Community Care articles from March 2005

Community Care archives from March 2005

a desperate craving.
March 3, 2005... this life My anorexia and compulsive eating stems from my overwhelming loneliness, writes Alex Williams I have recently given a lot of thought to my relationship with food over the past 10 years. Severe anorexia necessitated refeeding...

Learning difficulties; Minister committed ; to Valuing People.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The work of the Valuing People support team will not be "diluted" by a merger with six other government programmes, community care minister Stephen Ladyman insisted this week. The team is due to form part of the Care Services Improvement...

prisons; Scotland ahead on support for inmates.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Prisons throughout the UK should follow Scotland's lead by having staff dedicated to supporting inmates' family relationships, says a report by the Prison Reform Trust. Family Contact Development Officers (FCDOs) should be statutory posts...

children; Charity pinpoints runaways risk.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Children who drop out of school before the age of 16 are at increased risk of running away from home, a report by the Children's Society warns. Almost half of the 21 young homeless people interviewed for the research had dropped out of...

child protection; Lessons for agencies from child's death.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Social services, police, and hospital chiefs admitted mistakes this week in their failure to prevent a mother killing her seriously ill son Patricia Stocker was jailed for five years at the Old Bailey last week for putting up to 10 teaspoons of...

child protection; 'Exorcism' fears for African children.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The police have raised fears that an unknown number of African children are being subjected to "exorcisms" in churches. Five years after Victoria Climbie died, detectives working for Metropolitan Police have been told that instances of children...

standards; Welsh best practice body on the way.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The development of a specialist unit for improving Welsh social services is a step closer after ministers gave it their initial backing. Welsh assembly health and social care minister Brian Gibbons, and new children's minister Jane Hutt, were...

homelessness by derren hayes; Alarm in Scotland at sharp rise of families in temporary housing.
March 3, 2005... New figures indicate Scottish councils are failing to provide homeless families with permanent accommodation and questions their ability to eradicate the use of B&Bs. The Scottish executive homelessness statistics show that, at the end of...

campaign by Maria Ahmed; Public and professionals' dismay at 'get tough' message on youth crime.
March 3, 2005... New Labour and Conservative promises to "get tough" on youth crime are significantly out of step with the views of both professionals and the public, new Community Care research has revealed. Despite home secretary Charles Clarke's latest call...

family courts; Service chair wants inspectorate change.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service should no longer be inspected by the courts regulator but assessed alongside other children's services, MPs and lords have been told. Cafcass chair Baroness Pitkeathley told the...

education; Children in care will have school priority.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... A government amendment requiring all schools to give priority to places for looked-after children was passed in the Education Bill in the House of Lords last week. It also requires schools to have local protocols to ensure looked-after children...

housing; Supporting People paperwork mounts.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Three of the biggest supported housing providers are to meet this week amid concerns they are "creaking" under the weight of Supporting People bureaucracy. Hanover Housing Association, Housing 21 and Anchor Trust will draw up a strategy to...

mubarek inquiry; Suspensions led ; to staff shortages.(Zahid Mubarek)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Up to five staff at Feltham young offender institution were suspended "at any one time" for alleged assaults on inmates in the period preceding Zahid Mubarek's death. Clive Welsh, governor of Feltham between 1997 and 1999, told the public...

workforce; Scots charity can't compete for staff.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... One of Scotland's largest charities is struggling to fill social worker posts because it cannot compete with salaries offered by councils. Phil Robinson, chief executive of Quarriers, which provides support and care for children, adults and...

mental health; Rise in challenging behaviour in pupils.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Schools have reported a rise in the number of pupils displaying behaviour related to autistic spectrum disorder, according to an Ofsted report published this week. The government's education watchdog report on managing challenging behaviour in...

readers' views; No exemptions from Asbos, majority say.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Sixty-five per cent of visitors to Community Care's website did not think people with learning difficulties should be exempt from antisocial behaviour orders.

Children by Amy Taylor; 'Fiercely independent' children's commissioner gets broad welcome.(Al Aynsley-Green as the first children's commissioner for England )
March 3, 2005... The appointment of Al Aynsley-Green as the first children's commissioner for England could help to increase health professionals' engagement in the new children's services agenda, campaigners said this week. Aynsley-Green is currently national...

Public order; 'Name and shame' guidance slammed.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Home secretary Charles Clarke has come under fire over guidance announced this week urging local authorities to "name and shame" individuals issued with antisocial behaviour orders. The Association of Directors of Social Services and charities...

