In the 1970's and 80's changes had already occured in the traditional agencies that were to join to form MacKillop. Several of the agencies were moving away from large residential institutions toward smaller units, home-based care, and family preservation services. Lay social workers and professional social work principles began to complement traditional patterns of religious charity. Some of the works were facing difficult times, some were flourishing, but all were aware of an increasingly uncertain future.
In the late 1980s the Directors of the agencies met informally as a sub-group within the network that would soon become |