Community Care articles from October 2002

Community Care archives from October 2002

Conference galvanises learning difficulties groups around the world.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... More than 1,100 people from 64 countries gathered in Melbourne, Australia, last week for the 13th world congress of the umbrella organisation Inclusion International. The majority of those at the four-day event were people with learning...

A boost for students.(social work training)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... This week's announcement that bursaries will form part of the government's programme to reform social work training and student support is likely to increase the numbers of students attending social work courses. The bursaries are worth...

social inclusion; End elderly poverty, charity demands.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Help the Aged has accused the government of overlooking older people in its attempts to tackle poverty and social exclusion. The charity claims that the government's social exclusion unit has concentrated on young families, children and...

local authorities; Inspectors accused of lacking skills.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Inspectors used by the government to judge the corporate performance of local authorities have been criticised by the Association of Directors of Social Services. Results of pilot assessments have revealed that some inspection teams have...

Joint reviews; Minister demands action over Cardiff.(Welsh social services minister Jane Hutt)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Welsh social services minister Jane Hutt has ordered a special inspection of children's services in Cardiff in the wake of a damning joint review. The report says that service users and carers are disadvantaged by delays, service shortfalls and...

legislation; Mental health tsar remains bullish in the face of criticism of draft bill.(Louis Appleby)
October 3, 2002... Mental health workers are furious at proposed changes in the law but the person who has to oversee them is convinced they will work. Katie Leason speaks to Louis Appleby Louis Appleby has a particularly difficult job at the moment. As...

child protection; Potential abusers call helpline.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... A telephone helpline providing advice and support to people who are concerned they may abuse children has received nearly 100 calls in its first few months of operation. The helpline, set up in June but only officially launched last week,...

young offenders; Suicide at Feltham sparks concerns.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Serious concerns over conditions in young offenders institutions were raised last week after an inquest into the death of a 16-year-old boy who committed suicide in his cell. Kevin Jacobs, who was serving a six-month detention training...

long-term care; Keeping track of dementia sufferers.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Older people in a west London care home are to be tagged using monitoring equipment similar to that used to keep track of young offenders. Alzheimer's and dementia sufferers at Martin House in the London Borough of Ealing, will be equipped...

readers' views; Fines would lead to hasty discharges.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Fifty-three per cent of visitors to Community Care's website believe carers' views would be ignored as a result of the government's plans to introduce fines for delayed discharges. This week's question asks: Do you agree with the Liberal...

Criminal checks; Barnardo's claims bureau blundered.(children's charity)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... The beleaguered Criminal Records Bureau is to investigate a complaint by children's charity Barnardo's that it cleared two potential employees who admitted having criminal records. A Home Office spokesperson said the CRB was taking the...

service delivery by katie leason; Three-year framework launchedto give social care greater stability.
October 3, 2002... Older people, mental health and vulnerable children are to form the focus for social services in new Department of Health guidance published this week. The priorities and planning framework for health and social care covers a three-year...

training by Derren Hayes; New cash for students will give 'marginal' boost to applications.
October 3, 2002... A new non means-tested bursary for social work students was unveiled this week by health minister Jacqui Smith. From next September social work students will receive at least pound sterling3,000 a year in living and travelling expenses -...

children; Challenge to ban on corporal punishment.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... The head teacher of an independent Christian school has claimed that the banning of corporal punishment is a fundamental breach of religious freedom. Phil Williamson, head teacher of the Christian Fellowship School in Liverpool, took his...

'Self-determination is a birthright'.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Delegates heard that professionals keen to promote self-determination for people with learning difficulties were becoming interested in "individualised funding". Steve Dowson, former director of the UK charity Values into Action, said this...

Right to choose is too often denied.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... People with learning difficulties are often denied choice in even the most basic areas of their lives, Mark Brookes, project worker with the UK charity Values into Action, told a session on self-determination. He said a survey of more than...

Valuing People policies win praise.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... The British government's Valuing People white paper is changing the lives of people with learning difficulties for the better, said members of the national forum charged with monitoring its progress. Disability rights commissioner Eve...

