History of social work: Difference between revisions
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==English History== |
==English History== |
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The growth of social work in England as a discipline had similar parallels to the American experience of mass migration and social upheaval. The [[Industrial Revolution]] was a major cause of these changes, as social and economic conditions changed, resulting in the massive growth of cities. The first social workers were called hospital almoners, and were based in medical institutions. The [[Royal Free Hospital]] hired [[Mary Stewart (social worker)|Mary Stewart]] as the first almoner in 1895. Her role was to assess people requesting treatment at the hospital to ensure that they were considered "deserving enough" of the free treatment. The role soon developed to cover the provision of other social programs, and by 1905 other hospitals had created similar roles. By this time, the Hospital Almoners Council had been formed to oversee the new profession.<ref name=gehlert/> |
The growth of social work in England as a discipline had similar parallels to the American experience of mass migration and social upheaval. The [[Industrial Revolution]] was a major cause of these changes, as social and economic conditions changed, resulting in the massive growth of cities. The first social workers were called hospital almoners, and were based in medical institutions. The [[Royal Free Hospital]] hired [[Mary Stewart (social worker)|Mary Stewart]] as the first almoner in 1895. Her role was to assess people requesting treatment at the hospital to ensure that they were considered "deserving enough" of the free treatment. The role soon developed to cover the provision of other social programs, and by 1905 other hospitals had created similar roles. By this time, the Hospital Almoners Council had been formed to oversee the new profession.<ref name=gehlert/> |
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==Links== |
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* [http://www.historyofsocialwork.org/eng/index.php History of social work timeline] |
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==References== |
==References== |
Revision as of 10:35, 1 June 2013
Social work has its roots in society to deal with poverty (relative poverty). There are many influences. Therefore, social work is intricately linked with the idea of charity work; but must be understood in broader terms. The concept of charity goes back to ancient times, and the practice of providing for the poor has roots in all major world religions.[1]
Pre-Modern history
In West, when Constantine I legalized the Christian Church, the newly legitimised church set up poorhouses, homes for the aged, hospitals, and orphanages.[2][3][4] These were often funded, at least in part, from grants from the Empire.[5]
By 590 AD the church had a system for circulating the consumables to the poor: associated with each parish was a diaconium or office of the deacon.
As there was no effective bureaucracy below city government that was capable of charitable activities, the clergy served this role in the west up through the 18th century.
During the Middle Ages, the Christian church had vast influence on European society and charity was considered to be a responsibility and a sign of one’s piety. This charity was in the form of direct relief (for example, giving money, food, or other material goods to alleviate a particular need), as opposed to trying to change the root causes of poverty.
The practice and profession of social work has a relatively modern (19th century) and scientific origin.[6]
Modern history
Social work, as a profession, originated in the 19th century. The movement began primarily in the United States and England. After the end of feudalism, the poor were seen as a more direct threat to the social order,[citation needed] and so the state formed an organized system to care for them. In England, the Poor Law served this purpose. This system of laws sorted the poor into different categories, such as the able bodied poor, the impotent poor, and the idle poor. This system developed different responses to these different groups.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Charity_to_Street_Arab.jpg/100px-Charity_to_Street_Arab.jpg)
The 19th century ushered in the Industrial Revolution. There was a great leap in technological and scientific achievement, but there was also a great migration to urban areas throughout the Western world. This led to many social problems, which in turn led to an increase in social activism.[7] Also with the dawn of the 19th century came a great "missionary" push from many Protestant denominations. Some of these mission efforts (urban missions), attempted to resolve the problems inherent in large cities like poverty, prostitution, disease, and other afflictions. In the United States workers known as "friendly visitors", stipended by church and other charitable bodies, worked through direct relief, prayer, and evangelism to alleviate these problems.[6] In Europe, chaplains or almoners were appointed for administer the church's mission to the poor.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Jane_Addams_profile.jpg/100px-Jane_Addams_profile.jpg)
During this time, rescue societies were initiated to find more appropriate means of self-support for women involved in prostitution.[citation needed] Mental asylums grew to assist in taking care of the mentally ill. A new philosophy of "scientific charity" emerged, which stated charity should be "secular, rational and empirical as opposed to sectarian, sentimental, and dogmatic.[8]" In the late 1880s, a new system to provide aid for social ills came into being, which became known as the settlement movement.[9] The settlement movement focused on the causes of poverty through the "three Rs" - Research, Reform, and Residence. They provided a variety of services including educational, legal, and health services. These programs also advocated changes in social policy. Workers in the settlement movement immersed themselves in the culture of those they were helping.
