Focus on specific needs

Most societies in the earliest stages of economic development did not have sufficient resources in money, personnel or institutional structure to extend social aid to all who need or could benefit from it. This is true even when the desirability of particular forms of aid or service is widely recognized. Difficult choices must be made both among the kinds of programs to be developed and the conditions under which particular individuals, families, or groups are to be aided. One basis on which such choices are made is the degree of crisis in a particular situation. Persons who are homeless, helpless, and threatened with starvation may receive emergency aid long before it is possible to develop a general system of assistance for the aged, widowed, disabled, or underemployed. The urgency of specific needs related to other factors of development may influence the direction of social welfare development. For example, a society where the rapid adaptation of young people to new ways of living and working is an urgent necessity may concentrate heavily on youth programs. The initiation of new programs and structures which can ultimately develop into full-fledged institutions is often an important evidence of progress and intent. Thus one will often find small pilot operations in such areas as family counseling, child welfare, rehabilitation, or specialized health services which—however limited in immediate applicability—form the nucleus for future development. Child welfare laws and programs undertake to assure social protection and aid to all children whose normal family relationships do not suffice to meet the established minimum standards. Programs of assistance and social insurance may be developed for the protection of all persons whose income is threatened by particular economic hazards. Programs of public services and benefits in the areas of education, health, housing and services to supplement family resources move onto a wider basis. Naturally as the area of social responsibility for particular functions widens, the comparable responsibility of social welfare for the better planning and adaptation of factors determining the social environment is comparably widened until an underpinning network of supportive social protection is gradually achieved. In more organized societies, the demand for professional workers continues to outrun the supply. Thus ways must be devised to extend the social services society considers necessary with personnel of less than ideal professional training. Social welfare systems assistance to individuals and families through programs such as health care, food stamps, unemployment compensation, housing assistance and child care assistance. Other programs that are parts of the social welfare system include disaster relief assistance, educational assistance, agricultural loans and services specifically for veterans.