Expectations and re-hospitalization: a study of social worker expectations and client re-hospitalizations in San Bernadino and Riverside, California

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that a social worker's expectations with regard to his agency does affect the re-hospitalization rates of his clients.1 In particular, this study tried to find a relation between the expectations of workers in the Community Services Division of the State Department of Social Welfare and the return rates of clients to mental hospitals. The "Working Definition of Social Work Practice" states that "the authority and power of the practitioner and what he represents to the clients. . .derive from one or a combination of three sources which include, governmental agencies or their subdivisions (authorized by law)." Since government agencies are necessary for some social work practice it is important to know what, if any, impact these agencies have on the social workers themselves. There has been a good deal of research into the influence of agency policies on employee performance. However, agencies are subjected to a world of constantly changing attitudes, reflected in government policies. Thus, continuous research in this area is necessary so that the social work profession can be aware of the current impact of agency policies and personnel on social work practice. The agencies themselves can also benefit from this type of research since they can learn about the effects of their policies. In doing so, they can contribute to the effective delivery of social work services.