Record keeping: directions for the 1990s

In studies conducted in the late 1980s, managers and direct service workers agreed that their biggest record-keeping problems were caused by lack of time. This article describes how 114 agencies in 20 states tried to resolve this problem Agencies were more successful when they simplified recording and allocated new resources to the task. This article outlines the techniques these agencies used and contrasts those that were more successful with those that had mixed or poor results. The findings suggest directions for record keeping in social services agencies in the 1990s, when agencies will face critical choices about how to use limited resources.