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PHILOSOPICAL AND KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION IN SOCIAL WORK
UNIT 2
HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
OUTLINE
I.
II.
III.
Development of Social Welfare in Europe and England
Development of Social Welfare in United States
Development of Social Welfare in the Philippines
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History and Evolution of Social Work Practice
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At the beginning of time, human society has engaged in mutual aid and that dominance over the weak
was not at all mattered. The head of the family or tribe protected his group against external threats to
its security. However, the weak, disabled or incapacitated were often neglected or abandoned for they
were considered a burden and, in the old days, society did not know how to cope with these human
conditions.
With the growth of religion, the priests assumed responsibility of the disadvantaged groups. They
appealed to their more fortunate members of the community to share their worldly goods by giving
alms and donations which religious leaders distributed among the needy. The established religions of
the world have always maintained that is obligatory for their followers to have a compassionate concern
for the needy and those in trouble.
Religious charity became an institutionalized approach to the amelioration of social problems in many
societies
a) Islam – zakaat (power tax) was the practical expression of charity
b) Buddhism (Thailand) – monks in their saffron robes with their ubiquitous bowls as an expression
of their religion
c) Gore (India) – individual acts of charity such as giving out food, grain, or clothing exemplified
religious approach to social problem
d) Hinduism – earthly rewards and after life consequences are expected after acts of charity
e) Judean and Christian teachings - emphasizes that helping the needy is a religious duty.
Moreover, public acts of altruism bestow merit and increase the donor’s standing in the community
EUROPE
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As Christianity came to be accepted in the influence of the church grew, monasteries established
institutions to house the orphans, the homeless, the sick, and the handicapped. Some religious orders
(Franciscans) devoted much of their time collecting alms and distributing them to the sick and the poor.
As a result, mendicancy grew in Europe, and this soon caused conflict with the state, which continued
toward the end of the Middle Ages.
The monasteries and similar institutions which used to house the aged and the sick soon began to be
partly replaced by “hospitals” established through donations from members of royal and aristocratic
families in Europe. These efforts, however, failed to check vagrancy and mendicancy, despite the
enactment of the many European states of statutes which imposed severe penalties.
16TH Century
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During the period or Reformation, while church leaders continued to play the leading role in the
administration of relief to the needy, efforts were started to make local authorities assume this
responsibility.
Martin Luther – In 1520 at Germany, he appealed to the nobility to forbid begging, but, instead, to
organize a “common chest” to all parishes to receive donations for the needy from citizens. Other
communities in many European nations developed similar programs, causing more serious conflicts with
the church which were then the object of criticisms for mismanagement of their institution and abuse of
funds.
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Juan Luis de Vives – a Spanish philosopher who called attention to the need to look into the social
conditions of the needy in society. A noted scientist of his time, he developed a program of poor relief
which would involve dividing the city into parish quarters, with a team assigned to each quarter to
investigate the social condition of every pauper family, providing for aid through the customary
distribution of alms, and the commitment to hospital (almhouse) of the aged and unemployable.
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However, it was not until two and a half centuries later that Vives’ plan was applied in practice. This was
in Hamburg (1788) and in Munich (1790), and the new relief system were financed by taxation and
collection of voluntary gifts. Later, this relief system came to be known as the “Elberfeld System,” as the
city of Elberfeld introduced the same plan in 1853, financing it exclusively from public taxation, with the
added feature of having the volunteer social investigators live in the same quarter as the poor whom
they supervised, so that they became truly familiar with their conditions. A large of other European
cities later followed the same program.
17th Century
Father Vincent de Paul
 he was the most important reformer of charities in the Catholic Church during the 17th century
in France.
 He devoted his life to the improvements of charities especially for prisoners and their families
(having shared their fate for many years when he was captured by pirates and sold as a slave),
for orphans, illegitimate children, and for the sick and the hungry.
 He was able to arouse serious interest among the aristocracy as the plight of these people and
obtained large foundations for the setting up of institutions to house them.
 He also organized a lay order called “Ladies of Charity” whose members visited the poor in their
homes, distributing food and clothes.
 In 1633, he founded another order, “Daughters of Charity” composed of young women from
peasant class who devoted themselves to nursing the sick and the handicapped, and attending
to the poor. This group is considered as the forerunner of the modern social worker.
 The ideas of Father Vincent started reforms in the entire charity program under Catholic
auspices in many other Catholic countries.
18th and 19th Century
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This period was the rise of industrialization and urbanization that spawned new social problems.
Almsgiving and institutionalization were no longer sufficient to meet people’s needs. Voluntary
associations were set up in England and United States and many of these organizations were originally
motivated by religious ideas but later on they assumed humanitarian ideals which were thought to be
broader than religious commitment.
England
Middle Ages (13th-15th Century)
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England, as in other European countries, care of the poor was church activity. People gave alms to the
poor for the salvation of their souls, out of concern for their condition.
England made a distinction between two classes of the poor.
a) The able-bodied who could earn a living, and
b) The impotent poor who could not work (handicapped, aged, sick, young children, pregnant
women)
Thousands of monasteries, convents and hospitals, operated by religious orders and funded by the
aristocracy, relieved the parish churches of a great deal of responsibility for caring for the poor and the
needy. Little, if at all, was done to change their social condition.
The work of the church through its monasteries and convents (considered the most important charitable
institutions of this period) was supplemented by the relief activities of the guilds (craft and merchant
guilds, social or church guilds were very much like fraternity groups) for the purpose of mutual self-help,
brotherhood, and fellowship. These guilds helped their needy members as well as the needy residents
of their town.
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The Statute of Laborers of 1349 – issued by King Edward III was the first law for the poor in England to
prevent begging and vagrancy. It ordered the poor but able-bodied to accept any employment from any
master willing to hire them, and forbade them to leave their parish. Extremely cruel punishment like
mutilation of the ears and nose, hanging, etc. was ordered for beggars and vagrants.
16TH Century
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The Statute of Henry VIII in 1531 – marked the beginning of recognition of public responsibility for the
poor. The aged and pauper unable to work were to be registered and licensed to beg at an assigned
area. However, brutal punishment for other beggars and vagrants was continued.
