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Bi-weekly reports of social group workers: Content and use in the Church Welfare Bureau of the Church Federation of Los Angeles

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BI-WEEKLY REPORTS OP SOCIAL GROUP WORKERS:

CONTENT

AND USE IN THE CHURCH WELFARE BUREAU OP THE CHURCH FEDERATION OF LOS ANGELES

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the School of Social Work The University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Social Work

Frank A. Guzman June 1950

UMI Number: EP66342

All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

Dis&eitaiion ftjb iisring

UMI EP66342 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code

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6*? 9 3

T h i s th e s is , w r i t t e n u n d e r th e d i r e c t i o n o f th e c a n d id a t e ’ s F a c u l t y

C o m m itte e

a nd a p p ro ve d

b y a l l its m e m b e r s , has been p r e s e n t e d to a n d a c c e p t e d b y th e F a c u l t y o f th e G r a d u a t e S c h o o l o f S o c i a l W o r k in p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f th e r e ­ q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e d e g re e o f

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK

(

Thesis

o/.JPRANK.A. J&nZMAH-

Faculty Committee

Chairman

)

Dean

TABLE OP CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PACE

THE I N T R O D U C T I O N ................................... Statement of the problem • • • • • • • • • • • •

6

Definition of terms used • • • • • • • • • • • «

7

Bi-weekly report • • • • • • • • . » • • • • •

7

......... .

Job analysis • • • • • . • • • » . Job description Method of procedure Content to follow II.

1

• • • • • • • * • • • • • • • •

7 8 8

• • • • • • • • • • . . • • •

9

THE CONTENT OP THE BI-WEEKLY REPORTS STUDIED . . .

11

The form of the bi-weekly report • • • • • • • •

11

Job description and content of the bi-weekly

III.

report • • • • • • • • • . . • • • • • * • • •

15

Participation in community meetings

• • • • •

15

Supervision of volunteer leaders of groups • •

19

Direct services to groups

* • • • • • • • • •

23

Consultation services to ministers • • • • • •

25

Interpretation of agencyfs work

• • • • • • *

29

Participation in agency meetings . . • • • • •

33

THE USE OP BI-WEEKLY REPORTS BY SOCIAL GROUP WORKERS INTERVIEWED

........... .. • *

Por whom are bi-weekly reports written?

• • • •

37 37

Problems encountered and personal feelings held on bi-weekly reporting • . . • • • • • • • • •

38

ii CHAPTER

IV.

PAGE General uses of recorded m a t e r i a l ..........

39

Specific uses as outlined in the interview guide*

43

Concrete examples of actual use • • • * • • • • •

46

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .

.......... • •

« 53

* .

. 58

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY" APPENDICES

.................* . . . •

Appendix A - Outline of the job analysis

59

• • • • • • •

59

Appendix B - Duties of group worker • • • • • • • • • •

64

Appendix C

-The bi-weekly report schedule

• • • • • •

70

Appendix D

-The interview

• • • • * • * • • • •

72

Appendix E

- Two personal interviews

Appendix P

-Two bi-weekly reports

guide

• • • • • * • • •

75

• • • • • * • * • •

80

CHAPTER I THE INTRODUCTION Daring the past few years considerable progress has been made in the keeping of records or, reports by the social group worker.

Gradually through experience with the use of

the recorded material, workers have come to realize the prac­ tical value of an adequate medium of reporting of all the activities they do in their assigned areas. feel that their services are underestimated,

However, workers feey refer fre­

quently to accumulated overtime as well as to participation in countless co-operative activities which are seldom known or recognized, even though their agencies invariably attempt to have well-defined job descriptions to help workers know what is expected of them. Naturally, the problem arises as to the manner of pre­ paring written reports concerning the ways in which the re­ sponsibilities to the agency are fulfilled.

Sometimes prob­

lems may grow out of inadequate recording procedure.

Yet,

authorities in the field of public administration have main­ tained that reports are of no value unless they are actually used for some constructive end.^*

Social agencies agree on

^ Donald C. Stone, The Management of Municipal Public Works (Chicago: Public Administration Service^ 1939), p. 57.

2

the fact that reports properly prepared and properly used al­ ways furnish continuous and dependable assistance to the super­ vision and administrative aspects of the social group work agency as well as to the workers* Moreover, the development of a professional practice of social work, as of other professions such as medicine, law, and engineering, is based upon information documented by its practitioners generation after generation.

These reports

or records have provided data for the “case in hand and for the basic material on which to construct a dependable pro­ cedure* Consequently, to a great extent recording in group work has been helped by the experience of social case work^ and formal education.^

This was recognized in 1937 by the

appointment of a Commission on Record Keeping in Croup Work by the National Association for the Study of Croup Work*^

^ Sherman C. Kingsley, “Who Needs Social Service,” Proceedings of the National Conference of Social Work, 1928 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1928), p. 11. 3

H. S. Dimock and H. B. Trecker, The Supervision of Group Work and Recreation (New York: Association Press, 1949), p. 184, citing Cordon Hamilton, Social Case Recording (New York: Columbia University Press, 1937)* ^ Ibid*# p* 184, citing United States Office of Education, Handbook of Cumulative Records, Bulletin No. 5, 1944* Ibid., p. 184, citing National Association for the Study of Group Work, Exploring Croup Work (New York: Associa­ tion Press, 1937).

3 Gradually, it became evident that the primary purpose of recording in social work is to improve the quality of service to the individual whether it is case work, group work or com­ munity organization.

Because of this, other media of report­

ing have been developed among social agencies which carried on a decentralized kind of program. One of these agencies which has made use of several media of reporting is the Church Welfare Bureau. are:

The types

records of supervisory conferences, records of group

conferences or staff meetings, notations in area notebooks, group narrative records, and bi-weekly reports.

Consequently,

through these media the worker-activity in all areas and in all phases may be seen. The Church Welfare Bureau which was selected for the study was organized in 1941.

It is the social welfare de­

partment of the Church Federation of Los Angeles.

The chief

function of the Bureau is coordinating the services of the thirty-six agencies^ which now m ake up its family•

Through

the Bureau each agency maintains its own' identity and purpose and is at the same time a part of the total welfare program of the Protestant community.

In addition, through this close

coordination the affiliated social agencies are enabled to improve their services without danger of duplication.

Finally,

the Bureau maintains a program of direct welfare services.

^ Stepping Stones of Christian Service (Los Angeles, California: Church Welfare Bureau Publication, 1949).

4 The Group Work Division of the Bureau was formed in October of 1943,

It is one of the community youth-serving

agencies participating in the program of the Los Angeles Youth Project**^

The Bureau works through churches, helping

them to serve persons ranging in age from nine to thirty-five* The groups participating in the program include those of mem­ bers of the same sex, both sexes, one culture, and intercul­ tural groups.

The purpose of the Division is to provide

through supervised group activities: ...by using social group work as the basic method, plus tested principles of recreation and religious education programs so that children and youth may have satisfying experiences in democratic living... become socially better adjusted and develop Christian character and leadership*° To realize this purpose, the agency under study has required its staff workers to make use of several media of reporting their activities.

Yet, for obvious reasons, these

media of reporting are not always complete* For instance, in supervisory conferences, the social group worker does not have the time to discuss with his super­ visor all of the many activities which are part of his job

7 The Youth Project was created in 1943 by the Welfare Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles. It Is an inter-agency project designed to extend youth services to unserved groups in defined areas of the City. ® ,fA Statement of Policy of the Church Welfare Bureau of the Church Federation of Los Angeles,f] (Los Angeles: Los Angeles Youth Project, 1947), p. 1.

5 description*

Generally, this is because of heavy work load

and press for time*

Also, in group conferences or staff meet­

ings, there hardly appears to be sufficient time in which each worker may indicate his or her total activity in line with the job description.

It is doubtful v&iether such a meeting should

consist of only this kind of discussion. Yet, in other instances, when social group workers in decentralized agencies are permitted to keep their individual reports on a voluntary basis, it becomes apparent that these records are reflections of the workers* own thoughts and choice Naturally, such reports may not always include complete sum­ maries of activities. Therefore, one of the best media of reporting is the bi-weekly report.

It seems that the content and the use of

this instrument of reporting offers the most promise of ade­ quately relating the workers* activity to their job descrip­ tions.

Several reasons are in order:

tency in terms of time;

(1) there is consis­

(2) there is also the opportunity of

recounting, under various headings, a variety of services; (3) a certain uniformity is achieved since these reports are kept on file;

(4) the accumulation of several workers* reports

affords the opportunity of weighing individual contributions in relation to emphasis along certain areas of work*

6 I.

THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This thesis is an exploratory study of one aspect of recording in social group work, namely, ‘bi-weekly reports* The purposes of this research effort are to determine whether the bi-weekly reports reveal the content of the job descrip­ tion of the agency senior group workers and whether the b i ­ weekly reports are used by them. to be considered will be:

Thus, the basic questions

what material does the worker tend

to include in the bi-weekly report, and how is this material useful to him in the practice of social group work? The merit of such a study is seen in view of the in­ creasing number of social agencies carrying on a decentral­ ized kind of program and using the social group work method. There is also a growing concern of workers to develop better tools for the improvement of the quality and standards of their services to the community.

Therefore, to understand the prac­

tical use of the bi-weekly report, as an instrument in social group'work, it is important to examine such reports in prac­ tice* The group work department of the Church Welfare Bureau was selected for a number of reasons* records and reports.

The Division keeps good

Also, since it is experienced in main­

taining an adequate file of them for at least seven years, and since adequate time and facilities are provided for the worker to write them, it offers validity to a study of this nature.

7 There is another reason*

The staff workers who were

interviewed have had volunteer and professional experience in social group work for several years.

Three of them have

had professional education in social work* This study is limited to one decentralized social group work agency, and it is to deal with the bi-weekly reports of four staff workers.

Mainly, it will examine the reports of

these four workers, and it will include the results of an interview with each of the selected workers, plus an interview with the director of the Division.

The emphasis will he upon

the reports, and not on narrative process records or group records.^

Finally, the study will he focused on the content

of the report, hut not on its process. II.

THE DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Bi-weekly report*

This term may he defined as a narra­

tive account of the work of the senior social group worker in his or her area*

“Bi-weekly11 indicates that the report is

submitted to the agency twice a month. Job analysis*

It may he defined as the process of

studying the operations, duties,

9

and organizational relationships

Anne R. Duden, ‘’Narrative Process Records— Content and Use By Five Social Group Workers,” Unpublished Masterfs Thesis of Social Work, the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Southern California, June, 1949.

8 of jobs to obtain data for writing job descriptions. Job description.

The term Mjob description11 refers to

a written statement of the requirements, objectives, duties, and responsibilities inherent in a given position in a social agency. 10 III.

THE METHOD OP PROCEDURE

In the present study a bi-weekly report schedule, and an interview guide were created to analyze the purpose and function of the bi-weekly report in practice. The bi-weekly report schedule was used as a guide to discover the kind of material the senior group worker includes in the bi-weekly report.

The schedule was divided into six

main functions common to the job description of each staff mem­ ber.

They were as follows: 1*

Participation in community meetings

2.

Supervision of volunteer leaders of groups

3.

Direct group work services to groups

4.

Consultation services to ministers

5.

Interpretation of agencyfs work

6.

