History of Canadian Social Welfare
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 April 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 31 August 2015
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0072
- LAST REVIEWED: 28 April 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 31 August 2015
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0072
Introduction
For the purpose of this entry, social welfare history encompasses the evolution of social policies and the social welfare system, as well as the profession of social work and those institutions that are associated with either. Also for the purpose of this entry, social welfare and social policy are collapsed together in one category. This is not because they are equivalent terms but rather because the focus of social policy in part represents the operationalization of social welfare at a societal level. And, it has certainly been a common practice in the Canadian social welfare history literature to highlight the development and removal or amendment of specific social policies as indicators of key shifts in social welfare throughout Canada’s history. Until the 1970s, scholarship on the history of Canadian social welfare was relatively sparse. A considerable increase in historical writings began between the 1970s and the 1980s, with an explosion of historical literature from the 1980s to the early 21st century, in which the number of topics and the variety of approaches increased considerably. Current sophistication in social welfare, social policy, and social work research includes the introduction of discourse analysis to highlight the perspective of the socially excluded. Also included is the critical rethinking of power relations between practitioners and service users and between funders and service providers. Finally, there is the emergence of new lines of inquiry into the emerging role of nonprofit organizations and the voluntary sector in meeting the social welfare needs of the populace. The selected references in this entry primarily discuss the evolution of the Canadian social welfare system and its impact on the socially excluded in general, and on women, aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities, children, and the elderly in particular. The reason for this emphasis is because it represents the primary focus in current social welfare literature related to the Canadian context. However, in addition we include select references from the social welfare and interdisciplinary literature to provide an overview of the evolution of scholarly writings on the topic and to help position our contemporary situation of social welfare within this historical context.
Introductory Works
Coates, et al. 2007; Hick 2010; and Turner 2001 all provide the reader with an introduction to the characteristics of the profession of social work, including the historical development of the profession in relation to Canadian social welfare development. Coates, et al. 2007 introduces the role played by religion and spirituality, while Hick 2010 presents the key concepts and fundamentals of the profession. Turner 2001 is more concerned with the principles and values of social work practice.
Coates, John, John Russell Graham, Barbara Swartzentruber, and Brian Ouellette, eds. 2007. Spirituality and social work: Selected Canadian readings. Toronto: Canadian Scholars.
Explores the history, practice, and diversity of faith traditions with which spirituality and social work are intertwined. Chapters cover spirituality as a guiding construct in the development of Canadian social work, past and present considerations, the social gospel, and a Toronto charity’s transition from a religious to a professional social work ethos.
Hick, Steven. 2010. Social work in Canada: An introduction. 3d ed. Toronto: Thompson Educational.
This Canadian text introduces key concepts of social work and offers the fundamentals to understanding the profession. It explores the background of social work and examines the profession’s practice with issues pertaining to political agendas among welfare state and income security, work with vulnerable and at-risk populations, respect for diversity, and international social work practice.
Turner, Francis J., ed. 2001. Social work practice: A Canadian perspective. 2d ed. Toronto: Pearson Education.
This second edition provides a detailed look into the principles and values of Canadian social work. The influence of societal structures, professional issues, and methods utilized within practice are examined. New and revised chapters from expert Canadian practitioners and scholars provide a way to establish the connection between theories used within social work and their delivery in practice.
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Article
- Abortion
- Adolescent Depression
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Adolescents
- Adoption
- Adoption Home Study Assessments
- Adult Protective Services in the United States
- African Americans
- Aging
- Aging out of foster care
- Aging, Physical Health and
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems
- Alcohol and Drug Problems, Prevention of Adolescent and Yo...
- Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions
- Alcohol Use Disorder
- Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
- Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Asian Americans
- Asian-American Youth
- Assessment
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Baccalaureate Social Workers
- Behavioral Health
- Behavioral Social Work Practice
- Bereavement Practice
- Bisexuality
- Brief Therapies in Social Work: Task-Centered Model and So...
- Bullying and Social Work Intervention
- Canadian Social Welfare, History of
- Case Management in Mental Health in the United States
- Central American Migration to the United States
- Child Maltreatment Prevention
- Child Neglect and Emotional Maltreatment
- Child Poverty
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Child Welfare
- Child Welfare and Child Protection in Europe, History of
- Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQ Youth and Families
- Children
- Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Christianity and Social Work
- Chronic Illness
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Adult Lesbians
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Males
- Cognitive Behavior Therapies with Diverse and Stressed Pop...
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Community
- Community Development
- Community Policing
- Community-Based Participatory Research
- Community-Needs Assessment
- Comparative Social Work
- Computational Social Welfare: Applying Data Science in Soc...
- Conflict Resolution
- Council on Social Work Education
- Counseling Female Offenders
- Criminal Justice
- Crisis Interventions
- Cultural Competence and Ethnic Sensitive Practice
- Culture, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Substance Use Disor...
- Dementia Care
- Dementia Care, Ethical Aspects of
- Depression and Cancer
- Development and Infancy (Birth to Age Three)
- Differential Response in Child Welfare
- Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
- Direct Practice in Social Work
- Disabilities
- Disability and Disability Culture
- Disasters
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence Among Immigrants
- Early Pregnancy and Parenthood Among Child Welfare–Involve...
- Eating Disorders
- Ecological Framework
- Economic Evaluation
- Elder Mistreatment
- End-of-Life Decisions
- Epigenetics for Social Workers
- Ethical Issues in Social Work and Technology
- Ethics and Values in Social Work
- Ethnicity
- European Institutions and Social Work
- European Union, Justice and Home Affairs in the
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Finding Evidence
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Issues, Controversies...
- Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs
- Families
- Families with Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Parents
- Family Caregiving
- Family Group Conferencing
- Family Policy
- Family Services
- Family Therapy
- Family Violence
- Fathering Among Families Served By Child Welfare
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Field Education
- Financial Literacy and Social Work
- Financing Health-Care Delivery in the United States
- Forensic Social Work
- Foster Care
- Foster care and siblings
- Gay Men
- Gender, Violence, and Trauma in Immigration Detention in t...
- Generalist Practice and Advanced Generalist Practice
- Grounded Theory
- Group Work
- Group Work across Populations, Challenges, and Settings
- Group Work, Research, Best Practices, and Evidence-based
- Harm Reduction
- Health Care Reform
- Health Disparities
- Health Social Work
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1900–1950
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1950-1980
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, pre-1900
- History of Social Work from 1980-2014
- History of Social Work in China
- History of Social Work in Northern Ireland
- History of Social Work in the Republic of Ireland
- History of Social Work in the United Kingdom
- HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS and Children
- HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescents
- Homelessness
- Homelessness Outside the United States
- Housing
- Human Needs
- Human Trafficking, Victims of
- Immigrant Integration in the United States
- Immigrant Policy in the United States
- Immigrants and Refugees
- Immigrants and Refugees: Evidence-based Social Work Practi...
- Immigration and Health Disparities
- Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence
- Immigration and Poverty
- Immigration and Spirituality
- Immigration and Substance Use
- Immigration and Trauma
- Impact of Emerging Technology in Social Work Practice
- Impaired Professionals
- Implementation Science and Practice
- Indigenous Peoples
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employmen...
- In-home Child Welfare Services
- Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment
- International Social Welfare
- International Social Work
- International Social Work and Education
- International Social Work and Social Welfare in Southern A...
- Internet and Video Game Addiction
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy
- Intervention with Traumatized Populations
- Interviewing
- Intimate-Partner Violence
- Juvenile Justice
- Kinship Care
- Korean Americans
- Latinos and Latinas
- Law, Social Work and the
- LGBTQ Populations and Social Work
- Life Span
- Mainland European Social Work, History of
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Management and Administration in Social Work
- Maternal Mental Health
- Measurement, Scales, and Indices
- Medical Illness
- Men: Health and Mental Health Care
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Diagnosis and the Addictive Substance Disord...
- Mental Health Needs of Older People, Assessing the
- Mental Illness: Children
- Mental Illness: Elders
- Meta-analysis
- Microskills
- Middle East and North Africa, International Social Work an...
- Military Social Work
- Mixed Methods Research
- Moral distress and injury in social work
- Motivational Interviewing
- Multiculturalism
- Native Americans
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
- Neighborhood Social Cohesion
- Neuroscience and Social Work
- Nicotine Dependence
- Occupational Social Work
- Organizational Development and Change
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Palliative Care: Evolution and Scope of Practice
- Pandemics and Social Work
- Parent Training
- Personalization
- Person-in-Environment
- Philosophy of Science and Social Work
- Physical Disabilities
- Podcasts and Social Work
- Police Social Work
- Political Social Work in the United States
- Positive Youth Development
- Postmodernism and Social Work
- Postsecondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Y...
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Poverty
- Practice Interventions and Aging
- Practice Interventions with Adolescents
- Practice Research
- Primary Prevention in the 21st Century
- Productive Engagement of Older Adults
- Profession, Social Work
- Program Development and Grant Writing
- Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation
- Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory
- Psychoeducation
- Psychometrics
- Psychopathology and Social Work Practice
- Psychopharmacology and Social Work Practice
- Psychosocial Framework
- Psychosocial Intervention with Women
- Psychotherapy and Social Work
- Qualitative Research
- Race and Racism
- Readmission Policies in Europe
- Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Me...
- Rehabilitation
- Religiously Affiliated Agencies
- Reproductive Health
- Research
- Research Ethics
- Restorative Justice
- Risk Assessment in Child Protection Services
- Risk Management in Social Work
- Rural Social Work in China
- Rural Social Work Practice
- School Social Work
- School Violence
- School-Based Delinquency Prevention
- Services and Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Youth
- Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: Adults
- Sexual and Gender Minority Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylu...
- Sexual Assault
- Single-System Research Designs
- Social and Economic Impact of US Immigration Policies on U...
- Social Development
- Social Insurance and Social Justice
- Social Intervention Research
- Social Justice and Social Work
- Social Movements
- Social Planning
- Social Policy
- Social Policy in Denmark
- Social Security in the United States (OASDHI)
- Social Work and Islam
- Social Work and Social Welfare in East, West, and Central ...
- Social Work and Social Welfare in Europe
- Social Work Education and Research
- Social Work Leadership
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Contributing to the Cla...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries contributing to the fou...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Who Contributed to Soci...
- Social Work Regulation
- Social Work Research Methods
- Social Work with Interpreters
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Strategic Planning
- Strengths Perspective
- Strengths-Based Models in Social Work
- Suicide
- Supplemental Security Income
- Survey Research
- Sustainability: Creating Social Responses to a Changing En...
- Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- Systematic Review Methods
- Task-Centered Practice
- Technology Adoption in Social Work Education
- Technology for Social Work Interventions
- Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction
- Technology in Social Work
- Terminal Illness
- Terrorism
- The Impact of Systemic Racism on Latinxs’ Experiences with...
- Transdisciplinary Science
- Translational Science and Social Work
- Transnational Perspectives in Social Work
- Transtheoretical Model of Change
- Trauma
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Triangulation
- Tribal child welfare practice in the United States
- Unions
- United States, History of Social Welfare in the
- Universal Basic Income
- Veteran Services
- Vicarious Trauma and Resilience in Social Work Practice wi...
- Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD
- Victim Services
- Violence
- Virtual Reality and Social Work
- Welfare State Reform in France
- Welfare State Theory
- Women and Macro Social Work Practice
- Women's Health Care
- Work and Family in the German Welfare State
- Workfare
- Workforce Development of Social Workers Pre- and Post-Empl...
- Working with Non-Voluntary and Mandated Clients
- Young and Adolescent Lesbians
- Youth at Risk
- Youth Services