The Reformation made for a fundamental change in the entire system of charities for the poor in
England. One of its features was the secularization (or conversion form religious to state ownership and
use) of monasteries and hospitals. Guilds and other benevolent foundations withdrew from their former
activities for the poor.
Statute of Henry VIII in 1536 – which was the first plan of public relief under the government of
England. It ruled that paupers should be registered in their parishes only after they had resided in the
country for three years. The impotent poor were to be maintained by the parish through church
collections. Able-bodied beggars were forced to work and idle children were separated from their
parents and assigned to masters for training.
As the ranks of the poor and the vagrants swelled, various legislations had to be established, mostly
through taxation, to fund the poor relief system, which was characterized among other things, by
“houses of correction” in which able-bodied poor were forced to work, and “almhouses” for the
impotent poor.
17th Century
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Poor Law of 1601 (Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601)
 All previous legislations in relation to the poor were codified into this law.
 It confirmed local community responsibility for the maintenance of the poor who were not
supported by relatives, with the important feature of “residence” (or “settlement right”) as
qualification for relief, that is, assistance was to be limited to the poor who has lived in the
parish for the last three years,
 The principle of “relative or family responsibility” so that no destitute could qualify for public
relief if he had relatives who could support him.
 It distinguished the poor into the able-bodied poor, the impotent poor and dependent children,
with rules and schemes for each group.
18th Century
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Poor Law Reforms
o The Poor Law Ammendment of 1782, known as “Gilbert Act” transferred from “indoor relief” to
“outdoor relief,” which provided that persons able and willing to work should be maintained in their
own homes until they found employment.
o Speenhamland Act of December 24, 1795 authorized relief allowances in the homes of the poor,
according to the size of the family, either for their support or to supplement low wages.
o The practice of outdoor relief soon also was a failure, for not only did it result in higher taxation
because of the number of people who had to be maintained, but it destroyed workers’ incentive to
work well.
Reverend Thomas Chalmers
 A parish minister from Scotland, organized a program of private charity on the principle of
neighborly aid.
 He visited the poor in their homes and found them to have numerous health and personal
problems which were not known before. He found the practice of public and church relief was
wasteful, demoralized the pauper, destroyed his will of self-support, that it removed the will
to help one’s relatives, friends, neighbors; and that it failed to mobilize philanthropists to help
the poor.
 He therefore suggested that...
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a) each case be carefully investigated, the cause of destitution determined, and the
possibilities of self-support be developed;
b) relatives, friends and neighbors care for the needy members of the community
when self-support was not possible
c) some wealthy citizen be found to maintain the family in the absence of relatives or
friends who can help
d) the deacon of the district should ask the congregation or church members if none
of the preceding measures succeeded.
 Chalmer’s important contribution to the field of charity was his philosophy of personal,
parochial relief. Although, like his contemporaries, he considered personal failures as the main
cause of poverty, and overlooked the economic and social factors beyond the power of the
individual, his personal interest in the condition of the destitute was important to the progress
of relief work.
London Charity Organization
 Fifty years later, they organized a program of relief that was in the main, based on Chalmer’s
ideas. The city was divided into districts and well-to-do volunteers were recruited to take a
strong personal interest in poor families assigned to them.
 However, the main emphasis of their work was to exert influence on the poor so they would
change their lives.
 They laid the first foundation for the individual approach in social work which was later to be
called “casework”.
19th Century
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New Poor Law of 1834
o The enactment of this law on August 14, 1834 made further changes in existing poor laws.
o The stature had provisions to a) abolish “partial relief” to the poor in their homes which made
permanent paupers out of them; b) place all able-bodied applicants for relief in the workhouse;
c) grant “outdoor relief” only to the sick, the old, the invalid, and widows with young children;
d) coordinate the administration of relief of several parishes into a “poor law union;” e) make
the conditions of poor relief recipients less desirable than those of the lowest paid worker in the
community, or the “principle of less eligibility;” and f) establish a central board of control to be
appointed by the King.
o The rigid, repressive measures of the Poor Law in 1601 were continued in this law as if poverty
in England is a crime.
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Social Reform Movements
o Several approaches for improving the social conditions of workers were introduced, among
which were consumers’ cooperatives (started by a labor organization, the Chartists in 1844),
mutual benefit plans for members of trade unions, providing aid in case of sickness, accident,
unemployment, invalidity and old age.
o After the collapse of the Chartists in 1848, the Christian Socialists, a group of religious and
intellectual reformers, pursued improvements for members of the working class through the
latter’s education and spiritual development. The group sponsored cooperative associations
among the workers of various industries and developed night classes for adult education.
o The rapid growing urban population in the nineteenth century created unsatisfactory housing
conditions, slums, and the accompanying health problems. Octavia Hill with the help of
philosopher-friend, John Ruskin, started a project of rebuilding slum tenements in London. She
changed slums into sanitary, decent living quarters, and rented them at low prices to working
families who could not afford to pay higher rents.
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Charity Organization Societies (COS)
o The Society for Organizing Charitable Relief and Repressing Mendicity was founded In London
in 1869, and shortly, renamed the Charity Organization Society. It followed Chalmer’s ideas that
the individual is responsible for his poverty and the acceptance of relief destroyed self-respect
and led to dependency.
o The C.O.S. was against the extension of public poor relief and encouraged, instead, the growth
of private charities and the initiative of volunteers for giving individual aid to families in
distress.
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It developed cooperation between government poor relief and private charities, eliminated
some frauds, prevented duplication of support, and strengthened the concept of rehabilitation
of the poor.
Toynbee Hall
 It is the first settlement house in London established in 1884 and named in honor of Arnold
Toynbee, who lived with and studied the life of the underprivileged.
 The settlement house facilitated contacts between educated men and women with the
poor for their mutual benefit, provided cultural and educational opportunities for the
poor, showed people the conditions of the poor and the need for social reforms, and
awakened interest in social and health problems in social legislations.
