CHILD WELFARE HISTORY
How did we get here? How did American society in the late twentieth century develop the current policies and values regarding children and their families? There are many historical~examples of gross child abuse1 infancide, child labor, and child sexual abuse. In most cultures, children (an( women) were viewed as property. Some of these practices are still tolerated today! This article provides a history of the treatment of children and their families as a background to the understanding of current issues. We start in the Middle Ages.
MIDDLE AGES
In Medieval England, needs of the poor were primarily addressed through the Church. Christian charity and "love and neighbor" motivated the community to provide food, shelter, and other resources on the basis of need alone. Parish churches and monasteries provided food and shelter to the hungry. Needs were met within the family home. Widows and children were prQvided for by the community. Children without parents were placed within families. Care of the poor was viewed as' a community responsibility and administered through the parish church.
The feudal system also provided some level of care. The landed aristocracy felt a "noblesse oblige" for those families in serfdom on their lands.
The decline of this system led to' increased Dersonal freedom but resulted in social upheaval and chaos. As the system declined, families were displaced from their rural homes and forced toward cities ill-prepared to accommodate them. Although the modern economic system of capitalism and money were developing, this displacement yielded high unemployment. Simultaneously, the institutional church in England was in chaos and without structure. Monasteries and hospitals were closed. There were fears of social upheaval as the old order passed.
ELIZABETHAN POOR LAWS
The Elizabethan Poor Laws were a series of laws passed during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries which were summarized as the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601. They were passed in response to the change factors associated with the breakdown of the feudal system and the Roman Catholic Church. Lawmakers sought to assure social order. These laws stood as a model of social welfare policy for the next two hundred-fifty years and have greatly influenced current patterns and issues in child welfare. The government assumed responsibility for all the poor. Local governrr.ents (townships) were ordered to obtain resources for the care of the poor. An "Overseer of the Poor" was to be appointed as the administrator.
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