Articles by Date : April 01 2008 - April 30 2008

Are we a happier society?
Money can't buy you happiness is a key maxim in the new ideas on well-being, but some claim the theory ignores the role of poverty and inequality in.... more
(11 April 2008 12:01)

Child poverty the priority for new ADCS head Maggie Atkinson
The new president of the Association of the Directors of Children’s Services pledged to prioritise reducing child poverty. more
(10 April 2008 17:00)

News round up: Failed asylum seeker seeks free NHS care win
Other stories include web 'helps' suicides, study finds. more
(11 April 2008 09:38)

Failed asylum seekers could win right to free NHS care
Other stories include surfing the internet 'more likely' to help vulnerable people to commit suicide than to deter them. more
(11 April 2008 09:34)

Care Council for Wales bars social worker for catalogue of failings
The Care Council for Wales has struck off a social worker for serious and repeated misconduct. more
(11 April 2008 09:19)

Mencap launches font designed by people with learning disabilities
Mencap has launched a new font designed to help people with a learning disability read more easily. more
(11 April 2008 09:09)

Age Concern: Advice service cuts will hurt poorest older people
Age Concern has said some of the poorest older people in England risk losing out on millions of pounds in benefits because of “swingeing” cuts by.... more
(11 April 2008 08:32)

Editorial Comment: Let's be consistent
When social workers are asked about the biggest challenge they face in their day-to-day work, the answer often lies with bureaucracy and how it.... more
(09 April 2008 10:44)

News round up: Police help manage school for troubled pupils
Other headlines in today's papers include: Police seize 37,000 pints in crackdown on boozing kids; Crowded jails 'make Scotland more dangerous' more
(10 April 2008 09:27)

Police help manage school for troubled pupils
Other headlines in today's papers include: Police seize 37,000 pints in crackdown on boozing kids; Crowded jails 'make Scotland more dangerous' more
(10 April 2008 09:22)

Career Clinic
Q: I and my colleagues are anxious about how senior managers would react if something went wrong. As practitioners, we make decisions every day that.... more
(10 April 2008 08:56)

Human rights commission urges UK to ratify disability treaty
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has called on the government to stop dragging its feet over the ratification of a historic UN agreement to.... more
(10 April 2008 08:54)

Unions will have to consider sustained action to up offer
Employers say staff have no desire to strike to improve below inflation offer more
(10 April 2008 08:48)

Children's style staff development must be extended to adults' sector
Social care leaders urge government departments to integrate workforce development plans for practitioners more
(10 April 2008 08:17)

Help the Aged takes government to court for fuel poverty failings
Help the Aged and Friends of the Earth are suing the government for being on course to break its statutory promise to eradicate fuel poverty for.... more
(10 April 2008 00:29)

JRF: Tax and benefit policy threatens child poverty hike
Child poverty will nearly double within the next 20 years due to the government's policy on uprating benefits and tax thresholds, a Joseph Rowntree.... more
(10 April 2008 00:01)

The Excellence Network: Partnership Working winners
Over the next five issues of Community Care we will be presenting the top teams in each category of The Excellence Network. This week we look at the.... more
(09 April 2008 16:23)

Partnership working: the Jon Glasby view
Wherever you go, the concept of partnership working evokes strong reactions. On the one hand, it is constantly exhorted by government and seemingly.... more
(09 April 2008 16:17)

The 'care careers' of looked-after children
The first major study of children in England's care system for 20 years has proven more far-reaching than its predecessor, writes June Statham more
(09 April 2008 16:13)

Practice implications
Relates to The 'care careers' of looked-after children more
(09 April 2008 16:07)

Carers take up support offered by wpf Counselling & Psychotherapy
Carers are often too wrapped up in their duties to think about their needs. Amy Taylor reports on a London project that offers counselling to help.... more
(09 April 2008 16:00)

True Partnerships at Values into Action
Mark Brookes was looking for a knowledgeable work colleague to help with his Making Decisions project and discovered Joanna Perry, who found working.... more
(09 April 2008 15:41)

Social care paraprofessionals feel out of their depth
Support staff, or paraprofessionals, are increasingly having to handle complex cases as eligibility criteria put clients out of reach of qualified.... more
(09 April 2008 15:29)

Big Interview: John Black - BASW Scotland Social Worker of the Year
BASW Scotland's awards scheme recognises frontline social work at its best. In the first of three interviews with the ­winners, Andrew Mickel talks.... more
(09 April 2008 15:25)

Accommodation and vulnerable 16- and 17-year-olds
Ed Mitchell looks at the implications of a case of a homeless 17-year-old whose application for leaving care services was turned down more
(09 April 2008 15:12)

