Articles by Date : March 01 2002 - March 31 2002

Directors call for national method of setting fee levels for care homes
The Association of Directors of Social Services has acknowledged that a national method to determine fair fee levels is required. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Leading charity questions the direction of children's services
Government ministers and children's service providers must all accept leadership responsibility for the direction of children's services or.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Research into practice
Patrick Ayre reports on a comparative study of European child protection procedures where parents have mental illness. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

In the beginning
Graham Hopkins suggests that a well-crafted summary will encourage people to read your long report. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Gambling on independence
A former social care manager is diagnosed with a disease that affects people with HIV and which severely impairs his cognitive ability. He develops.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

www.lampdirect.org.uk
Not a mail order site dedicated to novelty lava lamps, but an excellent "gateway to information on mental health throughout Leicester,.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

A Very Private Practice
By Terry Philpot. British Agencies for Adoption & Fostering £9. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome
By Stephen Shore. Jessica Kingsley Publishing £13.95 ISBN 0 9672514 8 6 Stephen Shore views autism not as a disorder, but as "a way of.... more
(07 March 2002 11:41)

Where better to care?
Home care is set to become more professional and better organised thanks to the advent of the National Care Standards Commission. more
(07 March 2002 12:02)

news analysis of problems of a growing shortage of foster carers and the impact of new standards for children's care homes
The number of children placed with foster carers is growing. But, as Jonathan Pearce reports, local authorities cannot find enough carers and have.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Call inspectors to inquiry
I am surprised that Lord Laming did not call evidence from the joint review team that inspected Haringey Council during the period covered by the.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

More than just effects
Allan Foreman on his fight to expose truth behind the prescribed drug-induced condition he now faces. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Raise the profile of mental health
Seamus Logan argues that Northern Ireland's mental health services urgently require ring-fenced funding. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

This week's diary is by a director of a recruitment, vetting and marketing company
Monday Today I am off to south London for an assessment day for residential social workers who have applied for jobs with a client. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Drug debate needs reason not emotion
Yvonne Roberts argues that photographs of dead drug misusers have little effect on young people. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Care is best at home
The benefits that would accrue if we had a well-funded system of domiciliary care would far outweigh the costs. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Report says poor case work at fault
Ineffective case management in child protection systems is at fault in the majority of baby killings, according to a report by three employees of.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Councils may pay bed-blocking costs
The Department of Health has refused to confirm or deny whether they are considering the possibility of social services departments being charged.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Charging may be at local discretion
The government is unlikely to impose a payment model on councils for Supporting People. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

No age restriction for social workers
Social workers will be able to practise before they reach the age of 22 following a decision by the General Social Care Council. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Unison ballot on 'disappointing' offer
Public sector union Unison has recommended its members vote to reject the local authorities' 3 per cent pay offer. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Abuse victim plans to sue Wirral Council
A woman who was the victim of a paedophile ring headed by her stepfather plans to sue the council that failed to act on her allegations of abuse. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Local authorities' duties extended
Councils have new duties to house certain categories of vulnerable people after the Homelessness Bill received royal assent last week. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

MPs denounce care home closure plan
Lancashire Council should withdraw its proposals to cut the number of its care homes from 48 to 13, MPs urged last week. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Electronic tagging better than remand
Only 15 per cent of visitors to Community Care's website oppose the government's plans to tag 12- to 16-year-olds who have been granted bail. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Call for new agency to tackle crime
A multi-agency forum should be established to tackle the causes of youth crime, chairperson of the Metropolitan Police Authority Lord Toby Harris.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Government reveals plan to cut red tape
Measures to cut bureaucracy in children's services and free staff up to focus on efficient service delivery were outlined last week by.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Community groups concerned over councils' dominance of partnerships
The government has approved all but one local strategic partnership despite concerns that the community and voluntary sectors are not properly.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Cash threat denied by government
The government has denied claims that asylum seekers who choose to live with friends and family will have their financial assistance withdrawn.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

System should be shaped by users
In the third of our five-part series on child protection, Peter Beresford says that if the child protection system is to change for the better then.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Pension provision fear for carers
Foster care charity the Fostering Network is calling on social workers and foster carers to write to their MPs about discrimination in the pension.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Scottish executive pledges to house every homeless person in 10 years
Every homeless person in Scotland will be entitled to a house by the year 2012, according to the latest plans by the Scottish executive. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Unison warns of crisis in Cardiff
Children's homes in Cardiff are facing major problems, according to public sector union Unison, with staff struggling to cope with excessive.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Key unemployment policy under attack
Service delivery of jobseeker's allowance and the New Deal needs to be sensitive to the frustrations of working-class men, new research has stated. more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Decline in rates of teenage pregnancy
Despite a fall in the number of teenage pregnancies in the UK for the second year running, the government has come under pressure to step up its.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Audit Office critical of New Deal scheme
A new National Audit Office report has suggested that many of those who have found work through the New Deal for Young People welfare-to-work.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Services earn praise in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes has seen a substantial improvement in the management and quality of its children's services, according to a joint review by the Audit.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Agency to cut wait times for treatment
The National Treatment Agency has claimed it is already addressing the difficulties drug misusers face in obtaining access to.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Councils save cash by capping home care, new study reveals
Older people are being forced out of their own homes and into residential care, according to a new report by the British Gas Help the Aged.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Staff in learning difficulties services need more training
There is a high demand for staff development in services for people with learning difficulties, according to research initiated by Skill: National.... more
(05 March 2002 17:10)

Social workers to practise before age of 22
Social workers will be able to practise before they reach the age of 22 following a decision by the General Social Care Council, writes Katie.... more
(01 March 2002 15:20)

Have your say
This week's Have your say focuses on home care services and whether they can replace care homes. more
(06 March 2002 17:29)

A shared responsibility
The current crisis over the funding of care home places for older people looks like a clear-cut case of age discrimination. But the truth is more.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Back into society
Social and health care workers Ian Cameron, Jeremy Pritlove and Jon Woolmore look at a Leeds-based scheme that awards grants to projects that help.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Babies in danger
Failures in implementing the current child protection system, rather than the system itself, are to blame for many child abuse deaths, argue the.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Age-old problem
To coincide with the launch of a Help the Aged campaign on age discrimination in public life, care analyst Melanie Henwood and Help the Aged's.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Victims of wonderland
Increasing numbers of men are being arrested over their use of the internet to view child pornography, but what happens to the children who are the.... more
(07 March 2002 00:00)

Fall in number of teenage pregnancies
The number of teenage pregnancies has fallen for the second consecutive year, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics. more
(01 March 2002 14:56)

New advice from executive on regulation of care services
Care providers are to receive an advice leaflet from the Scottish executive outlining new national arrangements for regulating care services under.... more
(01 March 2002 16:29)

Older people are being forced out of homes into residential care
Older people are being forced out of their own homes and into residential care, according to a report by the British Gas Help the Aged Partnership,.... more
(06 March 2002 17:47)