History of social welfare and social work

History of Social WelfareHistory of Social Welfare
and Social Workand Social Work
Compiled by:Compiled by:
Florence Flores-Pasos, RSW, MSWFlorence Flores-Pasos, RSW, MSW

Social WelfareSocial Welfare
Everything that men do for the good of societyEverything that men do for the good of society
““An organized concern of all people for all people”An organized concern of all people for all people”
““An organized system of social services andAn organized system of social services and
institutions designed to aid individuals and groups toinstitutions designed to aid individuals and groups to
attain satisfying standards of life and health”attain satisfying standards of life and health”

Social WorkSocial Work
A profession that is concerned with manA profession that is concerned with man’s’s
adjustment to his environment and the enhancementadjustment to his environment and the enhancement
of his social functioningof his social functioning
A profession which is primarily concerned withA profession which is primarily concerned with
organized social service activity aimed to facilitateorganized social service activity aimed to facilitate
and strengthen basic social relationships and theand strengthen basic social relationships and the
mutual adjustment between individuals and theirmutual adjustment between individuals and their
social environment for the good of the individual andsocial environment for the good of the individual and
of societyof society

EuropeEurope (16(16thth
-19-19thth
century)century)
United StatesUnited States (18(18thth
-20-20thth
century)century)
PhilippinesPhilippines (16(16thth
-20-20thth
century)century)

EUROPEEUROPE
1536
A law was passed in England stating that alms
collected by local authorities and churches on
Sundays, holidays or festivals were to help
relieve the sick and the poor
Focus:
Poor
Sick
Impotent
Persons with illnesses who were not able to work

EUROPEEUROPE
Provisions of the law:
Illegality of begging
Responsibility of society to help
Assistance by and through the local
community
Voluntary alms
Under the direction of the state

EUROPEEUROPE
1572
Overseers of the poor were appointed as
Civil Officers in each parish
Parliamentary enactment at this time
provided for a direct public tax for
assistance to the poor and destitute

EUROPEEUROPE
Elizabethan Poor Laws – these laws were
enacted during the reign of Queen
Elizabeth
Toward the close of the 16th
century: a
civic sense of responsibility on a
nationwide basis had developed in
England

EUROPEEUROPE
1598
An act was passed and revised in 1601
that provided a systematic plan for helping
the poor and established a system of
public responsibility implemented through
local care
In operation until 1834

EUROPEEUROPE
Act of 1601
Played an important role in the
development of social welfare in Europe,
in the United States and elsewhere.
3 Classes of the Poor:
1.able bodied poor
2.impotent poor
3.dependent children

EUROPEEUROPE
18th
Century
Situations that warranted assistance to
the poor:
Industrial revolution
Urbanization
Slums
Anonymity in living

EUROPEEUROPE
18th
Century
Begging, almsgiving, charity, workhouses
Orphanages, insane asylums, jails
There were attempts to help the poor in a
dignified manner and various programs,
both public and private came into
existence

EUROPEEUROPE
1834: Poor Law
Provided for a centralized administration with a
pattern of uniformity throughout the country
Central Authority: 3 Poor Law Commissioners
The country were divided into districts (poor law
unions) that replaced the parishes as units of
administration
Each district had an elective Board of Guardians with
salaried officers who were responsible for the
administration of relief

EUROPEEUROPE
1834: Poor Law
Workhouse – where relief was administered
- relief to able-bodied persons
outside the workhouse was
abolished

EUROPEEUROPE
1860s
London Society for Organizing Charitable Relief and
Repressing Mendicancy or London Charity
Organizations (LCO)
There was a considerable increase in the number of
applicants for aid
Social reform, innovations and change
Pioneers in Social Welfare: Octavia Hill and Edward
Denison (their efforts paved the way to the
organization of the LCO)

United StatesUnited States
The roots of social welfare in America had
their beginnings in Europe particularly related
to the Elizabethan Poor Laws of England.
Towns and local communities assumed
responsibilities for aiding the unfortunate and
disadvantaged

