SW 103 – SEMI-FINAL COVERAGE

MODULE 10

Social Welfare, Social Protection Policies, Program and Services

What is Social Welfare History?

The term “social welfare” does not have a precise definition. Currently, social welfare refers to a wide
range of activities and services by volunteers, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies
providing help to needy persons unable to care for themselves; activities and resources designed to
enhance or promote the well-being of individuals, families and the larger society; and efforts to eliminate
or reduce the incidence of social problems.

Definition of Social Welfare

Social Welfare is a generalized term which covers all aspects aimed at social upliftment of the weaker
and downtrodden members of the society. In past social welfare was not done in an organized manner.

At a general level, "social welfare" is concerned with the advancement of individual and collective well-
being, the meeting of human needs, the creation of policies and programs that help prevent and reduce
social problems, and the promotion of social and economic equity.

Boarder meaning of the term social welfare denotes the well-being of the individual and the community.
The primary objective of social welfare is to secure for each individual the basic economic necessities,
high standards of health, decent living conditions, equal opportunities with his fellow-citizens and self-
respect.

SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM

Department of Social Welfare and Development

Programs and Services

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or "4Ps" (conditional cash transfer) is a human development
program that invests in the health and education of poor families, primarily those with children aged 0–18.

Kalahi CIDSS – NCDDP

The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services –
National Community-Driven Development Program (Kalahi CIDSS–NCDDP) is the community-driven
development program of the Philippine Government implemented through the Department of Social
Welfare and Development. Supplemented by the government of the Philippines

Sustainable Livelihood Program

The Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) is a community-based capacity building effort that seeks to
improve the program participants’ socio-economic status through two tracks: Micro-enterprise
Development and Employment Facilitation.

Listahanan

An information management system that identifies who and where the poor are in the country. It is being
operated by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR).

Supplemental Feeding Program

Provision of food in addition to the regular meals, to target children as part of the DSWD's ECCD program
of the government.

Disaster Response Operations

Life-saving emergency relief and long-term response.

RRPTP

Recovery and Reintegration Program for Trafficked Persons (RRTP) is a comprehensive package of
programs and services, enhancing the psychosocial and economic needs of the beneficiaries.

PAMANA

Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) aims to improve access of poor communities to basic
social services and promote responsive governance.

Protective Services Program

Provides a range of interventions to individuals, families, and communities in crisis or difficult situations
and vulnerable or disaster-affected communities.

ISWSFN

International Social Welfare Services for Filipino Nationals is a program for migrant Filipinos and other
overseas Filipino nationals who are in crisis situation and in need of special protection are encouraged to
seek assistance in the Philippine Embassies in their countries of destination.

Residential and Non-Residential Facilities

Services rendered in facilities 24-hour that provide alternative family care arrangement to poor, vulnerable
and disadvantaged individuals or families in crisis.
Adoption and Foster Care

The act of adoption, of permanently placing a minor with a parent or parents other than the birth parents
in the Philippines.

Gender and Development

Gender is about relations—between men and women, women and women, also between men and men
and boys and girls. The GAD as perspective recognizes that gender concerns cut across all areas of
development and therefore gender must influence government when it plans, budget for, implements,
monitors and evaluates policies, programs and projects for development.

BUB

Pilot tested in 2013 and now on its 3rd cycle, the Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) Process is proposed to
ensure implementation of priority poverty reduction projects.

Social service

Social service, also called welfare service or social work, any of numerous publicly or privately
provided services intended to aid disadvantaged, distressed, or vulnerable persons or groups. The term
social service also denotes the profession engaged in rendering such services. The social services have
flourished in the 20th century as ideas of social responsibility have developed and spread.

The basic concerns of social welfare—poverty, disability and disease, the dependent young and elderly—
are as old as society itself. The laws of survival once severely limited the means by which these concerns
could be addressed; to share another’s burden meant to weaken one’s own standing in the fierce struggle
of daily existence. As societies developed, however, with their patterns of dependence between
members, there arose more systematic responses to the factors that rendered individuals, and thus
society at large, vulnerable.

Social services generally place a high value on keeping families together in their local communities,
organizing support from friends or neighbours when kinship ties are weak. Where necessary, the services
provide substitute forms of home life or residential care, and play a key role in the care and control of
juvenile delinquents and other socially deviant groups, such as drug and alcohol abusers.

