Social Welfare Policies & Programs

American
Social Welfare
Overview
American social welfare was founded on the concepts of the English
Poor Law which remained the public basis for public welfare in the
U.S. until the end of the 19th century. Paupers, beggars, and
vagrants were regarded as criminals. Whatever the cause of this
distress, the pauper was regarded as a morally deficient person.

Today the principle continues to be upheld that the individual is

primarily responsible for this welfare, but the community should
establish a basic measure of security in areas beyond the individual’s
control
 Table of contents

01 02 03
1.1 First Phase : Poor Relief 2. Major Development in 3. Basic Policy of American
1.2 Second Phase: State Institutional U.S. Private Social Welfare Social Welfare
Care for Special Groups
1.3 Third Phase: State Board of 2.1 Charity Organization 3.1 Basic Principle
Charities & Corrections
Societies
1.4 Fourth Phase: Aid to the needy w/o
3.2 Basic Objective
the Institution
2.2 Settlement House
1.5 Fifth Phase: Federal Government
3.3 Some Basic ideas that
early into Social Welfare
1.6 Sixth Phase: Social Security Influenced Social Welfare
1.7 Seventh Phase: War on Poverty
 1.1 First Phase: Poor Relief - almshouses
Relief was given to paupers in various ways:
1) Outdoor Relief to paupers in their own homes;
2) Farming out to the lowest bidder who undertook to care for a single
“pauper”
3) Contract usually with the lowest bidder for the care of all paupers in a
given locality;
4) Care in almshouses which was under the direct control of public
officials; and
5) Indenture or “binding out” a form of a apprenticeship.

The cost of poor relief was met by the poor tax and lately by public
taxes.
Early Settlement and Colonial Period (1600s-1700s):

• In the early days of colonization, social welfare was

largely the responsibility of families, churches, and local
communities.
• The Puritans, for example, established laws in
Massachusetts Bay Colony requiring each town to care for
its poor.
• Almshouses were established to provide basic care for the
poor, elderly, and disabled, often operated
by religious organizations.
• The colonist, mostly from England who settled in the
US at the beginning of seventeenth century, brought
with them the customs, laws and institutions of that
country. This included the attitude that paupers and beggars
were criminals.
• The pauper was treated as a morally deficient person,
regardless of the cause of his condition. He had to swear the
“pauper’s oath”, he was made to wear the letter “P” on the
shoulder of his right sleeve. The repressive, punitive
character of poor relief
that prevailed in Europe was maintained in US.
The Poor in Colonial America
• Colonies adopted many aspects of the
English Poor laws
• Assigned responsibilities for their
residents to the country or parish where
the person lived
o Community members took care of
each other (e.g., providing housing,
food etc.)
o Smaller towns auctioned off the
poor, found them a home, or
apprenticed out children
o Less than 1% received help from
outside sources
The Poor in Colonial America
• Outsiders were ignored from public assistance,
though they were compassionate towards those
less fortunate in their towns
• Residency requirements were enacted in
order to receive assistance
• Not until the mid 1800’s did the federal
government begins to accept limited
responsibility for the poor
The Poor in Colonial America
• Almshouses begin to appear in the 1700s.
There are buildings built by charitable person
or entity to house the poor.

• In small towns, the town council would

auction off the poor, place children or send
them to privately operated almshouses.

• Public assistance was mainly for those who

lived in the country or parish. Outsiders were
allowed to received assistance.
19thCentury
● The deplorable conditions in the poorhouses in then
colonies led to major change in poor relief during this
period. This included...
a) Private charities established orphanages and asylums
for children and helpless old people.
b) The state assumed responsibility for certain classes of
poor, such as insane and the feebleminded.
c) Some local public relief authorities began to question
old concept of poor relief with their humiliating
treatment of the poor.
 1.2 Second Phase: State (public)
Institutional Care for Special
Groups

