CHAPTER XI - Casework and Administration

Abstract

This chapter focuses on administration aspects of social work. Social work and administration may be examined from two angles: (1) the administration of a department and its impact on social work practice and (2) the social worker as administrator. These aspects are closely interrelated because social workers are part of the administrative system and part of the interdependency of administration, worker, and client. Both administrator and social worker are needed if the agency is to attain its objective of meeting client need; although they share the objective, their methods of achieving it differ and often tension arises. This coincidence of objective but tension occurs whether the setting is primary or secondary. There may be particularly identifiable difficulties in the secondary setting, but these are frequently illustrative of the tensions in primary settings, too.