Colonial Period: Voluntary acts of service
Individuals and families would care for
themselves, but if further difficulties existed,
friends, neighbors or representatives of the
community would volunteer to meet their
needs

1800s
Organizations and associations were formed
and the act of helping became more
formalized
Seminaries, inns, churches, hospitals, prisons,
schools
Interaction with the needy, the ill and other
social problems; distribution of books and
sending of missionaries in certain places

1800s
Home for Little Wanderers
Penitent Female Refuge
Home for Intemperate Women
Volunteer efforts were frequently marked by a
condescending attitude toward the recipients
of services

Volunteer services:
25 members of a Junior League spent half a day a
week in assisting activities in the local comprehensive
mental health center
The Medical Wives Auxiliary perform a variety kind of
tasks in local hospitals
Volunteers from churches and religious groups
minister to the sick, the poor, the destitute and
unfortunate

Working as volunteer is characteristic of the American
way of life.
1965
USDOL reported 22 M individuals made contributions
to some health, education or welfare service on a
voluntary basis
1974: 37 million were listed as volunteers

The emergence of the social
work profession
1915-1950

Developing out of volunteer work came social work as
an occupation
Special relief Department of the United States
Sanitary Commission – the first to employ social
workers as Special Relief Agents (mostly women)
Clients: soldiers and their families experiencing social
and health problems during the civil war
The agency later ceased functioning and social
workers temporarily disappeared

1863
Massachusetts Board of Charities (MBC)was
established
Coordinated services in almshouses, hospitals and
other institutions
Functions were basically inspection and advice
Initiated by Samuel Gridley Howe and the director was
Frank B. Sanborn
The board gained wide acceptance

1863
The causes of poverty identified by the MBC:
Physical degradation and inferiority
Moral perversity
Mental incapacity
Accidents and infirmities
Unjust and unwise laws
Customs of society
Paid staff were required to deal with such complex
situations

Early 1870s
The concept of state boards spread to other states
and many achieved greater administrative
responsibilities
1900s
Responsibility for program management was achieved

1877
Charity Organization Society (COS) of Buffalo was
established
Function: Finding means to help the poor and
preventing the poor from taking advantage of the
numerous uncoordinated social agencies that had
developed in many communities.
“Friendly visitors” – they were trained people to
contact clients. They believed poverty could be
eradicated thru the introduction of additional scientific
Techniques: planned intervention or treatment

1893
Nathaniel Rosenau of the COS questioned the right of
the superannuated clergyman, unsuccessful merchant
or political favorite to serve as manager of a charitable
society or institution
He concluded that it was necessary that persons in
charge of this work be specially trained, have a calling
for the work and intend to devote themselves to it.

1898
The New York School of Philantropy was formed
under the guidance of Edward T. Devine, secretary of
the New York COS
From a 6-week summer session to one year then two
year training for social workers

1886
Initiation of the settlement movement
Settlement houses were established and patterned
after the settlement houses of London’s Toynbee Hall
Purpose: to deal with the problems of the city and its
poor focusing mostly on immigrants
Pioneers in this movement:
Stanton Coit and Jane Addams – they established
settlement houses in New York and Chicago

Settlement Workers:
Friendly contact with the poor
Acquired knowledge and understanding of the daily
life and trials of the urban masses
Where others thought of the people of the slums as
miserable wretches deserving either pity or correction,
settlement residents knew them as much entitled to
respect as any other members of the community
This attitude was the most important contribution of
the settlement movement to social welfare

1905
The first medical social work department was
established by Ida Cannon at the Massachusets
General Hospital
Medical social service invigorated the quest for
professional skill and technique and the implications of
casework theory and practice. It demanded new and
special instruction and expertise as opposed to relief
and economic dependency.
“Human kindness alone cannot solve tangled social
problems” Ida Cannon

Medical social work:
Medical social workers became interested in
professional education as a means of moving from the
“warm-heart” position into an understanding of the
psychic or social conditions at the base of patient
distress
With professional education, it would be possible to
move into a colleague relationship with the physician

1912
A one-year course in medical social work was
established in the Boston School of Social Work
1915
Meeting of the National Conference on Charities and
Corrections
Abraham Flexner, an authority on graduate education
asked: Is social work a profession?

