Multiple and complex needs found in backgrounds of children deprived of liberty – Community Care

The multiple and complex needs of children made the subject of deprivation of liberty (DoL) orders have been laid bare in an analysis published last week. The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (Nuffield FJO) found that children had, on average, 4.2 of a set of 11 indicators of need or risk, including mental health issues, disability, […]

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‘Nuffield FJO director Lisa Harker warned: “Improving provision for this group of children is an urgent necessity; it is not only about building new children’s homes for the future, it is about urgently meeting the needs of children today.

“It will require a nationwide strategy, with significant commitment at a local and national level, led by national government. We know that a wide range of professionals, including senior members of the judiciary, have been actively and consistently calling for action to address the gross lack of suitable provision.” ‘

This is so true and I so doubt this government and any future government will take any action, let alone all actions.

Yes, new buildings or even adapted old ones are not, anywhere near the full requirement. For any building needs to be sufficiently and appropriately staffed and with the current vacancies it is hard to see where any of these staff will be coming from.

Providing staff of the required numbers is only just a part of the problem for they need much approrpriate training in many increasing areas, for while one child may be similar to another, that is not correct, for every child will have their own distinction needs in many areas. Understanding each child is a major requirement, as before any solutions are found the full extent of all problems need to be known and there is no room for assumptions. These problems could well change during any time period and these changes also need to be recognised whenever they occur or occurring and the right ways of dealing have to be there immediately.

For in many instances situations have been made much worse due to incorrect ways of dealing with situations being done, when other ways would have had more success. It is understanding each child and not just following a standard Rulebook, especially one which allows no other interventions.

It is inevitable that on occasions some ways may not be fully correct, and in these actions need to be taken very soon as possible.

But it is not just the children that need support for the staff there also need to be well supported, but not to instigate some coverup, as if wrongs have been done then covering up is also so wrong. But staff will need some support, some more than others, certainly emotional and many others.

But, in many instances it will be the lack of resources in many other areas, mental health for one, but they will be and are many others.

None of this will be easy and without sufficient and sustainable financing, both Government to LAs and then LAs to the facilities, successes will not be forthcoming, for it will lead to complete failure, as we have seen and are seeing with the current and previous lack of funding in these very essential services.

It is not that we can’t afford to fund, but that we can’t afford not to fund.

Safeguarding has always to be a major requirement and so essential.

But what is really required is a fully caring government, but then do I believe in miracles?

Source: Multiple and complex needs found in backgrounds of children deprived of liberty – Community Care

Why have so many children’s homes opened in Blackpool? – BBC News

A good question and maybe answered by the article, in that, properties are so cheap in Blackpool. But surely that should not be the only consideration, as the children in question will be much more vulnerable than children are in general and therefore their safety and safeguarding should be as equally important, if not, more so. That is expressly so, when so many of the children will be so far from their original home and their families.

It appears the children’s safety is not taking the concern it should be, as it seems that a building, any old building will do and, in many instances they will not be registered with Ofsted, which should at least one of the requirements, irrespective of the age of the children. This is so much necessary for homes for vulnerable adults have to be registered with the CQC, Care Quality Commission, surely children 16-17 are not falling through a gap in the system, in not being registered as children with Ofsted and adults with CQC.

To wait until when the revised Dols safeguarding criteria be altered to the LPS, Liberty Protection Service, is enacted is not acceptable as currently, I believe no date is set. It should have been already on 1 October 2020, but was delayed due to COVID, and pressures on Health and Social Care with other dates mentioned but not enforced as there was considerable delay to this Government issuing the Consultation documents, which while now issued and closed, is now being studied further.

This state of affairs with Blackpool being so much the centre needs urgent action, otherwise the vulnerable children will be even more vulnerable as they were initially.

This is no where what a caring society should be and shows a distinct lack of caring, accountability and transparency on all areas concerned and not for the first time, so ‘lessons are not being learned’. Not sure if this is because no wishes to are other forces are involved, but, lessons do need to be learned, otherwise vulnerable children will not only continue to have causes for concern, but these will be considerably increased, eventually leading to major safeguarding issues occurring, which they may be doing so currently. But, when they do, not if they do, all will so ignorance when it will not be ignorance, but completely lack of accountability and transparency, which we have already seen in so many areas, with apparent no degree of concern from this Government.

 

Source: Why have so many children’s homes opened in Blackpool? – BBC News

Lancaster University intranasal vaccine offers promise to block COVID-19 where it starts | Lancaster University

Research by Lancaster University scientists to create a COVID-19 vaccine which can be administered through the nose has taken a significant step forward.

Source: Lancaster University intranasal vaccine offers promise to block COVID-19 where it starts | Lancaster University

U.S. tech companies disappointed with DACA ruling, urge Congress to act | Reuters

Some U.S. tech companies expressed disappointment with a ruling by a federal judge that blocked new applications to a program that protects immigrants who were brought to the United States as children from deportation.

Source: U.S. tech companies disappointed with DACA ruling, urge Congress to act | Reuters

Jacob Rees Mogg says Unicef should be ‘ashamed’ for feeding Britain’s hungry kids – Mirror Online

Jacob Rees Mogg is an utter disgrace, for instead to degrading the actions of Unicef, he and the rest of this Tory Government should be doing more to ensure the children of Southwark, South London and all other children in other areas of the UK are not going hungry.

