Mr Gerada was speaking at the presentation of Appogg’s biennial report for the period 2002-2003, which also coincides with the 10th anniversary of the setting up of the agency.
The record caseload does not reflect an increase in social problems but rather an expansion of the agency’s facilities and the services it offers. “Of particular significance,” Mr Gerada said, “is the fact that the agency served 50 per cent more new clients than in 2001.”
Family and Social Affairs Minister Dolores Cristina was also present at the press conference. The minister praised the effort of the Appogg team, congratulating them for their achievements over the past 10 years.
There is always more to be done in the social sector but it is good to stop from time to time and look at what one has accomplished over the years, Mrs Cristina said. Appogg is a trendsetter, she said, quoting from passages of the report.
“This sector is very close to my heart. I have moved from lobbyist to politician and at times I am not quite sure what I am wearing.” Mrs Cristina said that child support services and domestic violence were among her top priorities at the moment, adding that the related legislation was on its way and expected to be passed in parliament shortly.
Over the past years Appogg has gone through a restructuring process during which the agency expanded rapidly in all areas. By the end of 2003 the staff complement increased to 165 from 141.
A number of training programmes have been added to the ones the agency already had in place. Furthermore the agency moved to a new building with improved infrastructure and a new ICT facility was installed. A collective agreement was drawn up and signed in conjunction with other human resource management initiatives.
Most of all the agency introduced a number of new facilities such as the setting up of Court Services following the creation of the family court, the Access centre in Cottonera, the Smart Kids childcare centre and the extension of the support line to 24-hours-a-day.
“All the changes that have taken place over the past years were driven by the needs of our clients. Restructuring is an ongoing process, which we hope to keep implementing on the lines of our clients’ needs,” Mr Gerada said.
The agency now caters for a wide range of social services and has registered a strong caseload increase in all areas. The sharpest rise was registered in children’s services, 42 per cent in 2002 over 2001 and 25 per cent in 2003 over 2002.
When a new service is introduced there is a rush in demand for the new service that then gradually eases out over time, an indication that the service was filling a void. “We are experiencing an increased demand for community services and we intend to tackle it and expand our services in this sector,” Mr Gerada said. These are preventive services, he explained, that could anticipate issues before they become problems.