Social Work Practice Assignment PDF

Running head: SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
Social Work Practice
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SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE1
Social work refers to the profession which helps the individuals, different groups of
people, families and the communities in improving and enhancing their collective and
individual well-being (Greene 2017). The social workers help these individuals in developing
their own skills and ability for using the resources of their own and their communities to
resolve their problems. Social work is all about social issues such as family violence, poverty
and unemployment. In earlier days, the social works were associated with the charities along
with the voluntary assistance to the needy ones. However, at present, it is generally
associated with the citizenship rights and the public service provision of the welfare state.
This paper is going to shed light on the history of Social work, in special context to America.
It shall elaborate on discussing the historical development as well as the origins of the social
work in American society.
Before 1867, social work in America society used to be considered as the same it used
to be in Canada and England- the relief of the poor- the ones, whose situations were believed
to be the result of weakness of the character. It is to note that the social work has its root in
the attempts of society for dealing with the issue of inequality and poverty (Greene, 2017). It
is intricately related to the notion of charity work, but is to be understood in broader ways.
This idea of charity dates back to the earlier times and the practise of helping poor, giving
them resources, has its roots in all the key religions of the world. However, one of the very
critical concept in the history of social work is that of ‘social welfare’. Social welfare requires
a very common understanding as well as a formal arrangement in between the government
and its people (Diaz et al., 2015). From such a relationship, people get a sense of what they
should be receiving for and contributing to their betterment and well-being. Notwithstanding
these facts, the social and the environmental problems that were confronting different
population groups in America such as poverty, discrimination, war, unemployment etc. have

SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE2
helped in shaping the social programs and human services along with the nature of social
work as one of the professions.
Prior to the American revolution, the formal system of the child welfare, mental
health services and poor relief has been established and developed in the Northern parts of
America. Those systems had played a significant dual role of protection and compassion. In
the early nineteenth century, the states stated to take the responsibility for distributing the
relief from the counties and towns. As because of the fact that the then government responses
proved to be highly ineffective and incapable of addressing the growing social issues, it was
the private benevolent societies as well as the then self-help institutions that played
significant role in this regard. As per Lavy, Sand and Shayo (2017), the roots and history of
the social work in America dates back to this period as well as to the efforts of the high class
men and women in the secular and church based charitable organisations for addressing the
results of the immigration, urbanisation and poverty. It was these untrained proto social staffs
and workers who sought to assist the poor individuals by means of moral persuasion. The
organisations like ‘Association for the Improvement of the Condition of the Poor and the
Children's Aid Society’ began to investigate the social conditions in the areas like child
welfare and tenement housing.
It is also to mention that the Civil War stimulated the rise of the large-scale private
social welfare initiatives like the Red Cross and the US Sanitary Commission (Lowe, 2017).
In the aftermath of the war, the Freedman’s Bureau provided help for newly emancipated
workers and slaves. Also, the State boards of charity raised up to enhance the management of
the institutions that were constructed at the time of earlier generation. Moreover, in the half
century after the War, the fast industrialisation in United States had produced a significant
increase in the community and individual needs. Among them, the most notable ones was the