Social Research
o Charles Booth, a wealthy businessman, who, in 1886, hired people to conduct a research into
the real conditions of thousands of employed workers’ families. The study showed that onethird of the London population was living on or below the “poverty line”.
o The findings of the study disapproved the previous theory that poverty was always the fault of
the individual. They also showed that deterrent provision of the poor laws did not solve the
problems of the poor, and that destitution was often caused by insufficient wages, environment,
inadequate housing, and unhealthy working equipment.
20th Century
Poor Law Commission (1907)
 Established a policy of social reform which, among other things: a) abolished the punitive character of
poor relief in favor of humane public assistance program; b) abolished mixed almshouses; and c)
introduced a system of national pensions for the aged, free hospital treatment for the poor, gratuitous
public employment services, and a program of social insurance with unemployed and invalidity
benefits.
 This marked the start of social legislation in England followed shortly by laws which provided the ff.
a) Free school lunches in the elementary schools (1906)
b) Medical examination of school children (1907)
c) Weekly pensions for deserving poor over the age of seventy (1908)
d) National insurance plan with unemployment and health benefits (1911)
 The government embarked on more social legislation, including those for slum clearance and public
housing (1909), old age pensions to unemployable blind people, and consultation centers for expectant
mothers and children (1920).
 During World War (1939) brought more changes. Legislation provided for the payment of allowance to
war victims (1939), abolished the responsibility of grown-up children for their parents (1941), and
established additional pensions for the aged, particularly for medical care.
 Lord William Beveridge headed the committee in the re-examination of the entire British social
insurance and welfare program. In his comprehensive report (Beveridge Report) which devise a
comprehensive system system of social security based upon five program:
a) A unified, comprehensive, and adequate program of social insurance
b) A program of public assistance for people not sufficiently protected through social insurance
benefits
c) Children’s allowances
d) Comprehensive free health and rehabilitation services for the entire population
e) Maintenance of full employment through public works measures
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The Beveridge Report became foundation of the modern social welfare legislation of Great Britain and
model for other countries.
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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The colonist, mostly from England who settled in the US at the beginning of seventeenth century,
brought with them the customs, laws and institutions of that country. This included the attitude that
paupers and beggars were criminals.
The pauper was treated as a morally deficient person, regardless of the cause of his condition. He had to
swear the “pauper’s oath” and Pennsylvania, he was made to wear the letter “P” on the shoulder of his
right sleeve. The repressive, punitive character of poor relief that prevailed in Europe was maintained in
US
Besides public poor relief, private charities also existed in the form of (a) church charities which were
limited to members of the congregation (b) benevolent societies or associations of certain nationality
groups like the English, the Irish, the French, the Dutch and the German; and (c) the philantrophic
associations founded to aid groups in special need, such as public prisoners, fire victims, and widows
with small children.
19th Century
The deplorable conditions in the poorhouses in then colonies led to major change in poor relief during
this period. This included…
a) Private charities established orphanages and asylums for children and helpless old people
b) The state assumed responsibility for certain classes of poor, such as insane and the
feebleminded
c) Some local public relief authorities began to question old concept of poor relief with their
humiliating treatment of the poor
In connection with such social service under state auspices, the following “firsts” were among the most
important…
 First institution for the mentally ill, Eastern State Hospital (1773) at Williamsburg, Virginia
 Dr. Benjamin Rush, introduced humane treatment of the mentally ill in 1783, earning
the title “Father of American Psychiatry”.
 Dorothea Dix, publicly exposed, thru documentation, the suffering of mentally
disturbed patients, resulting in the construction of thirty-two hospitals for the mentally
ill in the US
 First state penal institution, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1790)
 First asylum for the deaf, Boston, Massachusetts (1821)
 First state school for the feebleminded, Boston, Massachusetts (1848)
 First prison for women, Sherborn, Massachusetts (1879)
The lack of coordination as well as a common standard in personnel management and care of the wards
in these institutions made for the creation in 1863 of the first State Board of Charities in Massachusetts
– a central agency for the supervision of all state charitable institutions. This was followed by other
states resulting in the better care and protection of dependent children who were removed from poor
houses and placed in state-licensed foster homes and improvement in the treatment of prisoners and of
the mentally ill.
It also promoted the more uniform and efficient of administration of local public relief and the
foundation of the National Conference of Charities and Correction (1871) which is now the National
Conference in Social Work.
The inadequacy and disorganization of public and private relief led to the founding in 1877 of the first
Charity Organization Society in 1877 at Buffalo, New York. It intended to avoid waste of funds,
competition, and duplication of work among the relief agencies through a board composed of
representatives of these agencies.
The COS required the social investigation of every relief applicant by a “friendly visitor” who, while
originally following the COS doctrine that poverty was a personal fault, soon discovered other causes of
poverty, and advocated for measures that would change the conditions of the poor. Among these are
the clearance of slums, improvement of housing, public health measure, loan societies, legal aid
bureaus, training centers for the rehabilitation of physically handicapped, hospitals and dispensaries,
juvenile courts, and child labor legislation.
The need for deeper understanding of human behavior, and of social and economic problems were felt
by the COS workers and volunteers and they asked for special training for social work.
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In 1879, Mary Richmond formulated the plan for the establishment of a Training School for Applied
Philantrophy, which led to the organization of the first social work courses in New York in 1898. Out of
this grew the recognition of the need for professional social work education.
The first settlement house in the US was established in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr
which was called the Hull House. Basically built for working people, particularly for immigrants, the
settlement house not only provided opportunities for cultural and intellectual growth, but provided
counseling assistance, day nursery, kindergarten, and social clubs for young people and stimulated
residents to work for legislation to improve housing, wages, and work conditions.
20th Century
President Theodore Roosevelt (1909)
 He invited the workers of child welfare agencies from all over the country to the White House for a
“Conference on the Care of Dependent Children.” The Conference led to the following significant
results…
 State Legislation providing mother’s pensions or allowances to enable widows and deserted
women to keep their children
 Creation of the Children’s Bureau by Congress 1912 to investigate and report upon all matters
pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of people
 Establishment of the Child Welfare League of America (1920), a voluntary nationwide
organization for the development of standards for child care and protection
 This was followed by several other conferences that discussed the needs and problems of all
children, called attention to the need to consider the total personality development of the child,
recommended a variety of social services for children, as well as the need for research and
professional skills for dealing with various group of children.
