Part 41 (2/2)

A still higher form of social work is preventive. Hand in hand with the giving of work to friendless men, and the curing of sick men, for example, we must undertake measures which will prevent a recurrence of unemployment on the one hand, and illness on the other. Preventive work is often indirect, but ultimately it is the most important type of social work.

Recently there has been a reaction against almsgiving or pure charity, and a distinct tendency to develop what may be called the concept of social service. Charity is too often concerned with the pauper cla.s.s; social service is a wider term and includes not only what was formerly known as charity, but also child welfare, settlement work, folk dancing, and other socializing activities which are helpful in a modern community, but which have nothing to do with alms. Charity too often pauperizes and degrades; social service encourages self-help and self-expression in the vital social relations. Formerly charity was almost exclusively the function of the pious and the sympathetic; the present tendency is for social service to become a distinct profession, administered by highly trained specialists.

285. THE STAGE OF SPECIALIZATION.--One of the signs that we are recognizing the growing need of an individualized treatment of dependents, is the degree to which our social service agencies are becoming specialized. The treatment of the dependent may take either an inst.i.tutional or a non-inst.i.tutional form. Let us briefly notice the specialization in each of these forms.

The almshouse, almost universal a century ago, is being rapidly displaced by a series of specialized inst.i.tutions. In most states there are now separate inst.i.tutions for the treatment of the pauperized, the diseased, the blind, the deaf, the insane, the feeble- minded, and the otherwise dependent. Inmates of these inst.i.tutions are given special treatment by experts. When the defect has been remedied, the patient is released; in case remedy is impossible, the individual is segregated and accorded humane and sympathetic treatment during the rest of his life. This prevents the untold harm of releasing defective and irresponsible people into the community. Inst.i.tutions of this character are largely under state control, and are intended primarily for individuals who cannot be properly treated in their homes.

Dependents who are only slightly or temporarily handicapped, or who are not in need of special treatment, may be best cared for in their homes and by private individuals or a.s.sociations. In this non- inst.i.tutional form of social service there is also a high degree of specialization. The casual almsgiver has been succeeded by a whole series of social service agencies. Prisoners' aid societies, employment bureaus, immigrant aid societies, flower missions, Americanization clubs, recreation centers, housing clubs, community nursing clubs, and scores of other organizations have sprung up. Every large city in the United States has several hundred of these organizations, each attacking social problems of a special type.

286. NECESSITY OF COoRDINATION.--Specialization in social service has been followed by the development of means of coordinating the various specialized agencies.

That there is urgent need of such coordination has been repeatedly called to our attention. It is still true that often the inst.i.tutions for the dependent cla.s.ses within a single state pursue different methods, and so limit their separate fields that many types of dependents are inadequately cared for.

Among the large number of private agencies there has been a great waste of time and energy. The fact that each society is independent of its fellows has meant that in some fields of social service efforts were duplicated, while other fields were neglected. Cases demanding treatment by several agencies could not be given adequate care because of the lack of correlation among such agencies. Beggars often imposed upon a number of different societies by a.s.suming different names. Each society had its own periods of campaigning for funds, a practice which meant an excess of tag-days and campaigns and a waste of time and energy on the part of social workers.

287. COoRDINATION OF PUBLIC INSt.i.tUTIONS.--The coordination of public inst.i.tutions for the dependent and defective cla.s.ses proceeded rapidly after 1880. At present the situation in the various states is somewhat as follows:

The actual administration of local inst.i.tutions is generally in the hands of the town or county authorities. Large cities, however, often have a system of inst.i.tutional relief separate from that of the county in which they are located. In many states the local authorities are subject to some measure of central supervision by a state board, which is called by various names. In most cases this is merely an advisory board with power to inspect state inst.i.tutions, and to make recommendations to the governor or state legislature. More recently, there is a tendency to go still further, and to reorganize and consolidate the various state inst.i.tutions so as to bring them directly under the control of a state board or commission. In several states the board is already one of control, that is to say, it has the power not only to inspect the various inst.i.tutions of the state, but also the power to appoint their superintendents, and, in general, to administer the inst.i.tutional relief of the state.

288. COoRDINATION OF PRIVATE AGENCIES.--The movement to coordinate social service agencies of a private nature has been relatively slow and unsatisfactory. This has been due, partly to the large number of societies involved, and partly to the lack of any centralized authority to supervise such organizations. In some large cities there has been a considerable degree of consolidation among societies which are purely charitable, but among the large number of social service organizations which are not purely charitable, the coordinating process has not gone beyond the functional stage. In this stage the various social service agencies of a city remain separate and distinct, but may become members of a council or federation which serves to coordinate their various functions. [Footnote: In this functional coordination the ”consolidated” or ”united” charities of the city generally appear as a single organization.]

The aim of this functional coordination is to secure the greatest degree of cooperation possible without the actual amalgamation of the cooperating agencies. Imposition by beggars is unlikely, because a clearing house of information keeps the various agencies informed as to the work of one another. By periodic reference to a centralized system of card indices, different societies may keep informed to what types of social work are being duplicated, and as to which lines of effort are being neglected. Where the social service agencies of a city are thus coordinated, an applicant applies to the central agency and is then directed to the organization best suited to meet his needs. Such coordinating agencies stress the necessity of scientific work which will aid in the adjustment of personal relations and help secure the maximum of result with the minimum of expenditure.

289. THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE FUTURE.--The small, stable, and relatively unprogressive neighborhood of the early European period has disappeared before the important economic, social, and political changes of the last five centuries. The typical neighborhood of modern times is larger, more inclined to be made up of transient and dissimilar types of people, and more impersonal. It is more progressive, but more likely to hold hazards for the average individual. The whole period since the Industrial Revolution has been one of neighborhood readjustment, of which many aspects of the problems of crime, the family, and dependency are phases. The new type of neighborhood has probably come to stay, but there are indications that life in the community of the future will prove less and less hazardous. The development of professional social service, growing out of the charity movement, but now embracing community work of every kind, will probably lessen the evils of the modern neighborhood, and retain its desirable features.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. Describe the character of the medieval neighborhood.

2. What factors contributed to the breakdown of the medieval neighborhood?

3. What effect did the Industrial Revolution have upon the neighborhood?

4. What is the extent of dependency in modern times?

5. What are the economic causes of dependency?

6. What are the social causes of dependency?

7. What are the personal causes of dependency?

8. How may defects in government contribute to dependency?

9. Discuss the giving of alms in early Europe.

10. Why is almsgiving inadequate as a method of treating dependency?

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