Social Work and Poverty, Essay Example

Social work refers to a profession that entails a quest for social justice in order to fully improve the quality of life of the members of a society (Davies & Martin, 2002).  It involves an effort directed towards solving the social problems that members of a society may be facing.  It is founded on the need within a society to fight the problems that are facing it especially poverty.  Social work has grown over the years from its early form where it was viewed as charity to a full profession, which encompasses human development theories as well as social theory in order to be in a position to explore the complex social challenges that face a society.  Through this growth and evolution, social work must utilize its theories to effectively reduce human rights violations such as those found in fiction and non-fiction.  Furthermore, social work and social welfare will continue to need appropriate levels of adjustment and evolution for the further effects of international globalization that greatly impact domestic policies and social issues for all nations.

History of Social Work

Social work dates back to the legalization of the church in Europe by Constantine when the church built hospitals, poorhouses, and orphanages aimed at assisting the less fortunate in the society.  During that time, it was viewed as charity within Europe and was considered to be a responsibility of the church though the empire offered grants to assist running the hospitals, orphanages and poorhouses.  Social work was introduced in America following British settlement, which saw the development of almshouses.  These houses built to offer quarantine facilities in the event that epidemics would occur amongst the population to prevent contamination.

Due to an increase in the population, there grew a drastic increase in the number of people that could not provide for themselves or their families.  These individuals quickly became homeless and this created the need for governmental and social intervention to assist them.  In addition, they also housed the elderly and people with terminal diseases. The first known almshouse was built in Philadelphia in the year 1713 by William Pen and was intended to house only Quakers with a second one being built in 1728 near to the first one.  The almshouses would later become the precursors to modern hospitals as some of these almshouses were later converted into hospitals.

The 19^th century saw the development of the industrial revolution that resulted in massive migrations from the rural areas to urban areas as people looked for jobs in the newly formed industries.  This led to several social problems such as poverty, homelessness, prostitution, and numerous contagious diseases that were brought about by the ever-increasing number of people in the urban areas.  This resulted in more intervention by the church to counter the rise in social problems with numerous churches carrying out missionary efforts, which were characterized by direct relief through the provision of food and evangelism (Germain & Gitterman, 1996).

A new organization was formed during the 1880s known as the settlement movement that was based on the three R’s, which were Research, Residence and Reform.  The movement was focused on the roots of poverty and provided various medical, educational and legal services to help fight the negative effects of poverty.  The immigration movement began to overwhelm American cities and created an even greater population problem through overcrowding and increased poverty.  The resulting overcrowding led to numerous social problems such as homelessness, prostitution as well as diseases.  These problems led to the creation of the New York Infirmary for women and children that was founded by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell who was the first female doctor in the United States (Axinn & Mark, 2008).  The Hull House was also founded by Jane Adams in 1889 and it became a community service centre that ran a social research program where health professionals carried out social work to alleviate the causes of poor health.  Furthermore, the 20^th century saw the professionalization of social work following the formal training of social workers as nurses.  Garnet Pelton was the first trained social worker who was employed by the Massachusetts General Hospital (Germain & Gitterman, 1996).  Other professional social workers were Dr. Richard Clarke and Ida Canon who were also trained nurses.

Following the professionalization, the economic, social and psychological conditions that accompanied most of the social problems were recognized making it easier for these professionals to work with the afflicted members of the society.  In addition, social workers were now able to work together with nurses and doctors, which resulted in the proper simultaneous management of both the physiological and social health problems of victims.  It was thus discovered that social work was crucial and provided a critical perspective to medicine that had previously been neglected.  Most American hospitals had created social work departments.  This number totaled forty four social work departments in 1911 and later increased to roughly two hundred by 1913 (Axinn & Mark, 2008).  One of the people who led to the professionalization of social work was Dr. Abraham Flexner who argued that social work lacked specialized knowledge as well as specific use of intellectual knowledge.  This forced social workers to be unable to resolve social problems, and this argument resulted in social work focusing more on casework and scientific methods of research (Sowers, et al., 2008).  This movement was culminated by the creation of the American Association of Hospital Social Workers in1918 that focused on increasing the relationship between hospital practice and formal social work education.