In America, the various approaches to social work led to a fundamental question – is social work a profession? This debate can be traced back to the early 20th century debate between Mary Richmond's Charity Organization Society (COS) and Jane Addams's Settlement House Movement. The essence of this debate was whether the problem should be approached from COS' traditional, scientific method focused on efficiency and prevention or the Settlement House Movement's immersion into the problem, blurring the lines of practitioner and client.[10]
Even as many schools of social work opened and formalized processes for social work began to be developed, the question lingered. In 1915, at the National Conference of Charities and Corrections, Dr. Abraham Flexner spoke on the topic "Is Social Work a Profession?" He contended that it was not because it lacked specialized knowledge and specific application of theoretical and intellectual knowledge to solve human and social problems.[11] This led to the professionalization of social work, concentrating on case work and the scientific method.
American History
Following European settlement of northern America, the only social welfare was in the area of public health. When epidemics occurred, quarantine facilities were built to prevent contamination. As populations grew, Almhouses were built to house vulnerable people with no other support, including people with a long term illness or older people without families. The first recorded Almshouse was built in 1713 near Philadelphia by William Penn, and was only open to Quakers. A second one was built nearby in 1728, this time with public money. In 1736 New York opened the Poor House of the City of New York (later renamed Bellevue Hospital) and in 1737 New Orleans opened the Saint John's Hospital to serve the poor of the city.[12] Over the next 80 years, the facilities began to change. The precursors to modern hospitals began to form on the grounds of Almshouses, while the Almshouses themselves focused more and more on vulnerable people.
Modern social work in America has its roots in the mass migrations of the 19th century. Many of the migrants landed in New York and moved to other eastern cities, where mass crowding, led to social problems and ill health.[12] Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was the United States' first female doctor [13] who set up the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children in 1853. The dispensary was run to assist the poor communities of East Side, and it soon diversified beyond a basic pharmacy, providing social assessments and support to local families. In 1889 Jane Addams was a young medical student who set up Hull House in Chicago to work with poor and immigrant communities. The house was both a community service centre and a social research program. Precursors to modern social work arose in Blackwell's infirmary and in Hull House as health professionals began to work with social determinants of poor health.[12]
The first professional social worker to be hired in the United States was Garnet Pelton, in 1905 at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Pelton retired after six months due to contracting tuberculosis in the course of her work. She was replaced by Ida Cannon who worked in the role for a further forty years. Dr. Richard Clarke Cabot was a key advocate in the creation of the role, as he believed there to be a link between tuberculosis and social conditions. Both Pelton and Cannon had trained as nurses before taking up the role. Cabot was in charge of the outpatient ward of the hospital, and together with the newly created social workers, they redefined the way in which health and wellbeing was managed. The economic, social, family and psychological conditions that underpinned many of the conditions that patients presented with were recognised for the first time. Social workers would work in a complementary relationship with doctors, the former concentrating on physiological health, and the latter on social health. In addition to this, he saw that social work could improve medicine by providing a critical perspective on it while working alongside it in an organisational setting.
This approach soon spread through other American hospitals, and in 1911, there were 44 social work departments in 14 different cities. Two years later, the number of social work departments had grown to 200.
Professionalisation
After 1905, most social workers were trained as nurses. The American Association of Hospital Social Workers was set up in 1918 to increase the links between formal education and hospital practice. In 1929 there were ten university courses in medical social work. Around this time, psychiatry and psychology began to compete with social work as the complementary discourse to medicine in hospitals. Social work practice adapted to this by aligning itself more closely with psychoanalytic ideas, and became less concerned with living conditions and social health. While this detracted from the social concerns, it added a more scientific basis to dealing with patients, and challenging behaviours were more likely to be seen as a mental dysfunction than poor moral character.[12] The increase of social spending after World War Two saw another rise in the number of social workers.
