Social Work and Social Welfare Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on intro social work and social welfare lecture notes.

Social Welfare

A nation's system of programs, benefits, and services that helps people meet those social, economic, educational, and health needs that are fundamental to the maintenance of society.

Goal of Social Welfare

To fulfill the social, financial, health, and recreational needs of everyone in a society.

Sociology

The study of human social behavior.

Psychology

The study of mental health.

Anthropology

The study of human communities, systems, and cultures.

Human Services

Field focused on meeting human needs through knowledge, prevention, remediation, and a commitment to improving quality of life.

Residual View of Social Work

An approach that provides services only when all other resources have been exhausted, viewing services as temporary charity and holding individuals to blame for their situation.

Institutional View of Social Work

An approach that views social services as entitlement without stigma, attributing difficulties to outside social and environmental forces.

Developmental View of Social Welfare

A process of planned social change designed to promote the well-being of the population as a whole in conjunction with economic development.

Humanitarianism

A philosophical belief ascribing high value to human life and benevolently helping those in need.

Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601

English legislation that established three categories of relief recipients: able-bodied poor, impotent poor, and dependent children.

Able-Bodied Poor

Under the Elizabethan Poor Law, individuals capable of working who were denied assistance and forced to work or jailed if they refused.

Impotent Poor

Under the Elizabethan Poor Law, individuals unable to work due to disability, age, or child care responsibilities who were placed in almshouses.

Dependent Children

Under the Elizabethan Poor Law, children whose families could not support them who were placed out as apprentices.

Protestant Ethic

A belief system emphasizing individualism, personal responsibility, and viewing financial wealth as a sign of moral success while blaming poverty on character flaws.

Laissez-Faire Economic View

An economic theory asserting that business and the economy function best when free from government regulations, safety rules, or minimum-wage laws.

Lester Ward

A sociologist who opposed Social Darwinism and argued that human social programs are necessary to help others and improve society.

Social Security Act of 1935

Landmark federal legislation that established social insurance programs, public assistance, and health/disability protection during the Great Depression.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)

A social program created by the 1935 Social Security Act to support needy families, which was criticized in later decades and replaced in 1996.

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

A state-administered block grant program created in 1996 that replaced AFDC, enforcing a 2-year work requirement and a 5-year maximum limit on benefits.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

A federal public assistance program implemented in January 1974 that provides monthly payments to qualifying low-income individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled.

Society for Prevention of Pauperism

An organization founded by John Griscom in 1820 to investigate poverty, conduct home visits, and encourage self-help and saving habits.

Charity Organization Society (COS)

An organization established in 1877 that provided direct client services and sought to coordinate private charity efforts in major cities.

Hull House

A Chicago settlement house founded by Jane Addams that provided educational, social, and legal services to improve neighborhood conditions.

Mary Richmond

Social work pioneer who wrote 'Social Diagnosis' in 1917, establishing the first theoretical framework for social work assessment and treatment.

National Association of Social Workers (NASW)

An organization established in 1955 to promote social work quality, improve social conditions, and publish key professional resources.

Social Work

The professional activity of helping individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities to enhance or restore their social functioning.

Micro Social Work

Direct social work practice focused on one-on-one interventions with individual clients.

Mezzo Social Work

Social work practice focused on working with families and other small groups.

Macro Social Work

Social work practice focused on organizational, community, or social policy interventions.

Generalist Social Worker

A professional trained to use a problem-solving process to assess and intervene with clients across micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Systems Perspective

A social work approach that evaluates client issues by assessing the complexities and interrelationships of their entire dynamic environment.

Ecological Approach

A practice framework emphasizing dysfunctional transitions and reciprocal interactions between individuals and their physical and social environments.

Social Injustice

A condition in which certain members of a society receive fewer rights, opportunities, protections, or social benefits than others.

Social Justice

An ideal condition in which all members of a society have equal basic rights, protections, opportunities, obligations, and social benefits.

Economic Justice

An ideal condition in which all members of a society have equal opportunities to attain material goods, income, and wealth.

Empowerment

The process of helping individuals, families, and communities increase their personal, interpersonal, political, and socioeconomic power.

Strengths Perspective

A social work model developed by Dennis Saleebey that emphasizes human abilities, resources, values, and achievements rather than deficits.

Asset Mapping

A community assessment approach that focuses on identifying and utilizing the existing strengths and resources of a neighborhood.

Compassion Fatigue

The emotional reaction and stress resulting from repeated exposure to the traumatizing experiences and suffering of clients.

Stress

The physiological and emotional reactions of an individual to internal or external demand forces.

Stressor

A demand, situation, or circumstance that disrupts an individual's equilibrium and triggers a stress response.

General Adaptation Syndrome

Hans Selye's model of biological reaction to long-term stress, consisting of the alarm phase, resistance phase, and exhaustion phase.

Mindfulness

A state of consciousness involving non-judgmental, moment-to-moment awareness of feelings, thoughts, bodily sensations, and surroundings.

Person-in-Environment Conceptualization

A perspective viewing the client as part of an environmental system with reciprocal interactions between the individual and their social setting.

Change Agent

A professional or helper who assists in promoting positive personal, organizational, or social change.

Bureaucracy

An organizational structure characterized by a formal hierarchy, explicit rules, specialized job tasks, and established communication channels.

Theory X Management

A management style assuming workers are inherently lazy, dislike responsibility, and require coercion to perform.

Theory Y Management

A management style assuming workers are self-motivated, value personal growth, and work productively when given encouragement.

Community Capacity Development

A community change model relying on local community participation, voluntary cooperation, and democratic decision-making.

Social Planning Model

A technical model of community practice focused on gathering data, identifying needs, and implementing goods and services.

Social Advocacy Model

A community practice model that organizes disadvantaged groups to pressure power structures for increased resources and justice.

Individualization

The ethical social work practice of viewing and treating each client as a unique and worthwhile human being.

Self-Determination

The principle that clients have the right to express their opinions and make their own choices as long as they do not infringe on others.

Absolute Confidentiality

A policy wherein client disclosures are never shared with anyone under any circumstances without written release or legal mandate.

Relative Confidentiality

The standard practice where client disclosures are shared only within necessary professional circles or required legal exceptions.

Poverty Line

The federal government's defined minimum income level considered sufficient to satisfy fundamental needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

Income

The total amount of money earned or received by a person in a given period or year.

Wealth

The total monetary value of all accumulated assets owned by an individual, including real estate, savings, stocks, and bonds.

Culture of Poverty

A theory suggesting that continuous economic deprivation creates a set of values characterized by present-time orientation and instant gratification.

Social Insurance Programs

Government welfare programs funded through specific taxes that grant benefits to individuals based on prior employment contributions.

Public Assistance Programs

Government benefit programs funded by general taxes that require a financial means test to prove eligibility.

Means Test

An eligibility evaluation comparing an applicant's income and assets against established standards to receive public assistance.

Medicare

Title XVIII of the Social Security Act providing government-sponsored health insurance primarily for people aged 65 and older.

Medicaid

A joint federal and state public assistance program providing medical coverage to eligible low-income individuals.