Community Care articles from November 2002

Community Care archives from November 2002

book reviews.(Sex, Work and Professionalism - Working in HIV/Aids)(Book Review)
November 7, 2002... Gareth Owen on professional boundaries among HIV and Aids workers, and David Porteous on young offenders Sex, Work and Professionalism - Working in HIV/Aids Kate Deverell, Routledge, ISBN 0 415 23321 6, pound sterling17.99 ...

letters.
November 7, 2002... Warts and all Your series introducing us to the work by the Institute for Public Policy Research on the future of social care has been fascinating. Anne Davies' contribution was challenging and constructive ("If Whitehall could just let...

diary.
November 7, 2002... This week's writer is a receptionist and the treasurer of a learning difficulties campaigning group Monday A typical Monday morning, checking our office diary and taking messages off the machine. There are a lot as for two days last week...

reflections Personal experiences which have influenced the lives and opinions of those involved in social care.
November 7, 2002... There are about 37,000 families offering foster care placements to 45,000 children. According to the Fostering Network, there is an urgent need to recruit a further 8,000 families who are prepared to open their homes to some of the most...

failure to communicate.
November 7, 2002... I was first put into care when I was five and eventually taken out when I was 36. I was shifted from pillar to post between three different institutions. Some of my memories of childhood are good but some of the places I lived in were like...

children's homes by sally gillen; New checks urged to reduce chance of wrongful child abuse convictions.
November 7, 2002... Police investigating allegations of institutional child abuse should tape interviews with people who claim to have been victims, say MPs. The report, by the parliamentary home affairs select committee, calls for new safeguards to minimise...

the enemy within.(mental illness)
November 7, 2002... One in 10 teenagers suffers mental illness, but few are prepared to admit it in case their peers ostracise or bully them. Ruth Winchester reports on how to combat the stigma Life as a teenager can be tough. Most go through periods when...

children; Quirks in children's needs census leaves service providers baffled.
November 7, 2002... The Department of Health study into how councils look after children has thrown up some strange findings that have puzzled many social workers. Derren Hayes reports "There are three kinds of lies," said the former prime minister, Benjamin...

funding; Scottish executive warned of shortfall.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... Local authority leaders have warned of a huge funding shortfall between Scottish executive spending calculations and the cost of funding local government services. According to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, core services...

standards; Cardiff wants help from commissioner.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... The Children's Commissioner for Wales is to be asked to join a special forum that will look at ways to improve Cardiff social services following a joint review that placed the department among the three worst in the UK. The leader of the...

young offenders; Report praises Werrington jail.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... Werrington Young Offenders Institution in Staffordshire has some of the best relationships between staff and young people in the juvenile estate, according to a recent prisons inspectorate report. However, the report says there are gaps in...

homelessness; Welsh Shelter raises awareness of rights.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... The Welsh arm of the homelessness charity Shelter has launched a major campaign to make people aware of their housing rights. Shelter Cymru said the Take Up campaign was targeted at the thousands of people in Wales who were not claiming the...

carers; Study reveals young carers' problems.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... A study for Edinburgh Young Carers Project reveals that 60 per cent of young carers surveyed reported difficulty in sleeping. Thirty per cent had difficulties eating, more than one-third said they had self-harmed and 36 per cent said they had...

regeneration; Chancellor slams 'no one works' culture.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... An onslaught on the "unacceptable culture of worklessness" that exists in some of the country's most deprived neighbourhoods was launched by the chancellor of the exchequer last week. Speaking at the Urban Summit in Birmingham, Gordon...

regeneration; Initiatives must involve local people in renewal, say community groups.
November 7, 2002... MPs were told last week about the need for more community involvement in regeneration and grassroot fears about changes to funding. Anabel Unity Sale reports Regeneration came under the spotlight last week when the government's pound...

standards by katie leason; More time for checks on care staff after fiasco at crime records bureau.
November 7, 2002... The time limits set for criminal records checks to be completed for staff working in care homes, nurse agencies and domiciliary care agencies are to be extended as a result of processing problems at the Criminal Records Bureau. Care home...

fostering; Influx leaves Wales short of child carers.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... The growing number of English children being placed with foster parents in Wales is causing a shortage of carers for the principality's own children. The warning by Peter Clarke, children's commissioner for Wales, comes as the prospect of...

Poverty; Rise in low income Scots households.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... One third of all children in Scotland are living in low-income households, according to a new report. The Poverty in Scotland 2002 report, compiled by the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Scottish Poverty Information Unit and Open...

mental health; Services may be placed near schools.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... The government is to consider developing child and adolescent mental health services closer to schools. The announcement, by schools minister Baroness Cathy Ashton at a Local Government Association conference last week, comes as a boost to...

older people; Few in Wales on direct payments.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... Just 21 older people in Wales are currently receiving direct payments, a survey by Age Concern Cymru has shown. Fourteen out of Wales's 22 local authorities provide direct payments for older people, the survey reveals, but a further six...

child protection; Couple lose appeal over death of child.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... A couple who refused to reveal which of them caused the death of their foster child had their appeal against their eight-year sentences dismissed by the Court of Appeal last week. Michelle and Simon McWilliam were convicted in October 2001...

residential care; Panel tells Plymouth to keep home open.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... Plymouth Council has been urged to reconsider its plan to close Granby Way residential home in a report by an independent panel. The report, commissioned by Plymouth Council following a Court of Appeal ruling last year, found that closing...

adoption; Adopters shunning one in four children.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... A survey by Baaf Adoption and Fostering has found that more than one in four children awaiting adoption receives no enquiries about them from prospective adopters. Of the 430 children featured in Baaf's Be My Parent, 129 received no...

child care by Derren Hayes; Delays in Ofsted registration prevent childminders from starting work.
November 7, 2002... Thousands of new childminders are unable to start work because of delays in the registration process carried out by schools watchdog Ofsted. Figures released last week show that there is such a backlog of applications for new and existing...

housing; Containers could house social workers.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... Can't afford to buy your own home? Social workers and other key public sector staff won't have that problem in future years if a consortium's plans for affordable housing take off. The Urban Settings consortium is developing a prototype of...

readers' views; Backing for disabled chief executives.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... A slight majority of visitors to Community Care's website believe disability charities should appoint disabled chief executives. Following the appointment of non-disabled chief executives at Scope and the Royal National Institute for Deaf...

asylum seekers; Groups back peers on education revolt.
November 7, 2002... Charities, doctors, refugee campaigners and trade unions have urged MPs to back the House of Lords' decision to reject proposals for the separate education of asylum seeker children. The House of Commons was this week voting on the changes...

information please.
November 7, 2002... l Compiling criteria to measure need and risk when receiving referrals within the duty/intake system in order to prioritise the allocation of cases. Doreen Moyes Social worker Community care team Dalkeith Social Work Centre...

criminal justice; Tories outline crime reduction policies.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... More effective community-based policing and "breaking the conveyor belt that takes young people into crime" is the key to crime reduction, according to shadow home affairs minister Dominic Grieve. Speaking last week at a conference by...

young people by clare jerrom; Prime Minister signals overhaul of services for children at risk.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... Prime Minister Tony Blair promised a green paper last week on identifying ways of improving services for vulnerable children and young people. The Children at Risk green paper, which will be published early next year, will consider...

mental health by katie leason; Treatability test must go, Blunkett tells mental health professionals.
November 7, 2002... Home secretary David Blunkett last week insisted that the government should press ahead with its Mental Health Bill proposal to remove the concept of treatability. Speaking at a conference held by mental health charity the Zito Trust,...

