Articles by Date : March 01 2007 - March 31 2007

Anne Owers slams prisons over foreign prisoner system
Chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers today launched a scathing attack on the system for detaining foreign prisoners, saying it contributed to rising.... more
(22 March 2007 10:06)

Ministers rethinking plan to open family courts to media
Click on the above headline for more social care related news from today's papers. more
(22 March 2007 09:55)

Previous cartoons
View all previous cartoons that have appeared on the site more
(22 March 2007 09:54)

Question from Community Care: Mental capacity act: how the law will work
Click on the headline to go through to the full article more
(22 March 2007 09:33)

Question from Community Care: Homeless young people in Kidderminster put proposals on DVD
Click on the headline to go through to the full article more
(22 March 2007 09:30)

Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: councils' reaction to dispersal proposals
What are the implications for social work practice of government proposals to redistribute unaccompanied asylum-seeking children across UK councils,.... more
(22 March 2007 09:14)

Agency working: the pros and cons
Agency social workers are often given a rough ride by their permanent colleagues. But as Anabel Unity Sale reports, given some support, they can.... more
(22 March 2007 09:13)

New continuing care rules may spark cash row between councils and NHS
Social care chiefs have warned that the government's forthcoming national continuing care framework may exclude too many people from NHS funding. more
(22 March 2007 08:57)

Inquiry into Mencap claims could be wake-up call for health service
After years of inaction, the needs of NHS patients who have learning difficulties are at last being addressed in an independent investigation. Simeon.... more
(22 March 2007 08:49)

Missed Government targets
One of the major objectives in Valuing People, the government's 2001 learning difficulties strategy, was to "enable people with learning disabilities.... more
(22 March 2007 08:48)

Spats between NHS and councils set to reach epidemic proportions
Community Care first highlighted the issue of NHS cost-shunting back in 2005. Then, three primary care trusts in Wiltshire landed the county council.... more
(22 March 2007 08:44)

Rising referral rates threat to services
There is a "daunting discrepancy" between the child and adolescent mental health services needed and those available, according to a report out.... more
(22 March 2007 12:00)

Living fund review reveals hostility to councils among user-led groups
Continuing distrust of councils' stewardship of social care among user-led disability groups has been exposed by last week's publication of a.... more
(22 March 2007 12:00)

Roles and tasks consultation - make sure you take part
Social workers can be forgiven for being a tad cynical about consultation exercises. Every month another one begins, as drenched in high ideals as.... more
(22 March 2007 08:34)

Skills for Care wrest training money from councils
Skills for Care has demanded control of more than £100m allocated to local authorities for training in order to give it to the independent sector. more
(21 March 2007 08:00)

‘Pennies’ separate pay between NVQ levels 2 and 3’
The pay difference between care workers qualified to NVQ levels 2 and 3 is just “pennies”, according to early indications from a national survey of.... more
(21 March 2007 07:58)

Adult Placement: An Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Adult Placement
As the first book to focus exclusively on adult placement, I read this enthusiastically, writes Caroline Smyth. more
(22 March 2007 00:55)

The Psychology of Ageing: An Introduction
It is refreshing to see a book interested in the minds of older people as this client group are often overlooked, writes Noelle Blackman. This.... more
(22 March 2007 00:47)

Assessing the Support Needs of Adopted Children and their Families: Building Secure New Lives
The requirement to carry out an assessment of needs for an eligible person for adoption support services is a statutory one under the Adoption and.... more
(22 March 2007 00:40)

Gareth Myatt inquest adjourned until July
The inquest into the death of Gareth Myatt has been adjourned for nearly four months because some legal matters have to be considered by a court in.... more
(21 March 2007 16:01)

Art Matters: Renoir Landscapes
Art Matters is a unique joint initiative between business advisers Ernst and Young and the children's charity NCH, writes Angela Easterling. more
(22 March 2007 00:40)

People with learning difficulties put their experiences in DVD. Supported by United Response
A DVD devised, written, acted and filmed by people with learning difficulties is premiered at a Midlands cinema. Graham Hopkins hustles for space.... more
(22 March 2007 00:37)

Child Poverty Action Group demands more radical action by Gordon Brown on child poverty
Gordon Brown needs to outline a more radical approach to tackling child poverty in tomorrow’s Budget, campaigners said today. more
(21 March 2007 15:33)

A young deaf man with challenging behaviour is assessed by therapy consultant John Ball
Finding a service tailored to the complex needs of a deaf young person with challenging behaviour is costly. But the.... more
(22 March 2007 00:28)

