•History of social work in U.S.A

The social welfare was in the area of public health.

When epidemics occurred, sick people were kept separately to prevent contamination.

As populations grew, Almshouses were built to house vulnerable people with no other support, including people with a long term illness or older people without families.

 The first recorded Almshouse was built in 1713 near Philadelphia by William Penn, and was only open to Quakers(christian people).

A second one was built nearby in 1728, this time with public money.

•Contd…

•In 1736 New York opened the Poor House of the City of New York (later renamed Bellevue Hospital)

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In  1737 New Orleans opened the Saint John's Hospital to serve the poor of the city.

• In the United States workers known as "friendly visitors", paid by church and other charitable bodies, worked through direct relief, prayer, and teaching of Christianity ,especially to people who were not Christian.

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•Contd..

•In 1821 and 1823 the committee of New York recommended that alms-houses and work houses be established which would be less expensive  and provide work to the able-bodied poor.

•Work houses used to provide work like spinning, knitting, linen weaving to the adult and children

•The alms-houses and work houses didn’t have the effect of improving the conditions of the poor.

•In alms-houses old and sick were thrown together of all ages with blind, deaf, children, orphans , unmarried mother with their children, prostitutes and criminals

•In 1817 New York society was established.

•Its aim was to determine scientifically what were the causes of poverty and economic development.

•It provided saving bank and encouraged the foundation of mutual aid and mutual life insurance groups to protect their members against economic hazards.

•In 1851 the first American Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA) was estd. in Boston

Following the concept Young Women’s Christian Association(YWCA)was formed in Boston in 1866.

The main objectives of the association were to improve spiritual and mental condition of the young people

Activities like citizenship training, adult education, counseling, recreation, intercultural exchange, community kitchen, day care

This gave growth to the professional Group work.

•First charity organization society was estd. in Buffalo, New York, America during economic depression in 1873. . which was name as Buffalo charity Aid  society by S.Humphreys Gurteen

•It was recorded that within 10 yrs. 25 such organizations were founded in U.S.

•Such COS gave foundation for social work practices, like casework, group work and community organization

•Marry Richmond(1861-1928) an influential leader in the charity organization society (COS).

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Jane Addams, Mother of Social Work

•Jane Addams (1860–1935) was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement and is considered one of the early influences on professional social work in the United States.

•Jane Addams was one of the first social workers in the U.S.A.( she was a MEDICAL STUDENT)

•When she was 27 years old, she visited the Toynbee Hall settlement house in London

• and she developed an aspiration to open a similar house in Chicago.

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• In 1889, she partnered with her friend Ellen Starr to set up a settlement house called the Hull-House.

•They gave speeches about the social problems ,raised funds, and encouraged young women to become volunteer social workers.

• After two years, the Hull-House was providing assistance to around 2,000 people every week.

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• As she became more famous in Chicago,

• she began to take on greater civic responsibilities,

•such as founding a school of philanthropy, conducting investigations on social problems, and campaigning for peace.

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•For her extraordinary efforts in social work, Jane Addams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 1931.

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•The settlement movement focused on the causes of poverty through the "three R" - Research, Reform, and Residence.

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•They provided a variety of services including educational, legal, and health services.

•These programs also advocated changes in social policy. Workers in the settlement movement immersed themselves in the culture of those they were helping.

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•Contd…

•In 1889 Jane Addams was a young medical student who set up Hull House in Chicago to work with poor and immigrant communities.

•The house was both a community service center and a social research program.

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•Industrial revolution

•Modern social work in America has its roots in the mass migrations of the 19th century.

• Many of the migrants landed in New York and moved to other eastern cities, where mass crowding, led to social problems and ill health.

• Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was the United States' first female doctor who set up the New York hospital for poor Women and Children in 1853.

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•Contd….

•After 1905, most social workers were trained as nurses.

•The first professional social worker to be hired in the United States was Garnet Elton, in 1905 at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

•Garnet Elton retired after six months due to contracting tuberculosis in the course of her work. She was replaced by Ida Cannon who worked in the role for a further forty years.

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•In 1911, there were 44 social work departments in 14 different cities.

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•Two years later, the number of social work departments had grown to 200.

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•The American Association of Hospital Social Workers was set up in 1918 to increase the links between formal education and hospital practice.

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•Contd…

•In 1929 there were ten university courses in medical social work.

•The increase of social spending after World War II saw another rise in the number of social workers.

•Social work has its roots in the struggle of society to deal with poverty and the problems associated with it.

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•Therefore, social work is intricately linked with the idea of charity work; but must be understood in broader terms

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• Social work from 1900 to 1935

•Two new trends in social welfare were:

•The recognition of the need to consider the problems of social welfare services.

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•Participation of federal Govt. in social welfare services, either supplementing state services or providing direct services to certain special groups.

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•Due to great depression wide spread

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 unemployment,

disease,

 sickness,

 suicide

and malnutrition of children under such circumstance the first “Emergency Relief Act” was passed

•Contd…

•It led to an expansion of public social services and employment in public agencies.

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•Social work once mostly practice in voluntary agencies , increasingly became a government services

•From 1935 to 1946

•In 1935 social security Act established a national Old Age Insurance program, employment insurance, public assistance and social services

•From 1946 to 1960

•During world war I and II occurred a serious problem such as: many families became homeless, without food, clothing, without place to eat, sleep, rest and without money

•Social worker provided feeding , clothing and financial aid under the national welfare assembly

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•World war I and II expanded opportunities for social workers in health and psychiatric fields

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•After Post war public mental health programs at the state and federal levels wasprovided, especially to reduce public mental hospital populations.

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•Contd…

•Provided enhanced employment opportunities for therapeutically oriented socials workers

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•By 1960s, social workers provided the bulk of public mental health services in the US

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Anti –poverty programs
(1961 and after)

•“The economic opportunity act of 1964”

•Provide funds for a direct attack on the problems of poverty

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•This act provided for five type of program:

•1. The youth program

•2. urban and rural community action program

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•Contd…

•3. special programs to combat poverty in Rural Areas

•4. employment and investment program

•5. work experience program

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•In this way, Europe and America had made developmental history in relation to Social work

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