University of Toronto: History of Social Work in Canada (SOWK 200)

This report provides a detailed exploration of the history of social work in Canada. It traces the evolution of the profession from its origins in charity and voluntary assistance to its contemporary role as a public service and a cornerstone of the welfare state. The report examines key milestones, including the formation of the Associated Charities, the introduction of social work courses at universities, and the establishment of the Canadian Association of Social Workers. It highlights the impact of the Great Depression and the Second World War on the profession, as well as the growth and specialization of social work in response to changing societal needs. The report also discusses the training and specialization within the field, the diverse settings in which social workers practice, and the underlying principles that guide their work, such as the understanding that learned behaviors can be modified. Finally, the report concludes with a discussion of the promising future of social work and its continuing relevance in addressing individual, community, and societal well-being. The assignment is a term paper for the SOWK 200 course in Fall 2018 at the University of Toronto.

Running head: HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK IN CANADA
History of Social Work in Canada
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK IN CANADA 2
History of Social Work in Canada
Introduction
Social work can be defined as a profession that assists individuals and groups to
achieve a state of individual and collective wellbeing. This means that social work can be
used to intervene at the individual, community and even societal levels. Social work is
paramount ensuring the wellbeing of a community. The World Health organization defines
health as not only physical wellbeing but also emotional, spiritual and psycholological
wellbeing (Hick, 2006 p 18). The social work profession is indispensable and operates
through helping individuals and groups to use the resources that are available to enhance their
wellbeing. Social work is also with the broader issues affecting communities and societies.
These include poverty, family violence and unemployment. Looking at the history of social
work, it is important to note that it has been associated with charity and voluntary assistance.
In the contemporary society however, it is associated with public service provision and
citizenship rights of the welfare state. This paper is going to focus on the history of social
work in Canada.
History of Social Work
Before 1887, social work was thought to relate to the interventions carried out to
relief the poor and the underprivileged in the society. It is worth noting that this was the case
not only in Canada but also other countries such as the England and the United States of
America. Poverty in the society was associated with weakness in character. This means that
any individual who was poor was though to have a weak character. The idea of helping the
poor through charity seems to have originated from an organization that was formed in
England. The organization was referred to as London Charity Organization Society. The

HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK IN CANADA 3
organization followed a certain principle. They argued that if the head of the family is unable
to provide sufficiently for the family, then it would be necessary that wife and children be
assisted through charity in case the man of the house died. During those times, the title head
of the family was generally accepted to mean the man of the home/house.
The Associated Charities was formed in Canada in 1881. It originated form
movement in England that had started in 1869 (Hick, 2006). This organization was quite
different from the other organizations of the time. The difference was in the approach taken
in providing charity. The approach of this organization was a comprehensive investigation in
to the issues being faced by the family before offering any relief. On the contrary, other
organizations simply provided relief without any meaningful investigations. The Associated
Charities started being replaced by municipal social service commissions in the year 1912
(Hick, 2006). It happened that at around the same time, there was a method of investigating
social work cases that was being popularized in Canada. The method was referred to as the
social casework method and the people responsible for popularizing it were generally known
as the followers of Mary Richmond. Mary Richmond was one of the pioneers of social work
in the United States of America (Social Work | The Canadian Encyclopaedia 2018)
In 1914, the field of social work had significantly grown. The profession was
appreciated by many people in Canada due to its unique role (One Hundred Years of Social
Work, 2018). It was clear that social work was a profession that was necessary for the
optimal functioning of individuals and communities. One of the greatest milestones in social
work was achieved at around this time. This was introduction of a course in social work at the
University of Toronto. The importance of social work continued gaining momentum and a
similar program was in introduced at McGill University in 1918 (Bryson and Bosma, 2018).
Social work continued to grow though at a small scale in the decade that followed (1920-
1930). A milestone in social work was achieved in 1926 (Hick, 2006). This was the formation

