1 Chapter 1: What is Social Welfare?

By definition, social welfare is the well-being of a society. The well-being of a society is ensured through the collective response to needs or problems that hinder the healthy functioning of individuals within their families, communities and the larger environment. Social welfare can be summarized as the supports and services that individuals, families, communities and societies need to live productive and self-determined lives.

In the U.S., social welfare is provided by charitable organizations, volunteers, nonprofit and for profit agencies and the government at all levels. At the local, state and federal level, social welfare comes through legislative policy or the lack of policies, designed to either promote or discourage activities, programs and financial support. Social welfare can also come through the executive branch, in terms of executive orders and administrative priorities and through the judicial system by way of court decisions. The provision of social welfare is also impacted by agency policy which can either ease or hinder access to services.

This entry on Social Policy from the Encyclopedia of Macro Social Work  provides a fuller definition.

Section 1.1 Why do we need to study social welfare?

In social work, we focus on how social welfare either benefits or impedes the well-being of vulnerable populations. The National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics states,

“Social workers should promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels, and the development of people, their communities, and their environments. Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice. (NASW, 2022).

Social workers do this through advocacy for policies and programs that ensure all people, particularly those at higher risks for oppression and discrimination have access to the supports and services they need to be successful. This is explicitly stated in Section 6.04:

(a) Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.

(b) Social workers should act to expand choice and opportunity for all people, with special regard for vulnerable, disadvantaged, oppressed, and exploited people and groups.

(c) Social workers should promote conditions that encourage respect for cultural and social diversity within the United States and globally. Social workers should promote policies and practices that demonstrate respect for difference, support the expansion of cultural knowledge and resources, advocate for programs and institutions that demonstrate cultural competence, and promote policies that safeguard the rights of and confirm equity and social justice for all people.

(d) Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical ability. (NASW, 2022).

In order to meet this standard, social workers must be knowledgeable about the historical development of social welfare in the U.S. According to the Council on Social Work Education 2015 Education Policy and Accreditation Standards,

“Social workers identify social policy at the local, state, federal, and global level that affects wellbeing, human rights and justice, service delivery, and access to social services. Social workers recognize the historical, social, racial, cultural, economic, organizational, environmental, and global influences that affect social policy. Social workers understand and critique the history and current structures of social policies and services and the role of policy in service delivery through rights based, anti-oppressive, and anti-racist lenses. Social workers influence policy formulation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation within their practice settings with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social workers actively engage in and advocate for anti-racist and anti-oppressive policy practice to effect change in those settings. (CSWE, 2022, pg. 10).

Section 1.2 What are vulnerable populations?

As noted in the last section, social workers focus specifically on populations that are at higher risks for oppression and discrimination and/or have less access to the supports and services they need to be successful.

Here are some ways to understand the term “vulnerable populations”:

“Those individuals or groups who have a greater probability of being harmed by specific social environments or health problems than the population as a whole.” (Barker, 2003, p. 459)

“Populations at risk are people at greater risk of deprivation and unfair treatment because they share some identifiable characteristic that places them in a diverse group.” (Kirst-Ashman, 2013, p. 61).

“…groups most likely to experience poverty, for reasons beyond their own control but not due to chance or laziness” (Suppes & Wells, 2009, p. 89).

Jansson (2012) listed several categories of vulnerabilities including economic, racial, sociological (meaning outside the norms of society), non-conformist (meaning not conforming to typical values and beliefs) and dependent (less sufficient to care for themselves).

Obviously, not everyone who is a racial minority, grows up in poverty or is LGBTQ will live a terrible life and fail to reach their goals. What we understand though is that certain populations are more likely to encounter obstacles that will impact their lives without adequate support to handle them.

One way to understand this is to consider a glass ornament being put away after the holidays. In the first situation, the ornament is just put on a shelf in the back room – no wrapping, no box. The second situation has the ornament wrapped in paper towels and put in a plastic bin with all the other holiday decorations. And finally, the third ornament is wrapped in bubble wrap, then placed in a small box that is then placed in a box with other similarly protected items. We know that there is a likelihood that all the ornaments will survive until the next holiday. But we also know that it is most likely that the third ornament has the best chance of a long healthy life.

