ABSTRACT
Many of the expectations of the 1983 Act that we considered in Chapter 3 concerned the impact of the ASWs’, assessments on the patterns of compulsory admission, both nationwide and within individual authorities, that we have just explored. There were, however, a number of other important changes that some observers at least hoped would take place following the passage of the Act. We consider first the implications of the Act for people with a mental handicap, then examine the use of its new or significantly altered sections, and finally consider other areas of social service department practice, like involvement with section 136 and the precise location of ASWs within departmental structures that were the subject of some debate prior to 1983 but not directly subject to fresh legislation. Overall, this analysis serves to illustrate the inconsistencies in both the legislative definition of the approved social worker’s role and in their deployment at the local level that signal the ambiguity that remains about the part they have to play in the management of the care and treatment of mentally disordered people.
