Social Work & Social Welfare "EMPOWERING PEOPLE"

Social Work and Social Welfare Empowering People by Charles Zastrow

Ø         Goal Of Social Welfare

The goal of social welfare is to fulfill the social, financial, health, and recreational requirements of all individuals in a society. Social welfare seeks to enhance the social functioning of all age groups, both rich and poor. Now, we are living in a different era. Our technology, economic base, social patterns, and living styles have changed dramatically. Our commercial, industrial, political, educational, and religious institutions are considerably larger and more impersonal. We have become much more mobile, often having few roots and limited knowledge of the community in which we live. Our rapidly changing society is a breeding ground for exacerbating former social ills and creating new problems, such as the expanding number of homeless people, higher crime rates, recurring energy crises, terrorism, and the destruction of our environment. It is the business of social welfare:

·        To find homes for parentless children

·        To rehabilitate people who are addicted to alcohols or drugs

·        To treat those with emotional difficulties

·        To make life more meaningful for older adults

·        To provide vocational rehabilitation services to persons with a physical or mental disability

·        To meet the financial needs of the poor

·        To rehabilitate juveniles and adults who have committed criminal oftenest

·        To end all types of discrimination and oppression

·        To provide child care services for parents who work outside the home

·        To counteract violence in families, including child abuse and spouse abuse

·        To fulfill the health and legal exigencies of those in financial need

·        To counsel individuals and group experiencing a wide variety of personal and social difficulties

·        To provide services to people with AIDS and to their families and friends

·        To provide recreational and leisure-time service to all age groups

·        To educate and provide socialization experiences to children who have a cognitive disability or an emotional disorder

·        To serve families struck by such physical disasters as fires and tornadoes

·        To provide adequate housing for the homeless

·        To provide programs that support and enhance the normal growth and development of all children and adults

·        To provide vocational training and employment opportunities to the unskilled and unemployed

·        To meet the special needs of people of color, migrant workers, and other minority groups

·        To empower individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities to improve their circumstances

Ø               Social Welfare as an Institution and as a Discipline

Social Welfare as an institution is a nation’s system of programs, benefits, and services that help people meet those social, economic, educational, and health needs are fundamental to the maintenance of society.¹ Social welfare programs and social service organizations are sometimes referred to as ‘social welfare institutions’. The purpose of social welfare institutions are to prevent, alleviate, or contribute to the solution of recognized social problems in order to directly improve the well-being of individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities. The term social welfare institution is applied to various levels of complexity and abstraction. It may be applied to a single program or organization. Social Welfare Institutions is applied includes all of the social programs and organizations in a country that are designed to prevent, alleviate, or contribute to the solution of recognized social problems.

Social Welfare as an academic discipline is the study of agencies, programs, personal, and policies which focus on the delivery of social services to individuals, groups, and communities.² One of the functions of the social welfare discipline is to educate and train social workers.

Ø         Social Welfare’s Relationship to Sociology and to Other Academic Discipline

Several academic disciplines seek to develop a knowledge base about social problems, their

causes and their alleviations. The most common disciplines are social welfare, sociology, psychology, political science, economics, psychiatry, and cultural anthropology. Theories and research in sociology, psychology, political science, economics, psychiatry, and anthropology may or may not depending on the nature of the content be considered part of the knowledge base of social welfare. In the past, social welfare has been research of other disciplines and has focused on applying such knowledge through social programs. In recent years, social welfare has been active in research projects and in theory development. Social welfare is a discipline that is maturing as it is now developing much of its own knowledge base.

Sociological research on and conceptualization of the causes of social problems maybe considered part of the knowledge base of social welfare. Sociological studies on the effects of institutions on individuals are currently of considerable interest to and have important application in social welfare. Social welfare knowledge base because such investigations are directly applicable to enhancing people’s social well-being.

Psychology using studies and theory development in such areas as personality growth and therapeutic techniques can be considered part of the knowledge base of social welfare because they have direct social welfare applications.

Ø         Social Welfare’s Relationship to Social Work

Social welfare is a more comprehensive term than social work; social welfare encompasses

social work. Social welfare and social work are primarily related at the level or practice. Social Work is the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities to enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and to create societal conditions favorable to their goals. Social work practice consists of the professional application of social work values, principles, and techniques to one or more of the following ends: helping people obtain tangible services; providing counseling and psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups; helping communities or groups provide or improve social and health services; and participating in relevant legislative processes. The practice of social work requires knowledge of human development and behavior; of social, economic, and cultural institutions; and of the interaction of all these factors.³

Ø         Social Welfare’s Relationship to Other Institutions

Social welfare overlaps with such institutions as the family, education, religion, and politics.

