Report of the Working Party on Social Workers in the Local Authority Health and Welfare Services.
- Great Britain. Working Party on Social Workers in the Local Authority Health and Welfare Services
- Date:
- 1959
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Report of the Working Party on Social Workers in the Local Authority Health and Welfare Services. Source: Wellcome Collection.
380/394 page 364
![6. Reading ‘** The co-ordinating Committee itself, and in particular the Co-ordinating Officer, has been greatly assisted by a group known in Reading as the Family Aid Group, which consists of a mixture of loca] statutory and voluntary workers. The members are without exception trained social workers who are actively engaged in family case- work of the type done by members of the Family Service Units. 7. Salford ‘* Case conferences have taken place at regular fortnightly intervals, holidays excepted, since June, 1951. About the same time a health visitor was delegated to specialise in this work. The same health visitor has held the post throughout the past five years and such success as the conference has achieved is largely due to this continuity of service and to her zeal. Most agencies represented have suffered frequent changes of personnel. The almoner convenes the conference, acts as Chairman in the absence of the Medical Officer of Health, prepares reports from information supplied by field workers, prepares and circulates case notes after each Conference, and keeps a register of all families discussed. As in all preventive work, it is difficult to assess success. Improvement in neglectful families is seldom spectacular though in a few cases it has been so. More often workers have to be satisfied with having stabilised a family. Nevertheless it is felt that the vigilance of case-workers which has followed a conference must have prevented much physical suffering and unhappiness among children in these families. One great advantage of the meetings has been that the various officers have acquired better understanding of each other’s powers and limitations and no difficulty has been experienced in persuading various visitors to withdraw from a family where too many agencies have been involved.” 8. Somerset “The County Children’s Committee have, therefore, expressed satisfaction with the present system, though they have emphasised the need for: (i) Early notification being made to the Co-ordinating Officer. (ii) A speedy decision on the value of calling a meeting of Officers concerned, and (iii) A willingness on the part of various services to agree to one worker, preferably one with case-work experience, taking on the task of working with the family.” 9, East Sussex *““As a general comment the existence of the Co-ordinating Committees has achieved without doubt a better understanding among statutory and voluntary officers of the duties and functions of the various social services available to a family. The Committees have also achieved a reduction in the number of visitors to each home and have in some cases to a considerable degree prevented overlapping.” 10. West Ham ** Experience has shown that the Case Conferences have proved of considerable value. A great deal of “‘ duplicate” visiting has been avoided. In several cases, arrangements have been made to assist harassed mothers by, for example, the provi- sion of Home Helps, this having made it unnecessary to take children into care. With the assistance of the Housing Department, it has been possible in some cases to provide alternative accommodation for families, and so make it possible to dis- charge children from care. Eviction of families from their homes for non-payment of rent has been avoided in some cases as a result of the persons concerned being persuaded to meet their obligations. There is no doubt that the operation of the scheme has on many occasions made it unnecessary to take children into care, and has thus materially assisted in preventing the break-up of families. It has also reduced the anxiety felt by individual ‘“‘ Field” Officers dealing with these difficult families, by giving them the support and help of the Social Services as a whole.”](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32176776_0380.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