Social Work Perspectives

There are four main perspectives involved in social work, which refer to the various ways that it is viewed as a profession.  They are utilized as frameworks that are geared towards assisting clients who are undergoing therapy as well as in other various social work environments.  The first perspective is the feminist perspective, which involves a study of the various stereotypes, beliefs as well as practices that a society holds in respect to gender (Saulnier, 1996).  It is concerned with the feminine characteristics of people and thus endeavors to deal with the patriarchal and andocentric practices that oppress women in the society.

The strengths perspective involves a study of the success of members of a society.  Its main goal is to discover the strengths and resources that individuals within a society are endowed with and how to augment these strengths based on an assumption that no one is aware of the maximum level of an individual’s ability (Saleeby, 1997).  The third perspective is known as the generalist perspective which is a holistic approach that seeks to appreciate clients in a number of levels such as at the individual, family, and societal levels (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2001).  It incorporates models that are geared towards understanding the situation that a client is in and then making the necessary interventions to assist.  The fourth perspective is the ecological perspective that is concerned with the relationship that exists between people and their environment.  This perspective explores how the capabilities that these individuals have fit with the resources that their environment provides.

In addition, there are three major levels of professional interventions that are involved in social work.  The first is the macro level, which involves interventions that are geared towards the whole society on a national scale.  The second is the mezzo level, which involves working with small agencies and organizations that work in communities.  The third is the micro level that involves intervention geared towards assisting individuals.  These approaches are very critical to the activities performed within the realm of Social Work.  As the status of the industry continues to evolve, so too much the use of professional intervention levels adjust to the changing times.

The Story of Rose and Welfare Implications

In the book by Wanda Bibb, Rose says, “… I made every dollar count” mentioning the fact that since she actually owned a wringer washer, she did extra ironing and washing (Bibb 39).  This sentence directly shows the Rose’s self-reliance in a simple way.  It also emphasizes that times were difficult and Rose was forced to make each dollar she had count towards providing for herself and her family; she could not afford to waste a single penny.  Even though Rose had battles with the things she could not overcome, she still was focused on the bigger picture.  She stayed firm and was able to realize her own personal values to others as well as her ability to act upon them. By making use of every dollar made, the main hero showed her good judgment and excellent foresight regarding the circumstances she was in.

Social welfare clearly was a necessary addition to Rose’s lifestyle and would have greatly eliminated many of the major painful experiences she had.  One of the most important aspects that Wanda Bibb brings out in her book is the NASW Code of Ethics and issues related to it.  Rose became a victim of these rights violations and it can be argued that she would not have experienced such violations if it would have been for a social welfare system.  When she was having her labor contractions, the doctors advised her that she was not ready yet and that she should return home no matter the pains.  This is a direct representation of the violation of the self-determination right of a person.

Rose experienced suffering due to the lack of information about her rights and the alternatives she had during her pregnancy.  Her decision-making ability was limited based on poor information and the doctor’s directly took advantage of her social ignorance.  Furthermore, the people during the time frame of this story had very few social resources available to assist in being properly educated and informed of their rights.  This case brings out the violation of NASW Code of Ethics because it took place and did not lead to human growth or human fulfillment since “the Code offers a set of values, principles, and standards to guide decision making and conduct when ethical issues arise” (NASW, n.d.).  Clearly, with an effective intervention of social work initiatives, many of these rights violations and human suffering found in Bibb’s story would not occur otherwise.

Impact of Globalization

Globalization has also become a major component to the advancement or hindrance of the social welfare industry.  As an economic phenomenon, globalization has forced a shift from a world of distinct national economies to a global economy in which production is distributed internationally and finance is able to flow freely and instantly between countries.  Multinational businesses have vast economic powers, while institutional investors and financial gurus such as George Soros are capable of influencing the currency rates, economic policies, and interest rates of individual nation states.  This is clearly illustrated when, in September 1992, the U.K. was forced to leave the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.  The framework of rules within which economic activity takes place is increasingly defined within the international framework of organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G7-8 summits.  These international organizations often work together with the regional trading blocs such as the European Union and NAFTA.

