This paper examines the effects of social capital in the lives of low-income single mothers and how it intersects with the goals of the Personal Responsibility Act (PRA). These explicit goals are to decrease reliance on public assistance through work and marriage; the implicit goals are to enhance social capital by increasing the trust, norms, and values that are evidenced by work and marriage. However, low-income single mothers are faced with limited repositories of social capital, which leaves them in a legislated quagmire. Tested here is the hypothesis that social capital impacts marriage, stable employment, and TANF use. The findings indicate that social capital impacts stable employment and economic stability in low-income single mothers, but it does not increase the likelihood of marriage. Further research that examines how social capital intersects with race and class will shed additional light on the efficacy of policy initiatives that focus on social capital reinforcement in low income female-headed families.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-22T17:26:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Stephanie Regina Wautier Schaeffer Batista.pdf: 575246 bytes, checksum: ca85bc9378a2ab4eed945d9a126b8512 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-07-31 / This paper focuses user participation in the social control of the Sistema Único de Assistência Social (Integrated Social Welfare System SUAS) aiming to reflect on the limitations and possibilities of this practice to care for the population. The choice of topic for a Master s thesis is justified by the complex context of social welfare policies in Brazil, the recent SUAS creation (2005) and its emphasis on the social control of the user, and the limited scientific research aimed specifically at Social Welfare Program users. The central issue on which this study is based is: How does the user perceive and control the services offered by SUAS in counties with full program management in the state of Rio Grande do Sul? The scientific investigation performed followed a qualitative approach within a dialectical-critical focus and seeks support in Antônio Gramsci s theoretical concepts to look into subordinate classes. From a systematization and analysis of the answers given by SUAS users, two tendencies of social control that act simultaneously and are followed by the surveyed subjects are pointed out. On one hand, there is the dominant hegemony strengthening, which tends to a depoliticized control that ultimately reduces the demand for social welfare service benefits; on the other hand, there is the faint appearance of a counter-hegemony which resists an authoritarian control. Therefore, despite the fact that the user is still to be found at a disadvantage in relation to SUAS management, there are elements that favor a greater participation in the spaces to be occupied and decisive processes, signaling towards democratic emancipation possibilities. / O presente trabalho versa sobre a participação dos usuários no exercício de controle social do Sistema Único de Assistência Social (SUAS), procurando refletir os limites e as possibilidades desta prática nessa população. Considerando o complexo quadro contextual com o qual convivem as políticas de proteção social no Brasil; acompanhando a recente implantação do SUAS (2005) e sua ênfase ao controle social do usuário; levando em conta a reduzida produção científica voltada especificamente para os usuários da Assistência Social, justifica-se a escolha deste tema para a Dissertação de Mestrado. A questão central norteadora do estudo é a seguinte: Como o usuário percebe e controla os serviços oferecidos pelo SUAS em municípios de gestão plena do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (RS)? A investigação científica realizada privilegia uma abordagem qualitativa dentro de um enfoque dialético-crítico, usando o aporte teórico de Antônio Gramsci para lançar um olhar aguçado em direção às classes subalternas. A partir da sistematização e da análise de respostas fornecidas pelos usuários do SUAS, são apontadas duas tendências de controle social em movimento simultâneo, exercidas pelos sujeitos da pesquisa: o fortalecimento da hegemonia dominante pendendo para um controle despolitizado, reduzido à cobrança de benefícios nos serviços de proteção social; a construção tímida de uma contra-hegemonia apontando resistências à dominação de uma cultura autoritária. Portanto, embora o usuário permaneça em posição de desvantagem na gestão do SUAS, já existem elementos favorecedores de maior inserção nos espaços e processos decisórios, indicando possibilidades de emancipação democrática

