Community Care articles from June 2006

Community Care archives from June 2006

think about it.
June 1, 2006... Developing critical thought processes should be an important part of continuing professional development write Keith Brown, Lynne Rutter and Steve Keen Continuing professional development (CPD) has recently been defined by Skills...

adoption by gordon carson Sector faces more threats to quit as play therapists are hit by regulations.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Play therapists are joining independent social workers in being forced out of adoption support work because of new regulations. The British Association of Play Therapists claims that members are unable to take on adoption support work...

workplace European social care market off agenda.(European Union)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Social services in the UK are unlikely to be opened up to continental competition following a decision by the Council of the European Union this week. The council of ministers agreed a version of the draft services directive broadly...

readers' views Opinions divided over family courts.
June 1, 2006... Almost 60 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website last week said the family courts should not be open to public scrutiny. This week's question asks: Are Scottish councils more effective at tackling antisocial behaviour than their...

'How do we stop children from being looked after?'.(Baaf Adoption and Fostering's David Holmes and his views)
June 1, 2006... One month into his job as head of Baaf Adoption and Fostering, David Holmes has firm ideas about reforms to children's services. Simeon Brody reports David Holmes, the new chief executive of Baaf Adoption and Fostering, has a tough act...

If you ask me...
June 1, 2006... Elsie Farnhill uses the Lancashire-based Marsden Resource Centre for disabled people Who has influenced you the most? My late husband Thomas. Which social care professional has been most use to you? Staff at the Marsden Resource...

Adult care Direct payments add to council costs.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Direct payments will cost councils more than conventional care procurement unless they reduce the value of payments, an Audit Commission report has claimed. Its study of 11 councils found that the costs of supporting direct payment...

child protection by gordon carson School heads and governors ignore Bichard recruitment training advice.(Michael Bichard)
June 1, 2006... Many head teachers and school governors have failed to take key child protection training recommended by the report into the Soham murders. Sir Michael Bichard recommended that all heads and governors should receive training on safer...

children Hospice leaders win [pounds sterling]27m funding boost.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The government has found an extra [pounds sterling]27m of funding for children's hospices in England after the sector told the prime minister last month that it faced a financial crisis. The money comes after a delegation from the...

children by Sally Gillen Independent officers under scrutiny as concern grows that they lack bite.(Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, Department for Education and Skills and independent reviewing officers )(United Kingdom. Adoption and Children Act 2002)
June 1, 2006... The government and the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service are examining the role of the officers who monitor children's care plans as concerns are raised about their power. Nearly two years after their posts were...

children police spread word on infant deaths.(United Kingdom. Metropolitan Police Office)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Metropolitan Police is to raise awareness among children's professionals of the dangers of children falling asleep in the same bed as adults after finding this is the single biggest factor in sudden unexpected infant deaths in the capital....

children in care calls for schools to take wider role.(Local Government Association)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Local government and voluntary sector representatives are to explore ways to encourage schools to take their corporate parenting responsibilities more seriously. The Local Government Association plans to bring key stakeholders together to...

children in care Welsh bid to force new database use.(Children's Commissioning Support Resource)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Welsh assembly government wants to make it compulsory for local authorities to use a new computer database to find care placements for looked-after children. It is looking at ways of using its performance indicators so councils would...

deprivation fury at child death link with poverty.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Child poverty campaigners have reacted angrily to new evidence highlighting the link between deprivation and infant death. A report from the Office for National Statistics found that infant mortality rates were higher among lone mothers,...

disabilities Unions point finger over discrimination.(Trades Union Congress)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has condemned employers that do not give jobs to disabled people who are keen to work. In a report last week it published a three-point plan for employers, and said the government should prosecute companies...

disabilities Job opportunities squeezed by disc rimination.
June 1, 2006... The lack of disabled people working in the public sector has prompted the Disability Rights Commission to probe job discrimination, writes Maria Ahmed Anecdotal evidence that disabled people are under-represented in public sector...

education bill forums can pilot blind admissions.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... School admissions forums will be able to pilot admissions procedures that are anonymous to ensure the process is fair, the government said last week. Under this system, schools would be able to set their own admissions criteria but local...

exclusive by Amy Taylor child welfare fears at immigration centre as key post remains vacant.(Bedfordshire Council, Home Office)
June 1, 2006... Campaigners have raised concerns about the welfare of children detained at Yarl's Wood immigration removal centre because the social worker post at the centre has been vacant since the end of March. The social worker, who was employed by...

