Casework service in a neighbourhood house : the administrative aspects of its establishment and operation - a study made in Gordon House, Vancouver

This thesis reviews the administrative process involved in initiating and developing a casework service in Gordon Neighbourhood House. The service operated over a period of eight months, and during that time accepted only members of the agency as clientele. Through intensive cooperative work with Gordon Neighbourhood House staff it was intended that caseworkers should employ their skills to improve the social adjustment of group members and thereby enhance the general health and welfare of membership groups. The administrative structure of Gordon House, and the problems involved in integrating this new service into the agency, are described. In evaluation, the achievements and possibilities of this service are weighed against the investments of administration and staff required in an effort to introduce and to maintain this service. The estimated effort involved in relation to the possibilities for achievement, is the criterion used to Judge the value of casework services in this setting. A rating is made of the degree of success achieved in forty-eight cases referred for service. Case summaries reveal the process involved in the operation of this service. The finding is, that, providing the agency takes appropriate administrative steps, casework services are a practicable method of coping with individual problems that cannot be handled satisfactorily within groups. It is important that the workers and the administration be sufficiently flexible to meet each other's requirements. Specifically, the administration must define the purpose and function of this service in such a way that responsibilities of the casework staff be made clear. The casework staff in turn must be prepared to apply their skills in the less formal setting of the neighbourhood house.Arts, Faculty ofSocial Work, School ofGraduat