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:15:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Glaucia Lelis Alves.pdf: 1157811 bytes, checksum: fc6d0ac1cb0354dfe367272bc88c1e13 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-06-21 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The present thesis concerns the theoretical critical study of the social control category in the contemporaneousness. The debate that has intensified to the process of the democratization of the Brazilian State, under way since the late 1970s, which had its greatest expression in the promulgation of the Constitution of 1988. It seeks to capture the social control in the sphere of social policy, come to reproducing the conservative reformism or enhancing the process of expanding the struggle for democracy, taking as a reference the particularity of social control mechanisms place in Brazil for the politics of social work. The study was guided by the realization of qualitative research. In the process of knowledge was sought to undertake bibliographical studies, documentary (newspapers, scientific papers, journals, documents) relating to Social Welfare Policy and Social control in this, from reports, resolutions and documents from the National Council of Welfare. Thus the present study is structured in three chapters that are articulated through an analytical central axis, i.e. the construction of the critical issue of social control in order of their capital and operational in order to reveal different concepts, trends and linking the antagonistic societal projects. We performed a reading of the similarities and differences between social policy and social control, considering the historical process in Latin America and especially Brazil. Perceives that the social policy in Brazil express all constraints and contradictions in a society where has developed peripheral/wild capitalism. These traits have permeated the historical construction of democratization processes and the mechanisms of social control in the country requiring a reconfiguration of its strategies, we attempted to perform an analysis of the limits and potential of the exercise of social control, which is expressed by a roll of ambiguities between essential necessity for democratic radicalization and reproduction of conservative reformism which is established in the realization of social policy in the current context, through strategies fetishistic in simulacra of social policy, stressing the importance of instituting a new direction of social control, by the class work, focusing on the prospect of human emancipation / A presente tese refere-se ao estudo teórico crítico da categoria controle social na contemporaneidade. O debate que se apresenta intensifica-se a partir do processo de democratização do Estado brasileiro, em curso desde o final da década de 1970, que teve sua maior expressão na promulgação da Constituição Federal de 1988. Procura-se apreender a efetivação do controle social no âmbito das políticas sociais, se vêm reproduzindo o reformismo conservador ou contribuindo para os processos de ampliação da luta pela democracia, tendo como referência a particularidade dos mecanismos de controle social instituídos no Brasil pela política de assistência social. No decorrer do processo de conhecimento buscou-se empreender estudos bibliográficos, documentais referentes à Política de Assistência Social e ao Controle social nesta, pelo Conselho Nacional de Assistência Social. Dessa forma o presente estudo estrutura-se em 03 capítulos que estão articulados entre si por um eixo analítico central, ou seja, a construção da crítica ao controle social na ordem do capital e sua operacionalidade, tendo em vista desvelar diferentes concepções, tendências e vinculação a projetos societários antagônicos. Realizou-se a leitura dos encontros e desencontros entre política social e controle social, considerando o processo histórico latino- americano e, sobretudo, brasileiro. Apreende-se que a política social no Brasil expressa todos os limites/contradições presentes numa sociedade em que se desenvolveu o capitalismo periférico/selvagem. Esses traços históricos permearam a construção de processos de democratização e dos mecanismos de controle social no país exigindo uma reconfiguração de suas estratégias. Buscou-se realizar uma análise dos limites e potencialidades do exercício do controle social, que se expressa por um rol de ambigüidades entre a necessidade do fortalecimento da democracia e a reprodução do reformismo que se instaura por meio de estratégias fetichizadoras em simulacros de política social, destacando a importância de se instituir uma nova direção de controle social, pela classe trabalhadora, centrando-se na perspectiva da emancipação humana

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-01-04T18:33:20Z No. of bitstreams: 1 alinesouzaaraujo.pdf: 906340 bytes, checksum: dce8a664c8d2cf6b723ae69285e27d0f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-01-25T16:04:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 alinesouzaaraujo.pdf: 906340 bytes, checksum: dce8a664c8d2cf6b723ae69285e27d0f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-25T16:04:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 alinesouzaaraujo.pdf: 906340 bytes, checksum: dce8a664c8d2cf6b723ae69285e27d0f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-31 / Essa dissertação de mestrado tem como proposta, analisar a complexidade que circunscreve a intervenção do assistente social na assistência estudantil. Assim sendo, apresentamos alguns elementos que perpassam essa realidade, construindo uma base, histórica e teórica, para a compreensão desse processo. Tornam-se centrais nessa perspectiva de análise, a relação existente entre Estado burguês e política social - enquanto determinação contraditória típica da sociedade capitalista, os direcionamentos determinados pela política econômica e as demandas advindas da classe