Chapter 2 - History of Social Work

Question 1

What is the difference between the “deserving” and “undeserving” poor?

Answer 1

Deserving poor: seen as being of good moral character, clean/tidy, and only temporarily out of luck through no fault of their own; did not directly ask for help

Undeserving poor: those deemed to be lazy or morally degenerate

Question 2

What was the Charity Organization Society (COS)?

Answer 2

• Formed in London, England in 1869 to coordinate the efforts of the city’s many charities
• The most widespread attempt to help the poor; COS workers were expected to cooperate with other charities and agents of the Poor Law
• Believed that indiscriminate material relief would create pauperism and dependency
• Saw charity workers as models of the value of hard work and thrift
• Charity began practicing “casework” as they sought out training and “scientific” methods to cope with challenges
• Popular: saved taxpayers money through the use of unpaid volunteers and members of religious orders
• Still operates today as a registered family support charity: Family Action

Question 3

What was the purpose of the Settlement House movement

Answer 3

• to bring youth of the educated middle class and the charitable gentry to live among urban residents
• to bridge the gap that industrialism had created between the rich and poor, reduce mutual suspicion/ignorance, and create an outpost of education and culture

Question 4

Who was the founder of the Settlement House movement in England?

Answer 4

Canon Barnett

Question 5

Where and when was the first settlement house established? What was its name?

Answer 5

Toynbee Hall was established in East London, England in 1994 by Canon Barnett

Question 6

Who was the most prominent American to transport the idea of social settlements/settlement houses to the USA?

Answer 6

Jane Addams

Question 7

Where and when was one of the first American settlement houses establish? Who established it and who worked there?

Answer 7

Hull House was established in Chicago in 1889 by Jane Addams; Mackenzie Kind worked there before becoming Prime Minister of Canada

Question 8

Describe the first settlement house in Toronto.

Answer 8

Evangelia was founded in 1920 by Libby Carson and Mary Bell with the support of the Toronto YWCA

Question 9

What is the Notion of a Social Minimum? When did it emerge, and what did it lead to?

Answer 9

• The viewpoint that a political community should seek to ensure that its members can all enjoy at least a minimally decent standard of living
• Emerged at the turn of the 20th century (1900s)
• Led to free public education, public libraries, the government entering into the field of public health (initially to combat outbreaks of cholera, smallpox, typhoid), and regulated work conditions

Question 10

What is “scientific philanthropy”? When and by whom was the movement first undertaken?

Answer 10

• an approach to social work that rejected moral judgements and encouraged a “scientific” assessment of human behaviour and ways of finding solutions
• first undertaken in England in the 1860s by members of the Protestant social/economic elite

Question 11

Who strongly influenced the idea of modern casework and inspired what would be known as the “medical model” of social work?

Answer 11

Mary Richmond, who worked for the Charity Organization Societies of Baltimore and Philadelphia

Question 12

What is modern casework?

Answer 12

• The use of systematic methods of investigation, assessment, and decision making in social work practice
• Directly concerned with the problems, needs, and adjustments of individual cases
• A “scientific”understanding of social dynamics and human behaviour

Question 13

What was the Social Gospel Movement?

Answer 13

• Began in the 1880s among the Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist churches
• Favoured a more socially-oriented church that would work to improve living and labour conditions as well as basic social justice
• A strong influence for Canadian social work
• Social Gospel wings of churches started many of Canada’s settlement houses and the YMCA was a powerful instrument of the Social Gospel movmement
• Service to other human beings was considered a form of service to God

Question 14

Who was J.S. Woodsworth?

Answer 14

• Became a Methodist minister in Winnipeg after studying at Oxford
• Began working with the city’s poor immigrants and developed the work of social workers in Winnipeg (which then spread to other parts of the country)
• Founded and served as secretary of the Social Welfare League
• Created All People’s Mission settlement house
• Founded the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (later the NDP) on Social Gospel principles with Alberta MP William Irvine; gained power in Saskatchewan in 1944 and introduced universal medicare, family allowance, and old-age pensions

Question 15

What was the Great Depression and how did it change the views of Canadians?

Answer 15

• A worldwide economic downturn that originated in the United States in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s
• Ended the idea for many Canadians that market forces should be left unregulated
• Most people came to view unemployment as a socio-economic problem requiring a national response

Question 16

Define “diagnostic approach”.

Answer 16

• Emphasizes an understanding of an individual’s problem by reference to causal events in their early life
• Also known as the Freudian approach

Question 17

Define “functional approach”.

Answer 17

• Based on the belief in the potential of individuals to determine their own future directions in life
• Role of the social worker is to established a sound, structured relationship with the client to facilitate the process of personal change

Question 18

Which movement greatly influenced (and was influenced by) Social Gospel reformers like J.S. Woodsworth?

Answer 18

The Canadian labour movement (worker control of enterprises and workers’ direct participation in decision making)

Question 19

How does individualism view poverty?

