HISTORY OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN EUROPE

The history of social welfare in Europe begins

in the 19
th
century in Germany, under theimpetus of
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (18151898).

At the time, workers faced extremelydifficult
and dangerous working conditions resulting from the
industrial revolution. Disease,work-related
accidents and the need for a replacement
income when one could not workencouraged
Bismarck to set up a social welfare system to cover
this very destitute part of thepopulation.
He set up three basic laws:
1. the 1883 law on health insurance;
2. the 1884law on work-relatedaccidents, and finally;
3. the1889 law on disability-retirement insurance.


The system was financed by the payment of dues that were
proportional to salaries and shared by the employer and the
worker. As such, the system guaranteed compensatory income in
case of loss of income linked to work-related accidents,
unemployment, illness or disability. The benefits paid out were
calculated based on what proportion of the salary was paid in dues,
as well as on the number of years insurance dues had been paid.
Several European countries modeled their systems on the
Bismarckian approach: France as early as 1945, but also Austria,
Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal
and Spain.

HISTORY (EUROPE)

Social work has its roots in society to deal with poverty (relative poverty). There are
many influences. Therefore, social work is intricately linked with the idea of charity work;
but must be understood in broader terms. The concept of charity goes back to ancient
times, and the practice of providing for the poor has roots in all major world religions.

Social work, as a profession, originated in the 19th century. The movement began
primarily in the United States and England. After the end of feudalism the poor were
seen as a more direct threat to the social order and so the state formed an organized
system to care for them.

In England, the Poor Law served this purpose. This system of laws sorted the poor into
different categories, such as the
1. able bodied poor ( unable to find work.)
2. the impotent poor (could not look after themselves or go to work)
3. the idle poor (poor who refused to work because of laziness)


This system developed different responses to these different groups.
different categories

English History
The growth of social work in England as a discipline had similar parallels to the
American experience of mass migration and social upheaval. The Industrial Revolution
(transition to new manufacturing processes) was a major cause of these changes, as
social and economic conditions changed, resulting in the massive growth of cities.

The first social workers were called hospital almoners, and were based in medical
institutions. The Royal Free Hospital hired Mary Stewart as the first almoner in 1895.
Her role was to assess people requesting treatment at the hospital to ensure that they
were considered "deserving enough" of the free treatment.

The role soon developed to cover the provision of other social programs, and by 1905
other hospitals had created similar roles. By this time, the Hospital Almoners Council
had been formed to oversee the new profession.

Industrialization and the Origins of Modern Social Work

In the half century after the Civil War, rapid industrial expansion produced a dramatic
increase in individual and community needs. The most notable social changes of this
period included a series of economic depressions (known then as "panics") and their
consequences; new manifestations of racism following the end of Reconstruction in
1876; and a dramatic increase in immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.


In the 1940s, Great Britain took a different
direction, choosing another form of social welfare,
which followed the precepts of the British economist
and politician Lord William Henry Beveridge
(18791963).

He described his doctrine as follows: the
role of government is to fight squalor (poverty), idleness and disease. As
a result, it is the states responsibility to cover the expenses of setting up a
social security system. Various taxes and duties made it possible to finance
this innovative structure.

So in 19411942, under the influence of his welfare policy, the British
National Health Service was born. This free social system guarantees British
citizens access to social services without having to pay social dues in
exchange, or with only very minimal due


The expression used to describe this system is universal welfare system. A large
number of the social welfare systems in northern European countries (Ireland,
Denmark, Iceland, Sweden) have universal characteristics.


The different systems provide qualitatively different benefits. The universal system
provides exclusively fixed-rate benefits. British or Irish managers and workers find
themselves granted the same basic fixed-rate pension (State pension), whereas
French managers and workers receive pensions proportional to the number of years
insurance dues were paid, making them much more generous.

With the growth of religion, PRIEST assumed responsibility for disadvantaged
groups.
DISADVANTAGED GROUPS

RELIGIOUS ORDERS devoted their time: collecting alms and distributing them
to the sick and the poor

The MENDICANCY (begging) in EUROPE soon caused conflict with the state
which continued towards the end of middle Ages.

Monasteries and similar institutions were replaced by hospitals.

This was through the donations from members of royal and aristocratic families in
Europe.

REFORMERS



16
th
century: Period of Reformation

Church leaders--- leading role in the administration of the needy

Efforts were started to make local authoritiesassume their
responsibility

Started by Martin Luther (1520)

Appealed to the nobility forbid begging---- but instead, to organize
common chest in all parishes to receive donations to the needy from
citizens.



Juan Luis Vives, a Spanish philosopher called
attention to the need to look into social conditions of
the needy in society.
He developed program of poor relief, by dividing the
city into parish quarters with a team assigned to each
quarter to investigate the social condition of every
pauper (very poor person) family.





Father Vincent de Paul of France
was an important reformer of charities who
organized:
Ladies of Charity
-whose members visited poor in their homes,
distributing food and clothes
Daughters of Charity
composed of young women from peasant class---
nursing the sick and the handicapped and attending
the poor.
-the group is considered as the forerunners of
modern social worker.



1817 Elizabeth Fry
Angel of the prisons
Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780-1845) is best known for her achievements in the reform of
the British prison system.

The most important innovation of this period was the building of the prototype house of
correction, the London Bridewell. Houses of correction were originally part of the
machinery of the Poor Law, intended to instil habits of industry through prison labour.
Most of those held in them were petty offenders, vagrants and the disorderly local poor.

For a woman to undertake this kind of work was completely new and Fry became
known as `the angel of the prisons. Elizabeth Fry first entered Newgate prison in
London in 1813. She was shocked by the inhuman circumstances in which women and
children were imprisoned. The reports of her conversations with the women in Newgate
prison are impressive records of what she encountered and of her determination to
improve their conditions.

In order to further her campaign, she invited influential people to come and visit the
prison to see the poor living conditions for themselves. In particular, Fry opposed
solitary imprisonment, She argued it was a practice that was bad for the health and
mental sanity of the prisoners. Fry became the first prison reformer to focus on the
moral improvement of prisoners through personal contact, conversations, education and
work.

To accomplish this work, she introduced another innovation: voluntary committees of
women to arrange prison visits and to organize support following the discharge of the
prisoners back into the community. This became the forerunner of professional
probation services.

The reforms advocated by Elizabeth Fry had three core ingredients:
1. Male and female prisoners had to be accommodated separately and guards had
to be of the same gender as the prisoners. This has since become standard
international practice..
2. Arrangements for regular visits to female prisoners were established and, in
addition, the volunteers had to take care of education, paid work and support
after their clients left prison.


3. Prisoners were to have opportunities for education and paid work.

Fry visited many prisons across the UK. Her methods were so effective that in 1823
much of her approach was incorporated into British prison law. Wherein she is the
reformer of Law. She was consulted by Queen Victoria and Parliament, and became a
source of inspiration for nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale.

Florence Nightingale, also known as the 'Lady with the Lamp,' was a founder of modern
nursing and social reformer.

Thomas Chalmers
`To help the poor to help themselves`
What was needed was an active link to the community that, according to Chalmers,
aims to address problems through local solidarity (UNITY). Included in the community,
the poor could work and be modest while enlarging their own responsibility. Whenever
financial help was needed, this should come from the religious community. Charity had
to be preferred, as it generated altruism from the giver.


To the present day, Chalmers` concepts are relevant to social work. Key elements of his
approach can be found in community care and the current policy developments.


Cadbury, Dame 18581951, English social worker and philanthropist, working for
improvement in education, housing, and peace.

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