Mission Statement

The Initial Response Service aims towards providing a short term social work service to individuals and families who are either seeking help from the Agency for the first time, or who had sought help in the past and are in need of help again.

The Service

The Initial Response Service is the first contact for new service users who seek help from Agenzija Appoġġ. Social workers at Initial Response conduct the initial assessment of these service users and carry out crises interventions when necessary. Upon the outcome of the initial assessment, the social workers will either continue working with the service users or refer accordingly to the appropriate service or professional that the service users need. The intervention carried out is of a short-term nature, and need to be completed within 3 months.

Aims and Objectives

The main aims and objectives of the Initial Response Service are the following:

- To deliver professional social work services to individuals and families that seek help from Agenzija Appoġġ for the first time. These include assessments of the situation and short term interventions.

- To provide a filter to the rest of the specialized services of Agenzija Appoġġ, thus ensuring that the specialized services are being utilized according to their service provision.

- To link service users to other services, professionals or resources that are available within Appoġġ, in the community or within other agencies.

- To formulate an action plan with the service user that needs to be delivered within a 3 month period.

- To ensure ongoing training for staff members in order to continue offering a high-quality service delivery.

- To build a network with the other specialized services within the Agency and in the community.

- To work jointly with other professionals, if and when necessary, in order to follow the action plan accordingly, in the best interest of the service users.