The program of education for family living in relation to the purposes and ojectives of the San Diego Family Service Association

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THE PROGRAM OP EDUCATION FOR FAMILY LIVING IN RELATION TO THE PURPOSES AND OBJECTIVES OF THE SAN DIEGO FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION

A T h esis P resen ted to the

F a c u lty o f th e G raduate School U n iv ersity

of S outhern C a lif o rn ia

In P a rtia l o f the

o f S o c i a l Work

F u lfillm en t

R equirem ents

for

th e D egree

M a s t e r o f S o c i a l Work

by C aro lin e

Frances A lsto n

J u n e 195>0

UMI Number: EP66318

All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

UMI* D issertation Publishing

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This thesis, written und er the direction of the candidate’s F ac u lt y C o m m i t t e e an d a p p r o v e d by all its members, has been p r es e nt e d to and a c c e p te d by the F a cu lty of the G ra du at e Sch oo l of So c ia l W o r k in p a r ti a l fulfi lme nt of the re­ quirements f o r the degree of

MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK

Dean

Da

Thesis 0/....CAR.QLIHE...EEANGES..ALSTQH.

Faculty Committee

.Q&J?

PREFACE Th e r e s e a r c h f o r A u g u st and Novem ber, of th a t

stu d y .

th is

19^7*

stu d y took p la c e

The f o l l o w i n g p a g e s

An a p p e n d i x h a s b e e n a d d e d t o

w h ich sum m arizes

the

betw een are

th e

a report

th esis,

d evelopm ents w hich have o c c u r r e d i n th e

F a m ily L i f e E d u c a t io n P rogram o f San D iego F a m ily S e r v ic e A s s o c i a t i o n s i n c e N ovem ber, In th e

19^-7*

two a n d one h a l f

years

sin ce

th is

m ad e, F a m i l y L i f e E d u c a t i o n h a s b e e n made a p a r t gram s o f o v e r tw e n ty f a m i l y a g e n c i e s t h r o u g h o u t P u b licatio n s

co n cerning th e

d evelopm ents

s i n c e 19^4-7 h a v e b e e n n o t e d i n

the

of

s t u d y was of

the p ro ­

the c o u n try .

su ch program s

B ib lio g rap h y .

TABLE OP CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PACE

THE PROBLEM AND D E F IN I T I O N S OF TERMS USED The p r o b l e m

.

.

1 1

,..........................................

S tatem en t of

t h e p r o b l e m ..................................

1

t h e p r o b l e m ........................

8

J u s tif ic a tio n of O rg an izatio n of

the stu d y

......................................

8

D e f i n i t i o n s ........................................................................

10

P r o g r a m o f p r e v e n t i o n ........................................

10

E d u catio n f o r

11

F a m i l y L i v i n g ........................

C o u r s e s ................................................

11

P a r t i c i p a n t s ...................................................................... II.

.

11

HISTORICAL FACTORS WHICH LED TO DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM OF EDUCATION FOR FAMILY LIVING I N SAN DIEGO FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION . . . .

12

D evelopm ent o f A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F am ily L i v i n g ................................................................................... D evelopm ent of F am ily S e r v ic e

A sso ciatio n

12 .

20

M erger of t h e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F am ily L iv in g and th e

F am ily S e r v ic e A s s o c ia tio n

. . . .

S u m m a r y ................................................................................... III.

22 26

ANALYSIS OF THE PROGRAM OF EDUCATION FOR FAMILY L I V I N G ................................................................... A d m in istrativ e

o rg an izatio n

......................................

27 27

iv CHAPTER

PAGE P a r t i c i p a t i o n by B oard of D i r e c t o r s O rg an izatio n o f s tu d y groups

.

......................

28

......................................

29

C o n t e n t o f c o u r s e s ........................................

31

M eth o d s b y w h ic h m a t e r i a l was p r e s e n t e d

.

3k-

............................................................................

36

S u m m a r y .................................................................................................

37

F u tu re p lan n in g

IV.

.

.

EFFECTS OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM UPON OTHER SERVICES OFFERED BY THE A G E N C Y ...................................... A ttendance o f th e

com m unity i n f a m il y l i f e

c o u r s e s ............................................................................................ D ifficu lties

in ev alu atio n e ffe c ts

th in k in g reg ard in g

program in r e l a t i o n of S taff

the

th e

39

ed u catio n al

to go als

and o b j e c t i v e s

a g e n c y ............................................................................

re a c tio n to p a r tic ip a tio n

in

i_|_0

the

e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m ............................................................ S u m m a r y ..................................................................................... V.

38

o f program

u p o n i n t a k e ................................................................................. S taff

38

.

.

)\? [|_3

REPORT OF INTERVIEWS WITH TWENTY PERSONS WHO PARTICIPATED IN STUDY GROUPS . . . . . . . . . . .

kS

Reasons

[j.8

f o r a t t e n d i n g ............................................................

R easons f o r n o t c o m p le tin g

thec o u rse

. . . .

I4.9

F a m i l i a r i t y w i t h m a t e r i a l .................................................

I4.9

R eactio n to p r e s e n ta tio n

£0

o f m a t e r i a l ......................