If you ask me...(Mary Perkins)(Brief Article)(Interview)
March 3, 2005... Mary Perkins is an adoptive mother of two boys. Her husband works for the Royal Air Force Which health or social care staff have been most help for you? SSAFA Forces Help Adoption Services. We would not have our sons without them. If...

The Simon Heng column A service user's view of social care.(Column)
March 3, 2005... I have been reasonably well-informed and involved in planning my care and in service delivery. I have no reason to suspect other users are treated any differently Ilive in an area where the social services department makes enormous...

Adult services green paper; Plan of action or vague wish list? Ladyman signs off the final draft.(community care minister Stephen Ladyman)
March 3, 2005... The adult services green paper could soon be upon us. Does it promise a cultural revolution or just a few tweaks? Mithran Samuel reports Last April, community care minister Stephen Ladyman said he wanted a "new vision for adult social...

Asylum seekers; Policy on treatment of children in doubt.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... About 2,000 asylum seeker children are detained with their families each year before they are deported, in contravention of policy. Research by Save the Children published this week also found that more unaccompanied children are being detained...

Cared for children; Wigan fostering services under fire.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Wigan Council has paid [pounds sterling]12,000 in compensation and changed its fostering and adoption system after being found guilty of maladministration. An investigation uncovered a "catalogue of failures" that contributed to the breakdown...

Child care; Workforce training target is missed.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Fifty-three per cent of residential child care workers are expected to achieve NVQ level three by March, well short of the government's target. The Department of Health had expected four out of five residential child care workers to reach level...

Finance by Mithran Samuel ; Local authorities demand more cash to offset next year's budget shortfall.
March 3, 2005... Councils are facing a [pounds sterling]1.5bn black hole in their budgets for next year, according to local government leaders. The Local Government Association said the deficit would lead to massive council tax hikes in 2006-7 unless the...

Foster care; Inspectors spot lack of child involvement.(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... More than a quarter of fostering services do not meet the minimum standard for consulting children, the Commission for Social Care Inspection has revealed. CSCI head Denise Platt told a Baaf Adoption and Fostering conference last week: "I still...

Funding; Glasgow baulks at asylum seeker costs.(council threatens to withdraw services for asylum seekers)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Glasgow Council has warned the Scottish executive that it may have to cut services unless it receives extra funding to meet the added costs of supporting asylum seekers. The council, the only one in Scotland to accept asylum seekers under the...

Housing by Craig Kenny; Property developers to take leading role in building extra care housing.
March 3, 2005... Private property developers will build most extra care housing (ECH) schemes for older people in the future, the community health minister Stephen Ladyman predicted this week. However, he confessed to being disappointed that the private sector...

mental health; Man with Prader-Willi to sue council.
March 3, 2005... A 31-stone man who was detained at an eating disorder unit against his will is planning to sue the council responsible, he said last week. Chris Leppard, 23, from Hastings, East Sussex, has Prader-Willi syndrome, which means that he cannot tell...

Peter pan parents fail as gatekeepers.(survey of teenage girls)
March 3, 2005... Yvonne roberts Teenage girls are paying the consequences for being thrust prematurely into an adult world Half of teenage girls, in a survey commissioned by the teenage magazine, Bliss, say they cannot cope with the pressures of modern...

Recovery position.(resilience quality of humans to bounce back in adversity)
March 3, 2005... Accepted in psychology circles, the concept of resilience has yet to make an impact on social care policy. But it could be used to improve society's well-being and reduce disadvantage, says Lisa Harker The link between growing up in...

right man, wrong role.(Al Aynsley-Green, England's first children's commissioner)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Professor Al Aynsley-Green, England's first children's commissioner, is ideal for the job. Top of the paediatric profession, leader of the national service framework task force, then national clinical director for children at the Department of...

Stories of fraud compound myth.(fraudulent claims for incapacity benefits)
March 3, 2005... viewpoint Feelings of deje vu and anger swept over Andrew Young during a TV programme about incapacity benefit claimants I recently watched a television documentary about people claiming incapacity benefit. It had two main themes: first,...