These programs were designed to remove some

groups of inmates from the undifferentiated misery
of incarceration in the local almshouses and
indicated recognition of a special claim these
persons had on the sympathies of the community.
In connection with such social service under state auspices, the following
“firsts” were among the most important...
 First institution for the mentally ill, Eastern State Hospital (1773) at
Williamsburg, Virginia
 Dr. Benjamin Rush introduced humane treatment of the mentally ill
in 1783, earning the title “Father of American Psychiatry”.
 Dorothea Dix, publicly exposed, thru documentation, the suffering of
mentally disturbed patients, resulting in the construction of thirty-two
hospitals for the mentally ill in the US
 First state penal institution, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1790)
 First asylum for the deaf, Boston, Massachusetts (1821)
 First state school for the feebleminded, Boston, Massachusetts (1848)
 First prison for women, Sherborn, Massachusetts (1879)
• The Federal government resisted involvement in care for the poor and the
needy, but few incident demonstrated the need for their involvement.
• Dorothea Dix, a Sunday school teacher who advocated for the mentally
ill after volunteering at an asylum.
o Mentally ill were sent to almshouses, prisons, or mental
institutions
o Treatment was poor suffering sexual assault, mistreatment,
neglect, etc.
o DD concluded that the problem needed intervention at the
government level both state and federal
o 1854 Congress passed a bill providing funding for programs for
the mentally ill
o Bill was vetoed by President Franklin Pierce
 1.3 Third Phase: State Board of
Charities
The purpose was state supervision of the
administration of institutional care. The first state
board was organized in Massachusetts in 1863. It
emphasized family system by placing children and
adults in the community whenever it was not
absolutely necessary to keep them in almshouses,
hospitals, or asylums.
• The lack of coordination as well as a common standard in personnel
management and care of the wards in these institutions made for the
creation in 1863 of the first State Board of Charities in Massachusetts–a
central agency for the supervision of all state charitable institutions. This
was followed by other states resulting in the better care and protection of
dependent children who were removed from poor houses and placed in
state-licensed foster homes and improvement in the treatment of prisoners
and of the mentally ill.

• It also promoted the more uniform and efficient administration of

local public relief and the foundation of the National Conference of
Charities and Correction (1871)which is now the National Conference
in Social Work.
• The inadequacy and disorganization of public and private relief
led to the founding in 1877 of the first Charity Organization
Society in 1877 at Buffalo, New York.

• It intended to avoid waste of funds, competition, and

duplication of work among the relief agencies through a board
composed of representatives of these agencies.
1.4 Fourth Phase: Aid to the needy
without Institutionalization

Special measures were enacted by state

legislatures to meet the needs of special
groups without placing them in institutions.
President Theodore Roosevelt (1909)
• He invited the workers of child welfare agencies from all over
the country to the White House for a “Conference on the Care of
Dependent Children.”
• The Conference led to the following significant results...
o State Legislation providing mother’s pensions or allowances to
enable widows and deserted women to keep their children
o Creation of the Children’s Bureau by Congress 1912 to investigate
and report upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and
child life among all classes of people
o Establishment of the Child Welfare League of America
(1920), a voluntary nationwide organization for the development
of standards for child care and protection
• This was followed by several other conferences that discussed the
needs and problems of all children, called attention to the need to
consider the total personality development of the child, recommended a
variety of social services for children, as well as the need for
research and professional skills for dealing with various group of
children.
• Illinois passes a law authorizing special pensions for the blind in 1903

• In 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt called the First White House

Conference on Dependent Children. It inspired the creation of the U.S.
Children’s Bureau. This was the first tacit assumption of federal
responsibility for social welfare
 1.5 Fifth Phase:
Federal
Government entry
into Social Welfare
The welfare pattern throughout the nation on the eve of the
Great Depression was a patchwork consisting of local country,
state, and private activities. Three fourths of all the aid to
ingredients was provided under public measures. However, the
services were far from adequate. They were in a real sense
simply a preferential form of poor relief.

The Great Depression of the 1930’s hit the U.S. with jarring
impact. Millions of unemployed had no place to go and there
was mass destitution. Now, the Federal Government had to
step in with a series of emergency relief measures. Previous to
this the states were mainly responsible for social welfare.
 The Great Depression
• Stock Market crashed October 1929
o Unemployment reached 24%
o Birth rate dropped
o 20 million people sought relief
o Cities around the country refused services to non-whites
o Farmers protested against foreclosures and banks repossessing
their property.

• Federal government did nothing. Hoover opted for to allow the

economic to recover on their own. Believed that aid to the poor would
weaken social and moral fiber of society.
• Charitable services were soon exhausted
President Franklin Roosevelt(1933)

• During the economic depression, local private welfare agencies

could not cope with the financial problems presented by masses of
unemployed.