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President Franklin Rososevelt (1933)
 During the economic depression, local private welfare agencies could not cope with the financial
problems presented by masses of unemployed.
 Under his term, the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) was passed by Congress. It established the
principle of federal responsibility for human welfare. FERA was concerned mainly with the
administration of federal grants to the states to assist them in meeting the urgent needs of its
unemployed masses.
 The FERA was abolished in 1935 and was replaced by work relief program called Works Projects
Administration. Its objective was to employ millions of unemployed people who were on relief or
government assistance. It had furnished jobs to close to 8 million unemployed when it was closed in
1943 which greatly contributed to the improvement of the economic, health, welfare, and cultural
facilities of the US.
 Two programs for the youth were developed to prevent idleness and to prepare them for satisfactory
employment…
o Civilian Conservation Corps. (1933) – provided opportunities to the unemployed youth
between 17-25, unmarried, out-of-school, and in need of work, to enroll in CCC camp wehre
they received federal allowances. Camps were set up in national and state forests and parks.
The boys in the camps received medical care and technical vocational training for 6 months to 2
years. The CCC was terminated in 1942.
o National Youth Administration (1935) - this has 2 programs: a) the student-aid program which
provided part-time work with financial assistance to needy students between 16-24 years old to
enable them to continue their education, and b) the out-of-school work program which
provided employment on work projects which gave training and experience to unemployed
youth between 18-25. When NYA closed in 1944, it had served close to 5 million male and
female youth.
o The federal government established 2 programs for the small farmers; a) “rehabilitation” in
terms of easy-term loans, farm cooperatives, farm management and legal advice, etc. and b)
“social services” in terms of organized voluntary pre-paid medical and dental care, as well as
cash grants in case of sickness and accidents.
 Social Security Act of 1935 – introduced 3 main programs: a) a program of social insurance for old age
and unemployment; b) a program of public assistance for the aged, the needy, the blind, dependent
children, and the permanently and totally disabled; and c) a program of health and welfare services,
vocational rehabilitation and public health services.
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PHILIPPINES
Pre-Historic Period
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Pre-historic Filipinos lived in small scattered communities usually located along mouths or rivers and
coastal plains. These communities were independent social units called “barangays” (from boats with
such a name that were being used to move people from place to place) composed of parents, children,
relatives, and slaves.
The “Barangay” was often ruled by a headman, who was usually the oldest member of the community,
known as the “dato”. His responsibility was to oversee the welfare of the members of his Barangay. He
also functioned as arbiter of conflict and leader in times of danger.
Social welfare during this time centered around mutual protection and economic survival. This caused
groups to band together and communities to link with each other through marriage among their
members.
Spanish Period
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Communities were grouped together to form pueblos, creating large concentrations of people in an area
which resulted in health and sanitation problems, personal maladjustments, and economic dislocation.
There was also problem of destitution or indigency, resulting to punitive methods of the Spanish
conquerors toward the defiant “natives”. Pious encomenderos provided them aid, together with other
residents who respondent to the sick and the poor. The motive was religious.
Hospitals
 Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi established the first hospital in Cebu in 1565 for the purpose of
attending to the wounded resulting from occupation campaigns, as well as to victims of diseases
due to the long voyage at the sea or the peculiar conditions in the country. It was transferred to
Manila in 1571 and called the Hospitalito de Santa Ana under the supervision of the Franciscans.
When the American arrived, it was renamed Sternberg General Hospital (San Lazaro Hospital
founded on 1578 and San Juan de Dios Hospital founded in 1596 are reported to have originated
from this hospital).
 Other hospitals were soon established…
 San Gabriel (1587)
 Nueva Caceres in Naga (1645)
 Hospital Real (1612);
 Hospital for Convalescents in Bagumbayan (1742)
 San Lazaro Hospital, - known to have build to house Filipino beggars, it became a hospital for the
lepers in 1631 when 150 lepers arrived in the Philippines from Japan. This started the concept of
organized isolation of the sick, an idea credited to a Franciscan, Fr. Juan Clemente, who initiated
medical services for the poor in Manila.
 Because of large numbers of people requiring medical treatment, other hospitals were founded:
Manila Hospitals
Provincial Hospitals
 Hospicio de San Jose
 Hospital de Aguas Santas in Los Banos in 1602
 Hospital de Santiago
 Hospital of the Sangleys for the Chinese in 1630
 Hospital de Zamboanga in 1742
 Lepers Hospital in Cebu in 1850
 Sta. Cruz Infirmary in Laguna for convalescent missionaries in
1870
 Lepers Hospital in Naga in 1873)
Asylums and Orphanages
 With religious charity as their motivation, pious organizations also undertook the establishment of
asylums and orphanages for the poor and the needy.
 La Real Casa Misericordia (1594)
 Real Y.V.O.T. de Santo Domingo (1699)
 Venerable Third Order of Sampaloc (1611)  Founding Hospital for the mentally ill
 Archicofradia de Nuestro Padre de Jesus  Venerable Congregacion de Sacerdotes de
Nazareno de Recoletos (1655);
San Pedro Apostol (1868).
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Asilo de San Vicente de Paul - in 1885, an asylum for girls, was established, offering religious
instruction, primary education, and training in housework to its inmates. This was well-known
because of its good management and the training and discipline given its wards.
Hospicio de San Jose - was founded in 1882, originally to house the aged and orphans, the mentally
defective, and young boys requiring reform, but later limiting admission to children who were
discharged, later to be adopted or employed.
Schools
 Parochial School in Cebu in 1566 – first school established founded by Agustinian friars. Christian
religion, Spanish culture and language, music, writing, reading and arithmetic, and some vocational
courses were taught.