trabalhadora. A partir dessa problematização, buscamos compreender, como esses elementos - dando ênfase às políticas sociais de assistência social e de educação, se desdobraram no Brasil. Desvendamos a assistência estudantil, enquanto resultado desse processo. É nesse cenário, que a intervenção do assistente social se realiza. Identificamos, pela pesquisa de campo referenciada em Minas Gerais, como os assistentes sociais, que trabalham diretamente nessa questão, compreendem e lidam com a assistência estudantil e quais as suas reais condições de trabalho. A necessidade de uma construção coletiva da política de assistência estudantil e de elaboração de projetos profissionais em nossa área é apontada por eles, como a demanda mais urgente e necessária, para que a intervenção do assistente social, seja cada vez mais, qualificada e comprometida com as reais condições de vida dos estudantes. / This dissertation has the purpose to analyze the complexity that limits the intervention of the social worker in student assistance. Therefore, we present some elements that permeate this reality, building a base, historical and theoretical, to the understanding of this process. Become central in this analysis perspective, the relationship between the bourgeois state and social policy - while typical contradictory determination of capitalist society, the directions determined by economic policy and the demands arising from the working class. From this questioning, we seek to understand how these elements - emphasizing the social policies of social welfare and education, unfolded in Brazil. We unveil the student assistance as a result of this process. It is in this scenario that the intervention of the social worker takes place. Identified by field research referenced in Minas Gerais, as social workers, who work directly on this issue, understand and deal with student assistance and what their actual working conditions. The need for a collective construction of student assistance policy and development of professional projects in our area, is considered by them as the most urgent and necessary demand for the intervention of the social worker, is increasingly qualified and committed with the actual living conditions of students.

Students of accredited social work programs are expected to demonstrate ten core competencies, including the ability to "engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services" (Council on Social Work Education, 2008). Despite this expectation, almost half of licensed social workers surveyed disagreed with the notion that they were adequately prepared for political engagement by their social work education (Ritter, 2007). Because social welfare policy courses are the primary curricular means for preparing generalist social workers for political advocacy, this study explores how undergraduate students respond to social welfare policy instructors' efforts to prepare them for political engagement. Quantitative and qualitative data from social work students in two distinct social welfare policy courses support the idea that participation in such a course can contribute to an increase in political interest and internal political efficacy. Based on surveys (n=31), focus groups (n=28), and interviews (n=11) with students, a model for social welfare policy instruction is proposed, which includes 11 recommended teaching methods and 7 key aspects of the students' learning experience. By listening to the voices and experiences of social work students, this study begins to fill a gap in the social work education and policy practice literature. The final conclusions of the study help clarify for social work educators methodologies by which they can more effectively support students in the development of political interest, internal political efficacy, and ultimately policy practice.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:18:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosemeire dos Santos.pdf: 841387 bytes, checksum: a7b2b36b071a750450b94e299a555c8f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This monograph aims to know the work developed by social workers, in social welfare policy with families. The work was developed supported by literature and field searches. The literature research supported the theoretical construction of the research. And the field research was carried out with 8 of 11 professionals who work in CRAS in São José dos Campos and Tremembé, cities that are part of the Vale do Paraíba, geographically located between the metropolis Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. The accomplishment of the work allowed to understand the historical conceptions of the profession, the social welfare policy and the establishment of the cities of Vale do Paraíba. Agents that supported the understanding of professional work in the region. Regarding the action of the social worker with families, it was concluded that in this moment of implantation it s needed many moments of reflection and analysis to understand the complexities and contradictions of the society and to the professional exercise in working with families nowadays / Esta monografia teve como objetivo conhecer o trabalho desenvolvido pelos assistentes sociais, na política de assistência social com famílias. O trabalho se desenvolveu apoiado