Articles by Date : June 01 2003 - June 30 2003

Social care stalwarts rewarded by Queen
People who work in social care are among those honoured in the Queen’s birthday honours list, in addition to the many volunteers recognised for their.... more
(17 June 2003 14:14)

Union calls for end to recruitment incentives
Unison will set up a strategy to dissuade social services departments from offering financial incentives to attract social care staff, after members.... more
(17 June 2003 13:04)

Criminal checks for home care workers introduced
Charities working with vulnerable adults have welcomed the introduction of criminal record checks for all home care workers, writes Amy Taylor. more
(17 June 2003 12:47)

Tuesday 17 June 2003
Social workers may be based in schools says education secretary. Number of immigrants much higher than originally believed. more
(17 June 2003 10:02)

Ministers describe new vision for children's services
New minister for children Margaret Hodge now has her “dream job”, and she approaches it with a belief she has possessed for “years” that a division.... more
(16 June 2003 17:51)

Children’s services map redrawn
Sure Start, the Children and Young People’s Unit and the Connexions National Unit are to be brought together within a single organisation within the.... more
(17 June 2003 11:01)

Agencies meet minister to discuss green paper
Senior representatives from a range of statutory and voluntary agencies with child protection responsibilities were due to meet with Paul Boateng.... more
(17 June 2003 10:57)

Sex education failing young people, say MPs
Sexual health services are not meeting the needs of young people despite the government’s Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, the Commons Health Select.... more
(17 June 2003 11:00)

Agencies meet minister to discuss green paper
Senior representatives from a range of statutory and voluntary agencies with child protection responsibilities were due to meet with Paul Boateng.... more
(11 June 2003 00:00)

Monday 16 June 2003
Racists who sparked riots in Oldham are jailed. Attorney general wants to review case of man given three years for grooming girls for sex. more
(16 June 2003 10:09)

Margaret Hodge appointed to new children’s minister post
Education minister Margaret Hodge has been appointed to the newly created post of minister for children in the latest government reshuffle, writes.... more
(13 June 2003 17:45)

Time for an early start
For too long services for very young disabled children have suffered from dislocation between health, social services and education. But now the.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Behind the headlines
Our regular panel comments on a topic in the news. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Government report warns of impact of more rises in insurance premiums
A government report has warned of further increases to employers' liability insurance and recognised the impact of the rising costs on care homes. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Larger loans for starter homes
Attempts to open up a key worker housing scheme to more social workers are being undermined by a reduction in the number of key workers to be helped.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Schools Act woe for Scottish councils
Councils could be faced with a bill of up to £120m per year in order to include children with special educational needs in mainstream schools,.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Coroner critical of community care
The rules surrounding the care of people with mental health problems have been criticised by the Isle of Wight coroner following the death of a man.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Cash rewards for young volunteers
Young people from low income families in England will be paid £45 a week to work at voluntary organisations, under a government scheme that started.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Friday 13 June 2003
Alan Milburn resigns and children in care to get boarding school places. more
(13 June 2003 10:03)

Alan Milburn's resignation letter
Dear Tony........ more
(12 June 2003 16:03)

Council censured by judge over "obstruction" to care case
Local authority censured over "defensive and obstructive" approach to care proceedings, after foster father arrested on suspicion of child.... more
(12 June 2003 15:56)

Double triumph for compact initiative
A programme which was set up to sort out cases in which the government had breached its funding agreement with the voluntary sector has achieved its.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Trusts 'could cause services break-up'
Children's trusts could fragment services and suffer high staff turnover, the Royal College of Nursing has warned. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Councils to pay for worker registration
Some local authorities are planning to pay for social workers to be placed on the professional register in its first year. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Charity pleads for rethink on funding
Mental health charity Maca has demanded a review of funding of mental health services, after a report showed they were costing double previous.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Flexibility eludes working parents
More than two-thirds of parents of disabled children are unaware of their rights to work more flexibly, according to new research. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Staff unhappy with Lancashire police
A survey of children's social services staff in Lancashire is expected to show hundreds of instances of juveniles being held in police cells.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Utting warns against major change
Child care expert Sir William Utting has endorsed the proposals for cultural change outlined in the Victoria Climbie Report but warned against making.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Family planning and drug agencies should link to 'control pregnancies'
Drug agencies should link with specialist family planning services to advise on and administer long-acting contraceptive injections and other.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

'Obsession' with statistics masks the truth about seeking asylum
The media is "obsessed" with asylum seeker statistics and has failed to paint an accurate picture as to why people are fleeing to the UK, the.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Act is failing to help homeless teenagers
Nearly a year since the Homelessness Act became law, introducing a requirement for councils to give priority to 16 and 17 year olds, many are.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Loving it
Last October, Community Care spoke to six freshly qualified students about their experiences of their first few months at work. Now, Clare Jerrom.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Rebels without a clause
Two social workers, Norah Ellis and Dawn Jackson, agreed to be transferred from children's services by Sefton Council last October after indicating.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Always there for you
In long-term fostering, carers and children are often left to "get on with it". Academics Mary Beek and Gillian Schofield explain why the presence of.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Rights minded
Plans are afoot to give the new single equality body a human rights mandate. Analyst Sarah Spencer asks whether the government would approve an.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Wales slays the critics
After condemnation of care provision in Wales, the national assembly sanctioned a switch to partnership working - a move that is starting to yield.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Repeat prescription
Peter White finds that words of encouragement, however often repeated, can reignite professionals' enthusiasm for social work and prevent them being.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Welfare is key to drugs success
Our strategy for tackling problem drug use needs to take into account the social dimension, writes Marcus Roberts. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Battle for hearts and minds must be won
Yvonne Roberts laments the lack of understanding of mental health problems among the public. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Carers buried in paper
Mabel Cooper warns of the dangers of snaring carers in bureaucracy, as her own carer calls it a day. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

McTernan on politics
With two fresh policy launches have the Tories suddenly become a worthy opposition? more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Schools 2 txt msg parents of truants
Parents could soon receive a text message telling them that their child has not turned up for school if measures suggested by a government review.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Lack of information 'a hidden problem'
The adopters planning legal action against two councils for not providing enough information before their sons were placed with them believe the.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

No service crisis, death inquiry told
A public inquiry into the case of an 88-year-old woman who died when she was moved from her nursing home was told there was no crisis in residential.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Commissions 'will be toothless tigers'
A clause in the Health and Social Care Bill 2003 to allow the health secretary to decide how complaints are dealt with has been atttacked by the.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Split decision over Mind rebranding
A small majority of visitors to Community Care 's website say Mind was not justified in spending £150,000 on a rebranding exercise. more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Records bureau slammed for hiking cost of police checks on care staff
Charities, the private sector and politicians have united in condemning the Criminal Records Bureau's decision to more than double the charge for.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Public anxiety over men in child care
More than half the public believe one of the main barriers to men working in child care is the concern around the risk of paedophilia, according to.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Mother may sue over son's death
The mother of a mentally ill man, who was shot dead last week by police at Heathrow after threatening them with a replica gun, may sue the agencies.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)

Torbay drops claim for judicial review
Torbay Council has agreed to drop its legal action against the Audit Commission over the "poor" rating it received in its comprehensive performance.... more
(12 June 2003 00:00)