Community Care articles from October 2008

Community Care archives from October 2008

News.(Labour Party's pledge to end child poverty)
October 2, 2008... Labour strives to reclaim its title as party of social justice Promises of a statutory target on child poverty and hints of centralised adult care maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk Prime minister Gordon Brown's pledge to enshrine in law...

News.
October 2, 2008... "When I hear David Cameron talk about a 'broken Britain', amazingly I have to agree with what Boris Johnson said: he's talking 'piffle'. In Salford, we'd call it something a bit stronger!" Hazel Blears, communities and local government...

News.(Disability North fund raising)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... tyne titans Elizabeth Miller, 70, was the oldest of 70 daredevils who scaled Newcastle Gateshead Hilton Hotel and then abseiled down it, to raise [pounds sterling]12,000 for the charity Disability North. The charity is hoping to do the same...

News.(managing children's services )
October 2, 2008... All children's providers 'require well-being duty' Publicly-funded children's services providers across all sectors should be placed under a duty to co-operate in promoting children's well-being, the Association of Directors of Children's...

News.(Victoria House )(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... MENTAL CAPACITY Families are unable to sell the homes of older relatives who lack mental capacity because of delays by the Office of the Public Guardian in processing applications for enduring or lasting powers of attorney, NHFA Care...

News.(personalisation in social services)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... DH study reveals councils still haven't embraced personalisation 'Stuttering start' made to personalisation English councils are making a "stuttering start" to implementing personalisation reforms, a Department of Health official...

News.(restraining child prisoners)
October 2, 2008... youth justice Restraint and injury rates highest in secure centres STCs top restraint league despite holding fewest number of offenders maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk One-third of all restraint incidents against child prisoners in...

News.(Royal College of Psychiatrists on detention of mentally ill)
October 2, 2008... Royal College of Psychiatrists call for faster assessment in mental health detention Greater powers are needed to scrutinise the detention of people with mental health problems in police cells, according to the Royal College of...

News.(Homemead care home garden)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Resident Anthony Greenaway and staff member Canta Calyan take advantage of the new sensory garden at the Homemead care home in Teddington, Middlesex. The home, which is run by not-for-profit provider Central and Cecil and caters for people with...

News.(social care cost switch to local councils)
October 2, 2008... Councils mount challenge to care proceedings cost switch Local authorities claim they were not properly consulted over transfer of proceedings costs from courts service Four councils will challenge the government's decision to make...

News.(Action for Children)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... news in brief MENTAL HEALTH England's first mental health promotion television campaign will be run in the east of England next week courtesy of a partnership between government agency the Care Services Improvement Partnership,...

News.(Martin Narey on the Conservative Party's policy on child poverty)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... Barnardo's head slams Tories on poverty Barnardo's chief executive Martin Narey has criticised the Conservatives for failing to commit to halving child poverty by 2010. Narey told a Conservative conference fringe event that while Labour...

News.(anniversary of the old age pension)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... derby and judy An Edwardian Punch and Judy show was one of the attractions at a recent event in south London to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the country's first old age pension. Southwark Pensioners Action Group teamed up with the 1st...

News.(Naomi Hill murder case)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... child protection Mother 'deliberately killed' disabled girl A woman with a history of mental illness who killed her four-year-old disabled daughter was convicted of murder last week. Joanne Hill, 32, from Connah's Quay in north...

News.(Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service pay dispute)
October 2, 2008... workforce Acas to settle council pay dispute in most of the UK But Scottish unions threaten councils with more strikes in pursuit of 5% claim comcare.news@rbi.co.uk Unions have asked arbitration service Acas to settle the...

News.(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... CORRECTION In last week's Community Care (www.communitycare.co.uk/109503) we said the deprivation of liberty safeguards, which concern people who lack capacity who are detained for treatment or care, will come into force in November 2008....

News.(Remploy closures' effect on disabled workers)
October 2, 2008... Unions reveal 'tragic stories' caused by Remploy closures maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk Many disabled people who lost their jobs after Remploy closed 29 factories have not been supported into mainstream jobs, unions and workers have claimed....

News.(emergency capabilities of the National Health Service)
October 2, 2008... health NHS emergency care fails vulnerable, says watchdog mithran.samuel@rbi.co.uk The NHS must improve emergency healthcare for vulnerable groups, including disabled people, the Healthcare Commission said last week. In a...

Survivors of the favelas.(Features)(Personal account)
October 2, 2008... Youth justice manager Andrew Griffiths reflects on his experiences with a young people's drug project in Sao Paulo Casa Dia (Day House) is a simple complex on the outskirts of Garca, a small town five hours' drive from Sao Paulo, Brazil's...

