History of social welfare social work

Compiled by
S.Rengasamy
Madurai Institute of Social Sciences

S.Rengasamy-History of Social Welfare / Social Work

Contents

History of Social Welfare/ Social Work ..........................................................................................................................3
The need to understand history of social work .............................................................................................................3
Framework to understand History of Social Welfare / Social Work ..............................................................................4
Understanding History through Historical Phases .......................................................................................................5
Photos of Walter Friedlander & Simon Patten 9who used the term social work first time) ....................................9
The Settlement House ............................................................................................................................................10
Understanding the History of Social Welfare from various Welfare Traditions .......................................................11
Social Work in historical perspective ......................................................................................................................11
2. Understanding the History of Social Welfare from various welfare Traditions ....................................................11
Three Social Welfare / Social Security Tradition ........................................................................................................11
The Poor Law tradition ...............................................................................................................................................11
Poor Law Tradition ..................................................................................................................................................12
The Poor Law Tradition ...............................................................................................................................................12
Work House Conditions .....................................................................................................................................14
Work Houses ......................................................................................................................................................14
Social Insurance Tradition ......................................................................................................................................14
Welfare Tradition ...................................................................................................................................................17
The Welfare State – ................................................................................................................................................17
The Welfare State Why did it all start? .................................................................................................................17
Three Social Security Strategies .................................................................................................................................18
The Social Assistance strategy originating in the Poor law tradition ..........................................................................18
Social Insurance Strategy ............................................................................................................................................18
Social Allowance Strategy ...........................................................................................................................................18
Founders of the Welfare State-Photo Album ............................................................................................................19
History of Social Welfare in USA ..................................................................................................................................20
1 ..............................................................................................................................................................................20
3 ..............................................................................................................................................................................23
4 ..............................................................................................................................................................................24
Celebrating Social Welfare / Work Pioneers ..............................................................................................................25
Elizabeth Gurney Fry ...............................................................................................................................................25
Octavia Hill ..............................................................................................................................................................26
Arnold Toynbee ......................................................................................................................................................27
Jane Addams ...........................................................................................................................................................28
Mary Richmond.......................................................................................................................................................29
George Orwell, John Howard Griffin, Pat Moore, Tolly Toynbee, Günther Wallraff, Barbara Ehrenreich ............30
Sir William Beveridge ..............................................................................................................................................32
Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) .........................................................................................................................................33
Joel Fischer ..............................................................................................................................................................35
Understanding Social Work history by understanding the history of fields of social work .....................................36
Indian History Timeline ...............................................................................................................................................37
Evolution of Social Welfare Ministry in India...............................................................................................................38
Table: Establishing an Independent Ministry of Social Welfare –Timeline .................................................................39
Subjects allocated to the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment -India ..............................................................41
Ministry of Women and Child Development -India .....................................................................................................42
Subjects allocated Ministry of Women and Child Development -India .......................................................................43

2


History of Social Welfare/ Social Work
The need to understand history of social work

The need to understand history of social work
The diversity of social work represents a great challenge for social work research, education and practice in
the rapidly internationalizing and globalizing world. This challenge can be met successfully only with a deep
philosophical and historical understanding of the characteristics of a particular country - and welfare regime –
including the specific traditions of welfare systems and the position and role of social work within them.
Research into the philosophy and history of social work strengthens this understanding through analyzing the
conceptual and genealogical fundamentals of the traditions of social work. This kind of research contributes to
the theoretical self-conception of social work which is necessary for the development of social work as
a modern professional system, a scientific discipline and a research-based activity. The development of social
work as a modern social system depends on its intellectual capacity based on this kind of theoretical self-
conception.
.
Issues within the philosophy of science, political philosophy and the general theory of social action play an
important role in the philosophy of social work. Philosophical analyses are closely connected with the history of
concepts of social work, but also contribute to the history of social work as a professional social system and
social work practices in individual countries. There are several specific areas in practical social philosophy
dealing significantly with the theoretical self-conception of social work, for example the philosophy of family,
educational philosophy, the philosophy of law, and the theory of human rights. In addition to this, issues of
philosophy of science are of great importance for the development of the science of social work.
http://eris.osu.eu/index.php?kategorie=35174&id=5176

IN AN ERA OF CHANGE

…to reach an understanding of
what Social Welfare / Social Work
is?.. the issues it should address..
how it should be carried out?…
social workers travelled a long
path…and it is worth knowing

3


Framework to understand History of Social Welfare / Social Work

Understanding history through historical phases /
Chronological history

Understanding history by understanding different
Welfare traditions

Understanding the Social Welfare / Social Work
history in UK & USA that shaped the global history

Framework to understand
History / evolution of Understanding history by understanding
Social Welfare / Social contributions of pioneers of Social Work
Work can be understood in
several ways
Understanding William Beveridge Contribution that
shaped global welfare policies

Understanding the historical development of
various fields of social work –Medical &
Psychiatric Social Work, School/Correctional
Social Work etc

Understanding the evolution of Social Welfare in
India, largest democratic & welfare state in the
world

4


Understanding History through Historical Phases
Understanding History through Historical Phases
History of Social Work – UK & USA
Social Work during primitive stage (before 1200 AD)
Social Work during 1200 -1500 A.D
Phases

Social Work during 1500 – 1600 A.D.
Social Work during 1500 – 1600 A.D.
Social Work during 1600 -1800 A.D.
Social Work during 1900 onwards

Prior to Tofler‟s Agricultural Society: special values about caring for individuals evolve. Emergence of
1600 unconditional charity toward individuals in times of hardship
1084 Almshouses for the poor and handicapped are established in England.
1300s Bubonic plague kills nearly 1/3 of European population. Labor shortages force the State to
intervene. Laws passed to compel all able-bodied men to accept employment. Alms to able-bodied
beggars were forbidden.
1313 Christianity legalized by Roman Emperor, Constantine. Church sanctioned to use donated funds to
Prior to 1600

aid the poor. Charitable attitudes and behaviors expected of the rich; redistribution of wealth not
part of charitable principles
1348 The Statute of Laborers is issued in England, requiring people to remain on their home manors
and work for whatever lords want to pay. Begging and Almsgiving is outlawed except for the aged
and those unable to work. For the first time, a distinction is made between the "worthy poor" (the
aged, handicapped, widows, and dependant children), and the "unworthy poor" (able-bodied but
unemployed adults).
1500 Henry VIII in England broke from the Roman church. State confiscates Church wealth, leaving it
without means to carry out charity expectations. Spain introduces first State organized registration
of the poor.

