Charles M. Abel, MSW, is Coordi nator, Child Abuse and Neglect Re source Center, Institute of Child Be havior and Development; and H. Wayne Johnson, MA, is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Iowa, Iowa City. It is evident from a review of deciQUESTIONNAIRE sion-making and policy development in the social service sector over the Because the authors were interested in past few years that powerful forces the stance of Professional social work are influencing organizational behavers botb 'n sociaf work settings cov ior. One source of pressure has been ered ^ ,the amendment and increasing societal concern about the 'n a8enc'es that were not covered, they individual's right to privacy and a asked the National Association of So simultaneous call for consumers' accla' Workers (NASW) to provide a cess to records. Evidence of these deP°o1 of P°tential respondents for the velopments is the Federal Educational studyNASW suPPhed maiIin8 labels Amendment of 1974 (P.L. 93-380), for ^ members selected by corn often referred to as the Buckley Puter on a simPle random basis from Amendment. This legislation requires lts atmnwide membership of approx educational institutions that receive lmately 63'000A cover let,er and a federal aid to make students' records one-Page questionnaire were sent with available to them and their parents. a self-addressed, postage-paid return Since this legislative mandate pertains enve'ope. Anonymity was guaranteed, to educational systems, it includes No follow-up letters were sent because school social workers and social work of NASW's stipulation that only one educators. The Veterans AdministramaillnS could be conducted, tion (VA) is also responding to fedThe questionnaire contained 11 eral policy developments, such as the f°rced-choice items and one open Privacy Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-579). ended questl0nInformation was re Evidence of VA compliance with ^uested about the respondents' prac these new requirements is seen in its tice settlnS' lenSth of social work regulations at the national level (such Practice> P0Sltl0neducation, and em as VA Regulations 550-559 and 575P1*TM organization. Respondents 584) as well as in local facilities (as were asked what their a8ency's P°licy reflected in, for example, the Bulletin was on cI,ents' access t0 their records, of the Iowa City, Iowa, VA Hospital). whether the agency had a written pol Some other social agencies are volunon tb*S' and' not' wbetber it tarily implementing their own policies had PIans for instituting such a policy, on records and clients' access, but the Another question dealt with the im extent of this latter practice has not Pact tbe respondents thought clients been previously reported. access had on the amount and nature There has been no systematic atof information consequently omitted tempt to ascertain where professional from the records. A final question social workers and their agencies stand was about the respondent's position on on the issue of clients' access to social clients' access to records and the rea work records. Numerous questions sons for his or her opinion, arise from consideration of this issue. For ease of computation, time and Do professional social workers favor cost efficiency, and accuracy of data or oppose a policy of access? What analysis, the Statistical Package for is their rationale for their position? the Social Sciences, Version No. 601, Have social service agencies and acawas used.1 Two statistical techniques demie social work settings covered by that were especially generative were the amendment implemented descriptive frequency distribution and an open-access policy? Do most social cross-tabulation of variables, agencies have a position? If so, what The questionnaires were mailed on policy factors are evident? Are agenDecember 12, 1975. By the cutoff cies that have a free-access policy condate six weeks later, a surprising 766 sequently limiting the amount and questionnaires were returned, in spite type of information placed in clients' of NASW's single-mailing constraint, files? To seek answers to these quesOf these, 138 were too incomplete to tions, the authors designed a survey tabulate, leaving 628 questionnaires of social workers that was conducted for analysis, 63 percent of those sent, in December 1975. A number of the incomplete question