Social Welfare History Project Social Work Page 10

Daniel Coit Gilman’s Contributions to Social Work

This article brings the reader some evidence of social work history that has at the very least been neglected. Most people when asked who are the founders of social work were will mention Jane Addams, Mary Richmond, the Abbotts and maybe Ida Cannon, Charles Loring Brace and S. Humphreys Gurteen. The name of Daniel Coit Gilman is never included in the list of the greats. The case I shall make to you today is that his contributions to helping create the profession were at least as great as those still listed.

Richmond, Mary

Mary Richmond is considered a principle founder of the profession of social work and the importance of professional education. She constructed the foundations for the scientific methodology development of professional social work. She searched for the causes of poverty and social exclusion in the interaction between an individual and his or her environment.

Height, Dorothy Irene

Dr. Height held many positions in government and social service organizations, but she is best known for her leadership roles in the Young Womens Christian Association (YWCA), and the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW).

Halbert, Leroy Allen

By John E. Hansan, Ph.D. Leroy Allen Halbert (1875-1958) — Pioneer Social Worker, Director of the Nation’s First Department of Public Welfare, Advocate for the Unemployed, Social Reformer, and Author

Three Notable African American Women in Early Child Welfare

Written by Wilma Peeples-Wilkins, Boston University. “For the most part, social welfare history has focused on efforts to protect dependent and delinquent white immigrant children. Information on the care of African American children has been excluded. Because of racial separation and discrimination, information describing the care of African American children has often been left out. It is important to call special attention to this situation.”

The Scientific View of Social Work

Since its inception social work has struggled with the questions of the extent to which it should use and it could have confidence in basing practice on knowledge derived from the social and biological sciences. The Scientific Basis of Social Work is a volume that gives an emphatic yes to this query

More Than Sixty Years With Social Group Work

A personal and professional history written by Catherine P. Papell, Professor Emerita, Adelphi University School of Social Work. “Personal history is not Truth with a capital T. It is the way the past was experienced and the way the teller sees it. “

The Power of Group Work with Kids (2007)

Social group work’s origins are rooted by melding three early twentieth century social movements: the settlement house movement, progressive education movement and recreation movement (Breton, 1990). What all three have in common is the conviction that people have much to offer to improve the quality of their lives.

Early History of Group Work

Group work began to be accepted as a dimension of social work in America when it was given “Section” status by the organizers of the National Conference of Social Work (NCSW) in 1934….There existed considerable debate about what group work was – and where it belonged in the social work profession. Although group work methodology was developed primarily within recreation and informal education agencies it was increasingly being used in social work-oriented agencies, for example, within settings such as children’s institutions, hospitals, and churches. Influential social workers, such as Gertrude Wilson argued that group work was a core method of social work and not a field, movement, or agency.

Employee Assistance Programs

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) were developed from two sources Occupational Social Work and Occupational Alcoholism. Although Occupational Social Work had its beginnings in the early 20th century (Masi, 1982; Maiden, 2001), it has now evolved into EAPs as a practice model. Social Work schools continue to call specializations Occupational or Industrial Social Work.