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In 1967 we have planned to second to one- or two-year
courses of up to two Mental Welfare Officers, two trainees at
the Junior Training Centre and one at the Adult Training
Centre. At present one trainee on our Junior Training Centre
Staff is away on the full-time course at the Chiswlck Polytechnic.
Vulnerable Sectors
of the
Population
Every encouragement is given to our Staff to further their
skills and experience by attending short courses, conferences,
lectures, seminars and by visits to centres of enterprise and
originality.
We increasingly aim to improve the economy, efficiency and
impact of the service by close co-operation in work and study,
with doctors, Health Visitors, Welfare social workers, Child
Care Officers and other statutory and voluntary workers, and
intend to pay special attention to vulnerable sectors of the
population e.g. young children, adolescence, the middle-aged
and elderly etc. For this reason much thought is also given to
the smooth functioning and adaption of the administrative side
of the Mental Health and Welfare Services, in order to free
fieldworkers as far as possible from office duties. We are in
the process of re-organising our record-keeping and statistical
systems; this is going hand-in-hand with the institution of a
Central Register of cases for all Social Work Departments in
order to improve co-ordination and help to eliminate wasteful
overlap.
Burnside Adult
Training Centre
We are looking forward to the opening, next Spring, of our
first purpose built Training Centre, the Adult Training Centre
in Burnside Road. Thought is now being given to its furnishing,
staffing and to the improvement and expansion of the curriculum.
The try-out at the previously exclusively male Adult Centre of
six female trainees, under a female supervisor has been a great
success and this will, no doubt, mean that the new Centre will
be a fully co-education venture.
Junior Training
Centre
The staff of our Junior Training Centre will, we hope, be
encouraged by the start of building activities on their new
Centre in Loxford Lane early in the New Year. Meanwhile, we
do our best to assist them in their still very restricted circumstances
and we are grateful for their patience and hard work.