18th
and 19th
centuries:
Industrialization
Greater mobility
Increase in population and accompanying
social problems implied the increase in public
and private social services

1935
The Social Security Act revolutionized the total social
welfare scene
Provisions:
Public assistance
Social insurance
Unemployment insurance
Aid to dependent children
Aid to the blind
Other special services

1962
Major modifications in the act
Additional provisions:
Additional federal participation
Liberalization of grants
Safeguarding the rights of children and families
Greater emphasis on rehabilitation and preventive
social welfare

1965 amendments to the act – expanding medical and
health care system in the US
Medicare
Encompassed a compulsory hospital insurance plan
and a voluntary supplemental medical insurance
Medicaid
Provided medical care to low income people

1898
The Charity Organization in New York initiated a
summer training course on social work education
1904
The course developed inhto a one-year training
program within the New York School of Philantrophy

1921
The American Association of Social Workers was
created, the first major professional social work body
1955
National Association of Social Workers was created
based on the amalgamation of 7 smaller specialized
social work associations
As of 1977, it had 154,000 members
1995: NASW’s 40th
anniversary

1974
The CSWE approved the accreditation of the
undergraduate programs in SW or social welfare

PhilippinesPhilippines
Pre-historic period
Social welfare centered on mutual protection
and economic survival among the people in
the “barangays”

Spanish Period
Communities were formed into “pueblos”
creating large concentrations of people in an
area resulting in:
Health and sanitation problems
Personal maladjustments
Economic dislocation
Destitution or indigency due to the punitive
methods of the Spanish conquerors

Encomenderos provided the sick and the poor
with aid
Primary motivation: religious: to do good to
others for the salvation of their souls.
This was the underlying philosophy behind all
social welfare activities in the country

The Spanish missionaries administered
Hospitals
Orphanages
Asylums
Schools
1885
The Asilo de San Vicente de Paul, an asylum
for girls, was established

1565
Parochial School of Cebu – the first school to
be established
Other school were soon established

1589 Colegio de San Ignacio
1595 San Ildefonso College
1601 Colegio de San Jose
1717 College de San Felipe
1754 Artillery School
1859 Ateneo de Manila (out of the original
school: Obras Pias in 1817)
1694 Santa Isabel
1750 Santa Rosa
1696 Santa Catalina

After the 1850s, public school started to
be put up in the country
1867 There were 593 primary schools
in the country
Hospitals, asylums, orphanages and
schools were subsidized by the
Spanish gov’t with some donations
from philantrophic individuals

The outbreak of the revolution against the
Spanish government in the country led to
efforts that were directed mainly at the sick
and wounded Filipino soldiers who needed
medical care
“Hermanos”, a religious order and women
Provided leadership in nursing the wounded
in the battlefields particularly after the
execution of Dr. Jose Rizal on Dec. 30, 1896

1899
The National Association of the Red Cross
was organized
Provided medical supplies and food to the
revolutionaries in the provinces of Luzon

American Period
1899 The Philippines was occupied by
America
New educational system
New health methods
Religious freedom

1902
The Insular Board was created following an
epidemic of bubonic plague, cholera and
small pox
Function: to coordinate and supervise private
institutions engaged in social work

1908
The Philippine General Hospital was
established
1915
Public Welfare Board legislative act no. 2510
To coordinate the welfare activities of various
Charitable organizations

1910 School for the deaf and blind
1917
Associated Charities of Manila
Functioned as a “community chest”,
centralized the receipt and distribution of
donations to different charitable organizations
1905 Philippine chapter of the American Red
Cross