Asylum seekers; Home alone children at risk.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Professionals working with asylum seekers and refugee families need to ensure parents understand that leaving children at home alone is not acceptable, a conference in Southampton heard last week. Health visitor Agnes McMullen, who works...

mental health; Centre criticises police over arrest.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... A mental health centre has called for police to draw up procedures for investigating allegations made against social care staff after its manager was locked in a cell for three hours. The Wolverhampton-based African Caribbean Community...

people by sally gillen; New head of institute for excellence determined to engage service users.
October 3, 2002... The Social Care Institute for Excellence has appointed a new chief executive to replace Ray Jones, who left just seven months after he joined the organisation following a dispute over his pension package. Bill Kilgallon will take up the...

standards; Ofsted early years chief resigns.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... The director of Ofsted's early years inspection services has resigned just weeks before the publication of a report on its first year of operation. Maggie Smith blamed health and family problems for her resignation after less than two...

Self-advocacy has changed many lives.(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... In the early days of the self-advocacy movement "learning difficulty was a dirty word" according to Carlisle People First member Lou Townson. She told the conference: "It was a case of put them in hospital and forget about them." But she...

Finding work is top priority for most.(learning disabled)(Brief Article)
October 3, 2002... Having a job was the number one aspiration for a group of 444 people with learning difficulties surveyed in the state of Victoria, a session on self-determination was told. Mirella Danelutti, of Disability Services Victoria, said 44 per...

Much still to prove.(Social Care Institute for Excellence planning)
October 3, 2002... The appointment of Bill Kilgallon as chief executive marks the first anniversary of the Social Care Institute for Excellence. It has a long way to go before it is seen to fulfil its brief to establish a social care knowledge base and ensure...

book reviews.(Approaches to Needs Assessment in Children's Services; What Works in Reducing Domestic Violence?)
October 10, 2002... Chris Hanvey on children's needs, services and outcome and Bridget Penhale on domestic violence perspectives Approaches to Needs Assessment in Children's Services Edited by Harriet Ward and Wendy Rose, Jessica Kingsley Publishers,...

we have to learn to 'share' clients.(mentally ill homeless)
October 10, 2002... The Mental Health Foundation's report, The Mental Health Needs of Homeless Young People, reinforces what I see daily as a psychiatric nurse for a homeless organisation: the direct link between homelessness and mental health problems. ...

If Whitehall could just let goa.(social care policy)
October 10, 2002... In the fourth of our series by the authors of a major report on the future of social care, policy analyst Anne Davies argues that local government should retain its accountability for social care - and should also have commissioning...

social exclusion; Rural women need specific policies.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Young women living in the countryside are among the most deprived and excluded people in England and Wales, according to new research. Lack of affordable child care and social activities along with poor public transport were highlighted as...

workforce; Lambeth mislays hundreds of staff.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Council chiefs in Lambeth, south London, have ordered a recruitment freeze in social services because of confusion over how many staff work in the department. The council's executive committee voted for the freeze to new recruitment after...

care and loss.(suicide prevention)
October 10, 2002... Reducing the suicide rate, particularly among young people, is a major government target.1 However, a recent study of the views of parents who have lost a child through suicide reveal a high level of dissatisfaction with the support they...

lights go out on treatment.(treatment center for sexual offenders)
October 10, 2002... Britain's only residential treatment centre for child sex offenders has closed, yet what limited research exists points to treatment being effective in preventing sexual crimes against children. So what is the government up to? Natalie Valios...

public awareness; Charities balance shock and subtlety in bid for money, hearts and minds.
October 10, 2002... With its latest advertisements, Barnardo's is again hoping that shock tactics will raise awareness. But is shock always the best way of conveying a message, asks David Brown The haunting image of a girl in her underwear cowering on a bed...

care homes; Counsel and Care warns on standards.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... The national minimum standards for care homes should not be sacrificed in the face of market turbulence, according to older people's charity Counsel and Care. "Right now there's a strong possibility of loosening some of the requirements on...

Milburn rejects naming and shaming as he pledges to raise sector's status.(Alan Milburn)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... People working in social services should not be named and shamed because they have some of the most difficult jobs in the public sector, health secretary Alan Milburn told the Labour Party conference in Blackpool last week. The remarks...