Participation in agency meetings

The reports were taken from the files of the Group Yifork

^

Dimock and Trecker, o p . cit., p. 78.

9 Division, Church Welfare Bureau, Los Angeles Church Federation* Since the director of the Division does not write reports of this nature,

she was not included in the report schedule, hut

she was included in the interviews* The study examined forty reports covering a period of six months*

All of them were read and analyzed*

The report

schedule was used as a basis for comparison of the kind of material included in the account.

The findings were supple­

mented hy concrete illustrations selected from the reports studied as an indication of the ways in which the material reflects the content of the report in relation to the job description. The interview guide was used as a basis of inquiry to provide pertinent identifying data such as background of work experience and education of the worker interviewed.

The basic

questions which were considered are: 1.

What are the worker^s reasons for writing the report?

2.

What does the worker tend to include in his report?

3.

In what ways is the report material useful to him in his work *.. concrete illustrations? IV.

CONTEST TO FOLLOW

The discussion of the problem, scope, and method of the study will be followed by Chapter II which is concerned with the report schedule and an analysis of the content of the

report in the practice of social group work.

Chapter IV

will he concerned with the conclusions and recommendations

CHAPTER II THE CONTENT OF THE BI-WEEKLY REPORTS STUDIED This study has carefully examined the content of forty bi-weekly reports recorded by four-workers*

It was done for

the purpose of finding the answer to one of the major ques­ tions of this study:

to what extent is the content of reports

of workers* activities related to the job description*

There­

fore, Chapter II has attempted to arrive at the above conclu­ sion by analyzing the content of the report in the practice of social group work*

In addition, content items which the four

workers had thought significant to record were cited as exam­ ples of recording* I.

THE FORM OF THE BI-WEEKLY REPORT1

The Staff members at the Group Work Division have several choices open to them in the way in which they may wish to record.

The report may be written in longhand, may

be typewritten, or the dictaphone may be used*

Size eight

and one-half by eleven inches is the regulation size of paper used for recording purposes*

After the original sample

made by the worker, five copies are t y p e d t h e

See Appendix F, p. 80. ^ See Appendix F, p* 83*

office

o

is

12

secretary.

One copy is for the supervisor, one for the files,

one for the director, one for the Youth Project, and one for the use of the worker* The typewritten copy for the files is enclosed in a heavy notebook folder which is eleven and one-half by ten and one-half inches in size*

It is adapted for loose-leaf filing*

Arrangement in the folder is according to date, and areas. Organization of material in the report ordinarily may be said to fall in the following pattern.

At the top of the

report on the first line is noted the name of the worker, his home address, and home telephone.

On the second line is noted

the name of the Church Welfare Bureau, office address, and office telephone.

On the third line is noted the date and

period covered in the report. The body of the report is the narrative account of the worker’s two weeks activities in his assigned areas*

The body

of the report may be followed by notes on community meetings, minister-contacts, new groups organized, and the worker’s evaluation comments and future plans. he complete notebook folder Is : iled by the particular geographical area in which the worker is assigned with the ex­ ception of the supervisor whose reports are filed under super­ visor.

The geographical area is designated and Is given a

numerical area number by the 4Youth Services Division of the

15 Los Angeles Welfare

Council.3

a

tab on the outside of the

folder bears the numerical area number of the worker for easy reference in the file.

Such physical features and organization

of material make a unified report, one that can be easily read, is accessible, and can withstand ordinary wear and tear from handling« Style, or individual expression, in reporting will be touched upon briefly.

This depends upon the particular situa­

tion to be recorded, the ability of the worker, and the func­ tion of the community groups.

Each report is composed of fac­

tors considered significant by the senior group worker. report may be written up in many ways.

The

Material considered

relevant will vary with each social worker, but will give the reader a sense of unity and continuity. A social group .worker cannot see everything that happens in his areas; he cannot remember all that he did for two weeks. Emphasis for maximum effect will vary according to which kind of material the worker believes will serve his purpose best. The worker decides where his concentration istto be.

He may

emphasize accomplishment, community groups, the situation, prob­ lems, or needs of his areas. material varies. 3

The center of interest in the

But, it should be truly representative of the

These are study areas of the research department of the Welfare Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles.

14 total area situation* experiences*

It should come from the worker fs direct

Reports are written to he used and to serve var­

ious purposes* The manner of writing and the selection of material will depend upon the nature of the source material itself, the pro­ fessional skill of the worker,

and his desired effect.

Hence

the problem of selection depends upon what is significant to the worker, to his agency, and his immediate superiors. The reports were written b y

social group workers who

had had some professional education in the theoretical con­ cepts of social work*

This would imply that the worker should

have had conscious social work objectives in mind which en­ abled him to decide what material to include in the reports. A schedule was used as a means of locating observable factors of the senior group w o r k e r fs job description* factors have been divided into six main headings:

These

participa­

tion in community meetings, supervision of volunteer leaders of groups, direct services to groups, consultation services to ministers,

interpretation of agency*s work, and participa­

tion in agency meetings.

It was assumed that these inter­

related parts make up the total function of the worker as it was defined in the job description* of these elements will follow.

More exacting descriptions

15 II.

THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND THE CONTENT OP THE BI-WEEKLY REPORT

The findings which follow are disguised as to the social group worker and his bi-weekly reports* names will replace the actual names.

Fictitious

This step was deemed

necessary to preserve confidences and identity of the persons and the reports under consideration. Direct quotations from each main heading are presented. Content items appearing in each report were numerically tabu­ lated according to the numbers of times each element and its sub-factors were included in the reports.

These examples of

content were chosen because they show aspects of what the senior group worker in his field area thought significant enough to record. 1.

Participation in community meetings.

fined in detail in the agency’s job description.4

This was de­

It required

the senior group workers to attend certain community meetings for the purposes of cooperative activities with other agencies. They must represent the Church Welfare Bureau at Coordinating Councils In their respective areas.

For example, the bi-weekly

reports of Worker A showed this content:

she attended the

American Association of Group Workers1 monthly meetings; she

4 P* 64.

See Appendix B for Duties of Group Worker in detail,

-*

16 participated actively in community committees; she made several community contacts;

end she participated in Community

Chest solicitation. Worker B fs reports indicated this definite pattern on . t h e .schedule.

It gave the impression that she was extremely

active in attending thirty-eight community meetings.

The con­

tent items she had included were as follows: The West Jefferson Community Committee was well at­ tended "by professional workers, hut only a few lay persons attended. I think all workers in Area X should do more toward introducing lay people to this organization. A short discussion on the situation at Hormandie and Jefferson ensued, out of which grew a motion to appoint a committee which could work on closing pool halls in that vicinity.5 Worker: C fs reports indicated these items:

she had

attended thirty-eight community meetings over a six-month period from January 10th to June. 13th, 1949; she had partici­ pated actively in the Community Chest Campaign; she had taken part regularly in the affairs of different professional associ­ ations; she had made evaluation comments ah out the merits of these activities. The American Association 6f Croup Workers, the Youth Services Division, and the University of Southern California Graduate School of Social Work had a jointly sponsored meeting with Grace Coyle as a guest speaker. It was most stimulating to hear from someone active in and acquainted with the .social work scene

5

Bi-Weekly Reports, Group Work Division, Church Wel­ fare Bureau, Los Angeles Church Federation, January 24, 1949.

17 ”on the outside” (of L. A.). I felt there was much we could take and use in evaluating our work and set­ ting up standards and criteria*6 The agency group work supervisor’s reports were indic­ ative of some community problems in which he was first-hand observer*

The Director discussed this problem:

The Area III Community Council meeting reflected the concern of the Lafayette School people for more "lay” support in carrying out the center program* The school people seemed desirous of having the community consider the Center as a community venture. It seems that much interpretation will have to be directed toward many persons (Including some agency people) indicating that Lafayette Center has always been con­ sidered as a "community” rather than a "school” activity*' As the reports of these four workers were analyzed for their participation in community meetings, Interesting patterns developed.

Most of the workers had put down sig­

nificant facts about the names of active community committees, the kind of people involved, the problems which have been discussed, the results which have been achieved, and some unmet needs in their areas*

One worker had expressed her

feelings of how to achieve a better working community com­ mittee*

-Another worker had attended fewer community meetings

because of the lack of leadership in her area, and her area had all the earmarks of a changing community requiring her to

^ Bi-Weekly Reports, Oroup Work Division, Church Wel­ fare Bureau, Los Angeles Church Federation, January 24, 1949* ^ Ibid.3 January 10, 1949*

18 give more direct services to problem groups. The report schedule was indicative of certain observ­ able factors.

For the period of six months, according to

the reports, one worker had attended nine community meetings; the second worker had participated in thirty-eight meetings; the third worker had engaged in thirty community meetings; the supervisor had taken part in thirty-nine different meet­ ings.

He had covered more areas than the other three workers.

The Youth Services Division Luncheon meetings were attended by most of the workers.

Yet, two of the workers had failed

to include this meeting' in reports, while another worker had made an interesting comment about such meetings. Another monthly meeting that had been attended by most of the workers was the professional association of group workers.

One worker had made an evaluation comment about the

nature of the meeting in her report indicating professional growth on the part of this worker, while the other workers had just briefly touched on this meeting. Finally, for the total community meetings covering the period of six months, the four workers had participated in seventy-eight meetings.

The range for each worker was from

nine to thirty-nine meetings.

Naturally, the supervisor had

a more responsible role of attending more community meetings since the nature of his job required him to be more active in the various areas of the Los Angeles Youth Project.

This was

19 evident in his reports. 2.

Supervision of volunteer leaders of groups.

large share of the workerfs activity is spent in the organ­ ization and supervision of clubs and groups.

This may in­

volve the securing of volunteer leaders from various sources, such as churches, colleges, community contacts, and confer­ ences with leaders explaining the program.

For example, one

of the worker*s had included this material in one of her bi­ weekly reports: Mr. T. will not be able to continue with the group. I have obtained volunteers to coach the boys in basketball, feeling that this will meet their im­ mediate needs. Further thought must be given to dividing the group into what seems to be a natural division on the basis of age.® This content had reflected the worker*s role as it had been defined in the job description.

In the period of six

months this worker was responsible for the supervision of twenty-nine volunteer leaders of groups. her report schedule.

This was shown in

It related to her job description, and

it revealed that this worker had concentrated a major portion of time in helping the volunteer leaders in leadership prob­ lems.

B

Bi-Weekly Reports, Group Work Division, Church Wel­ fare Bureau, Los Angeles Church Federation, February 7, 1949.

A

20

■Mae job description requires the worker to visit the group at various times for the purpose of seeing what kind of program the group is having*

An example of such content

follows: The R Club, led by B. are second place in their basketball league, have set up recreational and cultural agenda for the next three months. Each member received a mimeographed copy of the agenda q to keep. Two members were accepted into the group. Prom the content of this report it was assumed that the worker had managed to gather all this information during the supervisory conference with the leader of this particular group.

The content items were significant enough for her

supervisor to read.

