Social Welfare

• ‘Social Welfare’ denotes the system of such services which intend to cater to the special needs of persons,
groups and communities who, by reason of some handicap-social, economic, mental or physical are unable to
avail themselves of, or are traditionally denied the basic amenities or services provided by the society or state.
• It implies that, social welfare services are meant to benefit the weaker, dependent or under privileged sections
of the population. Such services basically cover the needy members of the society,
• like orphan children,
• widows and
• destitute,
• mentally retarded persons,
• the blind, the deaf,
• the crippled and
• other economically underprivileged members of the society.
Definitions of Social Welfare
A document prepared by the United Nations on social welfare planning in the context of National Development
plans defined social welfare as
• ‘a body of organized activities which are basically meant to enable individuals, groups and communities to
improve their own situations, adjust to changing conditions and participate in the tasks of development’.

• Friedlander said,
• “Social welfare is the organized form of social services and institutions, designed to aid individuals and groups
to attain satisfying standards of life and health, and personal and social relationships that permits them to
develop their full capacities and to promote their well being in harmony with the needs of their families and the
community”.
Difference between Social Work and Social
Welfare
• Social work is a professional practice and the social workers are highly trained professional practioners, where as
social welfare is not a professional practice and employees involved in the welfare activities are untrained.

• Social work is getting into a more formalized activity and has emerged as a new profession, where as social welfare
continues to be an informal activity.

• Social work activity is rendered to the individual, groups and communities who are in need, by using different
problem solving methods where as social welfare services are given to the needy individuals, groups and
communities but it doesn’t have any specific method to deal with the problems of the people.

• Technically speaking, social work is a systematic and scientific process and not an end in itself, but social welfare is
a system of services and is a means to an end.

• Social work is an art and science of working for and with the people, but social welfare aims at working only for the
people and not necessarily with the people.
Cont…
• Social work is a professional service based on scientific knowledge and skills in human
relationship which helps the individuals to obtain social or personal satisfaction, where as social
welfare is a system of laws, programmes, benefits and services which strengthens or assures
provisions for the well being of the individuals.

• A social worker respecting the autonomy and worth of individual does not impose anything upon
him, how ever beneficial it may be, but a social welfare worker who is convinced of the usefulness
of his programme for his clientele feels that it should be made available to them for their benefit.

• Social work can be undertaken by any individual who is professionally qualified and equipped with
the knowledge of social work. On the other hand, social welfare is mainly undertaken by
government through its workers.

• Social work emphasizes on all the aspects of human development but social welfare gives more
emphasis on the material needs of the individuals group and communities.
Social Defence
• Social defence is generally understood as the process of protection of society against crime, through a
systematically organized and coherent action by both the State and civil society.
• In the present context, the idea of social defence is not confined to crime or punishment. It has been made
to refer all those efforts by the state or the civil society to protect the society from all kinds of evils that
hamper the peaceful existence and development of the society
• The share of violent crimes, including murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, dowry
deaths, kidnapping and abduction, dacoity, robbery, riots and arson, rape, terrorism and cyber crime
has increased substantially over the last four decades. These crimes not only endanger life, property and
safety of the people but also pose a serious threat to public peace. Similarly, economic offences including
smuggling, money laundering, tax evasion, export and import offences, drug trafficking, trafficking in
cultural property, bribery and corruption, etc., are also manifesting a challenging trend in terms of
sophistication, precision and modus operandi on the part of organized syndicates.
Approaches of Social Defence
• Balanced Development
• Alleviation of Poverty
• Protection of Vulnerable Groups
• Women
• Children
• Weaker sections
• Prison Reform
• Juvenile Justice
• Public Participation
• Role of Voluntary Organization
Social Reform
• The term ‘social reform’ denotes to the process of changing existing values, beliefs, ideology, attitude and
opinion of the people against an issue or a set of issues.

