Articles by Date : April 01 2000 - April 30 2000

Book review
Chris Hanvey considers siblings and the fostering system; Felicity Collier recommends a book looking at fostering and kinship worldwide; and Rachel.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Update
Research update: Standards for local carer support services have received government approval and can be found on the Department of.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Research
Ray Hampford looks at risk assessment among practitioners and people with learning difficulties, and Annabella Scott examines a study of young.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Hard pressed
March featured two particularly bizarre swipes at social workers in the newspapers but elsewhere the media was doing good work on behalf of a.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Next week ...
Some articles for next week issue: Statistics in a spin How useful are the statistics that the Department of Health continually churns.... more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

The dimensions of elder abuse-perspectives for practioners
THE DIMENSIONS OF ELDER ABUSE - PERSPECTIVES FOR PRACTITIONERS Gerry Bennett, Paul Kingston and Bridget Penhale Macmillan £13. more
(27 April 2000 00:00)

Abusers may be pillars of community
Alleged abusers often get away with their offences because they are pillars of the community, said Christiana Horrocks, director of VOICE UK, a.... more
(27 April 2000 00:00)

Assaults against staff are common
Attacks against staff working with people with learning difficulties are so common that they are often overlooked, delegates heard. more
(27 April 2000 00:00)

System must respond to individuals
The criminal justice system needs to respond to people with learning difficulties as individuals, Home Office minister Alun Michael told the.... more
(27 April 2000 00:00)

Campaign succeeds in raising awareness
As we formally conclude our Fair Hearing campaign this week it is obvious that, due to the commitment and interest of readers, it has taken on a.... more
(27 April 2000 00:00)

Council's failures led to continued abuse
Bridgend Council has been strongly criticised by the local government ombudsman for its failure to halt the sexual abuse of a girl by her.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Skills body to press on with training payment targets
The national social care training organisation TOPSS England has decided to press ahead with controversial targets in its five-year training.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Union accuses Harrow of scapegoating staff
Unison has complained that two senior social workers are being used as scapegoats after a 13-year-old girl died from a drugs overdose. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Older people win free nursing care
The government has promised to finance free nursing care for thousands of older people in residential care in its belated response to.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Disabled parents are poorly served, inspectors conclude
Local authorities are failing to provide disabled parents with the support they need and many service users see flexible services as a pipe dream,.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Children value the role of guardians ad litem
The Children's Society has published a new report into the importance of children's views being heard during family court proceedings. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Child protection guidance released
The government has unveiled new guidance to help social care staff protect vulnerable children. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Boost for departments as five exit special measures list
Five more social services departments have improved their performance enough to be removed from the Department of Health's special measures list. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Care worker charged with attacks on older people at nursing home
A care worker has been charged with nine attacks on vulnerable elderly residents at a nursing home on Tyneside. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Parents of teenagers call helpline
Parents with difficult teenage children were the most common callers to a confidential helpline. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

A house less ordinary
Natalie Valios visits a pioneering project in north London that offers long-term specialist help to black men with mental health and drugs.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Charging blunders on the rise
Welfare Rights Confusion over the law has led local authorities to charge clients for services that should be free, saysGary Vaux, who warns that.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Shame, not blame
There can be no doubt that this week's adoption statistics shame local authorities. For any child awaiting adoption to have no social worker,.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Time to make the media hear the message
New research suggests that social work should develop a more positive relationship with the media. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Back to college for residential home managers
The government's bid to improve the quality of residential care home management has been broadly welcomed, but concerns centre around funding. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Anti-paedophile pressure group attacks 'irresponsible' council
Child safety groups have condemned North Lanarkshire Council for housing a known paedophile near primary schools and playgrounds. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Survey reveals true number of runaways
There are twice as many runaway children as previously estimated, according to a UK-wide survey. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Man's death down to self-neglect
A coroner recorded a verdict of self-neglect in the case of a 69-year-old man who died from septicaemia and gangrene after refusing help from.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Home owners seek fair play
Independent care home owners plan to report what they see as unfair practice by social services departments to the government. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Court will review family's claim
Sheffield Council's social services department has been accused of failing to assess the needs of a family where four of its five members have been.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Coroner queries role of social services
An alcoholic who committed suicide should have been treated by health professionals rather than social services staff, a north London coroner said.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Lawyers move to help jailed care worker
Lawyers have pledged to investigate the case of a Glasgow care worker who was jailed for six years in Venezuela for attempting to smuggle cocaine.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

News in brief
Community Care's executive editor Rachel Downey has won the Reed Business Information section head of the year award. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Inspectors condemn sector bias
A Social Services Inspectorate report into Cumbria Council's services for older people has described a "strained relationship" between independent.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Arguments
Some arguments for and against: Arguments for risk The family has lived in this eccentric way for many years, and while this has caused a.... more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

Case notes
Social worker: Ivy Fearnley Field: Elderly persons' team Location: Sheffield social services Client: Gladys Burns (not her real name) is in.... more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

Independent comment
The description of the work with Gladys Burns and her family illustrates the complexity and dilemmas of social work practice writes Gwen Rosen. more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

Challenging Woment
Book Reviews Ged Smith , Jennifer Bernard, Vivien Lindow and Philip Gatter consider: a beginner's guide to counselling; women managers; gender and.... more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

Rules of engagement
Fed up with the bad press social work attracts? Then why not follow the example of Surrey social services which met the media head on when.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

When push comes to shove
Even among social workers there is a sense that they have lost the plot when it comes to dealing with neglected children and abusive carers. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Stirling merges services
Stirling Council is to implement plans that will make it the first authority in Scotland to dissolve its social work department. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Reach out they'll be there
People with severe mental health problems often avoid conventional services and find it hard to trust social workers. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Families must have a hearing too
Viewpoint Robert Tapsfield believes that if families have a say in services the results will benefit all involved The views of families who are.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Knee jerks make bad law
Social workers are all too aware of the children of those who are not adequate parents. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Mental health 'tsar' is met by calls to get 'hands dirty'
Mental health groups have given a cautious welcome to the surprise appointment of Professor Louis Appleby as the first mental health "tsar". more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

Recruitment crisis set to continue for five years
The recruitment crisis in social services is set to drag on for at least another five years, social services directors heard last week. more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

Use media intelligently to to generate positive news
Social services directors need to become "intelligent consumers" of the media if they are to generate positive news stories, Community Care editor.... more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

News in brief
A man who stalked Ealing Council social workers for three and a half years was jailed for four months earlier this month. more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

Mastering counselling skills
Book Reviews Ged Smith , Jennifer Bernard, Vivien Lindow and Philip Gatter consider: a beginner's guide to counselling; women managers; gender and.... more
(20 April 2000 00:00)

Fearful of help
An elderly woman and her family are living in squalor and social isolation and repeatedly reject offers of help. more
(20 April 2000 00:00)