failing the bichard test.(Bichard Inquiry recommendations)
June 1, 2006... The Home Office's latest progress report on the implementation of the Bichard Inquiry recommendations suggests headway is being made in most areas. However, one key issue where schools appear to be lagging behind is in tightening recruitment...

families vulnerable are not getting On Track.(government scheme aimed at children and families)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... A government scheme aimed at children and families at risk of offending and antisocial behaviour has achieved "lower than expected" levels of participation, a government-backed study has found. Interim findings from an evaluation of On...

family courts review may lead to tighter rules for councils applying for care proceedings.(Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)
June 1, 2006... Councils' role in case preparation, core assessments and communication with families has been criticised in the report of the review of child care proceedings. By Mithran Samuel Last week's report of the government's child care proceedings...

fashion victims.(medernized charities)
June 1, 2006... Management that aims for compliance with trendy modern indicators such as performance and excellence is often detrimental to those who receive and deliver services, argues John Burton My father used to delight in telling me the old army...

foster carers abuse inquiries too long, says Tapsfield.(Robert Tapsfield)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Fostering services must be given strict timescales to investigate allegations of abuse against carers, according to a charity boss. In a letter to children's minister Beverley Hughes, Fostering Network chief executive Robert Tapsfield also...

One of our team of practitioner columnists gives her take on teaching citizenship to children.
June 1, 2006... All this talk of "traditional British values" begs the question of who is to decide what they are, writes Helen Bonnick There seemed an awful inevitability about the announcement of the higher education minister, Bill Rammell, that all...

half the story again.(criminals are applying for social care jobs)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The tabloids are at it again. Apparently "hundreds of criminals" are applying for care jobs, according to the Daily Mirror this week. It reveals General Social Care Council figures showing that 375 qualified social workers have committed...

Begs questions.(Westminster is pursuing a zero tolerance approach to begging)(Survey)
June 1, 2006... Westminster is pursuing a zero tolerance approach to begging with the support of an ex-crack user. The policy has left charities in a quandary, reports Helen McCormack For five years, Shaaban Waziri spent his days scanning faces in...

mental health rise in detentions fuels new law fears.(United Kingdom. Mental Health Act 1983)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The number of people detained in England last year under the Mental Health Act 1983 increased by 1,000, according to government figures. Detentions rose by 2 per cent to 46,700 in 2004-5, following a slight fall in the previous year. ...

It's no good demanding to be let out... there's no where else to go.
June 1, 2006... People having mental illness episodes are often picked up by police and locked in cells. Sally Gillen looks at how a lack of suitable accommodation results in the law treating vulnerable people as offenders At 1.30 on a spring...

my practice.
June 1, 2006... Plans to put the safety of vulnerable adults on an equal footing to that of children is good news for Nichola Glover-Edge Dealing with adult abuse is the one area of my work that I find difficult and frustrating. Despite having strong...

Older people Pension adjustment delay under attack.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Older people's charities have criticised the government's pension plans as doing too little to tackle poverty, but campaigners backed proposals to help carers. Age Concern and Help the Aged warned many older people would be left in poverty...

Third sector sullied by corporate values.
June 1, 2006... Reform of public services is again top of the government's agenda. Ministers say they want to involve the voluntary sector, and its advocates are now demanding an even bigger role in this reform. But perhaps there is still a discussion to be...

Public order Scots council chiefs reject Asbo call.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Scottish executive has come under fire for putting pressure on social work directors to issue more antisocial behaviour orders to children and young people. Executive officials recently wrote to directors and council chief executives...

Registration Regulator fingers criminal pasts.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The General Social Care Council is considering 375 applications for registration from qualified social workers who have declared medium- to high-risk offences, according to figures released by the regulator. The GSCC said the applications...