Carers; Work pressures block caring role.(employment of the elderly)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Fewer people will be able to help with caring for grandchildren or older parents because of pressures to stay in paid work for longer. A Joseph Rowntree Foundation study found that people aged between 50 and retirement age are a "pivot"...

Minister hits back at claims of racism.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Immigration minister Beverley Hughes reacted angrily to accusations that the government's stance and language on asylum and immigration is appeasing racists. Hughes, speaking at a fringe meeting hosted by the Refugee Council, faced...

Blunkett clampdown on sex offenders.(David Blunkett)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... A tightening of the laws on sex offenders, announced by home secretary David Blunkett, has been welcomed by children's charities. For the first time, sex offenders from abroad will have to put their names on the sex offenders' register....

child protection by derren hayes; UN report criticises government for failure to ban smacking of children.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... There have been renewed calls for a ban on smacking in the UK following a report by the United Nations recommending it should be outlawed. The report, which was unveiled last week, also criticises the government for failing to tackle the...

mental health; Ethnic dementia care has stagnated.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Organisations providing dementia care for people from ethnic minorities are being left without the support they need to improve services, a leading expert in the sector has warned. Olivia Nuamah, community development manager for dementia...

special needs; Strike closes some special schools.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Some special schools in London were forced to close last week following a strike by 25,000 local government workers campaigning for an increase in London weighting allowance. Members of Unison, the TGWU and GMB, called the stoppage in...

mental health; Suicidal children's parents speak out.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Many parents whose children have committed suicide feel that professionals should make young people's mental health a greater priority, according to a UK-wide survey. The study also found that the effect of a child's suicide often lasts...

criminal justice; Help prisoners with housing, says study.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Housing and benefits advice should be offered to all people leaving prison to prevent them from sleeping rough or reoffending, according to a new report by homelessness organisation St Mungo's. A Year in Prison: A Pioneering Venture in...

local authorities; Six months to rescue Cardiff and launch a new era in social services.
October 10, 2002... Another Welsh authority has been slammed for failing the children and adults it is supposed to protect. Alex Dobson reports on the upheaval ahead at Cardiff Council Social services in Wales are reeling yet again in the wake of another...

Care homes; Residents win council tax appeal.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Blind and partially sighted residents at a care home run by the Royal National Institute of the Blind are celebrating the end of a two-year battle over council tax. The 37 residents at Kathleen Chambers House in Burnham on Sea, Somerset,...

housing; Mayor must put cheaper homes first.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... A coalition of housing bodies has urged the London mayor to put tackling the shortage of affordable housing at the centre of his plans for developing the capital's infrastructure. The coalition - made up of homelessness charity Shelter, the...

criminal justice; Euro ruling prompts jail rules revamp.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Prisoners at Moorland Young Offenders Institution in south Yorkshire will have an automatic right to legal representation at internal jail disciplinary hearings, under a move announced by the Prison Service. From this week, prisoners will...

security; Norfolk director sounds check alarm.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... The director of social services at Norfolk Council has raised concerns that the six-month backlog of applications at the Criminal Records Bureau could worsen the social care recruitment crisis. David Wright, who is leading the Association...

drugs misuse; One million over-65s drink too much.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... The charity Alcohol Concern is urging more research to be carried out on alcohol misuse after its new report revealed that one million over-65s are drinking at unsafe levels. The report also points to high levels of alcohol abuse among...

tories discover society.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... In last week's Community Care Conservative party leader Iain Duncan Smith told about his road-to-Damascus-style conversion while visiting the deprived Easterhouse estate in Glasgow. He told us he was impressed by the resilience of local...

readers' views; Let staff be free to improve services.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Most visitors to Community Care's website believe the Liberal Democrats are right to say that services would improve if staff had more freedom from Whitehall . Seventy-one per cent supported the Liberal Democrats' proposals to limit...

policy by Katie Leason; Conservatives promise greater role for voluntary sector in social care.(brf)
October 10, 2002... The Conservatives have pledged to give more freedom to the voluntary sector so it can run projects currently funded and delivered by government such as social services. In a speech to charities at the Conservative Party conference in...

