Client Participation and the Effectiveness of Community Social Work Intervention

Client participation is a central value of social work, and it is generally assumed that inter vention involving clients will be more effective than that in which they are not involved. This article presents a study in which this assumption was tested empirically by questioning 200 senior workers in Israeli community centers as to the techniques of client participation they used in their work and the outputs in their centers. The assumption that client participation leads to effectiveness, at least in community social work, seems to be supported and suggests that community center staff should be trained and motivated toward working with their clients.