Welfare rights: Making allowances
Gary Vaux outlines the incapacity tests that are coming in next year as part of benefit reforms more
(22 March 2007 00:19)

The therapeutic value of care farms
It has long been known that tending to animals and working the fields can be therapeutic for people, but only now has a movement to promote “care.... more
(22 March 2007 00:42)

Unison anger as council staff offered 2% pay rise
Local Government Employers today made its expected 2 per cent pay offer to council staff across England, prompting immediate criticism from trade.... more
(21 March 2007 13:15)

Mental capacity act: how the law will work
You may have heard about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and thought it would not relate to you or your work. You may be in for a surprise. To see if.... more
(22 March 2007 00:06)

Parenting pressures: work is not the be all and end all
Apparently we neglect our children, making them the most unhappy, unhealthy and underachieving in Europe. And yet if you are a single parent who.... more
(22 March 2007 00:11)

Will C-Mec be an improvement on the Child Support Agency?
There are already worrying signs that the successor to the Child Support Agency will fall short in key areas, writes Chris Pond more
(22 March 2007 00:07)

This Life: Enlightenment needed
The progressive use of therapy would be far more beneficial than enforced treatment, writes Andrew Voyce more
(22 March 2007 00:01)

The Big Question
Do you agree that the Independent Living Fund should be scrapped? (For background, see articles at www.communitycare.co.uk/103748 and 103823) more
(22 March 2007 00:52)

If you ask me...Anika Baddeley
Anika Baddeley is a student. She has cerebral palsy, dyslexia and dispraxia more
(22 March 2007 00:47)

Jane Campbell hopes to promote social work within House of Lords
"When I take my place in the Lords next month I plan to raise the profile of social care" more
(22 March 2007 00:04)

Morgan points finger at government over threat to board's independence
The former chair of the Youth Justice Board Rod Morgan (pictured) has called for the independence of the board to be preserved. more
(22 March 2007 08:00)

Plan to dock housing benefit from unruly families curbed
A national scheme to withdraw housing benefit from families evicted for antisocial behaviour was dropped last night from the Welfare Reform Bill ..... more
(21 March 2007 09:57)

Guardians' service wins more money
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service is to receive its first budget increase since 2004-5 in the coming financial year, it.... more
(22 March 2007 00:50)

Directors' body to focus on funding
The implications of this year's comprehensive spending review for adult social care are set to be a top priority for the new directors' body for.... more
(22 March 2007 08:00)

Disabled children count may spiral
The number of disabled children in the UK could increase by more than 60 per cent by 2029, if current trends continue, according to a report out this.... more
(22 March 2007 00:42)

Foster mother inflicted 20 years of sadistic abuse on three children
Click on the above headline for more social care related news from today's papers. more
(21 March 2007 09:27)

When joint working breaks down
Brent Council leader Paul Lorber tells Amy Taylor why the relationship between the London local authority and the primary care trust has completely.... more
(22 March 2007 00:38)

Foster carer convicted of abuse and cruelty towards children in her care
Former Gloucestershire foster carer Eunice Spry was convicted yesterday of multiple charges of abuse and cruelty towards children in her care, all of.... more
(21 March 2007 08:31)

Birmingham and Croydon councils win Beacon status for involving third sector
Birmingham and Croydon councils were awarded Beacon status for their approach to increasing voluntary and community sector delivery of public.... more
(21 March 2007 08:17)

Research
2003 - Research more
(10 March 2007 15:32)

Hilary Armstrong unveils details of families at risk review
Links between adults’ and children’s services are to be examined in a review of families at risk, social exclusion minister Hilary Armstrong said.... more
(20 March 2007 15:26)

Cafcass wins budget increase for 2007-8
The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service is to receive its first budget increase since 2004-5 in the coming financial year, it.... more
(20 March 2007 14:05)

Education and social care clash over school budgets
Education and social care leaders have clashed this week over government proposals to relax the rules around the spending of schools’ budgets. more
(20 March 2007 13:53)

BBC reveals council failure to protect adults
One in six councils in England is failing to protect vulnerable adults in their care, according to a BBC report. more
(20 March 2007 12:20)

David Kidney MP tells Fostering Network forum to use support care and preserve families
Councils should use support care to keep children out of the care system, an influential MP will tell a conference next week. more
(20 March 2007 12:05)

Children in care fear crime and street bullies
Click on the above headline for more social care related news from today's papers. more
(20 March 2007 09:46)