Features.(moving into the adult care sector for child welfare workers)
October 2, 2008... Question: I have been working in the children and families sector for several years but I feel I need a new challenge. How would you advise me on moving into the adult care sector? Answer: The great thing about a career within...

Features.(child services pioneers Dennis Allen, John Stroud, and Barbara Kahan)
October 2, 2008... Heroes of children services Three pioneers were crucial to the development of children's departments, set up 60 years ago. Bob Holman remembers how inspirational they were n July 1948, the Children Act established local authority...

Different class.(Features)(child welfare in the classroom)
October 2, 2008... Schools are central to any community. A Milton Keynes social worker is going back to the classroom to engage parents in his prevention work. Anne Gulland reports n 2000, Robert Putnam, professor of public policy at Harvard University...

Participation of seldom-heard groups.(Features)
October 2, 2008... The Social Care Institute for Excellence's weekly analysis of research findings behind specific social work practices he term "seldom heard" is new in social care. It is used to describe groups of people who don't have a collective voice...

Backchat.(Personal account)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... social skirmishes Rosie Warlock, a senior practitioner in children's social services, tells us what's on her mind * My niece Jeanine has taken a sudden interest in social work. Flame-haired, beautiful, world at her feet, she's just 18....

'Talk to me, I'm the public guardian'.(Interview/Profile)(Martin John of the Office of the Public Guardian)(Interview)
October 2, 2008... Martin John, new chief executive of the Office of the Public Guardian, wants social care professionals to tell him how the organisation can improve in its second year. Anabel Unity Sale reports Most first birthdays are cause for...

Opinion Columns.(caregiver costs)(Column)
October 2, 2008... By Susan Himmelweit and Hilary Land Most care is still provided by family members, usually women. This may seem to the government to be a free source of care. In practice it is 'paid for' by carers who have reduced opportunities to do...

Features.(managing confrontation with parents for social workers)
October 2, 2008... Damage limitation How should a children's social worker intervene when confronted by an angry parent? Ray Braithwaite looks at the dilemmas and consequences When faced with the information that a significant adult in the life of a...

Ever the optimist.(Features)(Care Quality Commission's Cynthia Bower)(Interview)
October 2, 2008... Cynthia Bower is the chief executive of the Care Quality Commission. As it prepares to go live Emily Ford asks her about the benefits the new watchdog will bring October 1 spells the beginning of the end for the regulation of adult social...

Opinion Columns.(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... recession-proof jobs? As the economy worsens, social workers will be busier dealing with rising levels of poverty and debt. Can we cope? "Each individual situation may be tragic for the family concerned but social workers know what to...

News.(using ex-military personnel to deal with antisocial behavior in schools)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... boot camp behaviour It is strangely comforting to find that the Conservatives, as the new self-proclaimed party of fairness, still see the army as the answer to the nation's social problems. The latest plan, which was due for an airing at...

News.(politics and child poverty)(Brief article)
October 2, 2008... END POLITICS of poverty The archetypal image of the politician is of campaigning by kissing babies. Yet it seems those same MPs are willing to play political football with children's survival. Last week prime minister Gordon Brown pledged...

Why Devon accusations are false.(Letters)(Letter to the editor)
October 2, 2008... Depression and deafblind people As Mark Hunter writes ("This is a job for social care", 18 September, www.communitycare.co.uk/109444), social care services can play a vital role in preventing depression among older people. ...

Island ofthe free.(Good Practice)(Isle of Wight's free home care for the elderly)
October 2, 2008... The Isle of Wight has improved the lives of older people by making home care free for many over-80s so they aren't forced to go into residential homes. Natalie Valios reports ithout social services I don't know what we would do - we...

'But I don't want to retire'.(Features)
October 2, 2008... Social workers who are beyond retirement age often still have plenty to offer, the agency view At health and social care recruitment agency Beresford Blake Thomas, operations director Richard Smith says he has 45 people over...

Letters.
October 2, 2008... www.communitycare.co.uk/carespace CareSpace is an online community where social care professionals can share good practice information, ask for advice, network with colleagues from around the country or discuss the big issues of the day....

review The late show goes on.(Working Lives)(Heavy Load: A Film About Happiness)(Movie review)
October 2, 2008... A documentary about a punk band featuring people with learning disabilities has Mark Drinkwater rocking The Life And Rhymes Of Ian Dury Playback Arts Zoo Theatre, Edinburgh Heavy Load: A Film About Happiness aaaaa A...

News.(social work student Abul Kalam Azad found guilty of misconduct)
October 23, 2008... conduct Student admonished for deliberately viewing porn daniel.lombard@rbi.co.uk Student social worker Abul Kalam Azad, of east London, has been found guilty of misconduct for accessing 31 pornographic websites during a...