Churches have long been interested in people social well-being and have provided such social welfare services as counseling, financial assistance, day care, and recreation. The overlap between politics and social welfare primarily involves the political processes that occur in regard to the funding of social services programs. Securing the necessary funding for essential social welfare programs is a crucial component of the social welfare system in any country.

Ø         Social Welfare’s Relationship to Human Services

Alfred Kahn has conceptualized human services as composed of the following four services

categories:

1.      Personal services (casework, counseling, recreation, rehabilitation, religion, therapy)

2.      Protection services (consumer protection, corrections, courts, fire prevention/firefighting, housing code enforcement, law enforcement, public health services)

3.      Information / advising services (consulting, consumer information, education, financial counseling, hotlines, and library services)

4.      Maintenance services (child care, unemployment assistance, institutional services, public welfare programs, retirement plans, and Social Security programs)

Actually, a human service is a broader term because it includes services that are usually not

considered social welfare services. The term social welfare is thus more limited because it focuses on conceptualizing and resolving social problems.

Ø         Residual View versus Institutional View of Social Welfare

There are two conflicting views of the role of social welfare in our society. Residual

View, is a gap-filling or first-aid role. Social welfare services should be provided only when an individual’s needs are not properly the family and the market economy. In addition, this view asserts that funds and services should be provided on a short-term basis and should be with drawn when the individual or the family again becomes capable of being self-sufficient. The residual view has been characterized as ‘charity for unfortunates’. Funds and services are seen not as a right but as a gift, with the receiver having certain obligations. Associated with the residual view is the belief that the causes of clients difficulties are rooted in their own malfunctioning that is, clients are to blame for their predicaments. Under the residual view, there is usually a stigma attached to receiving services or funds.

Institutional View holds that social welfare programs are to be ‘accepted as a proper, legitimate function of modern industrial society in helping individuals achieve self-fulfillment. There is no stigma attached to receiving funds or services, recipients are viewed as being entitled to such help. Associated with this view is the belief that an individual’s difficulties are due to causes largely beyond his or her control. When difficulties arise, causes are sought in the environment (society), and efforts are focused on improving the social institutions within which the individual functions.

Ø         Liberalism versus Conservatism

The two prominent political philosophies in the United States are liberalism and conservatism. Conservatives is emphasizing tradition and believe that rapid change usually results in more negative than positive consequences. Conservatives generally view individuals as autonomous. Regardless of what a person’s situation is, or what his or her problems are, each person is thought to be responsible for his pr her own behavior. People are thought to choose whatever they are doing, and they therefore are viewed as responsible for whatever gains or losses result from their choices. Conservatives believe that social welfare programs force hardworking, productive citizens to pay for the consequences of the irresponsible behavior of recipients of social welfare services. Conservatives generally advocate to residual approach to social welfare programs. They believe that dependency is a result of personal failure and that it is natural for inequality to exist among humans.

Conservatives also believe that charity is a moral virtue and that the ‘fortunate’ are obligated to help the ‘less fortunate’ become productive, contributing citizens in a society. If government funds are provided for health and social welfare services, conservatives advocate that such funding should go to private organizations, which are thought to be more effective and efficient than public agencies in providing services. Conservatives revere the traditional nuclear family and try to device policies to preserve it. The generally oppose abortion, sex education in schools, equal rights for gays and lesbians, public funding of day-care centers, birth control counseling for minors, and other measures that might undermine parental authority or support alternative family forms such as single parenthood

Liberals believe that change is generally good as it usually brings progress. They view society as needing regulation to ensure fair competition among various interests. Government programs, including social welfare programs are necessary to help meet basic human needs. Liberals advocate government action to remedy social deficiencies and to improve human welfare. They feel that government regulation and intervention are often required to safeguard human rights, to control the excesses of capitalism, and to provide equal chances for success. They emphasize egalitarianism and the right of minorities. Liberals believe that the personal problems encountered by someone are generally due to causes beyond that person’s control. In such a situation, liberals would seek to develop educational services to meet the child’s learning needs. Liberals view the family as an evolving institution and therefore are willing to support programs that assist emerging family forms such as single-parent families.

Ø         Developmental View of Social Welfare

Liberals have criticized the residual approach to social welfare as being incongruent with society’s obligation. They claim it creates a welfare state with many recipients then deciding to become dependent on the government to meet their health, welfare, social, and recreational needs without seeking to work and without contributing in other ways to the well-being of society. They currently have the political power to stop the enactment of programs that are ‘marketed’ to society as being consistent with the institutional approach.