V

CHAPTER

PAGE E ffects F e e lin g s

and i n f l u e n c e s o f

course

...............................

about in d iv id u a l c o u n s e lin g

s u p p le m e n t t o g r o u p d i s c u s s i o n s F e e lin g s ab ou t u s in g agency s e r v ic e

53

as a

. . . . . . .....................

$l\. 55

A t t it u d e s about r e f e r r in g p eo p le t o agency . .

5&

S u g g e s t i o n s ..................................................................................

5&

S u m m a r y ............................................................................................

57

SUMMARY AND C O N C L U SIO N S................ .......................................

59

S u m m a r y ............................................................................................

59

C o n c l u s i o n s ..................................................................................

6!j_

BIBLIOGRAPHY.............................................................. ........................................

66

APPENDIX.................................................................................................................

69

V I.

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND D E F IN I T I O N S OF TERMS USED A recent tren d in o f f u n c t i o n by f a m i l y v en tiv e as w ell

so c ia l

work h a s b e e n t h e

c a s e w ork a g e n c ie s

as r e m e d ia l s e r v i c e s .

to

exp an sio n

in clu d e p re ­

In 19^6

the

Fam ily

S e r v i c e A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m erica recom m ended t h a t p r e v e n t i v e work i n c l u d e I n 1 9 I4.7 ,

th e F a m ily S e r v i c e A s s o c i a t i o n o f San D ie g o i n s t i ­

tu ted a f u ll It

an advancem ent o f e d u c a tio n f o r fa m ily liv in g *

offered

tim e p ro g ra m o f e d u c a t i o n f o r

courses

to th e

fam ily re la tio n s h ip s * of o rg an izatio n , the purp o se o f gram i n

order to

org an ized , first

year,

how i t

T h e re was e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n i n m e th o d s

th esis

to

related

they are

S tatem en t of

serv ices

of to

stated

the p ro b le m .

sp ecific

developed,

It is

agency p ro ­

how i t

was

th e com m unity d u r i n g i t s the

purposes

in i ts

and o b je c tiv e s

ch arter*

E xpansion of th e f u n c tio n

to in clu d e

h a s become

ev id en ced by th e

th is

offered*

THE PROBLEM

o f f a m ily c a se w ork a g e n c ie s

as i s

study

met th e n eed s

I *

as rem ed ial

and m a t e r i a l

s e e why a n d h o w i t

a n d how i t

of the agency as

com m unity d e s i g n e d t o p r o m o te b e t t e r

p resen tatio n

th is

fam ily liv in g *

a recent

p rev en tiv e tre n d

in c lu s io n of fa m ily l i f e

as w ell

i n s o c i a l work, ed u catio n in

2 th e program s T his tr e n d resu ltin g

of

th ree

fa m ily ag en cies

t o w a r d p r e v e n t i o n was

co u n try

i n 1 ^ 7 -^

the l o g i c a l developm ent

from a g r e a t e r body o f know ledge and e x p e r ie n c e

w hich r e v e a l e d t h a t p e rs o n a l fracto ry

in th e

of

ills

are

c o r r e c t i o n once th e y have d e v e lo p e d .

body o f know ledge vironm ental

and s o c i a l

and e x p e rie n c e

and i n d i v i d u a l

also

facto rs

p ro b lem s w ere p r o p e r l y h a n d le d ,

tau g h t

o fte n r e ­ T his

same

t h a t when e n ­

w hich c o n t r i b u t e d

to

th ese

th e s e m a la d ie s m ight n o t

develop* T his tr e n d

to w a rd p r e v e n t i o n was a f u r t h e r r e s u l t

w idespread concern about s o c ia l

of

in stab ility *

Books a r e w r i t t e n an d p a p e r s a r e d e l i v e r e d on n a t i o n a l p s y c h o s i s , on t h e l a c k o f l o g i c and r e a s o n i n c i v i l i z a ­ tio n * T h e r e s e e m s n o d o u b t t h a t t h i s S e c o n d W o r l d W ar h a s d o n e m u c h t o c o n v i n c e u s a l l t h a t t h e r e m u s t b e some g o o d r e a s o n f o r t h e g r o w i n g m u r m u r t h a t we a r e n o t i n d i v i d u a l l y o r c o l l e c t i v e l y u s i n g o u r h e a d s to the e x ­ t e n t we s h o u l d . I n s h o r t , we m u s t b e e i t h e r c h i l d i s h o r a l i t t l e s i c k t h a t we d o n o t m a n a g e b e t t e r , . . . We s u f f e r t o o m u c h , we b e c o m e i l l t o o o f t e n . . . . To o o f t e n we s t r u g g l e a n x i o u s l y f r o m t h e c r a d l e t o t h e g r a v e in o rd e r to enjoy b r i e f l y a q u e s tio n a b le success b e fo re we b e g i n t o d r e a d t h e l o s s o f w h a t we h a v e a c q u i r e d th ro u g h i l l n e s s , s e p a ra tio n or d e a th . D iv o rce,

d elinquency,

ment d i f f i c u l t i e s festatio n s

th e pro b lem s o f

o f o l d age

of d efects

in

ch ild h o o d ,

the

ad ju st­

are i n c r e a s i n g l y seen as m ani­

the d e v e lo p m e n t o f p e r s o n a l i t i e s ,

T h e s e a g e n c i e s w e re t h e F a m ily A g e n c ie s i n M iam i, New O r l e a n s a n d S a n D i e g o . By 1 9 5 0 * s e v e n t e e n a d d i t i o n a l a g e n c ie s had su ch program s* ^ 0 . S p u r g e o n E n g l i s h , M. D* a n d G e r a l d J . J . P e a r s o n , M. D * , E m o t i o n a l P r o b l e m s o f L i v i n g (New Y o r k : W. W. N o r t o n a n d C ompa n y , 1 9lj-57 * P* 9*

