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 The
second major event that marked social casework’s ascendancy within social work was
the publication of Mary Richmond's Social Diagnosis. For several decades,
Ms. Richmond had been attempting to turn the practical but rough-hewn techniques and
skills commonly known as casework into a more systematic approach. After honing her
ideas through workshops, lectures and articles, Ms. Richmond put her ideas into a book
which was the first definitive text on casework.
Much more than just another book, Social Diagnosis, gave to the new field of
social work an anchor in its quest for professionalism. In 1915, noted authority of
professional education, Abraham Flexner, had delivered a paper at the National Conference
On Charities and Corrections declaring that social work was not yet a profession. In his
paper, Dr. Flexner was particularly critical of the new field's lack of a technique which
was "communicable through the educational process". Mary Richmond,through Social
Diagnosis ,gave social work what Dr. Flexner said it was lacking and propelled
casework from one of a number of approaches used by charity workers into a major form of
practice. |
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s the nation turned away from reform, the other branch of young social work became more prominent. Social casework, representing that part of social work which focused more on the individual, had a vital role throughout the progressive period. Social casework's influence actually began to increase shortly before the 1920s.
