social work and social workers

Presents the findings of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee which aimed to investigate the performance of the care system in England, consider whether the Governments proposals for reform were soundly based, and to find out whether the Care Matters programme would be effective in helping looked after children.

This lecture was presented by Philippe van Parijs from the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium, with a response from Sir Tony Atkinson, Nuffield College, Oxford. In this lecture, he argues for the introduction of a basic income unconditionally paid to all.

The New Policy Institute has produced its 2008 edition of indicators of poverty and social exclusion in Scotland, providing a comprehensive analysis of trends and differences between groups. Based on the latest available data, its starting point is that, while child and pensioner poverty in Scotland has fallen over the last decade, poverty among working-age adults has remained the same.

This study examined parenting during early and middle childhood within different social and cultural groups in Britain, using a ‘parenting score’ derived from different measurements of parents’ relationships with their children. The study was based on parents’ reports of attitudes, feelings and behaviour recorded in response to specific questions relating to parenting. The study also assessed changes in parenting across time.

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) was commissioned by the Department of Health to consult on the green paper Independence, well-being and choice: Our vision for the future of social care for adults in England with service users (or potential service users) who are seldom heard or often described as being ‘hard to reach.'

Article which summarises the methods and findings of a study which examined the role of social care professionals in extended schools and children's centres. It was found that the extended school environment can help strengthen multi-agency relationships. The research was conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research.

A report from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education and the Social Work Inspectorate, which covers the results of an inspection into the social work and educational services provided to meet the educational needs of children in the care of local authorities.

This report outlines the findings of a case management inquiry into the way in which a young man was placed by the Adult Placement Service in a family where he then seriously abused two children. The inquiry considers events in the areas of: response to the need for an emergency placement; care planning; and the Social Services Directorate's policy and procedures. Failure of the Leaving Care Team to carry out a risk assessment or pass on information about previous incidents to the Adult Placement Service are highlighted. Recommendations are included.

Scottish Government publication aimed at preventing offending by young people. It outlines a shared ambition of what the government and its partners want to do to as national and local agencies to prevent, divert, manage and change offending behaviour by children and young people - and how they want to do it.

The framework is broad in its scope, spanning prevention, diversion, intervention and risk management, with reference to the individual, the family and the wider community. It reaches from pre-birth and early years to the transition to adult services.