The Social Care Experts Blog

I'm still allowed to blog!

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:35:54 +0000

by Allan Norman

Therefore, since law itself is perfect wrong
How can the law forbid my tongue to curse?
Shakespeare, King John, Act III, Scene I

The judgement of the Scottish High Court of Justiciary last month in Anwar, Re Possible Contempt Of Court [2008] ScotHC HCJAC_36 (01 July 2008) comes as something of a relief to me. I'm still allowed to blog!

If there are any regular readers out there, you may know I mentioned this case before. Anwar is a human rights lawyer who was referred for contempt of court after criticising his client's trial. Specifically, he asserted that his client "was today found guilty of doing what millions of young people do every day, looking for answers on the internet."

Olympic triumphs without the hype

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:12:31 +0000

By Simon Heng

The media define swimming great Michael Phelps as disabled because he has ADHD. The Paralympics will show us otherwise

Light touch supervision threat to older people

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:59:28 +0000

By Paul Lloyd

The government's plans for self-directed care will reduce checks on elder abuse to dangerously low levels, yet be more intrusive

Separating the care management role from the adult protection role, as envisaged in the Department of Health's Transforming Social Care (2008), could have serious repercussions for elder abuse.

It's now getting personal

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:55:06 +0000

By Peter Beresford

Social workers are seen as the baddy in the personalisation debate perhaps because they are no longer care managers

Social work conduct: who guards the guardians?

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:00:00 +0000

by the Fighting Monsters social work blogger

The GSCC's report on Social work conduct, which details the enquiries and investigations that have taken place, reports that less than 1% of the total registered workforce have had allegations raised against them.

Children's Databases, Lost Datasticks, and 'Informational' Social Work

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:54:00 +0000

by Allan Norman

I took part in an opinion poll recently, where I was asked questions about who I would trust with my data. Banks? The Health Service? The local authority? Education institutions? The government? My answer was, "none". My answer to the follow up question was that I was most likely to trust a small local business or organisation. To put it another way, it seems that my levels of trust are inversely related to the chances of the organisation in question having a detailed Data Protection Policy.

It is, of course, the loss of a data stick containing details of the prison population that prompted these reflections. I have commented on data protection before, how willing we are to understand that it encompasses and regulates whether we tell people things they need to know. How did we come to lose sight of the fact that Data Protection also encompasses protecting data on data sticks?

Social Work And Social Care: Time to learn something from the Olympic spirit?

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:43:07 +0000

by Peter Beresford

I never expected to hear myself say it, but the Beijing Olympics have given me a whole new sense of proportion. Suddenly I feel I have a proper perspective on issues of social care and human needs.

I would love to work...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:11:41 +0000

...to escape poverty. But the benefits system militates against helping disabled people into work, preferring to use sanctions, writes Simon Heng.

Bond of living together

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:07:58 +0000

Residential care may be unfashionable but its communal living can be a boon for those who otherwise would be lonely, writes Nigel Leaney

First things not first

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:59:43 +0000

Service users and their families need access to independent information and advice if personalisation is to work, says Stephen Burke

Jersey must learn lessons from the UK

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:07:52 +0000

by Liz Davies

Jersey care leavers and whistleblowers are fearing the worst - that the truth about child abuse including alleged murder may never be exposed, and perpetrators will not be brought to justice. For some of us who have been involved in the investigation of institutional and organised abuse since the early 1990's there is a sense of déjà vu.

World social work conference: a chance for social work to rediscover its self confidence

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:47:24 +0000

by David N Jones

The biannual General Meeting of the International Federation of Social Workers, is always held in association with the World Social Work Conference, this year held in Salvador, Brazil.

World conference of social work: where now for social work practice?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:07:49 +0000

by David N Jones

During the World Conference of Social Work in Brazil I have experienced for myself that Brazilians like to talk, they love rhetoric and respond enthusiastically to political speeches denouncing the evils of neo-liberalism and globalisation.

World conference of social work: the view from Brazil

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:54:58 +0000

by David N Jones

The 19th World Conference of Social Work is being held for the first time in Brazil - in Salvador, Bahia - from August 16 to 19, 2008. The Conference theme - 'The challenge of ensuring rights in a global and unequal society' - is timely considering the flagrant violation of human rights all over the world in recent years.

Rationing, Art and Unexpected Beauty

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:55:57 +0000

by Allan Norman

Art featured prominently in our recent course on rationing. Classical Art. Modern Art. Even Cartoons. But the frontispiece was this photography project image from a young person taking part in a community project. The images as a whole present a positive image reflecting unexpected beauty, and imaginative perspectives on the estate where the young people live: you can see more of them if you take the photography link from the Project's web pages.

But this particular image spoke of the predominance of negative messages being given to the young people by the signs around the estate. And it spoke to me of some of the ways in which we ration services.