EDUCATIONAL CORRELATES OF INFORMAL NETWORKING BY GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIAL WORKERS

Abstract

Social planners have recently implored gerontological social workers to network with their clients' informal support systems in order to maximize their social care. A study of the gerontological social workers of Jerusalem found that while most workers placed high importance on the goal of informal networking, fewer workers actually engaged in such tasks. Educational and training factors studied proved to have a negative relationship with the importance imputed to networking by social workers. However, the main impediment to engaging clients' networks was the perceived burden of large caseloads on the part of the gerontological social workers. The implications of the findings for training and for policy are discussed.