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Chapter 1 An Introduction to Human Services 9
infants and youth who did not have families to care for them. The Social
Work fi eld expanded. Many charitable organizations, including places of
worship, stepped up to care for those in need.
Mary Richmond began the Charitable Organization Society (COS). This
society offered care for the needy. Jane Addams founded the US Settlement
House Movement. This movement led the crusade toward not just
providing charity, but also looking at the causes of poverty and initiating
change. At the same time, the modern fi eld of psychology developed. This
resulted in a greater understanding of the concept that people could be
helped in ways beyond just meeting the basic needs of food, clothing, and
shelter.
As culture ideologies began to change, world events continued.
World War I, and later the Great Depression of the 1930s, resulted in many
Americans being displaced, disabled, unemployed, homeless, or widowed
without fi nancial support. This led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to
initiate the New Deal. The New Deal focused on offering relief for those
in need and recovery from the current crisis. It also focused on reforming
systems so an economic depression such as was currently being felt
would not be experienced again.
Around this time, the US government passed the Social Security Act of
1935. This act provided for the retired elderly and widows and dependent
children of deceased workers. It eventually included those with special
needs. Other government programs provided employment for youth
and assistance to those with special needs (such as blindness). Hospitals
specializing in mental health care were also formed.
World War II followed the Great Depression. Economic recovery
eventually came from manufacturing. Postwar life in the US made the
American Dream of fi nancial independence real for many families. The
ideological changes of the early part of the century, however, had changed
the way many Americans viewed poverty and needs within their
communities. Ideas shifted from care being a responsibility of the family
and places of worship to being a responsibility of the government and
private or corporate service providers. As a result, career opportunities in
the human services fi eld expanded at a rapid pace.
During the latter part of the twentieth century and into the present
time, government within the US continued to expand services. The
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is part of the federal
government that administers and oversees programs and services
concerning health and welfare. Programs such as Head Start and the
Family and Medical Leave Act are just a couple of the services that have
resulted from the HHS. Head Start is a government-funded preschool
program that focuses on preparing disadvantaged children for school.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows full-time employees
to take unpaid job-protected leave for family transitions involving close
family members, such as spouses, children, and parents.
Expert Insight
“Social advance
depends as much
upon the process
through which it
is secured as upon
the result itself.”
Jane Addams, pioneer
social worker