Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-19

Army case worker is invaluable. Sound
common sense and good advice often Is
the greatest need.
Material relief in the shape Of old
clothes, of some groceries or check for
rent often plays but small part toward
| putting family on Self-Supporting
| basis.
These are temporary things, and
should never be an end in themselves.
They are only means, and very inef-
fectual means at that, toward rehabil-
itation.
The underlying causes of the difficulty
must be removed II at all possible. To
get down to bedrock requires time,
patience, skill and careful analysing.
1t Is obvious that before a doctor can
treat a patient, especially an unusual
case, he must know the trouble, learn
the symptoms, diagnose the case, ask
very frank questions, inquire into the
patients history, family connections,
call frequently, consult with others
all this before he can lay down any
| course OF successful treatment that will
bring about cure.
Unframed Workers inefficient.
True, some doctors carry one bottle of
medicine supposedly good for all all
ments-just as some unframed social
workers treat all family cases alike
giving all basket of beans, rice and
salt pork, regardless of conditions and
without any idea as to the variation of
circumstances or an effective plan of
social treatment.
The old-fashioned method also CLASH
fed cases either as worthy or "un-
worthy" leaving snap judgment, preju-
dice and rush and hurry or diSinterest
to decide which they were, worthy" or
unworthy"
When a human being, whatever his
economic status, develops some marked
form of social difficulty and need, what
do we have to know about him and
about his difficulty. or more often, diff
culties, before we can arrive at a way
OF meeting his needs?
The effort to get essential facts and
make records of same has commonly
been called IAN Observation-Disclosures is
an ugly term.
Mind Is Fixed on Objective.
The term now largely being adopted
as a substitute for the word "investi-
cation" is social diagnosis. This has
the advantage that from the first step
it fixes the mind of the officer doing
the case work on the objective in view.
The processes or steps which lead up
to social diagnosis and thence to shap-
ing the plan of social treatment may be
divided into two states.
(a) Collection of evidence.
OBJ Drawing of differences therefrom.
! The collection of evidence comes
through the officers first relations, %
with the individual or client, CD with
the clients family. (3) with sources of
inquiry and information outside the
family group, ca of comparing the
evidence gathered from the various
sources otherwise known as drawing
inferences) and finally interpreting its
means or diagnosing the case.
Names of Those Needing Help.
Those whom officers and social
workers are dealing with are called by
many names such as applicants, in
mates, cases, children, families, proba-
TONERS, patients, etc.
One word-client-Seens to cover the
situation better and is here used. 1t
means a sutton or dependent, one who
listens to advice-one in need of serv-
ice.
The first interview with one needing
treatment, the early contacts with the
immediate family-the consultations
with those outside his family who may
give information, insight or cooper
alton, the examination of any letters
or documents bearing upon this prob
lem-all these stages, steps or processes
lead an officer to what he hopes will be
A helpftll course of action