3 as w e ll as f a c t o r s n o t,

in th e

co u ld be p re v e n te d ,

en v iro n m en t,

as

the ro o t

have b een re c o g n iz e d

of m ental

th eir

who a r e

an x ieties

secure w ith in

a r e many t i m e s a b l e love

reflected

by t h e i r

th em selv es,

to

give

B ecause i t undergoes h is fam ily i s

is

th e ir ch ild ren

of the in d iv id u a l,

it

o u tsid e

th e ir m arriag e,

the i n d i v id u a l

sh ap in g

because

the

the p e r s o n a l i t y

tow ard th e fa m ily t h a t p re v e n tiv e I f people

and o t h e r s ,

can l e a r n

a n d to' a p p l y t h i s

a c h i e v e h a p p i e r a n d m ore s a t i s f y i n g of so c ia l

P aren ts

to e s t a b l i s h m e a n in g fu l

ex p erien ces,

im portance i n

m easures m ust be d ire c te d # sta n d th em selv es,

ap t to

th e home.

learn in g

is

P aren ts

t h e w arm th and

w ith in th e f a n ily th a t

e arliest

of p rim ary

ch ild ren #

and happy i n

th a t w ill enable th e se c h ild re n

personal re la tio n s h ip s

in ­

an d s o c i a l breakdown#

who a r e u n c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h t h e m s e l v e s a n d o t h e r s a r e have

than

or co rrected #

Poor fa m ily r e la tio n s h ip s creasin g ly

w h ic h , m ore o f t e n

liv es,

i n s t a b i l i t y m ig h t be d e c r e a s e d ,

the

to u n d e r ­ in s ig h t to g r o w in g wave

or o fte n tim es,

p revented# D esp ite

th e b a c k lo g o f know ledge,

p e r i e n c e h e l d by s o c i a l w o rk e rs r e g a r d i n g

and w e a lth of ex­ fam ily l i f e ,

they

have b e e n slow t o d i s s e m i n a t e t h i s k n ow ledge f o r g e n e r a l u s e . The c a s e r e c o r d s o f s o c i a l a g e n c i e s a r e f u l l o f s a d h i s t o r y w h e r e t r o u b l e s b e g a n b e c a u s e m e n a n d women w e r e u n ­ inform ed ab o u t and u n p rep ared fo r th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of fam ily liv in g * H a s ty m a r r i a g e s , consum m ated i n a h a z e o f ro m a n tic in v o lv em en t w ith o u t m utual u n d e rsta n d in g o f

ij_

f e e l i n g s a b o u t m oney, b r i n g i n g up c h i l d r e n , r e l a t i o n s h i p s to in - la w s , i n a h ig h p e rc e n ta g e o f i n s ta n c e s have ended i n the d iv o rc e c o u r ts H igh s p i r i t e d a d o l e s c e n t s have found th em selves in ju v e n ile c o u rt because t h e i r s tr u g g le s t o be in d e p e n d e n t w ere in c o m p re h e n s ib le to p a r e n t s . T h e s e same r e c o r d s show t h a t many o f t h e s e t r o u b l e s c o u ld hav e b e e n a v o id e d i f young p e o p le h ad b e e n b e t t e r p r e p a r e d f o r m a r r i a g e , i f p a r e n t s h a d known m ore a b o u t how t o b r i n g up c h i l d r e n , i f t h e r e h a d b e e n m o re u n d e r ­ s ta n d in g o f in w ard t i e s th a t h o ld f a m ilie s t o g e t h e r . 3 I n 19^7*

the F a m ily S e r v ic e A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m erica

recom m ended t h a t p r e v e n t i v e w ork i n c l u d e ed u catio n fo r fam ily l i v in g .

I t was f e l t

an a d v a n c e m e n t th at

th is

of

c o u l d be

one a s p e c t o f a d e f e n s e a g a i n s t

fam ily d is o r g a n iz a tio n .

com m ittee

p l a n n i n g made t h e f o l l o w i n g

on c u r r e n t

and f u t u r e

The

observation:, The a c c u m u l a t e d e x p e r i e n c e a n d o b s e r v a t i o n o f t h e f a m i l y a g e n c y c o u l d n o t o n l y c o n t i n u e t o be u s e d a s a b a s i s f o r t r e a t m e n t o f i n d i v i d u a l s i t u a t i o n s b u t c o u l d a l s o be u s e d a s a b a s i s f o r com m unity e d u c a t i o n on t h e p e r s o n a l a t ­ t i t u d e e n v iro n m e n ta l f a c t o r s and s o c i a l re q u ire m e n ts th a t made f o r s o u n d s a t i s f y i n g l i f e . ^ The I n c l u s i o n o f p r e v e n t i v e w o r k , the

fu n ctio n s

H ereto fo re

tra d itio n a lly

th ese

a sso c ia te d w ith

ag en cies have serv ed t h e i r

c a s e w ork t r e a t m e n t o f p e r s o n a l and t h r o u g h com m unity l e a d e r s h i p co n d itio n s

then,

d ire c tly

in flu en c in g

w ould b ro a d e n

the fa m ily agency. com m unities

through

and e n v iro n m e n ta l p ro b le m s , i n th e im provem ent o f s o c i a l fam ily l i f e .

