Community Care articles from September 2006

Community Care archives from September 2006

Free personal care Scots fail to quell food charge row.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... The Scottish executive's response last week to the free personal care inquiry has failed to address two key issues undermining the policy, campaign groups have said. Following a review of the policy, the Scottish health committee published...

Workforce Glasgow pay review could hit pockets.(Glasgow Council)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Union chiefs warned this week that some care staff at Glasgow Council's social work department will lose money as part of a pay and benefits review. According to Unison some staff in adult residential and learning difficulties services...

Direct payments Councils fail to pass on support funding.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Scotland's councils are failing to pass on funds earmarked for training the providers and recipients of direct payment services to voluntary sector support groups, campaigners have claimed. The Scottish Consortium of Direct Payments Support...

Mental health Carstairs patients seek lower security.(Carstairs psychiatric hospital )(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... The Scottish executive has confirmed that more than 30 patients at the high security Carstairs psychiatric hospital have applied to be transferred to less secure settings. Scottish deputy health minister Lewis MacDonald made the...

obituary Jo Campling, lecturer and editor.(Obituary)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Jo Campling, one of the foremost figures in social care publishing, has died of cancer. Campling edited one of the first books giving service users their own voice, Images of Ourselves: Women with Disabilities Talking, and also edited...

Mubarek case No action against accused prison staff.(Zahid Mubarek )(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... No disciplinary action will be taken against prison staff accused of failing to prevent the murder of Zahid Mubarek due to "insufficient evidence", Community Care has learned. In June, 20 members of staff were named in the report into how...

Child trafficking Social workers must act on suspicions.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Social workers who believe children have been trafficked into the UK have been warned not to wait for their suspicions to be confirmed before acting, following a report on trafficking from south eastern Europe. Christine Beddoe, director...

Substance misuse Target to cut drugs deaths missed.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... The government has missed its target to cut drug-related deaths in England and Wales by a fifth from 1999 to 2004, according to figures published last week. Although deaths fell by 20 per cent from 1999 to 2003, they rose again, to 1,427...

children Kent trust adds in community health.(Kent Council appointed Richard Murrells )(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Kent Council is set to include children's community health services in its forthcoming children's trust and has created a new post to head up the service. Richard Murrells has been appointed director of health for children and young people...

Young offenders Howard League in post-custody blast.(Howard League for Penal Reform)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... An independent inquiry should be set up to examine problems faced by children leaving custody, the Howard League for Penal Reform has urged. The charity said there could be thousands of children who were being abandoned by councils instead...

Kinship care Essex forced to review foster rates.(Essex Council)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Essex Council is likely to review its allowances for kinship foster carers after agreeing an out-of-court settlement this week with a couple who had threatened to take it to judicial review. The couple had applied for a review because the...

FAMILY COURTS Guardians decision 'led by cost-cutting'.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Family courts leaders have accused the government of having a cost-cutting agenda after it decided against granting separate representation rights to all children in contact and residence cases. The plans, published for consultation by the...

If you ask me...(Mark Richmond)(Interview)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Mark Richmond is a buddy for a volunteer centre and is a former substance misuser Who has influenced you the most? Jimi Hendrix and my mum. Which professional has helped you most? Many have helped me and I wouldn't be where I...

Music.(The Statute of Liberty)(Sound recording review)
September 7, 2006... The Statute of Liberty ----- Creative Routes Records [pounds sterling]10 plus [pounds sterling]1.50 p+p from info@creative-routes.org or call 020 7358 3138 Creative Routes is an organisation that "celebrates and promotes the creativity...

SOUTH WEST Star Ratings.(serving adults)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Key Star rating in 2005 Star star ratings in 2004 Serving adults well? Capacity to improve? Serving children well? Capacity to improve? bath & north east somerset -- -- Some Promising Most Promising Bournemouth -- - Most Promising Most...

Training Materials.(Reminiscence and Recall: A Practical Guide to Reminiscence Work)(Brief article)(Book review)
September 7, 2006... Reminiscence and Recall - A Practical Guide to Reminiscence Work ----- Faith Gibson, Age Concern ISBN 0862424119, [pounds sterling]14.99 Faith Gibson's enthusiasm for reminiscence work shines out of every page, writes Joy Bounds. The basic...

