The goal of social welfare is to fulfill the social, financial, health, and recreational requirements of all individuals in a society. Social welfare seeks to enhance the social functioning of all age groups, both rich and poor. When other institutions in our society, such as the market economy and the family, fail at times to meet the basic needs of individuals or groups of people, then social services are needed and demanded.
In more primitive societies, people’s basic needs have been fulfilled in more direct and informal ways. Even in this country, less than 150 years ago, most Americans lived on farms or in small towns with extended families and relatives close by. If financial or other needs arose, relatives, the church, and neighbors were there to “l(fā)end a helping hand.” Problems were visible and personal; everyone knew everyone else in the community. When a need arose, it was taken for granted that those with resources would do whatever they could to alleviate the difficulty. If, for example, the need was financial, personal acquaintance with the storekeeper or banker usually was sufficient to obtain needed goods or money. Clearly, we are now living in a different era. Our technology, economic base, social patterns, and living styles have changed dramatically. Our commercial, industrial, political, educational, and religious institutions are considerably larger and more impersonal. We tend to live in large urban communities, away from families or relatives, frequently without even establishing acquaintances with neighbors. We have become much more mobile, often having few roots and limited knowledge of the community in which we live. Vocationally, we also have specialized and become more interdependent on others, and as a result we have diminishing control over large aspects of our lives. Our rapidly changing society is a breeding ground for exacerbating former social ills and creating new problems, such as the expanding number of homeless people, higher crime rates, recurring energy crises, terrorism, and the destruction of our environment. Obviously, the old rural-frontier methods of meeting social welfare needs are no longer viable.
It is the business of social welfare:
To find homes for parentless children.
To rehabilitate people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs.
To treat those with emotional difficulties.
To make life more meaningful for the aged.
To provide vocational rehabilitation services to the physically and mentally handicapped.
To end all types of discrimination.
To counteract provide child-care services for working mothers.
To counteract problems and violence in families, including child abuse and spouse abuse.
To fulfill the health and legal exigencies of those in financial need.
To counsel individuals and groups having a wide variety of personal and social difficulties.
To provide services to persons with AIDS and their families and friends.
To provide recreational and leisure-time services to all age groups.
To educate and provide socialization experiences to children who are mentally retarded or emotionally disturbed.
To serve families struck by such physical disasters as fires and tornadoes.
To provide adequate housing for the homeless.
To provide programs that support and enhance the normal growth and development of all children and adults.
To provide vocational training services and employment opportunities to the unskilled and unemployed.
To meet the special needs of Native Americans, migrant workers, and other minority groups.
In more primitive societies, people’s basic needs have been fulfilled in more direct and informal ways. Even in this country, less than 150 years ago, most Americans lived on farms or in small towns with extended families and relatives close by. If financial or other needs arose, relatives, the church, and neighbors were there to “l(fā)end a helping hand.” Problems were visible and personal; everyone knew everyone else in the community. When a need arose, it was taken for granted that those with resources would do whatever they could to alleviate the difficulty. If, for example, the need was financial, personal acquaintance with the storekeeper or banker usually was sufficient to obtain needed goods or money. Clearly, we are now living in a different era. Our technology, economic base, social patterns, and living styles have changed dramatically. Our commercial, industrial, political, educational, and religious institutions are considerably larger and more impersonal. We tend to live in large urban communities, away from families or relatives, frequently without even establishing acquaintances with neighbors. We have become much more mobile, often having few roots and limited knowledge of the community in which we live. Vocationally, we also have specialized and become more interdependent on others, and as a result we have diminishing control over large aspects of our lives. Our rapidly changing society is a breeding ground for exacerbating former social ills and creating new problems, such as the expanding number of homeless people, higher crime rates, recurring energy crises, terrorism, and the destruction of our environment. Obviously, the old rural-frontier methods of meeting social welfare needs are no longer viable.
It is the business of social welfare:
To find homes for parentless children.
To rehabilitate people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs.
To treat those with emotional difficulties.
To make life more meaningful for the aged.
To provide vocational rehabilitation services to the physically and mentally handicapped.
To end all types of discrimination.
To counteract provide child-care services for working mothers.
To counteract problems and violence in families, including child abuse and spouse abuse.
To fulfill the health and legal exigencies of those in financial need.
To counsel individuals and groups having a wide variety of personal and social difficulties.
To provide services to persons with AIDS and their families and friends.
To provide recreational and leisure-time services to all age groups.
To educate and provide socialization experiences to children who are mentally retarded or emotionally disturbed.
To serve families struck by such physical disasters as fires and tornadoes.
To provide adequate housing for the homeless.
To provide programs that support and enhance the normal growth and development of all children and adults.
To provide vocational training services and employment opportunities to the unskilled and unemployed.
To meet the special needs of Native Americans, migrant workers, and other minority groups.