3 F r a n k J . H e r t e l , uW h i t h e r F a m i l y L i f e , 11 S u r v e y M id ­ m o n t h l y , D e c e m b e r , 1 9 4 -&> P* 3» ^ Ib id .,

p.

8.

5 It

is

reco g n ized

work a g e n c i e s serv ice*

i n expanding t h e i r

S ecretary

fu n ctio n ,

the N a tio n a l C o n feren ce

He m e n t i o n e d t h e h e s i t a n c e

in accep tin g le a d e rsh ip absence

in

in th e

the

th is

of San D iego

d i s c u s s e d some o f t h e p r o b l e m s

fa c e d i n expanding t h e i r p resen ted to

confront s o c ia l

fu n c tio n to in clu d e

N evin W iley , E x e c u tiv e

F am ily S e r v ic e ,

19^4-7•

t h a t many p ro b le m s

th is

agency

p a p e r w hich he

o f S o c i a l Wor k i n A p r i l ,

s o c i a l w o r k e rs h a v e shown

fie ld .

of s o c i a l w ork c o n t r i b u t i o n

He p o i n t e d

in th e

o u t the

lite ra tu re

of

fam ily l i v i n g . Because trib u tio n

so cia l

to g e n e r a l know ledge a b o u t f a m ily l i v i n g ,

ex te n siv e ex p erien ce ly

work h a s made r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e

in t h i s

fie ld ,

it

t o e x a m i n e s o c i a l w o r k Ts p r i n c i p l e s

go als

and o b je c tiv e s ,

to

d eterm in e th e

con­

d esp ite

seems n e c e s s a r y b r i e f ­ and c o n c e p t s , reasons f o r

its

th is

in ­

co n g ru ity . T rad itio n ally , th e r e l e a s e cap acities fu lle r

s o c i a l work h a s b e e n c o n c e r n e d w i t h

of reso u rces in

the

in the

in d iv id u al,

a n d m ore s a t i s f y i n g

im m ed iate e n v iro n m e n t and

thus enab lin g

life ,

b o t h econom ic an d p e r s o n a l .

S o c i a l w o rk ers have w orked w ith p ro b lem s b ro ad ly ,

stan d ard s

of l i v i n g ,

of w elfare,

them d e v e l o p m any v a l u a b l e

h e lp in g peo p le;

ex p erien ce has

in a stra te g ic

p o sitio n to

in clu d in g

and fam ily r e l a t io n s h i p s .

y ears have seen

is

him t o h a v e a

shown t h a t aid

tech n iq u es the

The

for

s o c ia l w orker

th e fa m ily in

th e grow th

6 process,

h elp in g c h ild re n

and p a r e n ts

to

f in d th em selv es.

The c a s e w o r k t r e a t m e n t p r o c e s s se e m s c l o s e t o t h e p r o c e s s of l i v i n g i t s e l f — a means o f b r in g in g ab o u t change w ith in th e p e rso n and w ith in h is env iro n m en t. Th e d y n a m i c c e n t e r a r o u n d w h i c h c h a n g e o c c u r s l i e s i n th e q u a l i t y o f r e l a t i o n s h i p b e tw e e n t h e c a s e w o rk e r and th e c l i e n t . U n d e r s t a n d i n g o f human b e h a v i o r , k n o w le d g e of th e c l i e n t and the f a c t s of h is s i t u a t i o n , in fo rm a­ t i o n a b o u t c o m m u n i t y r e s o u r c e s a n d a w a r e n e s s o f h i s own p s y c h o lo g ic a l s t r e n g t h s and w eak n esses, th e s e a re th e casew orker’s to o ls . B ut t h e y assum e m eaning o n ly i n term s of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p w hich i s e s t a b l i s h e d . 5 T his th a t the a larg e itie s

expresses a fe e lin g

effectiv en ess e x t e n t on th e

in th e

of t h e i r

common a m o n g s o c i a l w o r k e r s work w i t h p e o p l e

d is c ip lin e d use

of

th eir

w o rk er-clien t re la tio n s h ip .

It is

is

based to

own p e r s o n a l ­ th is

facto r

t h a t m a k e s s o c i a l w o rk a u n i q u e way o f h e l p i n g p e o p l e ; th is

tech n iq u e

a person

th eir

sk ill

d o ubtedly,

th a t has

th is

of the

program . w orkers i n

I t has been th is

caused s o c ia l w orkers

w as t r a n s f e r a b l e

th is

research.

s t a f f m e m b e r s who h a v e p a r t i c i p a t e d

There a re

o th e r p roblem s w hich c o n f r o n t

e;xpanding t h e i r

fam ily l i v i n g r e l a t e

^ H ertel,

t o wonder i f

stu d y only in r e p o r tin g

approach to

o£.

d ire c tly

c i t .,

p.

5.

