Community Care articles from September 2002

Community Care archives from September 2002

Gone clubbing.(breakfast clubs)
September 1, 2002... Schools are introducing breakfast clubs to counter the increasing tendency of children to skip the day's first meal. Linda Green reports Porridge off the menu It's 7.30am and the first pupils are arriving at Whalley Range High School...

survey casts light on young voter apathy.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Young people think politicians should listen to what they have to say and take more account of the issues that affect them, according to a new survey. The survey was commissioned by young people's minister John Denham after only 39 per...

Brown set on child care boost.(Gordon Brown)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... fundingThe chancellor has promised to pump [pound]1.5bn annually into a new integrated budget for Sure Start, early years and child care by 2005-6. Announcing the outcome of the comprehensive spending review, Gordon Brown said an extra...

Somebody; tell them.(prostitution risks)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Parents need help to cope with a child at risk of prostitution if the trauma is not to destroy their families. Julie Adams and Caroline Henry report "Children involved in high-risk activities described as prostitution...should be treated...

disaffection tackled.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Neighbourhood Support Fund projects have had significant success in re-engaging disaffected young people in education, training and employment, suggests a study by the National Foundation for Educational Research. More than 22,000 young...

too soon for verdict on policies.(children's rights)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The government has said that it is too soon to say whether new policies are benefiting children. An update to a report for this month's United Nations review of the UK's children's rights record, produced by the Children and Young People's...

extent of drug use by children revealed.(United Kingdom Department of Health)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2002... Statistics released by the Department of Health show that 12 per cent of young people in England, aged from 11 to 15, have admitted to using drugs in the past month and 20 per cent in the last year. The figures for the last year ranged from...

GOvernment autism guidance offers teachers more support.(children with disability education)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... New guidance to help professionals identify autism in children and provide support in the classroom has been launched by the government. Produced by the autism working group, the guidance draws attention to the increasing numbers of...

A Policy of two halves.(treatment of young offenders)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Policy makers should develop a more coherent approach to the needs and welfare of young offenders, argues Di Hart There have always been conflicting perceptions of children, as innocents who need our protection or tearaways from whom we...

Does persistence pay?(helping juvenile offenders)
September 1, 2002... What can be done to wean persistent young offenders away from their lives of petty crime? Ann Hagell and Neal Hazel from social affairs body the Policy Research Bureau examine the options A nyone working in the social care field for more...

Centred approach?(family services)
September 1, 2002... The government is doubling the child care budget, but are its plans to eradicate child poverty, boost educational achievement, and offer family support through "one-stop" centres consistent? Alison Miller reports It was a Jesuit who said:...

Bringing harm to heal.(sexual abuse victims)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... When Dawn was 12-years-old she was sexually abused. She didn't recognise it at the time. She thought she was in love with the 30-year-old man responsible. It was only a couple of years later when she started self-harming that the hurt of what...

close ; your eyes.(helping children sleep)
September 1, 2002... Sarah Wellard examines how professionals can help parents get a good night's sleep - for their own and their children's sake Carrot and sticker The worker draws a picture contract for the child that reflects the bedtime routine. The...

Blair's tough act is a diversion.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Sometimes when the government talks tough, the reality can be quite different - an iron glove wrapped around a velvet fist. Comparing political rhetoric with practice can be confusing: Tony Blair made his historic pledge to eradicate child...

Courting contempt.(parties fail to cooperate in Victoria Climbie case)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... There was something quite distasteful about Carole Baptiste's protestations that she was a victim in the Victoria Climbie case. But her lawyer does have a point when he says his client was by no means the only one to fail to co-operate with...

a home from home.(a refugee from Burundi reminisces)(Brief Article)(Column)
September 5, 2002... Even though I've spent most of my life in England, I still think lots about Burundi in Africa, because it's where I was born. A lot of people think that I've forgotten about Burundi because I was only four when I left. But I always tell them, I...

children; Directors map out children's future.(social service agencies should coordinate services for children)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Agencies working with children should develop child-centred services that tackle inequalities and break down barriers between organisations, say social services chiefs. In a report launched this week, but released exclusively to Community...

workplace by clare jerrom; Poor monitoring leaves councils in dark over why staff come and go.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... The failure to find out why staff are joining or leaving is hindering council employment strategies, according to a report. Research published this week by the Audit Commission reveals that only one in five former public sector workers...

homelessness; Pets win more prizes than homeless.(people likely to help animals)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... People are more likely to help animals than homeless people, according to a survey by Community Service Volunteers. Of the 1,000 people interviewed in the poll 53 per cent said they would choose to help animals, compared with 50 per cent...