Adults' services Bradford councillors urged to veto cuts.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Bradford councillors will be urged next week to reject their leaders' proposals to restrict eligibility criteria for adult care to people with substantial or critical needs. Deputy lord mayor John Derek Godward has tabled a motion...

A fighting chance.(young people)
September 7, 2006... A scheme in a deprived part of London is giving young people a sense of purpose by equipping them with boxing gloves and a trainer, writes David Cowan. But such projects can best be sustained by proper evaluation and integration with mainstream...

On the way back.(care trusts )
September 7, 2006... Care trusts were set to turn the social services world on its head back in 2002. Mark Hunter asks why things didn't quite turn out like that Once considered the future of social care, care trusts seemed to have disappeared off the radar...

Carers by Maria ahmed Respite care rationing by local authorities leaves families in crisis.
September 7, 2006... Seven out of 10 families caring for children and adults with learning difficulties are in "physical and emotional crisis" because of a lack of short break services, according to a report published this week. The study by Mencap found that...

Children's services by amy taylor Councils' dual role distorts market and acts against need of children.
September 7, 2006... The role of local authorities as commissioners and providers may be preventing them from procuring the best value services for children, according to government-commissioned research. The study highlighted mistrust between commissioners and...

Striving for fusion.(collaborative working )
September 7, 2006... Partly due to its geography and economies of scale, south west local authorities have a history of working collaboratively. Julie Griffiths looks at two recent examples of this The single assessment process For the past five years,...

facing a torrent.
September 7, 2006... The South West is no stranger to gales and deluges, and has had to face several emergencies brought about by the elements. Derren Hayes finds out how Cornwall's social services coped in the aftermath of the Boscastle floods in 2004 Few...

Legacy of separation.(child mental health)
September 7, 2006... The trauma felt by children whose parents separate is often underestimated. Anthony Douglas believes they should be regarded as children in need and as such be eligible for a full range of services Of the 12 million children in the UK,...

Drug misuse Evaluation finds better services.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Drug treatment services are improving, according to a new report, with the numbers in treatment almost doubling since 1999 and a sharp fall in waiting times. But the review of substance misuse services by the Healthcare Commission and...

Early warning systems.(social exclusion)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... As well as a plan to appear on Blue Peter and Songs of Praise before he hands over the reigns at Number 10, Tony Blair revealed a further item on his wishlist this week: his desire to be remembered as the prime minister who conquered social...

Exclusive by sally gillen Calls for Haringey social workers to be sacked after baby is 'snatched'.(Haringey Council )
September 7, 2006... Two social workers from Haringey Council allegedly "snatched" a child from outside his foster home while he was playing with friends less than two hours after his carer lost her fight for guardianship. Neighbours of the foster carer, who...

finance Byers calls for open debate on funding.(Stephen Byers)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Former cabinet minister Stephen Byers has called for the government to have a public debate on reforming the funding system for social care. Speaking ahead of a lecture he was due to deliver today (Thursday), Byers said the debate was...

Haringey reverses gains.(foster care)
September 7, 2006... The reputation of social workers looks set to take another knock this week with claims that a small child was forcibly removed from his foster mother outside their home just two hours after a judge urged that the case be dealt with sensitively....

Homelessness East European influx stretches services.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... More than one in seven people using front-line homelessness services in London are from the A8 eastern European countries, according to research. In a survey of 43 agencies in March this year, Homeless Link found 638 nationals from the...

Cornwall abuse casts a shadow.(social care)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... Welcome to Community Care's South West Focus, the fourth in our series of supplements highlighting developments in social care across the regions of the UK. The recent revelations of the abuse of adults with learning difficulties carried...

'I won't shirk criticism but I will make it in a positive way'.(John Stoker)
September 7, 2006... The first Compact commissioner outlines to Maria Ahmed his plans to be the peace broker between government and third sector Propinquity is John Stoker's favourite word. Meaning "closeness", it sums up the key challenge of his role as the...

On commission.(social services)
September 7, 2006... The Cornwall scandal highlighted what can go wrong if there is a failure of commissioning arrangements. Andrew Cozens explains how managers and councils can cut through the confusion Akey finding of the inquiry into the institutional abuse...

my practice.(commissioning eBook)
September 7, 2006... A good practice eBook is a useful resource for improving the commissioning of community services, says Meic Phillips The commissioning eBook is one of the most significant co-operative acts from the Department of Health change agent team,...