Un­ It

the in the

so c ia l

the p re v e n tiv e f i e l d ,

w h ic h m u s t be r e c o g n i z e d an d i n v e s t i g a t e d . for

am ong

to an e d u c a t i o n a l s e t t i n g .

w i l l be a pro b lem f o r f u t u r e

w ill be brought out in feelin g s

is

th a t has been u t i l i z e d m ost c o n s tr u c t i v e l y i n

to p e r s o n r e l a t i o n s h i p .

o th er th in g s,

It

to th e

Does e d u c a t i o n

sta te d

o b jectiv es

7 and g o a ls

o f the p r o fe s s io n ?

of teach in g

Do s o c i a l w o r k e r s h a v e

or p re s e n tin g m a te ria l

t e c h n i q u e s u s e d b y the. . p r o f e s s i o n s W ill th e

s o c i a l w ork te c h n iq u e

m ethods o f t e a c h i n g i f cepts

in p resen tatio n

it

th at

alread y in

uses i t s

of m a te ria l?

of p s y c h o lo g is ts

a s s o c ia te d w ith c h a r ity o f maximum s e r v i c e fillin g or is

a gap

it

in

to

overcom e

and s o c io lo g is ts ?

com m unities by e n t e r i n g

a r e m ore p r a c t i c a l

w ork a g e n c y en o u g h t o

n el?

asp ects

do w i t h o u t

Why do n o t t h e t e a c h e r s

to

o f s u c h an e x p a n s io n

tak in g

Has n o t t h e

case

o v e r a new f u n c t i o n ?

in in tak e

at

a t i m e when

do i t ?

q u estio n s

h a v e a more c o n s c i o u s q u estio n s

fie ld ,

o f f e r a n e d u c a t i o n a l program ?

m u st be w orked o u t by s o c i a l

of these

th is

an i n s u f f i c i e n t num ber o f q u a l i f i e d p e r s o n ­

W hat h a s c a se w o rk

A ll of th e se

and be

How c a n a p r e v e n t i v e p r o g r a m b e i n ­

g o in g to mean an in c r e a s e

m ost a g e n c ie s have

of r e l i e f

W o u l d s o c i a l w o r k be

t e g r a t e d i n t o a r e g u l a r casew ork agency?

it

tra d itio n a lly

the s tig m a

com m unity?

d u p li­

component of a d e fin e d f u n c tio n ?

th a t m ust be explored*

Is

and con­

w ould i t be

Can a p r o f e s s i o n

th e

certain

a lo g ical

T here

p r e v e n tiv e w ork,

effectiv e?

as o t h e r

S h o u ld s o c i a l work b e ­

c a tin g th e

as

fie ld ?

own p r i n c i p l e s

th is

W ould i t b e

from th e

the

be a s e f f e c t i v e

come m o r e a c t i v e i n serv ices

d iffers

a way

co n tro l

w ill

are

of great

w orkers

im p o rtan ce,

in order th a t

over the p r e s e n t

be t o u c h e d u p o n l a t e r .

and

t h e y may

tren d *

Many

However,

th e y w i l l be co n sid ered as d e t e r m i n i n g how t h e tiv es

and p u r p o s e s

first

year i t

of

th e

the p ro b le m *

the program ,

in fo rm a tio n have

o th e r ag encies

the

N ationw ide

and n atio n w id e

come t o

s tu d y of a s p e c i f i c in the

in ob jec­

in the

com m unity* in tere st

req u ests

for

th e San D iego ag en cy ,

and

t o F a m ily S e r v i c e A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m erica* th is

to

o f th e S an D iego F am ily S e r v ic e

was o f f e r e d t o

h a s b e e n shown i n

of t h e m ain f o c u s ,

e d u c a tio n program r e l a t e d

Ju stificatio n

fu rth er

facto rs

It

is

agency program w i l l be

c o u n t r y who w i s h t o

hoped th a t of help

to

s e t up s i m i l a r

program s* A s e a rc h o f the has been w r itte n

lite ra tu re

about fam ily l i f e

The i n v e s t i g a t o r was a b l e i n w hich t h i s

sta ff,

th e

stu d y i s

w ritte n m a te ria l

on t h e

i n s o c i a l work*

t o f i n d no more t h a n f i v e A side

and a r t i c l e s ,

and agency r e c o rd s

may r a i s e

ed u catio n

p r o b l e m was s t u d i e d *

g iv e n by N evin W ile y , b ib lio g rap h y ,

rev ealed th a t very l i t t l e

a rtic le s

from th e p a p e r

w hich a r e

liste d

in

the

b a s e d upon in te rv ie w s w ith the and f ile s *

su b jec t i t

p ro b lem s and q u e s tio n s

is

B ecause

of th e la c k

hoped t h a t t h i s

w hich w i l l

serve

as

oT

stu d y im petus

fo r f u r th e r research* O rgan izatio n of th e stan d in g of th e the

to ta l

stu d y *

relatio n sh ip

agency s e r v ic e ,

it

of

To p r e s e n t a r e a l

under­

th e e d u c a tio n a l program to

was n e c e s s a r y t o e x a m i n e v a r i o u s

9 asp ects the it

of

t h e new f u n c t i o n .

