Articles by Date : April 01 2000 - April 30 2000

Hard case
The probation service is under pressure to ditch its soft image and get tough with offenders as the prison and probation review pushes the two.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Tinkering with welfare
Paul Burgess delves into welfare history to review past governments' records on benefit reform Is there a precedent for the government's interest.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Southwark slammed as abuse review is ignored
By PATRICK McCURRY A couple wrongly accused of battering their baby have accused Southwark social services department of gross maladministration. more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Not so fast
Combination therapies have been hailed as a breakthrough for people with AIDS, leading to resources being diverted away from respite and support.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

How do these workers justify their position?
When ten out of 12 mental health key workers and community psychiatric nurses, who are responsible for co-ordinating clients' care and support,.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

A litany of disaster
Chris Hanvey is director John Ellerman Foundation Could there possibly be a more damning indictment of institutional child care? Three hundred.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Prevention moves welcomed
Government proposals for the youth justice system show a shift in policy towards crime prevention, Tony Butler, Gloucestershire Police chief.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Hidden costs
A new study has lifted the lid on the often hidden crime of domestic violence and revealed that the national cost to public agencies - particularly.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Last words
Monday First visit of the day is to our local personal developmental centre. My client wants to attend for an extra day each week but when asked.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Care homes should set their own standards and tasks
John Burton ('What's to celebrate?' 15-21 January) was interesting, stimulating and either partially misguided or perhaps glowingly idealistic. more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Sound mind in a healthy body
What is 'a strategic director responsible for caring for people'? Isn't that the responsibility of all social services staff? This was my first.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Best Value is not about taking the cheapest option
Mike George is right to highlight voluntary sector concerns about spot purchasing. more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Better than cure
The failure of social services departments to move from crisis intervention to preventive practice has been emphasised repeatedly. more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Crucial diagnosis
People with Down's syndrome are particularly prone to Alzheimer's disease, yet people with a dual diagnosis can fall through the net when services.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Tsars in their eyes
Keith Hellawell, the government's new 'drugs tsar', has been asked to formulate a strategic response to drug misuse by April. more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Help calls up
Mary Richardson, currently social services director at the London Borough of Waltham Forest, is to be the new director of social services and.... more
(17 April 2000 00:00)

Children in care more prone to mental illness
More than half of children in foster care have mental health problems, according to research unveiled at a Royal College of Psychiatrists.... more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Elderly homes close in Lancashire
Three elderly people's homes in Lancashire are to close, with a further three being adapted to provide respite and day care services. more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Government to review child punishment law
The government is set to make the law around punishing children clearer after last week's ruling from the European Court of Human Rights banning.... more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Inspectors highlight staff dissatisfaction in Cornwall
Inspectors have told Cornwall's social services department to treat its employees better - the warning came two days after staff took strike action.... more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Mental health charity to give vote to clients
People with learning difficulties will have a say in the running of Mencap for the first time after a revolutionary change to the charity's.... more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Leaked social care White Paper sparks 'too prescriptive' fears
Social services chiefs are warning the government to set realistic standards for social care. more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Nursing home owners reject MP's drugs claim
Nursing home owners are urging the Department of Health to examine whether care home residents are being "drugged up to the eyeballs". more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Co-option to shatter ethnic glass ceiling
Senior social services managers from ethnic minorities are to be co-opted onto the five policy committees of the Association of Directors of Social.... more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Minister meets his match at news quiz
Have I got news for youth: Reshma Chanda and Adele Swarbrick chat with junior health minister Paul Boateng after a news quiz organised by NSPCC at.... more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

News in Brief
Staff training frequently ignores inappropriate sexual behaviour, abuse, sexuality and personal relationships among people with learning.... more
(12 April 2000 00:00)

Labour in power
Four Labour social policy initiatives one year on 1. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Book reviews
Good Practice in Counselling People Who Have Been Abused Edited by Zetta Bear Jessica Kingsley £16. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

New ideas on carers needed
The government is calling on agencies and individuals to submit ideas on improving support for the UK's six million carers. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Recruitment squeeze for Peterborough
Peterborough social services department is finding it hard to recruit staff for its children and families teams because of the Rikki Neave scandal.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Thanksgiving event praises humanity of social work
Around 80 people attended the national inter-faith act of thanksgiving to commemorate the 50th jubilee of the Children Act 1948 at Mansfield.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Government leaves new adoption guidance open to interpretation
The government was due this week to issue confusing guidelines which leave transracial adoption policy wide open to interpretation. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Johnston becomes acting BASW chief
The British Association of Social Workers has appointed its Scottish secretary Ian Johnston as acting director while it considers a more devolved.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Adoption spin won't work
The Department of Health released the new adoption guidelines to the national media before informing the social work press this week. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

NHS shakeup leads to Welsh ringfencing plea
Social services departments in Wales are being urged to support a campaign to protect funding for mental health and learning difficulties after a.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Employees with learning difficulties
People with learning difficulties usually find it hard to get a job. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Funding allegation is unfounded
Help the Aged's allegation that "Dorset Council told the client that it only funded people in private residential with £1,000 in savings" is.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Social workers warn register is flawed
The sex offenders register is a flop because it does not include convictions before September 1997, according to almost 60 per cent of social.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Partnerships could solve housing crisis
New independent partnerships should be set up to provide more housing in the community for people with disabilities or special needs, housing.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Goldfinch stretches reach
Operation Goldfinch, the police investigation into allegations of abuse in children's homes in South Wales, has been extended to include the former.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Accident will not stop trips
Disabled people will not have their holidays scrapped as a result of the narrow boat accident which claimed the lives of four adults with learning.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Leaks hint at Darling taking knife to Incapacity Benefit
Relations between the government and disability campaigners hit a new low last week following reports that Incapacity Benefit may be drastically.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Home care staff strike
Council home care staff in Leicester took their protest at changes to working conditions on to the streets in a one-day walk-out earlier this week. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Fears over misuse of 'untreatability'
Mental health campaigners fear that psychiatrists are diagnosing patients as "untreatable" to avoid increasing waiting lists at high security.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Care pay rates vary
Care assistants in residential care homes earn more than those in nursing homes, but rates for care staff vary enormously for the same job, says a.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

News in brief
Birmingham Council was this week ordered by the High Court to temporarily restore home care services to a severely disabled woman until her.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

North west bodies set to integrate learning difficulties purchasing
Social care and health commissioning for people with learning difficulties in the north west of England will be integrated by 2000. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

A shoulder to lean on
Consultants are by definition outside and not part of management and so they can help staff let off steam and suggest changes in work patterns. more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Training for a new role
If Ziggi Alexander were to write a job description for her new role as the last chairperson of the social work training council CCETSW, there are a.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)

Everybody hurts sometimes
The loss of a loved one is devastating and leaves families in no fit state to ask for help: Ruth Harrison argues that support agencies need to.... more
(13 April 2000 00:00)