July 2008 Archives

When the light is fading

By Adam McCulloch on July 30, 2008 4:27 PM | 3 Comments | No TrackBacks

Service user choice is a fine thing but leads to dilemmas when those choices put too much pressure on other, already concerned, family members, as Jennifer Harvey relates from her own recent experience

by Jennifer Harvey

Months have gone by, and emotions are less raw. My mum is now in a nursing home, having been assessed as needing 24-hour nursing and EMI (elderly mentally ill) care.
It's been a long haul, and too distressing to write about for a while. In many ways the worst is over, in some ways it is yet to come.

Continue reading When the light is fading.

What is adult social care actually for?

By Adam McCulloch on July 29, 2008 1:05 PM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

by Simon Heng

In the old days, adult social care was easy. People with a disability, or mental illness, or anyone over 65 who looked as if they weren't coping on their own, were rounded up into institutions where their physical needs could be met as humanely and cheaply as possible. Anyone who might be able to cope at home could be cared for in day centres.

Continue reading What is adult social care actually for?.

Agency social workers damage permanent staff's prospects

By Adam McCulloch on July 29, 2008 12:48 PM | 13 Comments | No TrackBacks

By Elaine Aspinwall-Roberts

As a social work manager, barely a day goes by when I am not sent an enticing CV by a recruitment agency, dangling a juicy, qualified, experienced social worker in front of my despairing eyes.

Continue reading Agency social workers damage permanent staff's prospects.

Welfare reform green paper: threats and punishment won't work

By Adam McCulloch on July 24, 2008 2:52 PM | 5 Comments | No TrackBacks

by Neil Bateman

The welfare reform green paper (published on 21 July) contains yet more proposals for toughening up the benefits system. It seems there is no turning back when it comes to these ideas that Tebbitt, Lilley and Co only dreamed of and now being wafted through by Brown, Purnell Associates.

Continue reading Welfare reform green paper: threats and punishment won't work.

NCH Hackney Family Intensive Project and the Youth Crime Action Plan

By Adam McCulloch on July 24, 2008 10:49 AM | 2 Comments | No TrackBacks

By Rumi Hussain

Last week family intervention projects were finally thrown into discussions on tackling the root causes of antisocial behaviour and youth crime.

Continue reading NCH Hackney Family Intensive Project and the Youth Crime Action Plan.

Direct payments, personalisation... who now cares for whom?

By Adam McCulloch on July 22, 2008 3:25 PM | 2 Comments | No TrackBacks

By Steve Arthington

Amid talk of choice and freedom, service users must remember they also gain more responsibility under personalised services

Continue reading Direct payments, personalisation... who now cares for whom?.

Practice placements are the key; not separate social work degrees

By Adam McCulloch on July 16, 2008 11:50 AM | 3 Comments | No TrackBacks

by Mike Wardle

How well does the degree prepare social workers for practice? Two years on since it produced its first graduates, the degree is in the spotlight.

A series of regional visits is being organised by the Department of Health and the Department for Children, Schools and Families as part of a joint review of the degree, so the publication last week of DH's three-year evaluation is timely.

The degree is still relatively new, but the early evidence suggests that there is much for the sector to be confident about.

Continue reading Practice placements are the key; not separate social work degrees.

Fuel costs: it's time to ditch the car

By Adam McCulloch on July 16, 2008 11:24 AM | 2 Comments | No TrackBacks

by Nigel Leaney

For a number of years I've been a non-car user. My main modes of transport are my push bike and the occasional over-priced train. I guess I'm lucky that I'm able to make a choice.

Continue reading Fuel costs: it's time to ditch the car.

Mental health, work, and new incapacity benefit rules

By Adam McCulloch on July 16, 2008 11:01 AM | 3 Comments | No TrackBacks

by Helen Waddell

Because of the disabling symptoms of schizoaffective disorder I am unable to work, and obtain an income by claiming incapacity benefit. I feel relieved that I will not be subject to the criteria under which new claimants for its replacement - the employment and support allowance - will be assessed.

Continue reading Mental health, work, and new incapacity benefit rules.

