Public Sector Agencies are Best Equiped to Fight Social Injustice

Her commitment to change social welfare, Richmond took on many active roles throughout her historical journey. Mary Richmond helped to create professionalism throughout social work, and created a social framework of social casework that influenced the importance of direct social interaction and social connections. While working with a Baltimore Charity Organization Society in 1888 Richmond began promoting the need for the education setting for the study of case work and the significance of formal social work education. The Charity Organization Society became to be one of the first charity organizations to develop a structural framework; providing social services and foundations for impoverished children, families, and those disabled. Throughout her contributions, Richmond provided insight on the idea of charity work and evolving it into modern day social work.

The basic principles of the Elizabethan Poor Laws of 1601 were “local investigation and administration of relief, work as a component of all assistance, and categorization of the poor into three groups: the able-bodied poor, the impotent poor, and dependent children” (Day & Schiele, 2013, p. 104). Basically, creating a welfare system to help assist the poor, implementing programs to get people working, and categorizing the poor as worthy or unworthy poor. Examples of this in the present social welfare system are TANF, unemployment insurance, Social Security, SSI, and SDI. Within the TANF and unemployment program, there is a job search requirement to encourage people to find work. Also, much like the Elizabethan Poor Laws, people are categorized to receive specific benefits based on whether they can work or not, like SSI, which is for people who are currently unable to work because of old age or disability.

Early social work focused on individuals and casting blame on them for their circumstances. Social workers had good intentions, but believed poor people were poor because of some failing on their part and often held a moralistic view that they were better than those they were helping. Social work has always had some type of organization behind the

Over the last century health and social care has changed and developed immensely with the implementation of the NHS and becoming a welfare state. Prior to this health care was only available to a minority of people, those who could afford it. In 1815 the old poor law was passed, it stated that each parish must look after its own poor and those who could not work were provided enough money to help them survive. By 1830 the poor law cost around £7 million, which came from taxing the middle and upper class, causing a sense of resentment towards lower class, unemployed people. In 1834 the new poor law was passed, its aim was to reduce the cost of looking after the poor. Workhouses helped with this, they provided clothes, food and healthcare in return for manual labour. Despite

Different attitudes to social welfare reforms from the 19th century onwards depended on what lifestyle a person was living in. If a person was wealthy, they enjoyed an easy life. However, on the other hand, if the person was poor then that would make their life harder and difficult to live. Any able-bodied poor person able to work did not receive help from the authorities. They only entered the workhouse because they were desperate. People within the workhouses lived in terrible conditions, overcrowded, poor hygiene. Another name given to the workhouse was ‘’the slums’’ (Tom, 2016). Strict rules were put into place. If rules were broken severe punishment would follow. Inmates of the workhouse were treated harshly. They all worked long hours

During the start of the 1800s major poor citizens of New York City outer the South bears a resemblance to poor of Europe. These people were majorly widows, orphans, seasonal workers out from season, or persons too sick or too old to do work. Local governments provide them “Outdoor relief” comprising of firewood, food, or slightest amount of cash named as alms, initially from an intellect of communal responsibility or paternalism. State poor Laws innate from customs of English, necessitates cities to care for their poor citizens.

Throughout the world many people live in poverty. There may see to be more laws that are put into place to help those in need. However, it is hard to provide support to those who refuse to take advantage of it. There is currently over five-hundred thousand homeless people in America. A lot of what was talked about in the Glass Castle and in our text book, showed a connection of how social work could have been applied.

Social workers realized that their efforts, “condescended to the poor and failed to recognize that poverty came mostly from social conditions rather than individual defects” (Diner 194). Charities were no longer a prominent source of helping the poor and social workers began to see that systemic changes needed to occur. Carnegie’s philanthropic desire to create public institutions like parks, libraries, and museums highlighted the importance of developing an education. Access to knowledge and resources provided a way for the working class to strive for better economic opportunities. Although this concept is of utmost in merit, by not truly understanding the morality behind the working class, Carnegie overlooked the oppression that many faced because of Social Darwinism and the idea that the wealth, power, and greed should be monopolized by the few (“Gospel of

One of the problems that poverty presented in the expansion of the newly born Republic was a building of tension between the government and welfare recipients over aid benefits. The very idea of what constituted someone in poverty, what aid should be given, and to whom by whom was vigorously debated. It was thought that poverty would impact the developing patriarchal American society, so much so that public officials “worried that generous relief programs encouraged the poor to live on the public’s expense.” The government struggled with the type and amount to provide to those in need and they quickly learned that not all of the welfare programs necessarily met the demands of those living in poverty. The welfare recipients in the new Republic had the potential to disrupt the social and political structures of the government, especially a newly formed one, by burdening its taxpayers. Even in a country, like the United States, with opportunities to make a living wage, a welfare system to provide additional resources, and religious backers to support “paupers openly mocked the values of thrift, sobriety, and self-control.”

In the history of human services profession there are many events that have taken place. One that really stands out is Jane Addams and the Settlement house movement. Jane Addams had a passion to help others that were in need because she didn’t believe in people suffering. Jane did not judge or where a person came from or who they were she believed in opportunities and that people should be treated equally. In her lifetime she stood up for immigrants, children, elderly, etc. Addams wanted to do change on how people viewed the poor from being worthy and unworthy poor like previously done in the past she believed that poverty was due to problem within in the society (Martin, 2014, p.28-29). “Addams started the first settlement house in the United

The Charity Organization Society was recognized for attempting to rationalize and systemize philanthropy (Oyen, 2006). The Charity Organization Society cut relief costs and cut able bodied individuals from relief. The Charity Organization Society wanted to pass a clear message that relief was not a right, but an act of charity. Also, the society recruited volunteers who were white upper class females known as the Friendly Visitors. The purpose of the friendly visitors was to provide motivation and encourage the destitute. The organization was primarily run by white men who believed the poor were in need of upper class role models. According to Schram and Mandell (1997), “The roots of social work were nurtured by two major wellsprings: the Charity Organization Societies (COSs), from which pioneered group work, community and social change, advocacy, and the all-around societal gadfly. The COS first began in England, expanding later to larger cities in the Unites

In the 16th century the Welfare State was non-existent in Britain. The result of this was the increase in people subjected to living in absolute poverty due to them not having the basic living requirements. They also had no access to services such as health care, or education as these were not free institutions. The ruling era of Queen Elizabeth I identified that the paupers required some form of help and as a result introduced the ‘Act for the Relief of the Poor’ in 1601.

Before man lived in organized societies there the aged and disabled were a major concern and often a burden on the family and tribe. During the Middle Age, societies began to manage the problem in varying ways. During the colonial period of American history, Poor Laws were created. They established a tax that helped support the poor and destitute in each township. Unfortunately these funds were not usually distributed fairly since the local town elders were usually in charge of determining who was and who was not worthy. This type of system lasted for a century or so until societies grew more complex. During the 1700 and 1800’s, poorhouses were created by state and local governments to provide for the poverty stricken with the basic necessities to live as well as help cover the problem. These poorhouses were intended to be as unpleasant as possible in an apparent effort to help discourage the habit of becoming poor and

Elizabeth Poor Laws: Why were they so important in the development of social welfare in North America?:

The history of social welfare begins during colonization. Although there was not social work, there was some form of public assistance. Public assistance during colonization consisted of Early American Poor Laws. During this time the poor were referred to as “paupers” because they were unemployed and were required to wear P’s so they could be identified. The belief during this time was that it was the relative’s