Midgley contends that the developmental view offers an alternative approach that appears to appeal to liberals, conservatives, and the general public. Approach is a process of planned social change designed to promote the well-being of the population as a whole in conjunction with a dynamic process of economic development⁴. He notes that the developmental approach is presently not very well defined. He said the developmental perspective’s global relevance began in the Third World in the years of decolonization after World War II.

What are the characteristics of the developmental approach?

It advocates social interventions that contribute positively to economic development. It thus promotes harmony between economic and social institutions. The developmental approach focuses on integrating economic and social development for the benefit of all members of society. Its can be used in advocating for the expansion of the wide range of social welfare programs. It can be argued that any social program that assists a person in becoming employable contributes to the economic well-being of a society.

Ø         History of Social Welfare

A.     Early European History

Before the Industrial Revolution, this responsibility was met largely by the family, by the church, and by neighbors. An important value the Judeo-Christian tradition throughout history and one that has considerable relevancy for social welfare is humanitarianism: ascribing a high value to human life and benevolently helping those in needs.

B.     The Elizabethan Poor Law

In the Middle Ages, famines, wars, crop failures, pestilence, and the breakdown in the feudal system all contributed to substantial increases in the number of people in need. To attempt to solve this social problem, England passed several Poor Laws between the mid-1300s and the mid-1800s. The most significant of these was the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. The Elizabethan Poor Law established three categories of relief recipients:

1.   The Able-bodied Poor. It was given low grade employment, and citizens were        prohibited from offering them financial help.

2.   The Impotent Poor. It was composed of people unable to work the elderly, the      blind, the deaf, and mothers with young children, and those with a physical or          mental disability.

3.   Dependent Children. Children whose parents or grandparents were unable to        support them were apprenticed out to other citizens.

This Poor Law did not permit the registration of a person as being in need of charity if his or her parents, spouse, children, or other relatives were able to provide support. It’s assigned the responsibility of implementing its provisions, with the program expenses to be met by charitable donations and a tax in the parish on lands, houses, and tithes. They assigned the responsibility of providing for the needy, almshouses were built to house the unemployable, orphaned children were apprenticed out, and a system of legal residency was established to make it clear that towns were not responsible for meeting the needs of destitute strangers.

C.     The Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution flourished in Europe and America is made possible by the Protestant ethnic and the laissez-faire economic view. The Protestant ethic emphasized individualism, the view that one is master of one’s own fate. The laissez-faire economic theory asserted that the economy and society in general would best prosper if businesses and industries were permitted to do whatever they desired to make a profit. The social welfare implications of the Protestant ethic reached their most inhumane level in the theory of Social Darwinism. He said that higher forms of the life evolved from lower forms by the process of survival of the fittest; he had seen in the animal world a fierce struggle for the survival that destroyed the weak, rewarded the strong, and produced evolutionary change.

D.    Turn of the 20^th Century

Around 1880 various segments of the population became aware of the evils of unlimited competition and of abuses by those with economic power. One of the theorists who objected to social Darwinism was Lester Ward, who in Dynamic Sociology (1883) drew a sharp distinction between purposeless animal evolution and human evolution⁵. Around 1900 there was an awakening to social needs with the federal government beginning to place some funds into such programs as health, housing, and slum clearance. Early 1900s, social welfare became more professionalized. People with more formalized training were employed in some positions and there was an increased interest in developing therapeutic skills and methods in counseling clients. At this time that the first schools of social work and social welfare were founded in University.

E.     The Great Depression and the Social Security Act

Before 1930 social service was provided primarily by churches and voluntary organizations, as was financial assistance for people in need. The Roaring Twenties was largely a time of prosperity and festivities. In October 1929, the New York Stock Exchange crashed. The number of people who were unemployed rose. In 1931 some states began providing unemployment relief to prevent starvation among the jobless and their families. Herbert Hoover believed that only private charity should meet the needs of the unemployed. His attitude was graphically illustrated in December 1930. many people are unemployed, private charity also had trouble raising the funds necessary to help the jobless.

In 1933 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office, some states was receiving local and state public relief money. Conditions were so desperate that political leaders became concerned that there might be a Socialist or Communist revolution. He immediately proposed and Congress passed temporary emergency programs to provide paid work for some unemployed workers. The depression of the 1930 brought about found change in social welfare.

