ly those who were the "impotent" poor were to be provided for a place and their keep without being required to work (Woodside and McClam, 1998).
In the United States, the first relief measures were also connected to the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. The colonies developed almshouses, although these were not very desirable institutions. Gradually, however, the colonists developed a more negative attitude toward the poor, which was expressed in the Poor Law Reform Bill of 1834. This was designed to limit services to the poor and ensure that they received less than the lowest working wage. However, the private sector moved to establish more services for the poor and those with social needs, taking over from the government (Woodside and McClam, 1998).
Child welfare philosophy changed several times from the mid-19th century to the present. Initially, children were removed from almshouses and other institutions, but gradually new institutions were developed specifically for them, including juvenile reformatories, orphanages, and foster homes. In general, children were seen as the most deserving group of the poor and unfortunate (Woodside and McClam, 1998). The 20th century saw several waves of change, including the settlement house movement, increased federal involvement under Roosevelt, and then decreased federal involvement, beginning with Richard Nixon.
Still, a wide range of services are provided in modern public child welfare, including services to strengthen parents' abilities, to supplement parental care, or to substitute for parental care (Kadushin and Martin, 1988). Many of these are mandated by federal law, including provisions of Title XX of the Social Security Act. However, according to many in the field, the past decade has seen a shift in focus in the child welfare field to the child protection function under Child Protective Services (Lindsey, 1994).
There continues to be certain threads in human s...