Safer recruitment? protecting children, improving practice in residential child care

In the wake of a number of high-profile cases of the abuse of children and young people in residential child care, there have been repeated calls for the improvement of recruitment and selection of residential child care staff. This paper describes the findings from a survey, undertaken in 2005, of operational and human resource managers who have responsibility for the recruitment and selection of residential child care staff in the voluntary and statutory sectors in Scotland. This research was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to identify which elements of safer recruitment procedures had been implemented following the countrywide launch of a Toolkit for Safer Recruitment Practice in 2001. Research findings show that although local authorities were more likely than voluntary organisations to have gone some way toward implementing safer recruitment procedures, the recruitment process lacked rigour and commitment to safer procedures in some organisations. The article discusses the current barriers to the introduction of safer recruitment methods and proposes some possible solutions for the future

How our world is governed: a unit on three leading forms of government for tenth grade students of world history.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Development and examination of the reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder assessment interview

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ( DSM) categorizes reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and disinhibited social engagement disorder (DSED) as two separate disorders, and their criteria are revised. For DSED, the core symptoms focus on abnormal social disinhibition, and symptoms regarding lack of selective attachment have been removed. The core symptoms of RAD are the absence of attachment behaviors and emotional dysregulation. In this study, an international team of researchers modified the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment for RAD to update it from DSM-IV to DSM-5 criteria for RAD and DSED. We renamed the interview the reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder assessment (RADA). Foster parents of 320 young people aged 11 to 17 years completed the RADA online. Confirmatory factor analysis of RADA items identified good fit for a three-factor model, with one factor comprising DSED items (indiscriminate behaviors with strangers) and two factors comprising RAD items (RAD1: failure to seek/accept comfort, and RAD2: withdrawal/hypervigilance). The three factors showed differential associations with clinical symptoms of emotional and social impairment. Time in foster care was not associated with scores on RAD1, RAD2, or DSED. Higher age was associated with lower scores on DSED, and higher scores on RAD1

Career development and good practice in the retail sector in England: A national study to investigate the barriers to women's promotion to senior positions in retail management

The University of Bolton and The Centre for Diversity and Work Psychology, Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, conducted an important, ground-breaking national study co-financed by the European Social Fund. This study investigated career development issues and generated examples of good practice for women and men in middle and senior management positions in the retail industry (store managers to senior executives to board level). The results and recommendations from this study will be developed into guidelines for the Government and will be of value to the UK retail sector in ensuring the full utilisation of talents of both female and male employees

Transitional care in clinical networks for young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis: current situation and challenges

Clinical networks for paediatric and adolescent rheumatology are evolving, and their effect and role in the transition process between paediatric and adult services are unknown. We therefore explored the experiences of those involved to try and understand this further. Health professionals, young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and their families were recruited via five national health service paediatric and adolescent rheumatology specialist centres and networks across the UK. Seventy participants took part in focus groups and one-to-one interviews. Data was analysed using coding, memoing and mapping techniques to identify features of transitional services across the sector. Variation and inequities in transitional care exist. Although transition services in networks are evolving, development has lagged behind other areas with network establishment focusing more on access to paediatric rheumatology multidisciplinary teams. Challenges include workforce shortfalls, differences in service priorities, standards and healthcare infrastructures, and managing the legacy of historic encounters. Providing equitable high-quality clinically effective services for transition across the UK has a long way to go. There is a call from within the sector for more protected time, staff and resources to develop transition roles and services, as well as streamlining of local referral pathways between paediatric and adult healthcare services. In addition, there is a need to support professionals in developing their understanding of transitional care in clinical networks, particularly around service design, organisational change and the interpersonal skills required for collaborative working

Assessing mercury mobility in sediment of the Union Canal, Scotland, UK by sequential extraction and thermal desorption

The mobility of mercury (Hg) was assessed in sediment from the Union Canal, Scotland, UK. Samples collected from the vicinity of a former munitions factory that manufactured mercury fulminate detonators were subjected to sequential extraction followed by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS) and direct analysis using thermal desorption (TD). The sequential extraction indicated that > 75% of mercury (up to 429 mg kg −1 ) was in mobile forms, with 67% of the total Hg content was desorbed in the temperature range 100–250 °C consistent with species weakly attached to the mineral matrix [tentatively identified as an iron (oxy)hydroxide-associated species]. This predominance of mobile mercury species may arise from a lack of association between Hg and either organic matter or sulfur in the sediments. Further investigation of Hg mobilization, transport, and assimilation/biomagnification is required both to determine whether there is a need for remediation of the sediment and to improve understanding of the biogeochemical cycling of Hg in shallow, oxic, freshwater systems

Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and other adaptations – external review

A review of the operation of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) in England. The aim is to keep people living independently for longer and make the case for more joined-up action across housing, health and social care. It is a practical review that examines the evidence for what should change and how it should change. The first part covers the current situation including: funding; who receives the grant; type of work; costs and benefits to authorities; and processing times. The second part considers how the grant should change which includes: strategic oversight; local delivery options; how teams can work better together and more closely with health and social care; allocation of resources; other funding issues; the means test; regulation and the upper limit; procurement; developing a market; helping people outside of the DFG; and finally, tenure, equality and grants for common parts. There are 43 recommendations for government to improve the way the grant operates

Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) and other adaptations: external review - summary

This is a summary of the findings of a review of the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) in England. The aim is to keep people living independently for longer and make the case for more joined-up action across housing, health and social care. It is a practical review that examines the evidence about the current situation and how it should change. The summary covers: how the grant is used now; the main challenges; how delivery of the grant might be joined up both strategically and operationally; the distribution of resources; the various regulations, such as the means test and the upper limit; how the grant can be updated and how outcomes can be measured. It lists some of the main recommendations. Further detail can be found in the main report