1907 La Gota de Leche
furnished child-caring institutions with
fresh cow’s milk. Offered free
consultation clinic for mothers
1910 Philippine Anti- Tuberculosis Society
1911 Tuberculosis Sanitarium in QC

1913 Association de Damas Filipinas
Helped destitute mothers and their
children
founded a settlement house on Rizal
Ave in Manila
chronic illness, accidents, broken
homes

1921
Office of the Public Welfare Commmissioner
(PWC) Under the Department of Interior
Absorbed the functions of the Public Welfare
Board
Coordinating and intensifying the activities of
child welfare organizations and agencies

1933
A law was passed requiring any person,
corporation, organization or association
desiring to solicit or receive contributions
for charitable or public welfare purposes
1924
The associated charities had become an
independent agency under the supervision
of the PWC

1924
Phil Legislative Act No. 3203
Care and custody of neglected and delinquent
children
There were reformatories in Manila for boys
and for girls under PWC
1926
Welfareville – a 50-hectare compound in San
Felipe Neri (now Mandaluyong) under
PWC Divison of Dependent children

“Congragate system” of the division:
Wards were grouped in separate cottages
based on children’s needs and problems
1933
Frank Murphy became governor general
Scholarship grants for professional training in
social work in the US were made available

Other developments during the administration
of Murphy:
Maternal health centers in each town
Social health centers in selected communities
First housing committee that undertook the
study of slums (31 houses in Tondo)
Private colleges and technical schools
National Economic Protectionism (NEPA)
established to promote home industries

Unemployment Committee which
recommended the creation of a National
Emergency Relief Board to relieve distress
caused by unemployment and to reduce
unemployment; later extended to typhoon
victims
Women suffrage campaign – signed a law
enfranchising women in 1933 that took
effect in 1937

Prominent Persons:
Dr. Jose Fabella – Director of PWC
Josefa Jara Martinez – obtained a diploma in
social work from the New York School of
Social Work in 1921; she worked for the
Public Welfare Board where she started to
introduce the scientific approach in social
work and then was detailed to the
Associated Charities

Frank Murphy
It was during his administration that the
government took full responsibility for the
relief of the distressed due to any cause.

Commonwealth Period (Manuel L. Quezon)
Filipinos took over the government
Rural charity clinics
A home for mentally defective children and for
the aged in Welfareville
Anti-usury laws
8-hour labor law; minimum wages
Laws related to insurance, pensions, women
and child labor

Commonwealth Period (Manuel L. Quezon)
Housing projects
Relief boards and other bodies
Creation of the Department of Health and
Public Welfare

Japanese Occupation
Medical care and treatment and provision of
food and clothing to the wounded soldiers,
prisoners and civilians during World War II
Relief work was undertaken by volunteer
organizations
Workers of the Philippine war relief, Inc.
organized in the US accompanied the
liberating army when it landed in Leyte

Bureau of Public Welfare was closed during
the war and reopened in 1946.
1947 it became the Social Welfare
Commission under the Office of the
President
This signified the formal recognition of social
welfare as a responsibility by the state

Three Categories of Services of the
Commission:
1. Child welfare work (probation and parole,
institutional care)
2. Public assistance (relief and casework)
3. Coordination and supervision of all public
welfare activities

1948
Pres. Quirino created the President’s Action
Committee on Social Amelioration
(PACSA)
Gave relief assistance to the hungry, the
homeless and the sick.
UNICEF – United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Fund was created
in 1946 by the United Nations general
Assembly (maternal and child health)

1949
Council of Welfare Agencies of the Phils
Community Chest of Greater Manila
Early 1950s
Philippine Youth Welfare Coordinating
Council (PYWCC)

1951
The Social Welfare Commission and PACSA
were fused into one agency called
Social Welfare Administration
Responsibility for relief was taken over by its
Division of Public Assistance
Was concerned with the need for a more
professional administration of public tax
supported welfare programs
Accepted field practice students and
conducted surveys