1600 - 1800
1600s Poor Law principles introduced to New World by Plymouth colonists. Poor and unfortunate
divided into two groups: "deserving" sick, disabled, widows, orphans and thrifty old;
and "undeserving" offenders, unmarried mothers, vagrants, unemployed and the old
without savings.
1601 The Elizabethan Poor Law is established. Built on the experiments of the earlier Henrician
Poor Law (1536) and the Parish Poor Rate (1572), this legislation becomes the major codification
1600-1800

of dealing with the poor and disadvantaged for over 200 years. It also becomes the basis for
dealing with the poor relief at the colonial level, taxes people in each parish pay for their own
poor, establishes apprentice programs for poor children, develops workhouses for dependant
people, and deals harshly and punitively with able bodied poor people.
1650 The influence of Luther, Calvin, and others has become established and manifested as the
Protestant ethic, a philosophy that becomes influential in England, parts of Europe, and American
colonies. It emphasizes self-discipline, frugality, and hard work and leads many of its adherents to
frown on those who are dependant or unemployed.
1662 The Law of Settlement and Removal is established in England as one of the world‟s first
"residency requirements" in determining eligibility to receive help. Municipal authorities to help
only poor local citizens and to expel from their jurisdictions anyone else who might become
dependant for assistance. This law causes authorities to evaluate people as to the likelihood of
their becoming poor. Thus, though the law is basically harsh and punitive, some efforts too look at
the causes of poverty are codified.
5


1697 The workhouse system is developed in Bristol and soon spreads throughout England and parts
of Europe. It is designed to keep down poor taxes by denying aid to anyone who refuses to enter
a workhouse. These institutions are usually managed by private entrepreneurs who contract with
the legal authorities to care for the residence in exchange for the residence in exchange for using
their work. Residence - including very young children, the handicapped and very old people – are
often given minimal care and are worked long hours as virtual slaves.
1700 Humanitarian groups in Quebec establish centers for the relief of the poor; Nova Scotians
adopt English Poor Laws.
1600-1800

1782 The Gilbert Act is passed in England, enabling humanitarians, appalled by the exploitation of
workhouse residence, to institute reforms in many English jurisdictions. Many workhouses are
closed, assistance to the poor in their own home is established, and children under 6 are placed
with families. Many private entrepreneurs are replaced by municipal employees as managers of
the remaining workhouses.
1795 Speemhamland system establishes earliest "poverty line" based on the price of bread and
number of dependents in a workers family; subsidization provided when wages dipped below the
poverty line.

1800-1900
1800s Reforms to Elizabethan Poor Laws. Denigrating principles of "less eligibility" and "perception of
need" imbedded in society‟s attitudes toward the poor and less able bodied. Reform activists work
for the abolition of illiteracy, preventable diseases, sweated labor, slums and overcrowding,
unemployment and poverty.
 Charity Organization Societies (COS) form in England with an emphasis on detailed
investigations.
1800 -1900

Volunteers recruited to befriend applicants, make individual assessments and correct their
problems.
 Thomas Malthus, British East India Company economist, documents population numbers
multiplying faster than production of goods to meet their needs. Coincides with Darwin‟s theory of
evolution based on natural selection. Applied to human condition by Herbert Spencer‟s declaration
that poverty was part of natural selection; helping the poor would only perpetuate unfit laziness
and non industriousness.
 Protestant Ethic emphasizes self-discipline, frugality and hard work; encouraged disapproval of
dependence on others.
 Feminists in America convene to declare the goal of equal rights for women; suffrage, equal
opportunities in education and jobs, and legal rights.
1819 Scottish preacher and mathematician Thomas Chalmers assumes responsibility for Glasgow‟s
poor. He develops private philanthropies to help meet the economic needs of the poor and
organizes a system of volunteers to meet individually and regularly with disadvantaged people to
give them encouragement and training.
1833 Antoine Ozanam established in the Saint Vincent de Paul Society in Paris, using lay volunteers
to provide emergency economic and spiritual assistance to the poor.
1834 The new Poor Law is established in England to reform the Elizabethan Poor Law (1601). The
underlying emphasis of the new law is on self-reliance. Public assistance is not considered a right,
and government is not seen as responsible for the unemployed. The principle of "less eligibility" (a
recipient of aid can never receive as much as does the lowest-paid worked) is enforced.
1844 1844: The first YMCA is established in London, England.
1867 1867: The British North America Act created a political union between New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Canada East, and Canada West -- the Dominion of Canada. Responsibility for social welfare given to
the provinces. Welfare was not seen as a major function of governments.
6


1883 Chancellor Bismarck of a newly united Germany introduces first national health insurance
system.
1887 Royal Commission on the Relations of Labor and Capital reported on conditions for workers in
the Dominion of Canada.
1889 In Chicago, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr open Hull House, which becomes one of the
1800 -1900

most influential social settlement houses in the United States.
1898 The first school for social workers is established. The New York School of
Philanthropy (later to become the Columbia University School of Social Work) grows
out of a series of summer workshops and training programs for volunteers and
friendly visitors and offers a one-year educational program. Faculty member and COS
administrator Mary E. Richmond publishes Friendly Visiting Among the Poor.
1897 Herbert Ames' study of the poor in Montreal was published.

Social Work during 1900 onwards
1900 - 1950
1900  Educator Simon N. Patten coins the term "social workers" and applies it to friendly visitorsand
settlement house residences. He and Mary Richmond dispute whether the major role of social
workers should be advocacy or delivering individualized social services.
1910-21 Jane Addams and Mary Richmond trade leadership positions in the National Conference of
Charities and Corrections (NCCC). Later renamed National Conference of Social Work.
1911  Great Britain passes the National Insurance Act, which organizes a health and compensation
program paid for by contributions from workers, employees, and public.
1914  Canada‟s first school of social services at the University of Toronto; emphasis of first
curriculum on social economics, social psychology and social ethics theories; practice emphasis on
social settlements and community work, penology, medical social services, recreation,
immigration, labor, and child welfare.
 Canada‟s first women‟s right to vote legislation in Manitoba.
1915 Einstein‟s special law of relativity; forerunner of quantum physics and subsequent sciences of
complexity in the 20th century.
In an address to the National Conference on Social Welfare, Abraham Flexner declares that
social work has not yet qualified as a profession, especially because its members do not have a
1900 -1950

great deal of individual responsibility and because it still lacks a written body of knowledge and
educationally communicable techniques.
1917 Mary Richmond publishes Social Diagnosis. Social workers use her book as a primary text and
as an answer to Flexner.
 The first organization for social workers is established. The national Social Workers Exchange
exists primarily to process applicants for social work jobs.
1919 The 17 schools of social work that exist in the United States and Canada form the
Association of Training Schools for Professional Social Work to develop uniform
standards of training and professional education. This group is later renamed the
American Association of School of Social Work (AASSW), eventually becoming the
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
 Social workers employed in schools organize as the National Association of Visiting Teachers.
 The Charity Organization Societies (COS) becomes oriented increasingly toward helping
families. Many local societies change their names to Family Welfare Agency. The National Alliance
for Organizing Charity is renamed the American Association for Organizing Family Social Work. By
1946 this Organization is known as the Family Service Association of America (FSAA), renamed
Family Service America (FSA) in 1983.
1927 Canada introduces social security; subsidized old-age pension program for over 70 year old
citizens, based on a strict and often humiliating means test -- Old Age Pensions Act 7


