CHILD PROTECTION PRACTICE PRAISED BUT OTHER WEAKNESSES HIGHLIGHTED

The report praises child protection practice: 'There are good procedures for protecting children and most of the practice is good. Many parents involved in the child protection process feel they can communicate with staff and are treated fairly.'

But there is little evidence that family support interventions are evaluated to see if they achieve the intended change, it says.

'It is regrettable that there are some unsatisfactory services which do nothing to dispel the fears of families about what might happen as a result of social services involvement. Families often feel they do not have an adequate say in the way they are helped.'

Training comes in for criticism. Sir Herbert told Community Care that training should be continuing not a one-off event.

Service user and carer involvement has improved but there are consistent weaknesses at the planning, monitoring and reviewing stages. Many day care and short-term break services lack focus and 'warehousing' is not uncommon.

The report reveals patchy performance in services for disabled people with some improvements in practice but there is a general absence of strategic planning and co-ordination of services. Consultation with, and participation of service users is still poor.