 Other schools established for boys…
For Boys
For Girls
 Colegio de San Ignacio (1589)
 Santa Isabel (1694)
 San Ildefonso College (1959)
 Santa Rosa (1750)
 Colegio de San Jose (1601)
 Sta. Catalina (1696)
 Colegio de San Felipe (1717)
 Artillery School (1754)
 Ateneo de Manila (1859) opened by Jesuits
out of the original Charity School called the
Obras Pias, established in 1817
 After the 1850’s, public schools started to be put up in the country. In 1876, there were 593 primary
schools with total enrollment of 138,990.
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The outbreak of revolution against Spanish government in the country led efforts that directed
mainly at the sick and wounded Filipino soldiers who needed medical care. Religious orders like the
“Hermanos” responded and several women provided leadership in nursing the wounded in the
battlefields, particularly after the execution of Dr. Jose Rizal.
The National Association of the Red Cross was organized in 1899, to provide medical supplied and
food to the revolutionaries in the provinces of Luzon.
American Period
1899
1902
1908
Feb 5, 1915
Jan 1917
1900
1917
1919 - 1921
The Americans occupied the country and introduced a new educational system, new health method,
and religious freedom.
The Insular Board, an agency created by the Civil government, following an epidemic of bubonic
plague, cholera, and small pox, to coordinate and supervise private institutions engaged in welfare
work. This was composed of government health officials and therefore effected important program
such as the regulation of the practice of medicine and the establishment of provincial and health
boards to oversee the health programs of the government. It also provided subsidy to expand the
services of certain hospitals and asylums which were under its supervision like…
 Women’s Hospital of Manila
 St. Paul’s Hospital
 Hospicio de San Jose
 San Juan de Dios Hospital
 St. Vincent de Paul
The following hospitals were established in this period…
 Philippine General Hospital (1908)
 University Hospital (under auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Services of America
 Mary Johnston Hospital (under auspices of the Methodist Church)
The American government created the Public Welfare Board with the passage of Legislative Act No.
2510, essentially to coordinate the welfare activities of various existing charitable organizations.
Government orphanage was set up in Makati, Rizal, the first government entity to operate as a
welfare agency, and an initial step in child welfare services. The orphanage had admission and
discharge policies and employed systematic investigations to establish the merit of applications.
Some attempt was made to alleviate the condition of deaf children at the Philippine Normal School,
and in 1910, a school for the deaf and the blind was organized.
Associated Charities of Manila was founded by a group of civic-spirited Americans and Filipinos,
having in mind the concept of a Community Chest, as it is now called.
The Associated Charities was fused with the American Red Cross (Philippine Chapter), but
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1905
1921-1923
1907
1910
1913
1921
1924
1926
1933
arrangement caused administrative problems and had to be given up.
Philippine chapter of the American Red Cross was established to take charge of disaster relief in the
country and administer American Red Cross funds from the United States. At the end of World War I,
the organizers of the Philippine Chapter decided to maintain the organization and set up programs
on a permanent peace-time basis. Between 1921 and 1923,
The Chapter established health centers in provinces and dental clinics in schools. In the succeeding
years, it came to be a soundly established social welfare agency.
La Gota de Leche was established to furnish child-caring institutions with fresh cow’s milk from a
dairy farm in Pasay, Manila, supervised by a veterinarian. This agency later opened a free
consultation clinic for mothers.
The Philippine Anti-Tuberculosis Society was organized , following the first meeting of the Far
Eastern Association of Tropical Medicine in Manila. With its aim of encouraging research and data
collection about tuberculosis and to combat the spread of the disease, the organization succeeded in
securing government support in 1911, which enabled the Society to open tuberculosis sanitarium in
Santol, Quezon City.
The Association de Damas Filipinas was organized by civic-spirited women to help destitute mothers
and their children, using funds obtained from membership fees, and later, funds granted by the
Public Welfare Board. In 1926, the association founded a Settlement House on Rizal Avenue, Manila
(transferring later to a new location in Paco, Manila), patterned after the Hull House in Chicago.
Admission was limited to persons made destitute by accident, chronic illness, or broken homes, or
who were victims of natural disasters, or were otherwise deserving.
The Office of the Public Welfare Commissioner was created under the supervision of the
Department of Interior. It absorbed the functions of the Public Welfare Board in coordinating and
intensifying the activities of child welfare organizations and agencies. This also intensified
educational campaigns particularly along maternal and child health, engaged in studies to find out
the causes of high infant mortality, established periculture centers and maternity houses, supervised
private charitable organizations, and conducted conferences and institutions, not only heighten the
health consciousness of health personnel and the general community but also to improve the
knowledge and skills of the former, for their respective function and task. Much of its activities were
coordinated with the Philippine Health Service, which may be considered the forerunner of the
present government health system.
The Associated Charities had become an independent agency under supervision of Public Welfare
Commissioner, and was being partly financed by the government, and partly by private
contributions.
Philippine Legislature passed a law (Philippine Legislative Act No. 3203) relating the care and
custody of neglected and delinquent children and providing probation officers for them. The boys’
and girls’ reformatories under the City of Manila became the Philippine Training School for Boys and
the Philippine Training School for Girls, and were placed under the supervision of the Office of the
Public Welfare Commissioner.
Some children in the government orphanage in Makati were transferred to Welfareville, a fiftyhectare compound in San Felipe Neri (now Mandaluyong), Rizal, supervised by the Division of
Dependent Children in the Office of the Public Welfare Commissioner. The Division introduced the
“congregate system” where wards were grouped in separate cottages – based on certain
considerations, such as the children’s needs and problems. The same division supervised child-caring
institutions receiving material and technical assistance from the government.
When Frank Murphy became Governor-General, the following significant developments were
made…
 Scholarship grants for professional training in social work in the US
 The legislature appropriated funds for the operation of government child and maternal
health centers
 Social health centers were established in selected communities
 Creation of the first Housing Committee which undertook a study of slums in Manila,
resulting in experimental housing project of 31 model houses in Tondo.
 Establishment of private colleges and technical schools were encouraged
 The National Economic Protectionism Association (NEPA) was organized to promote home
industries.