Reining in a free spirit.(Home care services )
June 1, 2006... A woman of 90 kept walking out of her care home, raising questions about why she did it and also concerns for her safety. But once her motivation became clear, steps could be taken to control her tendencies, say Jo Phelps (left)...

secure care critical study raises ire among providers.(Department for Education and Skills's survey of secure children's homes)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Professionals have renewed calls for a national strategy for local authority secure children's homes after a government survey identified the need for radical changes. Research by the Department for Education and Skills, which had been...

social care Community Care Awards launched.(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Nominations are now open for social care's premier awards. The Community Care Awards 2006, which take place in London on 14 December, have 10 categories covering the spectrum of social care. Last year's overall winner was Stars in the...

back from the brink.(mental health care)
June 1, 2006... this life Angelica Perry says she was a terrible patient but despite this the mental health care system worked for her On 31 May it was one year since I moved into my new flat. Little did I know then that by 12 September 2005 I'd be...

training by Derren Hhayes skills dilution fear over plan to rejig Scottish post-qualifying framework.
June 1, 2006... New arrangements for post-qualifying social work training in Scotland could lead to a wide variation in course standards and fragmented career paths, an expert has warned. The new post-qualifying framework, which will apply to the whole...

training materials.(My Money Matters: Guidance on Best Practice in Handling the Money of People with a Learning Disability )(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2006... My Money Matters: Guidance on Best Practice in Handling the Money of People with a Learning Disability ----- Jane Livingstone, ARC ISBN 1901105164, [pounds sterling]25 Order from: contact.us@arcuk.org.uk Banks and other financial services...

training materials.
June 1, 2006... Drug Workers: What You Need to Know About: Mental Health, Welfare Rights, Housing, Blood-Borne Viruses, Young People, Children of Drug-Using Parents ----- DrugScope ISBN 1904319424, [pounds sterling]8.95 Drugs work is increasingly carried...

voluntary sector cut in section 64 grant allocation.(United Kingdom. Department of Health's funds for charities)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The Department of Health has finally revealed which charities have been successful in this year's section 64 funding applications but the size of the pot is down 3.5 per cent on last year. The amount allotted to the programme, which...

workplace head inspector for Wales moves on.(Graham Williams)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The chief inspector of social services in Wales is leaving the post after seven years. Graham Williams, who is taking up a new role in the NHS, joined the Social Services Inspectorate for Wales at a time when services were struggling,...

propelled into uncertainty.(care for young people with a learning difficulty)
June 1, 2006... Young people with both a learning difficulty and mental illness risk slipping through the care net in their transition years if adults' and children's teams continue their rigid structures, says Damian Cummings After many years...

book reviews.
June 1, 2006... Seeing Through New Eyes: Changing the Lives of Children with Autism, Asperger Syndrome and Other Development Disabilities Through Vision Therapy ----- Dr Melvin Kaplan, Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN: 1843108003, [pounds sterling]12.99 ...

It'll be all rights.(equality of opportunity for disabled people)(United Kingdom. Public Sector and the Disability Discrimination Act)
June 8, 2006... How far have councils gone in meeting the forthcoming duty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people, asks Simeon Brody In December, all public bodies, including councils, will be given a duty to actively promote equality of...

'We need to plan now for a full roll-out of talking therapy sites'.(United Kingdom. Mental Health Act 1983)
June 8, 2006... The new chief executive of Mind tells Simeon Brody that he wants to strengthen the user movement's influence on national policy Paul Farmer, the former director of public affairs at Rethink, has no doubts about his move to fellow mental...

protection on the cheap.(Hammersmith & Fulham Council's decision to place homeless teenage under United Kingdom. Housing Act 1996 and United Kingdom. Children Act 1989)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Young, free and homeless. It is not what society would wish for its teenagers but sadly it is a reality for all too many who don't have parents, or have ones who can't cope. And the case of one teenager has brought a disturbing anomaly to light...

no right in rushed plan.(Bournewood case in European Court of Human Rights )
June 8, 2006... Our exclusive story this week on developments following the landmark Bournewood case raises some fundamental human rights issues. Under new government proposals people who lack the capacity to consent to hospital treatment could be locked away...

If you ask me...(learning disabled persons)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Ann Waters has learning difficulties and receives services from Hillcrest Portswood home care in Hampshire Which professional has been of most use to you? My social workers through the years. Who has helped you the most? My doctor....

abuse never far away.(inappropriate sexualised behaviour of a boy in foster care )
June 8, 2006... A 12-year-old boy in foster care has been showing inappropriate sexualised behaviour. Our panel looks at the options for him CASE study The names of the service users have been changed SITUATION: Kenny Sinclair is 12 and has...

finding keepers.(219 Lisson Grove employing learning disabled people as volunteer canal keepers)
June 8, 2006... A joint venture between a day service and an environmental agency in west London is employing people with learning difficulties as volunteer canal keepers. Graham Hopkins reports A chance meeting has resulted in service users from 219...

