War on Poverty
The War on Poverty was a piece of legislation that the late United States President, Lyndon Johnson introduced to address the plummeting levels of poverty in the country, culminating in the adoption of the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964. Widespread issues of hardship became a severe concern in the 1950s, thus prompting the president to seek swift legislation to make the country prosperous (Bailey & Duquette, 2014). The adoption of the Economic Opportunity Act led to multiple implications. The act “transformed American schools, launched Medicare and Medicaid, and expanded housing subsidies, urban development programs, employment and training programs, food stamps, and Social Security and welfare benefits” (Bailey & Duquette, 2014). Therefore, this social policy emphasized the importance of meeting a range of people’s needs
The broad approach taken by the Economic Opportunity Act played a critical role in the social worker’s purview of social welfare and the profession itself. Consistently, the current social workers have an in-depth knowledge of the diverse needs of individuals and communities. Social welfare focuses on a wide range of activities, including developing federal, state, and local policies, discharging social projects, working directly to help needy people, and promoting justice, among others (Walden University, 2020). In extension, the Economic Opportunity Act transformed the scope of the social work profession. Due to the complexity and an array of issues in this field, many social workers specialize in one area that addresses a specific problem in society. This approach is consistent with the act’s emphasis on various programs to meet people’s unique requirements. Overall, the Economic Opportunity Act provided a new incentive from which social work approach issues of social welfare.