News.(Care Quality Commission)(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... regulation New care commission chief issues warning The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will not "back away" from taking enforcement action against social care and health providers, its chief executive has warned. Cynthia Bower made...

News.(social services, juvenile justice administration)(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... YOUTH CRIME The Association of Youth Offending Team Managers has criticised the government for a lack of focus on resettlement and for its treatment of 10- to 15-year-olds in the criminal justice system. The Association was responding to...

News.
October 23, 2008... adult safeguarding No Secrets consultation fires up campaign for legislation Charities to form coalition to lobby for improvements in adult protection law and funding mithran.samuel@rbi.co.uk The Department of Health must be...

Community Care survey reveals knowledge gaps.(News)
October 23, 2008... maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk An exclusive Community Care survey of attitudes towards personalisation has revealed a significant knowledge gap among social workers on key aspects of the reforms, which aim to give service users control and choice...

News.(personal assistant hiring)
October 23, 2008... Nearly all adult social workers want personal assistants to be regulated EXCLUSIVE: Survey reveals groundswell of opinion in favour of compulsory criminal checks maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk Nine in 10 adult care social workers want...

Opinion Columns.(Essay)
October 23, 2008... seize the day for adults Campaigners have an unmissable opportunity to achieve a major step forward in the legal backing for adult protection It is two and a half years since Liam Byrne accepted the principle of putting adult...

News.(Dutch by Design)(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... rest assured Interior accessories company Dutch by Design has launched a new duvet to raise awareness of homelessness and make money for youth homelessness charity Centrepoint. Its design includes a series of prints of a cardboard box and its...

News.
October 23, 2008... Students need universities to improve employer links daniel.lombard@rbi.co.uk Universities must forge stronger partnerships with employers to ensure social work students receive the best possible training, according to the General...

News.(dealing with Icelandic banks' collapse, social services accessibility, and knife crime sentences)(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... news in brief LOCAL GOVERNMENT The Local Government Association has said that 123 of its member councils had almost [pounds sterling]920m invested in Icelandic banks, including [pounds sterling]50m by Kent Council and [pounds...

News.(raising tax policy in Hampshire)
October 23, 2008... Hampshire says residents may back tax rise for care maria.ahmed@rbi.co.uk The public might support raising council tax above the governemnt's 5% capping limit to help meet the costs of adult social care, an inquiry has found. ...

News.(rise in social service referrals)(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... Adult social work teams are being warned to expect a "significant" rise in referrals in the year ahead as the impact of the economic slump hits communities. John Dixon, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services,...

News.(adult care)
October 23, 2008... Eligibility revamp needed daniel.lombard@rbi.co.uk The Commission for Social Care Inspection has branded the current adult care eligibility criteria "flawed" and called for a replacement.. The call came in CSCI's review of the...

News.(Commission for Social Care Inspection )
October 23, 2008... daniel.lombard@rbi.co.uk The Commission for Social Care Inspection has called for the current "flawed" system of adult care eligibility criteria in England to be replaced. The call came in the CSCI's review of the Fair Access to Care...

News.(family services)(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... Integrating services for families with different levels of need can benefit all service users without increasing stigma, a report has found. The study of four Action for Children family support projects challenged assumptions that families...

News.(Care Services Improvement Partnership)(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... care standards Improvement agency to be broken up The Department of Health is to dismantle arms-length agency the Care Services Improvement Partnership, Community Care has learned. A letter to stakeholders from Glen Mason, the DH's...

News.(individual budgets )
October 23, 2008... Related articles LGA's plan for single source of support comes under fire Darzi: Personal health budgets and integrated are pilots backed James Purnell: Ministers will not prescribe personal budget streams Expert guide to...

News.(social services)(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... HEALTH Government flu adviser Professor Lindsey Davies has urged adults' and children's services directors to improve plans for outbreaks of pandemic flu. Professor Davies, who addressed the conference on Wednesday, said social services...

Features.(social work practice)
October 23, 2008... By Mary Jackson I am a newly qualified social worker looking for a job in children's services, but I don't feel particularly confident about going into a social work post straight away. Is there a more junior level I could start at and...

Features.(ethical living)
October 23, 2008... Ethical living by John Cossham We rely on mains electricity for so much, and most of this supply has a large carbon footprint. Even the 20% of electricity supplied by nuclear power results in waste we don't know what to do with. So one of...

Features.(Deborah Bone )
October 23, 2008... n 1979, Deborah Bone took an unusual step for a 16-young-girl: she volunteered to work in an institution founded in the Victorian era. So began her lifelong career in mental health. Bone began training as a mental health nurse at Fairfield...