1928 International Permanent Secretariat of Social Workers founded; Canada is a charter member;
spear headed by Dr. Rene Sand, Belgian advocate of social medicine; predecessor to International
Federation of Social Workers (IFSW).
1928  The Milford Conference convenes to discuss whether social work is a disparate group of
technical specialties or a unified profession with more similarities than differences among its
specialties. In 1929 the report of the conference is published as Social Case Work: Generic and
Specific.
1929 Famous Five women from Alberta (Murphy, McClung, Parlby, Edwards, McWhinney) win
approval from Privy Council in England that women are included as "persons" making them
eligible for appointment to Canada‟s Senate.
 Stock market crashes and Great Depression begins.
1930 Gordon Hamilton extends Richmond‟s "man in his environment" concept to "person-in-
1900 -1950

situation" within a organist context; Bertha Reynolds saw social work in a "between client and
community" context.
1931 Social worker Jane Addams becomes co recipient of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize.
1937 The AASSW declares that beginning in 1939 the requirement for social work accreditation will
be a two-year master‟s degree program. The MSW becomes a requirement to be considered a
professional social worker
1939 American Association of Schools of Social Work, the accrediting body for social workers,
declared MSW degree as the minimum requirement to be a professional social worker.
1940 Mary Parker Follett‟s posthumous book Dynamic Administration is published; it becomes an
influence in the field of social welfare administration.
1941 Atlantic Charter; historical meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt, formulated as one of its
agreements citizen rights to social security.
1942 The Beveridge Report is issued in Great Britain, recommending as integrated social security
system that attempts to ensure cradle-to-grave economic protection for its citizens. Many of the
report‟s recommendations go into effect after World War II.
1945 World War II ends. On October 24, the United Nations is established.
1946 Great Britain establishes its National Health Service.

Social Work during from 1935 onwards
1950 - Present
1950  Canada has 8 graduate schools of social work offering two-year professional programs –
Maritime School, Laval, University of Montreal, McGill, St. Patrick‟s, Toronto, Manitoba and UBC.
1952 The CSWE is formed through a merger of the AASSW and the NASSA –the two competing
organizations that had been setting standards for schools of social work. CSWE is soon granted
the authority to accredit graduate (MSW) schools of social work.
1950 to the Present

1954 In social casework, the so-called "diagnostic" and "functional" schools begin to merge and lose
their separate identities. The functional school had been oriented toward a highly focused, goal-
oriented approach to casework intervention. The diagnostic school had been influenced by
Freudian theory, but adherents of this approach develop more of a psychosocial orientation in the
1950s.
1955 On October 1, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is created through
the merger of seven organizations – the AASSW, plus the American Association of
Medical Social Workers (AAMSW), the American Association of Psychiatric Social
Workers (AAPSW), the National Association of School Social Workers (NAASW), The
American association of Group Workers (AAGW), the Association for the Study of
Community Organization (ASCO), and the Social Work Research Group (SWRG).
Membership is limited to members of the seven associations and subsequently to
master’s degree-level workers graduating from accredited schools of social work. 8


1958 Working Definition of Social Work Practice, headed by Harriett Bartlett, defines person-in-
environment as social work‟s comprehensive domain of practice; published in 1970 by Bartlett in
Common Base of Social Work; reaffirmed in two special issues of Social Work on conceptual
frameworks in 1977 and 1981.
1959 Social Work Education Curriculum Study, headed by Werner Boehm, claimed a broad-based
orientation for social work that recognized five specialization methods: casework, group work,
community organization, administration, and research.
1962 NASW organises the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW), restricted to NASW members
with accredited MSW degrees, two years‟ agency experience under certified social work
supervision, and adherence to the NASW Code of Ethics. ACSW membership requirements are
1950 to the Present

subsequently revised to include testing and professional recommendations.
 CSWE recognizes community organization as a legitimate specialization for social work
education.
1966 Canada Assistance Plan introduced; a cost-sharing conditional grant from federal government
on an open-ended basis: 50% of provincial expenditures for welfare and social services of all
kinds.
1972 Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work (CASSW) becomes Canada‟s accrediting
body for social work education.
1974 Council of Social Work Education, social work‟s new accrediting body in the U.S., revises former
standard to include the BSW as a professional social worker.
1975 CASW reorganized into a federated structure of 11 organizational members: 10 provincial and 1
territorial associations.
1977 CASW develops comprehensive code of ethics, based on Canadian Bar Association guidelines;
revised in 1983; accepted as a national standard in 1984; updated in 1994.
1982 Global definition of social work approved by the 44 nation members of IFSW; Members from
Canada and Spain had the special honor of preparing and presenting the final draft to the
federation‟s General Meeting for approval.
1983 NASW establishes the National Peer Review Advisory Committee and trains social workers to
evaluate the work of other social workers to promote accountability and to meet quality control
requirements of government and third-party funding organizations. The CSWE issues a Curriculum
Policy Statement for baccalaureate as master‟s degree programs in social work education. BSW
education is recognized as the first level of professional social work education.
1987 The NASW Center for Social Policy and Practice is established to co-ordinate the exchange of
information, education, and policy formulation pertaining to social work and social welfare in the
United States.

Photos of Walter Friedlander & Simon Patten 9who used the term social work first time)

1900 Educator
Simon N. Patten
coins the term "social
workers" and applies
it to friendly visitors
and settlement house
residents. He and
Mary Richmond
dispute whether the
major role of social
workers should be
advocacy or
delivering
Walter Friedländer individualized social
(1891- 1984) services. 9


The Settlement House
The settlement House

The settlement house, an approach to social reform with roots in the late 19th century and the Progressive
Movement, was a method for serving the poor in urban areas by living among them and serving them directly.
As the residents of settlement houses learned effective methods of helping, they then worked to transfer
long-term responsibility for the programs to government agencies. Settlement house workers, in their work to
find more effective solutions to poverty and injustice, also pioneered the profession of social work.
The term "neighborhood center" (or in British English, Neighbourhood Centre) is often used today for similar
institutions, as the early tradition of "residents" settling in the neighborhood has given way to professionalized
social work.
The first settlement house was Toynbee Hall in London, founded in 1883. The first American settlement house
was The Neighborhood Guild (later the University Settlement), founded by Stanton Coit, begun in 1886.
The best-known settlement house is perhaps Hull House in Chicago, founded in 1889 by Jane Addams with
her friend Ellen Starr. Lillian Wald and the Henry Street Settlement in New York is also well known. Other
settlement houses, like Both of these houses were staffed primarily by women, and both resulted in many
reforms with long-lasting effect and many programs that exist today. Other individuals known as settlement
house leaders include John Lovejoy Elliott and Mary Simkhovitch.
Mary McDowell, Alice Hamilton, Florence Kelley, Francis Perkins, John Dewey and Eleanor Roosevelt
are among the many women and men connected at some point in their careers with settlement houses.

