Polly Tommey was finding it difficult to attract attention to her campaign for increased awareness of autism, so she took her top off and posed, Wonderbra-style, for billboard posters beneath the words “Hello Boys”. The boys she has in mind are the three main party leaders, and the appearance of dozens of these images around London last week prompted a surprisingly swift response from representatives of each party.

In two shocking cases Croydon Council’s social services department stands accused of ignoring parents’ desperate pleas for help, a Croydon Guardian investigation can reveal.

The NSPCC has urged a major overhaul of the system for investigating cases of child abuse and neglect, saying it is too costly, too slow and may not work.

Former Somerset care home manager Rachel Baker has been cleared of murdering two elderly residents.

The National Youth Reference Group (NYRG), an organisation that informs and advises the government departments, has created a new website to showcase best practice in preventing youth homelessness.

A nationwide alert system to enlist members of the public to help find abducted children will be launched next month.

Social care debates continue to focus on the elderly and in the process overshadow the care needs of other adults, a national charity has claimed.

A plan of action to help adults with autism live independently in society has been set out by care services minister Phil Hope.

Furious children’s homes professionals are rallying to stop the imminent closure of the National Centre for Excellence in Residential Child Care (NCERCC).

Reading Borough Council is launching a pilot project to evaluate the effectiveness of delivering social care to older people through telephone support.