Abstract
An evaluative study of change in the wider community, in the organisation concerned and in individuals, resulting from intervention by a Community Work Trust, is used as the basis for generating theoretical insights. The multiplicity of perceptions of participants were compared to develop a typology of outcomes;a model of different kinds of community work, organisational style and therapy; and a scheme for the analysis of change. Two major orientations in this study were identified and expectations and activities associated with stability and change were summarised. Change in the community was negligible but change occurred in active participants and there was a shift in community work style. Changes in men in residential projects were overall what might be expected by chance, but there were significantly more changes in the desired direction in the latter part of fieldwork than in the first part and than in a comparable study of Detention Centre trainees. Women residents more frequently changed in an undesired direction, but this appeared to be associated with critical incidents rather than Trust intervention. Judgements of such changes by social workers were found to be rather inaccurate. Closer analysis showed that desired changes for men were significantly associated with attendance at meetings held by some staff. Analysis of records of participant observation led to some claims concerning policy being discounted but factors were isolated which were associated with desirable and undesirable measured outcomes. Recommendations were made concerning policy which should be acceptable to participants concerned with stability whilst enabling change associated with desirable outcomes to occur.