Book Reviews : Caring for People, Staffing Residential Homes Report of a Committee of Enquiry set up by the National Council of Social Service. Chairman: Professor Lady Williams, C.B.E. George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 32s
| DOI | 10.1177/026455056801400116 |
| Published date | 01 March 1968 |
| Date | 01 March 1968 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
27
tical
casework,
leaping
in
where
angels
and
Monger
fear
to
tread,
inevitably
risking
the
scorn
of
those
who
dare
not
reveal
themselves
so
positively.
Its
have
committedness,
despite
its
flaws,
earns
it
a
welcome.
M.
C.
W.
PRATT
Social
Work
Joan
Collins
Pitman
Medical
12s.
6d.
This
small
paperback
is
worth
reading
by
all
chose
who
feel
the
need
of
a
wider
understanding
of
what
is
involved
at
the
moment
in
the
social
work
field.
manly
will
.be
inclined
to
feel
that
thy
eloquent
plea
for
more
research
should
be
sympathetically
examined
not
only
by
those
in
a
position
to
help
with
finance
our
academic
skills
but
alse
by
social
workers
who
believe
that the
skills
they
a-re
using
and
the
experience
they
have
ga-thered
should
be
contribut-
ing
to
a
wider
knowledge
and
applica-
tion.
In
fact,
there
is
much
here
to
give
us
considerable
,thought,
and
whether
Miss
Collins
is
showing
us
how
the
emphasis
in
social
work
has
changed
or
leading
for
us
to
&dquo;educate
our
masters&dquo;
she
is
a1ways
forcing
us
to
look
at
useful
and
illuminating
ideas.
The
cha.pter
on
&dquo;teamwork&dquo;
should
most
certainly
be
read
and
indeed
acted
upon
by
every
social
worker - it
may
wdl
be
.looked
at
in
conjunotion
with
the
rather
similar
conceptions
of
Gerald
Caplan. It
will
encourage
those
who
see
the
need
for
more
cohesion
among
the
various
branches
of
the
social
work
profession
(including
probation)
and
al-
so
those
who
are
now
questioning
the
heavy
dependence
of
the
profession
on
psychiat~ry
at
the
expense
of
sociology
(in
its
widest
sense).
This
is
not
a
hand-book
of
social
work
training,
despite
its
title,
but
more
of
a
survey
of
the
profession
at
a
par-
ticular
moment.
There
may
be
those
who
will
not
agree
with
some
of
the
arguments,
but
all
of
us
should
be
sti-
mulated
~by
them.
The
book
is
well
produced
but
rather
expensive
for
a
paperback
of
82
pages.
This
lends
point
to
the
author’s
com-
plaint
that
social
workers
are
not
suffi-
ciently
well-paid
to
afford
to
keep
up-
to-date
with
their
reading
as
they
should !
W.
LESLIE
HERBERT
Caring
for
People,
Staffing
Residential
Homes
Report
of
a
Committee
of
Enquiry
set
up
by
the
National
Council
of
Social
Service.
Chairman:
Professor
Lady
Williams,
C.B.E.
George
Allen
&
Unwin
Ltd.
32s.
The
report
starts
with
the
comment
that
pressure
on
existing
residential
accom-
modation
is
likely
to
increase
in
spite
of
the
present
-tendency
four
people
in
need
of
help
to
be
encouraged
to
re-
main
in
their
homes.
It
is
emphasised
that
staffs
of
all
,residential
establish-
ments
have
an
extremely
exacting
,task,
and
that
such
work
demands
special
qualities
of
mind
and
heart.
During
.the
enquiry,
however,
there
was
apparently
considerable
evidence
of
the
satisfaction
to
be
gained
from
doing
such
work.
This
does
not
preclude
society
from
recognising
the
worth
of those
who
do
this
work,
’Work
which
is
not
appealing
to
a
sufficient
number
of
people
if
these
establishments
are
to
be
staffed
as
they
ought.
The
problems
as
outlined
in
this
report
is
twofold: to
attract
a
sufficient
number
of
the
right
kind
of
persons
in
the
first
place,
and
then
to
induce
them
to
stay
long
enough
to
provide
those
in
their
care
with
a
stable
environment.
There
is
an
account
of
the
survey
made
by
the
Committee
off
various
types
of
homes,
with
a
summary
of
its
find-
ings.
The
statistics
provided
in
the
book
are
of
some
interest
tao
probation
offi-
cers,
especially
those
showing the
staffing
situation
in
approved
schools
and
re-
mand
homes.
The
ratio
of
,boys
in
asp-
proved
schools
to
staff
is
quoted
as
being
10.3
to
I
whereas
in
girls’
asp-
proved
schools
the
ratio
is
4.1
.to
1.
In
remand
homes
the
ratio
is
3.1
to
1.
The
remand
homes
show
a
better
patio
than
any
of
the
other
speciall
schools
included
in
the
survey.
One
wonders
why
there
was
no
survey
made
of
pro-
bation
homes
and
hostels,
and,
in
view
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