London's Voluntary Drug Agencies. II: Staffing

Abstract

As one in a series of papers reporting on DAIGE (Drug Agencies Information Gathering Exercise) this paper looks at staff work and staff structure for voluntary drug agencies in London. This paper outlines the vital contribution these 123 staff have to make in the area of drug rehabilitation. The type of work that staff in all agencies are involved in covers four areas of work practice: direct service to clients (60% of the workload), staff administration (23%), staff training (9%), and financial administration (8%). The discussion calls for a reexamination of these four areas of work practice in the light of training and development needs as well as staff input as “local experts.” It also suggests that for these staff, effective local action requires planned organization and an increased awareness of their needs.