The origins of social work in the United States mirror an ongoing growth of ideas put together from many different cultures. While modern social work here in the states were built on Christian idea many of its concepts are in part due to the influence of the Koran and the mutual aid practices of Native Americans, the African-American community, and immigrants from all over the world. Before the American Revolution, systems of helping the poor, child welfare, and even mental health services systems served a dual role of compassion and protection. By the early 19th century private benevolent societies and self-help organizations the predecessors of modern social service agencies played increasing roles in this regard. The beginning of social work in the United States dates back to the efforts of upper-class women and men in church-based and secular charitable organizations to address the negative effects of poverty, urbanization, and immigration. The first untrained social workers, known as "friendly visitors," sought to help poor individuals through moral persuasion and personal example. Organizations such as the Association for the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor and the Children's Aid Society began investigating social conditions in areas such as tenement housing and child welfare. The Civil War helped foster the emergence of large private social welfare initiatives, such as the US Sanitary Commission and the Red Cross. The industrialization and the Origins of modern social work after the Civil War, rapid industrial expansion produced a dramatic increase in individual and community needs. The most notable social changes of this period included a series of economic depressions (known then as "panics") and their conseq... ... middle of paper ... ...ed war-related assignments, spurred by the establishment of a special classification for military social work and the development of services for war-impacted communities. In the decade after the War, considerable efforts were made to enhance the field's professional status. These included increased standardization of agency practices, the development of interdisciplinary doctoral training programs, and the creation of core MSW curricula. The formation of CSWE in 1952 and the establishment of the National Association of Social Workers in 1955 further strengthened the profession's status of the profession. The post-war period was also one of significant change in US social welfare, highlighted by the establishment of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) in 1953. The primary beneficiaries of social policy changes between 1940 and 1960, however, were
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This allowed social workers to expand their knowledge base of psychoanalytical skills. The political climate has changed with social work throughout the years, social workers used to believe if people had a higher standard of living it would end poverty. However, when the economy was in extreme stress, it created a need for individuals and community reform. In the 1960’s economic inequality still existed and in the 1970’s political influenced social change. Political influence started with President Ronald Regan and continued with President George Bush and Bill Clinton. Regan cutback government funding these made social workers rely on private-sectors to fund their agenda for social problems. Clinton also placed pressure on nonprofits agencies and corporations to help fund the programs to address poverty. Social reform advanced even during these time frame regardless of funding, and new social issues regarding the drugs
Welfare has been a safety net for many Americans, when the alternative for them is going without food and shelter. Over the years, the government has provided income for the unemployed, food assistance for the hungry, and health care for the poor. The federal government in the nineteenth century started to provide minimal benefits for the poor. During the twentieth century the United States federal government established a more substantial welfare system to help Americans when they most needed it. In 1996, welfare reform occurred under President Bill Clinton and it significantly changed the structure of welfare. Social Security has gone through significant change from FDR’s signing of the program into law to President George W. Bush’s proposal of privatized accounts.
The Civil War was period of change in American history. Following the warfare, congress established a federal agency named the Freedmen’s Bureau to facilitate the freed people’s transition from slavery to freedom. Southern blacks encountered the worst chaos, displacement, illnesses, poverty and epidemics, which were limiting to the bureaus successes during reconstruction (Finley 2013, 82). During the war, lack of basic needs and medicine hindered the efforts of improving economic social and political freedom. As a result, the Freedmen’s Bureau was designed to help black southerners transition from slavery to freedom. The challenges faced during this transition were enormous, as the civil war had ruined the region completely. The farms faced destruction during the war and huge amounts of capital depleted in the war. When the civil war ended, the social order of the region was chaotic and slave owners as well as their former slaves were forced to interact socially in a different way than before (Finley 2012, 82). The Freedmen’s Bureau was a unique effort by the federal government to improve the social wellbeing of the American nation. Major General Oliver Howard headed the Free...
Dorfman, R. (1996). Clinical social work: Definiton [sic], practice, and vision. New York: Brunner/Mazel Publishers.
The embedded negative aspects of social work (SW) history adds a confounding layer to a practitioner’s ability to affect a working relationship with clients. This is multiplied when considering international social work (ISW), as historically it has been practiced through the ‘power over’ model afforded by a colonialist perspective. It is important to underscore the foundational aspects of social work (SW) in order to understand its impact when applied to an international practice. The embedded sense of superiority carried by westernized social workers that viewed their work through a charitable lens, has arguably created more stigmatization of the served population than long-term positive change. This is not to berate the historically naïve efforts of ISWer’s positive impact, rather a critique of the motivations, and long term results of their practice impact. By examining the historical and present application of global SW interventions, this paper will endeavor to show how national and international social work, when juxtaposed, reveal an analogous nature. The methodology used will
It is imperative that social workers become knowledgeable about their clients’ cultures and are culturally sensitive. In learning about their clients’ cultures, social workers need to be aware of how powerful and significant culture is in relating to clients’ behavior, values, and beliefs. Becoming culturally competent requires the ability to integrate awareness, knowledge, and skills while maintaining a positive working relationship with the client (Sue and Zane, 1987). Today, the concerns regarding cultural competency continue to accentuate the importance of preparing social workers for a diversified society.
Brief History of Human Service, during the late 1950s and 1960s, began to deliver services by helping others in professionalism. The idea was to promote systems and approach to involved and progress the social change in the human problem. The highlights of historical programs were created to help society from the time until today. For instance, 1965 Medicare and Medicaid program, Older Americans Act, and Head Start program were created. 1971-National Cancer Act. Child support in 1975. There were dramatic changes in helping those in need.
To introduce what health care social work is it’s important to examine it from a historical standpoint. Due to the complexity of the medical model and the confusion about what health care social work is it must be defined (Gregorian,2005 p2 ). In order to clearly define what health care social work is it’s crucial to know the ideas that established
Jane Addams, also considered the pioneer or “Mother” of social work along with Ellen Gates Starr, in 1889 opened the doors to Chicago’s Hull House to provide social services that included child care, education in history, music, mathematics, a library, employment assistance, and many others to its immigrant community (NASW 60th Anniversary Interactive Timeline, 2016). The philanthropic work of two women has today become the field of social work with thousands of professional social workers carrying on their legacy and work. The field of social work, like everything else, has gone through many years of evolution to become what it is today. According to the text Social Work Values and Ethics by Fredrick G. Reamer (2013), “at its infancy in the
The social work profession is defined as “a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people (ISFW, ‘Global Definition of Social Work’, 2016).” The definition may be true about the profession but it is more in depth than just that. To me, the profession’s primary focus is to help others through life as much as we can while letting them make their own choices and guiding them. In society, social workers are utilized in many different nonprofit and government roles. They serve the community in many different ways from monitoring parent visits to helping people through mental illnesses. Human beings are so complex and things that happen
Many individuals from communities have devoted their time and efforts to do social work, a lot of these volunteers did their practice in churches before it was recognised as a profession. It was through social investigation and attempts to understand family situations that social work began to develop a profession. A lot of people such as teachers or lawyers believe that what they do is also ‘social work’ that is why social work is a very broad context. Social work is more than just ‘doing good’ and