Social Work and the Safety Net

Abstract

T he advent of the Reagan administration, with its emphasis on individual liberty, responsibility, and self-reliance, has changed the shape of public ethical concerns in the United States; the shift in priorities cannot help but have a major impact on the social work profession. The new administration's concern with identifying the "truly needy" recalls a time when social work took pains to distinguish between the worthy and the unworthy poor. The social work profession has long since rejected such distinctions. Now, faced with acrossthe-board cutbacks in funding for social programs, social workers may find themselves forced once again to make judgments about a client's worth, particularly if they deal with the public sector. How the profession copes with this new morality will say a good deal about the future of social work as an ethical enterprise.