Training; 'Employers fail to support staff'.(General Social Care Council study on social work education and training)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Alack of support from employers is "seriously disadvantaging" some candidates in social work education and training, according to new research. Work pressures are also having a negative impact on candidates' success rates, according to the...

voluntary sector; Charities to 'pick up the pieces'?(National Council for Voluntary Organisations)
March 3, 2005... Scepticism about voluntary groups' greater involvement in public service delivery is spreading. Sally Gillen reports More than a trace of disillusionment was detectable in the speech chief executive Stuart Etherington gave at the...

where's the real debate?(social care is subject in election campaigning)
March 3, 2005... Social policy is generating a louder debate between the main parties than most subjects as general election campaigning gets under way. Yet it is also the area of policy where there is least difference between the parties. This is not a paradox...

workforce; Happiness in short supply among staff.(social workers job satisfaction survey)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2005... Asurvey that placed social work at the bottom of the job satisfaction league was doctored after the government raised concerns about its effect on recruitment. Social workers were initially placed 30th in the City and Guilds' happiness index,...

Children; Foundation schools block difficult pupils.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Plans to give schools shared responsibility for vulnerable children will be undermined by moves to allow them more independence over admissions, a parliamentary committee has warned. The education and skills committee told education secretary...

Public order by Derren Hayes; Welsh antisocial behaviour database 'will not breach client confidentiality'.
March 10, 2005... Social workers in Wales will not breach client confidentiality if they sign up to a database to record antisocial behaviour. Responding to warnings from the British Association of Social Workers Wales, Paul Pan, Welsh assembly project lead for...

Homelessness; Health standards to tackle root causes.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Scottish executive standards for the NHS should help reduce homelessness by tackling some of its associated health problems, Shelter has said. The standards are designed to encourage NHS boards - Scotland's equivalent of primary care trusts -...

Children; Lords strengthen consultation plans.(House of Lords, United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Peers have amended the Education Bill to force councils to consult parents and other local authorities who send pupils to special schools out of borough on proposals to close them. At its third reading in the House of Lords last week, Baroness...

Voluntary sector; Charities clash over large contracts idea.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Voluntary sector leaders clashed last week over whether charities should take on large contracts to provide public services. Paul Streets, chief executive of Diabetes UK, told a London social care conference that such moves could see many...

Children by Simeon Brody and Mithran Samuel; Child's welfare 'not paramount' in considering breached contact order.
March 10, 2005... The government has rejected calls to enshrine children's welfare as paramount throughout the contact process in the draft Children (Contact) and Adoption Bill. Children's minister Margaret Hodge told the joint parliamentary committee...

Exclusive by Paul Stephenson; One thousand appeals for funding of continuing care still to be heard.
March 10, 2005... A huge backlog of appeals for full funding of continuing care still exists despite government statements that the process was nearly finished, Community Care has learned. The backlog, which could run to well over a thousand cases and may take...

Prisons; 'Gladiator game' charge denied.(inquiry into allegations that Zahid Mubarek was palced in cell with his killer)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Allegations that Zahid Mubarek was placed in a cell with his killer Robert Stewart as part of a gladiator-style game were dismissed as a "malicious" smear campaign last week. Prison Officers' Association branch chair at Feltham Nigel Herring,...

Equality; Revamped equality body wins approval.(Commission for Equality and Human Rights in United Kingdom to be formed)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Campaigners have welcomed revised proposals for the new single equality body contained in the Equality Bill published last week. The Disability Rights Commission and the Commission for Racial Equality said that the proposals for the Commission...

Supporting people; Call to expand direct payments.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Commission for Social Care Inspection chair Denise Platt has called for Supporting People budgets to be translated into direct payments. In a speech to a social care conference in London last week, she said the forthcoming green paper on adult...

Policy; 'Take social services away from councils.'(professor Gerry Stoker)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... A government adviser has called for social services to be nationalised as part of a wholesale reform of local government. In What is Local Government For?, Professor Gerry Stoker says local authorities should lose "direct funding and control"...

Supported people; Cost of paperwork hits housing groups.(Anchor Trust, Hanover Housing Association and Housing 21)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Three of the largest sheltered housing providers are to lobby government to tackle the growing cost of Supporting People bureaucracy. Anchor Trust, Hanover Housing Association and Housing 21 met last week to discuss the mounting paperwork that...

Child protection; Police need targets and more resources.(report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary of UK)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Urgent improvements are needed in the way in which the police investigate child abuse and child protection issues, according to a report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. In a report published last week, the HMIC finds that...

Legal; Paediatrician fights to stay on register.(David Southall)(Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence of UK)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... A paediatrician banned from child protection work for three years appeared in the High Court last week to fight calls that he should be struck off the medical register. David Southall was found guilty of serious professional misconduct by the...

