Referrals often process case loads rather than deliver services to clients

Evidence

However, there is a class of referrals which, whatever its contribution to client well-being, appears to function more to process heavy case loads in resource-poor agencies than to fulfill specific client needs. Street-level bureaucrats may make referrals as one of the least costly ways to process clients without providing services. Thus agencies may maintain benign images of helpfulness and service, without explicitly having to turn clients away. — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 969

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the literature on bureaucratic image-management and the gap between organizational presentation and actual service delivery. — connects to: Referrals deliver symbolic service that substitutes for real help to clients — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 972; Protective routines get distorted to minimize client contact and drop cases — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 741; Secondary practices absorb client dissatisfaction so routine processing can continue — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of…, 977

Broader Connections

• Referrals deliver symbolic service that substitutes for real help to clients #expands (0.85) — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 972
• Protective routines get distorted to minimize client contact and drop cases #corroborates (0.80) — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 741
• Secondary practices absorb client dissatisfaction so routine processing can continue #expands (0.75) — Michael Lipsky, Street-Level Bureaucracy, 977