10


Understanding the History of Social Welfare from various Welfare Traditions

2. Understanding the History of Social Welfare from various
Welfare Traditions

“Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums
that damn them, the economic conditions that cripple them, is a dry-as-dust religion”

The Poor Law tradition

Three Social Welfare /
The Social Insurance tradition
Security Traditions

The Welfare State tradition
Social Work in historical perspective

Social Work in Historical Perspective

Liberalism Liberalism Vs Conservatism Conservatism
• Democrat • Republican
• Institutional View of Social • Residual View of
Is there a middle, or more
Welfare Social Welfare
rational, way?
• Encourage moderate • Resistance to change.
In the 20th Century there
change. • Individuals are
was a move towards developing
• Government regulation and autonomous
a middle, and more rational,
intervention is necessary and • Government regulation
approach to the polar opposites
required. and intervention should be
of liberalism & conservatism.
avoided
The modern welfare state is a
European invention - in the Historic Shift
same way as the nation state, • Historically the social welfare needs of individuals were handled by
mass democracy, and less formal means.
industrial capitalism. It was • Everyone knew each other and problems were more visible than they
born as an answer to are today.
problems created by capitalist • With the rise of the industrial society that changed.
industrialization; it was driven • A need for a different model of delivering social welfare services was
by the democratic class required.
struggle; and it followed in the The Business of Social Welfare
footsteps of the nation state • When the less informal means of meeting social welfare needs were
(Flora 1986: XII) inadequate the business of social welfare evolved.

11


Poor Law Tradition

Debate
The Residual versus Institutional View of Social Welfare
• The debate between the residual and institutional views of social welfare has been in existence
throughout history – it is as old as humankind.
• The debate will continue.
• There is probably no right or wrong answer to the debate – both sides have their positive aspects.
• Intelligent people, people of good intent can and do differ on their views in this area.

The Rugged Individualism Approach The Institutional View
• Funds and services are not a right (something • Social welfare is an acceptable, and legitimate,
you are entitled to) but a gift. function of modern industrial society in helping
• Whoever receives that gift has certain individuals achieve self-fulfillment.
responsibilities and obligations. • Difficulties are often beyond the persons
• Usually associated with wanting to help “the immediate control.
deserving poor.” • Social Insurance programs such as Old Age,
• General belief that, in general, a persons Survivor, and Health Insurance are examples of
misfortunes (with few notable exceptions) are of institutional programs – as are public assistance
their own making. programs.
• A societal stigma attached to receiving
services. The Poor Law Tradition
It originates from the secularization
of poor relief stated in the English
Poor Law Acts from 1598 and 1601
under the reign of Queen Elizabeth
the 1st.
It is rooted in economic liberalism
and Christian values, with respect to
the principle of individual
responsibility and work ethics.
It distinguishes between ''deserving
poor'' (=orphans, aged, disabled)
and ''undeserving poor''
(=vagrants and beggars)‫‏‬
The Poor Law Tradition
represents important values in
social welfare and service
delivery today:
 Rugged individualism and self ELIZABETH I 1558-1603
reliance or self sufficiency: public The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne
assistance should be a last resort Boleyn, Elizabeth was a remarkable woman,
 Importance of the family in noted for her learning and wisdom. From
supporting its own members first to last she was popular with the people
 Legal residence and duration of and had a genius for the selection of
settlement is still an issue for capable advisors. Drake, Raleigh, Hawkins,
immigrants and refugees. The latter the Cecils, Essex and many many more
are given short time limited benefits made England respected and feared. The
on arrival which are cut off after one Spanish Armada was decisively defeated in
year when they are on their own. 1588 and Raleigh's first Virginian colony was
Fear of a powerful central founded. The execution of Mary Queen of
government leads to de- Scots marred what was a glorious time in
centralization of services and great English history. Shakespeare was also at
variability in programs, and benefit the height of his popularity. Elizabeth never
rates married. 12


Feudalism The Elizabethan Poor Law
 Three elements existed and characterize the England passed several Poor Laws between
period: lords, vassals and fiefs. Feudalism is the mid-1300s and the mid-1800s.
defined by how these three elements fit together. The most significant was the Elizabethan Poor
 A lord was a noble who owned land. A vassal Law of 1601 enacted during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth I.
was a person who was loaned land by the
The fundamental provisions of this law were
lord. The land was known as a fief. In incorporated into the laws of the American
exchange for the fief, the vassal would Colonies.
provide military service to the lord. The Fundamental purpose was NOT to alleviate
obligations and relations between lord, vassal poverty but to eliminate, or at least control,
and fief form the basis of feudalism. widespread begging.
Who Received Relief?
Decline of Feudalism Three categories of relief recipients were
By the thirteenth century Europe's economy established.
was involved in a transformation from a mostly 1. Able-bodied Poor
agrarian system to one that was increasingly Given low-grade employment, and citizens were
money-based and mixed. forbidden to offer them financial help. Anyone
Industrialism, trade, and money were who refused help was placed in stocks, or in jail.
Replacing land. 2. The Impotent Poor
 People unable to work. This included the
Many people were displaced from the land and elderly, blind, deaf, mothers with young children,
their communities and those with physical or mental disability.
Events of the middle ages:  They were placed together in an almshouse
 Famines unless they had a place to reside, and it was
 Wars cheaper for them to stay there.
 Crop failures  People living outside the almshouse were
 Pestilence given “outdoor relief” usually “in kind” (food,
 Breakdown of the feudal system. clothing, and fuel).
 Former methods of providing for relief (church, 3. Dependent Children
family, etc.) were ineffective. Children with parents or grandparents unable
 Widespread begging ensued. to support them were apprenticed out to other
citizens.
The Early Middle Ages Boys were taught a trade and had to serve
 All societies develop ways to meet the needs until their 24th birthday.
of those who are unable to do it for themselves. Girls were brought up as domestic servants
 Societies do this for humanitarian as well as and were required to remain until they were 21 or
utilitarian (Genuine interest in relieving suffering married.
& Interest in avoiding social unrest) reasons: How It Worked
People were ineligible if parents, spouse,
 As the Church became steadily more powerful
children, or other relatives were able to provide
In the Middle Ages it developed and provided a
for them.
variety of human services.
The parish (town or community) was
Monasteries served as sanctuaries, refuge, assigned
and places of treatment for the mentally ill. the responsibility of implementing the provisions
 Belief that the wealthy or those with using donations and tax revenue.
adequate resources had a duty to help the less Residency requirements: The parish
fortunate. responsibility extended only to its residents
 Little interest in finding out the cause of (usually being born there or residing there for 3
poverty or other social problems. years)
 People were helped simply because they
needed the help. 13