Behind the headlines.(social services)
November 7, 2002... Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news The final version of the comprehensive performance assessment framework was published at the end of October. Overall council performance will be rated in one of five categories rather than...

let's kick isolation out.
November 7, 2002... Mental health clients from the north-west take part in the third annual six-a-side football competition. Graham Hopkins blows the whistle BACKGROUND Scheme: World mental health day six-a-side football shield. Location: Trafford,...

disabilities; 'Consult disabled people on design'.(Brief Article)
November 7, 2002... Accessibility would be improved by involving disabled people at the consultation stage of building design, infrastructure development and transport, according to a new guide from the Department of Transport. It advises local authorities and...

mental health; Staff shortagesthreaten law reform.
November 7, 2002... The Scottish parliament's finance committee was warned last week that a serious shortage of specialist staff in the sector could damage plans to reform current mental health laws. The warning came as a group of MSPs examined the funding...

at home with quality.(home care services)
November 7, 2002... What exactly do older people want from home care services? Norma Raynes, of the University of Salford, examines research which set out to elicit older people's views The number of people older than 60 keeps rising: there were 12 million in...

added value needed.(services of the learning disabled)
November 7, 2002... The four main points at the heart of Valuing People are rights, independence, choice and inclusion. A recent social services inspection of learning difficulties' services found that the Valuing People policies were slowly starting to make...

'deprived' but driven.
November 7, 2002... Plenty of children from difficult backgrounds grow up to be successful people. So why does society discriminate against people with learning difficulties who wish to raise children, asks Yasmin Alibhai-Brown Can the children of middle...

theories to limit chaos.(mental health services)
November 7, 2002... Our multi-disciplinary panel suggests how to bring order to the life of a man diagnosed with schizophrenia who is hostile to services CASE study Situation: Martin Curtis is a 35-year-old man who has just been admitted to a treatment...

research into practice.
November 7, 2002... Fiona Richardson looks at studies that point to gaps in adolescent support and ways of improving help for older children Research shows that many parents will need help in negotiating new relationships with their children as they grow older...

breakthrough.(social services)
November 7, 2002... Academics Helen Weatherly, Sarah Byford, Pauline Heslop and the Shared Care Network's Vicky Jones look at whether paying for short-break schemes for families with disabled children improves services Helen Weatherly is a research fellow at...

rules of engagement.(child protection)
November 7, 2002... To gain more public support, Warwickshire attempted to engage the local press on child protection. Graham Hopkins reports BACKGROUND Scheme: Engaging local media. Location: Warwickshire. staffing: Within current staffing. ...

parents are getting away with murder.
November 7, 2002... Yvonne roberts says that the law must change if couples who kill children are to be brought to justice If you want to get away with a crime, and you're a parent or a carer, try child murder. An NSPCC working group last week reported on...

we must do it for ourselves.
November 7, 2002... viewpoint Government will not help improve the lot of people with learning difficulties without pressure, writes Brian White When Valuing People and the National Forum of people with learning difficulties was started by the government, my...

Cross-sector knowledge vital for Valuing People success.
November 14, 2002... Care workers must find out what the priorities of people working in other sectors are in order to make Valuing People work, said the government's head of learning difficulty strategy. Rob Greig, director of implementation for Valuing...

exclusive by clare jerrom; Hospitals for people with learning difficulties unlikely to close on time.
November 14, 2002... More than three-quarters of the long-stay hospitals for people with learning difficulties may not meet the April 2004 deadline for closure set out in the Valuing People white paper. Project managers for at least seven of the 21 hospitals...

prisons; Inspector criticises Whatton's role.
November 14, 2002... Whatton Prison needs to redefine its resettlement role and develop employment and training opportunities for sex offenders held there, according to Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons. Although Whatton, near Nottingham, saw...

Don't ignore older people, says expert.
November 14, 2002... A US expert in learning difficulties warned the government that it must not forget about the employment and training needs of older people. John O'Brien, who consults on learning difficulties internationally, said: "It is critical that...

disabilities by sally gillen; Think-tank fury over 'segregation' of disabled children in education.
November 14, 2002... An education think-tank has attacked the government over its failure to take a tougher line with local education authorities that place a high number of disabled children in special schools. Mark Vaughan, founder of the Centre for Studies...

youth justice by clare jerrom; 'Child custody breaches human rights'.
November 14, 2002... The use of custody for children must be stopped as a matter of urgency, according to the Children's Rights Alliance. In a report on young offender institutions published this week, the charity argues that custody for children is not...