When we are considering who is considered vulnerable or who is at most risk, it is very important that we remember our social work values. Understanding the situation that a person, family or community might be in is different from assuming that they are a victim or to be pitied. Our value of dignity and worth of all people calls us to focus on the strengths and resilience of our clients, recognizing that they need support not sympathy.

Section 1.3 What is a social problem?

Social problems are conditions in a society that negatively affect a large group of people in a consequential way. Social problems are often felt by individual people but they are bigger than individual problems in that they prevent those affected from achieving a sense of well-being. Determining what is a social problem and why it is a social problem takes some thought and is very often hotly debated. Some social problems are easy to identify: child abuse and neglect; poverty; food insecurity; and substance abuse. But there are other issues that aren’t quite as clear such as climate change; institutional racism; and inequity.

A good example of this is mass shootings. In May 2022, an 18 year old walked into an elementary school in Texas and killed 21 people. The shooter legally bought several assault rifles shortly after his 18th birthday, in a state that has extensive right-to-carry laws (Dey, 2022). Everyone would agree that the killing of 19 second, third and fourth graders while they were in school is a problem. Everyone would agree that it is a problem that this 18 year old entered the school and shot 21 people.

However, things get more complicated when we try to identify what the social problem is in this case. Is access to assault rifles the problem? Is it lack of access to mental health treatment (assuming the shooter had mental illness)? Is the problem that the teachers did not have weapons to stop the shooter before he was able to kill so many people? Or, is this perhaps a tragedy but not a social problem? How we understand this issue and what we believe the solution should be is related to our own values and beliefs. Those values and beliefs are reflected in who we vote for and then who represents us in our local, state and national legislative and executive branches. We will discuss this further in the next chapter but it is important to understand that social welfare policy is driven by our understanding of what social problems need to be addressed.

All accredited BSW programs must cover policy history in some format. But you also may have your own personal questions about how we provide access to supports and services in the US. If you are pursuing a social work degree or minor, you are cognizant of the fact that some populations in the US are more likely to experience barriers in achieving self-determination and self-sufficiency. You probably understand the concept of privilege but may wonder why we haven’t been able to ensure that everyone has the same opportunities to succeed. You may question why we are the only industrialized country that does not have universal healthcare or why we don’t have university preschool. Or why racism and sexism continue to be significant barriers for half of the citizens of our country.

Throughout American history, we have had big societal conversations about the role of religion and the private market in the development of policy and the role of the government in addressing social welfare concerns. How have we defined and addressed these issues in the past and how will that impact what we do going forward?

Through understanding how social welfare developed over time, and reflecting on the societal values, beliefs and norms that impacted that development, we will be able to more successfully target our advocacy efforts in the future.

References

Barker, R.L. (2014). The Social Work Dictionary, 6th Edition.  NASW Press.

Council on Social Work Education. (2022). Educational policy and accreditation standards for baccalaureate and master’s social work programs. https://www.cswe.org/getmedia/bb5d8afe-7680-42dc-a332-a6e6103f4998/2022-Educational-Policy-and-Accreditation-Standards-(EPAS).pdf

Danziger, S., & Staller, K. (2008). Social Problems. In T. Mizrahi & L.E. Davis (Eds.-in-  chief), Encyclopedia of Social Work (20th ed.) NASW Press and Oxford University Press.   http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195306613.001.00  01/acref-9780195306613-e-369.

Dey, S. (2022, May 24). 21 killed at Uvalde elementary in Texas’ deadliest school shooting ever. The Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/24/uvalde-texas-school-shooting/

DiNitto, D., & Johnson, D.  (2021). Social Welfare Policy: Overview. Encyclopedia of Social Work.
https://oxfordre.com/socialwork/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.001.0001/acrefore-9780199975839-e-607

Gitterman, A. (2014). Handbook of social work practice with vulnerable and resilient populations (Third edition). Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/gitt11396

Jansson, B.S. (2012). The Reluctant Welfare State (7th ed.). Brooks/Cole

Kirst-Ashman, K.K. (2013). Introduction to Social Work & Social Welfare (4th ed.). Brooks/Cole.

National Association of Social Workers. (2022). NASW code of ethics.
https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Suppes, M.S. & Wells, C.C. (2009). The Social Work Experience (5th ed.) Pearson.