1968 Marcos signed RA 5416 Social Welfare
Act elevating the Social Welfare
Administration into a Department
1970s
Martial Law (1972)
Marcos set up a crisis government
Developmental decades (1960s and 1970s)
The UN called on nations to focus on
developmental efforts aimed at improving
the quality of life of people

1976
The Dept of Social Welfare became the
Department of Social Services and
Development (DSSD)
From the traditional, institution-based social
welfare to community-oriented programs
and services which underscored people’s
own capacities for problem-solving
1978
Conversion of departments into Ministries

1980s
The Ministry of Social Services and
Development (MSSD)
banner program: the Self-Employment
Assistance
case management system

1987
Pres. Corazon Aquino signed Executive Order
No. 123 reorganizing the MSSD and
renaming it Department of Social Welfare
and Development
“evolving from mere welfare or relief agency
to the greater task of development”

1990s-Early 2008
October 10, 1991 RA 7160 or the Local
Government Code was passed
The DSWD devolved its functions, programs
and services, direct services workers,
budget and assets and liabilities to the
local government units starting 1992.

The national DSWD became leaner and more
responsive
Four categories of social services:
Center-institution based services
Community-based programs and services
Locally funded and foreign assisted projects
Disaster relief and rehabilitation augmentation

In the 90s, the DSWD moved from its
traditional image of service provider to one
that leads in social welfare policy and
program development, provision of
technical assistance, capability-building
and augmentation support to local
government units (LGU), non-government
organizations (NGO) and people’s
organizations (PO)

Vision of the DSWD
Poverty eradication and empowerment of
disadvantaged individuals, families and
communities with capability to improve
their quality of life through the provision of
assistance to LGUs, Pos, NGOs, NGAs
(other national government agencies) and
other members of civil society

The NGOs
They supplement government efforts
Defined as “private, non-profit, voluntary
organizations that are committed to the
task of socio-economic development and
established primarily for service”
The number of NGOs began to grow after the
EDSA Revolution in 1986

NGO Classifications:
1. Primary NGOs – also called POs, direct
organizations of the beneficiaries
themselves
2. Secondary/intermediate – composed of
different professions providing services to
the beneficiaries
3. Tertiary – usually a network of NGOs
established for mutual assistance or for
special purposes

1999
Philippine Council for NGO Certification was
launched by NGO networks to regulate the
operation of NGOs
Certifies NGOs applying for donee institution
status based on specific standards:
professionalism, transparency and
accountability
Has certified 858 applicants out more than
1,500 applications over a period of 9 years

The Development of theThe Development of the
Social Work Profession inSocial Work Profession in
the Philippinesthe Philippines

The mother of the SW profession in the Phils:
The Associated Charities (1917)
First to use casework
First to use social workers as full time, paid
employees
The first to hire a trained social worker as its
Executive Secretary (Josefa Jara Martinez
then later Asuncion A. Perez who was also
educated in the US)

1947
The seven or eight social workers who had
gone to the US before the war to pursue
formal social work education formed the
Philippine Association of Social Workers
(PASW)
Nurturing the development of the social work
profession

1950
The Philippine School of Social Work was
established
One-year program: Master of Arts in Social
Administration – Josefa Jara Martinez was
the school’s first director
1951- graduate program expanded to two
years and the degree changed to Master
of Social Work

The University of the Philippines and Centro
Escolar University also started offering
social work courses at the grduate level
1956
The Civil Service Commission gave an
examination for social workers

Early 50s
The following offered a bachelor’s degree in
social work:
Philippine School of Social Work
Centro Escolar University
University of the Philippines
University of Santo Tomas

A big boost to the professionalization of social
work was the launching of the UNICEF-
assisted Social Services Project of the
Social Welfare Administration in July 1961.
Improvement of child welfare services by
upgrading the competence of family and
child workers (seminars, study grants, pilot
projects) leading to the upgrading of SWA
personnel salaries

