social welfare agencies

Readings
From the Social Welfare: A History of American Response to Need text:

Read Chapter 5, “Progress and Reform: 1900–1930,” pages 115–155.
Multimedia
Review the audio interviews:

Policy Creation.
Review what to keep in mind when preparing a policy analysis:

Identify the frameworks for evaluating social policy.
Identify how social problems affect diverse populations.

1. The Rise of the Social Work Profession
During the Civil War, American women became active in public life. Explain the role of women during this era. How was women’s involvement during this time a precursor to the development of the social work profession? Describe the factors that led to the development of the social work profession. Include in your analysis how the two historical traditions of the settlement house movement and the charity organizations influenced the structure of the social work profession.

How did the fledgling profession reflect the values of the times? Have these values changed over the years? How so?

2. Social Agencies as Instruments of Oppression
Describe how social welfare agencies discriminated against African Americans and how these same systems may still oppress them. Use your personal and work experience as well as course readings to respond to this question. You may also need to do some outside research.