Young people: aftercare support in Scotland lacking.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Support for young people leaving full-time care in Scotland is piecemeal and haphazard, according to a report published this week. The Throughcare and Aftercare Working Group exposes the frailties of present arrangements but also proposes a...

local government; Signs of pent-up resentment as performance 'fixers' lie in wait.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Local authorities fear that central government will be too ready to intervene in the running of those councils designated poor performers. Lauren Revans reports If the AA offers to tow your car away for major repairs when you have spent...

youth justice; Call to prosecute in serious cases only.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Young offenders aged 10 to 16 in England and Wales should be treated in a similar way to those in Scotland and face prosecution only for the gravest crimes, according to a new report from the Michael Sieff Foundation this week. In Child...

disabilities; Airline faces action over wheelchair fee.(discrimination case brought against Ryaniar and British Airports Authority)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Alandmark test case is to be brought against Ryanair and the British Airports Authority after it emerged that disabled people were being charged to use wheelchairs at Stansted Airport. The Disability Rights Commission announced plans for...

standards by Lauren revans; Zero-rated social services hope to gain a star after refreshed ratings.
September 5, 2002... At least two of the 10 zero-star social services departments are "cautiously optimistic" that they will be awarded a star when the ratings are updated later this autumn. The refreshed ratings will take account of new inspection and...

readers' views; Approval for joint agency approach.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... The vast majority of visitors to Community Care's website support one of the aims of our mental health campaign, that health, education and social care agencies should work together to produce quality services for children with mental health...

child protection; Tracking device implant criticised.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Children's charities have strongly criticised the decision by parents of an 11-year-old girl to implant a microchip in her arm so her whereabouts can be tracked. Tink Palmer, principal policy and practice officer at Barnardo's, said that...

pay to make them stay.(social care workers)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Employers love to argue that other factors are just as important as pay when it comes to retaining staff - and then ignore those as well. Of course, if someone is under intolerable pressure, more money won't solve the problem. It might keep...

child protection; Climbie worker considers appeal.(social worker in Victoria Climbie case)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... The former social worker who was last week found guilty of failing to attend the Victoria Climbie Inquiry may appeal against the verdict. Carole Baptiste had "become a repository for all the frustrations felt by the inquiry", her lawyer,...

Disabilities; Council refuses to pay compensation.
September 5, 2002... The Local Government Ombudsman has branded a council "mean-minded" for refusing to pay compensation to a severely disabled council tenant whose home it had failed to modernise. In January 2001, ombudsman Jerry White recommended North...

housing support; Carers sought for Brighton gay youth.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... The Albert Kennedy Trust is recruiting gay and lesbian foster carers and people willing to offer supported lodgings for lesbian, gay and bisexual youth in Brighton who are homeless or have run away. The trust, which already provides similar...

child protection; Barnardo's calls for sex offenders' units.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Children's charity Barnardo's is calling for a network of residential treatment centres to back up the sex offenders register, which this week marks its fifth anniversary. The call follows the closure in July of the Wolvercote Clinic, in...

asylum seekers; Sunderland death sparks support plea.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Local communities in Sunderland need funding and support to help them adapt to dispersed asylum seekers, according to the chief executive of the North of England Refugee Service. Daoud Zaaroura made the plea following last week's suspected...

children's rights by shona main; Scotland spells out responsibilities of children's rights commissioner.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... The Scottish executive has set out the remit for the country's first independent commissioner to champion the rights of children and young people. The role will include promoting and safeguarding children's rights, with the power to make...

training by reg mckay; New managers feel unprepared for role.(social work managers)(Brief Article)(Panel Discussion)(Statistical Data Included)
September 5, 2002... Most newly promoted social work managers feel unprepared for management regardless of how skilled they are as practitioners, according to a new report from the social work department of South Lanarkshire Council. The research, carried out...