C hapter I I

developm ent o f th e p ro g ram . was n e c e s s a r y t o

trace

is

a d iscu ssio n of

To s h o w t h i s

th e grow th o f th e

two a g e n c i e s

m ost c o n c e rn e d w i t h p r e v e n t i o n i n San D ieg o , f o r Fam ily L iv in g , C h ap ter I I I program . to

It

d evelopm ent,

the A sso c ia tio n

and F am ily S e rv ic e A s s o c ia tio n . is

a report

d e sc rib e s the

s ta ff p a rtic ip a tio n

of

the o r g a n iz a tio n of th e

ad m in istrativ e

and p r o c e d u r e

in

p o licies

o fferin g

in regard

the co u rses *

to the

com m unity.

m ethods

It

rep o rts

of p re se n tin g

Throughout t h i s

problem s w h ich c o n f r o n te d th e d escrib ed ,

th e se p ro b lem s

are

agency in

tio n ,

an a t t e m p t t o e v a l u a t e

in h eren t

and th e e f f e c t s

of

the

sta ff

are

effects

agency s e r v ic e .

regarding

of The d is­

th e ir p a rtic ip a ­ case

rep o rted .

a re p o rt of th e in te rv ie w s h e ld w ith

t w e n t y p e r s o n s who p a r t i c i p a t e d

in

group

a s t a f f m em ber,

and s p o n so re d by v a r io u s

T h e ir re a c tio n s

to v a rio u s

sen te d ,

as a d e s c r i p t i o n o f

as w ell

th e

th e ir p a r t i c ip a ti o n upon t h e i r

and th in k in g

C h ap ter V i s

s t a f f met

i n m aking su ch an e v a l u a t i o n a r e

The t h i n k i n g o f

work p r a c t i c e s

the

esta b lish in g th is

and m ethods by w hich th e

th is ex p an sio n of fu n c tio n upon t o t a l

cussed.

ch ap ter,

ex p lain ed .

C h a p t e r IV i s

d iffic u ltie s

th e

th e m a t e r i a l an d th e p l a n n i n g done by

th e e d u c a tio n a l d i r e c t o r .

serv ice a re

the s u b je c t m a tte r used,

asp ects

of

the

th eir

d iscu ssio n s P.

le d by

T . A« g r o u p s .

courge

are p re ­

th in k in g reg ard in g

10 v alu es th ey b e lie v e d r e s u lte d su g g estio n s f o r the

the p a r t ic ip a n ts

program a re C h a p t e r VI i s

brought

also

g estio n s

are

noted* a summary o f i m p o r t a n t p o i n t s

ch ap ters.

C onclusions

are

drawn

of t h e i n f o r m a t i o n w h ich was o b t a i n e d .

o ffe re d reg ard in g

agency m ight w ish t o

The

mad e r e g a r d i n g f u t u r e p l a n n i n g

devoted to

out in p reced in g

upon the b a s i s

from t h e i r p a r t i c i p a t i o n #

v ario u s

co n sid er in

Sug­

f a c t o r s w hich th e

fu tu re p lan n in g

for

the

course* II. Program

DEFINTIONS

of P re v e n tio n *

c h a n g e a b ly w i t h “p r e v e n tiv e reference

to

T his te rm i s u s e d i n t e r ­

f i e l d 11 a n d “ p r e v e n t i v e fl i n

a g ro w in g p h ilo s o p h y w hich e m p h a siz e s th e

grow ing n e c e s s i t y o f r e a c h in g p e o p le b e f o r e s e r i o u s pro b lem s

o rig in a tin g

th e y develop

in em o tio n al d is tu r b a n c e s .

p rim a ry d e fe n se a g a i n s t th e developm ent o f em o tio n al fic u ltie s it

is

is

b e l i e v e d to be e d u c a tio n .

h o p e d p e o p l e m ay g a i n

m ight en ab le

the

d if­

s e l f u n d e r s ta n d in g w hich

them t o a v o i d p a t t e r n s

o f b e h a v io r w hich w i l l

E d u c atio n f o r fam ily l i v in g ,

p re v e n tiv e m easure,

or an e f f o r t

to check th e

r e s u l t i n g from u n s a t i s f a c t o r y

by p o o r f a m ily r e l a t i o n s h i p s .

A

Through e d u c a tio n ,

cause u n h ap p in ess.

sta b ility

ever

then,

so c ia l

is

a

in ­

a t t itu d e s n o u rish ed

11 E d u c atio n fo r th e a g e n c y to and s in g le

d escrib e i t s

lectu res

i n w hich one to p ic th e

fam ily liv in g *

as w ell is

of

t a l k s w hich are

These t a l k s

the c o u r s e s ,

am enable

T his

because i t

the

the

new spaper a r t i c l e s

series In th is

sin g le

u sed by

of ta lk s stu d y ,

lectu res

it

offers,

how ever, and th e

o rg an izatio n s.

e m o tio n a l problem s w h ich a r i s e stu d y lim ite d i t s

in

in v estig atio n

was b e l i e v e d t h e y w o u l d b e m o s t

to stu d y .

C ourses. t e r m s Hs e r i e s

of

used in re fe re n c e of s ix w eeks,

T his term i s

used in terch an g eab ly w ith

t a l k s , 11 a n d ,fg r o u p to le c tu re s

d iscu s s io n s . ”

It

the

is

w h ic h w ere h e l d o v e r a p e r i o d

i n w h ic h one t o p i c was d e v e l o p e d .

