Comments on: Newsmusings http://noblesavage.me.uk/2009/01/19/newsmusings/ Tue, 29 Nov 2011 22:50:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: andrea http://noblesavage.me.uk/2009/01/19/newsmusings/comment-page-1/#comment-2382 andrea Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:38:54 +0000 http://noblesavage.me.uk/2009/01/19/newsmusings/#comment-2382 About your first topic - it's a fine line between not being proactive enough to remove children from abusive homes and being overly cautious (aka covering your ass) in taking kids away from parents without enough investigation. I don't know about the UK, but here we have organizations such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) that train volunteers to take on these cases of abuse and neglect. The advocates are completely separate from the court, the lawyers, the parents, the social workers, etc. and truly advocate for what they feel is best for the child. Each volunteer takes on only 1-2 cases at a time, enabling them to really get to know the kids, spend time with them, talk with teachers, neighbors, friends, etc. and try to get a firm grasp on the state of the child's home life. In court the opinions and recommendations of the advocates are taken into serious account when ruling whether a child should be removed from a home. All of that said, these organizations are a great help in dealing with the disturbing abundance of abuse and neglect cases. It would be great if there were more organizations like this to help in these situations, especially given the sad fact that social workers are forced to take on an unmanageable caseload and are vastly underpaid. About Obama and the media hype - I agree that the media is forging a very unrealistic expectation of the new president. I think it is important for everyone to listen to what HE says in his speeches and addresses, as he is reiterating the fact that change will not happen overnight and it is going to be a hard road ahead. The public needs to manage their own expectations and not buy in blindly to the media build-up. Ok, off soapbox. Thanks for a very thought-provoking post! About your first topic – it’s a fine line between not being proactive enough to remove children from abusive homes and being overly cautious (aka covering your ass) in taking kids away from parents without enough investigation. I don’t know about the UK, but here we have organizations such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) that train volunteers to take on these cases of abuse and neglect. The advocates are completely separate from the court, the lawyers, the parents, the social workers, etc. and truly advocate for what they feel is best for the child. Each volunteer takes on only 1-2 cases at a time, enabling them to really get to know the kids, spend time with them, talk with teachers, neighbors, friends, etc. and try to get a firm grasp on the state of the child’s home life. In court the opinions and recommendations of the advocates are taken into serious account when ruling whether a child should be removed from a home. All of that said, these organizations are a great help in dealing with the disturbing abundance of abuse and neglect cases. It would be great if there were more organizations like this to help in these situations, especially given the sad fact that social workers are forced to take on an unmanageable caseload and are vastly underpaid.

About Obama and the media hype – I agree that the media is forging a very unrealistic expectation of the new president. I think it is important for everyone to listen to what HE says in his speeches and addresses, as he is reiterating the fact that change will not happen overnight and it is going to be a hard road ahead. The public needs to manage their own expectations and not buy in blindly to the media build-up.

Ok, off soapbox. Thanks for a very thought-provoking post!

]]> By: The Brinkster http://noblesavage.me.uk/2009/01/19/newsmusings/comment-page-1/#comment-2376 The Brinkster Thu, 22 Jan 2009 08:17:18 +0000 http://noblesavage.me.uk/2009/01/19/newsmusings/#comment-2376 I heard the title in my head as "New schmoozings" and got sidetracked into "schmooze"-related thoughts. Must concentrate harder. On point 1 I have friends who are foster parents and other friends who have adopted. Their take on it is that it used to be common for children to be fostered but as it was expensive for Councils and there were some instances where it seemed like children were taken from their parents unnecessarily the pendulum swung the other way (reported heavily in the press) so that social workers were in a situation where they had to be seen to exhaust all avenues of assistance for the parents before taking children into care. That's fine but then you open yourself up to situations where the child can be left with the parents for too long with potentially tragic results, as we have seen. Now social workers are becoming more risk-averse and not wanting to be the next bunch in the headlines so are taking in children that they wouldn't have done 12 months ago, which may be good or bad for the children depending on their individual circumstances. I heard the title in my head as “New schmoozings” and got sidetracked into “schmooze”-related thoughts. Must concentrate harder.

On point 1 I have friends who are foster parents and other friends who have adopted. Their take on it is that it used to be common for children to be fostered but as it was expensive for Councils and there were some instances where it seemed like children were taken from their parents unnecessarily the pendulum swung the other way (reported heavily in the press) so that social workers were in a situation where they had to be seen to exhaust all avenues of assistance for the parents before taking children into care. That’s fine but then you open yourself up to situations where the child can be left with the parents for too long with potentially tragic results, as we have seen. Now social workers are becoming more risk-averse and not wanting to be the next bunch in the headlines so are taking in children that they wouldn’t have done 12 months ago, which may be good or bad for the children depending on their individual circumstances.

]]> By: jen http://noblesavage.me.uk/2009/01/19/newsmusings/comment-page-1/#comment-2375 jen Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:48:19 +0000 http://noblesavage.me.uk/2009/01/19/newsmusings/#comment-2375 gotta disagree with the NICE news item. i read the article as saying: only about 35% of all older people (women and men) will develop osteoporosis. of which, 80% *can* take the cheapest most effective drug. and those who can't will be eligible for the more expensive drug once it's been proven the cheaper drug is not working. the NHS cannot be all things to all people - as such, it has to put sometimes difficult guidelines in place for non-life threatening conditions. further, there is a lot people can do themselves to reduce their risk of osteoporosis before they reach old age (regular weightbearing exercise, calcium and vitamin d supplements, etc). i think they should focus their efforts on prevention. gotta disagree with the NICE news item. i read the article as saying: only about 35% of all older people (women and men) will develop osteoporosis. of which, 80% *can* take the cheapest most effective drug. and those who can’t will be eligible for the more expensive drug once it’s been proven the cheaper drug is not working.

the NHS cannot be all things to all people – as such, it has to put sometimes difficult guidelines in place for non-life threatening conditions.

further, there is a lot people can do themselves to reduce their risk of osteoporosis before they reach old age (regular weightbearing exercise, calcium and vitamin d supplements, etc). i think they should focus their efforts on prevention.

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