Answer 19

As a result of personal failing or character weakness, rather than a problem with roots in society more generally

Question 20

What impact did WWI have on social welfare and the Federal government’s role?

Answer 20

• Government began to assume a role in moulding social and economic resources (ex. imposing a Federal income tax)
• Government became the sole support of hundreds of disabled soldiers, their wives and children, and the wives and children of men killed in battle
• Increased attention to the plight of one-parent families led to the provision of mothers’ pensions (eventually the mother’s allowance program) and foreshadowed the replacement of unpredictable charity visitors/poor-relief administration with public welfare programs

Question 21

How did WWI impact the profession of social work?

Answer 21

• Many social workers were called upon to assist with the resettlement of war veterans
• Social work gradually became a secular and scientific alternative to moral/religious endeavours (although religious faith continued to be central to a lot of social work)

Question 22

How did the government’s view of social services change during WWII?

Answer 22

• Realized social services were not a luxury, but a vital part of a smoothly functioning economy; government intervention in the economy was increased and legitimized
• Services were required to assis veterans and the families, industrialization and urbanization sped up, and the number or women in the workforce doubled

Question 23

What impact did WWII have on social work as a profession?

Answer 23

• Career opportunities began opening up for social workers; jobs shifted from private volunteer agencies to government departments/government financed agencies
• A more scientific view of human services led to the gradual shift in education from agency-based volunteer training to university-based, profession, and formal education
• The profession gained prominence in 1927 when the CASW was established and the first social work degrees were awarded (MSW- 1947, BSW- 1966)
• Freud influenced the field, but there was debate between followers of the Freudian/Diagnostic approach and the newer Functional approach

Question 24

What changes happened in the government following WWII?

Answer 24

The Liberal government legislated a series of social welfare measures:

• Family Allowance
• Old Age Pension (1951)
• Benefit program for people with disabilities

Question 25

What did the more radical 2nd generation of social workers do in the early 1970s?

Answer 25

They unionized to form the Federation of Children’s Aid Staff, which later joined the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)

Question 26

What were some new models of social work that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s?

Answer 26

• Generic or Integrated approach
• Problem-solving approach
• Behaviour modification approach
• Structural approach

Question 27

What did the federal government implement in the post-war years to support those who were unemployed but not eligible for other assistance?

Answer 27

Unemployment Insurance Act (1956): provided assistance to the provinces for the “unemployed but employable” person who did not have access to other income security programs or employment income; led to the…

Canada Assistance Plan (1966): the federal government agreed to share 50% of the provincial costs of welfare and social services, transforming social assistance into a publicly funded and administered program; accompanied by the rapid expansion of social service in child welfare, childcare, and other services

Expansion of income security and social service programs from 1963-1973, making Canada a welfare state

Question 28

What are 2 philosophies of social service that impact Indigenous children?

Answer 28

1. An assumption of pious motivation and effect

2. A desire to improve others

Question 29

Which type of agencies began operating in the 1980s and have made substantial gains in providing culturally based services and keeping Indigenous children in their community?

Answer 29

First Nations Child and Family Service Agencies

Question 30

What did the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal order the Canadian government to do in 2016?

Answer 30

Cease its discriminatory practice of inequitable funding for Indigenous children living on reserves

Question 31

Research suggests that social workers should avoid…

Answer 31

…coming up with solutions to “Indigenous issues” themselves and instead invest in a relationship where Indigenous peoples can make the best decisions for themselves

Question 32

What type of Indigenous communities had reduced or no youth suicide rates?

Answer 32

Communities with higher levels of community-based decision making, high levels of female involvement in First Nations governments, and sustained socio-economic development

Question 33

What 4 arguments are used to rationalize harm done in social work? Why are these arguments invalid?

Answer 33

1. They acted based on the sensibilities of the time/we know better now (reports of child abuse at residential schools were made at the time but officials did nothing; we have current evidence that Indigenous children face disproportionate risk but are not taking action)
2. They did not know about the harm (information about abuse and death at residential schools was available; social workers routinely served on admissions committees which adjudicated child welfare placements at residential schools; we currently know about the structural/systemic risks to Indigenous children yet still focus assessments of risk on the family)
3. It was outside their mandate (while governments, etc. argue over who is responsible for what, children suffer; examples include Jordan’s principle and organizations focusing more on outside change than fixing what goes wrong internally)
4. If the harm is so appalling that it cannot be rationalized, we assume they were immoral or bad individuals/exceptions to the group (gives us a false sense of security that we will always know evil when we see it; evil can be rationalized, normative, carried out by many instead of one, and have benefits for someone)

Question 34

What are the problems with “culturally appropriate” services

Answer 34

• Few services are analyzed for their underpinning cultural value
• Services are often considered culturally neutral by those whose culture is embodied in the service
• Social workers wrongly assume nothing fundamental needs to be changed about the service (adding Indigenous symbols and ceremonies, etc.)
• An absence of guidelines and monitoring bodies; “culturally appropriate” services can be used for capital gain
• The underlying assumption is that mainstream models can be adapted without compromising on the values/beliefs that drive them

Question 35

What is Reconciliation in Child Welfare- Touchstones of Hope for Indigenous Children?

