Articles by Date : December 01 2003 - December 31 2003

Chancellor announces extra cash and support for parents
Chancellor Gordon Brown announced extra cash for child benefits and child care in his pre-Budget report. more
(10 December 2003 13:36)

‘Cultural expert role is harming ethnic minority staff and clients’
Institutional racism and the stereotyping of ethnic minority social workers as cultural experts could have been a factor in the death of Victoria.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

After the chalk dust settles
The government's plans for schools to play a greater role in family welfare have left teachers and children's services staff somewhat confused. How.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Outcry over boy kept at Stoke Heath
Two mothers whose children died during prison sentences have called on the Youth Justice Board and the governor of Stoke Heath young offenders.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Connexions needs to help young refugees
Connexions personal advisers need to do outreach work in local communities to ensure they reach young asylum seekers and refugees, new guidance.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Providers 'fighting' over funding shares
Uncertainties surrounding the Supporting People funding pot and delays in making up-to-date payments are leaving service providers with a financial.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Trustees need to reflect community
The chief executive of a leading voluntary organisation has criticised the sector for being "complacent" about governance. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Staff star ratings for office romance
Nearly half of social services staff have enjoyed an office romance, according to a survey by the internet service provider Tiscali.co.uk. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Call for draft bill to include an end to exemption for accessing transport
Disability campaigners have expressed dismay at the failure of the draft disability bill to set a deadline for making public transport, including.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Checks fees will hinder services
More than 50 per cent of visitors to Community Care 's website believe the latest increase in fees for checks by the Criminal Records Bureau will.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Racist comments are 'commonplace'
Flaws in the Prison Service's complaints procedures are causing young black prisoners to suffer racism in silence, research from the charity the.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Government orders out Cafcass board
The board of the crisis-hit Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has been ordered to resign by the government. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

February date for softer children's bill
The children's bill and its regulations and guidance are expected to be published in February, Community Care understands. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Children's Fund projects in doubt
Projects run by some Children's Fund partnerships may be under threat because of underspending in the first half of the year, Community Care 's.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Strike ultimatum at Manchester trust
Staff at one of the first care trusts will go ahead with a strike ballot if managers fail to come up with a plan to end "intolerable" conditions in.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Call to protect input of social care staff in compulsory detention cases
Proposals to open up the approved social worker role to other professionals should not come at the expense of non-medical opinion when deciding.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Rise in adoptions may have peaked
Government policies to increase the number of adoptions may be neither desirable nor achievable, a study commissioned by the Social Care Institute.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Green paper strategy is 'tokenistic' in dealing with young people's views
The government is in danger of taking a tokenistic approach towards involving children and young people in shaping policy, children's charities have.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Consumer society
Research shows that teenage Britons don't have a drink, they have several. Alcohol worker Miles Couchman wonders whether the government's strategy to.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Transferred staff to get pension option
Hertfordshire Council has delayed transferring its mental health staff to the NHS following a proposed change to the local government pension scheme. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

New contracts could see GPs opt out of services to social care clients
Health managers feel that GPs are being asked to do too much. So new contracts could well see more peripheral service users losing out. Clare Jerrom.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

GPs lack cash spur to offer treatment
It is increasingly likely that many therapeutic services for drug addicts and alcoholics could be scrapped because of a funding crisis in primary.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Too Much Information?
New adoption regulations put the onus on councils to provide "warts and all" background details of children to prospective adopters. But will this.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

What do we know?
Researchers Lesley Grayson and Annette Boaz look at categorising what we know about social work practice and policy. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Adoption targets may not be achievable, researchers find
Government policies to increase the number of adoptions may not be achievable or desirable, new research by the Social Care Institute for Excellence.... more
(08 December 2003 17:00)

Thursday 11 December 2003
Cot deaths mother freed. 'Ruthless Huntley killed girls in clash over sexual desires'. more
(11 December 2003 09:59)

Green paper is key to better casework
The director of the Bridge Child Care Development Service said the challenge of the children's green paper was not the structural changes but "how it.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Government asylum proposals 'barbaric'
Social care professionals have attacked government plans to place the children of failed asylum seekers into care as "barbaric". more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Low benefits take-up is barrier to a better quality of life for carers
Lack of awareness of carers' rights among professionals, the public and carers themselves has stalled progress on eradicating a "gap in the system"..... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Pat rescue
Teams of management consultants were sent into failing social services departments last year. What effect have they had and were they worth the.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Minister sticks by care charges pledge
Welsh assembly health and social services minister Jane Hutt has confirmed that work on implementing the commitment to scrap home care charges for.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

workforce Social workers likely to lead joint teams
Fears that social work might become dominated by health and education professionals once the children's green paper is implemented have been.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

One way conversation
The 2,500 young people who took part in the "Your Say..." consultation exercise staged by the government's Children and Young People's Unit must be.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Doctor not on call
GPs have never fitted easily into the framework of social care. Notorious as absentees from child protection meetings and reluctant to attend.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Charities and consumers' watchdog urge probe into care homes market
The Consumers' Association and a coalition of 28 charities have complained to the Office of Fair Trading about the "dysfunctional" care home market. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Connexions 'failing to address needs'
The Connexions service is too focused on education and work at the expense of social and emotional support, a leading think-tank has warned this week. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

BT clinches deal for care record service
BT has won the 10-year, £620m contract to set up and run the electronic care record service designed to revolutionise health and social care.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

McTernan on politics
Blair's stance on tuition fees is a marker for what he hopes to achieve in a third term. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Law on 'familial homicide' hailed
A charity which has spent a year lobbying the government for legislation to protect older people at risk of abuse has welcomed moves to tighten the.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Minister says war on drugs is slipping
The battle against drugs is being lost by government, the regeneration and housing minister has admitted. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

In mental health time is the healer
Heidi Emma Osborne points to ways in which mental health services for looked-after young people could be improved. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Limited shock value
The public does not believe that one in three people in the UK lives in poverty, so Barnardo's latest eye-catching awareness campaign will succeed in.... more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Angela Cannings freed by court of appeal
Angela Cannings has been freed by the court of appeal from a life sentence for killing her two baby sons after her conviction was ruled to be.... more
(10 December 2003 13:58)

I refused to give up
Judy Clinton's grief at the loss of her son threatened to consume her, but she learned how to survive it. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

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

A woman's right to decide is paramount
A recent case has led many to erroneous conclusions on the realities of abortion in the UK. more
(11 December 2003 00:00)

Employers urged to invest in Sure Start extension
Education secretary Charles Clarke called on employers to provide more childcare support to help enable Sure Start services to extend beyond.... more
(10 December 2003 15:24)

Employers urged to invest in Sure Start extension
Education secretary Charles Clarke called on employers to provide more childcare support to help enable Sure Start services to extend beyond.... more
(10 December 2003 15:14)

Special report: Government 'fails' on domestic violence law reform
The government has proclaimed that its most far-reaching reform of domestic violence law in 30 years will re-balance the criminal justice system in.... more
(04 December 2003 10:47)

Barnardo's ads banned
Barnardo’s latest adverts have been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority because they are offensive. We ask people in the social care sector.... more
(10 December 2003 12:00)