These items were the name of the group,

the kind of group, the name of the club leader, the group1s major activity, and the group*s future program plans, the method of achieving their plans, and the accepting of two new members to the club. The group work supervisor had indicated on one of his reports the following content: Much attention is being given to the L. A. Youth Council*s Brotherhood Clinic and Rally. Held in conjunction with National Brotherhood Week, these activities are involving scores of youth who will be participants. Worker, well aware of the Councilfs lack of sup­ port by Group Work Agencies and personnel, feels

^ Bi-Weekly Reports, Group Work Division, Church Wel­ fare Bureau, Los Angeles Church Federation, March 7, 1949.

21

that all agencies might well cooperate in this venture* The Clinic will he educational and is directed toward the 15-25 year age groups* The objective is that of helping youth understand those of different backgrounds and putting this knowledge into active intercultural exchange programs.^ The rest of the material that the supervisor had re­ corded on the reports presented this definite pattern on the schedule.

He had contacts with twenty-five volunteer leaders

of groups; he provided such services to groups as planning intercultural activities; he secured a program specialist for groups; he helped with transportation; he visited groups he supervised student-workers; he coordinated intercultural program activities. All this selected material which the group work super­ visor included on his reports seemed to have been related to the job description.

From the quoted material he raised

questions which were discussed with the director of the Group Work Division.

According to the Director, this ma­

terial was most useful to her for future program planning. For the period of six months, the reports schedule had shown that the four workers had had seventy-three supervisory conferences with volunteer leaders.

Only two workers seemed

to have recorded all their‘conferences on the reports.

One

of them was the supervisor, and the other one was much con­ cerned in doing a qualitative job in her areas; so, she had

^

February 7, 1949.

22

spent more time in supervising leaders of groups.

At the

same time, she had thought that the volunteer leadership in her area had a great need to he orientated to the practice of social group work.

This was most evident in this particular

area, because of the meager leadership. But it appeared that two of the workers did not include in their reports enough content about their supervision of volunteer leaders of groups.

This was attributed to the na­

ture of development of these areas.

Two of the workers men­

tioned only a few activities with volunteer leaders of groups in their bi-weekly reports. workers it was minimum.

Comparatively, with the other two

The workers felt that the reason for

this difference in productivity was due to lack of leadership in the areas.

One worker was working in an area classified as

a changing community.

Her reports expressed less activities

with volunteer leaders, indicating the dearth of community leadership.

Authorities^- had frequently referred to this

area where educational levels, health levels, and incomes are uniformly low for the people who live there.

A few recrea­

tional facilities and private agencies serve the area, but b e ­ cause of the difficulty of movement from one part of the area to another, many of the twenty thousand dwellers are virtually

11

Duane Robinson, Chance to Belong (Hew York: Press, 1949), p. 29.

Woman's

25 without the opportunity for community recreation Bisect services to groups.

The 3oh description

states that group workers offer direct services in those churches where--for numerous reasons— no indigenous leader­ ship is available.

According to Worker A, samples of direct

services to groups were shown from the content of one of her reports: Worker has had three meetings with the group of young people around Mrs, R* in Area II, The group is upper teen-age (16-21) inter-racial, and co-ed,. MexicanAmerican, Nisei, Puerto-Rican, Negro and Irish. They had once had a club, which met at Echo Park Playground but the club broke up after they were attacked by other groups coming to the playground. Their biggest problem now is that of finding a place to meet. The Tuesday and Thursday afternoon crafts group has re­ organized at church, with seven enrolled so far. Mrs. E.. a member of the church, is working with the group. The above quoted material w a s an illustration of the things Worker A was putting down in her reports covering a period of six months.

At the same time, there was an indi­

cation that on fourteen different occasions the worker took the role of club leader for several groups.

Also, the report

schedule pointed out other kinds of services Worker A has given to her groups*

She formed new groups; she*

helped a

to plan a beach party; she made several referrals in terms

^ Bi-Weekly Reports, Group Work Division, Ohurch Welfare Bureau, Los Angeles Church Federation, March 21, 1949,

24 of helping the members find employment; she noted down in her report the unemployment problem that was evident among her groups. The reports showed that Worker B on fifteen different occasions acted as club leader for several of her groups. She supervised and guided three youth council meetings re­ quiring on her part a great deal of leadership skill.

A

selected portion of Worker B*s content ran as follows: The J. Club of P. Church had a very successful cookie sale last Sunday* The cookies were made by the girls who put plenty of time and heart into the making. They were rewarded for their efforts with a tfsell out.”13 Worker C*s reports revealed the following pattern on the reports which reflected her job description: I have been meeting with the B. group since the regular leader cannot meet with them this month. There is a wonderful spirit among the boys who seem for the most part to divide into two definite age g r o u p s . ^ Prom this material Worker C explained her role of providing direct services to one of her groups in terms of acting as a club leader.

The reports indicated the range of

direct services that Worker C had offered to groups:

she

attended and guided thirty-three club meetings of eight

Ibid., February 7, 1949. 14

Ibid., January 24, 1949.

groups; she furnished transportation for several outings; she told how she used community resources; she listed a numher of home-calls; she planned joint activities with other groups; and she took one of her groups on a tour. The group work supervisor offered a number of direct services to groups.

For the period of six months, he did

the following things;

he made some group members referrals

to the Case Work Division of the Church Welfare Bureau; he answered several inquiries about the types of groups; he acted as an emergency club leader for a group; he secured speakers for several church groups; he provided transporta­ tion on numerous occasions; and he promoted summer camp.

An

example of the kinds of services which he rendered to groups ran as follows: The S. Club sponsored a party that demonstrated the group’s ability to successfully promote a rather large (financially) venture. Worker attended as a chaperone, in a limited capacity

.^

4.

Consultation services to ministers.

In examples

of these services, the social group worker goes in to advise the minister or sponsoring group in a church.

As a consult­

ant, he does not go in as one nto take over” or hand down a body of knowledge.

Rather, by sharing his experience 3n

making use of the church facilities, he is better able to advise.

Whenever he renders consultation services to

15 Ibid., March 20, 1949.

26 ministers he has to define his relationship to the ministers, to sponsoring committees and to members of the group and club leader #-*■6

The way he goes about this is as follows:

1*

Clarify types of group programs that may be developed,

2*

Clarify relationship of minister to group and group leader#

3#

Clarify type of young people who are to join a group#

4#

Clarify relationship of group worker of Church Welfare Bureau to volunteer leader#

5.*, Arrive at a clear understanding as to the use of church equipment, club expenses, etc*l? According to the reports, Worker A revealed this pat­ tern which showed what material she had included in her re­ ports. She gave service to two new ministers# sultation services to the K# Church# of the R.#, Church.

She gave con­

She helped a volunteer

A quotation from Worker A fs report follows:

Supervisor and worker have made two new contacts with ministers# A call was made to Reverend W. at A# Church, and although the minister did not feel that he needed our group w o r k service now, he was glad to learn of our work and now knows he can call on us in the future. The second contact was with Reverend S. of C. Church# He had been wishing that he might soon hear from us and asked if we might give the church some help with their co-ed recreation club, which has been meeting

-^See Appendix B for Duties of the Group Worker, p# 6* ^ S e e Appendix A for Job Description in detail, p# .1#

27 on Tuesday nights, but without any adult help. Here, we may be able to give some assistance with a student volunteer.18 Worker A ’s p a t t e m i n the reports was indicative of certain other services which she had offered as she worked with churches.

In addition to making new contacts, the worker

had served several other churches; she helped with square dancing and helped volunteer leaders with church programs. Worker B ’s reports pattern indicated that she had only seven contacts with ministers and churches which she recorded in her reports.

For example, a conference with one of the

minister’s showed what she had included In her report: The conference with Reverend S. of W. Church. Worker introduced Mr. W*, who will be the new b o y s ’ club leader. The conference was successful as worker observed Reverend S. and realized the new leader had been accepted, and that the leader was favorably im­ pressed with the minister. Many things were clari­ fied and everyone was quite at ease. From all indications, this arrangement will work out for the good of the group. Mr. W. agreed to regular super­ visory conferences and was given the "go signal" by Reverend S. 19 From this material it is assumed that Worker B thought that this kind of information was significant to include in her reports.

It had helped her to prepare for her regular

conferences with her supervisor.

This material, too, was

useful for the group work agency director from the standpoint

I® Ibid., February 21, 1949. 19

Ibid*

28 of knowing what services are being given to ministers and churches in this work e r ’s assigned area* Here, Worker B was seen sharing her experience with church people, helping them to become more active in com­ munity affairs.

For instance, she included in the reports

the role she took in planning with ministers of Area X Sports Night, her attendance at a dedication service of a new church, and her participation in Reverend S ’s farewell reception* Worker C showed an excellent example of sharing her experience with church people*

"Phis quotation of hers is a

sample of material that she had included in her reports: B. Church groups are becoming better organized* 'The need for continuous interpretation and contact has been revealed in questions arising from misunderstand­ ings by Dr* B. and Miss Y* of the content of group program activities. The idea of our agency partici­ pating in aiding in developing of the church’s pro­ gram seems so new and almost unbelievable to them* The material covered in the initial contacts regard­ ing our relationship becomes much more an active work­ ing arrangement than on the verbal agreement l e v e l . 20 In the activity of consulting service to ministers, this worker also included in her reports thirty-nine in­ stances of sharing her experiences with church people*

Out

of the three workers, she seemed to be more active in this area of consultation services to ministers*

This can be

traced to lack of church leaders in this changing community,

20 Ibid., January 24, 1949.

29 to the fact that this area has a large Catholic population, and to the fact that most of the church people are not now living in the area# In the responsible role of providing consultation services to ministers, these workers often have found that certain meetings with ministers are of great significance to their work*

In the supervisor's material which he had in­

cluded in the report was an indication of such success*

For

Instance, a meeting was held with Dr. W., District Superin­ tendent of the Methodist Churches, regarding the agency's contacts in several of his churches.

This was a significant

meeting in that he was willing to plan with Worker C (whom the supervisor accompanied) a program designated to open the door of several churches to the community youth for a leisure­ time program.

The fruits of this meeting were evident when

E* Church was re-opened to two of the groups. 5.

Interpretation of agency *s work#

sponsibility is twofold:

This area of re­

(1 ) The worker will interpret his

agency to the community, and (2 ) keep his agency in step with community needs and development.

This interpretation of the

Group Work Division is done with ministers, church leaders, volunteers, club members, prospective leaders, and men and women in the community.

Some of this is done through talks

to groups, some in conferences and much of it through con­ sultation visits to individual homes and churches#

30 Another area of the w o r k e r ’s responsibility lies in the field of community organization work*

Here, each worker

makes a survey of the areas in which he works, becoming es­ pecially familiar with the churches, facilities offered, leaders available, playground, becoming acquainted with all possible community resources*

The worker keeps all such per­

tinent information in his area book,

as well as in the church

Survey Piles at the Group Work Office* Therefore, his basic purpose will be that of helping the agency and community constituents find within themselves certain resources which, when properly channeled, will serve to meet the needs of the community. A quotation from Worker A 1s reports showed the kind of material .that she had included in relation to her interpreta­ tion of the agency’s work to the community: A new contact with the Research Department of the Welfare Council has been interesting. This worker was able to put Mr. G. in touch with some lay peo­ ple in Area XI, who agreed to be interviewed. The facts and conclusions that will come out of this study will be interesting and helpful.21 Worker A ’s reports included seven different occas­ ions in which she had to interpret the work of the agency to ministers and to people in the community.

