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Social work is built into American society as we know it. It provides resources that help disadvantaged communities receive what they need to live safe, healthy lives and pursue the American dream with dignity. Social workers work directly with some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations to address a wide range of issues. In doing so, they can provide practical, empathetic, and complex insights into their needs, translating into policy proposals and expanded social support for needy people. 

So, how did social work begin? And how did social work become a profession? 

The evolution of social work tracks with many significant historical developments in the United States. 

Social services have consistently expanded and transformed to address civic issues better and support Americans dealing with hardship  

nationwide. 

Critical Issues in the History of Social Work

Some of the key issues that social workers have historically devoted their efforts to include the following: 

• Poverty 
• Food inequality 
• Racial injustice 
• Gender discrimination 
• Disability rights 
• LGBTQ causes 
• Domestic and sexual violence 
• Child abuse and neglect 

In short, for over a hundred and fifty years, social workers have organized to tackle the problems plaguing our society. 

Let’s look at the historical development of social work in the U.S. 

Turning Points in the History of Social Work: A Timeline 

As you will see, many of the most significant developments in the history of social work in the U.S.A. have emerged from other important historical events, including war, economic downturn, and social justice movements. In some eras, these incidents led to expansions in social services, especially during such widespread hardship that the need for government support was all but unavoidable. At other times, conservative movements led to the weakening of federally supported social services. 

Whether they have been strongly supported by the U.S. government or not, the history of social work tracks with the evolution of American political events, painting an illuminating picture of social services as they exist in our lives today and an education in what still could be done to improve the lives of underprivileged Americans. 

1840 – 1880: The Origins of Social Work

The history of social work in America begins with the development of public programs during the 1840s and 1850s to address the issues of poverty in big cities, mainly due to their rapid growth and the large influx of immigrant populations that were steadily arriving in the United States. These organizations were focused primarily on housing and child welfare, which were, at the time, the most dire issues facing Americans in poverty. 

The need for more welfare programs intensified during the Civil War, creating several new organizations, including the American Red Cross, to help Americans through the state of emergency that surrounded them. These were still independent organizations that were not supported on the federal level. Still, they created an understanding of the need to help those who were disadvantaged and a structure for how to do so. This impulse to help those in need has become a defining part of American identity that carries forward across the social work history timeline into the present day. 

1880 – 1910: The Rise of Social Work Programs and Education

Social welfare continued to expand throughout the nineteenth century under various names that sometimes included “scientific charity.” These initiatives included public education programs, the creation of settlement houses, and pension programs. Many of these services grew into entire-fledged institutions that still exist today, and they are credited with the arrival of the concept of social insurance in the U.S. 

By the turn of the century, the earliest forms of social work education programs had been founded, laying the groundwork for social services to expand significantly in the century to come.  

1914 – 1928: World War I and the Expansion of Social Work

The role of social workers evolved yet again after World War I broke out, as the U.S. Army called for assistance from Red Cross workers to help soldiers deal with the post-traumatic stress caused by their time on the battlefield. This ushered in a new set of expectations for the field of social work, expanding its focus from exclusively on those impacted by poverty to those affected by other hardships. That U.S. soldiers had sustained their traumas while fighting for their country made a sympathetic public eager to support their recovery. 

1929 – 1939: Social Work During the Great Depression

While many social work programs began during the mid-nineteenth century, in their time, they were regarded as charitable or philanthropic activities rather than the government’s responsibility to its people. This shifted after the stock market crash of 1929, when the needs of Americans were so significant and widespread that the need for government support became an undeniable reality. 

Over the following decade, the U.S. Government under F.D.R. initiated numerous social welfare programs under the New Deal, the most significant social service initiative in American history. The sweep of the New Deal was expansive, with programs addressing child welfare, poverty and housing, educational inequality, cultural vitality, and more.  

The Great Depression also raised Americans’ awareness of the need for stronger protections and support for working people. Social workers have participated in workers’ advocacy throughout history, campaigning on behalf of the rights of the working poor to ensure more work opportunities, higher labor standards, better pay, and more. This was especially true during the Great Depression when the need for social workers was vast. 

1940 – 1950: Social Workers During and After WWII

While World War I introduced social workers into the landscape of American society, World War II greatly expanded the services they provided to military members. These included psychological support for those suffering from PTSD as well as counseling and additional resources to help them get their lives back on track after returning from battle, especially in cases when individuals had sustained long-term injuries that impacted their livelihoods and day-to-day lives. 

Social workers also recognized the need to support families of soldiers, who were also impacted economically and faced with other care-related hardships when loved ones returned from fighting the war. In this way, the field of social work helped identify some of the most significant needs of Americans and how they were related to large-scale national actions. 

World War II is considered to be a turning point in the development of the history of social work, as it led to efforts to help professionalize social work, creating systems and organizations that, in turn, strengthened the field, embedding social services more deeply into American life than they had ever been before. 

1960s: The Legacy of Social Workers and the Civil Rights Movement

Among the most inspiring events on an American social work history timeline is the Civil Rights Movement. Indeed, one of the social workers’ most meaningful contributions to American policy was their role in the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which aimed to promote equity by making segregation of public spaces and employment-based discrimination illegal, as well as protecting the voting rights of Black Americans. Social workers were vital to shaping this policy, having developed an intimate understanding of the needs of disadvantaged populations. 

1970s, 1980s, and 1990s: The Decline in Federally Supported Social Work Programs

After the significant expansion of social work programs throughout the first half of the 20th century, the arrival of President Richard Nixon in office marked a new era of cutbacks to the social services that had gradually been implemented. The arrival of President Ronald Reagan in office in the 1980s extended these cuts to social services despite the rise of several new crises in the United States, including the crack cocaine epidemic, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, homelessness, and domestic violence. 

With government-subsidized social services so dramatically reduced, social work continued primarily in private and nonprofit organizations designed to account for the sudden gaps in support for underserved populations.  

Social Work Today 

Even though there are fewer government-supported social work programs and less federal funding allocated to social work causes, the social work field has continued to grow in the private and nonprofit sectors. National and international crises have also led to some emergency decisions to expand social support, with some critical recent examples including public relief after national disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, the 2008 recession, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the need for large-scale support was so great that the American government was compelled to assist those who were impacted. 

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services oversees numerous programs that provide social services to vulnerable and at-risk populations. These include the following: 

• Unaccompanied Children, supporting refugees who are without their families 
• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) 
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) 
• Head Start supporting low-income children under five years old 
• Foster care and adoption services 
• Disability services 
• Senior services 
• Homelessness services 
• Military family support 

Many of the services offered today by the DHHS emerge from social programs first developed earlier in American history. While it is lamentable that so many of these problems have endured, social workers practicing today can take pride in participating in this country’s rich history of social work. 

Since the late 19th century, social workers have faithfully advocated for racial equality, public assistance for homeless individuals, and health care for people experiencing poverty, people with disabilities, and older people. They fight for justice and see firsthand the devastating effects of racism, homelessness, poverty, discrimination, and violence on individuals, families, and communities. The history of social work is marked by turmoil, struggle, and, above all, perseverance.