Standards; Councils could face snap inspections.(Commission for Social Care Inspection of United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... The government may instruct the Commission for Social Care Inspection to carry out snap inspections of councils if providers complain about fees, at a time when the CSCI is trying to cut regulation and faces financial uncertainty. Health...

Workforce; New core skills for children's services.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... The children's workforce strategy is likely to contain a common core of six competencies that all children's services workers will have to meet, it was revealed this week. Speaking at a child care workforce conference, children's minister...

Children; High expectations for teaching scheme.(teaching children behaviour skills)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Primary school children are to be taught how to behave in a [pounds sterling]7m scheme announced by the Department for Education and Skills. Children will be taught "what is expected of them and what they can expect from others", says a...

Public order; Parenting projects are poor relation.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Only [pounds sterling]300,000 of the [pounds sterling]24m budget for the government's antisocial behaviour unit is set aside for parenting projects, the home affairs select committee heard this week. Figures submitted by the unit to the...

Last in the satisfaction league, why do social workers stay?
March 10, 2005... Too much paperwork and stress are reasons cited by social workers for job dissatisfaction. But it doesn't have to be that way, writes Derren Hayes The Rolling Stones could get no satisfaction. If the findings of a recent survey on job...

New Anti-terror laws spark more prejudice.(human rights can't be sacrificed for security)
March 10, 2005... Yvonne roberts Tighter security legislation may be targeted at terrorists, but everyone's liberties are at risk A petition of a thousand names has been published in The Independent, charging the government with literally taking liberties....

The many guises of elder abuse.
March 10, 2005... There is a new determination to tackle elder abuse, but agencies are still in the dark over how many people are affected by it and the variety of forms it takes, write Lisa Pinkney and colleagues There is still no standard definition of...

Alzheimer's drugs; Ladyman predicts medication u-turn.( Stephen Ladyman )(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Community care minister Stephen Ladyman said this week that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence's proposal that four Alzheimer's drugs should no longer be available on the NHS could be reversed following consultation. He told the...

Will England's first children's commissioner Al Aynsley-Green be a true champion for children?
March 10, 2005... Joan scott Action Unlimited Children certainly need a champion. It needs someone to make sure that children are not being abused, either in children's homes or in their own homes. Someone strong is required to check what's going on, so if...

Campaign by Paul Stephenson; Professionals say older people are discharged from hospital too early.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... As pre-election debate rages about the pressures on the NHS, an exclusive poll for Community Care has found that nine out of 10 social care professionals working with older people believe they are being discharged from hospital too early. The...

profile.(Pixley Clarke)(Hugh Thornbery)
March 10, 2005... Pixley Clarke is a service inspector at the Commission for Social Care Inspection, primarily working with children and families Name: Pixley Clarke. Job: Service inspector, Commission for Social Care Inspection. How long in the job? Since...

Dear al...(letter to England's first children's commissioner Al Aynsley-Green)
March 10, 2005... In an open letter to England's first children's commissioner, Barnardo's Chris Hanvey congratulates Al Aynsley-Green on his appointment but questions whether he can make a real impact given his role's limitations Welcome to your new and...

Children; Expectation levels set in wake; of commissioner's appointment.(children's commissioner Al Aynsley-Green)
March 10, 2005... The appointment of England's first children's commissioner was welcomed last week but doubts persist whether his powers will allow him enough independence to stand up for children, writes Maria Ahmed The appointment of Al Aynsley-Green as...

Too much babbling.(Children's Workforce Development Group of UK)
March 10, 2005... To be successful the Children's Workforce Development Group must avoid using a managerial perspective as it attempts to remodel the professional landscape, writes Peter Beresford Idon't sleep very well, so when I first wake up, I put on my...

The Simon Heng column A service user's view of social care.(Column)
March 10, 2005... Clint Eastwood's latest film Million Dollar Baby has won not only numerous Oscars but also critical acclaim as one of this year's best films. It concerns a working-class young woman who is attempting to break into the world of professional...

Exclusive by Amy Taylor; Staff and asylum seekers tell of chaos at main processing centre.(Immigration and Nationality Directorate centre in London, UK)
March 10, 2005... Serious flaws in the way asylum applications are handled by the government's main processing centre were exposed by staff and asylum seekers at an inquiry last week. An anonymous employee of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate centre,...