Work House Conditions

Management of Work Houses - Pamphlet issued during that period

Work Houses

What were workhouses?
Before 1834, poor people were looked after by buying food and clothing from money collected from
land owners and other wealthy people.
The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, ensured that no able-bodied person could get poor relief
unless they went to live in special workhouses. The idea was that the poor were helped to support
themselves. They had to work for their food and accommodation.
Workhouses were where poor people who had no job or home lived. They earned their keep by
doing jobs in the workhouse. Also in the workhouses were orphaned (children without parents) and
abandoned children, the physically and mentally sick, the disabled, the elderly and unmarried
mothers. Workhouses were often very large and were feared by the poor and old.
A workhouse provided:
*a place to live * a place to work and earn money *free medical care *food *clothes
*free education for children and training for a job.
The staff of a workhouse included:
*a Master *a Matron *a Medical Officer *a Chaplain *a porter *a school-teacher
Workhouses provided almost everything that was needed onsite:
Why were workhouses feared by the poor and old?
The government, terrified of encouraging 'idlers' (lazy people), made sure that people feared the
workhouse and would do anything to keep out of it.How did they do that?
What were workhouses like?
Women, children and men had different living and working areas in the workhouse, so families
were split up. To make things even worse they could be punished if they even tried to speak to
one another! The education the children received did not include the two most important skills of
all, reading and writing, which were needed to get a good job. The poor were made to wear a
ocial Insurance Tradition

uniform. This meant that everyone looked the same and everyone outside knew they were poor
and lived in the workhouse. Upon entering the workhouse, the poor were stripped and bathed 14
(under supervision).The food was tasteless and was the same day after day.
The young and old as well as men and women were made to work hard, often doing unpleasant
jobs. Children could also find themselves 'hired out' (sold) to work in factories or mines.


Social Insurance Tradition
Social insurance
Social insurance is a program
that is implemented and
carried out by the government
with the aim of providing
economic assistance to people
who are unemployed, disabled,
injured or part of a group of
senior citizens or the elderly.
Social insurance aims to
provide economic assistance
by providing these people with
financial assistance that is
mainly obtained from the
monetary contributions of Bismarck in Germany
employed individuals, introduced the first
employers and those who are rudimentary state
paying taxes. Financial social insurance scheme
assistance may also be taken
from the revenue of the
government.

Germany became the first nation in the world to adopt an old-age social insurance program in 1889,
designed by Germany's Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. The idea was first put forward, at Bismarck's
behest, in 1881 by Germany's Emperor, William the First, in a ground-breaking letter to the German
Parliament. William wrote: ". . .those who are disabled from work by age and invalidity have a
well-grounded claim to care from the state."
Bismarck was motivated to introduce social insurance in Germany both in order to promote the well-
being of workers in order to keep the German economy operating at maximum efficiency, and to
stave-off calls for more radical socialist alternatives. Despite his impeccable right-wing credentials,
Bismarck would be called a socialist for introducing these programs, as would President Roosevelt 70
years later. In his own speech to the Reichstag during the 1881 debates, Bismarck would reply: "Call
it socialism or whatever you like. It is the same to me."
The German system provided contributory retirement benefits and disability benefits as well.
Participation was mandatory and contributions were taken from the employee, the employer and the
government. Coupled with the workers' compensation program established in 1884 and the "sickness"
insurance enacted the year before, this gave the Germans a comprehensive system of income security
based on social insurance principles. (They would add unemployment insurance in 1927, making their
system complete.)

15


Social insurance is any government-sponsored Similarities to private
program with the following three insurance
characteristics: Typical similarities
* The benefits, eligibility requirements and between social insurance
other aspects of the program are defined by programs and private
statute; insurance programs
* It is funded by taxes or premiums paid by include:
(or on behalf of) participants (although * Wide pooling of risks;
additional sources of funding may be provided * Specific definitions of the
as well); and benefits provided;
* The program serves a defined population, * Specific definitions of
and participation is either compulsory or the eligibility rules and the
program is heavily enough subsidized that amount of coverage
most eligible individuals choose to participate. provided;
Social insurance has also been defined as a * Specific premium,
program where risks are transferred to and contribution or tax rates
pooled by an organization, often required to meet the
governmental, that is legally required to expected costs of the
provide certain benefits. system.

Social Insurance Vs Private Insurance
Typical differences between private insurance programs and social insurance programs
include:
* Equity versus Adequacy: Private insurance programs are generally designed with
greater emphasis on equity between individual purchasers of coverage, while social insurance
programs generally place a greater emphasis on the social adequacy of benefits for all
participants.
* Voluntary versus Mandatory Participation: Participation in private insurance
programs is often voluntary, and where the purchase of insurance is mandatory, individuals
usually have a choice of insurers. Participation in social insurance programs is generally
mandatory, and where participation is voluntary, the cost is heavily enough subsidized to
ensure essentially universal participation.
* Contractual versus Statutory Rights: The right to benefits in a private insurance
program is contractual, based on an insurance contract. The insurer generally does not have
a unilateral right to change or terminate coverage before the end of the contract period
(except in such cases as non-payment of premiums). Social insurance programs are not
generally based on a contract, but rather on a statute, and the right to benefits is thus
statutory rather than contractual. The provisions of the program can be changed if the
statute is modified.
* Funding: Individually purchased private insurance generally must be fully funded. Full
funding is a desirable goal for private pension plans as well, but is often not achieved. Social
insurance programs are often not fully funded, and some argue that full funding is not
economically desirable.

16


The Welfare Tradition
Welfare Tradition

It originates in the ideas of Lord Beveridge exposed in his
reports: Social Insurance and Allied Services (1942) and Full
Employment in a Free Society (1944).
It is rooted in humanistic convictions that there is a common
responsibility of the society as a whole for the well-being of
all citizens.
It is to promote social integration and progress towards an
equal society with full employment by state intervention:
social expenditure is seen as desirable.