Modern Evolution

In the advanced industrial societies the personal social services have always constituted a “mixed
economy of welfare,” involving the statutory, voluntary, and private sectors of welfare provision. Although
the role of personal social services is crucial, they account for only a small proportion of total welfare
expenditures. The most substantial increases in expenditures have occurred in social security systems,
which provide assistance to specific categories of claimants on the basis of both universal and selective
criteria. The development of modern social security systems from the 1880s reflects not only a gradual
but fundamental change in the aims and scope of social policy but also a dramatic shift in expert and
popular opinion with regard to the relative significance of the social and personal causes of need.
Major Areas Of Concern

Family welfare

Social philosophers and caseworkers generally regard family life as the ideal context for the promotion of
social welfare. Family welfare programs seek to preserve and strengthen the family unit through both
economic assistance, where available, and personal assistance with a variety of services. Personal
assistance services include marriage counseling in most developed countries and in urban centres of
developing countries; maternal, prenatal, and infant care programs; family planning services; family-life
education, which promotes both the enrichment of family relationships and the improvement of home
economics; “home-help” or “homemaker” services providing household assistance to families burdened
with chronic illness, handicaps, or other dependencies; and care of the aged through such programs as
in-home meal services, transportation, regular visitation, and reduced-cost medicines.

Child welfare

A paramount concern in all family welfare programs is the welfare of children. Whenever possible,
children’s services are rendered within the setting of home life. Income assistance to parents may help
ensure the basic security of the family structure. Maternal, prenatal, and child health-care programs are
important in all societies but especially so in those affected by widespread disease and malnutrition; infant
and maternal mortality rates are in fact the most basic indexes of child welfare. The increasing number of
working mothers worldwide has given rise to day-care services ranging from simple custodial supervision
to educational and health-care programs. In some countries, industries are required to provide such
facilities for their employees, in recognition of the changing economic pressures on family life.

Youth welfare

The underlying aim of most social welfare services for young people, apart from those services that
address immediate basic needs, is to prepare them for the assumption of responsible roles in the adult
world. The majority of programs provide adult-supervised leisure-time group activities, which may range
from cultural and social events to athletics to hiking and camping. Participation in such programs is high in
most European countries. The former Soviet youth organizations, called Pioneers and Komsomol, were
the largest in the world. Some programs, such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or Girl Guides, Young Men’s
Christian Associations, and Young Women’s Christian Associations, have spread nearly worldwide,
stimulating the formation of similar groups tailored to local needs. In addition to group activity, youth
welfare programs also provide counseling and guidance services on a more individual basis to help meet
the personal, social, educational, and vocational needs of young people.

Welfare of the elderly

The elderly now constitute the largest single client group using personal social services worldwide. In all
advanced industrial societies the proportion of infirm elderly is on the increase, and, although they
constitute only a small minority of the retired population, their claim on social services is
disproportionately heavy. Because social care for the elderly is often labour-intensive, most countries give
full support to the promotion of family care and the expansion and rationalization of informal care on a
voluntary or quasi-voluntary basis. Services include transportation, friendly visiting, home delivery of hot
meals, nurse visitation, and reduced-cost medical supplies. Senior centres sponsor group activities such
as crafts, entertainment, outings, and meals on a regular basis. Nursing homes, variously funded, provide
medical and custodial care for those who are unable to live independently. Paradoxically, the majority of
elderly people lead independent lives, seldom utilizing personal social services. Indeed, fit elderly people
are increasingly in demand as a source of voluntary service.
Group welfare

The settlement movement arose in response to the collective needs of deprived urban communities.
Settlement houses today, and similar community centres and other organizations, seek to promote the
common welfare of local groups that may differ in language, national origin, race, or religion. Whereas, in
the United States, attempts were formerly made to Americanize such groups by supplanting foreign traits
of language and custom with American ones, the emphasis of educational and training programs has
changed; language and other assimilating skills are taught, but the preservation of cultural diversity is also
promoted. In addition to educational and cultural programs, settlements may offer legal advocacy,
recreational activities, and health clinics.

Welfare of the sick and disabled

Serious illness and disability account for many of the problems addressed by social services. In addition
to the need for adequate primary care, the ill and disabled also frequently face disruption or loss of
income, inability to meet family responsibilities, the long-term process of recovery or adjustment to
handicaps, and ongoing care in the form of medication, therapy, and the observance of dietary or other
precautions.

Welfare of the mentally ill

The social aspects and consequences of mental illness were recognized early in the history of social
work. The speciality of psychiatric social work developed initially as an adjunct to hospital care in urban
areas. Such services have also been provided under military auspices, particularly in wartime. In
developed countries today the psychiatric social worker serves at all levels of patient care; social
casework may contribute to diagnosis and the course of treatment; educational and counseling services
help other family members cope with the problems of hospitalization, treatment, and aftercare; close work
with housing authorities and employers can facilitate the readjustment of patients into community life by
means of foster care, halfway houses, sheltered workshops, and regular employment
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