Those who speak out must be protected.(whistle blowers)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Carole Baptiste, a former social services team manager at Haringey Council, involved in the case of Victoria Climbie, has claimed that she is a victim too, having been fined [pound]500 for repeatedly refusing to appear before the public...

mental health by katie leason; 'Virtual' teams and easier access could enhance adolescent services.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Two strategies aimed at improving mental health services for adolescents have been launched this week in conjunction with Community Care's Changing Minds campaign. The first comes from mental health charity YoungMinds, which claims that...

Care leavers: dress rehearsal for the world of work.(UK Department of Health's Teenagers to Work program)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 5, 2002... A national scheme to prepare older teenagers in care for the job market is soon to end. Derren Hayes looks at how the scheme worked at Sutton council in south London The Department of Health's Teenagers to Work scheme is about to draw to a...

Invest in the rest.(charities need funding)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 5, 2002... The stock market fall has highlighted the top 1 per cent of charities that have capital investments. But Lisa Harker argues that investment in the other 99 per cent is needed if the sector is to be viable

mental health; Spotlight falls on forgotten age group.(mental health services for adolescents)
September 5, 2002... Services for adolescents have traditionally been underfunded, under-resourced and poorly thought out. Now, two new strategies are being proposed to remedy the situation, reports Katie Leason Mental health experts agree that a shake-up of...

disabilities; Centre chief sacked in rival group row.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... The director of the National Centre for Independent Living has been dismissed amid claims that she used the British Council of Disabled People's resources to create a rival organisation. Frances Hasler was dismissed, and several other staff...

people; Ex social work chief attends summit.(Fred Edwards)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Fred Edwards, former director of social work of Strathclyde Region, is attending the Earth Summit in Johannesburg as chairperson of a new charity aiming to get older people involved in environmental issues. Edwards is chairperson of the...

Children: Cafcass carries out recruitment drive.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Cafcass, the court support service for families, has appointed around 100 new family court advisors and guardians across England and Wales over the past five months to tackle staff shortages and meet increasing workloads. The recruitment...

Safe Contact: Children in Permanent Placement and Contact with their Birth Relatives; Catherine Macaskill, Russell House Publishing, [pounds sterling]16.45, ISBN 1 903855 09 8.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... By studying 106 children in 76 adoptive and long-term fostering families, Catherine Macaskill has produced a helpful practice guidance for all those engaged in the art of face-to-face contact between adoptees and birth relatives. Moreover,...

a problem shared.(foster care study)
September 5, 2002... This summer the Children's Society published the findings of new research into problem-solving in foster care. The original impetus for the study arose out of previous Children's Society research1 that showed how little the complaints procedure...

the jargonauts.(dealing with industry jargon)(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... First used in the 14th century, "jargon" has meant the twittering or chattering (of birds), unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing, nonsense and gibberish. From 1651, "jargon" has been "applied contemptuously to the language of scholars,...

research into practice.(social work research in the UK )(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... Eric Blyth believes that social work research in the UK has never been in better shape, but asks the question "will it last?" The 2001 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) conducted by the higher education funding councils shows the quality...

the value of work.(Brief Article)
September 5, 2002... A supported employment scheme aiming to provide real jobs for real pay for people with learning difficulties in North Lanarkshire is clocking in some good work. Graham Hopkins reports Currently, almost 95 per cent of adults in the UK who...

diary.(Neil Ward, deputy director of charity)
September 5, 2002... Monday My home telephone goes at 7.45am and the local radio station wants a comment on the star ratings given to social services. The only information I have is what I've just heard myself on Radio Four. As the live interview is in nine minutes...

mind the gap.(older adolescents with severe mental illness)
September 5, 2002... Despite the high incidence of severe mental illness among older adolescents, few psychiatrists are trained to deal with this age group. Add chronic underfunding and the stigma factor, and there is a risk that these young people, caught...

charities take stock.(charities having financial problems)
September 5, 2002... At the end of December 1999, the FTSE 100 index stood at 6,930. In July this year, it was down to 3,777 - the lowest level for six years. The fall in the UK's stock market has affected not only big corporations' assets. Social care charities,...

leading question.(community leaders have neither the support of their community nor the leadership skills to speak on its behalf)
September 5, 2002... During the racial disturbances in the north of England last summer, a number of community leaders went out onto the streets to appeal for calm. Not only did they have little tangible effect, but they were actively heckled by the young people...

out of the frame.(Column)
September 12, 2002... The framework for assessing children in need sets out to be family-friendly. But when Brian Corby, Malcolm Millar and Anne Pope looked at how it is being implemented and what service users think, they found parents still feel their views are...