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the Canadian Association of Social Workers. It was a great stride for it meant that social
workers would now have a structure and a body to represent it. The great depression was a
time when social work was in great demand. Although this was the case, the government was
reluctant to promote the introduction of social work studies in institutions of higher learning.
After the second world war, the profession of social work expanded in a great way. This
growth was particularly immense between 1960s and 1970s (Hick, 2006). It was during this
decade that the Canadian government appreciated the significant role played by social work
in ensuring the wellbeing of communities. As a result, the government social work was put
under the welfare state. This meant that social work would become associated with the rights
of citizenship rather than simply be viewed as charity work. A census carried out in 1941
revealed that there were about 1767 social workers in Canada (Hick, 2006). There was a
significant improvement in the years that followed. This is evidenced by the growth of the
number of social workers to over 85000 in 1996 (Bryson and Bosma, 2018). By the year
2000, there were a total of 34 schools that were teaching social work as a profession. There
are some individuals who have been associated with the reform of social work in Canada.
These include Charlotte Whitton and Leonard Marsh. There were also other individuals who
were influential in developing programs of social work at the universities.
Training and Specialization in Social Work
The training is usually customized differently to meet the different needs of learners
and the communities (Bryson and Bosma, 2018 p 23). At the undergraduate level of study, on
e is taught on a diverse range of items relating to social work. The theory and skills that are
gained here help an individual to work in diverse community settings and to be able to handle

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the various issues that might arise. The course is general in nature. At the graduate level of
study, learners focus on a narrow area of social work, say family and child welfare.
New specialization in social work arise in response to the changing society (Gould
and Taylor, 2017 p 46). The modern society is very dynamic in nature. To ensure
effectiveness, it would be necessary to ensure that the social work courses are customized to
meet the contemporary needs. otherwise, the trainings might not be helpful. Changes in the
society have bee known to bring new personal and social problems. Research is always
ongoing to ensure that the social work training is customized to meet the contemporary
needs. In Canada, social work has been particularly been applied in counselling individuals
and families. The main areas of counselling have been related to child abuse, HIV/AIDS,
alcoholism and abuse of drugs. Social work is also applied in group works. This refers to
programs which may involve people who are not necessarily closely related. Some examples
are the centres for senior citizens or day care centres.
Field of Practice
Majority of social workers are employed in organizations or institutions that either
deal with public services or health. The main work of the social worker is to offer care and
rehabilitation for certain groups of people. These groups include the physically and the
mentally ill; the elderly and the mentally challenged. In the contemporary society, schools are
appreciating the role of social work in ensuring the wellbeing of students. School boards
often engage social workers when dealing with a student who is dealing with certain social
problems. Such problems may include drug and substance abuse, ill health, depression etc.
the profession has continually proven to be vital for the wellbeing of individuals and groups.
Modern employers engage the social workers to help intervene when one or more of their

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employees is going through social problems. In addition, correctional centres hire social
workers to hold counselling sessions with the offenders. There is one principle that underlies
social work. This is that most of the behaviours that human beings have are learnt. Any
learned behaviour can potentially be unlearned and replaced by a new one. The social
workers apply the principle when counselling the patient. The goal is almost always to
achieve a change in the behaviour of an individual. The future of social work is very
promising. Research is being done to help the profession become better and better.
Conclusion
Social work can be described as a profession that sits at the core of humanity and
humanitarian works. Social workers aim at helping individuals and communities achieve a
state of wellbeing. If the individual in a society are well, then the society will run smoothly. It
would be therefore true to conclude that the role of social work in communities is
indispensable. Social works has had an interesting history. It started as mere charity work.
This was in the 19th century when poverty was associated with a weak character. Over the
years the profession started growing ang gaining popularity in Canada. Programs to train
social work as a profession were also introduced. In the modern day, the field of social work
is well established and has various specializations. Social workers are employed in many
places including school, hospitals and correctional facilities. The main role of a social
workers is to offer counselling and rehabilitation services.

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References
Bryson, S. A., & Bosma, H. (2018). Health social work in Canada: Five trends worth noting
(pp 1-26). Routledge.
Gould, N., & Taylor, I. (2017). Reflective learning for social work: research, theory and
practice (pp 45-77). Routledge.
Hick, S. (2006). Social work in Canada (pp 14-32). Thompson Educational Publishing.
One Hundred Years of Social Work (2018). Retrieved from https://www.redeemer.ca/wp-
content/uploads/book-review-hundred-years-social-work-vanderwoerd.pdfh
Social Work | The Canadian Encyclopaedia. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/social-work