For instance, she

had a contact with a director of a playground to secure

21 Ibid., March 7, 1949.

31 facilities for the purpose of having one of her groups at­ tend a club meeting there.

She cleared with Belmont High

School principal to have one of her groups meet there.

She

cleared with the Research Department of the Yfelfare Council and helped lay people to understand the function of the Wel­ fare Council Research Department. ports news items about her area.

She mentioned in her re­ She worked with her club

leaders to promote attendance at the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Southern California sum­ mer camps.

She helped in the coordination of the work at the

Methodist Asbury Church. Worker B included in her reports six different occas­ ions where she had to interpret the work of the agency to other professional people, to ministers, and to community leaders.

She contacted Poshay High School’s vice principal

to tell him of the Church Welfare Bureau work.

She had a

conference with Reverend C. explaining to him in what way the Church Welfare Bureau could help him in his church pro­ gram.

She had a conference with Officer H*, University

Police, regarding pertinent information regarding Jefferson and Normandie area. area coordinator.

She showed her working relation to her She spoke at neighborhood community

churches interpreting the Church Welfare Bureau work. attended a fellowship dinner.

She

She took part in a Race Rela­

tion Day program at H. Methodist Church.

A quotation from

her bi-weekly report presented an example of the kind of m a ­ terial she included: Worker had conference with Mr* B., District Supervisor of the G-olden West Insurance Company, and community worker. The purpose of this conference was to inform Mr. B. of his agreement as chairman of the steering committee of the Youth Carnival Area X. In talking with Mr. B. worker attempted to interpret the role of each agency in the community, what this project would mean to the community and to the young people in par­ ticular. Mr. B. accepted this responsibility, realiz­ ing the work involved* Worker feels this young man, if given the proper support ot the agency workers, will do a fine job*22 Worker C presented the following material regarding the interpretation of the agencyfs work.

On twenty different

occasions she interpreted the agency’s work to ministers, church people, and other social agencies.

A quotation from

one of her reports was Indicative of the kind of material that she included in them: At S. Church the situation came ”to a head” in that there has been a gross misunderstanding on the part of the volunteer regarding his affiliation with our agency. A different kind of relationship with former workers in addition to feelings of resentment about supervision complicated the issue* In this instance clarification with the minister regarding our services and movement toward a qualitative group work job was necessary. I felt this was an instance where I had to be free in leaving the choice to the minister, as to the kind of service he wanted from our agency, if any. In verbalizing terms of this ’’reciprocal” ar­ rangement, I was a bit insecure what the ’’policy” of the agency w a s *23

22

May 2, 1949.

23 Ibid... February 7, 1949.

35 The supervisor showed this pattern in respect to inters pretation of the agencyfs work on eighteen different occas­ ions : Upon very short notice, worker spoke to a young adult group at A. Ohurch in Pasadena. This was his first time in speaking in his home town to such a group and it was possible to interpret at great length the work of the agency and get some assurance that that group wanted to join in whenever possible agency-group activities;24 The range of activities which the supervisor included in his reports ran as follows:

he attended Area X program

planning with ministers, helped with a panel meeting at A* Community Church, and spoke at H* Church*

He spoke to a

young adult group at Pasadena, and gave talks at Lafayette School, at Reverend S * fs farewell reception, and at the I. Church.

He interpreted the Church Ytfelfare Bureau’s function

to a playground director; he explained the need of planning inter-church recreation activities; and did promotion work at C. Church.

He cleared the agency’s role in planning for Troy

Camp, established a working relationship between the agency and the Volunteer Placement Bureau of the Welfare Council of Los Angeles, and completed publicity for Area II summer pro­ gram* 6.

Participation in agency meetings*

Senior group

workers are required to attend regular agency meetings.

^

3Ib3-cU, March 18, 1949.

These

34 meetings are thought to he helpful to the workers in giving them experience of in-training service, as well as an over­ all picture of the Los Angeles Federation program*

Bi-weekly

meetings are held of the staff and Group Work Division when special training along group lines is given.

Alternating

with this twice a month, there are meetings of the entire staff of the Church Welfare Bureau.

In addition, there are

other meetihgs which the group worker attends from time to time such as those of the entire staff of the Church Federation, the District Welfare Commission and special 'Church Federation committee meetings. In relation to agency staff participation, Worker A did not include any material pertaining to this subject. Worker B noted down three occasions where she mentioned in her report that she had participated in an agency meeting. Worker C showed in her recording on seven different occasions her participation in agency meetings.

The supervisor Included

in his report that on seven different times he took active part in agency meetings.

A quotation from his material gives

an illustration of the kind of content that he included in his reports: The Group Work Advisory Committee meeting points up the need for such a group performing some definite function with regard to the Division. This function would seem to hinge on the members assuming an active interest In the "details” of the Division’s program and in using their meetings to share their thinking

55

with the staff representative.^5 The general patterns of reporting practices indicated that all of the forty bi-weekly reports studied evidenced content in each of the six main headings of the job descrip­ tion.

The illustrations quoted are indications of these six

elements included in the content of the reports examined* The recorded data suggest that there was a degree of variance in the amount of emphasis, in the style of writing, and in the particular area of experience observed.

These were fac­

tors of significant difference which appeared to enter into the total picture of the content of each report studied. However, there was revealed great difference in the actual amount of content in the findings presented. Among the elements which seemed to be given particular prominence in quantity of content in the reports examined were:

participation in community meetings, supervision of

volunteer leaders of groups, direct services to groups, and consultation services to ministers.

Interpretation of the

agencyfs work was, in most instances, interrelated with these prominent elements.

It was always emphasized throughout the

content of the report by each worker.

The recorded data of

two of the workers seemed to indicate both the elements of supervision of volunteer leaders of%groups and direct ser­ vices to groups fell in a secondary position in relation to

25 Ibid., January 24, 1949.

36 quantity of material recorded.

Apparently in contrast the

elements of participation in community meetings, consultation services to ministers, and interpretation of agency’s work had a tendency to have a high degree of reported data.

The

element that was negligible in the recorded data was partici­ pation in agency meetings. Two of the workers1 reports studied appeared to place approximately equal stress on the elements of participation in community meetings, supervision of volunteer leaders of groups, and direct services to groups.

One bi-weekly report

gave evidence which underlined the element of direct services to the group.

In this instance, the worker gave impressions

of problems affecting her groups in the area.

She mentioned

such problems as unemployment, the need for a meeting place for her groups, and church conflict situations. Two of the workers’ recorded data seemed to follow most consistently the agency’s job description while the other two workers appeared to concentrate much effort in one of the main headings of the job description; in one instance, the element of participation in community meetings, and in the other, direct services to groups.

CHAPTER III THE USE OP BI-WEEKLY REPORTS BY THE SOCIAL GROUP WORKERS INTERVIEWED A critical examination.of the use of the bi-weekly reports forms the basis of this chapter.

Available evidence

is presented as determined from findings obtained from inter­ views with each of the four senior group workers who had writ­ ten the bi-weekly reports examined, and from an interview with the Group Work Division Director who had not written the reports but had made use of them.

The purpose of t^he inter­

view with the director was to find the administrative uses of the reports.

The data are presented according to the main

divisions of the interview guide:

problems encountered and

personal feelings held on the subject,

specific uses as out­

lined in the interview guide, and concrete examples on actual use of written material within the past year.

The interview

guide is included in the appendix. I.

FOR WHOM ARE BI-WEEKLY REPORTS WRITTEN?

Question:

For whom do you write the bi-weekly reports?

All of the senior group workers said that they wrote the bi-weekly reports for the use of their supervisors, of their area coordinators, of their agency director, and for their own use.

One worker especially emphasized that she

wrote them for her area coordinator because this was the most effective method of getting things done in her assigned area.

38 Also, she managed to keep the Los Angeles Youth Project wellinformed of what was happening in the area. said that she wrote them for her own use.

Another worker The group work

supervisor declared that he wrote them for the use of the director of the Los Angeles Youth Project, for the use of the director of the Group Work Division, and for the use of the executive director of the Church Welfare Bureau.

He felt

that the reports were the life line between the agency and the Project* II.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED AND PERSONAL PEELINGS HELD ON BI-WEEKLY REPORTING Question:

Do you have any problems in writing your

report? All of the four senior group workers had encountered problems in writing the report*

The time needed to write or

to dictate the report was emphasized.

Without any exception,

the personal feeling was that it took too much time* There were several problems which the persons inter­ viewed had faced in writing the bi-weekly reports.

The pres­

sure of a heavy activity load was discussed as a limitation to bi-weekly reporting.

Most of them mentioned the fact that

it was too difficult to include all their activities. required that they become more selective in reporting.

This Also,

it was impossible to meet the requirements of the different

39 readers#

One worker accepted the problem of writing the

bi ­

weekly report as a good discipline on her part. She did realize that reporting was an important function in the prac­ tice of social group work.

Another worker felt that there

was a problem in writing her bi-weekly report arising from saying too much in a concise form, a feeling of not being able to tell all, and a feeling of wondering whether the ple for whom she wrote read them and made use of them.

peo­

An­

other worker emphasized lack of time since she has only two hours to write the reports*

This made it most difficult to

cover everything she did in a period of two weeks.

It was

impossible for her to keep an accurate account of all the activities and to keep the writing of the

report within the

two hour limit of the time available. III.

GENERAL USES OF REPORTING MATERIAL

Question:

When did you read bi-weekly reports?

answers indicate that the question might have been,

(The

flWhy did

you read bi-weekly reports?11) The group work supervisor and the director read the report as soon as possible, and, at times, not later than twenty-four hours after It was written,

Both felt that this

was important so they could prepare for supervisory confer­ ences with staff members.

The director stated that whenever

she read the workers1 reports, she always took notes to

40 discuss them with the group work supervisor*

The report was

generally read hy the group work supervisor for the purpose of using the content during the supervisory conferences, to evaluate the work of the staff worker* not read recently their reports.

and

Three workers have

Two of them stated that they

usually read their own notes from the previous report for the purpose of getting the next one ready*

This tended to help

one worker to keep a sense of continuity in her reports. The purposes for which the reports were read are as follows:

three out of the five persons interviewed read for

typographical errors and correction to he made before filing, one in preparation for a forthcoming meeting to refresh his mind about the preceding meeting, and to see if any prepara­ tion should be made for the forthcoming; one was to prepare a speech for a particular area; the director had referred a new worker to the bi-weekly reports of his assigned area for the purpose of orientation.

Three of the workers remarked

that all have read them when they first came to work for the Group Work Division.

Some said that they spent some time

reading them for the purpose of becoming better acquainted with their assigned areas. . Question:

What are the ways in which you use a bi­

weekly report? There were several varying opinions expressed on the answer to this question.

It was agreed by those interviewed

41 that the report had been used In many ways in the practice of social group work.

They expressed their feeling that the

report served as a means of evaluation of workers, the prob­ lems and needs of their areas, what has happened in their areas, and what has been planned there. One worker indicated her own way of recording all her two weeks activities in the area.

She planned out an outline

of the coming events for a month in advance. method she found the reports of no use to her.

Because of this She expressed

the feeling that it was a waste of time trying to read the previous bi-weekly reports since she knew what happened in her area.

She explained that she had developed this particu­

lar kind of skill after working several months in the area. Another worker pointed out her own use of the reports* She said that she always used them for weekly conferences with her area coordinator.

