The Monitoring Group is a casework agency. Caseworkers provide help and advice on the legal to client, as well as addressing wider emotional and practical issues. All our caseworkers go through an induction programme and receive regular training to ensure that they are kept up to date on relevant issues.

Clients may need help with basic problems, such as family breakdown, threats of disciplinary action at work due to missed days when they had to address their problems at home, a lack of resources to help them seek civil remedies, damage to property, as well as help to develop a legal strategy to resolve their problems.

It is these types of issues that can cause the most immediate distress to clients, and must often be tackled before the underlying trauma and fear of the racist violence can be addressed. Caseworkers will work to ensure that new clients are connected with relevant support services, and the practical issues such as personal safety, housing, schooling and local support.

From the initial interview until a client decides that they no longer need our help, the caseworker offers regular appointments and support or remains an important contact person within the organisation

One reason for the increased recognition of our work is that we provide a client centred casework service, this means we try to deliver the actual outputs requested by clients. We actively undertake investigative work as part of our casework, which includes interviewing witnesses, using audio visual equipment and developing area profiles. We represent, and advocate on behalf of our clients wherever necessary, and if a client wishes we will also complement our casework through media activities and campaigns to raise the profiles of their case and to raise public awareness.

We pride ourselves on delivering a good quality service to our clients. We have comprehensive casework systems in place, including clear ‘service standards’ and we have achieved the Legal Service Commission quality mark and are seeking to get the Investors in People award this year.

Each year we advice over 4,000 through our Helpline and provide a casework service to between 300 to 400 families.

Producing outcomes

Our casework service helps people and produces clear outcomes, for example a sample of 50 cases reveals the following:

• 100% police re-investigations by New Scotland Yard of critical incidents following our representations
• 45% charging of perpetrators following our intervention
• 80% offer of temporary accommodation following our intervention
• 95% success rate in organising case conferences following our intervention
• 90% presence of police officers at scenes of incidents following our intervention in emergency situations
• 80% changes in police policy and practice in critical incidents following our intervention. These include changes in Metropolitan Polices’ policies on missing persons, suicides, racial motive and post mortem care.