P a rtic ip a n ts.

T his

p e r s o n s who a t t e n d e d

the

members

of the

tio n .

sk its,

term i s

sp o n so re d by v a r io u s

em phasized th e

fam ily r e la tio n s h ip s .

as

developed.

term w i l l a p p ly o n ly to

series

to

rad io

T his

o f the s t a f f

te r m was u s e d to r e f e r t o

the

c o u r s e s w h ich were l e d by d i f f e r e n t

M ore s p e c i f i c a l l y i t

San D iego F am ily S e r v ic e A s s o c ia ­ is

used to

r e f e r to th e

who w e r e i n t e r v i e w e d a b o u t t h e i r r e a c t i o n s

to

the

group

courses.

CHAPTER I I HISTORICAL FACTORS WHICH LED TO DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM OF EDUCATION FOR FAMILY LIVING IN SAN DIEGO FAMILY SERVICE ASSOCIATION T his c h a p te r i s m ents

of th e

a report

of the h i s t o r i c a l

develop­

F am ily S e r v ic e A s s o c ia ti o n o f San D iego .

th in k in g w hich b ro u g h t a b o u t th e m erg er of

The

the A s s o c ia tio n

f o r F am ily L iv in g and th e F am ily S e r v ic e A s s o c ia tio n i s

pre­

s e n te d as w e ll as

of

th is

occurence•

re la tio n

a b rie f

e v a lu a tio n as to

th e v a l i d i t y

T his e v a l u a t i o n w i l l be b a se d upon th e

of th e program ,

as seen by th e

changing p h ilo s o p h y o f s e r v ic e

in v estig ato r,

to

the

developed b y th e ag en cy •

D evelopm ent o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F am ily L i v i n g . 1936,

a group

i n San D iego,

of p erso n s met to

rep resen tin g

d iscu ss

th e

F am ily R e la tio n s

C onference.

a g r e e d t o become

sponsors f o r ,

w hich m ig h t T his ness

occur in

m in isters

T his group

th e .first

In creasin g ly ,

o rg an izatio n s

o f h o ld in g

a

of o rg a n iz a tio n s

and to u n d e rw rite

any d e f i c i t

conferences. of

th e grow ing aw are­

country of th e need fo r

tio n a l and a d v iso ry s e rv ic e s fam ily li f e *

d e sira b ility

i n t e r e s t was a r e f l e c t i o n

th ro u g h o u t the

d ifferen t

In

in the f i e l d

adequate

educa­

o f m arriag e

i t was n o t e d t h a t

d o cto rs,

and law y ers,

an d o t h e r s w e r e b e i n g a s k e d by young a n d o l d a l i k e

13 for

advice and c o u n s e l

relatio n sh ip s*

on q u e s t i o n s

I t was b e l i e v e d

of m arriag e

and fam ily

t h i s w i d e s p r e a d demand f o r

h e lp w ould b e s t b e m et by p e r s o n s p r o f e s s i o n a l l y to h e lp w ith such p ro b le m s. m ovem ent i n San D ie g o was tio n of tio n s,

T herefore

the d e s i r e

t h e p o p u l a t i o n wh o b r o k e

th is

th e b a s is f o r

to reduce

down i n

and c o n se q u e n tly needed h e lp w ith

one o r o t h e r o f t h e r e m e d i a l a g e n c i e s .

q u alified

th eir

th is

the p ro p o r­ fam ily r e l a ­

t h e i r p ro b le m s from It

was

fe lt

th at

c o u ld be a c c o m p lis h e d m o st a d e q u a t e l y by m e e tin g s i t u a ­

tio n s

at

e a rly sta g e s;

p rev en tiv e

by m aking

th e em phasis e d u c a tiv e ,

and c o n s t r u c t i v e r a t h e r th a n t h e r a p e u t i c .

A s s i s te d b y th e A d u lt E d u c a tio n D epartm ent of

the C ity

S ch o o ls, These p e o p le , i n t e r e s t e d i n s t i m u l a t i n g b e t t e r f a m ily l i f e i n San D ieg o , s ta y e d t o g e th e r to p la n y e a r l y con­ ferences* T h e i r s t a t e d p u r p o s e was t o p r o v i d e o p p o r t u n i t y fo r m arried peo p le, p a re n ts , e d u c a to rs, o th e r p ro fe s s io n a l and young p e o p le to d i s c u s s , u n d er a d e q u a te l e a d e r s h i p , new f a m i l y s i t u a t i o n s a n d r e l a t i o n s h i p s b r o u g h t a b o u t by c h a n g in g s o c i a l and econom ic c o n d i t i o n s • As e a r l y

as

the f i r s t

d e c i d e d i t was f u t i l e th ere

co u ld be

I n 1938*

to

conference

co n tin u e

e sta b lish ed

it

such co nferences

a r e g u la r co u n selin g

one o f t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o f

th e F am ily R e la tio n s

i n 193&,

was u n less

serv ice.

