Latest news with #socialworkers
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
'Inadequate' Halton children's services improving
Improvements have been made to a council's under-fire children's services department after being told it was failing but there remains "more to do", inspectors have Borough Council's children's services department was rated "inadequate" in all four areas of its inspection by Ofsted in May last was criticised for a lack of "stable and effective leadership" and "workforce instability", with a government inspector being sent in to help turn things around and a new department head was also has now published the results of a a two-day monitoring visit in April which found "strong political and corporate support" and "significant additional investment" was supporting progress towards improvement. In a letter to head of department Zoe Fearon published online, Ofsted said: "There is a refreshed recruitment strategy and more social workers have become permanent."Social workers have been provided with a wide range of training. The learning from training is supporting social workers to consolidate, refresh and develop their practice. This training is starting to impact positively on children's experiences." 'Increasing stability' However, the letter said that for some children, what it called "inconsistent management oversight" was not supporting timely decision continued: "There is more to do to ensure that children's individual needs inform the social work response. There is not a consistently effective response to children living in private fostering arrangements."In specific relation to fostering arrangements, the headline findings said for some children, there were "delays" in the initiation of private fostering assessments and the completion of full statutory checks, which "created uncertainty" about the safety and suitability of each fostering inspection took in a range of evidence, including electronic records, performance management information, case file audits and other information provided by senior managers and staff, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. Their report added: "Once arrangements are approved, not all children receive the appropriate levels of management oversight."This means that any emerging needs and risk may not be responded to in a timely and effective way. There is more to do to raise awareness of private fostering and embed more consistent practice."The council has relied on significant numbers of temp agency social workers in the past, which had also resulted in large overspends due to the increased the report said there had been increasing stability in the workforce as well as training which had led to more purposeful "direct work" with children and families. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to
BBC News
6 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
New team helps cut Wolverhampton adult social care waiting times
The creation of a new adult social care team has helped to reduce waiting times for people seeking support in Wolverhampton, the council has of Wolverhampton Council recently established the front door team as part of its programme to transform adult social care in the acts as a first point of contact for vulnerable adults who need directing to what support is available, and the authority said it had helped to simplify the process for to the council, it has helped to cut the time it takes for people to get support from months to fewer than five days in most cases. The number of people needing help from social workers has also reduced by half due to the front door team being able to resolve their issues. 'Top priority' The authority's transformation programme, which includes providing more community-based services outside of care homes, came amid rising demand for adult social care in the city, with an increase of 31% over the last five budget for care packages has also increased by £44.6m in that time, with a further £1m approved for 2025 to Paula Brookfield, the council's cabinet member for adults, said adult social care was a "top priority" for people in Wolverhampton."We are determined to ensure adult social care services are the best they can possibly be, but we must also be mindful that the increase in costs which we have seen in recent years is not sustainable in the long term," she said. Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
CBC
27-05-2025
- CBC
'I went about it all the wrong way,' says N.B. man convicted of child abduction in N.L.