In doing this she was able to

include material for discussion when they met.

She found

this extremely useful in meeting certain problems and needs in the area* This worker made an additional suggestion for a use of the bi-weekly reports.

This was in terms of having the area

coordinator and the supervisor evaluate her work*

This

tended to prompt direction from them in regard to activities in which she was using too much time, and activities which she was ignoring completely*

42 Still another worker commented that regular reading of her reports helped her to determine the accomplishments which had taken place in her area* One worker pointed out that persons had requested the use of recorded material for the purpose of knowing what was happening in any particular area.

Some of the workers used

the reports for the purpose of memory recall, in order to remind themselves of significant things to be done and to check on their responsibilities before attending any coming meeting.

It was indicated that the material was used for

community talks.

They said that illustrative material of

the work of the social agency and any new developments in the areas were taken from the reports.

These illustrations

were presented before lay people of members of boards. Questions

How does a report at the present time

function to improve your work— in what ways? All of those interviewed were convinced that the re­ port functioned to improve their work.

There were several

opinions expressed in regard to this question.

They said

that it served as an aid to evaluate the progress of their area, and the programs in terms of meeting interests and needs of their groups.

It was indicated that evaluative ma­

terial was used to facilitate the practice of social group work. helped:

They enlarged upon this fact.

Written material

(1 ) to make possible and increase knowledge and

43 understanding of their assigned areas: (2) to show their roles in representing the agency In the several community meetings they usually attended;

(3) to indicate ways of work

for the future through a recall of mistakes and progress; (4) to enable the social group worker to be more objective and to study the techniques of being more selective in re­ porting* They indicated that to put down on paper what had happened during a period of two weeks time made the experi­ ence more vivid.

The comment was made that when there was

present in the worker’s mind a knowledge that a report needed to be recorded it helped to keep him alert to what was happening in his assigned area.

It was felt that re­

porting provided the means for valuable supervisory confer­ ence on a weekly basis.

Then, too, it served as a histori­

cal record for future reference and for ways of work for new staff personnel.

The director declared that the worker’s

material provided sufficient evidence to be used as a basis in planning the agenda of the staff meetings, group confer*

ences, and the discovery of new developments or trends in the various areas. IV.

SPECIFIC USES AS OUTLINED IN THE INTERVIEW CKJIDE Question:

Indicate whether or not you have used a

report for the following purposes within the past year as

44 they are indicated in your job description?

And to what

extent? Participation in community meetings*

The supervisor

and the director used the recorded material on many occas­ ions for purposes of selecting illustrative examples to get overall pictures of any new developments in the community* The senior group workers found no use of the report for this particular reason*

They generally used their own notes*

The

workers read the reports to a greater extent when they were new at the agency*

Here, the director pointed out how a

recently appointed worker, read the reports of the previous staff member for the purpose of becoming better acquainted in his new job*

The supervisor mentioned going back to sev­

eral reports to refresh his mind about a previous meeting* Supervision of volunteer leaders of groups*

The

director explained that she usually re-read the reports to see what the staff was doing along the lines of training courses for volunteer leaders, for age-groups served, and for new trends in the various areas.

One worker was unable to

remember whether she ever used them for this particular pur­ pose*

Another worker mentioned the fact that she always

omitted this material, but that she saved it for the super­ visory conferences.

One worker thought that in the near

future she might attempt to use the reports material as a

45 means of keeping well-informed about her volunteer leaders* Direct services to groups*

Two out of the five per­

sons interviewed agreed that the reports were constantly used for this purpose.

They felt that the content should

be re-read for program needs of their groups and the types of groups they served in their own areas.

The other three

senior group workers were not able to recall ever going back to the reports for this information.

One indicated

the need to know what kind of services the agency was giv­ ing to adult groups* Consultation services to ministers.

All the workers

interviewed thought that there was no use of the reports for this purpose because the agency has another medium for reporting this activity.

The workers depend upon

monthly reports of conferences they have with ministers* Basis of supervision*

Only one worker interviewed

had no use for the report for this purpose.

Two of the

workers used the content for supervisory purposes.

They

expressed the fact that the material was used as a basis of conferences with the agency group work supervisor.

One

worker indicated that the major purpose for using the report was as a tool to evaluate her own work in the area*

But an­

other worker claimed that this is not a good criterion to use

46 because the report does not include everything they do in their own areas*

She pointed out that this group work agency

provides other media of reporting* The group work supervisor re-read them for the purpose of evaluating the work of the workers*

He generally read

them to see whether or not the workers carry through their objectives for their groups*

The director explained that

the reading of the reports was a time saving for her because she was able to take down some notes of great importance to bring during the conferences with the group work supervisor* She told that this was extremely helpful on her part in see­ ing what everybody was doing in the various areas*

It helped

her to clear with the supervisor on certain areas of agency*s functions or policies which from time to time the workers1 reports have raised questions about* V. Question:

CONCRETE EXAMPLES OP ACTUAL USE Indicate your recent use of a portion of a

report to meet an immediate situation calling for recorded material that you know could be found in the report.

Give

details. In all cases the workers reported that the written material had been useful in. the practice of social group work*

Those interviewed expressed their convictions in a

discussion of concrete examples of immediate personal

47 experiences.

According to those consulted there were several

uses of the content: tinent information;

(1 ) to help the worker to remember per­ (2 ) to give information to the other de­

partments of the Church Welfare Bureau;

(3) to give the

director the over-all pic ture of what was being done by the workers in their areas.

One person interviewed said that the

recorded data had been used as a basis for preparing talks about the function of the Church Welfare Bureau to interested people in the community.

They emphasized that the material

was valuable for determining areas* needs, problems, and workers1 activities.

The concrete examples of uses as indi­

cated in the personal interviews are as follows: Miss A. mentioned her concern about the rise of unem­ ployment among her groups, particularly those with no train­ ing and little experience, who are the most affected.

She

told how she wrote this material in one of her reports for the purpose of prompting some action on the part of her area coordinator: ....there seems to be no place to refer these young people who are floundering around. A group worker*s Job is one of referral, but the question arises where. This worker asks, what can the Welfare Council do about the problem?*1* As the result of this material, Miss A. indicated

1

Bi-Weekly Reports, Group Work Division, Church Welfare Bureau, Los Angeles Church Federation, June 13, 1949.

48 during the personal interview that she and the area coordin­ ator took the matter to the Welfare Council for some action. Because of this effort the Welfare Council started a vocation­ al guidance committee to investigate the problem. Miss B. was unable to present a concrete use of the report.

She felt that there was no need of referring to the

reports because she generally used her own personal notes about her activities.

She told that the only time she ever

read the reports was when she first came to work at the agency. them.

Her feelings were that the agency could do away with She said that she often had a strong resistance to the

writing of the reports because they were time-consuming and there were too many other reports to write* Miss C. told of using the report to raise questions about her job, to make general comments about things the agency should know, and to find doubts about the use of the report after being at the agency for six months*

She Implied

in one instance, in all frankness, her feelings of reaching a saturation point in expressing and sharing thoughts and views regarding her activity in her areas: ....After five months of writing and talking there seems to be little movement toward the “doingu level. Except for a few instances there has been little reper­ cussion or response to statements or concern expressed. The relationship is continually diminishing. Perhaps there is need for further orientation as to the value and purpose of the bi-weekly reports or further clari­ fication of content.2

^ Ibid., February 7, 1949.

49 The group work supervisor told of the ways in which he had made use of portions of the workers* reports to meet immediate situations calling for some recorded material that he knew could he found in them. to he a speaker on the subject,

For instance, he was asked "The Principles and Practices

of Group Work," by the Pasadena Junior League.

By reading

and taking notes from each worker’s report, the supervisor was able to find enough material about group work services being offered in several of the areas.

Because of this, dur­

ing his talk to this community group, he presented factual information about the kinds of groups that his agency had served.

He told how some churches with some supporting from

the Group Work Division made use of volunteer leaders or student-workers which, in turn, are supervised by the Division’s staff workers.

In addition, the supervisor was able to inform

the Junior League group of the kinds of activities which are planned by his agency to meet the needs and interests of any church or non-church groups in the various areas.

He gave

illustrations how in one church group the main interest would be sports or taking trips, while in another, the program would be centered around arts and crafts activities, square dancing, and choir singing. The director told her ways of using the group work supervisor’s reports for several purposes.

She recalled one

instance where the supervisor made a preliminary evaluation

50

in his bi-weekly report regarding seven students, who were on a M. Work Gamp trip to California, which completed their five weeks* stay with the Group Work Division.

Here, the

supervisor felt that this kind of venture was largely nega­ tive for several reasons.

One or two students, he said,

worked with each area staff member, helping with club leader­ ship.

Most of these students were ’’learners*1 and, conse­

quently, were limited in what they had to offer. much time in preparing them to help#

This took

With other activities

going on, he felt that the workers were sometimes handicapped by additional responsibility.

He indicated that developing

work to fill schedules was not easy and, though the students were cooperative, faithful, and quite responsive, the total value to the agency— in terms of the staff involved— was questionable. The director,

in this particular instance, in answer­

ing the questions which the Supervisor had raised regarding the total value of the students* work camp to the agency, told how she had made use of the supervisor *s recorded data for the purpose of discussing the values to the agency purposes of work projects and any possible future student work projects. With this experience before them, she said that the agency could learn better ways of handling or preparing for such situations in the future. So far, in this chapter and effort has been made to

51 clarify the use of the content of the report in the practice of social group work.

A brief review of the main headings

of the interview guide will follow. The point that the worker had faced problems and held personal feelings on the subject of report writing was deemed as a significant aspect of the subject for those interviewed. Despite this, three out of the four workers felt that the re­ port served practical purposes for the social group worker in practice.

All the workers thought that one of the pri­

mary uses was directed to their immediate superiors.

For

this purpose the recorded data were used to guide and help the worker.

All agreed that the content of the report had

general uses for all the staff workers. The workers who were interviewed indicated their spe­ cific uses of the content of the reports.

The supervisor and

the director had made use of the recorded data for the pur­ pose of:

(1 ) talks to persons and groups,

of the social agency to community groups, social agency policies and programs, meeting agenda,

(2 ) interpretation (3) formulation of

(4) planning the staff

(5) a basis of supervision,

(6 ) getting

knowledge of the types of groups served by the Division, (7) planning with inter-agency groups, and (8 ) some criteria for evaluating the work of the staff members.

In turn, the

staff members had made use of the content (1 ) to raise ques­ tions about their role and agency functions,

(2 ) to make

52 general comments about their activities,

(3) to note new con­

tacts and new groups, and (4) to point out problems affecting their assigned areas* All the five workers had shown concrete examples of the actual use of the content of the report*

The recorded

data about the workers1 areas were used to meet immediate situations; that is, in terms of planning talks to community groups.

While doing this it was possible to get factual

instances of group work practices.

One worker had illus­

trated her use of the content of the report to initiate a survey study about the problem of youth unemployment in one of her areas.

Generally, the content was used for the pur­

pose of memory recall of pertinent information,

as a basis

of an individual referral of facts to other departments in the Church Federation.

Also, workers had shown ways of cit­

ing specific problems about their groups or their work through the use of the report.

Then, in turn, they had indicated

suggestions for their possible solutions.

