Historical Eras in Human Services

¶ … Eras in Human Services

The Industrial Revolution created tremendous wealth for certain segments of the population -- but also tremendous poverty. The expansion of the nation's urban population, particularly its urban poor, created the need for more effective social services. These needs were first fulfilled by private organizations like the American Charity Organization Society (COS). City slums were growing fast in all areas affected by industrialization -- during the late 19th century approximately 30% of all London residents lived below the poverty line (The Settlement Movement, 2013, Columbia Federation of Settlements). The Settlement Movement, a community-based approach to social welfare which set up neighborhood welfare centers began in London but soon spread to America. It came to embody one approach to social work, one which stressed the need for "a holistic approach to neighborhood improvement and a belief that social change comes through indigenous leaders and organizations" (The Settlement Movement, 2013, Columbia Federation of Settlements).

Organizations like Jane Addams' Hull House "reflected a different type of organizational response to the impact of industrialization and immigration and introduced an alternative model of a social service agency a form of urban mission" (From charitable volunteers to architects of social welfare, 2013, University of Michigan). However, an individualized approach to social work was still present during this era. Religious charities often focused on the salvation of the individual's soul rather than the community.

World War I's expansion of social services to veterans, as well as a general government initiative to increase "medical, psychiatric, and school social work" to citizens created the first "public sector departments devoted to social welfare" (From charitable volunteers to architects of social welfare, 2013, University of Michigan). Social work became more institutionalized, and more of a servant of generally defined government needs, rather than the vision of specific charitable or community-based organizations.

Another great shift in the history of social work took place during the 1960s, similarly fueled by the efforts of the federal government. Although the needs of immigrants had always been given special consideration, now the needs of a wider array of communities were honored. "In 1963, President Kennedy inaugurated federal support programs for the construction of University Affiliated Facilities to offer a complete range of services for people with developmental disabilities and to serve as a resource for the clinical training of physicians and other specialized personnel, including social workers, needed for research, diagnosis, training or care" (The 1960s - Mental Retardation and Mental Health Construction Act of 1963, 2013). Social workers had become a more integral part of federal policy during the New Deal, and once again they were called upon to provide critical assistance enabling the federal government to achieve its objectives, now specifically to deal with the needs of special populations. Social workers no longer bestowed 'charity' or even community empowerment, but were used to orchestrate social change in highly specific ways dictated by federal policy.