This week's readings was Trattner Chapters 13-16. It was hard to just pick three things learned. I was born in 1975, so a lot of this information I heard family members talk about. Some I remember discussing in school and/or seeing on TV. Such as televised Presidential speeches by President Reagan. I like how the reading tells the story of history from a social workers view, very interesting. Three Things Learned from the Reading:
1.) Social workers have had a tough job throughout history. First they have had to prove that they are a true profession and should be treated as one. Next, they were looked to adjust their daily work of casework and evaluating the person's mental health to helping people with domestic issues such as finding jobs in a poverty stricken state of the economy. They did not have time to take into account the person's state of mind or to treat them for depression.
2.) The history of the treatment of the poor and oppressed was as Galbraith an economist put it "disgrace" or "no longer massive affliction more nearly an afterthought." The politicians ignored the issues for the poor leaving them to take care of themselves. For example, Roosevelt's Presidential campaign appealed to civil rights for the black minority. Once in office President Roosevelt appeared to be a symbol not an activist for black minorities.
3.) I liked how the reading took us through social policy in relation to the Presidents of the United States, from Hoover to Bush Sr. Hoover's do nothing approach to Roosevelt's "New Deal" do something approach, which ended up being as good as do nothing. John F. Kennedy developed Community Mental Health in 1961. Johnson declared an "unconditional war on poverty," He proposed The Office of Economic Opportunity (O.E.O) or the antipoverty bill, which was a good idea did not take off actually it was misunderstood. Nixon ignored the "undeserving poor" until 1972 when he approved Congress decision to raise Social Security 20%. Than in 1974 President Nixon. President Ford took on a fight with inflation. President Carter cut social welfare programs in an attempt to fight inflation. In 1977 Carter proposed a new plan known as the "Better Jobs and Income Program." This program would replace the current programs of food stamps, S.S.I. and A.F.D.C. This new proposal died in the Congress. President Reagan focused on cutting taxes and proposed cuts to social welfare programs. He did propose a "New Federalism" programs that would have positively affected the poor and dependent. As with the history of other programs it was not incorporated. A bill ($9.6 billion relief package) was signed created 300,000 to 400,000 public service jobs. President Bush ignored domestic policy. He did sign the Americans Disabilities Act into law in 1990. Politics is an amazing process. When a program is proposed that could be good it is vetoed or new programs are not even discussed. Still today we have a long way to go with domestic policy in the United States.
The reading enforces how a social worker needs to be flexible, ready to take on different task to help those in need. As a future social worker, I hope to be an advocate for the poor or anyone in need. Poverty stricken and minority citizens need to be protected from poor treatment in this society. The programs put in place to help these people needs to be preserved not cut. I hope to put into practice when to recognize a problem and to take action to implement programs to alleviate the oppression of others.