Prison's ageing population.
September 7, 2006... Over-60s are the fastest growing group of prisoners. But their mental, social and physical well-being can suffer, even after release, as the needs of younger inmates dominate the system, writes Terry Philpot Ronnie Biggs's transformation...

Star quality BOXHEAD: Sense of community permeates the peninsula.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... David Johnstone, director of social services at Devon Council describes the issues faced by care services in the South West: One of the attractions to living and working in the South West is the strong sense of community. The region mainly...

children in care need a radical green paper.
September 7, 2006... There is no easy way of putting it: when children and young people cannot live with their own families the alternative we offer them is at best satisfactory and at worst seriously damaging. The government's green paper for looked-after...

Policy Tories told to focus more on funding.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... A future Conservative government should tackle poor pay and underfunding in social care, its policy advisory group on public services has said. In a report this week, the party's public services improvement policy group said social care...

Cut off fro m help.(mental health)
September 7, 2006... The parents of a man with mental health problems fail to involve services in his care but eventually a crisis occurs practice panel Milton Keynes mental health team CASE study The names of all service users have been...

Social exclusion by Maria Ahmed Social work leaders' fears over Blair plan to screen babies and children.(Tony Blair)
September 7, 2006... Agovernment plan for health and children's workers to intervene in the lives of babies from "dysfunctional" families could be the "biggest disaster in social care for 20 years" if it leads to more children being taken into care, a social work...

Supported housing by simeon brody Benefits for East Riding tenants suspended after landmark ruling.
September 7, 2006... Nineteen people with learning difficulties have had up to 75 per cent cut from their weekly housing benefit payments in the wake of a landmark decision by the social security commissioner. The York Housing Association residents could face...

Kiss me quick.(teenage pregnancy)
September 7, 2006... The seaside towns of the South West are a popular destination for young people during the summer months. But along with the sun, sea and sand comes sex and the increased risk of teenage pregnancy. Graham Hopkins looks at how councils are...

My guiding light.(Julie White )
September 7, 2006... this life Julie White is consigning the dark days of depression to the past through work with a user group Isuffer from reactive depression and this has affected my life. On a positive note I have met some fantastic individuals who live...

Women's prisons 'Support lacking' at Eastwood Park.(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... There are "insufficient resources" for supporting prisoners with histories of abuse at Eastwood Park women's prison, a report by the chief inspector of prisons said this week. An inspection of the Gloucester- shire prison and young offender...

Workforce White paper 'must be chief's priority'.(Richard Banks appointed Richard Banks, Clare Chapman )(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... The Department of Health's new workforce chief should prioritise staffing requirements of the health and social care white paper. That was the message from Skills for Care's head of workforce development Richard Banks, following the...

workplace PR guru's sympathy for social workers.(public relations, Max Clifford)(Interview)(Brief article)
September 7, 2006... PR guru Max Clifford has told social care staff they must learn to "play the media at their own game" if they are to improve their image. In an exclusive interview with Community Care, Clifford said it was time for staff to stop being on...

Kent men cometh.(Swindon Council, Commission for Social Care Inspection)
September 7, 2006... Three years ago, Swindon social services were deemed to be among the worst in the country and managers from Kent were brought in to drive change. Did this work? Simon Creasey reports In 2003, Swindon Council reached a low point in its...

Leadership Lack of support for top Dumfries officer.(Dumfries and Galloway social services)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Dumfries and Galloway social services staff are confused over the role and authority of the council's chief social work officer (CSWO), inspectors have found. The Social Work Inspection Agency found a widely held belief, particularly among...

equality Phillips to lead new commission.(Trevor Phillips appointed by Commission for Equality and Human Rights)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Trevor Phillips has been named as chair of the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights. He is currently chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, which will be subsumed into the CEHR, as will the Disability Rights Commission and...

Adults' services Tighter Wiltshire criteria hits users.(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... More than a third of people with learning difficulties and a quarter of older people receiving day services in Wiltshire are likely to lose their entitlement to services under a tightening of the council's eligibility criteria. In May the...

Finance Benchmark 'clubs' will compare costs.(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Councils will be able to examine the significant disparities in unit costs for social care services between areas through a scheme launched this week. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy is setting up benchmarking...