The voice Speaks OUT.(Alun Davies of Office for Disability Issues)
June 8, 2006... Alun Davies is to co-chair the advisory group of disabled people. He tells Natalie Valios his views on improving services "Iam proud to be a disabled person - I'm proud of every bit of me, including the fact that my eyes don't work. That's...

work permits.(social welfare)
June 8, 2006... welfare rights Gary Vaux looks at how much work incapacity benefit claimants can do without losing entitlement People who receive incapacity benefit can now do "permitted work" instead. The rules are different from those that governed...

Adult care Survey highlights direct payments' true cost.
June 8, 2006... The administrative costs of direct payments outweigh any savings, a study suggests. Amy Taylor reports As well as putting service users in charge of their own services, direct payments are often promoted as a cheaper option for councils...

Antisocial behaviour by Maria Ahmed 'Children to bear brunt' if evicted families have housing benefit cut.
June 8, 2006... Plans to remove housing benefit from people who refuse support after being evicted for antisocial behaviour could cause hardship to children, campaigners have warned. Work and pensions secretary John Hutton said this week that the...

Asylum seekers Owers slams use of staves at centre.(Anne Owers)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... The chief inspector of prisons has criticised Lindholme immigration removal centre for its practice of staff routinely carrying wooden staves, in a report this week. Anne Owers said staves were inappropriate and not required to deal with...

book reviews.
June 8, 2006... Sex, Sexuality and the Autism Spectrum ----- Wendy Lawson, Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN: 1843102846, [pounds sterling]13.95 As an adult with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Wendy Lawson shares her insights and experiences of...

Child protection Offenders call Stop it Now! helpline.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Nearly half of callers to a child protection helpline are from people who have committed offences or those worried they may do so, research has revealed. The Stop it Now! campaign, which aims to prevent child sex abuse by increasing public...

Children Families bear cost of bad behaviour.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... The average annual cost of severe antisocial behaviour in childhood totals almost [pounds sterling]6,000, with the burden falling most heavily on the family, according to a study. Families estimated they spent eight hours a week on...

Children's services by sally gillen Case of homeless teenager placed in B&B could prompt policy shake-up.
June 8, 2006... A judicial review of a local authority's decision to place a 17-year-old girl in temporary accommodation when she was made homeless in 2005 could "profoundly change" policy and practice in children's services. The warning came from the...

Criminal justice Dual-sentencing system in question.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Doubts are emerging over whether the government will launch a combined custodial and community sentencing system for young adults later this year. Speculation is growing over whether Custody Plus, which was due to be launched in November...

Disabilities Wheelchair protest lobbies Number 10.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Disabled children converged on Downing Street last week to protest against a lack of funding for wheelchairs for young people. They presented a report by charities Whizz-Kidz and Barnardo's claiming the NHS lacked money to give children...

Hope for help.(social care)
June 8, 2006... The government's disability strategy Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People, launched at the beginning of 2005, was followed by a wave of policy initiatives such as the adults' services green paper which resulted in the white paper on...

Domestic violence Mergers threat to women's aid bodies.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Housing association mergers are undermining partnerships forged between associations and domestic violence agencies, according to the head of Women's Aid. The charity's chief executive Nicola Harwin said she had been contacted regularly...

exclusive by Sally Gillen aatients who lack capacity could be detained for a year under new plans.(United Kingdom. Mental Health Act 1983)
June 8, 2006... People who are deprived of their liberty in psychiatric units because they do no have the capacity to resist could be detained for up to a year, under proposals leaked to Community Care. Campaigners have condemned the plans, saying they...

fiction.
June 8, 2006... Wicked! ----- Jilly Cooper, Bantam Press. ISBN: 0593052994, [pounds sterling]17.99 Wicked! is not quite the usual Jilly Cooper "bonkbuster", writes Phil Frampton. Indeed, one reviewer complained that there were no explicit sex scenes...

health funding stagnates for HIV prevention.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Investment in HIV prevention has stalled or declined in the UK since the late 1990s, while the number of those living with HIV has more than doubled, according to a report. The government is failing to give HIV in the UK the "necessary...

health New bed-blocking targets for Scotland.(patient admission and discharges)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Scotland's councils and health boards have been set tougher targets on delayed discharges from hospital after meeting their goal to reduce them by 20 per cent in the past 12 months. Ministers now want them to cut all delays of more than six...