• Under his term, the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) was
passed by Congress. It established the principle of federal
responsibility for human welfare. FERA was concerned
mainly with the administration of federal grants to the states to
assist them in meeting the urgent needs of its unemployed
masses.
• National Recovery Act- public works projects that employed
individual to build dams, bridges, libraries and other public
structures

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)- technological and social

experiment that brought electricity to the South, helped control
flooding, reclaimed land, improved river navigation

• Federal Housing Authority (FHA)- provided first mortgages for

residential property and insurance to lenders against losses on
secured and unsecured loans for repairs and improvements
• The Emergency Relief and Construction Act (1932)
was an amendment to the Reconstruction Finance
Corporation Act which was signed on January 22, 1932.
It created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation which
released funds for public works projects across the
country.
• Civilian Conservation Corps. (1933) –provided
opportunities to the unemployed youth between 17-
25, unmarried, out-of-school, and in need of work,
to enroll in CCC camp where they received federal
allowances. Camps were set up in national and state
forests and parks. The boys in the camps received
medical care and technical vocational training for 6
months to 2 years. The CCC was terminated in 1942.
• The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in
1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an
American New Deal agency that employed millions of
jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated)
to carry out public works projects, including the
construction of public buildings and roads.
The FERA was abolished in 1935 and was replaced by
work relief program called Works Projects Administration.
Its objective was to employ millions of unemployed
people who were on relief or government assistance. It
had furnished jobs to close to 8 million unemployed
when it was closed in 1943 which greatly contributed to
the improvement of the economic, health, welfare, and
cultural facilities of the US.
All these measures were considered temporary. It was planned
for the federal government to withdraw from social welfare as
soon as the crisis was over. What happened however was that
in the end the federal government assumed the major
responsibility for social welfare, culminating in the passage of
the Social Security Act in 1935.
1.6 Sixth Phase:
Social Security
In 1935 the Social Security Act was
passed at the instance of President
Franklin Roosevelt. It change the
emphasis from limited aid to few needy
persons, to a comprehensive system for
the entire population. It brought much
broader resources to bear upon the
problems of social welfare. It was a new
approach to the problems of social
welfare. It was a new approach to the
problem of income maintenance in times
of crisis.
Programs and Laws:

● Social Security of 1935

o Old-age insurance system
o Federal grants to states for maternal and child welfare services.
o Public assistance for dependent children
o Vocational rehabilitation for the handicapped
o Medical care for the handicapped
o A plan to strengthen public health services
o A federal-state unemployment insurance
• Fair Labor Standards Act
o Minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor restrictions
• Social Security Act of 1935–introduced 3 main
programs:
a) A program of social insurance for old age and
unemployment;
b) A program of public assistance for the aged, the
needy, the blind, dependent children, and the
permanently and totally disabled; and
c) A program of health and welfare services, vocational
rehabilitation and public health services.
National Youth Administration(1935) -this has 2
programs:

a) The student-aid program which provided part-time work with

financial assistance to needy students between 16-24 years old to
enable them to continue their education, and

b) The out-of-school work program which provided employment

on work projects which gave training and experience to
unemployed youth between 18-25. When NYA closed in 1944,
it had served close to 5 million male and female youth.
The federal government established 2 programs for the
small farmers;

a) “Rehabilitation” in terms of easy-term

loans, farm cooperatives, farm
management and legal advice, etc. and
b) “Social services” in terms of organized
voluntary pre-paid medical and dental
care, as well as cash grants in case of
sickness and accidents.
 1.7 Seventh Phase: War on
Poverty
In 1964 the Economic Opportunity Act was passed and “War
on Poverty” became the rallying point. The Act was
specifically geared to deal with problems of poverty, education,
manpower, training, mental health, vocational rehabilitation,
public health and medical care, housing, and urban
development. However, many of the programs started during
this period have been phased out or cut back for lack of Federal
Support.
 • Economic Opportunity Act of 1964- looked to
break the cycle of poverty, assist the poor into
jobs and eventually middle class
o Established the office of Economic
Opportunity
o Implemented programs including
Volunteers in Service to America, Upward
Bound, Operation Head Start, Job Corps,
etc.