• Broadly speaking social reform refers to eradication of immoral, unhealthy, corrupt and wrong practices
which thwart human and social development

• M.S. Gore while defining social reform said, “Social reform involves a deliberate effort to bring about
change in social attitudes, culturally defined role expectations and actual patterns of behaviour of
people in a desired direction through a process of persuasion and public education”.
Social Reformers
• Raja Rammohan Roy to M.K. Gandhi,
• Swami Vivekananda,
• Dayananda Saraswati,
• Gopabandhu Das,
• Dr. BR Ambedkar
• EVR Periyar
Social Reform VS Social Work
Similarities:
• Both the concepts have stemmed from the idea of promoting human happiness by reducing sufferings
• They are based on humanitarian values
• Most of the social reformers are often identified as social workers. Because some approaches of social reform are
identical with the methods of social work.
Differences:
• Social work is a profession, with all the professional characteristics while social reform is a voluntary activity with
human instinct.
• Social work is neither a movement nor it attempts to change values and institutions. It provides services without
touching the existing values. It intends to help the people in problems to help themselves through a scientific
process.
• Social reform on the other hand, is process sometimes takes the form of movement and attempts to change the
values and social institutions persuasion and education.
• Social work uses personal relationship as medium of its practice, but social reform impersonal tactics for achieving
its objectives.
• Social work uses its own methods, skills, tools and techniques for its practice,
where as social reform does not need any method, tools or techniques for its
practice.
• Social reform involves radical change in the social system, but social work is
mainly concerned with assisting the individual in freeing himself/herself from
his/her maladjustment in the social life.
• Fighting for the equal rights of women, pleading for a better deal of the weaker
section, movement for stopping the practice of dowry and sati etc are the best
example of social reform, where as running institutions for helping handicapped
children, organization for community services, provision for educational services,
running vocational training centers for neglected and delinquents etc are the
examples of social work.
• Social reform is actual field for voluntary leader, where as social work is
increasingly interested in professional workers.
Social Action
• Social Action is a collective endeavour to bring about desirable
changes in the existing structure or preventing undesirable change
through a process of making people aware of the socio-political and
economic realities conditioning their lives and mobilizing them to
organize them as the living force so as to work for their own
betterment.
Definition
• Mary Richmond, the first professional thinker of social work, in 1922, defined social action as “Mass
betterment through propaganda and social legislation”.
 Objectives
1. Prevention of unfulfilled needs
2. Solution of mass problems
3. Improvement of mass conditions
4. Influencing institutions, policies and practices
5. Introduction of new mechanisms or programmes
6. Redistribution of resources (human, material and moral)
7. Appropriate decision-making for effects of thought, action and structure
8. Social development through change.
Social Policy
• Social Policy is a selected course of action adopted by the government or any responsible body for the welfare
and development of its people.
• It portrays the guidelines for undertaking activities in specific fields.
• Numbers of national policies in India so far have been made and adopted by respective governments at
different points of time to change certain situation for the development of the society.
• Industrial Policy
• National Policy of Agriculture
• National Employment Policy
• National Policy for Education
• National Health Policy
• National Urban Housing and Habit Policy
Social Legislation
• Social legislation, the concept denotes, it is a governing body or process of making law. This describes how to
design law to improve, protect and guide the position of minority groups and also to bring change in their life
style. Before legislation it simply known as “bill”.
• Policies becoming legislate into an action and then written as law. The laws embodied to develop socio-
economic status which secure from the social stigmas. The purpose of a law is meant to develop a healthy and
vibrant society.
• Legislative measures are the other significant factors stimulating planned change in India.
• Several efforts have been made both before and after the independence to bring about some effective social
legislation to take the hold of various social problems which were deeply felt to be dangerous to the society.
• A number of social legislations have been passed for the benefit and interests of women, dalits, tribals,
labours, peasants, backward classes.
• Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929:
• The Special Marriage Act, 1954
• The Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961
• Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
• Prevention of Child labour Act, 1986
• Right to Education Act, 2009
• Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment Act, 2012