The Welfare State – 4. Squalor
The Welfare State Why did it all start?  Although council housing had been
A long time ago…. introduced at the end of the nineteenth century,
 The Welfare state began during the second there was not enough and many people were still
World War. living in slums.
 During the war, the government appointed a  This was attacked by a massive council
committee under Sir William Beveridge – to housing program and the New Towns Act. This
investigate the problems of social insurance enabled the setting up of new towns in the
 The report said that there were five evil countryside; removed from the slums of the big
giants cities.
facing Britain which had to be destroyed… 5. Idleness
The Five Evil Giants  At the start of the war over 10% of the
1. Want workforce was unemployed. This was however,
 Many people were living in poverty through there own choice.
no fault of their own because they were sick,  This was attacked by the government
widowed or unemployed. nationalizing some industries and setting up
 This was attacked by the introduction of boards to help industries in high areas of
National Insurance 1945 - 51 unemployment.
2. Disease 1. The Welfare State… today.
 Although medical insurance had been The Welfare State in the UK uses National
introduced, there was no free medical treatment Insurance and taxes to provide…
and many people could not afford to see a doctor  Free education for everyone up to the age of
when they were ill. 18, and help with university education.
 This was attacked by the establishment of the  Free doctors and hospitals for everyone. Help
National Health Service. Providing free hospital with dentistry, opticians and prescriptions.
treatment for everyone.  Payments for the unemployed
3. Ignorance  Social security so that everyone has a
 Secondary education was only available to minimum income.
those who could pay or who passed a scholarship  Pensions for old people
at the age of 11.  Child benefit for children under 19 in full time
 Most children left school at the end of education
elementary education when they were 14.  Housing benefits
 This was attacked by 1944 education act  Job centers for setting up in employment.
which introduced secondary education and raised 2. It provides training so everyone can find
the school leaving age to 15. work.

Definition of Welfare State
The Welfare State consists of a number of programs through which governments pursue 17
the goal of social protection against economic and social risks of life & well-being


Born 5 March 1879Rangpur, India (now Bangladesh)
Died 16 March 1963 (aged 84) Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
Nationality British
Education Charterhouse School and Balliol College, Oxford.
Occupation Economist
Title 1st Baron Beveridge
William Beveridge Known for Work towards founding Britain's welfare state.
Father of Social Welfare

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp
/hi/pds/19_07_05_beveridge.pdf

Three Social Security Strategies
From these three social security traditions emerged three types of social security strategies in Europe

The Social Assistance strategy Social Insurance Strategy Social Allowance Strategy
originating in the Poor law The redistributive goal is horizontal This strategy aims at universal
tradition redistribution from workers to coverage and vertical
The redistributive goal is to retired old, from childless to families redistribution is considered as a
reduce poverty that is to provide with children, from healthy to the goal. It considers a guaranteed
a socially acceptable minimum sick, etc. Benefit entitlement is minimum income as a right of
support. Vertical redistribution. dependent on and related to past nation-state citizenship.
Social assistance is targeted on contributions or earnings Social allowances are granted
individuals meeting certain The social security goal is poverty according to demographic criteria
criteria of neediness. prevention. It provides a social such as children and age.
Criticism: economists have security the market can hardly Criticism: very expensive, today
argued that it can discourage supply. facing financial crisis; risk of
labour supply because of the risk Criticism: it leaves outside of the inadequate levels of benefits with
of poverty-traps and that it can coverage the non regular full-time persistent poverty; risk of
increase costs of administration employees: self-employed, atypical welfare-dependent underclass
and surveillance forms of contracts, etc.
18


Founders of the Welfare State-Photo Album

Founders of The Welfare State

Sir Edwin Chadwick Josephine Butler Joseph Chamberlain Octavia Hill
1800 –1890 1828-1906 (1836 - 1914) (1838-1912)

Charles Booth Sir Ebenezer Beatrice Webb Sidney Webb
Edwin Chadwick 1868-1921 Howard (1850-1928) (1858–1943) (1859–1947)
Josephine Butler
Joseph Chamberlain
Octavia Hill
Charles Booth
Ebenezer Howard
The Webbs
R.I. Morant
Lloyd George David Lloyd George Seebohm Rowntree Eleanor Rathbone William Beveridge
Seebohm Rowntree (1863–1945) (1871–1954) (1872–1946) (1879–1963)
Eleanor Rathbone
William Beveridge
R.H. Tawney
Aneurin Bevan
Richard Titmuss

Richard Henry Aneurin Bevan Richard M Titmuss
Tawney (1880-1962) (1897–1960) (1907–1973) R.I. Morant

19


History of Social Welfare in USA
1

Puritan Beliefs and Charity-Religious
Poor Laws of 1601 - Elizabethan laws lay the beliefs of the Pilgrims shape attitudes
groundwork for social policy in America. Puritan beliefs became the foundation for
America's foundation for social welfare comes from early America's social welfare philosophy.
the laws and traditions of England. English welfare These Puritans believed in an ordered,
practices had been codified into law by Parliament hierarchical universe with God reigning
during the reign of Elizabeth. supreme. The world, as God's creation,

Main principles included local control, with reflected this hierarchy and the presence of a
administrative units made up of parishes, and select permanent underclass fit into this world view.
residents of the parish designated "overseers of the Believing in predestination, Puritans could
poor." look at poverty as revealing a flaw in the poor
These overseers had responsibility for the poor of person's character; a sign that he or she was
the parish, including finding work, taking care of out of favor with the higher power.
neglected children and providing relief for "the lame, While acts of charity to help the needy were
impotent, old, blind, and such other among them, an important part of religious practice, there
being poor and not able to work." Emphasizing care was not an expectation that such charitable
for the disabled and aged made a distinction acts would raise the underclass out of poverty.
between "deserving" and "undeserving" poor. Charity was viewed as comfort to those
For neglected children, whose parents were found by unfortunates doomed to suffer in this world,
the overseers to be unfit to "keep and maintain" and the charitable act a sign of the goodness
them, care took the form of being apprenticed to a of the giver.
local tradesman.
Local control of social welfare under the Poors of
1601 also meant local financing, with overseers given A New Nation -Democratic spirit and
broad authority to levy taxes on parish residents new religious fervor
The 1601 Poor Laws were the basis of English social The newly independent United States of
policy until the mid-1800's. Their influence on America enjoyed great prosperity and
American practice, particularly in New England, was expansion in the early nineteenth century. An
tremendous. In fact, until recent times, New invigorating democratic spirit influenced all
Hampshire welfare case-workers were called aspects of society.
"overseers of the poor." Responsibility for governing was now in the
hands of the people. The nation's elite saw a
need to educate, improve, and uplift the people to best prepare them for this new
challenge. The creation of societies for civic improvement was widespread and social
movements like temperance and abolition got their start.
A similar spirit of optimism and hope was alive in the Church. A movement called "The
Great Awakening," begun in the 1700's, had challenged the deterministic view of the
Puritans. Emphasizing spiritual rebirth and salvation, this view held more hope for the
underclass.
Monarchy had relied on rigid class distinctions that allowed no upward mobility. Religion
had reinforced acceptance of a permanent impoverished class. With its space and
abundant resources, egalitarian philosophy, and a renewed religious vigor, America
enthusiastically tackled social ills.

