Articles by Date : October 01 2009 - October 31 2009

Action on Elder Abuse raps DH call to cut care home use
Government guidance for councils to improve efficiency in adult social care by cutting residential care use has been branded as "ignoring reality" by.... more
(26 October 2009 15:39)

Direct payments: More restrictions in health than social care
The Department of Health has launched a consultation on making direct payments in health care, promising tighter regulations on their use than in.... more
(26 October 2009 15:20)

Funding doubts over adult care policies
The future funding of adult social care was already a hot political topic before last week's National Children and Adult Services Conference. During.... more
(26 October 2009 13:49)

Single parents targeted in welfare crackdown
Other headlines in today's papers include:- Adviser vows 'simpler' child safety rules; Girls accept gun running and rape as price of joining violent.... more
(26 October 2009 12:51)

News round-up: Single parents targeted in welfare crackdown
Other headlines in today's papers include:- Adviser vows 'simpler' child safety rules; Girls accept gun running and rape as price of joining violent.... more
(26 October 2009 12:50)

Portrayal of social workers on TV
Real-life social work cases are packed with drama, so their absence from TV is puzzling. But recent portrayals suggest producers are waking up to.... more
(26 October 2009 11:03)

Care applications to Cafcass continue to soar
The continuing increase in care applications by England's local authorities, following the Baby Peter case, could cause a "catastrophe" in children's.... more
(20 October 2009 10:51)

Let's not publicise all negative inspections, says care regulator
Negative inspection findings should not be routinely released to the press, the chief executive of the Care Quality Commission has said. more
(23 October 2009 17:23)

Children Act, 20 years on: Care pressures threaten guardian role
Care pressures threaten guardian role One of the Children Act's most highly regarded reforms appears in section 41, writes Camilla Pemberton. This... more
(23 October 2009 15:38)

Children's Act, 20 years on: Fathers' rights under review
Campaigners want reforms to the Children's Act to better reflect modern parenting and the growing role of fathers. more
(23 October 2009 15:26)

Social care highlights from the National Children and Adult Services Conference 2009
Read all the important news and views from the 2009 National Children and Adult Services Conference more
(23 October 2009 15:07)

Alastair Kirkhope: From alcoholic to award-winning peer mentor
From soil expert to homeless alcoholic to peer mentor, the award-winning Alastair Kirkhope tells Jeremy Dunning how he rebuilt his life more
(23 October 2009 15:03)

Personalisation: 'Vulnerable will not have to manage budgets'
Vulnerable people will still be entitled to have their care package managed for them by councils under personal budgets, the man charged with helping.... more
(23 October 2009 13:58)

Cornwall failing to protect children says Ofsted
Cornwall's children's services are failing to ensure children and young people are safe and the council has failed to address or make improvements to.... more
(23 October 2009 13:24)

Ed Balls and Hilton Dawson lock horns at national conference
Sparks fly at the National Social Services conference between Ed Balls and Hilton Dawson as Balls claims social workers are “barking up the wrong.... more
(23 October 2009 13:04)

DH urges councils to save cash through reduced care home use
Cutting spending on residential care has been cited by the Department of Health as key to councils making best use of resources in adult social care,.... more
(23 October 2009 12:45)

Ageism probe urges councils to review care assessments
Councils have been urged to review their adult social care assessment procedures to ensure they are not discriminating against older people. more
(23 October 2009 12:05)

Assisted suicide: The cases for and against
The law on assisted suicide has been clarified but it still splits opinion. Here, representatives of the Care Not Killing Alliance and Dignity in.... more
(23 October 2009 11:13)

News round-up: Babies left in filth as mother binged for 24 hours
Other headlines in today's papers include:- Children's services being undermined by demoralising inspections; Tories would allocate NHS money to.... more
(23 October 2009 09:53)

Babies left in filth as mother binged for 24 hours
Other headlines in today's papers include:- Children's services being undermined by demoralising inspections; Tories would allocate NHS money to.... more
(23 October 2009 09:52)

Independent living for learning disabled people with visual impairments
People with learning disabilities who are visually impaired have unique needs as they move towards independent living. Vern Pitt reports on a project.... more
(22 October 2009 14:43)

Honor Rhodes: why I love the Children Act 1989
I love the Children Act 1989: its creation with cross party support, its elegant drafting, its very architecture. more
(22 October 2009 14:42)

Danger of using savings as the sole measure of service changes
In these times of cost-cutting, it is essential to realise that service changes are not best measured in financial terms, says Geoff Ettridge more
(22 October 2009 14:27)

Research: improving services for people with multiple and complext needs
Alison Petch reviews a study into how effective 14 pilot projects have been in improving services for people with multiple needs. more
(22 October 2009 14:18)