 Creation of the National Research Council and Unemployment Committee which led to the
creation of the National Emergency Relief Board to coordinate all private and government
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efforts to reduce unemployment and relieve distress caused by unavoidable unemployemnet
 Support to the women suffrage campaign, signing a law enacted by the Philippine
Legislature enfranchising women in 1933
 Approved a large appropriation to the Associated Charities, designating it as the Insular
Relief Agency to provide material assistance to the needy, elementary education and
handicrafts training to those who would otherwise be out of school, and training for social
work.
Dr. Jose Fabella
 Director of the Office of Public Welfare Commissioner in the 1930’s
 “Father of Philippine Social Welfare”
Josefa Jara Martinez
 First Filipina to obtained Diploma of Social Work from New York School of Social
Work in 1921
 She worked for the Public Welfare Board where she had started to introduce the
scientific approach in social work, and the was detailed to the Associated
Charities
Commonwealth Period
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In the fields of health and welfare, programs were expanded and improved and new services were
organized, such as rural charity clinics, quarantive service, and home for the mentally defective children
as well as for the aged and the infirm in Welfareville.
President Manuel L. Quezon prevailed upon the National Assembly to pass the anti-usury law, the
eight-hour labor law, laws in fixing minimum wages, law related to insurance, pensions, and women
and child labor. Furthermore, he initiated housing projects, making it possible for tenants to buy these
houses on easy installment plans. He created relief boards and other bodies to undertake relief activities
during periods of natural calamities, economic crisis, and unemployment.
In the 1940, the Office of the Commissioner of Health and Public Welfare was abolished and replaced by
Department of Health and Public Welfare in 1941, an Executive Order established under the Bureau of
Public Welfare a Public Assistance Service, which took over the activities that used to be performed by
the Associated Charities, which by then ceased to exist.
Japanese Occupation
Social welfare activities during the period consisted mainly of giving medical care and treatment, as well
as food and clothing, to the wounded soldiers, prisoners, and civilians.
The Bureau of Public Welfare which was closed when war broke out was reorganized by the Executive
Commission and instructed to attend to the general welfare of the residents and to give food and
comfort to released prisoners from concentration camps. In 1943, when food shortage became acute in
Manila, the Bureau had to cease operation.
Relief work during this period was undertaken primarily by volunteer organizations. Prominent among
these were the Philippine Red Cross, the Young Women’s Christian Association, and the National
Federation of Women’s League. At the same time, despite difficulties, several hospitals such as the
Philippine General Hospital, the St. Luke’s Hospital, the Mary Johnston Hospital, and the North
General Hospital continued to provide medical treatment , food, and shelter. In many instances,
churches and convents were used as centers of operations with members of religious organizations
doing their share of volunteer work.
After Liberation, workers of the Philippine War Relief, Inc., organized in the US by a group of
sympathetic Americans, accompanied the liberating army when it landed in Leyte in 1945, and assisted
the US army in the provision of medical services and material relief to prisoners of war and displaced
persons.
Other relief agencies which were active in the distribution of good to the war victims were…
o Emergency Relief Office
o Emergency Commission Administration
o Philippine Civic Affairs Unit
o Philippine Relief and Trade Rehabilitation Administration (PRTRA)
o United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA)
Post-War Years
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The Bureau of Public Welfare re-opened in 1946, but lack of funds greatly limited its operations. On
October 4, 1947, recognizing the need for a more centralized and better integrated social welfare
program, the Bureau became the Social Welfare Commission, and was placed under the Office of the
President.
The Social Welfare Commission offered three categories of services…
a) Child welfare including probation and parole services and institutional care for various groups
b) Public Assistance in form of relief and casework services to indigent war victims and the
physically handicapped and infirm
c) Coordination and supervision of all public welfare activities
The War Relief Office was placed under the control of the Social Welfare Commission, providing it with
additional sources of funds which enabled the Commission to increase the number of provincial
branches which carried out not only outright relief but family and child welfare, and rehabilitation
services.
Other activities of the new public welfare agency includes…
a) Establishment of Welfare Home for Women and Girls as a result of an anti-venereal disease
drive drive and was set up to provide shelter, medical care and to rehabilitate young wayward
women
b) Setting up of employment and related services under its Public Assistance Department
In August 1948, President Elpidio Quirino created the President’s Action Committee on Social
Amelioration (PACSA) which was charged with the “duty of giving relief assistance to the hungry, the
homeless and the sick, to victims of dissident depredation of violence.” It included comprehensive
program of health, education, welfare, agriculture, public works and financing.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) created by the United Nations
General Assembly in 1946 to further maternal and child health in economically underdeveloped
countries, became active in the Philippines after 1948. Aside from establishing basic health services for
mothers and children, consisting of feeding programs, medical care, and health education, it has also
provided such supportive assistance as health equipment and supplies and opportunities for the training
of medical and other health-related personnel. The UNICEF is now called United Nations Children’s
Fund.
Social Welfare Administration (SWA)
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On January 3, 1951, the Social Welfare Commission and the PACSA were fused into one agency called
the Social Welfare Administration. Shortly after this, the new agency established a staff development
services, began accepting social work field practice students from the newly-opened schools in Metro
Manila and started to conduct more surveys and field studies on income, housing needs, and the needs
of special groups such as the handicapped.
The SWA had 2 programs…
a) Assistance – given in form of material aid like food, financial aid, transportation aid, medical aid,
institutional care, and work relief for the dependent minors, the aged and the handicapped and
clients with needs and problems which are temporary in nature.
b) Service – rendered in form of rehabilitation service for employable disabled as well as the
occupationally maladjusted through diagnostic, guidance and placement services and skills
training; service to squatters evicted from their homes through provision of educational, health
and medical facilities and assistance with income-producing projects; services to organizations
of the handicapped; and administration and supervision of rehabilitation projects and
workshops.
The Child Welfare Division under SWA included services in its units such as casework, guidance services
for children who remained at home: case study of anti-social or delinquent children; child protection
services; supervision of all child-caring institutions in the country; and other services such as those for
dependent children and children in SWA-operated children’s institution.