20


Social Workers begun their great
journey as friendly visitors
In the 1850s, rapid urbanization &Industry-
alization, increased city social problems. Poverty
& its accompanying difficulties forced society to
address needed services. As a result, new
charities, both public and private, responded to
the challenge. As charity resources expanded,
experienced workers saw the need for improved
organization and management and they began to
to apply order to the problems in their
communities. The hardship and slow economy of
the 1870s threw millions of men out of work and
sparked riots and strikes. The strikes shut down
most of the nation's railroad traffic and, as a
result, commerce came to a halt. Elected
officials, shocked and frightened by the poverty,
destitution and general unrest, expanded local
relief efforts hoping to moderate the
depression's severity and to re-establish social
order. During this time, a new movement of
charitable organizations began to appear that we
now associate more directly with the evolution
of early social work.

The charity organizations were created to
reorganize the public and private resources that
had proliferated during the 1870s. In 1877, the
first American charity organization society was
established in Buffalo, New York. At the turn of
the century, virtually every major urban area in
America hosted some form of charity
organization society. Leaders believed poverty
could be eradicated through planned Mary Richmond
intervention or treatment rather than by direct
relief (i.e. monetary assistance) alone. Many
were disturbed by what they saw as an
inefficient and chaotic array of urban
philanthropy. Therefore, a central record
keeping system was created to track those who
received assistance and prevented the indigent
from receiving relief from more than one agency.
Someone, though, had to perform the crucial
tasks of investigation and treatment, and that
someone was the “friendly visitor”, and yielded
the birth of what would be the social work
profession was born. In the early 1890s, Mary
Richmond, then director of the Baltimore Charity
Organization, began developing training
programs. In 1898, the New York Charity
Organization started the first school for social
workers. The original curriculum was designed as
a six week set of summer classes and included
formal lectures and field work.

21


2
Early Reforms - "Outdoor" relief moves "Indoor"
The social welfare practices of colonial America and the early United States were a
legacy of English practice.
Appointed overseers of the poor in each community made provision for the needy:
securing pensions, apprenticing wayward youth to tradesmen, and, in some cases, auctioning off care of
people to the lowest bidder. The low bidder would be paid to care for an indigent person in his home, with
little financial incentive to provide quality care.
This decentralized system was called "outdoor" relief because care took place in people's homes, outside
an institution.
While at times abused by its disinterested overseers, outdoor relief was also criticized for delivering service
in homes, instead of motivating the needy to get out and help themselves.
Reformers of the time stressed the environmental factors that shaped social ills, such as poverty and
alcoholism. They built institutions to provide corrected, safe environments. Homes for the disabled, mental
institutions, even prisons grew out of this movement.

Many states created institutions for the impoverished. "Indoor" relief was born, and the era of the
poorhouse began.

Civil War - War redefines The Gilded Age - Industrialized economy booms for some.
balance between state and In 1869, the just-completed transcontinental railroad connected
federal. the West to the East.
The US Civil War was a conflict With North and South no longer at war, the nation moved solidly
between state and federal power. in the direction of commerce. The railroad united new industries
One consequence, though and vast fortunes were made in steel, oil, and banking.
perhaps coincidental, While some tycoons, like Andrew Carnegie and
was a change in the John D. Rockefeller, would become legendary philanth
federal government's -rapists ,so-called "robber-barons" viewed the world
role in social welfare, exclusively as a competitive arena where every possible advantage
particularly in public should be exploited.
health. These "Social Darwinists" extrapolated the "Survival of the Fittest"
At the War's outset, appalling theories of Charles Darwin to mean the pursuit of individual
numbers of troops succumbed to wealth was natural and right.
disease, due largely to poor Darwin's work challenged prevailing religious views about Man's
sanitation. A very effective origins. Just as some religious interpretation had led to acceptance
Sanitary Commission was of a permanent underclass, this interpretation of Darwin's work
established to disseminate proper served the purpose of the wealthy
health practices.
Though it was not a government
agency, the Commission Cities and Settlement Houses - Immigration,
demonstrated to federal and state urbanization challenge cities.
governments that a nationally led Post-Civil War industrialization and immigration lead to enormous
organization could be effective in city growth, as many newcomers to America were crowded into
promoting the public welfare. cramped and filthy tenements.
It also demonstrated that some The settlement house movement sought to relieve the pressures
issues, like public health, were of urban immigrant life by providing community social services in
larger than local concerns and an informal, neighborly setting.
required cooperation between The most famous example is Chicago's Hull House, founded by
units of government. social reformer Jane Addams. Less concerned with providing the
The Commission also created new moral improvement charitable organizations sought, Hull House
roles for women by putting nurses offered some practical services to its community, like the first
near the front. childcare and kindergarten in Chicago.

22


3
The Progressive - Era Government gets The Social Worker - The rise of the profession.
involved. In 1921, at a Milwaukee conference, the American
Around the turn of the last century, the Association of Social Workers was established. This
excesses of the Gilded Age became politically movement toward a more professional approach
unpalatable. The laissez-faire style of evolved throughout the early decades of the 20th
government that had allowed unrestricted century.
commerce did little to protect the rights of The complexity of modern life and the social ills
workers or provide for the needy. associated with city growth were thought too
In Wisconsin, Bob LaFollette fought political daunting for the traditional untrained charity worker.
corruption. In Washington, President The social work profession devised standards and
Theodore Roosevelt broke up the trusts that training and advocated social research and scientific
had monopolized whole sectors of the methods.
economy. And around the country, farmers While such professionalism lead to more consistent
and laborers organized for political unity. and focused care for individuals in need, much of the
Journalistic endeavors in this era of reformist zeal and desire for social change, so vital in
muckraking shed light on dangerous work the 19th century, fell by the wayside.
conditions and squalid housing. Famous
examples include Jacob Riis's photography and
writing about tenement life and Upton

Sinclair's exposure of unsafe meatpacking
practices.
A 1909 White House Conference on
The Great Depression - Millions of unemployed;
Dependent Children signaled a change in
"alphabet soup" of agencies
government interest in children's welfare. After the 1929 stock market crash, and President
Previously considered a local or private Hoover's ineffectual response, America faced its
charitable concern, children's welfare received greatest economic crisis. Millions of newly
federal attention with the creation of a US unemployed were exhausting private relief
Children's Bureau. organizations.
In New York state, Governor Franklin Roosevelt
viewed the unemployed as a vast social problem that could only be fixed by government. An emergency
temporary relief agency delivered funds to local work projects and relief providers.
As President, Roosevelt's first major act was creation of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration
(FERA, the first of an "alphabet soup" of relief agencies) to fund locally administered unemployment relief.
The principle of locally funded, locally controlled welfare dates back to America's colonial era and the Poor
Laws of 1601. But the problems of the Depression proved too great for local governments or charities.
Federal funding came with guidelines, including the hiring of social workers. Many private charity social
workers now entered government service.