Will England's first children's commissioner Al Aynsley-Green be a true champion for children?(Interview)
March 10, 2005... Joan scott Action Unlimited Children certainly need a champion. It needs someone to make sure that children are not being abused, either in children's homes or in their own homes. Someone strong is required to check what's going on, so if...

Long-term care; Sector wants Ladyman to revamp long-term care funding criteria.(Stephen Ladyman)
March 10, 2005... For many health and social care professionals the criteria for assessing continuing care packages remain confused. That's why Stephen Ladyman is being called upon to establish a new system. Paul Stephenson reports When community care...

My practice.(child mental health services in developing countries)
March 10, 2005... A visit to India has caused psychiatrist Panos Vostanis to consider differences in child mental health problems in developing countries A recent training exchange visit to India posed several questions on the relevance of concepts such as...

Police protection.(child protection not a priority in police forces)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Despite the stinging criticisms in the Victoria Climbie Inquiry Report, and the self-audit which followed its publication, child protection is still not given sufficient status or priority in many police forces. Officers in child abuse...

Read the rights act.(United Kingdom Human Rights Act 1998)
March 10, 2005... Four years after the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force, research shows that organisations are still not aware of its duties particularly regarding people with learning difficulties, write Patricia Finnegan and Stephen Clarke What do...

Readers' views; Poll points to tough ride ahead for Al.(Al Aynsley-Green)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Fifty-nine per cent of visitors to Community Care's website think children's commissioner Al Aynsley-Green will not be independent enough to protect children's rights. This week's question asks: Should parents of children with special...

Give all of us a break!(taking care of disabled child is challenging)
March 10, 2005... this life Gail Hanrahan-Barnes, the mother of a disabled boy, demands wider access to short-term respite In 1991 my son Guy was diagnosed with a rare chromosome disorder called Angelman syndrome. The initial diagnosis was devastating and...

Shared families.( Children Who Foster support group)
March 10, 2005... On Tyneside a project is working with the children of families who foster. Sarah Bartlett reports on a Community Care Award winner When it comes to creating sustainable and secure foster placements one thing is certain: supporting the...

Staff must Stay close to clients.(social workers)
March 10, 2005... viewpoint The changes in social care run the risk of values being lost among those of other services, writes Ray Jones As social services departments transform into mixes of children's trusts with education, care trusts with health, and...

Supporting people; Fall in clients is cue for cutback fears.(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... The number of new clients using Supporting People services has fallen 10 per cent in the past year, prompting concerns that funding cuts are starting to bite. Figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister show that 84,050 new clients...

The best of a bad situation.(persons with learning difficulties)
March 10, 2005... A man with severe learning difficulties is cared for by his 13-year-old nephew while other family members are too ill or abuse alcohol too frequently. But Brian Marshall (left) still feels home is where the client...

Triple whammy.(Alan Milburn has bad week)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Labour's election co-ordinator Alan Milburn must be having a bad week. All his careful wooing of the powerful "grey vote" has been abruptly undone with a series of damning - or just plain unfortunate - revelations. To begin, the National...

Unforgettable.(contact with past life of adopted child can be positive)
March 10, 2005... Judgements over contact between adopted children and birth parents are difficult for social workers to make but many now feel that, where possible, such contact is beneficial for children. Rachel Foggitt reports Twenty years ago adoption...

Up close and personal.(Children's Workforce Development Council of UK)
March 10, 2005... With the government's workforce strategy for children imminent, Katie Leason talks to one of the key players involved in its development, National Children's Bureau chief executive Paul Ennals When it comes to the future of the children's...

Victim of success.(Victim Support)
March 10, 2005... Providing services directly to young people rather than through their parents and carers was a huge challenge for Victim Support. But it also became an opportunity, writes Graham Hopkins In 1974 members of rehabilitation agency Nacro in...

Vulnerable adults; Minister rejects call for criminal checks.(Stephen Ladyman )(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Health minister Stephen Ladyman has dismissed calls for direct payment users to be forced to subject employees to criminal checks, saying this would undermine their independence. Speaking at a conference on personalised care last week, he said...

Youth justice; 'Board must aim for bigger custody cuts'.(Youth Justice Board of UK)(Brief Article)
March 10, 2005... Campaigners have told the Youth Justice Board that the secure estate for juveniles will not improve without an "ambitious" target for reducing numbers of young people in custody. The YJB's target of a 10 per cent reduction was called...