Canadian History
In the 1700s Canada was heavily under the influence and authority of Great Britain. This meant that the government put into place laws, concerning welfare, such as the English Poor Laws which was first implemented in Britain. There was also a struggle with the principles of less eligibility and the perception of need.[14] As a result, the poor were distinguished as two separate groups. First, the worthy poor which consisted of mostly children whom were in need of education and apprenticeship, but also included the aged, sick and disabled; they were to receive help by being sent to the poor houses. The second were the unworthy poor which consisted of those who were able to work, but were still unemployed. These unlucky individuals were deported to the workhouses to learn how to earn a keep and good work habits.[15]
During the colonial era the responsibility of the poor went to the local governments which financed the relief through property tax revenue. In 1792 Upper Canada followed England’s footsteps and tried to move away from the poor laws and place the responsibility of the poor on voluntary charities, mainly the Roman Catholic Church.[15][16]
In 1867, the British North America Act (BNA Act) was applied; it directed provincial governments to take responsibility for the welfare for their own provinces. At this time welfare was not seen as an important aspect of government, so there was not much help for those who were left to the ruling of the poor laws and municipalities.[14] It was somewhat better for children as they were considered worthy poor, and were sent to the poor houses. Between this time to 1920 people were realizing how demeaning and humiliating the poor laws were and tried to move away from them in order to provide humane, practicable and inclusive programs. Although, because of the strong roots in Adam Smith’s “laissez-faire” economy Canadians debated the amount of support that would be obligatory of the government.[14]
Before World War I the social service congress met in reaction to the industrialization of Canada. This led to the concern of the amount of poor and lack of sufficient, ongoing work. For all of their ambition they could not move on because of WWI.[16] During and after WWI there were many family units that were becoming single parent families; due to the fact of fathers and husbands alike were going to war and the mother was staying at home. It was made clear that it would be better for the children to stay with the mother, so instead of moving the children away from their mother to an institution they were kept in their natural setting.[16] This could not happen with the limited income the mother made, so it was legislated that single mothers’ could receive income security, the subsidy was not really enough to cover all the needs, but was a step in the right direction. It was first seen in Manitoba in 1916 and soon thereafter spread across Canada.[15]
The Old Age Pensions Act was created in 1927 in response to the concern of how elderly people would care for themselves as well as the elderly of poor families. Although, this was a step in the right direction it was very hard to receive this support and the age to collect was 70 or higher, which at that time not many lived to be that old.[15] It was also “means-tested” meaning that their yearly income had to be under a certain amount which was very low. Although, it took nine years for the Act to become national, it was a major step in getting the government involved on such an important commitment level.[16]
In 1929 a survey showed that only two to four percent of the Canadian population were unemployed whereas in 1933 there was a sharp increase where the unemployed became nineteen to twenty-four percent. This period is referred to as the dirty thirties. This caused a lot of social and health problems, but also paved the way to public relief. The new modifications that occurred during this time did not suffice as municipal governments could not alone shoulder the cost which caused the federal government to pass the Unemployment Insurance Act of 1940. This was the first large-scale income security program.[15]
After WWII there were many suggestions and ideas of how social welfare would and should be implemented in Canada. One of the most well-known was Leonard Marsh’s report, which was called, Report on Social Security for Canada proposed January 17, 1943. Today it is more commonly known as the Marsh Report. Marsh was a harsh critic of his own country; he pointed out that Canada was sadly lagging behind in its social welfare programs. He promoted an all-encompassing reform of how help would be given to the unemployed and children as well as social insurance, and social assistance. The underpinnings of these changes were to create a ‘social minimum’ or GAI. The point was so that no individual or family were so entrenched by poverty or circumstances that they could not help themselves. Along with this proposal he also advised a way to finance these programs---taxation and social insurance.[14]
In 1944 the Family Allowances Act was enacted hoping to decrease the poverty of large families. It was supposed to guarantee a minimum income for Canadian families.[15]
