Thesis does not include an abstract / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

In the complexity of contemporary society, the welfare of individuals is dependent upon the co-operation of the helping professions and co-ordination of services provided by the many social institutions. This study considered the degree of cooperation between the two helping professions, social work and the ministry, in the suburban community of Richmond, British Columbia. The research method in this qualitative study included interviews with fifteen clergymen and ten social workers in order to apply the concepts of reciprocal awareness and utilization. This method facilitated evaluation of the knowledge one profession had of the other's role and function, and the extent to which this knowledge was used for the benefit of the population they served. Supplementing this main method was a brief historical consideration of the impact of industrialization on the development and contemporary role of the church and social welfare. The findings of the study showed the awareness one profession had of the other was based more on general knowledge than direct interprofessional contact. The utilization of each other's resources, as indicated by referral patterns, was minimal and typically the result of coincidence rather than planning. Reciprocity, the main concept evaluated, was virtually non-existent. This can primarily be accounted for by absence of communication, despite an acknowledgement by both professions, particularly social work, that there were several gains to be realized from more co-operation. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

A man grows and develops through the activity of "work". It is more than a source of income, though this is apt to be forgotten for the wage earner in the industrialized money-economy of today. When a man is trained to his capacity and is employed, he is an asset to both his community and himself. He experiences a feeling of self-worth; he can be a figure of respect and adequacy to his wife and children. In contrast to this, a wage-earner decays when exposed to prolonged periods of enforced idleness. Unemployment demoralizes, debilitates and isolates; normal energetic drives may be turned into anxiety, guilt and depression. Unemployment aggravates other personal and social problems which break down men, their wives and children. All this is particularly true among the "lower strata" of the unemployed. In October, 1959, in Vancouver, almost 20,000 men and women were registered with the National Employment Service. At the same time there were only 1,000 unfilled job vacancies. In January of the same year, the Special Placements Section for British Columbia had 1,200 registrants, and found jobs for 64. This is a placement record of one in twenty. Unemployment Insurance was collected by 1,200 Vancouver persons in December 1959, at the same time that 5,000 unemployed received half a million dollars in Social Assistance. The Salvation Army, in 1959, gave Vancouver's unemployed men 167,466 free meals and 13,427 free nights lodging. The Francescan Sisters of Vancouver gave out sandwiches to 300 men each day at 4 o'clock. Of the 100 persons registered with the Epilepsy Centre, over 50 were seeking work. Of 36 new cases opened with the Alcoholism Foundation in January 1960, 28 were unemployed. Eighty per cent of those registered with the John Howard Society had no work. And the vast majority of the addicts asking for help from the Narcotic Addiction Foundation were unemployed. These figures add several dimensions to the simple word "unemployed". The survey of available services, which was the second part of the present study, was made through personal interviews (based on a standard schedule of questions) with officials of all agencies having regular contact with unemployed men. This permitted: (a) a composite picture of the lower-stratum or skid row unemployed man, (b) an assessment of current services, with special reference to work needs. The typical skid row unemployed man is unattached, with few roots in the community. He is usually over 40, (though there is a minority group of younger men) with grade school education, no skill, and an irregular work history. Although registered for employment, he is seldom called for work because he has so little to offer. He receives Social Assistance because he has no savings, and is ineligible for Unemployment Insurance. He usually has some degree of physical disability, which may include a problem with alcohol. He is medically certified as being "capable of light work", but is physically run-down and has lost the habit of regular work. Services presently available include economic maintenance, food, clothing, shelter, registration for employment and counselling: but these are offered in varying amounts by a variety of agencies. They meet the basic needs, but they are not coordinated; and most of all, they do not offer the opportunity to work or alternative training and rehabilitation. The immediate need in Vancouver is for an active central registry of all unemployed, improved communication between the various agencies and services, and the establishment of a central service council to evaluate needs and develop a programme to meet these needs. Comprehensive planning starting from registration, evaluation and training, and ending with job placement, should be the goal: but "sheltered work", for both training and production is the most practical resource. Insufficient attention has been given to successful programmes of sheltered work and rehabilitation courses in other countries. These could usefully be considered for adaptation here: preferably on a national scale. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study comprises the basic framework for the highly important but complex question: what are the areas in community welfare services where research is most needed and most likely to be valuable? Necessary preliminaries for such a study include consideration of (a) the definition of "social welfare", and its most immediately relevant history; (b) the possible kinds and directions of research; (c) a descriptive summary picture of existing welfare services. For the present study "the community" is at some points interpreted nationally (e.g., the social insurances) and provincially (e.g., social assistance), but particular attention is given to Vancouver agencies (many of which have metropolitan or provincial reference). The main sources of data are fourfold, (a) Significant examples of similar projects undertaken elsewhere (community surveys by Bradley Buell and Associates, Welfare Council Surveys in Philadelphia, Pa., and Berkeley, Calif., reviewed for their comparative value on method, (b) Annual reports of public and private agencies, and relevant studies made by agencies, including the Community Chest and Council, (c) Statistical data (including Census, D.B.S. bulletins and departmental reports, revealing incidence and trend aspects of welfare problems. (d) Finally, two comprehensive questionnaires, sent to over 130 agencies in Greater Vancouver. The agencies' appraisals of needs is analyzed through (a) service statistics, (b) estimates of unserved clientele, (c) direct evidences of potential need (such as waiting-lists, etc.) The subject-matter headings of Part I (Some Historical Perspectives) and Part II (Social Services Today) are: (l) income-maintenance and general social security; (2) personal services, counselling casework and social adjustment; (3) recreation and leisure-time; (4) crime,, delinquency, corrections. (Health services are to be the subject of a separate companion study, though consideration is given in the present survey to welfare services contingent upon medical and psychiatric care). Welfare and research needs, as interpreted by the agencies in the community and further analyzed in Part III., are brought together in Part IV. Most characteristic among these are (a) services which are seriously deficient or non-existent because of lack of funds, or qualified personnel (e.g., a residential treatment centre for emotionally disturbed children); (b) extensions or additions to service for particular groups, either for experimental purposes or demonstrated specialist attention (e.g., homemaker service for various kinds of family need); (c) several aspects of coordination, improved organization etc., of actual and potential community resources. Research needs illustrated include (a) proposals for the improvement of current administration, (including studies of incidence leading to predictive formulae), (b) causal studies (e.g., of the etiology of several types of dependency;) (c) better understanding of social work services in specific settings (e.g., residence projects for potential delinquents, and for discharged offenders.) (The next stage of the total project, which this "operational survey" now permits, is the formulation of a systematic "welfare research agenda". This is the subject of a separate study). / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Municipalities have always been the crucial element in social assistance. But recent events which make a comparative study of social assistance policy timely are (a) the current community interest in the adequacy of social assistance allowances in Vancouver, and (b) the passage of the Unemployment Assistance Act amendment of 1958. The cities studied comprises cities of Vancouver, Burnaby, Edmonton, Regina, and Winnipeg. The aspects of policy particularly examined include: the determination of need, the extent to which the cities are willing to meet that need; residence policy; relatives' responsibility; assistance given to the able-bodied unemployed; income to low-income families; and the rehabilitation services offered the client. As introduction material the historical impact of the Poor Law tradition in Canada is reviewed, also the legal background of provincial social assistance. Questionnaires were formulated and submitted to the city welfare departments. Interviews were held with the public assistance administrators in Vancouver, Burnaby, Edmonton and Regina. Policy manuals are utilized wherever available. Several studies on rehabilitation approaches to public assistance clients in the United States were examined for comparative purposes. The similarity of social assistance legislation in the provinces shows as the first finding of this study. Only British Columbia and Saskatchewan, however, have so far abolished the local residence qualifications to comply with the signed Unemployment Assistance agreements. All the cities have made an effort to standardize and liberalize policies respecting assessment of resources and income. Limited dental and optical services are provided under each city's health program, which should be expanded. It is argued that the budget-deficit method for determining grants meets the clients’ needs more adequately than the flat-grant-plus-supplement method. Each city now provides financial assistance to the able-bodied unemployed but it is suggested that each city should examine their policy on supplementing income to low-income families. Multiple-purpose agencies (illustrated by Burnaby and Edmonton) appear as most effective in providing services to "multiple-problem" families. Coordination of services, public and private, optimum innovations in the use of personnel and the initiation of research are necessary for the most effective rehabilitation program. One informational contribution is the description of some of the components of resources and budget items within the social assistance program. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This thesis has reviewed the medical care programme for public assistance recipients in British Columbia. It has been concerned with eligibility qualifications, the extent of services provided, and the administration and financing of these services. As background material, recent developments in social assistance medical care in Canada were summarized. Particular attention was given to an analysis of the Saskatchewan programme, as its philosophy of public assistance is similar to that of British Columbia. Eligibility for medical services is not a complex subject in British Columbia because it simply extends to all categories of public assistance. The same may be said of the actual provision of services. British Columbia does not have the usual administrative tangles usually surrounding the kinds of services offered because of the fact that it has chosen to provide comprehensive care. The administration and financing of the programme offers plenty of material for discussion by the student of public administration. It is evident that the provincial role is predominant, as is true of many aspects of provincial-municipal relations in British Columbia. The contribution of the municipalities is largely confined to a share in the financing of the scheme, and this is not large. The Director of the Medical Services Division carries administrative responsibility for the programme, but the Canadian Medical Association (B.C. Division) through its Social Assistance Medical Service is responsible for remuneration to the individual physician from a pooled fund provided by the provincial government. The administration of public funds by a private body is a much-discussed issue in the extension of public medical care, but it suffices here to state that the plan seems to be working satisfactorily in British Columbia. Probably the distinctive contribution of the programme is the integration of the physician and the social worker in the planning of the physical and social rehabilitation of the individual. The relatively comprehensive nature of services, both medical and of a social work nature, contribute to the integration. The extension of medical care is now a lively issue in Canada, and has become a focal point in federal-provincial relations. British Columbia has prepared itself for an inclusive programme through the introduction of hospital insurance, but its pioneering in medical care for the needy may also be of aid in the planning of the larger programme which must inevitably come. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The purpose of this review is to demonstrate the growth of a family agency, The Calgary Family Bureau. This growth is related in a general manner to that of the Family Welfare Movement which had its roots within the Charity Organization Societies. In portraying this development, only the salient points are discussed, relating them as closely as possible to the functions of a family service agency. These functions which are two in number, are the accepted purposes of a modern family agency. They are, first, to provide a skilled case work service on problems of family living and individual social adjustment; and second, to provide and stimulate those resources that contribute to healthy social living in the community. It is desired that the specific study of the development of the Calgary Family Bureau will: first, portray a parallel to the growth of other family service agencies as outlined in the first chapter; and second, to demonstrate those processes by which the past has influenced the agency at present; and third, to provide a basis upon which an assessment can be made of the present and the future of the agency. In respect of the latter, an attempt is made to evaluate and assess the agency, not only in terms of the past, but particularly in terms of the present. The assessment being geared to the functions of an accepted family service agency. The reconstruction of the growth and development of family agencies in general terms was formulated through research of available authoritative sources relating to the general movement and the accepted standard of purposes for a modern family agency. The specific analysis of the antecedents of the Canary Family Bureau and the events leading to it becoming an independent family agency was undertaken after a study of historical data in the form of documents such as Minutes, Annual Reports, letters and an independent Survey. These were supplemented by personal sources of authentic observers. The same method was applied in a study of the present status of the agency but in this case also supplemented the personal observations of the writer. The findings attempt to show that the needs of the Calgary community not only dictated the development of a social agency but lent themselves to its character and the service it provided. These needs were recognized and the forces of social action to meet them were implemented because of the concern and character of responsible personalities in the community. Personal attributes played a considerable role in the formation of and development of the Calgary Family Bureau. The Calgary Family Bureau was also a product of pressures within the community and its standard of service was influenced by changing concepts. These concepts being the acceptance of the purposes of a recognized family agency. It has not been concluded, however, that the Bureau has reached the standards set for such agencies. It has acquired a foundation as a family agency. It must now acquire the techniques and policies inherent of the case work and community functions of a modern family agency. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Persons not covered by categorical aid programs (such as old age assistance and mother's allowance ) and insurance schemes (such as old age security and unemployment insurance), are cared for by the social assistance program in British Columbia. The present study is concerned with this residual group of persons in one community - New Westminster. The development of the present assistance program is traced, the changes in caseload that have occurred in the last four years are considered, and a survey made of the cases that received assistance in 1951. A social assistance program has been in operation in New Westminster for the past fifty years, during which time major changes have occurred. The principle of local responsibility for caring for the destitute has been modified, and the provincial government today assumes major financial responsibility for social assistance, and has formulated the policy which is followed by all public assistance agencies in the province. In contrast to the "relief days”, unemployable persons today comprise the major group of persons receiving help. The employment of social workers to implement policy is also a recognized principle. Social assistance in New Westminster is only one function of the public agency. The stigma attached to charity in the relief days has decreased and persons in need are regarding assistance as a legitimate resource in times of financial stress. The total caseload of the New Westminster agency has increased in the last four years of joint municipal-provincial operation, but this increase had been particularly prominent in the social assistance caseload. Minor (and constant) fluctuations in the number of persons requiring help have occurred, and there is a tendency for the assistance caseload to decrease in late summer. Judging from the eight-month period in 1951, the social assistance caseload is characterized by a turnover in cases as high as one in three. The social worker has met these changes by giving more of his time to the social assistance caseload. The persons receiving assistance are not a homogenous group. They include persons who receive assistance as a temporary measure, and those for whom assistance is a permanent source of income. Again, the social assistance group is made up of persons whose only problem is financial destitution, and those who have problems requiring casework help. A high proportion of the persons have been married at one time but are now living alone. The majority of the people on assistance are over sixty years of age, and these people suffer from crippling ailments, particularly heart disease and arthritis. One-third of the 558 persons who benefited from assistance in April 1951 were dependent children, one-half