Articles by Date : October 01 2003 - October 31 2003

Parental role demands training
Councillors should attend corporate parenting training sessions to help them understand the lives of children in care, delegates were told. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Audit Commission head promises 'lighter touch' in regulating the public sector
The chairperson of the Audit Commission has pledged that the government spending watchdog will exercise a "lighter touch" in public sector regulation. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Rethink on health services required
The health and well-being of looked-after and accommodated children is being neglected, according to research by a leading paediatrician. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Users deterred by piles of paper
Service users are being put off becoming active in national bodies because of the volume of paperwork, according to a forthcoming report from the.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Better career progression needed
Keeping workforce issues high on the political agenda will be a challenge as policy concentrates on changes to structure, delegates were told during.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Poor Law mentality must end
Councils should dump "Poor Law attitudes and approaches" which restrict care to people with the most severe needs, the new president of the.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Laming warns social services may lose child protection role if reforms fail
Social services departments risk losing responsibility for children and families to a national agency unless they improve, Lord Laming warned last.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

New services plan for ethnic minorities
An ambitious draft framework to improve mental health services for ethnic minorities over the next 10 years has been published by the Department of.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Charities criticise Hodge's plan to take struggling trusts from councils
Government plans to take failing children's trusts away from local authorities and give them to voluntary or private providers came under fire this.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Supporting People flaws cue for review
The government is to review the growing cost of the Supporting People programme after announcing a £1.8bn budget for England for this year. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Deadline for signing up draws nearer
Legislation that will make it an offence to practice as a social worker if not registered with the General Social Care Council will be introduced by.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Community renewal programme hit by staff shortages and in-fighting
The government's flagship £2bn regeneration programme is struggling to retain staff and control infighting, according to a report released this week. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Legal fears on data put pilot on hold
One of the government's 10 identification, referral and tracking pilot projects has put part of its work on hold due to fears about illegal working.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Edinburgh director resigns over death
The director of social work in Edinburgh has resigned after an inquiry report criticised his department's handling of a child death case. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Cuts in legal aid may prove 'unjust'
Plans to cap to five the number of hours of free legal advice available to asylum seekers could prove unjust for torture victims and unaccompanied.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Direct payments pay for care dog
A disabled woman from Woking, Surrey, is understood to have become the first person to receive a dog as part of their direct payments care package. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

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

Proposals that owe so much to fantasy
Yvonne Roberts says that the green paper has been portrayed as a new vision but really it's rooted in the past. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

'Me and my shadow'
Social care needs to innovate to improve public and media perceptions of its work. One way is for its critics to discover the good that staff do by.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

A light in the dark room
In the wake of Frank Bruno's recent admission to a psychiatric hospital, mental health campaigner Errol Francis tells Katie Leason of the negative.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Policy driven to restriction
The view that poor mental health makes people dangerous is now behind much government policy, writes Alan Franey. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

No time for inefficiency
Lack of staff, lack of organisation... whatever the excuse, Access to Work is just too slow, says Julie Turner. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Awfully nice ministers
It is a sign of the times that it took two secretaries of state rather than the usual one to cover the social care brief at the National Social.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Do the work or risk a fall
Bureaucracy may be irksome to many but proper processes and paperwork are ultimately of benefit to care home staff and residents alike, writes head.... more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Injury to benefits
A new study highlights the difficulties people with brain injuries have in claiming disability living allowance, writes volunteer Sarah Hurn. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Forcing the pace
Over the past four years the Scottish parliament has enacted major pieces of social care legislation. Many reforms are trailblazing but, as Maggie.... more
(16 October 2003 00:00)

An example to us all
Scotland's local authorities did not file for bankruptcy after they introduced free care for older people, as some critics of the policy predicted..... more
(16 October 2003 00:00)

The hostility begins to melt
Glasgow's asylum seekers have endured much hostility. But community consultation is beginning to bear fruit, integration is taking place and there is.... more
(16 October 2003 00:00)

Toughen up?
Scotland's children's hearing system has been admired for 30 years as a model of liberalism. Now it is under attack - even from young offenders - for.... more
(16 October 2003 00:00)

Recordings from the National Social Services Conference 2003
The plenary sessions at the National Social Services Conference 2003 in Brighton were webcast on Community Care's website. Recordings are available.... more
(22 October 2003 09:56)

Thursday 23 October 2003
First 'drive-thru' nursery set to open. Press complaints body acts on asylum seekers. more
(23 October 2003 10:04)

MPs push for evaluation of children's trusts
Pilot children’s trusts should be evaluated before being implemented nationally, a group of MPs has recommended, writes Sally Gillen. more
(23 October 2003 00:00)

Recruitment and retention part 2
Community Care interviewed more than 2,000 people for its recruitment survey. more
(20 October 2003 17:16)

Clarke reassures social care it will not lose out to education
Education secretary Charles Clarke went to great lengths to reassure social services officers and councillors that children’s social services would.... more
(16 October 2003 18:54)

Cafcass board membership to be reviewed
The government has accepted calls by a select committee of the Lord Chancellor’s department to fundamentally review board membership of the Children.... more
(21 October 2003 15:40)

Government to press ahead with new children's director despite opposition
Children's minister Margaret Hodge revealed this week that the government will press ahead with parts of the children’s green paper, including the.... more
(22 October 2003 15:05)

Wednesday 22 October 2003
Comedian faces bill of £35,000 after row with disabled people. Internet lured boy into world of child porn. more
(22 October 2003 09:57)

Will the government's alcohol strategy be up to the job?
Alcohol misuse is associated with a wide range of social and personal problems, but there is a fear that the government’s long-awaited strategy will.... more
(21 October 2003 17:50)

Laming warns social services they risk losing control of children's services
Social services departments risk losing responsibility for children to a national agency unless they improve, Lord Laming warned delegates at the.... more
(16 October 2003 15:02)

Unregistered social workers could soon be breaking law
Legislation to make it an offence to practice as a social worker unless registered, could be introduced by April 2005, the government has announced. more
(21 October 2003 17:27)

Former director calls for more accountability from professionals
All professionals who work with children should take more personal responsibility for their actions, according to the former director of social work.... more
(20 October 2003 15:14)

New director of social care to be appointed
The government is to create a new post of ‘national director of social care’ to ensure the sector is fairly represented in Whitehall. more
(15 October 2003 16:45)

Public inquiry ordered into racist killing at young offenders institution
The law lords have ordered a public inquiry into the racist killing of an Asian teenager by his cellmate in Feltham young offenders institution. more
(17 October 2003 12:30)

MPs' demand for review of social care funding refused
The government has refused a request from MPs on the House of Commons health committee for a review of social care funding, writes Katie Leason. more
(21 October 2003 15:26)

Infighting and high staff turnover hit New Deal
The government’s flagship £2 billion regeneration programme is struggling to retain staff and deal with infighting, according to a new report, .... more
(21 October 2003 12:57)

Tuesday 21 October 2003
John Prescott announces new plan to help key workers buy homes in expensive areas. New deal for communities runs into trouble. more
(21 October 2003 09:22)

Less paperwork for health visitors
Health visitors will not have to measure and record the time they spend with patients from next April. more
(20 October 2003 17:27)

Daycare provision alone “won’t crack poverty”
Providing high quality childcare is not enough to reduce family poverty, a new study suggests. more
(20 October 2003 17:42)

Parents want the right to work flexibly
More than half of all parents believe the most important change the government could make to support them would be to make flexible working a right,.... more
(20 October 2003 17:33)

New strategy to tackle race inequality in mental health services
The Department of Health has published a draft framework on how to improve mental health services for black and ethnic minorities. more
(20 October 2003 11:08)