1951 the Old Age Pensions Act was replaced by two separate plans. The first was Old Age Security where the individuals would all collect the same benefits without the high stakes and hurdles to receive funds. The second was the Old Age Assistance which was mean-tested.[15]
From World War II to 1970 the government worked to stabilize the economy under the principles of Keynesian Economics. This meant that the government would support lower income families in times of recession in order for them to be able to give back to the economy by spending. This was a move away from the capitalist thinking were each individual fends for themselves, because of this change in thinking Canada was then considered a welfare state.[15]
1965 the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) was implemented which required individuals between the ages of 18 to 70 to contribute to this program as long as they were in the workforce, so every paycheck a certain amount was subtracted to go towards retirement.[15]
The working poor are defined as people who are working, but are still in a poverty stricken state. This was the situation of 1976, so Canada took on a plan which they named war on poverty. The plan was to rid Canada of poverty and raise the standards of living by providing a guaranteed annual income (GAI). This income would be, “based on marital status, number of children, financial resources, age and geographic location.” The GAI was never implemented all across Canada, but some provinces showed variations of the idea of a minimum income.[15]
Throughout 1973 to 1976 a social security review was undergone. There were some benefits such as, the family allowance was almost tripled as it went, from average, from $7.21 to $20.00 a month per child, and were, “indexed to the consumer price index.” [15] There were also a few problems that arose, mainly the cost of programs which the government supported. This led to a decrease and in some cases the elimination of social welfare programs.[15]
Professionalism
This section will focus on how the above social policies are converted into real life situations. The policies are carried out by different types of social programs or agencies which are, “formally structured unit, sanctioned by society, whose goals and activities focus on meeting human needs” [14] There are two types of agencies. Primary agencies make up the bulk of social welfare, is where most professional social workers are employed and have specific goals to which they focus their help. The secondary agencies are found within another organization such as schools, or hospitals. These types of agencies also employ social workers, but are only a small part of the main specialities.[14]
There are a few general terms to label different programs. The first being a demogrant, these programs use case payouts to help the needy. Needs of these individuals are based on demographic features, such as age, opposed to means-tested. Programs that determine the degree of need by a means-test are social assistance programs. These are most likely administered at the provincial or local government level. The third types are social insurance programs. This type of program only gives back as much as the individual had been recorded to invest in that particular establishment. The payout would only occur in the event of a death, unemployment, etc. An Example of this is employment insurance or the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP). The last two are the most common today partly because of the policies of neo-conservatism.[14]
There are three groups that attempt to fund relief---government, voluntary and commercial. The government sector divides its responsibility between the federal, provincial, municipal and local governments. Individuals’ understanding is that they have a right as a citizen of Canada to gain support from the government through legislation. This support can be provided by each level of government through taxation as the governments have to arrange cost-sharing agreements, which easily become complex. This means that a social agency may receive funding from multiple levels of government. The voluntary sectors funding is more charity based and may come from an individual’s religious, humanitarian, or singular interest; or national organizations. Some agencies have a combination of both government authorizations and voluntary groups. Voluntary sectors funding is often uncertain, so they must gain donors hearts, sentiment, and interest to keep afloat, which also means that there is sometimes strong competition between voluntary agencies to gain donors. This can also cause donors generosity to run dry. Lastly, is the commercial sector; this is the most recent contributor to start helping meet human needs. This sector purpose is twofold, for they are helping those in need, while at the same time are hoping to increase profit. Some find this somewhat controversial, as the motive are mixed, and goes against the ethics of social welfare. Another concern is that if there is too much pressure to make profit, than the public’s needs are not sufficiently met. As time goes on it can be seen that the commercial sector is expanding. It generally fills in the gaps that are left by the government and voluntary sectors and are able to act with speed and efficiency.[14]