Children's Act hits its 20th birthday: Sir Roger Singleton's views
It is often believed that the Children Act 1989 was principally a response to the enquiry into child sexual... more
(21 October 2009 16:20)

Money Magic: some Christmas credit
Paul Lewis suggests a relatively cheap way of paying for the season of goodwill more
(21 October 2009 16:23)

Autism Bill becomes England's first law for specific disability
The Autism Bill has become England's first law covering a specific disability, after the House of Lords joined the Commons in backing the.... more
(22 October 2009 14:01)

Andrew Lansley: Tories will not scrap attendance allowance
Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has pledged to oppose government plans to axe attendance allowance and use the money to fund adult social care. more
(22 October 2009 13:53)

Counsel and Care says home care charging review is priority
Home care charges should be reviewed as a matter of priority as part of an overhaul of domiciliary services to make them more personalised and.... more
(22 October 2009 12:48)

Ombudsman raps Bury over disabled children's accommodation
Two seriously disabled children spent three years in unsuitable accommodation as a result of failures by Bury Council, a local government ombudsman.... more
(22 October 2009 12:31)

Adass president calls for taskforce for social care staff
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services' president has today called for a cross-government initiative to give the wider social care.... more
(22 October 2009 12:28)

'Radical change needed to protect frontline services'
There will have to be radical change in the way public services are delivered if frontline services are to be protected, the chair of the Local.... more
(22 October 2009 12:27)

Phil Hope admits concerns over attendance allowance
Significant concerns have been raised over government plans to transfer money paid out in attendance allowance to the social care system, care.... more
(22 October 2009 11:26)

Social care data service launched to boost performance management
An adult social care information system designed to boost performance management within local authorities is being formally launched today at the.... more
(22 October 2009 10:39)

IDEA: joint children's workforce initiatives bear fruit
Joint training courses and cross-sector strategies are among the ingredients for effective integration in developing the children's workforce, a.... more
(22 October 2009 10:34)

News digest: NHS bans ageism
Ageism in the NHS, which turns elderly patients into second-class citizens, is to be outlawed. more
(22 October 2009 10:32)

Councils asked to 'guarantee' social care records for users
Local authorities will be asked to make a "guarantee" to social care service users about how information about them will be held and shared as part.... more
(20 October 2009 10:24)

DH bids to strengthen learning disability partnership boards
The Department of Health launched guidance today to help improve the performance of learning disability partnership boards. more
(21 October 2009 16:53)

Influence of alcohol on families is rising, say social workers
Most social workers believe family problems related to parental alcohol misuse are on the rise but don’t feel they have enough training to tackle the.... more
(21 October 2009 16:47)

Career Clinic - sickness absences are overwhelming my team
Q: I am a manager of a children and families referral unit in a local authority that has seen a sharp rise in referrals in the last six months..... more
(21 October 2009 16:23)

Diary of a social worker: a nominated officer for the new Deprivation of Liberty safeguards
I arrive at work, and stare at the mass of e-mails. I note the subject headings of "deprivation", "restriction" and "degradation". I must get a.... more
(21 October 2009 16:23)

Ofsted must rethink how it inspects children's services
The man brought in to support Haringey Council in the aftermath of the Baby P case has said Ofsted must rethink how it inspects children’s services. more
(21 October 2009 15:32)

New social care TV channel launches
The Social Care Institute for Excellence has launched an internet TV channel more
(21 October 2009 14:35)

ADASS considers lobbying government on tax for care
Social services directors are considering telling the government that they were wrong to rule out funding adult social care through increased.... more
(21 October 2009 13:19)

Social workers stretched and overburdened
Children's social workers are dealing with up to 60 cases at a time while half of staff and managers in both children's and adult care work more than.... more
(21 October 2009 12:49)

Thousands more children put in care as staff fear another Baby P
Other headlines in today's papers include:- Girl, 16, died from heroin overdose despite mother's pleas for social services to save her daughter;.... more
(21 October 2009 10:02)

News round up: Thousands more children put in care as staff fear another Baby P
Other headlines in today's papers include:- Girl, 16, died from heroin overdose despite mother's pleas for social services to save her daughter;.... more
(21 October 2009 10:02)

BASW membership numbers 'hit record levels'
The British Association of Social Workers has announced record membership levels with 12,100 practitioners, or one in every eight, represented by the.... more
(20 October 2009 18:13)

Long-awaited dementia drugs review published next month
The long-awaited review into the prescribing of antipsychotic drugs for people with dementia will report next month, the government has announced. more
(20 October 2009 17:54)

Councils praised for diverting more cash to social care training
The social care sector in England spent an estimated 88% of its training grants on their intended purpose last year – a higher-than-expected £138m.... more
(20 October 2009 14:44)