and young people at Oxfordshire Council, has been appointed director of children and families at Edinburgh Council. Tee held her post in Oxfordshire for four years, during which time she was...

Working Lives.
July 12, 2007... on the move Children, schools and families secretary Ed Balls has appointed Contact a Family chief executive Francine Bates as a special adviser. Balls, who has been put in charge of the new Department for Children, Schools and Families,...

Opinion Columns.
July 12, 2007... Gordon Brown has had a few weeks to settle in as the new prime minister, the question now is what should his priorities be for the future of social care? Change is certainly in the air, with a government review of the role and tasks of social...

Is Le Grand plan the future of services?(News Analysis)(Julian Le Grand)
July 12, 2007... The idea of GP-style practices for looked-after children, the brainchild of one academic, is completely untested. But it is a key part of the Care Matters white paper. Maria Ahmed reports looked-after children Looked-after children's...

Supporting disabled parents.(Research Realities)
July 12, 2007... Each week the Social Care Institute for Excellence analyses research findings behind specific areas of social work practice proven practice: disabled parents the evidence base for social care practice bout 12% of the UK's 14.1...

Backchat.
July 12, 2007... social skirmishes Rosie Warlock, a senior practitioner in children's social services, tells us what's on her mind in her weekly column * "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do." Philip Larkin's This Be...

Backchat.
July 12, 2007... With all the talk of whether the social work students in Big Brother are giving the profession a bad name (or so I am told I'm afraid I am to popular culture what unbroken sunshine is to Wimbledon), I wonder if we should be so precious. It's...

Features.
July 12, 2007... It's OK to be frightened Learn to cope through training Should all the safety protocols, protective technology and good practice seem insufficient, there is always the course billed as "training with a touch of terror". "If I'd...

Features.
July 12, 2007... It's OK to be frightened feel the terror, learn to cope Should all the safety protocols, protective technology and good practice seem insufficient, there is always the course billed as "training with a touch of terror". "If I'd...

Tax credit overpayments: at last a less draconian stance.(Welfare Rights)
July 12, 2007... HM Revenue and Customs has decided to take a more flexible line with tax credit recipients. Not before time, writes Gary Vaux welfare rights elfare rights advisers generally promote benefit take-up, but occasionally we can find...

Helping families to re-establish relationships.(Your Patch)(National Association of Child Contact Centres)
July 12, 2007... Community Care shares the views of parents who have used contact centres, and hears from a parenting professional on the right approach to contact Community Care shares the views of parents who have used contact centres, and hears from a...

News.
July 19, 2007... Ability of super-Ofstedto perform questioned simeon.brody@rbi.co.uk MPs have questioned the "fitness for purpose" of the new expanded Ofsted, which from April took on responsibility for inspecting children's services, secure training...

News.
July 19, 2007... by royal appointment Rosemary Tighe (left), a foster carer from Barnet, London, was thanked for her service to society at a royal garden party at Buckingham Palace. She has fostered 33 young people from 18 countries, including Ylber Pirani...

News.
July 19, 2007... PRISONS Prisoner's families in the North East are missing out on support because there are not enough quality services, according to a report out last week, While there some good practice, services are "few and desperately need...

Tory drug plans fall flat.(News)
July 19, 2007... Charities welcome proposal to invest in treatment programmes but little else impresses comcare.news@rbi.co.uk Drugs and disability campaigners have slammed Conservative plans to tackle substance misuse, unveiled in the party's social...

If only New Labour had the courage and genuineness of Iain Duncan Smith.(News)(Brief article)
July 19, 2007... The recommendations in Breakthrough Britain will split the Tories between the compassionates, like Iain Duncan Smith, and the taxcutters, writes Bob Holman (pictured, right). No wonder David Cameron has not committed himself. The best...

news in brief.(News)
July 19, 2007... BENEFITS All benefits should be replaced by one flat rate benefit for people out of work, the Institute for Public Policy Research said last week. The think-tank argued the move would make the system fairer and more transparent....

Anti-stigma campaign cash 'a fantastic opportunity'.(News)(Brief article)
July 19, 2007... simeon.brody@rbi.co.uk A major mental health anti-stigma campaign is to be launched in England as part of a [pounds sterling]126m Big Lottery Fund programme to improve the nation's well-being. The [pounds sterling]16m four-year mental...

News.
July 19, 2007... LIFE AFTER GEORGE Diana Melly, wife of the late, maverick jazz legend and writer George Melly, has become patron of the charity For Dementia, which supports and develops specialist dementia nurses. Diana cared for George, who had vascular...

News.
July 19, 2007... CONDUCT . CHILD TRAFFICKING Suspected child trafficking victims could be placed on emergency protection orders under government guidance published last week. The guidance, put out for consultation by the Department for...

Refugee children in wasted journeys row.(News)(Brief article)
July 19, 2007... Social workers are taking asylum-seeking children hundreds of miles across the UK for meetings with immigration caseworkers only to find they cannot take place because of a lack of interpreters, it has been claimed. Under the new national...

Catholic Church accused of 'pick and mix' approach to protection policies.(News)
July 19, 2007... Commission defends the slow process of change in church's culture amy.taylor@rbi.co.uk The Catholic Church is still failing to adequately protect children and vulnerable adults from abuse five years after a review called for...

News.
July 19, 2007... headline clicks Care home owner guilty of stealing from residents 2252 GSCC cautions London social worker 1680 Care services minister gets responsibility for mental health 715 Mental Health Bill battle draws to an end 607 ...

Speech aid failures leave disabled without a voice.(News)(Brief article)
July 19, 2007... Up to 500,000 people with speech impairments are being deprived of communication aids, campaigners have claimed, writes Helen McCormack. Ruth Scott, head of policy for disability charity Scope, said that even when equipment was issued,...

News.
July 19, 2007... DISABILITY RIGHTS campaigner Roy Webb has died at the age of 58. Webb was head of policy at the National Centre for Independent Living, where he recently co-ordinated a campaign to support the Independent Living Bill. Webb, who had multiple...

Children's services chiefs told to assert leadership.(News)
July 19, 2007... Beverley Hughes urges directors to engage teachers and GPs in Every Child Matters agenda lauren.revans@rbi.co.uk Head teachers and GPs should be targeted by children's services directors to bring them on board with the Every Child...