A friend in need: Use of personal connections by social work clients

Social work clients seek various means of redress when the services they de sire are not forthcoming or adequate. These include both unversalistic and particularistic avenues. Among the latter is the use of personal connection s within the larger organization. The author presents an example of the use of such connections in a hospital social work department in Israel. Examin ed are the availability of these connections, the characteristics of client s who use them, and the circumstances in which they are used. The findings are discussed in light multi-cultural social work practice in general and t he need for social workers and administrators to understand and develop mea ns for dealing with the dangers posed by such stategies.