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37
Social Work
During the year the social workers again re ceived well over a thousand
requests for help from various sources. Almost half of these requests
came from psychiatric sources. The other half came from other departments
of the Corporation, various other social agencies, from general practitioners
and the general public.
The number of active cases carried has risen steadily over the year
from 1166 to 1325, and this represents a high level of activity in the
history of the service.
Work with groups has received additional attention. Selected officers
have been given training in this work, and a number of new groups have
been started.
Students
The Training Officer with the assistance of the social work staff continued
to provide practical training for student social workers from the
Croydon Technical College and elsewhere. The number of regular students
was increased from 12 to 14 and a number of others visited for shorter
periods of work.
Visitors
The mental health services in Croydon continue to be of interest
nationally and internationally and the flow of visitors from many different
places and disciplines continued through 1967.
Countries from which they came included - Australia, Costa Rica,
Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Sweden, Switzerland and the
U.S.A.
The Unified Industrial Therapy Service
1968 was a year of consolidation. The rationalisation of the industrial
contract seeking mentioned in earlier reports, whereby contracts were obtained
and allocated through one Organiser/Manager, based on the Sheltered
Workshop, has continued and the value of the unification policy is increasingly
underlined. The Sheltered Workshop earnings increased by 33%, the
Craftwork, Training and Social Centre (Waylands) by 111% and the Assessment
and Rehabilitation Centre by 14%.
The total income from work undertaken by or subcontracted from the
three centres amounted to approximately £71,500 and during the year over
1,000 orders were fulfilled.
The mobile work group which undertakes grass cutting and simple gardening
secured contracts for several new sites and the concrete production section
of the sheltered workshop had a good year - the demand for its products
being so high that a quota system had to be introduced.