ABSTRACT
THE TROUBLES a family brings to a given social agency not infrequently require that the social worker augment or complement his own skill by the use of special resources, within the agency or in the community, in the amelioration of the family’s problem or some aspect of it. Or the worker may find that the help the family needs can more appropriately be offered by another resource in the community. In the latter instance, the social worker may then accept responsibility for connecting the family and the resource by giving information to the family, or he may decide on the basis of assessment of the particular situation to make the referral directly. In the former, the worker may refer the family for the required service or he may initiate the contact alone or with the family, depending on the use it is anticipated will be made of the resource, and how—if 352at all—the worker will continue with the family and with the social resource now being involved.