DISABLED AND DISPERSED.
September 12, 2002... Refugees and asylum seekers who are disabled might reasonably expect to have left threats to their health and safety behind them. But once here, they can find access to even the necessities of life impeded, writes researcher Keri Roberts ...

More control is not the answer.(Column)
September 12, 2002... viewpoint The Mental Health Bill is misguided in taking compulsion in the community even further, argues Peter Campbell Few people involved in service user or survivor organisations will welcome the Mental Health Bill. Since the...

uk in the dock.
September 12, 2002... Next week, the UK government goes before the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva to discuss its record of putting children's rights into practice. The committee is the international treaty monitoring body for the...

star teams drop in.
September 12, 2002... When health minister Jacqui Smith announced earlier this year that management consultancies were being brought in to "assist" four of the 10 social services departments that had achieved zero ratings in the government's new star rating system,...

isolated examples.(culture of partnership in education)(Brief Article)(Column)
September 12, 2002... The culture of partnership in education is weak - teachers just do not have the time to build bridges with other organisations. But there are examples of schools where this does happen, writes Anna Coote I am a committed fan of state...

funding; Grants review could hit county councils.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... An adviser to MPs has warned that county councils could lose millions of pounds a year under proposals to change the way government grants are allocated. Rita Hale, an accountant and director of consultancy Rita Hale & Associates, said all...

learning difficulties; Compensation for dismissed cleaner.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... A cleaner with learning difficulties who was sacked from his job at a football stadium last September has been awarded [pound]17,000 by an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal. Anthony Brazil was fired less than one week after Prestige...

Local authorities to play key health role.(Wales)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... Welsh assembly minister for health and social services Jane Hutt told delegates that local government's role in the prevention of ill-health and promotion of better health would become even stronger with the restructuring of health services in...

care homes by Katie Leason; Residents being passed between GPsafter row over fees for treatment.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... as a result of the situation. "If they were living across the road in their own home they would not be sending them a bill every time he visited the home," he argued. Slough Primary Care Trust, which is responsible for ensuring that...

workforce; Social care faces mass exodus as demographic time bomb ticks down.
September 12, 2002... The social care workforce is ageing - making the recruitment of new blood urgent. But low pay and the need for experience are deterring young people from applying, reports Clare Jerrom while, below, the Audit Commission's report reveals an...

workforce by clare jerrom; Recruitment crisis worst in the South East and children's services.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 12, 2002... September. Children and families field social workers had an even higher vacancy rate of 11.3 per cent. The three areas with highest turnover rates were occupational therapist posts, home care workers and children's residential care workers....

young offenders; Institution 'falls short on activity'.(Glen Parva Young Offenders Institution)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... Glen Parva young offenders institution was criticised by the chief inspector of prisons last week for providing too little purposeful activity and resettlement work. Anne Owers found that at least 30 per cent of young prisoners had no...

Young people; Councils to head offender strategies.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... Councils are to take the lead in developing local strategies to prevent children and young people from falling foul of problems such as drug misuse and truancy. The strategies, which must be in place by next year, will need to be agreed by...

care homes; Wales presses on with new standards.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... Welsh assembly minister for health and social services Jane Hutt has confirmed that she does not intend to follow England's lead and amend the new care standards for homes in Wales. Hutt said that, following consultation, there had been...

asylum seekers; Services failing applicants' needs.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... Disabled asylum seekers are facing barriers to their daily care needs, according to the author of a report out next week. Keri Roberts, a research fellow at the University of York's social policy research unit, found that asylum seekers and...

mental Health; Quiz mental health tsar on draft bill.(Louis Appleby to answer questions concerning mental health bill)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... Mental health tsar Louis Appleby is to answer questions on the controversial draft mental health bill from visitors to the Community Care website and from readers of the magazine. The proposed measures include compulsory treatment in the...

