Social Work Commons^™

Perceptions Of Social Services Among Immigrants, Javier MartíN Panameno, Carlos Morales

Theses Digitization Project

This project focused on immigrants' perceptions of social services and social workers. The study employed the post positivist paradigm. The project was conducted with legal and illegal immigrants who received services at Bilingual Family Counseling Service in the city of Ontario, CA. The study found that the immigrants' perceptions about social service agencies and social workers were multi-determined by at least three elements: knowledge, experiences, and attitudes. The dynamic interaction between experiences and attitudes shaped the immigrants' perceptions. Most of the respondents had a positive attitude toward social workers and social services agencies.