The Division of Rural Welfare in the SWA was created by Administrative Order No. 7, on September 5,
1951, to deal with the mounting social problems in the rural areas. This Division was entrusted with the
study of rural conditions as basis for determining services, of establishing and maintaining welfare
services in the government’s land settlement areas for victims of dissidence and disasters, and the
establishment and maintenance of welfare services for non-Christian tribal groups. In 1954, the SWA
was reorganized, and this Division developed new community programs such as self-help centers,
community kitchens, and cottage industries.
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The social amelioration program of rural areas, which was a major concern of President Diosdado
Magsaysay, gave impetus to the new programs in the Division of Rural Welfare. The government’s
concern for social welfare was manifested in the distribution of land to the landless, the construction of
feeder roads to improve communication, and the construction of artesian wells.
RA 4373 – “An Act to Regulate the Practice of Social Work and the Operation of Social Work Agencies
in the Philippines” provided for the creation of a Board of Examiners. It had a desirable effect of making
those already occupying social work positions undergo professional social work education. It also
empowered the SWA to license and accredit public and private organizations for the social welfare
work.
In 1968, President Ferdinand Marcos signed the RA 5416, known as the Social Welfare Act, elevating
SWA into a Department. The Department drew up a comprehensive social welfare program along the
following concerns…
a) Preventive and remedial programs and services for individual, families and communities
b) Protective remedial and developmental welfare services for children
c) Vocational rehabilitation and related services for the physically handicapped, ex-convicts, and
individuals with special needs
d) Training, research and special projects
These programs were to be implemented by the Bureau of Family Welfare, Bureau of Youth Welfare,
Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, Bureau of Field Services, and the Bureau of Training, Research and
Special Projects.
The Seventies
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On September 8, 1976, the Department of Social Welfare became the Department of Social Services
and Development shifting emphasis from the traditional often institution-based social welfare to
community-oriented programs and services which underscored people’s own capacity for problemsolving.
The Department decided to concentrate on serving the needs of the bottom 30% of the country’s
population, through programs consisting of…
a) Self-Employment Assistance
b) Practical Skills Development and Job Placement
c) Day Care Centers and Supplemental Feeding
d) Emergency Assistance
e) Family Planning Information and Motivation
f) Special Services for Orphaned, Abandoned, Neglected, Disabled, and other types of special
needs.
Service delivery was facilitated through the “baranganic approach” which makes use of the existing
political structure, the Barangay, as the worker’s point of entry and basis for problem-identification and
prioritizing.
On June 2, 1987, President Marcos issued a Presidential Decree No. 1397, providing for the conversion
of departments into ministries, to adapt to the requirements of the change from a presidential to a
parliamentary form of government. The Department was named the Ministry of Social Service and
Development. The organizational structure, functions and programs, remained the same.
In 1949, the Council of Welfare Agencies of the Philippines and the Community Chest of Greater
Manila were organized. The Council was established to…
a) Study and define social welfare problems and human needs
b) To develop a coordinated plan of action to meet these needs
c) To help improve standards of social services
d) ]to serve as the National Committee for the International Conference on Social Welfare
The Community Chest was established primarily in response to the needy and desirability of having one
organization with the responsibility of raising funds and allocating them to member agencies on the
basis of need.
In early fifties, the Philippine Youth Welfare Coordinating Council was established. PYWCC brought
together representatives of 33 youth-serving agencies to study and plan for more effective programs for
the youth.
Community outreach programs have been and continue to be organized, and programs which integrate
nutrition, family planning, skills training, self-employment and other income-producing projects have
Page 14 of 16
become very popular. Other organizations like the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and the
Philippine Business for Social Progress, have decided to emphasize community self-reliance projects.
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The Eighties
Self-Employment Assistance (SEA), the Ministry’s banner program, was upgraded to make it more
responsive to clients’ needs. Clients, individually or in groups, were able to take out bigger loans to
expand their income-generating projects. The “total family approach” that guided the program put
emphasis on food production and nutrition, and provided training in business management skills.
Other significant achievement of the MSSD…
a) Launching of the Case Management System, employing the Total Family Approach with a set of
Social Welfare Indicators (SWI). The latter monitors the level of well-being of MSSD’s service
users, that is, their progress from survival to subsistence to self-sufficiency.
b) Primary health care-related activities were integrated into the MSSD’s services on the Barangay
level in support of the Ministry of Health Program.
c) Greater cooperation among non-government organizations in response to MSSD’s technical
assistance
d) Increased participation of local governments in social welfare agencies
e) Coordination with the NGOs was intensified as a result of its partnership with 138
licensed/accredited NGOs
f) Family planning motivation was integrated into the MSSD’s skills/employment-related
programs
g) Through a strong tie-up with NGOs, local government units and civic-minded individuals,
10,000 Day Care Centers, neighborhood feeding centers, and food-for-growth centers were
established, mainly for disadvantaged children between 0-6 years old.
h) Priority attention was given to the development of disadvantaged youth through the Integrated
Human Resources Development Program (IHRDP).
On January 30, 1987, President Corazon Aquino signed the Executive Order No. 123, reorganizing MSSD
and renaming it Department of Social Welfare and Development. The Department was evolving from
mere welfare or relief agency to the greater task of development. The Department’s mandate and
programs remained the same in the next several years.
The DSWD’s major social programs includes…
a) Family and community welfare
b) Child and youth welfare
c) Women’s welfare
d) Welfare of the Disabled including elderly
e) Emergency assistance for victims of natural and man-made disasters
The approach taken by the agency during this period is described as “preventive and developmental,
participative and client-managed”
The Nineties
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DSWD continued the same 5 program areas of concern. However it gave priority attention to Low
Income Municipalities (LIMs) and other socially-depressed barangays. It was also involved in disaster
management in many parts of the country which required massive relief work and the use of Crisis
Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), a form of crisis intervention used with victims of these disasters and
other crisis situations.
On October 10, 1991, RA 7160 known as the Local Government Code, was passed. The DSWD along
with the other national agencies had to devolve its implementing functions to the local government
units starting 1992. The devolution meant a realignment of the DSWD’s structures in both its central
as well as field offices, resulting to much leaner more functionally-aligned organization responsive to
its post devolution mandate.
