Difference between social work from Social Service, Social Welfare,

Social Reform and Social security

Dr.R.Arjunan

Social Service and Social Work

 Social Service are those organized activities that are primarily and directly concerned
with the conservation, the protection and the improvement of human resources.

 Social Service are those efforts to restore, maintain, and enance the social functioning
of individuals and families through (1) enabling social resources ( day care ) and (2)
processes that enhance the capacity of individuals and families to cope with stress
(enhancing the social competence)

 Social Service aims at modifying or altering the social environment to help the
individuals and not bring changes in the individuals directly to modify their
behaviour.
 Social work is an entity representing three clearly distinguished but interrelated parts:
a network of social services, carefully developed methods and processes and social
policy expressed through social institutions.

 Helping the helpless is social service; helping the helpless to help themselves is social
work

Social welfare and Social work

 Social welfare and social work are historically related and are sometimes still used
synonymously.

 Social work stands in relation to social welfare as the medical professional stands in
relation to the field of health.

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 Social work seeks to enhance the social functioning of the individuals, singly and in
groups, by activities focused upon their social relationships which constitute the
interaction between man and his environment.

 Social welfare is an organized system of social services and institutions, designed to

aid individuals and groups to attain satisfying standards of life and health.

 Social welfare is specialized work for the benefit of the weaker and more vulnerable
sections of the society which includes social services for the benefit of women,
children, and PH.

 The aim of social work is to remove social injustice, to relieve distress, to prevent
suffering and to assist the weaker sections to rehabilitate themselves and their
families

 Social welfare is basically secured through the institutional organizations of the

society and its activities are directed towards the improvement of that organizations,
while the activities of social work are directed towards assisting individuals in their
use of social institutions.

 Social welfare is a constructive approach – organize productive centres, craft centres,

schools, etc for the fulfillment of their needs. It is all done on planned lines with the
aid of government machinery.

 Social work refers to an occupation and profession concerned with improving social
relationships.

 In social work, a personal identity, rather rapport is established between social worker
and his client whereas it is not required or relevant in any kind of social welfare
activity.

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 Social work is a professional service but social welfare is a general service.

Social Reform and Social work

 Social reform is the movement motivated by an urge to uproot traditional values of

social life and institutions and bring about new values and pattern of social life

 Social Reform addresses the replacement in the institutions which have become
functionally irrelevant, institutions causing loss of quality of life, deprivations, unrest
and misery to people

 Social Reform is initiated by a group of promoters having the belief that structural
changes can only lead to social improvement

 Social Reform aims at changes in the social values and social institutions to create
favourable conditions for the progress of the discriminated and socially neglected
ones.

 Eg- Struggle for women’s rights, Harijan’s improvement, Sati, education,

untouchability

 Social work is neither a movement nor it attempts to change values of institutions. It

provides services without touching the existing set of values. It is extended to
enlighten and assist one to know one’s misery and help oneself to be free from that
misery.

 Social work does not have personal touch whereas social work is practical and
personal relationship is the medium of practice.

 Social reform does not need any skills whereas social work is practiced on the
strength of professional skill to help the client.

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Social Security and Social Work
 Social Security is the security that society furnishes through appropriate
organizations against certain risks to which its members are exposed.

 It is the programme of protection provided by society against those contingencies of

modern life – sickness, unemployment, old age dependency, industrial accidents, and
against which the individual cannot be expected to protect himself and his family by
his own ability or foresight.

 Social work, on the other hand, make uses of the social security provisions through
public assistance, social insurance, health and social welfare services.

 Social work consists of social security in its programme activities so that individuals
can be well protected against the odds.

 Social workers are supposed to know the social security programmes so that he would
use them in helping the client.

Social Action and Social Work

 Social action is an organized effort with the aim of securing social progress and of
solving mass social problem by influencing social legislation

 Social action is concerned with system change, while services are concerned with
changing people.

 It seeks to alter the structure of roles and distribution of power, prevent problems,
expand opportunities and enhance the quality of life.

 The system change is brought through violence or revolution.

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