It became clear that situations and events beyond individual control can cause deprivation, misery, ad poverty. In 19354 the Social Security Act was passed. There are three major categories of program were enacted:

1.   Social Insurance. This category was setup with an institutional orientation and           provided insurance for unemployment, retirement, or death. There are two main      programs: (a) Unemployment Compensation (b) Old Age, Survivors, Disability,         and Health Insurance

2.   Public Assistance. This category has many residual aspects. There are four main programs: (a) Aid to the Blind (b) Aid to the Disabled (c) Old Age Assistance, and (d) Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). In 1996 was abolished and replaced by the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

3.   Public Health and Welfare Services. This category established the role of the federal government in providing social service. Dominant in terms of expenditures, people served, and personnel. From the 1930-1980 the federal government gradually expanded its role in providing financial assistance and social programs to Americans suffering from social problems.

F.      The Great Society and War on Poverty

A major push for expansion of social welfare programs came in the 1960, President Lyndon Johnson called a ‘Great Society’. In 1964 Johnson noted in his state of the Union address that one-fifth of our population was living in poverty and that nearly half of all African Americans were poor. Early 1960 were characterized by optimism. The late 1960 Martin Luther assassinated. In the social welfare field the late 1960 brought a renewed interest in changing the environment or ‘the system’ to better meet the needs of clients rather than enabling clients to better adapt and adjust to their life situations. Social action again became an important part of social work, with some social workers becoming active as advocates of clients, community organizers, and political organizers for social reform.

G.    Conservatism in the 1970s and 1980s

In the 1970 after the end of the Vietnam War the turmoil was replaced for several years with an atmosphere of relative calm on both the foreign and domestic fronts. These social problems include dismal living conditions in the inner cities, the AIDS crisis, homelessness, racial discrimination, crime, prison conditions, family violence, the high divorce rate, overpopulation, and the increasing number of people living in poverty. In 1980 domestic economy was in a mess. 1988 George Bush was elected president on a conservative platform and he continued the social welfare policies of the Reagan administration. Bush believed that the federal government is not a solution to social problems but in fact is part of the problem.

Many of our present social problems intensified: The proportion of people living in poverty increased, the income gap between the rich and the poor widened, efforts to reduce racial discrimination slowed, prisons became overcrowded, many of the chronically mentally ill were released from mental hospitals and became homeless without receiving supportive service, the plight of people living in our inner cities worsened, there was an increase in single-parents families, environmental problem increased in severity, and the overall number of homeless and hungry skyrocketed⁶.

H.    A Move toward Liberalism and Back in the 1990s

Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992. his views on resolving social problems were consistent with a moderate to liberal orientation. In the congressional elections the Republicans won majority control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. It’s successful in passing legislation that shifted spending from crime prevention to prison construction, eliminated welfare benefits for unmarried teens who have children, abolished the AFDC program, and cut the capital gains tax.

I.       The Devolution Revolution

The term devolution revolution refers to the fact that decisions about the provision of key social welfare programs are being transferred from the federal government to the state level. In 1996 federal legislation was enacted that dismantled the AFDC programs. Charity can combat local social problems more cheaply than public service can. In 1996, welfare reform legislation abolished in AFDC program and created TANF. The program guidelines are (a) Each state sets its own eligibility rules and amounts for financial assistance. (b) Recipients of financial benefits receive no more than 2 years of assistance without working and there is a 5 year lifetime limit of benefits for adults. The 1996 welfare reform legislation asserted that such single mothers have an obligation to work for a living. The profession of social work is being challenged to confront the devolution revolution and to respond to the needs of those who are falling through the holes in the safety net.

J.      Compassionate Conservation

George Bush was elected president in a very close election in 2000. His slogan for his social welfare policies was ‘compassionate conservatism’. He supported increased Federal spending for educational programs for low-income school districts and children with disabilities. In 2007 and 2008 there were huge increase in home foreclosures because people fell behind on their mortgage payments. The worldwide financial crisis was exacerbated by additional factors such as the sharp increase in the price of oil. So, there were more problems—the number of homeless rose, workers were laid off or terminated, the unemployed were forced to take low paying jobs that they were overqualified for and so on

K.    Barack Obama – Will Change Come!

Barack Obama ran on the platform ‘A time for Change!’ and was elected president in November 2008. Obama wants to reduce income inequality by raising income taxes on wealthier Americans. He believes America’s government should have an expanded role in creating jobs. Those uninsured by other plans would be recovered by an expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.

L.     Where Do We Stand Today?

Although many people’s perception is that the USA spends more on social welfare than any other country. This is far from accurate. Among industrialized nations USA rank very low in the percentage of gross national product spent of social welfare programs.