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History of social work essay
History of social work essay
The role of a social worker
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Charlotte Towle was born in 1896 and raised in Brute, Montana, which was a large mining town at that time. Her family would often talk about social issues such as labor and management (Boman, 2001). This upbringing got her interested in social issues, but she majored in Education at Goucher College, graduating in 1919 (Lardner, 2014). Working at The American Red Cross, her interest in social work issues was renewed. Quickly she began working at many other social services agencies such as the Veteran’s Bureau and a hospital in Tacoma. Washington (Boman). She did not feel called to the standard casework approach, but more captivated by the psychological method. Therefore she continued her education at New York School of Social Work by receiving …show more content…
Charlotte wrote this manual for the Bureau of Public Assistance guiding employees of the bureau on the importance of recognizing behavior patterns and administering assistance programs. Knowing that mental, environmental and social needs are all related (SSA, 2007). Towle believed that all humans have a right to food, shelter and health care, which she stated in her book Common Human Needs, written in 1945. (Boman, 2001). Although the book was well received, it got much more attention six years after it was published when a phrased she used in it was accused of promoting socialism (Lardner, 2014). While the publisher, the Federal Security Agency (FSA), was pressured by the American Medical Association to take action, Oscar Ewing, the FSA administrator, ordered the printing offices to destroy all remaining copies. The out-rage was almost instantaneous, Towle’s co-workers at the Social Service Administration, the American Association of Social Workers, even President Truman spoke out against Oscar Ewing. This nationwide stand came to be known as “The Common Human Needs Affair”. Even with the wide-spread protest Ewing did not back down, eventually the National Association of Social Workers did republish the book (Lardner, 2014). Towle’s achievements continued throughout her life, even after retiring she continued to receive recognition for her outstanding impact on the field of social work. While she remained at the University of Chicago until her retirement, her curriculum had an impact in social work schools across the United States and even in
The book called ‘The Days in the Lives of Social Work’ by Linda May Grobman contain an article called ‘Involuntary Admission: A New Worker’s Introduction to the ‘603’’. The article introduces a person called Beth Boyett working in the therapy to help the patients with mental issues. The article teaches me lessons about being a social worker for example a core value called the called the “Importance of Human Relationship” that social worker try to form a good relationship with patients. Then the articles teach me about ethical standard that involves in “Social Workers’ Ethical Responsibilities to Clients” to make a commitment to help patients. Finally the articles teach me about the social work practice that involves social work counseling with
From the humble beginning of Social Work there have been many people who have tirelessly worked, fought, and dedicated their life advocating for the people in our world who are disadvantaged. Furthermore, many of these people have been women who not only were strong enough to fight for the rights of others, but also had to fight the forces whom thought that women where in some way second hand citizens themselves. These women were brave and determined enough to break out of the box that society placed them in, and stand up for the social injustices that they seen taking place, and try to make a difference. Of the many women from the early days of Social Work none fought harder for social reform than Grace Abbott. Grace Abbott spent her life fighting to enact legislation for the betterment of society as a whole. This work would eventually earn her the nickname “the mother of America’s forty-three million children.”
Ehrenreich, J. H. (1985). The altruistic imagination: A history of social work and social policy in the United States. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Popple, P. R, & L. Leighninger. (2011). Social Work, Social Welfare, and American Society. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Social work pursues to meet the demands and addresses the changing profession of fighting for human rights, improving social policies, and practice. I agree with the Abramovitz article that we have to know and understand the history of the social work profession. If people go without learning and comprehending the past, people cannot make accommodations for the future. Knowledge of the past will keep history alive, it will guide workers and their efforts to reform. The past also helps society in understanding programs that did not work. Society needs to understand the values that historical knowledge can bring positive changes in the future. Advocates for early social workers and their issues and concerns are still relevant in today's
Popple , P. R., & Leighninger, L. (2011). Social work, social welfare, and american society. (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (1998). The New NASW Code of Ethics Can Be Your Ally: Part I. Retrieved from: http://www.naswma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=96
The job of a child welfare worker appears to be a demanding profession that promotes the child’s safety, but also strengthens the family organization around them in order to successfully raise the children. This child welfare workers work in the system known as the Child Protective Services whose initiative is to protect the overall welfare of the child. The short novel From the Eye of the Storm: the Experiences of a Child Welfare Worker by Cynthia Crosson-Tower demonstrates the skills necessary to deal with the practice of social work along with both its challenges and its happy moments. The novel consists of some of the cases involving Tower’s actual career in social work. In reading the book, I was able to experience some of the actual cases in which children dealt with physical and mental abuse from their families that caused them to end up within the system. Also, some of these children had issues in adapting to foster and adoptive families based on the issues they faced earlier in life. As we have learned earlier in the course, the violence that a child experiences early in life has an overall affect on the person they become as they grow into adulthood. When children deal with adverse childhood experiences, they are at a higher risk for abusing drugs and/or alcohol, increased likelihood of abusing their own child or spouse, higher rates of violent and nonviolent criminal behavior, along with several other issues throughout their lifespan.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington DC: Author.
Richmond has made several contributions to Social Work, which is why she is known as one of the “founding mothers” of the profession. While Social Work has progressed and changed methods throughout the years, many of Richmond’s contributions are still utilized today. Specifically her ideas of scientific casework and the Person-In-Environment, or Systems theory, she was just beginning to uncover. Richmond is one of the main reasons Social Workers are so highly educated today. She took the charitable volunteer work of upper class women and created a greatly needed profession out of
Bell and Bain Ltd, Glasgow.. Tompson, N., 2009. Understanding Social Work - a new approach. 3rd ed. of the year. London: Palgrave Macmillan, c. 1895.
This paper will explore what the primary mission of social work as a professional means to me. Through self-reflection of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, I will delve into why I chose social work as a career, the type of social worker I want to become, and ponder what challenges and obstacles may impede my chosen path.
Over the course of the semester, I have learned a variety of many things regarding social work. These things vary from learning how to help oneself to understanding how to help others. Not only were the textbooks very useful, but also the materials that furthered this textbook learning. The in class presentation, activities, and guest speakers gave us insight and a different perspective on the material we were learning. I feel like this course has given me a good foundation and prepared me as a future social worker (1).
1.Davison Evelyn, 1970, Social Case Work, A basic Textbook For students of casework and for administrators in the Social Services, Second Edition.
Social Work is a profession that seeks to improve the standard of life for individuals and to effect system-wide change through the pursuit of social justice. This profession is classified under Human and Social Services as a helping profession. This profession is divided into two categories, direct service and clinical, or “licensed”, social worker. Within the two categories of social work, there are numerous of positions that focus on a particular population. Regardless of the variety of achievements and accomplishments done by the profession, some critics cannot understand the importance of Social Work. Other critics condemn the helping profession by wondering why Social Work is not combined with other similar professions, such as counselor