disabled people; Poor transport isolates the young.
November 14, 2002... Poor public transport is leaving many young disabled people trapped at home. A national opinion poll carried out for the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and published at its annual conference earlier this week, reveals that almost half...

older people; London's elderly 'living in poverty'.
November 14, 2002... More than one-third of the capital's pensioners are living in poverty, according to figures released by London Mayor Ken Livingstone last week. He told the first meeting of the capital's Older People's Assembly that pensioner poverty...

children by Derren hayes; Review of child care recommends councils should take on Sure Start.
November 14, 2002... Responsibility for delivering the government's flagship Sure Start initiative looks set to be handed over to councils as part of a programme to devolve child care services from central to local government. The recommendation, by the Prime...

child protection; Abuse cases harm justice, says Tory.
November 14, 2002... The issue of child abuse has become so emotive that no thought has been given to victims of miscarriages of justice, a senior politician said this week. Earl Howe, opposition spokesperson in the House of Lords, told a conference of the...

older people; Charity attacks delay on abuser list.
November 14, 2002... Older people's charity Action on Elder Abuse has warned that the decision to postpone the introduction of the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list could have dangerous consequences. The charity's chief executive Gary FitzGerald said:...

Care Homes; Standards 'must not be changed'.
November 14, 2002... The national minimum standards for care homes should not be changed in any way, according to the National Association of Inspection and Registration Officers. The consultation on the amended environmental standards for care homes finished...

homelessness; Ex-armed forces staff seek most help.
November 14, 2002... O f all the people advised last year by homelessness charity Shelter's UK-wide housing aid centres, two-thirds were ex-armed forces personnel, according to the latest figures. The announcement follows the publication of Shelter's report...

youth justice; Study points to link with victimisation.
November 14, 2002... Children who become victims of crime, often at the hands of other children, are at risk of turning into delinquents, according to the interim findings of the University of Edinburgh's long-term research into children, young people and crime....

mental health; MPs and Lords attack draft bill.
November 14, 2002... The draft Mental Health Bill could threaten people's human rights, the parliamentary joint committee on human rights warned this week. In its report on the draft bill, the committee refers to a number of matters that still cause "some...

disabilities; Wheelchair users may need insurance.
November 14, 2002... Motorised wheelchair users may have to fork out for insurance because of a rise in the number of accidents involving the vehicles. The proposal, which is to be considered by the Department of Transport, has attracted criticism from the...

policy; Antisocial behaviour bill high on agenda.
November 14, 2002... A new antisocial behaviour bill was expected to feature at the heart of the Queen's Speech delivered to the House of Commons this week. The aim of the bill, one of three criminal justice bills due to be included, would be to tackle...

young offenders; Rise in orders likely despite criticism.
November 14, 2002... The Home Office issued new guidance to maximise the use of antisocial behaviour orders this week, despite evidence that the orders are costly, cumbersome and difficult to enforce. The new guidance, published under the Police Reform Act 2002...

star ratings; Six departments lose their shine.
November 14, 2002... Six social services departments across England are understood to have been downgraded during the star refreshing exercise, the results of which were due to be published after Community Care went to press this week. Three authorities that...

a vote of confidence.
November 14, 2002... The government's review of child care published last week is a significant vote of confidence in local government. The Prime Minister's strategy unit report, Delivering for Children and Families, sets out a vision of services in the year 2010...

readers' views; 'Trawling' backed by social care staff.
November 14, 2002... Sixty per cent of visitors to Community Care's website support police use of "trawling" to identify victims of abuse in institutions. This week's question asks: Is it fair that performance on one key indicator can affect the overall star...

a case of social exclusion.
November 14, 2002... It is an accepted principle that services for children should be tailored to the child's individual circumstances, while allowing children with any particular needs the greatest possible opportunity to participate in mainstream activities such...

child protection; Haringey sacks two Climbie workers.
November 14, 2002... Two Haringey social workers involved in the case of Victoria Climbie have been sacked for gross misconduct after disciplinary hearings held in September reported this week. Lisa Arthurworrey, Victoria's allocated worker, and her manager,...