Answer 35

a reconciliation process develop in 2005 by over 200 Indigenous and non-indigenous experts in child welfare; includes 5 principles and 4 phases

Question 36

What are the 5 principles of Reconciliation in Child Welfare- Touchstones of Hope for Indigenous Children?

Answer 36

1. self-determination
2. holistic approach
3. structural interventions
4. culture and language
5. non-discrimination

Question 37

What are the 4 phases of Reconciliation in Child Welfare- Touchstones of Hope for Indigenous Children?

Answer 37

1. truth telling
2. acknowledging
3. restoring
4. relating

Question 38

What era marked the erosion of the welfare state? Why?

Answer 38

The late 20th century:

-the social policy field was dominated by efforts to restrain public spending

Question 39

What is neo-liberalism?

Answer 39

Supporting of extensive privitization, fiscal austerity, deregulation, free trade, and reductions in government spending to enhance the role of the private sector in the economy; has resulted in greater global economic integration, sweeping cutbacks in social services, etc. since 1980

Question 40

What did the “Starve the Beast/Death by Deficit” era entail?

Answer 40

“Starve the Beast” was Reagan’s slogan as he greatly defunded the American government through tax breaks for the wealthy (it was argued that those wealthy people would in turn reinvest their wealth and grow the economy)

“Death by Deficit” was the same era in Canada; the economic downturn of 2008 encouraged further cutbacks in government spending and resulted in increasing income inequality

In many countries, economic restructuring and cutbacks to social programs have been imposed by international agencies (ex. World Bank) to remain “investor friendly”

Question 41

How did changes in government policy affect social work following the 2008 economic downturn?

Answer 41

• Welfare programs became less universal
• Increased emphasis on demonstrating quantifiable/measurable results to justify every public dollar spent
• Scientific management techniques and tighter control of public funding made it so that client needs were not necessarily the top priority

Question 42

What were some non-government-related changes to social work during the late 90s and early 2000s?

Answer 42

• Aging baby boomers = expanded services for older adults
• Trauma treatment shifted to include other people besides military personnel
• New technology introduced online education, Telehealth/online counselling, and practice-based databases
• Social workers became increasingly involved in anti-bullying programs due to high profile events (Columbine shooting, suicides due to cyberbullying, etc.)
• Anti-oppressive practice became more prevalent

Question 43

What are 3 social/protest movements that have begun in the 21st century?

Answer 43

• Idle No More
• Anti-G20 mobilization
• Environmental movements (Alberta Tar Sands, Enbridge pipeline, etc.)

Question 44

What are 5 challenges that social workers are likely to face in the future?

Answer 44

1. Information technology
2. Income inequality
3. Demographic changes
4. Economic globalization
5. Immigration and multiculturalism

Question 45

What are 6 aspects of a more contemporary, inclusive practice that is less scientific/risk-averse/accountability-driven?

Answer 45

1. relationship building
2. collaborative practice
3. interdisciplinary practice
4. evidence-based practice
5. community-based practice
6. mobility

Question 46

When did workers start to be called “Social Workers”?

Answer 46

The 1920s

Question 47

What historical event/time period triggered the beginnings of what would later be called social work?

Answer 47

The Industrial Revolution

Question 48

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, how was caring done?

Answer 48

-Responsibility of the community and church/almshouses

Question 49

How did the Industrial Revolution lead to widespread poverty?

Answer 49

• a shift from working for oneself to working for someone who owned machines (wage labour, capitalism)
• a mass movement of people to cities for work, leading to overcrowding and slums
• people now unable to produce their own food
• family structure changes (no longer multigenerational- loss of the informal social safety net of extended family)
• changes in the church/community and education (people around no longer knew each other, literacy increasingly required for work, education happening outside the home)

Question 50

What are the 3 threads/historical movements that combine to form the history of modern social work?

Answer 50

1. Victorian charity movement
2. Social reformers
3. Social gospel movement

Question 51

What was the Victorian charity movement?

Answer 51

A rise of rationalist efforts to understand poverty; introduction of the deserving/undeserving poor, almshouses, workhouses, etc.

• charity visitors
• focus on moral character, normative views

Question 52

What was the Social Reformers movement?

Answer 52

• partly a response to the Victorian charity/Charity Organization Society movement
• critical of charity workers’ goal of moral reform; viewed social conditions and social structures as the cause of poverty
• sought reform (ex. ending child labour, labour rights) through activism
• believed people want to work and are fundamentally good

Question 53

Describe the 1601 Poor Law (reformed in 1832); “poor relief”

Answer 53

• The elderly and sick received relief in almshouses
• The able-bodied poor were made to labour in workhouses in exchange for relief (aimed to make the seeking of public relief shameful and demeaning)