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The UK's social services departments are facing significant difficulties. There are many vacant posts, and budgets for mainstream services are being reduced. Staff are working very long hours and are suffering from stress and poor health.

The United Kingdom government has launched a scheme Supporting People to improve services for those in sheltered or supported housing. The impact this scheme will have on four projects where people at risk are cared for is explored.

The United Kingdom government set up the National Asylum Support Service in April 2000 to spread asylum seekers throughout the country. The problems of this system and the benefits including spreading the cost are discussed.

Issues are presented concerning the difficulties faced by carers who look after mentally ill family members with very little support from medical establishments or the social services. The psychological pressures they face are discussed.

The implications for social care of the government's Connexions scheme, which is aimed at young people who are not involved in education, training or work, are considered.

The issues facing the caring professions with regard to concerns about false allegations in recent court cases involving physical and sexual abuse, are examined.

Issues concerning the rise in social workers taking early retirement or excessive days off for sickleave due to job stress are discussed, with changes in management suggested to improve matters.

Social work students are different from their counterparts on other courses. For a start they often surface before midday but they are also older. In an exclusive Community Care survey [...]

One in seven qualified social workers won't register with the General Social Care Council 'until forced to', exclusive Community Care research has revealed. Although 96 per cent of the 1,000 [...]

Does the Data Protection Act work? Recent cases suggest that organisations are utterly confused by it. Is that because of their lack of common sense or is it the law [...]

2003 started with the Victoria Climbie Report and ended with a government commitment to radically alter the shape and direction of children's services. Natalie Valios, Ruth Winchester and Anabel Unity [...]

Changes are at last on the way for people with dementia. Ruth Winchester finds hope for those who need to access treatment, but the bill for long-term care could be [...]

Are 24-hour services and shift-working the way forward for social services, asks Ruth Winchester Sod's law states that if there's going to be a crisis, it will happen at the [...]

New government guidelines should improve consistency in deciding who is entitled to care packages. But local resources will remain the final arbiter, says Ruth Winchester On 7 April, a new [...]

Ruth Winchester looks at respite fostering, which allows a child to go to a carer for a short break while still maintaining the family unit and the parental role W [...]

Councils will not be allowed to delay the introduction of the new Fair Access to Care Services eligibility criteria. Revised guidance from the Department of Health says they have 'had [...]

For a government dedicated to improving educational standards, tackling social exclusion and reducing crime, cutting truancy - with its links to all three - must seem the answer to many [...]

A report by MPs into investigations of historic abuse in children's homes has challenged police investigative methods and raised doubts about past convictions. Ruth Winchester [...]

Women from ethnic minorities, and recent immigrants, who suffer domestic violence face an uphill struggle to gain help. Ruth Winchester reports Domestic violence is surrounded by myths and stereotypes. The [...]

One in 10 teenagers suffers mental illness, but few are prepared to admit it in case their peers ostracise or bully them. Ruth Winchester reports on how to combat the [...]

Sarah Wellard reports on how overstretched mental health services are challenged by the use of drugs by young people with mental illness Why do around half of young people with [...]

New bursaries for social work are being introduced to attract students - but are they enough, asks Ruth Winchester There is something inventive and appealing about the government's TV adverts [...]

GPs face a variety of difficulties serving asylum seekers, but well-organised social care services can help lighten the load. Ruth Winchester reports All asylum seekers - even those awaiting deportation [...]

The quality of life in Gerrards Cross is high but this can emphasise the gap between rich and poor, says Anabel Unity Sale Gerrards Cross is a picturesque village in [...]

Despite a national reputation as an affluent area, the Wirral also contains the ward with the worst rates of child poverty in England, reports Ruth Winchester The Wirral is a [...]

When the government came into power in 1997, the research community gave thanks. The incoming Labour administration was wedded to the idea of basing policies on evidence, rather than on [...]

During the racial disturbances in the north of England last summer, a number of community leaders went out onto the streets to appeal for calm. Not only did they have [...]

John Gooch (not his real name) is 15 and comes from a home where violence was commonplace. He was continually bullied at school, and eventually stopped going altogether when he [...]

The carers grant has been doubled and its long-term future secured as part of a new spending programme on adult care. But even now less than 5 per cent of [...]

Although young offenders are assessed to find out the reasons for their behaviour, there is currently no routine screening for mental health problems. Natalie Valios reports Young people within the [...]

Services for people with dementia are suffering as homes close and recruitment problems mount against the background of an ageing population. Ruth Winchester reports One in 20 people aged 65 [...]

Everyone agrees that home care with support is preferable to institutionalised care, but outlooks diverge among health and social care professionals once the front door has been opened and the [...]

Paediatric hospital social workers are often squeezed between the medical staff they work alongside and their council counterparts. Ruth Winchester examines the unclear professional boundaries and how this can contribute [...]

Schools are ideally placed to alert the police and social services over abuse concerns, but there is no statutory responsibility for them to carry out this role. This blows a [...]

Barbara Roche, minister for social exclusion, outlined a number of her unit's key projects during a question and answer session. She said that the social exclusion unit's main schemes had [...]

A spokesperson for the Victoria Climbi? Inquiry has denied claims that it is costing taxpayers ?7m. Speaking at the Association of Directors of Social Work annual conference in Dunblane earlier [...]

In the first of a series focusing on child protection in the light of the Victoria Climbi? Inquiry, Ruth Winchester looks at factors that limit the effectiveness of area child [...]

Caring for young children who behave sexually towards other children and adults is among the toughest tasks faced by both foster carers and other professionals. Ruth Winchester reports Many adults [...]

Delayed discharge erodes older people's quality of life and sense of independence. It also costs a lot and has threatened to derail the government's waiting time targets. So will the [...]

National Care Standards Commission chairperson Anne Parker has warned that it may be unrealistic to expect the new watchdog to pay for itself in the long term. The commission, which [...]

The long-awaited National Care Standards Commission is hatching. Ruth Winchester talks to chairperson Anne Parker about how it intends to start work and gauges what sort of reception the new [...]

Social services are experts among council departments on Best Value. But while the cost effectiveness initiative has achieved improvements for service users, problems remain with inspections and red tape. Ruth [...]

The government has been applauded for supporting local community decision-making in its neighbourhood renewal drive, but engaging small local groups and channelling their funds have not gone smoothly, reports Ruth [...]

Care home owners are uniting to force local authorities to raise fee levels. It is a desperate move but homes, councils, and residents are running out of options. Ruth Winchester [...]

Labour education and technology minister Michael Wills believes the Internet can solve social exclusion - but getting it wrong means widening of the skills gap. He spoke to RUTH WINCHESTER […]

You can't get more 'old economy' than the print industry, but Ruth Winchester found one print firm that has opened its eyes to e-commerce Printing has been poetically described as […]

Some innovative ways of becoming a qualified social worker are discussed, focusing on work-based routes. A case study of Suffolk County Council's one-day-a-week DipSW course is included.

Issues concerning the use of headhunters as recruitment specialists for senior management posts in social service department are discussed, with emphasis on cost control, experience and the use of positive discrimination.

The possible impact of race on the case of Victoria Climbie, who died after being abused by adults responsible for her care, is considered. This case raises wider issues about possible reluctance among social workers to intervene when they may be accused of racism.