Articles by Date : May 01 2004 - May 31 2004

Tightening up work
Partnership working is now a reality for many front-line professionals. Academic Bob Hudson reports on a recent conference that looked at the "nuts.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Rescue remedies
Support for teenage care leavers who become parents is patchy. Elaine Chase and colleagues assess a study which looks at the needs of this group and.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Worth the heartache?
New figures showing a sharp upturn in teenage pregnancies in three areas have left staff at the government's Teenage Preganancy Unit scratching their.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Race against time
European restrictions on the number of hours worked were intended to help staff. Now residential care sleep-ins may no longer count as rest periods..... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Benefit or burden?
A local authority in south London is recruiting volunteers to visit children on the protection register. Katie Leason reports on whether this.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Gunn on politics
The relationship between politicians and journalists is at a very low ebb. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Behind the headlines
Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news: this week, use of volunteers in child protection cases. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

No longer a 'child'
For too long Pam Gooch felt as if she was being treated like a child by social services. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Why won't they listen to us?
Black mental health services seem to be built around the needs of the professionals not users, says Carol Jenkin. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Judges can't grasp domestic violence
We should take a leaf out of New Zealand's law books to counter domestic violence. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

A sexual minefield
Our attitudes towards teenage sexuality are riven with hypocrisy and class prejudice. And we are unable to accept that abstinence is the one message.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Staff's lack of understanding is hindering fight to end trafficking, say campaigners
Guidance is needed if social workers and other professionals are to protect trafficked children, argue experts. Amy Taylor reports. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Head of children's guardians service aims to attract back former staff
Baroness Pitkeathley relishes a challenge and in setting out to refashion the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service after three.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Rewards are overdue
The pay is rotten and goodwill is running short, so why not professionalise the role of foster carers, writes Rachel Foggitt more
(24 May 2004 12:35)

Call to extend remit of Valuing People
The major improvements to people's lives secured under the Valuing People white paper must be extended to older people with learning difficulties,.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Fresh demand for legislation to lend weight to new equality commission
Anti-discrimination campaigners have repeated warnings that a single equalities body could fail unless all aspects of its work are underpinned by the.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Lawyer backs Scots care of older people
Scotland has a more rational legal framework for the long-term care of older people than England, according to social care law specialist Belinda.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Commissioner queries use of tagging
Electronic tagging of young people may be justified in only a few cases, Scotland's new children's commissioner has warned. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

New directors' president warns over split in adult and children's services
Adult services could become the poor relation of children's services in Scotland if the two are split, the new president of the Association of.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

'Infighting' blamed for poor service
Children are suffering as a result of bureaucratic infighting between public bodies in Northern Ireland, voluntary groups have warned. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Test of government record on compact
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is to publish a series of reports next year looking at how well individual government departments.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Monday 24 May 2004
MS sufferer can be allowed to choke death, council says Reliance ‘is fined £20,000 per escapee’ more
(24 May 2004 11:12)

Youth workers' union backs offer
The Community and Youth Workers Union has encouraged its members to accept the latest offer agreed by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Youth and.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Empty homes to be compulsorily leased
Homelessness charities have welcomed government proposals to give councils powers to tackle the housing crisis by compulsorily leasing privately.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Voluntary sector criticises 'socially inclusive' grant aid requirement
Forcing community and voluntary groups to work across cultural divides as a condition of grant aid is "potentially dangerous and could reinforce.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Tax credits proposal to boost child care
Parents will be able to claim tax credits to contribute towards child care provided by nannies under proposals announced this week. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Right to information could cause chaos
Local authorities could face administrative turmoil when the Freedom of Information Act comes into force next January. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

School tables 'lack deprivation data'
Secondary school performance tables should be weighted to take more account of social deprivation, MPs recommended last week. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Most staff think domestic violence bill falls short in protecting victims
Four in five social care sector workers believe the new domestic violence bill does not go far enough to protect victims, a Community Care survey.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Poll backs Children's Fund independence
Just over half of the visitors to Community Care 's website believe Children's Fund programme managers should be allowed to allocate their budgets.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Extended projects worried over cash
Extended schools that are not pathfinders are struggling to survive on inadequate funds. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Call for sensitivity, not silence, in courts
Judges have been encouraged to use politically correct terms to describe people in courts in the latest guidelines from the Judicial Studies Board. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Charities lobby lords to vote down clause
Charities called on the Lords this week to block the government's plans to withdraw support from asylum-seeking families and potentially take their.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Councils warn real cuts go deeper than savings wanted by government
Some English local authorities face cuts in their Supporting People budgets of up to 10 per cent - four times the efficiency saving prescribed by the.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Butler-Sloss rules on Cannings claim
The most senior family law judge in England and Wales has ruled that the successful appeal of Angela Cannings should not significantly affect child.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Police warn against training cash cuts
The Police Federation is urging the government not to make cutbacks in training police recruits to deal with domestic violence. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Council accused of discrimination
Manchester Council has been accused of breaching the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 after taking eviction action against two women with mental.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Home Office looks to remove minors
The Home Office is considering forcibly removing unaccompanied minors whose asylum claims have failed, Community Care has learned. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Trafficking probe at Heathrow leaves 12 children unaccounted for
Social services departments have been unable to trace 12 children identified as potential victims of child trafficking in a police-led investigation. more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Tip of the iceberg
It is very worrying indeed that social services are unable to find 12 children who may well have been brought to this country by child traffickers.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Tighten the safety net
Domestic violence will be one of the major debates at Community Care LIVE in London this week, coinciding as it does with the passage of the.... more
(20 May 2004 00:00)

Government infringed human rights with asylum law, court rules
The Appeal Court has ruled that the government breached human rights with the introduction of Section 55 to take benefits away from some asylum.... more
(21 May 2004 17:27)

Debate on autistic spectrum disorders
We asked:- Do you believe enough is being done in your area to support people with conditions on the autistic spectrum? more
(21 May 2004 17:21)

Older people tsar refuses to extend delayed discharge fines
Older people tsar Ian Philp has hit back at claims that delayed discharge fines are resulting in older people with mental health needs languishing in.... more
(18 May 2004 16:36)

Alcohol workers must provide evidence to win resources
Workers in alcohol misuse services were told this week that they have 18 months to make the case for winning resources on a par with those allocated.... more
(21 May 2004 12:48)

Friday 21 May 2004
Violence counsellor attacked client, court hears Majority suffers from the inclusion of disruptive pupils, union says more
(21 May 2004 11:22)

Housing needs bigger role in Children Bill
The Children Bill does not give sufficient priority to the role of housing in protecting children, according to two of the most senior people charged.... more
(20 May 2004 16:01)

Separate union proposals abandoned
Controversial plans for the Scottish branch of the British Association of Social Workers to sever links with public sector union Unison and set up.... more
(20 May 2004 14:57)

Asylum policy savaged by practitioners
Members of the audience at Community Care Live’s first Question Time were united last night in their condemnation of government proposals to remove.... more
(20 May 2004 15:07)

Chief inspector of prisons urges closer working
Anne Owers has called on social services to engage with prisons in order to best meet the needs of incarcerated children, writes Clare Jerrom . more
(20 May 2004 12:55)