Wilbur Crockwell insists he only meant to help his 14-year-old former stepdaughter leave a troubled life behind in 2023, when he aided her in fleeing a group home in Newfoundland and attempted to move her to New Brunswick with him. Now, after sparking an Amber Alert and pleading guilty to child abduction, he says he sees the error of his ways. "I didn't realize the impact my actions would create and I realize I went about it all the wrong way," he said in court at a sentencing hearing on Monday in St. John's. Crown prosecutor Kellie Cullihall is asking the judge for a 12-month prison sentence, while defence lawyer Robert Hoskins countered with a request for house arrest ranging between 8-14 months. Crockwell's case put the public on high alert two years ago, prompting a rare Amber Alert in Newfoundland and Labrador. The girl was first reported missing on June 2, 2023, when she failed to report back to her group home in St. John's. Police and social workers immediately suspected Crockwell — her mother's former boyfriend — was involved in the girl's disappearance, according to evidence presented at a bail hearing after his arrest. The 14-year-old was picked up at a nearby mall by two friends of Crockwell, and driven to a remote cabin in central Newfoundland — about four hours from the capital city. They drove her there to wait for Crockwell, who left New Brunswick to come pick her up. He was arrested halfway across the island, and police went to retrieve the girl from the cabin. When given a chance to speak on Monday, Crockwell sobbed as he told of how he met the girl's mother at church in New Brunswick and they moved in together soon after. He said he formed a close father-daughter relationship with the girl. Social workers had concerns about the relationship between them, however, at one point implementing a safety plan to ensure Crockwell was out of the home, according to evidence presented at his bail hearing. Despite this, Crockwell says the girl contacted him three months before the incident and told him she needed help leaving Newfoundland. "It broke my heart because she didn't belong there, and I didn't want her to have the life that I had in the system," said Crockwell, alluding to his upbringing in numerous foster homes. "I wanted to protect her from hitch-hiking across three provinces to get to me, so I arranged for her to get a ride out to central where I would meet her a week later." Both of the adults who brought the girl to central Newfoundland — Erin Bast and Cyril Boone — were also charged with child abduction. Boone's charges were dismissed, while Bast pleaded guilty last year. The Crown and defence submitted a joint submission for Bast, seeking eight months of house arrest in her case. Judge Jacqueline Brazil questioned how the culpability of Crockwell and Bast was any different, to which the Crown replied Crockwell was like the robber, while Bast was the getaway driver. Brazil said she's heard many prosecutors argue the driver is just as culpable, and indicated she has leeway to break from the joint submission. "If you believe the sentence is unfit, you can absolutely rule something different," said Cullihall. Brazil will release her decision for Crockwell and Bast on Aug. 13. Girl says she just wanted to escape group home In a victim impact statement, the 14-year-old girl says she feels awful for her role in the whole ordeal. "The biggest emotional impact I feel is guilt," she said. "The guilt of having all of this happen. I feel somewhat to blame myself for all of this." She says her biological father had died, and she just wanted to get back to her home province of New Brunswick. "Before all this happened, I wanted more than anything to get out of the group home and off the island because I felt trapped and alone with no way to ever get out. I lost everything," she said. She said she was going to leave "one way or another," with or without Crockwell's help. After a week at the cabin with Boone and Bast, the girl said she realized how "irresponsible" her plan had been. She referred to Crockwell as her stepdad, and said she feels bad for getting him in trouble. Crockwell is also charged with making, possessing and accessing child pornography. That case will be called for a status report at provincial court in St. John's on Friday.
CTV News
26-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Gateways Counselling - Vital roles of Social Workers
Gateways Counselling - Vital roles of Social Workers Gateways Counselling's Ramona Wijesinghe shares with us some of the roles social workers play in our community, regulations and challenges #sponsoredcontent
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Why Japan is still clinging to ‘excessive' Covid-19 visitation curbs at hospitals
Much of the world may have moved on from the coronavirus pandemic, but a painful legacy lingers in Japan : hospitals continuing to restrict patient visitations, even in the case of people wishing to see terminally ill loved ones. Advertisement In early 2025, Japan marked five years since its first Covid-19 case, after which the disease claimed more than 130,000 lives up until August 2024. Infections have reappeared in seasonal waves even after the government downgraded the threat in May 2023 and placed Covid-19 in the same risk category as seasonal influenza. For families who want to see hospitalised loved ones, Japan appears to be stuck in time. Hospital websites continue to post 'Covid-19' bulletins about visitations such as requiring masks and temperature checks, setting time limits and restricting the number of visitors. Now a group of doctors and social workers is demanding the restrictions be abolished or curbed, calling them a violation of human rights. Advertisement 'It's unthinkable to me that they're still this strict,' said a doctor in his 30s from the Tokyo metropolitan area on condition of anonymity, expressing a mixture of surprise and disgust at the continued Covid policies.