1965
Passage of RA 4373, An Act to Regulate the
Practice of Social Work and the Operation
of Social Work Agencies in the Philippines
Completion of Bachelor of Science in
Social Work degree
1,000 hours of supervised field practice
Passing of a government board
examination in Social Work for licensing or
registration as a social worker

Creation of a board of examiners (now called
Board for Social Workers) that will
administer its provisions
Empowered the Department of Social Welfare
and development (DSWD) to license and
accredit public and private organizations
for social welfare work
The law had a desirable effect of making
those already occupying social work
positions undergo professional social work
education

The passing of RA 4373 is generally
considered as the formal recognition of
social work as a profession in the
Philippines
As of December 2006 – 16,134 licensed
social workers in the Philippines

The Philippine Association of Social Workers,
Inc. (PASWI)
The national organization of social workers in
the country
Founded on Nov. 12, 1947, incorporated on
April 18, 1948, re-incorporated with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) in 1988.

As of 2007 - 36 active chapters in different
regions of the country
429 lifetime members
1,036 regular members
A member of the International Federation of
Social Workers (IFSW)
There are 1.5 million professional workers in
practice globally

PASWI’s Objectives:
Promote and maintain a professional
standard of social work practice
Strengthen the members’ competence
Work for better understanding, acceptance
and recognition of the profession
Work for social legislation in social welfare
and development
Expansion through local chapters and
linkages

PASWI’s Accomplishments:
Adopted the Phil Soc Work Code of Ethics in
1964, revised in Nov. 1998
Nominated members of the Board for Social
Workers (to the President) since 1965
Worked for the passage of RA 4373 in 1965
and its amendments with RA 5175 in 1967
Supported the passage of the SW Act
elevating the SWA to DSW in 1968

Served as core of the Phil organizing
committee for the SW symposia in the
Phils in 1970
Took a stand on issues such as family
planning, integration of cultural minorities
into society, etc.
Submitted proposals to the 1971
constitutional convention

Initiated proposal to merge the DSWD and the
Department of Health in the 1980s
Supported the package of the Magna Carta
for Public Social Workers (RA 9433 on
April 11, 2007)

Magna Carta for Social Workers
For all registered social workers in
government service
Positions in government for social workers
Upgrading of salaries
Code of conduct
Professional development

Summary:Summary:
EuropeEurope
Situation of the poor (simple to complex)
Presence of laws
Role of the parish church
Evolving programs and services
Public responsibility was emphasized: use of
public tax to help the poor; from district units to a
nationwide concern
Administration by the state
From plain charitable work to an organized and
systematic way of helping the poor

The rise of the profession of Social Work
Social work education; medical social work
The number of trained social workers increased
rapidly at the turn of the 20th
century
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
became the cenrtal professional body
Council on Social Work Education – a national
educational body for setting standards
From volunteer to paid staff
Charity organizations
Welfare societies

Prominent PersonsProminent Persons
Mary Ellen Richmond (1861-1928)
A social work pioneer
Worked as Treasurer of the Charity
Organization Society
The first to develop a structured social work
Published “Social Diagnosis” in 1917 –
formalized a communicable body of
techniques in different settings where social
workers were found

Prominent PersonsProminent Persons
Dr. Abraham Flexner
An authority on graduate education
who had made a penetrating study
that led to major changes in medical
education

From charity and relief to social development and
empowerment
From the sick and homeless to individuals, families
and communities
Developments in social welfare under the Spaniards,
the Americans, the Japanese
The professionalization of Social Work
Social work education
Supportive laws
The rise of NGOs and POs as partners
Networking and Alliance-building
The evolution of the DSWD
PASWI

Social Work is committed to theSocial Work is committed to the
pursuit of social welfarepursuit of social welfare
There is a continuity in theThere is a continuity in the
development of social welfare anddevelopment of social welfare and
social work in the Philippinessocial work in the Philippines

History of social welfare and social work

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