Mental health Payment by results needs evaluating.(Department of Health)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Payment by results in the NHS should only be extended to mental health services when the impact of the policy is evaluated in more depth, according to a body that represents primary care trusts and health professionals. The NHS Alliance...

commissioning Platt says councils favour older people.(Commission for Social Care Inspection)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Many councils focus overly on residential care and on older people's services at the expense of those for younger adults, Denise Platt has said. The Commission for Social Care Inspection chair made the comments in a CSCI report this week,...

put the onus on skills.(social services)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... The government is talking tough, again. This time it is promising to intervene wherever providers are underperforming in relation to children at risk or the most excluded adults. The clear message is: tackling social exclusion must be...

Disability to the fore.(Disability Rights Commission)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... The Disability Rights Commission is to be congratulated on its landmark report detailing the health inequalities experienced by people with learning difficulties and those with mental health problems. The comprehensive research involved sifting...

Workforce 'No radical moves in government report'.(Local Government Association)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... A government review of the social care workforce is unlikely to propose radical change when it reports next month, a Local Government Association report says. In a report for this week's meeting of the LGA's community well-being board,...

Exclusive by Amy Taylor Bournemouth and Southend among councils not using asylum register.
September 14, 2006... Councils have apologised for failing to use a register aimed at improving the safety of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Community Care revealed two months ago (news, page 8, 20 July) that 11 councils in the UK had not signed up to...

HOMELESSNESS New cases at their lowest for 20 years.(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... New homelessness cases accepted by councils in England are at their lowest number since the early 1980s, according to government statistics published this week. Just under 20,000 households were accepted as homeless by local authorities...

If you ask me...(Interview)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Steve Searle is a service user and volunteer with Leonard Cheshire's Solent Care at Home service Which professional has helped you most? The occupational therapist who got me involved with computer software that helped to restore some of...

Learning difficulties Mencap warns on Northants cuts plan.(Northamptonshire Council)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Northamptonshire Council's plans to tighten social care eligibility criteria and reduce respite services could have a devastating effect on people with learning difficulties, Mencap has claimed. This week the council said it would close...

Rapp around service.(Humber Mentoring Programme)
September 14, 2006... Difficult-to-engage young people are being attracted to RAPP, a project in Hull which stakes its reputation on experience and independence. Sarah Wellard reports Teenagers aren't always keen to listen to teachers and social workers...

sexual healing.(adolescent boys)
September 14, 2006... Three adolescent boys, including brothers, engage in sexual activity with each other. Andrew Durham (left) has to balance giving the boys freedom to explore their sexuality with concerns about coercion. Graham Hopkins...

Big wins for parents.(Work and Families Bill)
September 14, 2006... welfare rights Gary Vaux examines new maternity and paternity benefits plus flexible working rights for carers The Work and Families Bill, which provides new maternity and paternity pay and leave rules, has received royal assent. Also, for...

book reviews.(Talking About Spirituality in Health Care Practice: A Resource for the Multi-Disciplinary Health Care Team, Social Work with Children, Young People and their Families in Scotland, Different Croaks for Different Folks)(Book review)
September 14, 2006... Talking About Spirituality in Health Care Practice: A Resource for the Multi-disciplinary Health Care Team ----- Gillian White, Jessica Kingsley ISBN 139781843103059, [pounds sterling]18.99 This is a worthy addition to Jessica Kingsley's...

Reach for the stars.(nursing homes)
September 14, 2006... A rating system for care homes comes into force next year. But despite the approval of most providers, there remain doubts about consistency and credibility, reports Graham Hopkins Two years ago, unable to cope and at...

court guardians Cafcass standards said to be 'wishful'.(Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Proposed national standards for family court guardians are "wishful, untried, unclear and imprecise", practitioners' body Nagalro has claimed. In its response to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service's consultation on...

Disabilities by simeon brody Legal threat to government over discrimination by health services.
September 14, 2006... The government could face a legal challenge under disability equality laws after a major investigation uncovered widespread health service discrimination against people with learning difficulties and people with mental health problems. The...

You only have to ask.
September 14, 2006... Recent research suggests gypsy and traveller children are keen to be engaged by mainstream services as they bid to free themselves from stigma. Camille Warrington reports G ypsies and travellers remain among those most...