CHAPTER IV CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The purpose of this study was to determine the con­ tent and use of the bi-weekly report as a necessary tool in the practice of social group work in 'an agency carrying on a decentralized program*

An attempt was made to arrive at a

conclusion in regard to;

(1 ) what material the worker tended

to include in the bi-weekly report and how this material was related to the job description;

(2 ) how the worker made use

of the recorded material* The groupings of criteria for an evaluation of the con­ tent of the report fell under the separate headings of the senior group w o r k e r fs job description;

participation in com­

munity meetings, supervision of volunteer leaders of groups, direct services to groups, consultation services to ministers, interpretation of the agency’s work, and participation in agency meetings*

These main headings were the means by which

it was possible to draw together various data for an evalua­ tion of the material which the staff workers included in the report.

It should be kept in mind that such an experimental

form as the bi-weekly report schedule was developed with the thought of its relationship to the job description*

It was

understood that these six main headings listed in the report schedule were merely indicative of the common elements basic to the senior group w o r k e r ’s job description.

This was con-

54 sidered in the "broadest sense and reduced to simple terms* The groupings for the purpose of this study proved comprehen­ sive and welbe readily subdivided*

The data obtained from the

interviews were used as a basis for determination of the value of the report in the practice of social group work. The limitations of such a study are recognized* Material gathered from a report depends to a degree upon the objectivity and the generalizations drawn by the reader* Material gathered from interviews are expressions of personal views of the interviewees*

The study was limited in that it

applies to a single social agency*

However, the reports pro­

vided were more complete because of the available facilities and services offered in the particular social agency included in this study.

Also, the forty reports studied were written

by social group workers with professional education in the theoretical concepts of social group work, and with several years of group work experience.

This would imply that these

workers should have had conscious social work objectives in mind which enabled them to decide what to include in the re­ port.

The conclusions of the study will be summarized in re­

lation to content and use of the report. The reports examined did give evidences of all six of the component parts of the job description.

This in itself

was an indication of arriving at one of the conclusions of this study.

The only difference was in the following area.

55 The data quoted pointed out that the reports varied in style of writing and in the degree to which a particular element received emphasis rather than in the content of the recorded data*

It would seem from the findings that a report is a vital

part of and serves as a necessary tool in the practice of social group work when it is written by a social group worker in a decentralized group work agency. Another conclusion relates to the content of such a report recorded by a social group worker.

The reports

studied afforded evidences supporting these reasons: is consistency in terms of time;

(1 ) there

(2 ) there is also the oppor­

tunity of recounting, under various headings, a variety of services;

(5) a certain uniformity is achieved since these re­

ports are kept on file;

(4) the accumulation of several work­

e r s1 reports affords the opportunity of weighing individual contributions in relation to emphasis along certain areas of work. An attempt has been made to formulate the purpose and function of the report applicable to one social group work agency.

Distinctive usage of the report by five social group

workers interviewed was a means to establish a systematized statement.

The data obtained were related to the ways in

which the report was used by the worker in the practice of social group work. suggested.

From the findings certain conclusions are

56 Reporting is one of the various skills that the social group worker used in the practice of social group work. seemed to he an effective evaluative method.

It

It was used for

the study and review of the worker*s activities, his areas, his groups, and his problems.

The report was primarily used

by the recorder to communicate to his immediate superiors. It was used by the social agency, the supervisor, and other cooperative agencies in the profession of social work, for an evaluation of the various aspects of the social group work practice. The findings offer certain recommendations which may prove useful to a decentralized social agency using reports as a medium of reporting.

The bi-weekly report schedule which

was developed from the worker*s job description is flexible and could be easily modified and adapted for use as an outline for a guide in uniform reporting.

The general guide would be

of value in drawing together in all areas and in all phases the worker *s activities.

The main headings which.were in­

cluded in the bi-weekly report schedule could be used as a means toward the development of minimum standards for report­ ing. There would seem to be a definite need for additional studies of the reporting procedures of agencies for the pur­ pose of drawing together the total pattern of social group work practice as it evolves within the interacting unity of

57

the social agency, the areas covered, the groups served, the individual contacts, the social group worker, and problems with possible solutions*

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY A*

BOOKS

Dimock, Hedley S. and Harleigh B. Trecker, The Supervision of Group Work and Recreation# New York: Association Press, 1949# 280 pp. Hamilton, Gordon, Principles of Social Case Recording# New York: Columbia University Press, 1946. 142 pp# Trecker, Harleigh B., Group Process in Administration# New York: The W o m a n ’s Press, 1947. 127 pp# B.

PUBLICATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONS

“A Statement of Policy of the Church Welfare Bureau, Church Federation of Los Angeles.tf California: Los Angeles Youth Project, 1947# 6 pp* “Job Classification and Pay Plan#” Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles Community Welfare Federation, November 26, 1946. “Stepping Stones of Christian Service,ft Los Angeles, Cali­ fornia: Church Welfare Bureau Publication, 1949. 19 pp. C.

UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL

Duden, Ann Russell, “Narrative Process Records— Content and Use by Five Social Group Workers.w Unpublished Master’s Thesis of Social Work, the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Southern California, June 1949. 167 pp. D.

OTHER SOURCES

Bi-Weekly Reports, Group Work Division. Los Angeles, Cali­ fornia: Church Welfare Bureau, Church Federation of Los Angeles, March 1947 to September 1949.

APPENDIX A OUTLINE OP THE JOB ANALYSIS

JOB ANALYSIS SENIOR GROUP WORKER CHURCH WELFARE BUREAU GROUP WORK DIVISION COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION 1.

Survey area or areas for which responsible - Know and keep record in Area Notebook of; a* Resources (1) Institutions (a) Churches (b) Location (c) Facilities offered (d) Program of activities offered for children, youth and young adults* (e) Leadership available, etc. (f) Playgrounds, schools, etc. (2) Unused facilities (3) Misused facilities b. Lay and Professional Leadership (a) All Project workers (b) School principals (c) Ministers and members of church staffs (d) Housing Project administrators and recreation leaders (e) Law Enforcement Officers, etc. (f) Recreation leaders (schools and munici­ pal playgrounds) (g) Officers of service clubs, P.T.A., etc. (h) Volunteer leaders of Church Welfare Bureau groups and clubs using National Youth Agency program but meeting in churches*

2.

Cooperate in Community Service (1) Attend Project Area meetings (2) Promote attendance of ministers at Area Ministers1 Meetings and attend same (when invited). (3) Serve as member of Coordinating Council in area and attend meetings (4) Stimulate ministers to attend Project area meetings and Coordinating Council meetings (5) Serve on Committee of area as need arises after clearing with supervisor (6 ) Cooperate with other Youth Project agencies in meeting needs of area when requested by area committee or coordinator and after clearing with supervisor

60 (7)

Interpret Church Welfare Bureau’s program and participation in Youth Project to individuals and groups in area, especially churches. (8 ) Promote understanding of programs of various agencies, cooperating in the Youth Project..es­ pecially to churches. (9) Report all new work undertaken by group worker to supervisor and Project Coordinator (10) Aid in setting up training courses in group work (under Group Work Division or cooperation) and serve as instructor where requested (after clear­ ing with Director of Group Work Division) II.

PROJECT STAFF PARTICIPATION 1. 2* 3. 4.

III.

Attend Area Project meetings Write weekly reports, copies to be submitted to supervisor, area coordinator and Project coordinator Attend general project meetings as requested after clearing with agency supervisor Take advantage of In-Service Training offered Project staff after clearing with supervisor

AGENCY STAFF PARTICIPATION 1.

Attend agency meetings a. Staff meetings...(Group Work Division, Church Welfare Bureau, arid Church Federation) b. Annual meetings c. Special meetings: Board and Gommlttee meetings, etc.

2.

Participate in study, research, or other.joint under­ takings of Church Welfare Bureau or Group Work Division staff Participate as an instructor in Training Courses upon request of Executive Interpret Youth Project to churches in area in which working and to churches in other sections of Los Angeles upon the request of the Director of the Church Welfare Bureau and Director of Group Work Division Write monthly progress reports of work in area to be submitted to Director of Church Welfare Bureau and Director of Group Work Division Keep narrative reports for any groups of which worker is leader

3* 4.

5* 6.

61 7. 8. 9. 10. I1

.

.Write summary of clubs for which worker has been leader and help volunteer leaders write summaries for their clubs (Every three months) Prepare statistical reports for supervisor Secure names, addresses, ages, nationality and other pertinent data for all club members Keep face sheets up-to-date in club folder

ORGANIZATION AND SUPERVISION OP CLUBS AND GROUPS 1.

Organization of groups a. Establish rapport with minister and church leaders b. Interpret Youth Project to minister and strategic church members c. Explain to minister and church members the ser­ vices the Church Welfare Bureau is ready to give to the church through the Youth Project d. Secure backing for club group to be formed (1) A youth activity or social welfare committee should be appointed which will assume direct responsibility for club*.•secure volunteer leadership, club supplies, etc. (2) At least every three months reports should be written or given as to progress of groups to ministers and sponsoring committees e* Definite relationship of club to minister, spon­ soring committee, members of group and group leader (1 ) Clarify relation of minister to group and group leader (2) Clarify types o f ,club programs that may be developed (3) Clarify type of youngsters who are to join group (a) Church-connected child who has no group activity (b ) Non-Church-connected neighborhood child who wishes to join a group under church auspices or under Church Welfare Bureau auspices (4) Clarify relation of group worker of Church Welfare Bureau to volunteer leader (5) Arrive at clear understanding as to use of church equipment, club expenses, etc.

2.

Recruitment of volunteer leaders through minister, sponsoring club group and youth committee of church from:

62 a* b. c.

V.

Local church Prom another church but only after clearance with minister of local church Prom service organizations, college, etc., after clearance with minister

3.

Recruitment of members for club of local church a. Use of Sunday School rolls b. Announcements in Sunday School and church c. Visits to homes d. Street contacts

4.

Supervision of Volunteer Leader a. Regular conferences with leader (1 ) Discussion of program, growth of club mem­ bers, policies and problems (2) Help leader understand his own strengths and weaknesses b. Observe leader at work c. Encourage leader (volunteer) to attend training courses in group work and in skills d. Encourage leader to keep regular statistical and narrative reports in order that the professional group worker may interpret what is happening in group e. Assist with activities in group meetings if and when requested by leader on special occasions f • Stimulate social exchange as between clubs and between groups in different churches (1 ) Concerts and program involving groups from several churches (2) Picnics, hikes, etc., bringing together several groups from different neighborhoods (3) Inter-Club Council g. Stimulate leaders to become members of Volunteer Group Leaders1 Association h. Encourage volunteer leader (also minister and sponsoring committee members) to attend special agency meetings so may better understand work i. Help leader secure program materials needed (books, patterns, music plays, scrap materials, etc.)

GROUP LEADERSHIP 1. 2.

Every effort is to be made to secure volunteer leaders for club groups Group Worker (professional) may act as club leader a. In case of an emergency

63 b. In case of request for a demonstration of leadership c. In case of personality problems of the group are serious and require professional leadership d. In.the case of canteen or youth center groups, or, youth councils, since these represent more expan­ sive organizations of groups VI.

RESPONSIBILITY IN RELATION TO CAMPING 1*

2

.

