ABSTRACT
Social work and probation offices are heavily stigmatised: they are viewed by all except those who work in them with suspicion, perhaps with awe, and frequently with distaste. On the other hand, requests for admission to residential care, to adopt a child or to have major housing adaptations provided are more likely to be refused, at least in the first instance. A Kent County Council business plan provides a profile, of bombardment, but of long-term provision of service throughout the county. The pattern held true in all three areas, although in Metropolitan Birmingham the demand from families and children was significantly greater than it was in the rural districts. The kind of social work practised both with new referrals and in long-term casework is shown to have some remarkable similarities in Black’s study. The achievement of a high standard of practice requires the constant reiteration of the central importance of the skills in intake.