• Civil Rights Act of 1964- prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, sex
or national origin. Ended segregation in schools and in the workplace as well
as discriminatory voter registration requirements
• Civil Rights Act of 1965- eliminated voting barriers
directed at African Americans

• Social Security Act of 1964- Medicare and Medical

aid

• Older Americans Act of 1965- national network of

agencies to assist the elderly, e.g. nutrition programs,
preventative care, day care, and other supportive
programs

• Food stamps
 2. Major
Developments in
U.S. Private Social
Welfare
2.1 Charity Organization Societies
• The inadequacy and disorganization of public and private relief
led to the founding in 1877 of the first Charity Organization
Society in 1877 at Buffalo, New York.
• It intended to avoid waste of funds, competition, and duplication
of work among the relief agencies through a board composed of
representatives of these agencies.
• Charity organization Societies (COS)
o Credited with being the first social workers and inventors of the
casework system
o Composed of Volunteers and agency representatives who performed
who studied cases of social problems and ways to address them
o “Friendly visitor” offered advice and oversaw the family’s progress
• The COS required the social investigation of every relief applicant by a
“friendly visitor” who, while originally following the COS doctrine that
poverty was a personal fault, soon discovered other causes of poverty, and
advocated for measures that would change the conditions of the poor.
Among these are the clearance of slums, improvement of housing,
public health measure, loan societies, legal aid bureaus, training centers
for the rehabilitation of physically handicapped, hospitals and
dispensaries, juvenile courts, and child labor legislation.

• The need for deeper understanding of human behavior, and of social and
economic problems were felt by the COS workers and volunteers and they
asked for special training for social work.
Mary Richmond
1898

• In 1879, Mary Richmond formulated

the plan for the establishment of a
Training School for Applied
Philanthropy, which led to the
organization of the first social work
courses in New York in 1898.

• Out of this grew the recognition of the

need for professional social work
education.
 2.2 Settlement House

Concept:
It was a place for working people where their higher
moral and intellectual capacities were developed in
insure full participation in a democracy as
exemplified by the U.S.
Hull House (in Chicago)
• The first settlement house in the US was established in 1889 by Jane
Addams and EllenGates Starr which was called the Hull House.

• Basically built for working people, particularly for immigrants, the

settlement house not only provided opportunities for cultural and
intellectual growth, but provided counseling assistance, day nursery,
kindergarten, and social clubs for young people and stimulated
residents to work for legislation to improve housing, wages, and work
conditions.

• They also advocated for social reform. Formed advocacy groups, studied
causes of pauperism, and inform the public.
Residents of settlement houses became the champions for social
reform. They fought for:

a) Equal opportunities for the poor and the handicapped; and

b) The abolition of prejudice and discrimination against people
because of their skin, religion, race, and foreign birth
3. Basic Policy of
American Social
Welfare
3.1 BASIC PRINCIPLE

The individual is primarily responsible for his

welfare but the community should establish a basic
measure of security in areas beyond the
individual’s control
3.2 Basic Objective

The development, achievement, and happiness of the

individual.
3.3 Some basic ideas that influenced social
welfare
3.3.1 Protestant Ethic
One’s life should be a vocation, followed with
zealous and disciplined scrupulosity. If a man
worked hard and invested his income, he was
likely to prosper. Wealth represents meritorious
achievement in addition to material benefits.
3.3 Some basic ideas that influenced social
welfare
3.3.1 Protestant Ethic
A concept originating from the teachings of Protestant reformer Martin
Luther and later popularized by sociologist Max Weber, is associated with
the idea that hard work, discipline, and frugality are essential virtues that
lead to success and prosperity in the context of social welfare, the
Protestant Ethic has influenced societal views on work ethics, personal
responsibility, and the relationship between individual effort and social
support system.
3.3 Some basic ideas that influenced social welfare

3.3.2 Laissez-faire (free enterprise)

There should be freedom to invest and trade for
men worked harder when they worked
themselves.
3.3 Some basic ideas that influenced social welfare

3.3.2 Laissez-faire (free enterprise)

Laissez-faire, also known as free enterprise, is an economic system

where transactions between private groups are free from
government intervention. It is based on the principles that the
individual is the basic unit in society, has a natural right to freedom,
and that markets should be naturally competitive. The term
originated in France and translates to "let [it/them] do," emphasizing
a hands-off approach to economic activities
3.3 Some basic ideas that influenced social
welfare

3.3.3 Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest)

Successful competition in the market place is
inevitably accompanied by hardships and
inequities. Only those fit survive the competition.
3.3 Some basic ideas that influenced social
welfare

3.3.3 Social Darwinism (survival of the fittest)

Social Darwinism, often associated with the concept of "survival of the
fittest," is a theory that human groups and races are subject to the same
laws of natural selection observed in plants and animals. It posits that
weaker individuals or groups diminish while stronger ones grow in
power and influence over the weak. Social Darwinists believed that
human life in society is a struggle for existence governed by the principle
of "survival of the fittest."
 Reported by:
Daniela Vinese D. Bermoy
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