Lack of co-ordination.(community care centers)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Ruth Sharpe's seven-year-old-daughter Celia* has Sturge-Weber syndrome. She has epilepsy, learning difficulties and motor development delay. She is also a wheelchair user and has a few words of identifiable speech. Celia sees more than 20...

homelessness Teleclaims blamed for benefits losses.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Homeless people risk losing their benefits and missing out on accommodation because of a new telephone claim system, according to a charity. Housing Justice says vulnerable homeless people were losing out on jobseeker's allowance because...

Set up to fail as parents?
June 8, 2006... Is prejudice the reason why so many parents with learning difficulties lose their children? Janet Snell reports A Dorset woman with learning difficulties was undergoing an assessment of her parenting skills when the psychologist asked her:...

Mental health by maria ahmed Social worker sacked and jailed for having sex with client he counselled.(Christopher Bradford )(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... A social worker has been jailed for having sex with a service user in one of the first cases of its kind. Christopher Bradford, 41, who worked for Hampshire Council, was sentenced to 17 months after pleading guilty to an affair with a woman...

Mental capacity Call for more clarity on advocates' role.
June 8, 2006... Planned government guidance on the new Mental Capacity Act must give more clarity on the role of advocates, campaigners have warned. Responding to the consultation on a draft code of practice, which ended last week, the Making Decisions...

Mental health Farmer set to let go of alliance reins.(Paul Farmer leaves Mental Health Alliance)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... New Mind chief executive Paul Farmer is set to step down as chair of the Mental Health Alliance, having led the lobbying coalition since it was formed in 1999. Farmer, who has co-ordinated the alliance's efforts to improve mental health...

Older people Human rights laws are no aid to users.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... The potential for human rights principles to improve older people's services is not being fulfilled because of ignorance among service providers and suspicion among older people, according to a report published this week. The Age Concern...

Personal care by derren hayes Court fight looms as executive fails to settle row over food help charges.
June 8, 2006... The long-running dispute over services covered by Scotland's free personal care policy could go before the courts after the Scottish executive renounced responsibility for the issue. Councils and disability and older people's groups say a...

Ex-cons have so much to offer social care.
June 8, 2006... I am tiring of the media's negative responses every time anyone suggests allowing an ex-offender into the workplace. Isn't it time the outdated "bang them up" approach was consigned to history along with the mentality that denied women the...

Prisons Crowding increases suicide risk, say MPs.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Overcrowding is limiting the National Offender Management Service's ability to adequately care for prisoners, particularly those at risk of committing suicide, a group of MPs has warned. In a report this week, the public accounts committee...

Readers' views Doubts over Scots public order policy.(antisocial behavior)(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... More than 60 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website were not sure whether Scottish councils were better at tackling antisocial behaviour than their English counterparts. Twenty-two per cent felt that Scottish councils were better...

Registration Council bars few for past offences.(General Social Care Council )(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... The General Social Care Council has registered 317 out of a total of 375 applications from qualified social workers who have declared medium to high-risk criminal convictions, it has revealed. Four of the social workers have been registered...

Secure care Vacancies threaten future of secure children's homes.
June 8, 2006... The viability of secure children's homes is in doubt as the Youth Justice Board and councils desert them in favour of other options, writes Maria Ahmed Councils are increasingly unable to sustain the costs of running secure children's...

Social fund 'Replace loans with grant-based system'.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... A review of the Social Fund is needed to replace the loan system with one based on grants, a new report recommends. Recipients of loans say repayments are too high and force them to live on less income, according to the study for the Joseph...

Enterprise and shine.(social enterprises)
June 8, 2006... Socially excluded people are being helped back into work and provided with skills, training and confidence by social enterprises. Anabel Unity Sale reports on the businesses run for social purposes that are transforming people's lives Jan...

standards 'Scrap plans for single regulator'.(Brief article)
June 8, 2006... Government plans to create a single regulator for adult social care and health should be ditched because of the differences between the two sectors, a King's Fund report said this week. The study warned against the merger of the Healthcare...