Women called "Friendly Visitors" or Catholic or Protestant religious figures formed many of the actual workers in these schemes. The relief efforts consisted of attempts to provide goods, medical care, and education.
Over time the efforts morphed into organized relief efforts in major American cities. Irish immigrants in New York had various job and relief program of sorts for Irish immigrants run through the auspices of Tammany Hall's spoils system. However, this powerful Irish political organization ignored the plights of African Americans and Hispanics in New York.
Revisionist history:
Various current writers have tried to be falsely "inclusive" of traditions which had no place in America prior to the politically correct era of today. For example, rather silly attempts to include the Koran in the Social work schemes in existence prior to 09-01-2001. The bogus "influence" of the Koran was not seen in the writings of the main body of American social work prior to that time. American Muslims have a welfare scheme and implemented it when they were formed but that has nothing to do with the history of social work in America.
Modern politically correct social work histories seem to be bent on cultural inclusion. Silly current stretches include, trying to link the Koran, American Indian, and other remote or unknown and, at the time, despised cultural influences, in the formation of relief agencies in local American towns of the 19th century.
Suffragette movement:
The Suffragettes stood for the vote for women and Prohibition and a form of practical Social Work. In this they are like the earlier "Friendly Visitors." Theodore Roosevelt was a big supporter of the Social work movement in the East. As a Progressive of that era he saw that Social Work could provide a needed hand up and service to the poor and immigrant community. These early social workers had an essentially paternal view of the poor.
These, often volunteer, Social workers went into the slums and ghettos of eastern cities. They were often upper middle class women active in The Suffragette movement. Their intent was to aid the poor and immigrants in upward mobility and assimilation into society. They carried their own set of prejudices with them but were well intentioned.
To do this they had certain goals:
- Teach the poor family their roles in American society
- Teach tolerance
- Teach sobriety
- Teach proper budgeting
- Teach a proper work ethic
- Encourage the sending of children to school
- Show how and encourage women to keep a clean house
- Show how to avoid the spreading of disease
- Provide access to medical care
- The delivery of relief supplies
In each of the goals above the social worker was attempting to give the family a hand up and to aid them in societal integration. The workers often used their own money and goods to aid the poor rather than governmental aid. They were invested in the process of the family's advancement into society. They took a personal interest in the family and their progress.
The Settlement movement began in the 1880s and sought to place "Settlement Houses" in poor neighborhoods. Here often volunteer Social workers brought together the poor and middle class values in an attempt to integrate the two and give the poor a hand up.
The Settlement movement began in the 1880s and sought to place "Settlement Houses" in poor neighborhoods. Here often volunteer Social workers brought together the poor and middle class values in an attempt to integrate the two and give the poor a hand up.
Theodore Roosevelt held many meetings with suffragettes engaged in good works along with discussions of the vote for women and prohibition. He also influenced and mentored his 5th cousin Franklin and his wife, Eleanor about their future political beliefs. Over time, many suffragettes grew discouraged with their Social and Settlement work and concentrated on the vote for women and Prohibition.
Social work becomes a Profession:
After Theodore Roosevelt's time the art of social work declined and it gradually became a profession. The early volunteers were gradually replaced by a large variety of relief efforts and Social workers of various types with professional training. Some local governments did provide relief and others relied on private organizations or churches. Some relied on the local sheriff to provide aid or emergency housing or ejection from the county.
With the advent of the great depression and the end of the 1920s; politicians were told that something needed to be done. A great up surge in poverty pushed this drive. Social worker activists called for a national effort to provide relief and practical training for social workers. The Federal Government provided various relief efforts. The Settlement houses declined and gradually disappeared.
Social Casework:
As early as WW-I, the art of social casework began to expand the influence of Social Workers beyond the work with the poor into other endeavors such as Red Cross or war work. This new type of Social work was often continued in civilian life aiding disturbed ex-soldiers.
Another move forward was the publication of Mary Richmond's book Social diagnosis. During the First world war a growing cry for more systematic educational material for Social work was heard. Gradually through the New deal the idea of social work as a profession grew with like minded juvenile Courts and other agencies participating.
Over time, social workers began to use psychiatric and Freudian concepts in their practices. Over time they went away from the more immediate and practical aspects of behavior into counselling and mental and psychiatric care.
The Great Society:
Social Casework:
As early as WW-I, the art of social casework began to expand the influence of Social Workers beyond the work with the poor into other endeavors such as Red Cross or war work. This new type of Social work was often continued in civilian life aiding disturbed ex-soldiers.
Another move forward was the publication of Mary Richmond's book Social diagnosis. During the First world war a growing cry for more systematic educational material for Social work was heard. Gradually through the New deal the idea of social work as a profession grew with like minded juvenile Courts and other agencies participating.
