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Work of the Social Workers
The social workers were occupied, as formerly, in five
different ways:
1. Investigation, and giving continuing help where necessary,
to all new cases that came to the social work section.
2. Investigation, and giving continuing help where necessary,
to reopened cases (those known formerly to the section but
closed, and needing help again).
3. Giving continuing help to the regular caseload of mentally,
physically or socially handicapped people and their families.
4. Running clubs, classes, discussion groups, attending
psychiatric hospital on rota duty, out-patient clinics, manning
office rota, etc.
5. Office duty and meetings; correspondence and cases recording;
liaison with other agencies; case conferences, etc. During
1969 the Borough's Management Services Unit examined the
work of the section, which involved everybody, and especially
senior staff, in a good deal of additional work.
Social workers carry out most of their work during interviews
with families and individuals. A note was kept during
1969, as in previous years, of the places where the department's
social workers carried out any interview which lasted
longer than 15 minutes. There were 17,707 such interviews
(compared with 17,760 in 1968 and 16,830 in 1967) and they
took place as follows: (1968 figures in brackets).
11,898 (11,835) in people's own homes
1,244 (1,324) in the Billet Lane offices
1,213 (1,044) in hospitals, particularly Warley
Psychiatric Hospital
440 (365) in the department's old people's homes
375 (293) in Collier Lodge or Westmarsh Lodge, the
department's mental health hostels.
260 (269) in the department's Adult and Junior Training
Centres for the mentally handicapped,
and in the Special Care Unit for the severely
handicapped.
242 (261) in the Faring don Centre, the department's
Occupational Centre for the physically
handicapped
120 (214) in the department's temporary accommodation
for homeless families
1,915 (2,095) in other places
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