young people by derren hayes; Leaving Care Act misses target for academic progress of children.(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... An influential government policy unit has warned that the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 has failed to address the poor educational performance of teenagers in care in its first year of operation. Research by the social exclusion unit...

child protection; Nurse pleaded for case to stay open.(Leanne Labonte and Dennis Henry are accused of killing their daughter)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... A child protection nurse has told the jury in the trial of a couple accused of the manslaughter of their daughter that a social services manager closed the case on the two-year-old, despite pleas for him to reconsider. Anne Morgan, a nurse...

workforce; Leonard Cheshirestaff fight pay cut.
September 12, 2002... Home care staff working for disability charity Leonard Cheshire in north-east England are fighting changes to their contracts that would reduce their pay. They say the losses could amount to [pound]200 a month from a [pound]650 wage. ...

local government; Live, all the way from Preston . . . ; fff.(Lancashire Council plans live webcast of social services committee meeting)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... Lancashire Council will become the first local authority in north west England to host a live webcast when it broadcasts its social services committee meeting this week. The committee will discuss the fate of the council's 32 residential...

readers' views; Cut stress and we'll stay in our posts.(survey of public sector workers)(Brief Article)
September 12, 2002... Three-quarters of visitors to Community Care's website say they would be more likely to stay in their jobs, even on the same pay, if there was less bureaucracy. An Audit Commission report found that stress caused by bureaucracy was one of...

it's zero stars for the private sector.(public-private partnerships)(Brief Article)(Column)
September 12, 2002... Just as Community Care this week examines the private consultancy teams parachuted into zero-star social services departments, what do we find? That, contrary to government propaganda, it is not only the public sector that fails to deliver....

a sledgehammer to crack a nut.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
September 19, 2002... viewpoint Giving medical staff more of a role with mentally ill people in the community is a bad idea, says Paul Jewitt Legislation should never be approached lightly nor enacted without good reason. So I challenge the government to justify...

news in brief.(Brief Article)
September 19, 2002... l The Homelessness (Scotland) Bill was published by the Scottish parliament this week as part of the Scottish executive's commitment to achieve social justice across Scotland. John Bolton, the national director for the joint review team at...

letters.(Brief Article)
September 19, 2002... Failure towards fostered The delays in processing checks on teachers are concerning. However, there is another, more vulnerable, group of children whom the Criminal Records Bureau is failing (news, page 6, 12 September). Children who are...

university challenge.(Care leavers need exceptional resilience and determination to reach higher education)
September 19, 2002... Care leavers need exceptional resilience and determination to reach higher education, but a study carried out by researchers Sarah Ajayi and Sonia Jackson shows that even when care leavers achieve this they face serious problems Few...

diary.(university lecturer )(Brief Article)
September 19, 2002... This week's writer is a university lecturer inpalliative care and a PhDstudent DiaryTuesday A full day's teaching exploring the impact of illness on families. The group tries an exercise based on a family known to one of the students. By...

social inclusion; Initiative to mend 'broken hearts' of England's teenagers faces struggle.(Brief Article)
September 19, 2002... Connexions staff may find it more difficult to link with excluded youngsters because of cuts in youth service budgets by many local authorities. Sally Gillen reports This month saw the launch of 13 new Connexions partnerships, and for...

mental health; Boost for young psychosis sufferers.(Brief Article)
September 19, 2002... Health bodies, practitioners and ministers have joined together in support of a strategy aimed at improving services for young people with psychosis diagnoses. The Newcastle Declaration, made up of five-year targets, calls for early access...

Union leaders rail against private partnership deals in public services.(Brief Article)
September 19, 2002... Union leaders called on the government last week to stand shoulder to shoulder with public service workers. Addressing delegates in Blackpool, Unison general secretary Dave Prentis highlighted social workers as being among the country's...

asylum seekers by sally gillen; Asylum seekers awaiting removal left without services for months.(Brief Article)
September 19, 2002... Thousands of asylum seekers whose applications have been turned down are being left without support services for months while they await deportation, according to the Refugee Council. Alistair Griggs, the council's director for the regions,...

ethnic minorities; Probe into race link with homelessness.(Brief Article)
September 19, 2002... A new project is to examine whether housing services meet the needs of people from ethnic minorities. The initiative, announced last week by social exclusion minister Barbara Roche, will also investigate the causes of homelessness. The...