Historical development of social work in u.k.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WORK IN UK

1. DR.Bhim Rao Ambedkar University,Agra INSITITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPAR TMENT OF SOCIAL WORK SUBMITTED To Dr.R.K.BHARTI AssOCIATE professor SUBMITTED BY- MITENDRA SINGH MSW 1 st SEM ROLL NO. 16

2. OVERVIEW Global definition of social work About the profession Historical background The Elizabethan Poor Law 1601 Poor Law Reform of 1834 Origin of social work as profession About Jane Addams The Poor Law Commission of 1905 Social Refoms in England Charity Organization Society 1869

3. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL WORK IN UNITED KINGDOM

4. GLOBAL Definition OF SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION “Social work is a practice based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development , social cohesion and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice , human rights , collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work . Underpinned by theories of social work , social science, humanities and indigenous knowledge , social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing . The above definition may be amplified at national and or regional levels”.

5. ABOUT THE PROFESSION Social work is professional discipline and at present, is being practiced in numerous setting and in many countries.Social workers are employed in governmental, non-governmental, private and industrial setting as well as work as private practitioners. Since evolving as a profession in U.K and USA it has now spread to other countries of Europe, Latin America , Australia,Asian and african countries.

6. Social work emerged as profession early in 20 th century and today is the profession charged with fulfilling the social welfare mandate of promoting wellbeing and quality of life of person across continents. It is a field of study that has uniquely blended perspective from other disciplines.

7. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND With the origin of religion and religions institutes,the religious teachers and priests start providing help to poor , aged, sick , handicapped, orphans . Provisions of such services was considered as the responsibility of the church. The basic objective behind this charity was the purification of soul of alms givers and therefore, there was no relationship between them with the result that the churches did not make any effort to provide any permanent remedy for improving the conditions of the poor.

8. THE ELIZABATHEN POOR LAW -1601 Another major milestone in the historical development of social work is the enactment of poor laws of England starting with the passage of The Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. Towards the last years of her rule all existing poor laws were combined as “39 Elizabeth 1597”and “43 Elizabeth 1601” .This law became to be known as “ Elizabeth Poor Law ” or “The Poor Law of 1601”. This law placed the responsibility of the maintenance of parents and grandparents on their offsprings .

9. Cont.. In this law the officials help was to be made available only to those family itself was not in a position to provide needed help . Poor classified in three main categories:- 1) Able bodied poor :-They are kept in work houses correctional houses 2) The impotent poor :-They are who do not work at all or kept in alms houses 3) Dependent children :-Those who were to be given to a persons willing to take care of them without any charges from the state Those children who could live their parents or other relatives who themselves were poor were given raw material for cottage industry . If this was not possible then this children were kept in “Poor Home”.

10. CONT… Thus the Poor law of 1601 established a criteria for providing relief to the poor which continued to next 300 years. A priciple of the responsibility of the local community for providing relief to the poor was established . In order to prevent the concentration of the poor in the particular area a new legislation “The Law of Settlement”was enacted in the year 1662 by Charles II .

11. POOR LAW REFORM OF 1834 Due to increased in tax burden and increasing number of the poor,the state appointed a commission who conducted a detailed survey spread over two years about the administration of Poor Laws in England. Discontinuation of partial relief Placement of all able bodied applicants in work houses. Grant of outdoor assistance to sick, aged, handicapped and widow with small children . Constitution of Poor Law union by combining some village level helping activities. A central board of guardians were established for the purpose of control .

12. Origin of social work as profession During the 19th century, the industrial revolution led to a lot of social problems in England and the United States, including poverty, diseases, mental disorders, prostitution, and others. As such, there was a great need for social work . Churches and governments established effective systems and laws to provide assistance for the needy, and many individuals started to form groups and organizations to perform social work. Social work, as a profession, originated in the 19th century .

13. Jane addams,mother of social work

14. About jane addams  Jane Addams was one of the first social workers in the US. 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. They gave speeches about the social problems that were plaguing their neighborhood, 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. As she became more famous in Chicago, she began to take on greater civic responsibilities, such as founding a school of philanthropy , and campaigning for peace. For her extraordinary efforts in social work, Jane Addams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the year 1931.

15. THE POOR LAW COMMISSION OF 1905 In the very beginning of the 20 th century, the extent of unemployment and resultant poverty further increased and the large number of the poor including families of coalmines workers began to demand poor relief which the existing relief programmes were unable to meet. For the solution of this problem a commission is formed “Royal Commission on Poor and Relief of Distress”

16. Cont… This commission made 4 recommendations:- In place of Poor Law Union and Control Board of Guardians ,Country Council be established which reduces the existing administrative structure by three fourth. Mixed beggar home be abolished, mentally ill be provided treatment in hospital settings National Pension for the Aged ,free medical treatment of sick poor in hospitals , facilities for employment, starting insurance programme for the unemployed and related facilities.

17. Social reforms in england The main reason for the development of the social reform movement due to industrialization was movements by labour unions. The efforts to improve the conditions of the workers were taken up by the trade unions of the workers. In the view of the success achieved by the workers unions, the trade union congress was recognised in the form of a National Federation. In 1874 the representative of workers union was elected for the first time in the House of the Commons of England.

18. Cont.. The views of social reformers laid the foundation of British Model of Socialism. But the major role in streghthening social reform movement in England was played by Bernard Shaw , Beatrice Web ,Sidney Oliver etc.

19. Charity organization society 1869 The poor law reform of 1834 reduced the overall expenditure on poor relief and established a more effective administration but could not lessen the distance between the Employers and industrial labours . In the midst another social thinker ,Thomas Chalmers came into the picture.He expressed his views that it is essential to bring about self confidence in the individual. To bring about such changes in such attitude another organization was established in 1869 in the city of London by the name of “ Society for Organizing Charitable Relief and Repressing mendicity which was redesignated as “Charity Organization Society”.

20. CONCLUSION Social work has come a long way to become an important profession in the modern society . The scope of responsibilities of social work has become wider over the years, and social workers require more extensive training to perform their duties effectively. As social problems grow in the modern society, social work will continue to gain importance around the world

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