Voice of young people in care wins beacon award for Leicester Council
Leicester Council regards itself as a family business, which is why its looked-after children are given a leg up to their future, as Anne Gulland.... more
(09 April 2008 15:05)

South Gloucestershire's beacon is shining light for children in care
South Gloucestershire Council has picked up a beacon award after building its looked-after children's team around the young people themselves, writes.... more
(09 April 2008 15:03)

Therapeutic care addresses children's poor relationships
Carers with therapeutic skills can help rebuild children's psychological foundations, says Jonathan Pearce, who will be speaking on the subject at a.... more
(09 April 2008 14:15)

Coronation Street portrayal of social worker breaks stereotypes
Sally Gillen expected the worst when social services were summoned to a Corrie storyline. She need not have worried more
(09 April 2008 13:57)

Diary - A lighter take on the week
A care worker in a children's home writes... more
(09 April 2008 13:53)

Social skirmishes
Rosie Warlock, a senior practitioner in children's social services, considers the Roles and Tasks Social Work statement more
(09 April 2008 13:48)

Social worker barred for relationship with father of at-risk child
A social worker from London has been banned from the profession after forming an “inappropriate” relationship with the father of a young person on.... more
(09 April 2008 13:06)

Skills for Care pilots for New Types of Worker prove successful
Skills for Care has launched 78 initiatives to test ways of working in social care. Louise Tickle looks at how they have fared more
(09 April 2008 12:27)

Susan Elliott: Community Coach, Durham Council
Susan Elliot, community coach, adult and community services at Durham Council, is one of the new types of workers being piloted in the Skills for.... more
(09 April 2008 12:18)

Councils told rough sleeping must be reduced to 'close to zero'
Homelessness agencies must do more to reduce the numbers of persistent rough sleepers to "as close to zero as possible," the government said.... more
(09 April 2008 11:59)

Cornwall's Nigel Walker calls for swift learning disabilities changes
Cornwall Council's lead adult services councillor has said he wants to see "substantial change" in the authority's learning disabilities services.... more
(09 April 2008 11:12)

Valuing People Now aims 'should be compulsory'
comcare.news@rbi.co.uk A leading learning disability campaigner has called for the recommendations in last year's Valuing People Now paper to be.... more
(09 April 2008 10:57)

'Anxiety culture' blighting offending teams
Youth offending team workers are recommending young people receive custodial rather than community sentences because they fear making mistakes, a.... more
(09 April 2008 10:34)

England payment support schemes overstretched
A comprehensive analysis of direct payment support services in the UK has unearthed waiting lists for users in England, low take-up and a lack of.... more
(09 April 2008 10:25)

Jersey: skull fragment tests prove inconclusive
A skull fragment found at the former Haut de la Garenne children's home in Jersey dates from no earlier than the 1920s, police have said. more
(09 April 2008 10:20)

Vacancy problems persist at Birmingham, report says
Birmingham Council is still struggling to recruit children's social workers eight months after concerns were raised over high staff turnover more
(09 April 2008 10:20)

Bone fragment dates back to Jersey children's home
Other headlines in today's papers include:- Advice for older people hit by cuts; Straw 'threatened to hit Balls in Cabinet bust-up' more
(09 April 2008 09:39)

News round up: Bone fragment dates back to Jersey children's home
Other headlines in today's papers include:- Advice for older people hit by cuts; Straw 'threatened to hit Balls in Cabinet bust-up' more
(09 April 2008 09:38)

NSPCC issues advice on identifying deliberate burns on children
The NSPCC issued guidelines today to professionals working with children to help them spot the difference between accidental and deliberate burns. more
(08 April 2008 14:18)

Lancashire stabbing: Social care worker named
The Lancashire social care worker who died after being stabbed yesterday has been named as Philip Ellison by police. more
(08 April 2008 13:26)

DCSF launches review of impact of commercialism on children
The government will consult young people and their parents to establish what impact the commercial world is having on children’s lives. more
(08 April 2008 12:00)

News round up: Nurses offered 8% pay deal
Other stories include UK to accelerate opening of academies. more
(08 April 2008 09:17)

Nurses offered 8% pay rise over next three years
Other stories include social worker stabbed to death in Lancashire. more
(08 April 2008 09:14)

Vetting and barring head says scheme must be right 'from day one'
The vetting and barring scheme for people working with vulnerable people will start a year later than planned to ensure it works from the first day. more
(08 April 2008 00:35)

Healthcare Commission: mental health teams can improve user links
Mental health crisis teams could communicate more effectively and improve relationships with service users, a report by the Healthcare Commission.... more
(07 April 2008 19:20)