ABSTRACT
Most incoming cases were dealt with by an intake team comprising the equivalent of five and a half social workers and a part-time occupational therapist, led by a senior social worker. Cases requiring longer-term care were usually passed on to the two long-term teams, each having the equivalent of six full-time social workers and two ancillary staff. A better filing and central record system supported by the CRS had improved the effectiveness in tracing old client records. The sex ratio of the client population showed two unusual features: first, boys predominated among teenagers because of their proneness to delinquency. Secondly, contrary to demographic norms, there were equal proportions of men and women in the 65 to 74 age group. The category of information and advice masks a multiplicity of financial, personal and legal problems which families tend to bring, and the so-called ‘request’ might be very vague and hardly formulated.