A smack from the UN.
October 10, 2002... The United Nations finds much to criticise in its latest report on the UK's children's rights record. When the UN last reported, in 1995, it read like the description of a Hogarth painting, expressing concerns about the high levels of violence...

workforce; Homelessness staff strike in Glasgow.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Staff from Glasgow council's homeless unit have started an indefinite strike. The 70 staff have taken with them the keys to 900 furnished council flats, meaning that homeless people will have to stay in bed and breakfast accommodation. The...

long-term care; Nursing homes lose out over 'free' care.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... It has been a "difficult year" for the nursing home sector since "free" nursing care for self-funding residents was introduced 12 months ago, Frank Ursell, chief executive officer at the Registered Nursing Home Association, said last week. ...

Disability; Accessible services needed, says report.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... One in five disabled people face difficulties obtaining access to social services, according to a new report by disability charity Leonard Cheshire. The charity wants the government to ensure that all primary care trusts make their...

legal ; Journalist wins care home libel damages.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Kent police have paid pound sterling15,000 damages to a BBC journalist who exposed poor care standards in a residential home for people with learning difficulties. The High Court ruled this week in favour of Donal MacIntyre in his libel...

mental health by katie leason; Charity welcomes government's 'innovative' strategy for women.(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... Mental health charity Mind believes the government's new proposals for a mental health strategy for women could bring benefits and "great innovation" to services. The government's consultation paper Women's Mental Health: Into the...

policy by janet snell; New vision of social care focuses on major overhaul of professional roles.
October 10, 2002... A new grand vision for social care in the year 2020, under which social work as we now know it will cease to exist, is to be unveiled at the National Social Services Conference in Cardiff next week. From Welfare to Wellbeing: The Future of...

Asylum seekers by Clare Jerrom and Nicola Barry; Union attacks government over its plans for accommodation centres.
October 10, 2002... The Transport and General Workers Union has attacked the government's plans for asylum seeker accommodation centres, saying they will create an unworkable "parallel universe" where residents will remain separated from society. TGWU general...

a botched investigation?(child abuse investigation)
October 10, 2002... Our multi-disciplinary panel looks at the case of a girl with learnin g difficulties who claims she was hit by a support teacher CASE study SITUATION: Sally Baker (not her real name)is 14 years old and has mild learning difficulties....

Best evidence.(crimes against the learning disabled)
October 10, 2002... Social services and police in Staffordshire are working together to improve collecting evidence from people with learning difficulties - with positive results for all concerned. Graham Hopkins reports BACKGROUND Scheme: A training...

rebirth of a profession?(social services)
October 10, 2002... It is not often that people in the social care sector get what they hope for. But now a 20-year-old dream has come true. A unifying set of standards of conduct and practice for social care workers and their employers has been published,...

taking ; the floor.(demography of Belgium)(Brief Article)
October 10, 2002... background Belgium, which is legally bi-lingual French and Flemish, covers 30,510 sq km (about one-eighth the size of the UK) and has a population of 10.3 million. About 17.5 per cent of the population are aged between 0-14. Ethnic...

diary.
October 10, 2002... Monday As always the week starts with a team meeting to allocate new cases and update us on what's going on. I am given another family to support and a few "welcome to Sure Start" visits to make. We always call on new members to say hello and...

talk to the abusers.
October 10, 2002... There is no medical solution to child sex abuse. Only by engaging with paedophiles, hearing their stories, their take on their feelings, can we learn how to protect children, says David Beresford For many, paedophiles have become the modern...

research into practice.
October 10, 2002... A group of researchers describe their shared practice learning project that combined social work and district nurse practice placements The project aimed to pilot shared practice learning, to evaluate the results and to use the data to...

the dangers of love at any price.
October 10, 2002... Tragically, the death of estate agent Tim Robinson marked Britain's first carjack killing. The lengthy criminal records of his murderer, Dwaine Williams, 18, and his accomplice, Aaron Jones, 17, yet again make the argument for early...

Book reviews.('Schools of Citizenship' and 'Wool Gathering or How I Ended Analysis')(Book Review)
October 17, 2002... Schools of Citizenship Frank Prochaska, Civitas, pound sterling4, ISBN 1903 386 19 5 Wool Gathering or How I Ended Analysis Dan Gunn, Brunner Routledge, pound sterling12.99, ISBN 1 58391 279 7 Frank Prochaska's lively,...