em pesquisas bibliográficas e de campo. A pesquisa bibliografia subsidiou a construção teórica sobre a pesquisa. E a pesquisa de campo realizou-se com 8 profissionais dos 11 que atuam nos CRAS nas cidades de São José dos Campos e Tremembé, municípios que fazem parte do Vale do Paraíba, região geograficamente localizada entre as metrópoles Rio de Janeiro e São Paulo. A efetivação do trabalho possibilitou a compreender as concepções históricas da profissão, da política de assistência social e a constituição das cidades do Vale do Paraíba. Fatores que favoreceram a compreensão do trabalho profissional na região. No que tange a ação do assistente social no trabalho com famílias, chegou-se à conclusão que nesse momento de implantação há necessidade de muitos momentos de reflexão e análise para a compreensão das complexidades e contradições da sociedade e para o exercício profissional no trabalho com famílias na contemporaneidade

JACOB, Cícero Renato Ribeiro. Intersetorialidade no Serviço de Proteção e Atendimento Integral à Família (PAIF) da política de assistência social de Fortaleza: uma avaliação em processo. 2014. 281f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-graduação em Avaliação de Políticas Públicas, Fortaleza (CE), 2014. / Submitted by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2015-05-04T15:01:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_crrjacob.pdf: 2818287 bytes, checksum: d59ebeb1e2db37a224e39052dcd1c9d0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo(marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2015-05-05T11:13:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_crrjacob.pdf: 2818287 bytes, checksum: d59ebeb1e2db37a224e39052dcd1c9d0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-05T11:13:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2014_dis_crrjacob.pdf: 2818287 bytes, checksum: d59ebeb1e2db37a224e39052dcd1c9d0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / The research circumscribed in this argumentative work presents as its main object of investigation the evaluation of the intersectoral construction process in the Paif Social Assistance Reference Center (CRAS) of Mondubim, a neighborhood in Fortaleza . The research presents theoretical and methodological designs configured in epistemological postulations that mark the proposition of "open and critical rationalism" as proposed by Alba Carvalho, as a way of conceiving and doing science. In this sense, the methodological route of the research was done through bibliographical research, desk research and empirical research. Considering the theoretical and empirical demarcation, confined to the subject of the investigation, the construction of the analytical contributions of the research was structured based on the survey and the reading of scientific papers on the themes: State, poverty, social protection, public policy social assistance and intersectoral. The empirical field of the research is limited to the scope of institutional spaces which operationalize social assistance policy in Fortaleza, during the years 2012 and 2013, namely: Secretaria Municipal de Assistência Social; Distrito de Assistência Social da Secretaria Executiva Regional V; and, finally, Cras Mondubim. The research presents a qualitative approach, linking to the adoption of contributions of the quantitative approach. In this sense, interviews questionnaires were applied to 54 professionals of high and medium levels from Paif SER V and conducted in depth with 19 professionals and users (as) the Paif of Cras Mondubim. In the methodological research route, it was also carried out the survey and the analysis of documents and, finally, an intense process of Paif’s development observation was done in Cras Mondubim. With regard to the results marked by the research, we can point out: the interlocutors results – through differences on the analytical perspective and the specifications outlined by their speeches - postulate that the intersectoral category has a prominent place in the configuration of identity and the modus operandi of social welfare policy, indicating that the establishment of this category in the operationalization of programs, projects and services of social work marks an important route to its statement as a public policy of non-contributory social protection. / A pesquisa circunscrita neste trabalho dissertativo apresenta como objeto de investigação a avaliação em processo da construção da intersetorialidade no Paif do Centro de Referência da Assistência Social (CRAS) do Bairro Mondubim, município de Fortaleza. A pesquisa apresenta delineamentos teórico-metodológicos configurados em postulações epistemológicas que demarcam a proposição do “Racionalismo aberto e crítico” de Alba Carvalho, como via do conceber e fazer ciência. Nessa direção, o traçado metodológico da pesquisa foi materializado com a realização de pesquisa bibliográfica, de pesquisa documental e de pesquisa empírica. Considerando-se a demarcação teórico-empírica, circunscrita no objeto da investigação, a construção dos aportes analíticos da pesquisa foi estruturada com base no levantamento e na leitura de produções científicas sobre os temas: Estado, pobreza, proteção social, política pública de assistência social e intersetorialidade. O campo empírico da pesquisa está