Information is power in the personalisation age

By Adam McCulloch on July 16, 2008 10:47 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

By Simon Stevens

In the 1980s, the US was seen as a country where the customer was always right. I have the image of a large American in a restaurant ordering his fries, telling the waiter the precise temperature he expects them to arrive at the table at. But that level of confidence, or maybe arrogance, requires a high degree of information, where the customer ends up knowing more about the product than anyone who works for the company does.

Continue reading Information is power in the personalisation age.

Youth Action Plan should have gone further

By Adam McCulloch on July 15, 2008 5:06 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

By Penelope Gibbs, Prison Reform Trust

He who pays the piper calls the tune. Or at least has greater influence over the tune. If local authorities paid for child custody, they would surely gain more control over where children are placed and the quality of regimes. And have a greater incentive to stop children being imprisoned. The government's new Youth Crime Action Plan has flirted with the idea of delegating the custody budget but not championed it. It proposes making the costs of custody more visible to inform debate "on whether, in the long term, local authorities should be responsible for the placement and funding of custodial placements".

Continue reading Youth Action Plan should have gone further.

Outsourcing Abuse

By Allan Norman on July 15, 2008 10:27 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

by Allan Norman

There I was, only yesterday, flippantly comparing caselaw developments for destitute asylum seekers to a particularly abstruse game of Mornington Crescent. I ended by observing:

Warning: you should not play 'Destitution at Mornington Crescent' unless you know the Rules currently being played. Real, vulnerable, people can be badly hurt by miscalled moves!

Just hours later, I was brought up sharp with a reminder of just how vulnerable, and how badly hurt, when the publication, 'Outsourcing Abuse' by Birnberg Pierce Solicitors, Medical Justice and NCADC was launched. It tells of hundreds of assaults on asylum seekers being deported: "casual racism and inhumanity from officers employed by the Home Office and its subcontracted private companies".

Continue reading Outsourcing Abuse.

Destitution at Mornington Crescent

By Allan Norman on July 14, 2008 5:34 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

by Allan Norman

Some will know this tube station lies on the Northern Line between Euston and Camden Town, but only if playing by the 'Charing Cross Branch' Rules. More of you will have heard of the Radio 4 panel show game, played by other rules. The game is one of great skill and strategy, but the rules are, let's face it, obscure.

Having heard argument from Slough on 9th and 10th June, on social work's duties to destitute and ill failed asylum seekers, the House of Lords is due to play 'Destitution at Mornington Crescent' in the next few days. They have yet to announce which Rules they will play by, but in anticipation I thought I would remind you of the key moves in the game so far:

Continue reading Destitution at Mornington Crescent.

'Why I, a direct payment user, employed a carer without a CRB check'

By Keith Sellick on July 4, 2008 12:18 PM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

By Simon Heng

Users of direct payments are guilty of workforce practices that would be unacceptable within care agencies or local authorities, says the recent Skills for Care study.

Nearly half of the interviewees had appointed assistants without a Criminal Records Bureau check, and a similar proportion had appointed people without taking up their references.

Continue reading 'Why I, a direct payment user, employed a carer without a CRB check'.

Learning Disability Coalition launch: hobnobbing & name dropping

By Andrew Holman on July 3, 2008 10:10 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

by Andrew Holman

Last night's evening at Portcullis House, parliament's extension building along the road, was very pleasant, despite the purpose of the event. The Learning Disability Coalition was launching their report 'Tell it like it is', the results of a survey of people with a learning disability and their carers.

The report comes up with unsurprising results, very many people have experienced cuts across the board. There were however some positives, Direct Payments and Individual Budgets had done some good, along with free bus passes. The cuts to support for employment should worry the minister, given the central place jobs will have in Valuing People Now.

Continue reading Learning Disability Coalition launch: hobnobbing & name dropping.

The freak show is back

By Adam McCulloch on July 1, 2008 4:05 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

By Simon Stevens

Did you see you the programme last week on the man with two heads? Or the woman with three livers? No? If you did it would be very odd as I made them up but I would not be surprised if such programmes were being produced.

Continue reading The freak show is back.

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