Over time, social workers began to use psychiatric and Freudian concepts in their practices. Over time they went away from the more immediate and practical aspects of behavior into counselling and mental and psychiatric care.
The Great Society:
With the imposition of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society social work was completely changed from it's original concept. The workers were now professionally trained at Universities and were generally only hired if they had a suitable Business Arts or Master's degree. They also worked for wages or a salary. In addition, they operated under heavy laws, regulations, and policies of the Local, State, and Federal Governments.
These changes introduced the profit motive into the art of Social Work. It also brought self interest forward instead of a spirit of service and altruism. The provision of relief goods and money were all provided by the government under those regulations. Though needed to meet demand, the former good aspects of social work as an art, were submerged by the profit motive.
These changes introduced the profit motive into the art of Social Work. It also brought self interest forward instead of a spirit of service and altruism. The provision of relief goods and money were all provided by the government under those regulations. Though needed to meet demand, the former good aspects of social work as an art, were submerged by the profit motive.
The new social workers worked under regulations that had a differing agenda from the original Social Worker.
They had certain goals:
- To Strictly adhere to and enforce regulations
- Provide aid only under those regulations
- To ensure the family was meeting the various criteria for relief.
- Schedule the family to attend training classes to aid them in various aspects of the relief program
- To monitor the family progress in the relief program
The criteria for relief involved regulation of various things:
- Reviewing the family structure and setting a proper level of relief for that structure
- Review with the parent the children's school attendance
- Looking for and correcting unsafe or unclean conditions
- Correcting poor child care
- Interfering in the marital state of recipient.
The new Social worker now had a cap of heavy regulation and in addition, were compensated for their work. This supposedly assured that they would allow their self interest to provide a good level of care for the family. In practice, the regulations and compensation changed the character of Social Work from an art into a job. The poorly written regulations limited upward mobility of the recipient and ensured that single parents would become the norm. Social Workers became regulation enforcers rather than change agents.
Social Work as a career:
These changes assured the social worker would be interested in the continuation of the maximum number of families on Welfare; so the worker could continue to have employment. This assured a more dysfunctional family, less capable of securing outside employment and upward mobility. The norm for families on relief by the 1970s and 1980s was a family without a father present.
Families without fathers:
The new regulations tended to force the man of the house to leave so the woman and children could obtain maximum benefits. Also, the more children present, the higher the benefits, so large families with illegitimate births became the norm. The regrettable results of these regulations were that children had no male authority figure in the home.
The fathers morale and presence in the home was destroyed. Father's became optional at best and with no moral core often became loosely connected or disconnected drug users and alcoholics. Social work became about a "family" which did not include a father. The fathers were thus outside the system and would appear and disappear as needed to continue benefits. The baby daddy came of age and the father disappeared.
Conclusion:
By the 1960 to 1970s social work had lost it's way. It became a part of an oppressive state regulatory scheme. The workers themselves became enforcers of regulation who, in practice, forced families to remain impotently on welfare. Self interest of the social worker became the continuation of a family's impotence and Social work practice was designed to prevent proper family formation. Society itself suffered from neighborhoods in decline due to large numbers of children of helpless and impotent mothers without official partners.
references:
http://www.socialworkhistorystation.org/history/chapts/4-2a.htm
Social Work as a career:
These changes assured the social worker would be interested in the continuation of the maximum number of families on Welfare; so the worker could continue to have employment. This assured a more dysfunctional family, less capable of securing outside employment and upward mobility. The norm for families on relief by the 1970s and 1980s was a family without a father present.
Families without fathers:
The new regulations tended to force the man of the house to leave so the woman and children could obtain maximum benefits. Also, the more children present, the higher the benefits, so large families with illegitimate births became the norm. The regrettable results of these regulations were that children had no male authority figure in the home.
The fathers morale and presence in the home was destroyed. Father's became optional at best and with no moral core often became loosely connected or disconnected drug users and alcoholics. Social work became about a "family" which did not include a father. The fathers were thus outside the system and would appear and disappear as needed to continue benefits. The baby daddy came of age and the father disappeared.
Conclusion:
By the 1960 to 1970s social work had lost it's way. It became a part of an oppressive state regulatory scheme. The workers themselves became enforcers of regulation who, in practice, forced families to remain impotently on welfare. Self interest of the social worker became the continuation of a family's impotence and Social work practice was designed to prevent proper family formation. Society itself suffered from neighborhoods in decline due to large numbers of children of helpless and impotent mothers without official partners.
references:
http://www.socialworkhistorystation.org/history/chapts/4-2a.htm
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