circunscrito ao âmbito de espaços institucionais que operacionalizam a política de assistência social em Fortaleza, no decurso dos anos de 2012 e 2013, a saber: Secretaria Municipal de Assistência Social; Distrito de Assistência Social da Secretaria Executiva Regional V e, por fim, o Cras do Bairro Mondubim. A pesquisa apresenta um enfoque qualitativo, articulando-se à adoção de aportes próprios da abordagem quantitativa. Nessa direção, foram aplicados 54 questionários com profissionais de nível superior e médio do Paif da SER V e realizadas entrevistas em profundidade com 19 profissionais e usuários(as) do Paif do Cras Mondubim. No percurso metodológico da pesquisa, também foi realizado o levantamento e a análise de documentos e, por fim, foi efetivado intenso processo de observação do desenvolvimento do Paif no âmbito do Cras Mondubim. No que diz respeito aos resultados demarcados pela investigação, destacam-se: os(as) interlocutores da pesquisa – em meio às diferenciações quanto à perspectiva analítica e as especificidades delineadas pelos seus discursos – postulam que a categoria da intersetorialidade apresenta lugar de destaque na configuração da identidade e do modus operandi da política de assistência social, indicando que o estabelecimento desta categoria na operacionalização dos programas, projetos e serviços da assistência social demarca uma importante via para a sua afirmação como política pública de proteção social não contributiva.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-18T18:55:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Lucilene.pdf: 1225805 bytes, checksum: 1a67e1db3ed0d98923c3455d3280c986 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-23 / I study the work of the social worker within the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) from the Social Assistance Reference Centers (CRAS), in São Luís, Maranhão. I talk about the expansion of the professional working market within the national policy for social assistance which nationally established the SUAS and the CRAS in which the incorporation of the social worker in the technical crew is a legal requirement in the policy effecting process. In the empirical data analysis, I consider the centrality of the working category and the assumption that the professional working conditions experience determinations of the working organization mode in the capitalist society and the configuration of social policies in responses of the State to the expressions of the social issues in the contemporaneity. I emphasize the policy for social assistance from its new rearrangement, through: the 1988 Federal Constitution, the Social Assistance Organic Law (LOAS) and the National Policy for Social Assistance (PNAS); I emphasize the centrality that this policy assumes in the last two decades in the set of policies for social protection in Brazil and the insertion of Social Service in the CRAS. I recall the historical process of this insertion in the social care service in São Luis, where I verify that the work of the social workers within the SUAS, through the CRAS, expresses a contradiction between the policy rules and the precariousness that challenges the profession Code of Ethics. In the final considerations, I point out that conservative elements in the professional practice are identified, persisting shortsighted practices that meet the provisions of the social assistance policy, which reinforces the maintenance of users in the state of need in relation to their subsistence. / Estudo sobre o trabalho do/da assistente social no âmbito do Sistema Único de Assistência Social (SUAS) a partir dos Centros de Referência de Assistência Social (CRAS) no município de São Luís do Maranhão. Trato da expansão do mercado de trabalho profissional no âmbito da Política Nacional de Assistência Social que institui nacionalmente o SUAS e os CRAS nos quais a inserção de assistentes sociais na equipe técnica é uma exigência legal no processo de efetivação da política. Na análise de dados empíricos, parto da centralidade da categoria trabalho e da premissa de que as condições de trabalho profissional sofrem determinações do modo de organização do trabalho na sociedade capitalista e da configuração das políticas sociais nas respostas do Estado às expressões da questão social na contemporaneidade. Enfatizo a política de assistência social a partir do seu novo reordenamento, através: da Constituição Federal de 1988, da Lei Orgânica da Assistência Social (LOAS) e da Política Nacional de Assistência Social (PNAS); ressalto a centralidade que essa política assume nas duas ultimas décadas no conjunto das políticas de proteção social no Brasil e a inserção do Serviço Social nos CRAS. Resgato o processo histórico dessa inserção na prestação da assistência social em São Luís onde verifico que o trabalho dos/das assistentes sociais no âmbito do SUAS, através dos CRAS, expressa uma contradição entre as normas da política e a precarização que desafia o Código de Ética da profissão. Nas considerações finais ressalto que elementos conservadores no exercício profissional são identificados, persistindo práticas de caráter imediatista que atendem as determinações da política de assistência social, as quais reforçam a manutenção dos usuários no estado de necessitados, em relação à sua subsistência.

