January 2008 Archives

by Lauren Revans

The case of a newborn baby removed from his 18-year-old mother – known only as G – despite no care order being in place is undoubtedly an example of poor practice. Put quite simply, the legal processes that should have been followed before a child can be taken into care were not.

But the profession must not allow this story to be hijacked by the ‘baby-snatcher’ brigade. As soon as this story broke, certain elements of the press immediately started churning out stories about social workers removing children from vulnerable families to meet government-set adoption targets.

Topics for this weeks feature articles included staff retention; child protection and funding.

Anabel Unity Sale looked at how councils hold onto exceptionally talented staff, and the programmes they are developing to identify and nurture them, in her article Let the star shine through

by David Ord

The UK’s first playground designed specifically for the over-70’s has opened in Blackley, near Manchester.

by Mike McNabb

Do parents tell their children about sex these days? Can they be bothered? Or are they simply too embarrassed?

The fact that the UK's teenage pregnancy rate is exceeded only by that of the United States suggests something is missing in our young people's social and emotional education. And in their parents' duty of care.

by Sally Gillen

Killing two birds with one stone appears to be the aim of the government’s proposal to introduce Newly Qualified Social Worker status. The Department for Children, Schools and Families has allocated £21m from 2008-11 to fund pilots which will look at what social workers need when they start practising and last week the Department of Health announced that it would look at ways of supporting new social workers.

By Caroline Lovell

At least 450,000 older people, who self-fund or fail to meet tightening eligibility criteria, are “lost in the system” and left with major shortfalls in their personal social care, the Commission for Social Care Inspection warned today.

by Natalie Valios

The BBC is setting up a social networking site of its own and no doubt it would love it to be as successful as the likes of Facebook, MySpace and Bebo. But it’s not for adults, but for its CBeebies audience of six- to 12-year-olds.

by Lauren Revans

A consensus appears to be emerging from Westminster over the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill – namely that there is plenty of room for improvement.

By lumping youth justice together with other aspects of the criminal justice and immigration systems (rather than affording the subject its own dedicated bill as promised), fears of corners being cut and opportunities being missed now appear to be in real danger of being realised.

by Maria Ahmed

The Daily Mail has long been the scourge of social care professionals for its often controversial stories on all things concerning the sector. Now the paper's methods are laid bare a new book on how journalism really works.

Politics was on the agenda for this weeks main feature article, as Helen Mooney asked "Why does social care have such a low profile amongst influential MP's, in "Left on the Shelf".

by Mike McNabb

When did you first have an alcoholic drink? No, not this morning, but in your life?
If you were younger than 13 - and I was - you are in good company. Or bad company, depending on your viewpoint.

by Simeon Brody

The BBC is running a programme tonight at 8pm on Radio 4 about whether anything has changed since the Laming Report in 2003.

by Amy Taylor

The NHS was set up to provide healthcare based on need not the ability to pay - unless you are a failed asylum seeker that is.

Earlier this week 275 GPs spoke out against the government's plans to deny failed asylum seekers free access to their services. The move comes on the back of charges for hospital care for the group, brought in in April 2004.

There was a sporting angle to this weeks lead feature, as Derren Hayes look at Glasgow's successful bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the emphasis placed on community renewal, in his article Regeneration Games

by Mike McNabb

Whether the Watford footballer Al Bangura will turn into a star is impossible to predict.

What is certain is that the 19-year-old midfielder from Sierra Leone has been given permission to remain and work in the UK after a protracted battle with the Home Office against deportation.

by Adam McCulloch

An acquaintance of mine recently resigned from her job as a home care worker to begin a new life as a shelf stacker, working a shift in a hypermarket from 9pm to 3am. What could be worse than that, you might ask. Well, being a home care worker for one thing.

by Mithran Samuel

My colleague Mike McNabb yesterday questioned whether free personal care was a lost cause - outside Scotland that is - in a fine blog. I believe that it is, and far from this being a bad thing, it is right that it is off the political agenda. Indeed, the introduction of free personal care would entail an unjustified subsidy for the rich, who can afford to pay for their care, sucking away vital resources from those with the least means and the greatest needs.

by Maria Ahmed

As a healthy, solvent 35-year-old with my own home, no debts and only the usual swings and roundabouts of everyday life to contend with, calling a social worker for help has never been on my agenda. But it won’t always be so. Old age and illness are unavoidable – but will the state care for me when my time comes?

by Mike McNabb

Trickle, trickle. Since the launch of the welfare state after the second world war we have slowly become accustomed to paying for the services originally intended as being funded wholly by tax.

By Amy Taylor

On a recent trip to a council in the West of England I was struck by the difference in the level of services offered to young people in need who become homeless at the ages of 16 or 17 and those leaving care. While both groups often seemed to have similar problems, a need for accommodation, an increased likelihood to have mental health problems and drug and alcohol problems and low educational attainment, the services available to care leavers and what they are entitled to is far superior.

by Simeon Brody

A free course is being offered to senior frontline public sector workers, including social workers, to improve leadership skills.

To see in the New Year, Community Care ran a special Green issue. Here are the main features from the issue

In the lead feature, Lauren Revans looked at how simple eco-friendly changes in working practice can help, in her piece "Clean up your act"

by Natalie Valios

Diets. I’m sick to the back teeth of the word already and it’s only the second week of January. With, it would appear, so many women putting dieting at the top of their new year’s resolutions I fear I’m going to hear a lot more about them.

by Mike McNabb

It wouldn’t have been the first time that a film has been made about a child’s mysterious disappearance.

By Caroline Lovell

It looks like the Tories have finally gone back to their roots with radical welfare reforms that treat the unemployed like criminals.

by Keith Sellick

Is ecstasy safer than aspirin? Well, most probably not. But a chief constable, described by the Daily Mail in a headline as being the “most idiotic police chief in Britain”, has come out saying as such on BBC Radio Four recently.

By Caroline Lovell

Traffic wardens are probably the most hated of professions. But what do they expect when they dish out parking fines to disabled people for simply sticking the blue badge upside down on the dashboard of a car?

by Simeon Brody

Where was the recognition for social care in the New Year Honours List? It was as usual dominated by sportsmen and women, business tycoons and pop stars. Or was it?