of them under ten years of age. The majority of the dependents live with a widowed or separated woman. The majority of the 122 men who received assistance in April 1951, had been previously employed as unskilled labourers. The majority.pf the 248 women who received assistance were housewives with no specific occupational training. Social assistance in New Westminster is a heterogenous residual category of public assistance, with considerable fluctuation in size, indicating that the social assistance program needs to be flexible. The rates of assistance also need to be more flexible, to permit adequate coverage for persons requiring temporary help and for those requiring long-term financial assistance. An alternative would be to provide separate insurance programs for the major groups of destitutes, such as mothers with dependent children; and categorical aid programs for the totally and permanently disabled. In order to provide the casework help that sixty per cent of the cases need, the number of social workers needs to be increased. The employment of an experienced worker is essential to provide (a) uniform policy respecting eligibility and (b) early diagnosis, to ensure the application of the principle of differential treatment for the mixed groups of persons comprising the social assistance category. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study deals with the annual review procedure of the services comprising the Portland Council of Social Agencies. An effective method of appraisal of the community social welfare services is an obvious necessity of a central planning body. Background information was obtained during a six month student placement with the above agency, through discussions with Council staff, and through participation on two review committees. Findings were also based on study of annual reports and minutes of committee meetings of the Council. The thesis begins with a brief history of the federated planning movement in social welfare, and then describes the structure and function of a Council of Social Agencies. Attention is given to the development of the Portland Council, and the role of the review committee is shown in relation to the other functions of that Council. Discussion is made of the initial practice and the development of the review committee. The review committee procedure is discussed in detail. Recruitment of members and their orientation to the review role is considered. The function of the council secretary in preparing for the meeting with the agency is shown. Emphasis is stressed on the participation by the agency in submitting material to be studied. The development of the review report from the meeting of the committee with the agency is described. The techniques of formulating the recommendations and the various problems encountered are presented. The educational influence of the review procedure is explained. Examples of the consideration of agencies to review recommendations are given. The emphasis on the effectiveness of cooperative review by committee and agency concludes the thesis. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Social welfare attitudes and policies are rooted in philosophical approaches. The attitudes and policies of political parties to social welfare are to be sought in the political philosophies of these parties. It has been the purpose of this thesis to explore the political philosophy of the Social Credit League and Government of British Columbia in order to ascertain how this is reflected in matters of social welfare. The theoretical father of Social Credit was Major Douglas of England. His economic and monetary theories were formulated in the 1920s. In 1935 these theories found an opportunity of being put to the test when, under the leadership of Premier Aberhart, the Social Credit Party came to power in Alberta. In British Columbia Social Credit was elected to power in 1952 and has since held the reigns of power continuously. An exploration of the welfare policies of the British Columbia Social Credit Party required an investigation of the genesis of this movement. Thus it was necessary to delve into the literature of and about Major Douglas. The development of the Social Credit movement of Alberta and a study of its relationship to the economic theories on which it was created proved to be a helpful approach in understanding thinking on social welfare issues. Finally, this thesis turns to the scene in British Columbia and traces the rise to power of the Social Credit party. Power is expressed in policy. Thus it was necessary to focus on the possible policy-making sources. The British Columbia Social Credit League represents one such source. The other is, of course, the government itself. Prom the accumulated evidence there emerges a picture of Social Credit social welfare philosophy. Douglas placed emphasis on the provision of a basic dividend. He maintained that the problems confronting people stemmed from their inability to purchase the product of an ever-growing ability to produce. Douglas argued that if his economic theory was linked to the growing leisure imposed by the industrial system, then the welfare of the individual would be assured. Aberhart's understanding of the Douglas theory appears to be confused. A strong religious component is evident in the Aberhart approach. Individualism and self-reliance, these are the ingredients of the Aberhart thesis. Coupled with this is to be found a concern for the blind, the widowed and the sick. The biblical injunction is preserved both in word and content so that social welfare might well be said to be understood in just this way. Aberhart's attempt to undertake elements of Douglas' ideas were frustrated and so the testing ground for this economic theory was tested in court rather than in practice. In British Columbia we note that the Social Credit League demonstrates adherance both to the Douglas theory and the religious conviction of Aberhart. Both the League and the Government are strong adherants of the free enterprise system. Both emphasise the virtue of work and stress the idea of self reliance. While important segments of the League advocate monetary reform a la Douglas, the Government has avoided this issue. The evidence shows that the Social Credit movement makes a distinction between those who are worthy of help and those who are not. This, to a large extent, creates the base upon which social welfare policy is created. At a governmental level the emphasis is placed on economic stimulation, vocational training and rehabilitation. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Shillington, John David; Steidle, Utho Charles; Thomlison, Raymond John / Graduate