有鑑於過去人口結構的變化，台灣已成為人口老化速度最快的國家，人口老 齡化已成為一個重大議題。而老年人比例最高的日本，卻出現廣泛的老年貧窮 （下流老人）現象。因此，本研究以日本的情況為依據，對台灣老年貧窮的整體 概況和未來趨勢的發展進行資料整合與分析。主要探討台灣“老年貧窮”問題的 出現，並找出其影響的程度及其未來的發展，後續並深入分析其造成台灣“老年 貧窮”問題之關鍵指標因素，以及政府解決老年貧窮問題的政策與措施。研究發 現，超過五成老年人口落在最低收入、最貧窮層級的家戶中，顯示台灣社會的“老 年貧窮”現象有所增加。而造成台灣老年貧窮的原因為：一、退休養老金不足（低 於基本生活開銷）; 二、就業（低薪的工作環境）; 三、家庭養老功能下降（老 人獨居比率不斷上升）; 四、太早離開勞動力市場（儲蓄不足）。研究結果顯示，弱化的社會保障制度是老年貧窮比率升高的主要原因，而老年貧窮的現象亦廣泛存在於台灣社會，因此建議需提升公眾意識，提早準備充足的退休養老金、並加 強社區老人關懷功能、以及持續關注老年貧窮的問題。本研究結果可提供未來探 討台灣老年貧窮議題之參考，相關研究值得後續做進一步的探討分析。 / In view of the change in demographic structure in the past few years, Taiwan has become the country with the fastest speed of population aging. The aging population has become a major issue. Japan has the highest ratio of aged citizens, and the widely discussed phenomena of elderly poverty (The low-living elderly). Thus, this study based on Japan's case, has systematically reviewed, analyzed, and secondary data, in order to provide the overall and future trends of elderly poverty situation in Taiwan. The study probes into the emergence of the “elderly poverty” problem and try to find out the extent of this problem and its future outlook, to explore the causes of the “elderly poverty” problem in Taiwan and the official measures for alleviating elderly poverty. The research found that more than 50% of the elderly was the poorest households with the lowest income, nearly half of the elderly population falls to the lowest and poorest level, shows “the low-living elderly” phenomenon has increasing in Taiwan’s society. The causes of the elderly poverty in Taiwan: 1. the labor pension is too low (less than the necessary living expenses); 2. unstable employment (low income work); 3. family care function are decline (the elders living alone has keep rising); 4. early to exit from the labor market (lack of deposits). The weakened social security system are the main causes for the rising old-age poverty. The elderly poverty exists widely and need to promote public awareness for prepare adequate deposit in retirement, strengthen care function of community and focus on the elderly poor issues. For overall pictures of elderly poverty in Taiwan is worthy of further investigation and discussion.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Charity Organization Society of Indianapolis experienced founding, maturing, and corporate phases between 1879 and 1922. Indianapolis provided the ideal setting for the organized charity movement to flourish. Men and women innovated to act on their civic ideal to make Indianapolis a desirable city. As charity leaders applied the new techniques of scientific philanthropy, they assembled data one case at a time and based solutions to social problems on reforming individuals. The COS enjoyed its peak influence and legitimacy between 1891 and 1911. The organization continually learned from its work and advised other charities in Indianapolis and the U.S. The connected men and women engaged in organized charity learned that it was not enough to reform every individual who came to them for help. Industrialization created new socioeconomic strata and new forms of dependence. As the COS evolved, it implemented more systemic solutions to combat illness, unemployment, and poverty. After 1911 the COS stagnated while Indianapolis diversified economically, culturally, ethnically, and socially. The COS failed to adapt to its rapidly changing environment; it could not withstand competition, internal upheaval, specialization, and professionalization. Its general mission, to aid anyone in need, became lost in the shadow of child saving. Mid-level businessmen, corporate entities, professional social workers, service club members, and ethnic and racial minorities all participated in philanthropy. The powerful cache of social capital enervated and the civic ideal took on different dimensions. In 1922 the COS merged with other agencies to form the Family Welfare Society. This dissertation contributes to the scholarship of charity organization societies and social welfare policy. The scientific philanthropy movement did not represent an enormous leap from neighborhood benevolence. COSs represented neither a sinister agenda nor the best system to eradicate poverty. Organized charity did not create a single response to poverty, but a series of incremental responses that evolved over more than four decades. The women of Indianapolis exhibited more agency in their charitable work than is commonly understood. Charitable actors worked to harness giving and volunteering, bring an end to misery, and make Indianapolis an ideal city.