People; RNID head goes to Audit Commission.
November 14, 2002... The former chief executive of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People has been appointed chairperson of the Audit Commission. James Strachan told Community Care he would like to see the Audit Commission retain the skills of the joint...

Registration; Social workers' fee levels still unknown.
November 14, 2002... The General Social Care Council confirmed last week that an annual fee linked to the registration of qualified social workers would be introduced from next year. Deputy chief executive Mike Wardle said fee levels had not yet been confirmed...

policy by David Callaghan and Anabel unity sale; Asylum and adoption bills face down opposition to become law.
November 14, 2002... Controversial bills on asylum and adoption finally reached the statute book last week, after months of debate. The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill became law after MPs overturned a vote in the House of Lords against the...

adoption; Register chief puts onus on agencies.
November 14, 2002... Ruth Fasht, director of the Adoption Register, has defended its performance despite new figures showing that the children it puts forward for adoption have a one in 35 chance of finding parents. Eight months into being fully operational,...

balancing act.
November 14, 2002... Beverley Hughes went from a long career in social care to parliament, and is now Home Office minister responsible for policy on asylum seekers. She makes the case for the government's Asylum Bill to Terry Philpot, and argues that social care...

space to think.
November 14, 2002... Dealing with children at risk is one of the most demandingareas of social care. More reason, then, for staff to take time to manage their own anxieties, says Colin Murphy Sarah, who is black and is eight years old, sits timidly on the...

research into practice.
November 14, 2002... Neil Thompson investigates research into workplace harassment and asks how social care organisations should deal with complaints The problems of bullying and harassment in the workplace have been recognised in recent years as far more...

social insecurity.
November 14, 2002... welfare rights Moves to cut benefits to "anti-social" people would be wrong and unworkable, says Gary Vaux The Prime Minister has reiterated the government's intention to legislate to withhold housing benefit from antisocial claimants. In a...

book reviews.
November 14, 2002... John Pierson on the experience of low-paid workers in the US and Sue Richardson looks at child protection BYLINE: Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich, Granta Books pound sterling8.99, ISBN 1 86207 521 2 Too often the US...

london calling.
November 14, 2002... The capital is faced by unique problemsin the social care and health fields, whichwill be exacerbated by recent fundingproposals, writes Stephen Burke ofthe Association of London Government Stephen Burke is chairperson of the Association of...

all change, please.
November 14, 2002... Time was when management was all about managing the status quo. But now change is the latest buzz word in the social care world. Martin Willis and Des Kelly offer some practical tips TOP TIPS Don't rubbish the past. Look for...

find THE CHILDREN.
November 14, 2002... The government should launch an awareness campaign to ensure that all children of asylum seekers and immigrants are accounted for and known to local authorities, Bob Holman argues Asylum seeking in Britain is not new. Pre-war, many Germans...

alcohol misuse; A national alcohol strategy nears but will it be a short measure?
November 14, 2002... After years of waiting, next year will see the publication of an alcohol strategy for England. But there are worries that it will not go far enough, reports Katie Leason Those who work in the alcohol misuse field must feel like New Labour...

common assault.
November 14, 2002... Women from ethnic minorities, and recent immigrants, who suffer domestic violence face an uphill struggle to gain help. Ruth Winchester reports Domestic violence is surrounded by myths and stereotypes. The myth that it's...

building a united front.
November 14, 2002... Flexibility was the key word in legislation that aimed to make health and social services work more closely together. Caroline Glendinning, Brian Hardy, Bob Hudson and Ruth Young discuss their evaluation of the Health Act 1999 how the...

Behind the headlines.
November 14, 2002... Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news During the past decade, the arrests and convictions of children's home workers for child abuse have polarised debate. On one side lobby groups for children and young people claim that...

hope follows trust.
November 14, 2002... Jamie Schofield (left), of the Behaviour Resource Service in Southampton, tells Graham Hopkins how listening therapy helped a teenage girl with mental health problems disclose her past sexual abuse and gain trust. Meanwhile, she was due...