8/9/48

Younger groups a. Stimulate interest in camping on part of club members Older groups a. Stimulate interest in attending agency’s weekend camping b* Take part with rest of staff in agency’s weekend camps

APPENDIX B DUTIES OP GROUP WORKER

DUTIES OP GROUP WORKER1 Just what does a Group Worker do is a question that is often asked,

Dorothy Sullivan says, !,Are you interested in

Sealyhams, psychology, Saroyan and the samba? cook, garden, travel and sketch?

Do you like to

Have you been worried be­

cause you felt your non-expert skill in a number of things made you a Jill-of-all trades?

When you finished college did

you dream of being someday a philanthropist in service, if not in currency, so that lots of yesterday §ssumed definition, now looms large as an important career for the somen of many interests.

Girls who are versatile and resourceful, who have

an interest in personality development and a talent for organ­ ization can find challenging jobs in group work. But there are special responsibilities added when the professional group worker is one trained in church group work and assigned to the Youth Project areas under the Church Wel­ fare Bureau,

Such added responsibilities run the gamut from

having regular conferences with the ministers of Protestant churches in his area regarding youth activities, recruiting of leadership, training of leadership, supervision, and pro­ motion of recreation and group activities to interpreting church group work to coordinating councils and other lay organizat ions• One big area of responsibility of the group workers in the Church Welfare Bureau lies in the field of community

^ Written by C, L, Wahlstrom, June 1947,

65 organization.

Each worker makes a survey of the areas in

which she works becoming especially familiar with the churches, facilities offered, leadership available, playgrounds, etc., becoming acquainted with all possible community resources. She keeps all such pertinent information in her area book, as well as, in the Church Survey Files at the Group Work Office. Part of her responsibility lies in interpreting these community resources to the ministers in the area.

In the field of knowing

the' community in cooperation with other agencies, group workers are required to attend certain meetings such,as, the Coordin­ ating Councils in their areas, meetings of Youth Project workers from other agencies.

She is also helpful as stimulat­

ing attendance and calling with the aid of the director of the Group Work Division, meeting of ministers for her particular area from time to time.

The workers are active on a number

of different committees along the line of community organiza­ tion, such as Leadership Training Committee, neighborhood House, American Association of Group Workers, special com­ mittees from the Coordinating Council, etc.' A big part of the worker fs time is spent in the field of public relations and interpretation.

This includes the

interpretation of the work of the Group Work Division of the Church Welfare Bureau to ministers, church leaders, volun­ teers, club members, prospective leaders, and men and women in the community.

Some of this is done through talks to

66 groups, some in conferences, much of it through calls to individual’s homes and churches.

Calls are made to the homes

of the members not only to acquaint the parents with our pro­ gram, but also so that the worker might become acquainted with the parents to see something of the family life and home background of the club members,

so that the program can be

more adequately planned and meet their interests and needs. A larger share of the wor k e r ’s time is spent in the organization and supervision of clubs and groups.

This in­

cludes the following activities: a.

Securing volunteer leaders from various sources, such as churches, universities, community contacts, conferences with the leaders explaining the pro­ gram.

Conference with the minister and volunteer

leaders. b.

Securing of a sponsoring committee for backing for the club or group.

c.

Helping to recruit members for the group through the Church, Sunday School and neighborhood.

d.

Meeting with the new leader and the club members for the first time or two to help them get organ­ ized.

5.

Regular supervisory conferences with the leader in order to help her with her leadership problem at regular intervals.

67 f.

Visiting the group from time to time in order to see that they have an adequate, well rounded pro­ gram*

g.

Writing reports of groups visited*

Carefully study­

ing the reports turned in hy the volunteer -leaders as a "basis for future conference. h.

Helping leader to evaluate the program as planned by the youngsters with the help of the leader.

The above list of things includes a wide variety of demands upon the leader!s time, energy and skill.

They may

include such things as securing craft supplies for the group from the Church Welfare Bureau’s workshop, getting program material and books for the leader; helping with transportation of the group from one church to visit another church group; giving specific training to the volunteer on records, their use and importance; and'then interpreting in turn, back to the minister and the sponsoring committee the program and accom­ plishment of the group. The clubs that the Church Welfare Bureau ^sponsors, cover a wide-range of ages for both sexes.

There are clubs

for younger boys and younger girls on up to the teen-age co-ed group, and the young adult group.

These groups usually meet

once a week either in the church or at some of the members homes.

Some of the clubs are special interest groups built

along the line of church choirs, dramatic groups, discussion

68 forum, or hobby group.

Other are straight clubs for boys or

girls of a particular age group, where the members elect their own officers and plan their own meeting based on their particular interests* With some groups it is not possible to get volunteer leaders and the professional staff member assumes leadership of the group*

This is usually in those cases where the per­

sonality problems of the members of the group are so serious, that they require professional leadership.

Also the Group

Worker may act as the club leader in cases of an emergency, where there is a request for a demonstration of leadership, or in the case of youth center groups, or a youth council that represents a more extensive organization of group. Each staff member leads one or more groups that fall into the above classification because these groups are usually problem groups, either delinquent or pre-delinquent groups* They require special skill, on the part of the worker to understand individual members and to plan a program adequate to their needs.

Each staff member writes a detailed narra­

tive report of each group meeting she leads herself.

She

keeps a file for each club in her area, writing summary of all clubs, whether led by herself or by volunteer leaders every three months.

In addition, each worker writes a bi­

weekly report of the work in her area, a monthly report of the conferences she has had with different ministers, and a

69 monthly statistical report showing the attendance, enrollment, etc., of the groups under her supervision.

Agency meetings

are helpful to the worker in giving them special in-training service, as well as an over-all picture of the Church Federa­ tion program.

Bi-weekly meetings are held of the staff of the

Group Work Division when special training along group work lines is given.

Alternating with this twice a month, there

are meetings of the entire staff of the Church Welfare Bureau. The latest project of this group is the study and re-writing of the Evaluation Procedure for staff members.

In addition

there are other meetings which the group worker attends from time to time such as the All Staff of the Church Federation Gommittee meetings.

There is never a dull moment in the life

of a group worker at the Church Welfare Bureau!

APPENDIX C OUTLINE OP THE B I W E E K L Y REPORT SCHEDULE

THE BI-WEEKLY REPORT SCHEDULE I* II. III. IV.

Name of senior group

worker

Period covered in the bi-weekly report Date The Main Headings of

the Job Description

A.

Participation 1. Attending 2. Attending 3. Attending 4. Attending 5. Attending

in community meetings coordinating councils meetings community meetings project areas meetings professional association meetings special meetings

B.

Supervision of volunteer leaders of groups 1 * Helping leaders organize new groups 2. Recruiting of volunteer leaders 3. Providing supervisory conferences 4. Organizing training courses for leadership 5. Evaluating the progress of the leaders

C.

Direct services to groups 1 . Organization of groups 2. Loan equipment 3. Club leader for problem groups 4. Provide transportation 5. Give case work referrals

D. Consultation services to ministers 1. Make new ministers contacts 2. Clarify relation of minister to group and group leader 3. Clarify type of club program that may be de­ veloped 4* Clarify type of youngsters who are to join group activity 5. Clarify relation of Group Worker of Church Wel­ fare Bureau to volunteer group leader 6 . Arrive at clear understanding as to use of church equipment, club expenses, and super­ vision of volunteer leader E.

Interpretation of agency1s work 1. Interpreting the function of the Church Welfare Bureau to ministers and church groups 2* Presenting talks to community groups 3. Representing the Church Welfare Bureau at meet­ ings

71 4« F*

Participating at community committees

Participation in agency meetings 1* Attend staff meetings 2. Attend annual Church Welfare Bureau meetings 3* * Special meetings: Board and Committee meet­ ings 4m- Participate in study, research, or other joint . undertakings of Church Welfare Bureau or (xroup Work Division staff 5* 'Interpret Youth Project to churches 6 . Participate as an instructor in training courses in leadership

APPENDIX D THE INTERVIEW GUIDE

THE INTERVIEW GUIDE I.

General description and statistical facts A.

Does the (name of the social agency) have a particu­ lar name for the position that you hold at the pre­ sent time?

B.

What is the approximate date' at which time you be ­ came employed in your present position?

G.

Education 1.

Name of undergraduate school a.

2*

3*

4.

D.

Circle number years graduate work completed a.

12

3 4

b.

Name of school

c.

Major

Graduate certificate of social work a.

les

No

b.

Name of school

c*

Date received

Thesis completed a.

Yes

No

b.

Name of school

c*

Date received

Employment history 1.

II.

Degrees received

What experience have you had in the practice of social group work? Give details.

The Bi-weekly Report Section 1.

For whom do you write the bi-weekly reports?

Do you have any problems at all In writing your bi-weekly reports? The Uses a*

When was approximately the last time you read a bi-weekly report?

b*

What are the ways in which you use the biweekly report?

c.

Does a bi-weekly report function to improve your work at the present time— if so in what ways?

d.

Indicate whether you have used a bi-weekly report for the following purposes within the past year as they are indicated In your job description? And to what extent?

e.

(1)

Participation in community meetings.

(2)

Supervision of volunteer leaders of groups.

(3)

Direct services to groups.

(4)

Consultation services to ministers.

(5)

Interpretation of agencyfs work.

(6 )

Participation in agency meetings.

Indicate your recent use, say in the past year, of a portion of bi-weekly reports to meet an immediate situation calling for some recorded material that you know would be found in the reports. Give details.

Other Uses a.

General information.

b.

For orientation purposes.

c.

For research.

d.

Reports to lay people boards and ministers.

e*

Knowledge of services to church groups and non-church groups*

f.

Future planning with community groups*

g*

Basis for evaluation.

h*

For the on-going work of the agency*

Material recorded* a*

What factors do you think should "be included in a "bi-weekly report to he useful for the social group worker?

b*

Which of the above stated factors do you in­ clude in your bi-weekly reports?

Have you any comments or suggestions about the bi-weekly reports? Select a bi-weekly report to read*

APPENDIX E TWO PERSONAL INTERVIEWS— M R . D; MRS. A.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND STATISTICAL PACTS Supervisor group worker in Church Welfare Bureau is the particular name for the position which Mr. D, holds at the present time, Mr, D. became employed in his present position in March 1948, At the time of his employment, he was classified as a group worker, EDUCATION Mr, D* received his A. B, degree in June of 1938 at Tougaloo University in Mississippi, He received the Master of Social Work degree in June 1948, His major was in social group work at the University of Southern California Graduate School of Social Work, He received his graduate certificate of social work from the university in June 1947, EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Former experience In group leadership took the form of a Special Service Officer in the Army, He had been in charge of the recreational, social, and educational activities at Port Benning, Georgia, for three years, THE BI-WEEKLY REPORT The worker does have some problems in writing the bi­ weekly reports. They are: (1) In writing the bi-weekly re­ port to be used by several persons, it was difficult for Mr, D. to focus the content of the recorded data. This situ­ ation was created because Mr, D. had to write them to the Director of the Los Angeles Youth Project, to the Director of the Group Work Division, and to the Executive Director of the Church Welfare Bureau. (2) In writing the bi-weekly report to include all his activities, Mr. D, has to be selective. He found this situation difficult to include everything in his bi-weekly reports. THE USES Mr. D. reads the bi-weekly reporrs as soon as possible for the purpose of preparing for the supervisory conferences With the staff members. He reads them for evaluating activi­ ties and noting any trends in agency setting. He uses the bi-weekly report to evaluate the worker’s progress and to see if the objectives of the groups were reached by the worker.

