“We were never intended to help.”
— Mary Bricker-Jenkins, Ph.D.*
“The social welfare system was established in the 19th century to control the industrial workforce, which was increasingly attracted to socialism and communism. Social workers later proclaimed that the system had a dual function, adding ‘social care’ to social control. Thus we became the ‘soft cops of the welfare state.’ The intent and effect of the system, however, was–and is–social control.”
*Social control and social change: Toward a feminist model of social work practice. (1980, September). With Barbara Joseph. Invitational presentation at the National Association of Social Workers National Conference on Social Work Practice in a Sexist Society.