Features.(medical and social care)
October 23, 2008... he personalisation initiative is a radical re-engineering of the provision of care services. The governing community care legislation, however, reflects an earlier, often more paternalistic era. This means that personalisation strains at the...

Features.(measles-mumps-rubella vaccines)
October 23, 2008... Vaccination has saved lives so why are the sceptics so vocal? The 20th anniversary of the introduction of the combined MMR vaccine in the UK should be an occasion for celebration, writes Michael Fitzpatrick n 1988, the year that...

Adventurous spirits get in the swing.(Features)(playground for disabled children)
October 23, 2008... An inner city playground for children with disabilities has won praise for encouraging inclusivity, writes Anabel Unity Sale oam Hollander stands swaying on a large, wooden swing, feeling queasy. It is not surprising considering the bed...

Opinion Columns.(disabled persons in movies)
October 23, 2008... the keys to understanding Many big screen potrayals of disability have upbeat endings but one Italian film allows viewers to make up their own minds Depictions of disability in the media are so rare that when disabled people are shown...

The change enforcers.(Features)
October 23, 2008... Two years ago government inspectors and senior managers combined forces to turn around Plymouth's struggling children services. Bill McKitterick, who led the process, outlines how the strategic partnership approached its task Five years...

How social care can beat the crunch.(Features)
October 23, 2008... Government leverage with the banks could help The economic crisis being endured by the UK is likely to have a long-term impact on the provision of social care and other public services. Consumer inflation, while projected to fall next...

What's the outlook for adult care?(Features)
October 23, 2008... Personalisation is the headline topic Community Care's exclusive survey has found that social workers are divided equally on whether the personalisation agenda is the right direction for social care. Only 11% of the 600 social workers who...

A systems approach to improving safeguarding.(Proven Practice)
October 23, 2008... The Social Care Institute for Excellence's weekly analysis hildren's safety and welfare are global concerns and efforts are made continually to improve children's services. How senior managers learn from frontline practice - and identify...

Opinion Columns.(community development)
October 23, 2008... A wolf in sheep's clothes? There is a danger that the real good personalisation could do will be undermined by councils and government using it to cut costs As a fire storm engulfs the world's financial markets, we should reconsider...

Features.(social service)
October 23, 2008... Why local plans are crucial Andrew Cozens suggests that current concepts of personalisation do not go far enough in transforming services ecember will mark the first anniversary of the publication of Putting People First, intended to...

News.(charity director's diary)
October 23, 2008... Diary A lighter take on the week. A charity director writes Monday It is my first day on the job as director. I arrive at 8.30am and the office is deserted. The phones begin to ring at 9am. Four callers and three messages later the staff...

Turning the tables.(Good Practice)(learning disabled persons' personal assistant training)
October 23, 2008... People with learning disabilities have devised a course to train personal assistants they might later recruit. Louise Hunt ost of my life other people have been making decisions for me," says Claire Massa, who has learning disabilities....

News.(social services)
October 23, 2008... don't rush personalisation For one person it can mean getting out for more fresh air, for another a choice over when to eat their evening meal - personalisation is different for each service user. The government has already made clear...

Pressured to become special guardian.(Letter to the editor)
October 23, 2008... Better skills for end-of-life care The Sue Ryder Care Palliative Initiatives in Neurological Care programme (Pinc) has found that some care home staff's lack of confidence can be a barrier to documenting residents' end-of-life care...

Rural areas and personalisation.(Features)
October 23, 2008... How have individual budgets fared in country areas? Academic Jill Manthorpe summarises the lessons from her recent study of the views of social care staff involved in implementation The RESEARCH Title: The personalisation of adult...

Letters.(corporal punishment, social work managers, UK's mental health system)
October 23, 2008... www.communitycare.co.uk/carespace CareSpace is an online community where social care professionals can share good practice information, ask for advice, network with colleagues from around the country or discuss the big issues of the day....

News.(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... Integrating services for families with different levels of need can benefit all service users without increasing stigma, a report has found. The study of four Action for Children family support projects challenged assumptions that families...

Proven Practice.
October 23, 2008... hildren's safety and welfare are global concerns and efforts are made continually to improve children's services. How senior managers learn from frontline practice - and identify problems and solutions - is central to this. To date our most...

Features.(personal budgets for community development)
October 23, 2008... So, how do we change? Personal budgets alone will not make personalisation work for everyone. The commissioning style needs to be overhauled, says Colin Slasberg ew would disagree with the vision of personalisation through...

News.(Brief article)
October 23, 2008... social skirmishes Rosie Warlock, a senior practitioner in children's social services, tells us what's on her mind * "The case is closed" is a sentence that reminds me - and I occasionally do need a prompt - why I became a social...