He will not understand what hunger is, not with all his wealth, for he would not be able to stand going hungry for a day, let alone weeks, months, years.

 

 

Source: Jacob Rees Mogg says Unicef should be ‘ashamed’ for feeding Britain’s hungry kids – Mirror Online

95% of decisions in favour of parents, but nobody wins at the SEND Tribunal – Special Needs Jungle

Unfortunately Local Authorities (LAs) are not only not working with the ‘best interests’ of children under ‘SEND’ or ‘SENDIST’, as they also are not in many assessments of Need for both children and adults.

Are they doing this deliberately, I feel they are, but not because they are mean and wish to do do, although some may, no it is because LAs have been left desperately short of funding, due to 10 years of austerity cuts and the the additional costs of COVID-19.

In fact, social care has never been sufficiently funded and this is purely down to successive Government in depriving LAs of sufficient funding, not only for social care, but many other essential services.

Also when Governments put additional responsibilities on LAs, the Government fail to provide the additional funding to allow the LAs to successfully manage these additional responsibilities.

To a large extent this is also the care with health care (NHS), but no where to the same degree.

Is it that these Governments do not understand LAs and especially Social Care, well to some extent this can be so, but they also see LAs as a means to save on funding, as they do not fully understand the needs.

This has been recently be shown in the Governments handling of PPE during this COVID-19 pandemic. for they could not see the need to have a large stock of PPE, but would assume that they just need supplies to cover the usual demand, and felt if that demand increase it would be easy to obtain additional supplies, which COVID-19 has proved is a false premise.

But like LAs in their dealings with SEND and SENDIST, they never learn and only look to make saving, when, effectively saving are not there to be made, it is pure incompetence.

So when, it is clear needs are not being covered or they spend money they can ill afford to in defence of indefensible legal cases, this leads LAs to be even more short of funding, rather than cut their losses and pay or provide what they should have done initially.

This, in turn, creates an impossible situation for the persons in need and their families, who are already in very stressful situations and they should not be subjected to immense further stress from LAs and technically Governments.

The leaders of LAs in challenging the Tribunal’s to be changed is far from the answer, but LAs see this has the easiest option.

For the LAs are completely ‘at fault’ and so are the Government, but to challenge the Government for more substantial is much more difficult.

In addition the need to have Social Care, which is effectively as important as health care and could be more so, is far from recognised by Government and unfortunately a sizeable portion of the UK population. For, if you are not in need of Social care, many will not see its importance, that is, until they require it for themselves or for a loved family member.

Most people use health care. but not the same proportion use social care, so social care is not recognise as a very essential service, when it really is.

This Government needs to do, urgently, to reverse the non-actions of itself and many previous Governments and immediately provide all the funding for LAs to provide all that is required within Social Care, which will include SEND and SENDIST.

For this reason and many more, I created the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care,

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care.

Please show your support for children and adults in need of social care, by signing the petition and then sharing.

 

Source: 95% of decisions in favour of parents, but nobody wins at the SEND Tribunal – Special Needs Jungle

When can children get the COVID-19 vaccine? 5 questions parents are asking

This article looks at the vaccines for children and it appears that work has already been started or is soon to start, but there is still, at least, one other area and this is for adults with learning disabilities (Intellectual Disabilities) and Autism who are needle averse, for in this area needle injections are not possible.

The adults are very vulnerable, but as I see it there is no work taking place in that direction.

With regards to Flu these adults can be given the nasal spray, which is generally given to children under 12 years, but it is not as effective as the injection, but something is better than nothing.

 

Source: When can children get the COVID-19 vaccine? 5 questions parents are asking

Council proposes to increase social worker caseloads to help address financial crisis| Community Care

The Government is wrong again for it is totally inappropriate for local government secretary Robert Jenrick to say the the authority had been “entirely irresponsible with their spending and investments”.

For it is the Government who are entirely irresponsible with their funding of not just Croydon, but all Local Authorities (LAs).

The funding of Social Care has never been sufficiently funded, even before 1970, when LAs were made responsible for all Social Care and the 10 years of austerity cuts only compounded this and then the additional costs related to COVID-19 made a very bad situation even worse.

Yes, the Government has provided some extra funding for COVID-19 costs incurred, but again the Government funding fell way short of what is required.

We all wonder what this Government is good at, well they are certainly good at getting things wrong, in fact on this they are exceptional, something they have fully mastered.

 

Source: Council proposes to increase social worker caseloads to help address financial crisis | Community Care

Autism in children: ‘Many families face council discrimination’ – BBC News

Dozens of English councils discriminate against children with autism, legal experts say.

Source: Autism in children: ‘Many families face council discrimination’ – BBC News

Clear masks for caregivers mean young children can keep learning from adults’ faces : The Conversation

With caregivers’ faces covered, infants and young children will miss out on all the visual cues they’d normally get during stages of rapid developmental growth.

Source: Clear masks for caregivers mean young children can keep learning from adults’ faces : The Conversation