Australian History
Social work as a profession in Australia developed later than in England or America, with the first professional social workers being hired in the 1920s. Social work training began in Australia in 1940 at the University of Sydney. The profession took direction from the established schools in England until the 1960s, when a more American model took hold. Most high level training and theory was imported from abroad until the 1980s. Some Australian social work writers such as Jim Ife has criticised the impact that this has had on Australians being able to develop culturally appropriate theories and practices. Since the 1990s, Australian social work has increasingly affiliated itself with Pacific Islander and New Zealand approaches.[17]
Social Work has been a mostly public sector or not-for-profit sector profession in Australia, with private practice being rare. The profession has experienced changes in two different direction in the last 30 years. One is a pull towards a more managerial, professionalised model, and the other is to a more community based, deprofessionalised approach. Further to this has been the trend by large organisations to replace the "jack of all trades" social work approach with less highly trained, more technical positions. Since the 1990s, other reactions to managerial control of social work have followed theories of feminism, ecological sustainability and critical theories.[17]
English History
The growth of social work in England as a discipline had similar parallels to the American experience of mass migration and social upheaval. The Industrial Revolution was a major cause of these changes, as social and economic conditions changed, resulting in the massive growth of cities. The first social workers were called hospital almoners, and were based in medical institutions. The Royal Free Hospital hired Mary Stewart as the first almoner in 1895. Her role was to assess people requesting treatment at the hospital to ensure that they were considered "deserving enough" of the free treatment. The role soon developed to cover the provision of other social programs, and by 1905 other hospitals had created similar roles. By this time, the Hospital Almoners Council had been formed to oversee the new profession.[12]
Links
References
- ^ "Religion". Middle School Lesson Plans. Global Envision. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ [By Alexander Clarence Flick (1919). The Rise of the Mediaeval Church and Its Influence on the Civilisation of Western Europe from the First to the Thirteenth Century. http://books.google.com/books?id=ApLaUMO0ZycC]
- ^ [G. KALANTZIS (2006). THE HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL MEDICINE IN BYZANTIUM (330-1453 AD) http://www.ishm2006.hu/scientific/abstract.php?ID=138]
- ^ [C. GILLEARD (2007) Old age in Byzantine society Ageing & Society (2007), 27 : 623-642 Cambridge University Press http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=4A665169DCB94F67A7CF47ECC60F22C0.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=1316632]
- ^ Burckhardt, Jacob (1967). The Age of Constantine the Great. Random House (Vintage). ISBN 0-520-04680-3.
- ^ a b Huff, Dan. "Chapter I. Scientific Philanthropy (1860-1900)". The Social Work History Station. Boise State University. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ "Social Work History". University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
- ^ Huff, Dan. "Chapter I.2 Missionaries & Volunteers". The Social Work History Station. Boise State University. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|work=
- ^ Huff, Dan. "Chapter II. Settlements (1880-1900)". The Social Work History Station. Boise State University. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
{{cite web}}
: External link in
(help)|work=
- ^ Parker-Oliver, Debra (April 2006). "Social Work Informatics: A New Specialty". Social Work. 51 (2). National Association of Social Workers: 127–134. PMID 16858918. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "From Charitable Volunteers to Architects of Social Welfare: A Brief History of Social Work". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. Retrieved 2007-02-20.
- ^ a b c d e Gehlert, S. in Gehlert, S. and T.A. Browne (2006). Chapter Two: The Conceptual Underpinnings of social work in health care. Handbook of Health Social Work. New Jersey:WILEY
- ^ M. A. Elston, "Blackwell, Elizabeth (1821–1910)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 29 Dec 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g h [Turner, Joanne C. and Francis J. Turner. ‘‘Canadian Social Welfare’’, 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada, 2009]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l [Chappell, Rosalie. ‘‘Social Welfare in Canadian Society’’, 2nd ed. Scarborough: Nelson Thomson Learning, 1955]
- ^ a b c d [Guest, Dennis. ‘‘The Emergence of Social Security in Canada’’, 2nd Rev. ed. University of British Columbia: UBC Press, 1980]
- ^ a b Ife, J. in Mayadas, N., Watts, T., Elliott, D. (1997). Chapter Twenty Two:Australia International handbook on social work theory and practice. Greenwood Publishing Group
September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935