Child Welfare In The 1800s

Child welfare services changed from voluntary child saving efforts in the 19th century to a government funded system. Since the 1970’s the federal government played the most important role in the child welfare system because most of the funding came from them and they also created policies for the child welfare practice. Social work and its workers practice in this field includes providing child welfare services for the children they encounter. The purpose of child welfare includes responding to the needs of children reported to public child-protection agencies as being abused, neglected, or at risk of maltreatment; providing children placed in out-of-home care with appropriate services; and helping children find permanent homes who cannot remain with their family. Child Welfare is the response of society’s commitment to …show more content…
In addition, by the 19th century, some voluntary “child saving” societies had begun to investigate complaints of child neglect, exploitation, and cruelty. Nevertheless, historical accounts trace the origin of media attention and public concern over the predicament of maltreated children. There was a case about Mary Ellen Wilson, a young girl living in New York City, who was removed from the home of her abusive caregivers in 1874 due to the intervention of the leader of the New York chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Henry Bergh. After intervening for the young girl Bergh and others formed the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC). Within a few years, many large cities had similar organizations, to whom courts gave power to remove children from homes that were deemed unfit and place them in foster homes or children's