Okuzeka
Social Work vocabulary · Services and Multi-Agency Work

Referral

Meaning in social work, with examples

/rɪˈfɜːrəl/nounCore term

In social work, referral means: A formal request passing a person or a concern to another service or professional so that they can assess the situation or provide help.

In Turkish: sevk, yönlendirme, bildirim

How it is used

You make, send, receive or accept a referral, and a service may decide that a referral does not meet its threshold. Schools, doctors, police and relatives are common sources of referrals. The verb is refer someone to a service.

Example sentences

  1. The school made a referral to children's services after the boy stopped attending.

  2. We received the referral on Monday and visited the family on Wednesday.

Common collocations

  • make a referral
  • receive a referral
  • referral form
  • self-referral
  • refer someone to
  • signpostTo give someone information about another service that could help them, so that they can contact it themselves.
  • intakeThe first stage of contact with a service, when basic information is collected and a decision is made about what should happen next.
  • multi-agency workingDifferent organisations, such as social services, schools, health, police and charities, working together on the same case or problem.
  • assessmentThe process of gathering and analysing information about a person's situation, needs, strengths and risks in order to decide what help is needed.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Services and Multi-Agency Work

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: