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Origins of Social Work
The concept of charity goes back to ancient times, and the practice of providing for the poor has roots in all major world religions. However, the practice and profession of social work has a relatively modern (19th century) and scientific origin. Charity in Europe was considered to be a responsibility and a sign of one’s piety. This charity was, generally, in the form of direct relief (i.e. money, food, etc.). After the end of feudalism, a need arose to have an organized system to care for poor. In England, the Poor Law served this purpose. This system of laws sorted the poor and developed different remedies for these different groups.

The 19th century ushered in the Industrial Revolution. There was a great leap in technological and scientific achievement, but there was also a great migration to urban areas. This led to many social problems, which in turn led to an increase in social activism. Also with the dawn of the 19th century came a great “missionary” push from many Protestant denominations. Some of the mission efforts (urban missions), attempted to resolve the problems (poverty, prostitution, disease, etc.) inherent in large cities. These “friendly visitors”, stipended by church and other charitable bodies, worked through direct relief, prayer, and evangelism to alleviate these problems. In Europe, chaplains or almoners were appointed to administrate the church’s mission to the poor.

During this time, rescue societies were set up to help transition women out of brothels. Mental asylums grew to assist in taking care of the mentally ill. A new philosophy of "scientific charity" which stated charity should be "secular, rational and empirical as opposed to sectarian, sentimental, and dogmatic." (James Leiby) In the late 1880s, a new set of organizations popped up. These institutions would become known as settlement houses.

While the settlements focused on what later became group work and community organization, social work in the COS increasingly focused on casework with individuals and families. Sub-specialties in the areas of medical, psychiatric, and school social work began to appear in the early twentieth century. The growth of casework as a distinct area of practice also stimulated the creation of a formal social work training program in 1898.

This program, created by the New York COS in partnership with Columbia University, evolved into the New York School of Philanthropy and, eventually, the Columbia University School of Social Work. Early curricula emphasized practical work rather than academic subjects.

Settlements like the Chicago Commons also developed educational programs as early as 1901. By 1908, it offered a full curriculum through the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy (now the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration).

Formal methods-oriented training programs spread through major urban areas, most of them affiliated with private charitable organizations interested in standardizing the practices of their volunteers. By 1919, there were seventeen schools of social work affiliated as the Association of Training Schools of Professional Schools of Social Work the antecedent of today's Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

Despite these efforts, in 1915, in an invitational lecture at the National Conference of Charities and Corrections entitled "Is Social Work a Profession?" Dr. Abraham Flexner, the nation's leading authority on professional education, asserted that the field lacked specificity, technical skills, or specialized knowledge and could not be considered a profession. His lecture further stimulated efforts already underway to consolidate experiential casework knowledge into a standardized format. Consequently, by the 1920s, casework emerged as the dominant form of professional social work in the United States. []