76 Mr. D. said that the bi-weekly report functioned present time to improve his work in the following ways: Work as a check on his many activities; (2) To keep him alert on on-going work of the agency; (3) To serve as a torical record for future reference; (4) To serve as an of guiding the work of the staff member.

at the (1 ) fairly his­ avenue

SPECIFIC USES AS OUTLINED Participation in community meetings: Used material of­ ten for talks to be made to committee members and others. Interpretation of the agency to the public: Recently he had used such material for a talk which he gave at a group at Pasadena. He had used the material to illustrate the limitations and the work of the agency. Basis of supervision: Used the material written by the staff members that he supervised for this purpose. Research: He had used the material from the bi-weekly report for this purpose* t

Future planning with community groups: material for this purpose.

He had used

USES CONTINUED Following are examples which Mr. D. gave as an indica­ tion of the way in which he had used a portion of a bi-weekly report to meet an immediate situation calling for some re­ corded material that he knew could be found in this section. 1 . Mr. D. was asked to be a speaker on the subject lfThe Principles and Practices of Group Work** by the Pasadena’s Junior League. Prior to the talk, Mr. D. told how he had read the workers1 bi-weekly reports for the purpose of getting illus­ trations of group work practices from several Los Angeles Youth Project areas. After studying this cited material, Mr. D* then showed how he was able to use the material for his talk. Most of the material that he presented to this group was about the different types of groups being served by churches. He gave actual illustrations where one church would make use of volun­ teer leaders or student workers to run the church program. From the recorded data, Mr. D. was able to list the kinds of activities which made possible the meeting of needs and inter­ ests of the church groups. For instance, it was shown in one church the group would be much interested in baseball or tak­ ing trips. Other churches would have Sport’s Night or square dancing.

2 m At a coordinating council meeting during which the group were talking about planning for summer program, Mr, D* told how he had used data from the bi-weekly reports on what had gone on the previous summer at the various areas* He told how in one area a baseball league was organized, and in another area several outings were made. Still, in another area arts and crafts activities were planned* The material was given as an indication of what can be done for the present.

3. Mr. D. was asked by a Girl Scout agency who wanted to start a troop in a church to give an idea of response from a minister to an agency program. He told how he was able to read some of the recorded data for information about certain ministers* attitudes toward agency*s program. It was shown how some ministers favored agency*s programs, while others didn*t accept them in their churches. This information was most useful to this Girl Scout agency.

4. During staff meetings, at the agency, he had often used bi-weekly report material for agency-wide program planning. For instance, in planning a Christmas program, Mr. D. is able to see through the bi-weekly reports how a particular area would fit in with an agency-wide program. He gave several illus­ trations of how this was done on previous occasions. 5* Mr. D. gave an illustration of telling what was going on in another area to a leader of a religious denomina­ tion in terms of program in churches of the same denomination. This area of consultation services according to Mr. D., has been most useful for the above purposes.

II.

MRS. A.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND STATISTICAL PACTS Senior group worker in the Church Welfare Bureau is the particular name for the position which Mrs. A. holds at the present time. ♦

EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT HISTORY Mrs. A. received her B. S. degree in Education at Ohio State University. Former experience in group leadership took the form of teaching in public schools for seven years, and one year in recreation work before coming to work at the Church Welfare Bureau. She has been working there since June 1948. THE BI-WEEKLY REPORT Mrs. A. does have some problems in writing the bi-weekly reports. They are: (1 ) lack of time to write them, (2 ) to difficult in keeping accurate accounts of activities, (3) dif­ ficulty in making the bi-weekly report long enough. THE USES Mrs. A. did read them frequently when she first came to work at the agency. She told of reading them to see what had happened in the past in her assigned areas regarding general information about the kinds of groups the agency was serving at that time. For her own orientation purpose, she had used the recorded data. She had examined the content to see what other workers were doing in terms of programs, groups, and problems.. She had traced back in the bi-weekly reports to see if any progress was evident in one of her groups. She said that she had always written them for her area coordinator, her supervisor, and the head of the agency. USES CONTINUED Following are examples in which Mrs* A. gave as an indication of the ways in which she had made use of portions of the bi-weekly reports to meet an immediate situation call­ ing for some recorded material that she knew could be found in this section. 1. Mrs. A. told of using the recorded data for the pur­ poses of looking at what the churches were doing in her areas when she first came to the agency, to see what other workers were doing in terms of program, activities, and groups. When she came to the agency, she had used the bi-weekly reports for

79 general information, for "basis of orientation, for some knowl­ edge of services to church groups, for planning with community groups, and for evaluating tool* She said that the following factors should "be included in the bi-weekly report to be useful to the social group worker: (1 ) indicate impressions of new needs in worker*s area, (2 ) indicate impressions of new problems, (3) indicate news items about the areas* She pointed out that she had in­ cluded all the above factors in her bi-weekly report writing. Mrs. A. expressed some comments about the bi-weekly re­ ports. She suggested that the supervisor, the area coordina­ tor, and worker should sit together to discuss the workerfs bi-weekly report for the purposes of: (1 ) evaluating the worker!s progress, (2 ) seeing the over-ail picture of the area, (3) seeing what activities are now more important, (4) guiding the w o r k e r fs activities so that he would not spend much time on some and none on others* The last suggestion is based upon the fact of helping the worker to balance his functions of the job description* The selected bi-weekly report to read was based on one of the bi-weekly reports of Mrs. A. containing a significant news item of a serious nature dealing with youth unemployment*

APPENDIX F TWO BI-WEEKLY REPORTS

BI-WEEKLY REPORT Worker A. Church Welfare Bureau

home address

phone

address

phone

Report Covers Weeks From January 24

GENERAL COMMENTS

to

February 7* 1949

This period has been in three major activities* 1*

Consolidating the existing clubs.

2*

Orientating some new volunteers*

3.

Trying to do a more quali­ tative job in direct club leadership*

Two new volunteers have been as­ signed to this worker, and effort has been made to place them with groups to suit their time and interest. The question of trying to improve the qualitative job with two up­ per teen-age co-ed groups has had special consideration for this worker during this period* The A* group planned and carried out a weekend trip to the M* Camp at S., which afforded this worker an opportunity to live more closely with the group, to work with them in their effort to carry out a successful camping trip and to study at close range the many problems of irresponsibility, sel­ fishness, and insecurity which keep this group in a struggling stage of development* As a followup of this trip, this worker plans to evaluate this weekend with the group at their next meeting* The H. K. Club have suffered with

81 Bi-Weekly report

- 2 -

January 24 to February 7, 1950

organizational problems since Lupe has been in Mexicao, and has been unable to return b e ­ cause the flood washed away the railroad, Lupe has always been the one who called all the members and reminded them of the meetings. The club has succeeded in enroll­ ing two new girls as members whose parents are willing and hap­ py for them to be in the club. Their latest project is partici­ pation in the Brotherhood Chorus and Rally rehearsals. MEETINGS

The A. A. G. W. meeting at which Grace Coyle spoke was very inter­ esting. She raised questions about the kind of jobs we are really doing and suggested that much of the language we use about trying to develop democratic attitudes in our groups is no more than words. More such meet­ ings would have great value for our edu cat iona1 advanc ement• This worker has attended some of the meetings of the Lincoln Heights Community Organizational Committee, where most of the mem­ bers come from the Mexican-American communities of Area I and parts of Area IX. At these meetings there has been discussion of the Downey Playgroup, street lighting, health, and registering voters. It has had good results already, as some of the long over-due improvements are beginning to be made at the playground, but most important of all, the Mexican-American people now have a voice which is being heard in the city hall. Downey Playground still needs a woman director.

BI-WEEKLY REPORT Supervisor Church Welfare Bureau Report Covers Week from January 24, 1949 to

MEETINGS

February 7, 1949

The Area IV Community Council meet­ ing was exceptionally well attended never has worker seen a more repre­ sentative group of community citi­ zens at that council’s sessions* The feature of the meeting was a report from a member of the City Planning Commission during which he challenged the community to help itself. On paper, at least, there were well thought out plans for improving the community. The jointly sponsored meeting fea­ turing Grace Coyle brought out a large number of social and recre­ ation workers who heard group work principles reiterated and new ideas and trends expressed. It was stimulating to have such an author­ ity in the city. The Church Welfare Bureau Board of Managers, at their regular meeting, heard the Group Work Division give an area by area report of its acti­ vities. Such an experience served to enlighten those busy people (the Board Members) and to offer the staff a«:much needed opportunity to Interpret the many phases of the division’s work. The Youth Services Division Lunch­ eon was informative in that it gave the workers some inside ”dopefl on the Chest status. Although numer­ ous contacted in the supplementary campaign expressed doubts as to the plan for canvassing the city. Mr. M. seemed to feel that factors

83 Bi-Weekly Report

- 2 -

January 24, 1949 to February 7, 1949

largely from without the Chest structure accounted for the fail­ ure* The Boy Scout executive was most frank and realistic in his ex­ pressions and this was most impres­ sive and inspiring to many of those present. The Group Work Advisory Committee meeting points up the need for such a group performing some defi­ nite function with regard to the division. This function would seem to hinge on the members assum­ ing an active interest in t h e “de­ tails” of the divisionTs program and in using their meetings to share their thinking with the staff repre­ sent at ives . CONTACTS

Another visit in company with the Area III worker, with Reverend I., of J. Church, found the latter more accepting of the agency and apparently ready to use some steady consultation service. Mrs. A. and worker contacted Miss L. social worker with Oriental Church youth, regarding the C. M. E. Church. She will gain entrance for Mrs. A. in that church. A conference was held with two young men who were referred from the Volunteer Placement Bureau through Coordinator Cozzens. Impressed with the agency they will likely work in Area II.

INTERCULTURAL WORK

Worker is assisting in planning a Talent Show (involving East L. A. youth) to be held in March. Agen­ cies are combining their resources to make this a truly inter cultural activity. Thus far, the Group Work Division, Soto Michigan Center, the

84* Bi-Weekly Report

-

5 -

L. A* Music School and Fresno Playground are involved* Much attention is being given to the L. A. Youth C o u n c i l ^ Brother­ hood Clinic and Rally* Held in conjunction with the Rational Brotherhood Week, these activities are involving scores of youth who will be participants* Worker, w ell aware of the Council’s lack of support by Group Work agencies and personnel, feels that all agencies might well cooperate in this venture* The Clinic will be educational and is directed toward the 15 - 25 year age group* The objective is that of helping youth understand those of differ­ ent backgrounds and putting this knowledge into active intercultural exchange programs* OTHER ACTIVITIES

Worker spoke at the H* Church as a part of the church’s Youth Day pro­ gram. This was significant to the worker for he had to speak on "Religion” rather than "Social W o r k ” or 11Inter cultural Trends." In spite of working in a church oriented agency the w o r k e r ’s inter­ est is "Social W ork” and, conse­ quently, when such an assignment comes up it necessitate much search­ ing for "Religious” material. Such can frequently be most informative.

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