To supplement its five devolved program areas of concern, the Department retained specialized social
services consisting of four categories:
a) Center/institution-based services
b) Community-based programs and services
c) Locally-funded and foreign-assisted projects
d) Disaster relief and rehabilitation augmentation
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Non-Government Organizations
The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) defines NGOs as private, non-profit, voluntary
organizations that are committed to the task of socioeconomic development and established primarily
for service. They are classified according to their levels of operations…
1) Primary NGOs (also called people’s organization or self-help groups)
2) Secondary/Intermidiate NGOs or the agencies composed of different professions providing
service to the beneficiaries
3) Tertiary NGOs which are usually a network of NGOs established for mutual assistance or for
special purposes
RA 4373 provides that “no social work agency shall operate and be accredited unless it shall first have
registered with the Social Welfare Administration which shall issue the corresponding certificate of
registration.”
RA 5416 empowers Department to (1) set standards and policies to insure effective implementation of
public and private social welfare programs; (2) accredit public and private institutions and
organizations engaged in social welfare activity including the licensing of child-caring and child
placement institutions and provide consultative services to them; (3) coordinate government and
voluntary efforts in social welfare work to avoid duplication, friction and overlapping of responsibility in
social services.
Selected Social Legislations in the Philippines
CHILDREN
P.D. No. 603
R.A. 6972
R.A. 7658
R.A. 8043
R.A. 8552
WOMEN
R.A. 6525
R.A. 6955
R.A. 7192
R.A. 8353
R.A. 8505
Child and Youth Welfare Code
The Code defines “child” and “youth” and their rights and entitlements including services that
should be provided for their wholesome development.
An Act establishing Day Care Center in every Barangay, instituting a Total Development and
Protection Program, and appropriating funds for the purpose.
An Act prohibiting the employment of children below 15 years of age in public and private
undertakings
An Act establishing the rules to govern inter-country adoption of Filipino children
An Act establishing the rules and policies on the domestic adoption of Filipino children
An Act strengthening the prohibition of discrimination against women with respect to terms and
conditions of employment
An Act to declare unlawful the practice of matching Filipino women to foreign nationals on a
mail-order basis and other similar practices, including advertisement, publication, printing or
distribution of brochures, fliers and other propaganda materials.
An Act promoting integration of women as full and equal partners of men in development and
nation-building
An Act expanding definition of the crime of rape, reclassifying the same as crime against person,
amending R.A. 3815 (Revised Penal Code)
An Act providing assistance and protection for rape victims, establishing for the purpose a Rape
Crisis Center in every province and city, and authorizing appropriation of funds for the purpose.
OLDER PERSONS/ PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
An Act providing for the rehabilitation, self-development and self-reliance of disabled persons
R.A. 7277
R.A. 7432
R.A. 7876
FAMILY
R.A. 7696
R.A. 8187
R.A. 8369
and their integration into the mainstream of society
An Act to maximize the contribution of senior citizens to nation-building, grant benefits and
special priviledges, and for other purposes
An Act establishing Senior Citizens Center in all cities and municipalities of the Philippines and
appropriating funds for the purpose.
An Act amending certain sections of R.A. 6948, otherwise known as An Act Standardizing and
Upgrading the Benefits of Military Veterans and their Dependents
An Act granting paternity leave of 7 days with full pay to all married male employees in the
private and public sectors for the first 4 deliveries of the legitimate spouse with whom he is
cohabitating
An Act establishing family courts, granting them exclusive original jurisdiction over child and
family cases, amending Batas Pambansa Bilang 129 (Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980), and
appropriating funds for the purpose
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Executive
209
HEALTH
R.A. 7875
R.A. 7883
Order Family Code of the Philippines
The law revises provisions in the Civil Code of the Philippines pertaining to marriage and family
relations to bring them closer to Filipino customs, values and ideals and reflect contemporary
trends and conditions.
An Act instituting National Health Insurance Program for all Filipinos and establishing Philippine
Health Insurance Corporation for the purpose.
An Act granting benefits and incentives to accredited Barangay health workers
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Labor Code of the Philippines
P.D. 442
R.A. 7655
R.A. 7877
R.A. 8042
R.A. 8282
R.A. 8291
OTHERS
R.A. 7160
R.A. 8344
R.A. 8371
R.A. 8425
An Act which revises and consolidates all previous labor and social laws based o the principle of
social justice
An Act increasing the minimum wage of househelpers, amending Article 143 of P.D. 442, as
amended.
An Act declaring sexual harassment unlawful in the employment, education or training
environment
An Act to institute policies of overseas employment and establish a higher standard of protection
and promotion of the welfare of migrant workers and their families and overseas Filipinos in
distress.
An Act further strengthening the Social Security System, thereby amending R.A. 1161 (The Social
Security Law) which provides covered employees and their families protection against the
hazards of disability, sickness, old age, and death.
An Act amending P.D. 1146, as amended, expanding and increasing the coverage and benefits of
the Government Service Insurance System
Local Government Code of 1991
An Act that devolved implementing functions and programs of national agencies to local
governments, including social welfare services that used to be administered by the Department
of Social Welfare and Development
An Act penalizing refusal of hospitals and medical clinics to administer appropriate initial medical
treatment and support in emergency or serious cases, amending for the purpose of BP 702 (An
Act prohibiting the demand of deposits or advance payments for the confinement or treatment
of patients in hospitals and medical clinics in certain cases)
An Act to recognize, protect and promote the rights of indigenous cultural
communities/indigenous peoples, creating a National Commission on Indigenous Peoples,
establishing implementing mechanisms, and appropriating funds for the purpose.
An Act institutionalizing the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Program, creating for the
purpose the National Anti-Poverty Commission and defining its powers and functions.
Reference:
1. Mendoza, Thelma Lee, SOCIAL WELFARE AND SOCIAL WORK, Rev. Ed., Megabooks Co., 2002
2. De Guzman, Leonora Serafica, INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK, New Day Publishers, 1992