Social Security - Wisconsin economist directs effort
After the Band-Aid work of emergency relief, Roosevelt turned to developing a more
permanent safety net to keep Americans from destitution in the future.
A Committee of Economic Security was established with University of Wisconsin Professor
Edwin E. Witte as its director. Witte was an economist who had worked on Wisconsin's pioneering
unemployment insurance program. The committee devised a widespread program of social insurance that
became law in 1935, little more than a year after the committee began its work.Old age pensions and
unemployment insurance were funded by payments from both employers and employees. Funding was
provided to states to administer relief to the disabled, widowed, and to single-parent families in a
program that would become AFDC.
For the first time in US history, a certain amount of assistance was federally guaranteed to all citizens as
an "entitlement."

23


4 War and Postwar - Wartime
factories retooled for prosperity
"The more women work, the sooner
we win" read this recruiting poster
from World War II.
Millions of men were away in the
military. To keep them supplied in the The Great Society -War on poverty, and war in Vietnam.
field, factories hired women for jobs Having grown up in the remote Texas Hill Country, Lyndon B.
that had previously been only done by Johnson understood the "Other America" – places like
men. Appalachia where poverty persisted. Having seen electricity
After so many years of widespread come to the Hill Country, Johnson felt government could do
unemployment, the enormous needs great things.
of the national war effort brought A die-hard New Deal Democrat who had idolized FDR, LBJ
unprecedented opportunities for wanted to make a similar mark. Taking many initiatives started
women and for minorities. under Kennedy, Johnson created a program dubbed the "Great
Just a few years before, aid to support Society." Central to the program was a "War on Poverty."

single mothers at home had been Although Edwin Witte was able to devise Social Security in a
passed as part of the Social Security matter of months, speed worked against the War on Poverty.
Act. Now a very different public image The crisis mentality of War meant many programs were poorly
of women was being projected. conceived and badly administered.
Although "Rosie the Riveter" was Meanwhile, another war, a real one in Vietnam, consumed
expected to return to homemaking more of Johnson's attention. Protests against the war and
after the war, seeds of social urban rioting showed that Johnson was ineffective at providing
transformation were planted. either guns or butter. His effort to fight Communism overseas
Wartime production gave way to divided the country. A riotous underclass destroyed the image
postwar prosperity, as factories turned of a prosperous, united nation. Government seemed impotent
out consumer items for a growing at quelling rebellion, on one extreme, and a failure at providing
middle class. But amid the apparent economic justice for the largely minority underclass, on the
affluence and anti-Communist fever of other extreme.
the postwar era, there was a growing While there were some Great Society successes like Head Start
"Other America" – rural areas and and adding two-parent families to AFDC, Johnson Era programs
inner cities that had not enjoyed an would become the prototype of the "Big Government"
economic boom. approach neoconservatives would fight against for years to
come.

1996 Welfare Reform Bill Ending welfare as we know it.
The 1994 Congressional elections would be dubbed the "Republican Revolution," as
Newt Gingrich engineered a majority-taking election effort. Republicans united by the
"Contract with America" made welfare reform a top priority.
Core to these Republicans' philosophy was a belief in "devolution" – the ceding of federal power to state
or local government. Local government should be more empowered and more responsive than a federal
bureaucracy could ever be.
History had expanded the federal role in social welfare through the Civil War, Progressive Era, and greatly
so during the Depression.
This new approach called back upon the principles of local control codified in the Poor Laws of 1601, the
original model for American social policy. As Gingrich praised the idea of orphanages, he approached the
reformist zeal of early American "indoor" relief advocates.
Negotiating with a Republican Congress, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996.
Wisconsin had for many years been experimenting with programs to emphasize work over welfare. The
bill's passage paved the way for even more bold experimentation, and for states to follow Wisconsin's
lead.

24


Celebrating Social Welfare / Work Pioneers
Elizabeth Gurney Fry

Celebrating Social Welfare / Work Pioneers
Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780-1845)
Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780-1845) is most known for her successful reform of British prisons. It was a
complete innovation that a woman would do this kind of work. It was also new that she established a
voluntary committee of women for this work. Fry became known as „the
angel of the prisons‟. Since 2002 she is honored for her work through
being depicted on the British five pound note.
Betsy Gurney grew up in a well off Quaker community in Norfolk, the
east of England. The Quakers had strong ideals about equality and peace.
They belong to the early opponents of slave trade and were very active in
a wide range of philanthropic projects. The death of her mother when
Betsy was 12 years old had a significant impact on the young girl and cast
a shadow over her youth. At the age of 17 she started organising a primary
school for poor children at her home. After her marriage with
Joseph Fry (in 1800) she gave birth to eleven children. Even so she
continued her social work, such as taking care of lonely sick neighbours.
It is 1813 when Elisabeth Fry First entered Newgate prison (in London,
closed and demolished early 20th century). She was shocked by the inhuman circumstances in which
women and children were imprisoned.
The reports on her conversations with the women in Newgate prison were impressive. She also invited
important people to come and visit the prison to see the poor living conditions themselves. Fry
opposed the solitary imprisonment, which was standard procedure at the time. She argued it was bad
practice for the health and mental sanity of the prisoners. Fry became the first prison reformer to
focus on the moral improvement of prisoners through personal contact, conversations, education and
work. To accomplish this work, she established a voluntary committee of women.
The method used by Elizabeth Fry had three core ingredients:
 Male and female prisoners had to be separated. Guards had to be same gender as the prisoners.
This became international practice since.
 For the visits of female prisoners, women committees had to be established. The volunteers had
to take care of education, paid work and support after their clients were discharged from prison.
This task developed into professional probation services.
 Prisoners had to get opportunities for education and paid work.
Fry visited many prisons across the UK. Her actions were effective for her approach was (partially)
incorporated in the British prison law of 1823. She was consulted by Queen Victoria, Parliament and
became a source of inspiration for nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale. She also took her work
internationally, e.g. to the Netherlands. Thanks to the work of Elizabeth Fry, treatment of prisoners
became more humane.
To commemorate the contribution Fry made to social work, the school of social work of the university
of Stanford is housed in a building named after her.
Read more
 Young, A. F., & Ashton, E. T. (1956), British social work in the nineteenth century,
http://www.steyaert.org/canonpdfs/1965,%20Young%20Ashton,%20British%20social%20work%
2019th%20century%20OCR.pdf

25

History of social welfare social work

History of social welfare social work

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Ähnlich wie History of social welfare social work

Ähnlich wie History of social welfare social work (20)

Mehr von Srinivasan Rengasamy

Mehr von Srinivasan Rengasamy (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

History of social welfare social work