Globalization is arguably both a cause and consequence of the information revolution.  It is driven by dramatic improvements in telecommunications, exponential increases in computing power coupled with lower costs, and the development of electronic communications and information networks such as the Internet.  These communications technologies are helping to overcome the barriers of physical distance.  The international interest group Greenpeace is a prime example wherein the Shell Brent Spar case illustrated the ability of such internationally organized groups to successfully exert commercial and political pressure in multiple countries simultaneously.  In turn, social policies affecting individual citizens, such as those surrounding poverty and social welfare, are becoming more sensitive to international influences, especially when highlighted by the global news media.  These social policies are forcing the social welfare industry to take a macro level of intervention approach at an international level.  This is quite unlike any macro intervention approach ever before attempted because the macro level of social work has historically included a nation-wide approach instead of international approach.

Economic interdependence through globalization is narrowing the degree of domestic policy independence available to all governments.  Unilateral action may not be the most effective way to achieve policy goals. Furthermore, many other important policy goals cannot be met by governments acting alone.  Instead, it may be in the best interest of nations to work together to achieve a unified, collection response to the growing economic, social and political problems caused by globalization.  Monetary and fiscal policy decisions can no longer be taken exclusively based on domestic considerations.  Meanwhile, some economists such as Martin Khor (n.d.), director of the Third World Network, believe that free trade within a global market will polarize the poorer countries from the richer nations still further.  This will not only create a greater divide between rich and poor countries, but reduce the ability for a single unified coalition of nations to effectively respond to the social needs of all countries involved.  Therefore, this clearly illustrates the inherent problem of globalization in causing greater international social problems while reducing the ability for nations to effectively respond to them either alone or through an international coalition.

Conclusion

Poverty as a social problem is not likely to end and in fact it might even worsen and move to very severe cases that are not even controllable.  Poverty will continue to affect many people if quick measures and strategies that are real and possible are not put in place.  Basic human rights and necessities must be provided to members of all governments and all societies.  Cultural and religious differences should be placed aside to support an all-inclusive effort to address international social welfare, especially with the growing effects of globalization causing additional havoc for developed and third-world nations.  Nevertheless, it is clear that “social care services should be built upon a genuine partnership of equals, with each making its own distinctive contribution to what should be a single, local care network” (Steele, 2001).  The intervention models must redefine how social workers can effectively intervene in an ever-growing international community.  Currently, the macro approach may be the best model to analyze; however, this model is limited and must evolve along with the views of social workers around the world to provide the best possible services to those individuals that need them without discriminating against country citizenship, political views, economic status or any other discriminatory factor.

References

Axinn, J. & Mark, J. S. (2008). Social Welfare: A History of the American response to need (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Davies, Martin (2002). The Blackwell Companion of Social Work (2nd ed.).Alden, MA: Blackwell.

Germain, C. & Gitterman, A. (1996). The life model of social work practice. (2nd ed). New York: Columbia Univ. Press.

Khor, M. (n.d.) Voluntary service overseas. Retrieved from http://www.oneworld.org/vso/orbit60/trade/html

Kirst-Ashman, K. & Hull, G. (2001). Generalist practice with organizations and communities, (2nd ed). Belmont, CA: Brooks-Cole.

National Association of Social Workers (NASW). (n.d.). Code of ethics. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp

Saleeby, D. (1997). The strengths perspective in social work. (2nd ed). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Saulnier, C. (1996). Feminist theories and social work. Binghamton, NY: Haworth.

Sowers, K.M. et al. (2008). Comprehensive handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Steele, L. (12 April 2001). Are Social Work Values Under Threat? Guardian Newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2001/apr/12/socialcare