Social work is a versatile profession - one that strives to assist individuals within diverse populations around the nation and beyond. Its development has been accompanied by advancements in the processes of rationalization, whose four dimensions (efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control) have caused complex changes in the application of social work practice over time.
Worry Amongst the Triumph - Industrialization
The Industrial Revolution pushed rationalization to new heights as tasks became standardized and productivity increased. While industrialization caused an influx of job opportunities to become available in urban cities, it had many detrimental impacts on those that became employed by such jobs with poor work environments and lower wages. Children became primarily affected by these conditions, signaling a new public interest in social welfare.
The Pursuits of Charity
During the mid-to-late 1800s, boards of charities, charity organization societies, and settlement houses were created to further address the growing issues of neglected and poor children, unemployment, and chronic disability in America. These organizations introduced practices of rationalization to social welfare by exercising controlled budgeting for initiatives regarding child welfare, collection of research data regarding the performance of state institutions (schools, hospitals, juvenile detention centers), and the creation and enforcement of child service rules and policies. Service volunteers, "friendly visitors," introduced the process of home visits to disadvantaged families that needed counseling as the 1900s emerged.
Elevation From the Dismay
World War 1 was approaching in America as the first social work educational programs focusing on hospital and school social work and child welfare were being implemented in select cities. Social activist Mary Ellen Richmond introduced the practice of social case work to Red Cross Home Service members during the war, as these members were able to perform such case work to help families in rural areas for the first time. Social welfare was once again becoming more efficient with a more unified approach to practice.
Although continuous chaos and uncertainty increased from the American public throughout the Great Depression and World War 2, social welfare became a necessity. Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal initiatives acknowledged the wide array of populations that needed relief assistance, creating workers that were skilled in specialized areas of social work. World War 2 also created a shift in American attention to mental health, eventually declaring social work's official name through more social welfare organizations. . The implementation of government programs during former President John F. Kennedy’s administration following World War 2 also moved social work funding away from sole volunteer work within non-profit sectors to paid work within public sectors.
Professionalism as Practice - Efficiency
Social work experienced criticism throughout the late 1900s, but it caused the profession to reach new levels of credibility. The Nixon and Reagan administrations pushed for Americans to partake in manual labor because it was argued to be more necessary and universally-achievable in the United States than social service. Social welfare organizations thus created state-wide social work licensing for workers to practice. Criticism from scholars regarding social work's lack of originality from other social sciences caused the formulation social work theory, amongst other theories.
Social work theories began to be used to make practice models that would inform the various interventions and/or activities that social workers use to help their clients. These models have increased how efficiently social workers may reach success or breakthroughs with their clients by implementing pre-designed assessments and understanding the complex lives of each individual. Problems may arise when social workers misinterpret efficiency, and don't think an occupation that aims to account for individual needs can incorporate efficient practices.
A Quest for Fulfillment - Calculability
Throughout the 2000s, social workers and their clients have experienced financial and personal difficulties stemming from the quantitative aspects of the field. Social workers are often given an estimate number of cases they must handle each day, which helps to keep their jobs organized, but also can cause workers to become overworked due to shortages in social workers in certain geographical locations. Many social work programs also give their welfare programs estimate costs for clients, but their costs may not always line up with successful outcomes for clients that use them.
When Rapport Declines - Predictability
Social work services typically become more predictable to clients when positive relationships are built between them. Social workers are usually required to work the same cases over long periods of time for this reason. However, workers may take on new positions within their organizations - increasing their responsibilities and decreasing the time they are able to spend with clients. Predictability of services can then become scarce, especially when new issues of clients arise every day.
Technology's Therapeutic Dominance - Control
In the past decade, social work has experienced technological advances that have made services largely accessible online. Technology has allowed social work to reach populations that could not otherwise receive aid due to financial, linguistic, or geographical struggles. It has also, however, caused the art of one-on-one interaction to take on new meanings, which some have argued to make social work more impersonal and give clients a false sense of support.
Concluding Remarks
Social work has had trials and tribulations in establishing social concerns and becoming a profession throughout the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. There is much hope for its future, but it is also important to consider the impacts of each force of rationalization on the future of social work's progression. If social welfare programs are not adjusted based on the costs of them and their intentions for communities, they might continue to create financial problems for clients that must seek assistance through other professionals. Estimates of client cases can continue to be helpful to social workers in giving them projected goals for each case, but can also continue to make workers feel overworked if there are not many social workers in a specific area. Depending on the relationships that are established between social workers that have been assigned a case to work over a long period of time and clients, predictability for clients may continue to be strong or weak. New technological advances within social work have created new means of therapy and social work for clients who potentially cannot receive help in physical means. As technology continues to evolve, technological social work may reach more individuals that are disabled or have other limitations of receiving in-person care, but can also damage the personable aspect of human service professions.
References
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Image Credits
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