Homelessness; Westminster's fine plan slammed.(Westminister, England plan to fine people sleeping outdoors)(Brief Article)
October 17, 2002... Homelessness charity the Simon Community has criticised Westminster Council over its plan to fine homeless people up to pound sterling500 if they are caught sleeping rough in any of the London borough's open spaces. The Simon Community...

Bed-blocking; Scots to use joint working not fines.(Scottish National Health Service to educate rather than fine hospitals for delayed discharges)
October 17, 2002... Measures to tackle bed-blocking in Scotland's hospitals were announced at a conference on delayed discharge last week. Malcolm Chisholm, health minister in the Scottish executive, launched a learning network and information bank at a joint...

Adoption; Review aims for easier assessments.(United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
October 17, 2002... The checks and criteria used to assess prospective adopters could be overhauled under new proposals announced by the government. The review of adopter assessment and adoption panels aims to create more consistency and transparency in the...

Social exclusion by SALLY Gillen; Advice bureaux back MPs' demand for action to reform social fund.(reform of British Social Fund needed to end social exclusion of poor children)
October 17, 2002... Radical reform of the social fund is needed if the government is to eradicate child poverty and social exclusion, according to a report released this week by the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux. Unfair and Underfunded,...

Readers' Views; Support for think-tank's proposals.
October 17, 2002... Sixty per cent of visitors to Community Care's website would support local authorities taking over some responsibility for primary health care commissioning as suggested in a new Institute for Public Policy Research report. This week's...

start and stop.(disability living allowance benefits for families with disabled children)
October 17, 2002... The advice unit that I work for regularly takes phone calls about benefits when a child becomes looked after. One recent query concerned a disabled child from a family on income support, receiving disability living allowance and child benefit....

workforce woes.(managing difficult social work staff)
October 17, 2002... Everyone in social care is reliable and committed. Aren't they? John Burton, Anthony Douglas and Kathryn Stone offer some practical suggestions on how to manage difficult staff There must be one of those inspirational posters somewhere that...

black, disabled and still waiting.
October 17, 2002... For more than 10 years research and literature have explored race and disability issues. So one would be forgiven for thinking that by now agencies would have been able to move forward the debate and improve provision significantly. It is...

mind the gaps.(child welfare)
October 17, 2002... Better services for young people with mental illness require social care staff who can recognise young people's problems - but 80 per cent of staff have had no training. Natalie Valios reports Spotting a mental health problem in a child is...

it's time to chAnge course.(social services)
October 17, 2002... In the final part of our series by the authors of a major report on the future of social care, Liz Kendall of the Institute for Public Policy Research puts the case for a new focus on prevention, more community involvement and a dedicated child...

unpopular but necessary.(sexual behavior of children)
October 17, 2002... Coherent and appropriate responses are needed for young people who display sexually harmful behaviour, even at the risk of upsetting media and public opinion, writes the NSPCC's Elizabeth Lovell al strategy. Government policy remains...

Tories will lead fight in parliament against new mental health bill.(Brief Article)
October 17, 2002... The shadow health secretary vowed last week that the Conservative Party would oppose the proposed mental health bill in parliament. In his address to the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth, Liam Fox said the pendulum had been...

Child protection area heads needed.(Brief Article)
October 17, 2002... One person should have sole responsibility for child protection in each area, former education secretary Gillian Shephard proposed in a session debating the future of children's services post-Victoria Climbi. Shephard suggested that one...

Right to buy council homes should stay.(Brief Article)
October 17, 2002... Homelessness charity Shelter has expressed "grave concern" over the announcement that the Conservative Party would keep the right-to-buy policy for council properties. Shadow deputy prime minister David Davis also announced last week that...

journey down dead-end street.(child welfare)
October 17, 2002... Despite a national reputation as an affluent area, the Wirral also contains the ward with the worst rates of child poverty in England, reports Ruth Winchester The Wirral is a place of contradictions. In five miles, you can go from...

child protection by katie leason; Multi-agency report criticises social services' criteria for intervention.
October 17, 2002... Children are being put at risk because the criteria for calling in social services to probe concerns are too limited, says a major new report. Safeguarding Children, compiled by eight independent inspectorates including the Social Services...