HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
by:- Manish Kumar Bhardwaj Junior Research Fellow(HNB GARHWAL
UNIVERSITY ), MSW, MA IN SOCIOLOGY, PGDRD, UGC-NET-JRF (Social
Work) For any suggestion Email :- [email protected]
[email protected]
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HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA1
HISTORY OF SOCIAL WORK IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAThe
English Poor Law legislations and related growths provided the
background for the development of American systems of relief. The
colonists from England, who came in the early and mid-seventeenth
century, brought with them English laws, customs, institutions and
thoughts and implanted them in America.
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Three Social MovementsThroughout the last half of the 19th
century, the US experienced an augment in social troubles as a
result of rapid industrialization, urbanization, and immigration,
jointly with the huge growth of the population. In response to
these troubles, three social movements began that shaped the basis
for the development of the social work profession: 1. The Charity
Organization Societies (COS) movement, which began in 1877 in
Buffalo, New York; 2. The Settlement House movement, which began in
1886 in New York City; and3. The Child Welfare movement, which was
a result of many loosely related growths, notably the Childrens Aid
Society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children,
which began in New York City in 1853 and 1875, respectivelyLet us
look at these movements in more detail as they form the basis for
future growths.3
COS MovementThe settlement house movement and the child welfare
movement eventually made significant contributions to the
development of the social work profession, but it is in the COS
movement that the origin of the profession is to be establish. S.
Humpherys Gurteen, an English cleric who had been impressed with
charity organization in London, ounded the first COS in the United
States in Buffalo, New York, in 1877. The Buffalo COS served as a
model for rapid development of similar organizations. Within 15
years, there were COS agencies in 92 American cities. The beginning
of professional approach to the troubles of human need can be seen
in the philosophy of COS movement. The scientific charity attitude
adopted through the COS enabled them to understand and cure poverty
and family disorganization rather than merely assisting the poor.
The charity organizations wanted to apply science to social welfare
in the same method that it had been applied to medicine and
engineering.4
The COS leaders sought to replace chaotic charity with a
rational system that would stress investigation, coordination, and
personal service. Each case was to be measured individually,
thoroughly investigated and assigned to a friendly visitor. The
techniques used through the friendly visitors consisted of personal
attributes such as sympathy, tact, patience, and wise advice. The
COS friendly visitors, mainly of them women, are the true
precursors of todays social workers. Besides, the COS movement
fostered the development of the family service agencies of today,
the practice of family casework, family counseling, schools of
social work, employment services, legal aid, and several other
programs which are a part and parcel of social work today. In
addition to these contributions may be listed the establishment of
the first social work publication, Charities Review, which was
merged into The Survey in 1907 and sustained publication until
1952.5
Settlement House MovementAnother important development of social
services in America has been that of the social settlement house.
Settlement houses in the United States began in the late 1800s and
were modeled after Toynbee Hall, founded in England in 1884 through
Samuel Barnett. Several settlement houses were recognized in cities
crossways the country, including Chicagos Hull House, started
through Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr in 1889. The settlement
house movement, which combined social advocacy and social services,
was a6
response to the social disorganization that resulted from
widespread industrialization, urbanization and immigration. Through
group work and neighborhood organizing strategies, the settlement
house workers recognized neighborhood centers and offered services
such as citizenship training, adult education, counseling,
recreation, and day care. The settlement house workers were young,
idealistic college graduates from wealthy families who lived in the
middle of the poor as settlers and thereby experienced the harsh
realities. For the mainly part, they were volunteers and community
leaders and not employed as social work professionals. The
settlement house leaders whispered that through changing
neighborhood they can improve communities and through changing
communities they can develop a better society. The seeds of social
work methods, namely, Group Work, Social Action and Community
Organization, were therefore sown in the settlement house
movement.7
Child Welfare MovementThe Childrens Aid Society (1853) and the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (1875) which
began in New York City shaped the vital elements of a child welfare
movement. Though, the beginnings of the Child Welfare movement can
be traced back to 1729 when the Ursuline sisters recognized an
institution in New Orleans for children of parents massacred
through Indians. The child welfare agencies had limited aims. They
were basically concerned with rescuing children from inadequate
houses or from the streets and finding for them wholesome living
situations. Once their goals were accomplished, the agencies
measured their job to be in excess of.8
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