Social Work Practice 1: Historical Development in America

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the history of social work practice in America. It begins by tracing the roots of social work in the context of charity and the relief of poverty before the 19th century. The paper then explores the development of social welfare systems, the influence of immigration, industrialization, and key organizations like the Charity Organization Society and settlement houses. It further discusses the impact of major historical events such as the Civil War, World War I, and World War II on the social work profession. The paper also examines policy changes and challenges faced by social workers, including the impact of the Reagan Revolution and welfare reforms in the 1990s. The report concludes by emphasizing the ongoing evolution and reinvention of social work as a response to rapid social and economic changes, highlighting its continued focus on advocating for vulnerable populations. The paper references academic sources to support its analysis, providing a detailed historical context of social work in America.

Running head: SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
Social Work Practice
Name of the Student:
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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

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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

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social changes such as a series of economic depressions and their outcomes and a dramatic
increase in the rate of immigration to Eastern Europe from the Southern part.
Moreover, the settlement houses have showcased a unique type of organisational
response for the effect of immigration and industrialisation and have also introduced a unique
model of one of the social service agency on urban mission. The initial settlement in United
States, which is, the Neighbourhood Guild in the city of New York was established in the
year 1886. After three years, Ellen Gates Starr and Jane Addams collaboratively founded the
Hull House in Chicago. This gradually became one of the most famous settlements in
America. Also, in the year 1877, the first COS (Charity Organisation Society) of America
was founded in Buffalo (Byers et al., 2016). The COS clients such as the African Americans,
poor Jews and the Catholics have preferred more personal systems of mutual aid as well as
self-help which was established by their own very communities. It is to note that, unlike the
COS that were individually oriented, the settlement laid emphasis on the environmental
related reasons of the issue of poverty and also on the expansion of the working opportunities
for the poor people. They later conduct a research that assisted in establishing child labour in
the country and also introduced the public health reforms along with the notion of social
insurance.
By the year 1919, there were about 17 schools of social work that were affiliated as –
“Association of Training Schools of Professional Schools of Social Work”. At the time of
First World War, the expansion of the government led agencies increased the issue of
professionalism in the private sector departments and this devoted to the social welfare. By
means of the Army and the Red Cross, the World War I also provided several opportunities
for the social workers of America to apply casework skills for the treatment of the soldiers
with the “shell shock’ (Marble, 2018). It is to mention that it was in this period when the
social workers were seen as the specialists who assist in social adjustments of the poor and

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non-impoverished groups or populations. By the year 1927, there were more than 100 child
guidance clinics that appeared and in this, the social workers played a significant role in
providing services to the middle class people. With the same, at the time of Second World
War, there were many social workers who accepted the assignments in relation to war and
were stimulated by the creation of one of the special classification for the military social
work as well as the growth of the works and services for the people who were influenced and
affected by the war. While poverty started to get declined within the elderly by the year 1975,
a virtual freeze on AFDC (Aid for Families with Dependent Children) and the decrease in the
power of purchasing of the wages had produced a rapid increase in the level of poverty within
the children, especially the children of colour.
The changes in the policy which were inspired by the “Reagan Revolution” in the
year 1980 had made the social workers to depend on the solutions provided by the private
sector for the problems of social welfare. The whole programs were decreased, eliminated or
were frozen. With the same, more block grants were established in the areas like the
community development and children welfare. With the same, the significant reduction in the
government funding of the social welfare programs had established some of the new
challenges for the then social workers as well as for the social service agencies because they
faced social problems that were very complex like that of the spread of HIVs, crack cocaine
epidemic, increase in homelessness and domestic violence. The developments in the policy in
1990 had very severe consequences for the profession of social worker (Marek, Schaufeli &
Maslach, 2017). The welfare reform had resulted in the restructuring of the departments of
the public welfare as well as to pressure on the US’s non-profit organisations for filling up
the gaps and maintaining a balance in the service provision.
Hence, from the above analysis it is to be concluded that, for more than a century, the
social work profession has developed and have reinvented itself as a significant response of

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the rapid social and economic changes. It always focused on maintaining the base on
advocating for the requirements of the most unsafe quadrant of society as well as on
improving their well-being. In this contemporary world, social workers are considered to be
comprising the largest proportion of the total professionals who work in the field of family
services or mental health care providing services. In the near future, the main motto of this
service might be inspiring growth of the new social welfare fusion in which the state itself
capitalises the service provisions and at the same time, delegates the delivery to the other
sectors.

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(2015). The IPBES Conceptual Framework—connecting nature and people. Current
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Greene, R. R. (2017). Ecological perspective: An eclectic theoretical framework for social
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Lavy, V., Sand, E., & Shayo, M. (2018). Charity Begins at Home (and at School): Effects of
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Lowe, K. A. (2017). The League of Red Cross Societies and International Committee of the
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Marble, S. (2018). African-American Medical Personnel in the US Army in the First World
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Marek, T., Schaufeli, W. B., & Maslach, C. (2017). Professional burnout: Recent
developments in theory and research.