Homelessness Westminster wants local connection.(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Homeless people should have to prove a strong connection with a local area before being entitled to housing there, a commission has concluded. The Westminster Housing Commission, set up to consider how the central London borough can tackle...

Have we got news for you.( social services )
September 14, 2006... When a mother was jailed recently after giving her son heroin outside the school gates it was social services that came in for the most media criticism, despite various other professionals being involved with the family. There are countless...

Mental health Trusts plan to cut 'soft target' services.(Mental Health Trust)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... Nearly three-quarters of Amicus shop stewards working in NHS mental health services in England are reporting deficits, according to a report by the union. Fifty-six per cent said their employers were planning to cut services and 43 per...

Leave the stigma out of early intervention.(labour's civil war)
September 14, 2006... Labour's civil war has generated many frustrations. A major one is that Tony Blair's speech launching his campaign to tackle social exclusion has received little public scrutiny. In his speech delivered at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation...

Is secure care fair?
September 14, 2006... Henri Giller reviews research that examines current thinking on the use of secure care in child welfare cases in England and Ireland The use of secure accommodation in children's homes in child welfare cases has long been contentious.1...

supported housing Landmark ruling could lead to housing benefit gap for tenants.(East Riding of Yorkshire Council)
September 14, 2006... A landmark ruling has provoked questions over the high rents charged by some providers, reports Simeon Brody The decision by East Riding of Yorkshire Council to cut the housing benefit of 19 people with learning difficulties (news, page...

Supporting people Pilots to test health gains 'marginalised'.(Office of the Deputy Prime Minister)(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... The "fast changing" health policy agenda often marginalised pilot projects aimed at testing whether the Supporting People commissioning framework could benefit the physical and mental health of the community, according to a report. The...

Technology Children's database on stream in 2008.(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... All local authorities in England will be operating databases with information on children in their area by the end of 2008, the government announced last week. It will cost [pounds sterling]224m to set up the indexes over the next three...

The need to know.(schizophrenia)
September 14, 2006... this life Mark Ellerby explains how he communicated his schizophrenia to his family and how they reassured him You cannot easily explain the fear and weirdness of schizophrenia to people who care for you. My family desperately tried to...

vulnerable people by maria ahmed Failure to tackle social exclusion could see services contracted out.
September 14, 2006... Council services that fail at-risk children or excluded adults could be contracted out to other providers, according to social exclusion minister Hilary Armstrong. At the launch of the government's long-awaited social exclusion action plan this...

Vulnerable adults Scots law 'will lead to more referrals'.(Adult Support and Protection Bill )(Brief article)
September 14, 2006... New laws to protect vulnerable adults in Scotland will lead to a big increase in referrals to social services, social work leaders have warned. Ronnie Barnes, an officer for the British Association of Social Workers Scotland, told the...

Workforce by mithran samuel Authorities spend more on training but recruitment difficulties persist.
September 14, 2006... Councils are fast increasing spending on training social workers, but vacancy rates are refusing to fall and recruitment and retention difficulties are increasing, a major survey has found. The social services workforce survey, published...

Workforce by derren hayes Welsh councils consider social work agency to stem high staff turnover.(Association of Directors of Social Services)
September 14, 2006... Councils in Wales could set up their own recruitment agency as part of efforts by social services leaders to reduce the high turnover of social workers. The Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru plans to attract social workers...

fitting sentences?(magistrates are failing to use community sentences )
September 14, 2006... Campaigners claim that magistrates are failing to use community sentences because they are unsure of their effectiveness. Anabel Unity Sale reports on the measures taken to convince them otherwise Youth prisons are overflowing as the...

Training materials.(Reflections: Life Stories, Quotes, Poems and Snapshots from People with Support Needs)(Book review)
September 14, 2006... Reflections. Life Stories, Quotes, Poems and Snapshots from People with Support Needs. Download from www.familymosaic.co.uk (click on tenants zone, then support services) Hearing other people's stories is fundamental to social care and,...

at what price?(cost pressures in learning difficulties services)
September 21, 2006... The increased life expectancy for people with learning difficulties is, of course, great news. But, with pressure to improve the quality of services as well as to provide services for more people, management is having to face some difficult...