th e Sub C o m m ittee

of

C o u n s e l i n g C o m m itte e was t o make a

1 N e v i n W i l e y , P* if*

su rv ey o f th e e x i s t i n g

serv ices

t a c t w ith agen cies, in o th e r s e t up s e r v i c e s , fo rm u late

of

th is

year th a t

B y-law s

o f the

t o make c o n ­

t o s e e ho w t h e y h a d

to be d is trib u te d

the fo llo w in g

was i n c o r p o r a t e d i n t h e

th is fie ld ;

com m unities

and upon th e b a s i s

a q u estio n n aire

I t was i n

in

in fo rm atio n ,

to

i n San Diego*

the u l t i m a t e

purpose

F am ily R e l a tio n s

C onference• The s p e c i f i c p u r p o s e o f t h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n s h a l l be t h e c o n d u c t i n g o f an a n n u a l F a m i l y R e l a t i o n s C o n f e r e n c e , a n d th e e v e n tu a l e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a p erm anent F am ily C o u n s e l­ i n g s e r v i c e a n d s u c h o t h e r s e r v i c e s a s m ay b e n e c e s s a r y . 2 T he r e s u l t s o th er

o f th e

q u estio n n aires

com m unities b r o u g h t o u t t h e f a c t

m ost co n c e rn e d w ith Fam ily L if e

w hich w ere s e n t

th a t four fie ld s

to w ere

P ro b lem s.

1.

a

It

S o c i a l Work* a . P rim a r ily concerned w ith s o c ia l d ia g n o s is and treatm en t* b* L a r g e l y c o n f i n e d t o t h e u n d e r p r i v i l e g e d . c . R e l i e f g iv e n as a la r g e p a r t o f th e program . d. H elps c l i e n t s to u t i l i z e s e r v i c e s a v a i l a b l e i n t h e com m unity. 2. M in istry . 3# M e d i c i n e . lj_. E d u c a t i o n . 3

was e v i d e n t t h a t

the n e e d f o r

th e p u b l i c was n o t b e i n g m e t . ing h e lp .th r o u g h tellers;

th is

serv ice

P e o p le were a g g r e s s i v e l y

such so u rces as new spapers,

and in a d e q u a te ly tr a in e d p erso n s

^ B y-law s

on t h e p a r t

o f th e F am ily R e la tio n s

in

rad io , a ll

seek­

fo rtu n e

four fie ld s

C onference,

San D iego

19393 Canon B a rn e s, S a n D i e g o , 19^U-1 •

of

Speech R eporting R esearch P ro g ress;

15 m en tio n ed above w ere

o ffe rin g ad v ice.

D uring th e p e r i o d

i n w h ic h r e s e a r c h was u n d e r t a k e n ,

y e a r ly m e e tin g s w ere h e ld . to San D iego.

T here

P ro m in e n t s p e a k e r s were b ro u g h t

was a l a r g e

b o th in g e n e ra l g a th e rin g s,

atten dan ce

a t th e se m eetin gs,

and in f ir e s i d e

conferences.

E m p h a s is e a c h y e a r was p l a c e d u p o n s p e c i f i c tim ely i n t e r e s t . th e

The s p o n s o r i n g g r o u p s

com m unity s i t u a t i o n ,

and in

so

p roblem s

of

co n tin u ed to

stu d y

doing became f i r m l y

con­

v in c e d t h a t a y e a r ro und p r e v e n tiv e program o f fa m ily l i f e e d u c a t i o n was n e e d e d . F in ally , g ath ered , agen cies

i n 19^1-3> u s i n g t h e

a n o t h e r q u e s t i o n n a i r e was s e n t in

th e

com m unity.

m atio n about re so u rc e s th e c o u n ty .

Its

of the

ag en cies.

resu lts

purpose

actu ally

The n i n e t y - f i v e

from f i f t y - n i n e report

in fo rm atio n

is

to

th e y had

a l l w elfare

w as t o g a t h e r i n f o r m

av ailab le

to

the

people

In

q u e stio n n aires brought responses

C opies

of the

not a v ailab le,

q u estio n n aires

or a

but a d e fin ite need

was a p p a r e n t l y e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e r e p l i e s ,

fo r in stru ctio n s

were

,ft o

g iven th e

o fficers

lo o k in g s p e c i f i c a l l y ed u catio n al

^ M inutes

, 1943 .

conferences

tow ard th e

se ttin g

and c o u n s e lin g s e r v ic e

1 9 l±3 f a p r o g r a m

13

of th e

and p la n

f o r th e

develop p la n s

up o f a y e a r round

for p a r e n t s . I n

A p ril,

o rg a n iz a tio n o f such a

of th e F am ily R e la tio n s

C om m ittee,

O ctober,

16 serv ice tio n s

was p r e s e n t e d t o

as

to p o s s i b i l i t i e s

I n November, in th e

the

sponsors,

f o r fin a n cin g

19^4-3* t h e

secretary

of th e

her resig n atio n

agency,

years one

in th e

of t h e

L ife,

a le tte r

o rig in a l

M i s s Mea d f e l t to

sponsors the

reco g n ize

the

offered

o f th e

proposed

d u rin g

a ll

th ese

fam ily r e la t io n s h i p s ,

of the C onferences

tren d

w as

ex ecu tiv e

i n w hich sh e

In te re ste d

developm ent o f b e t t e r

was a f a i l u r e

th e

from th e B oard o f D i r e c t o r s

A s s o c ia tio n f o r Fam ily L iving#

s ta te m e n t appears

o f f e r e d b y an e x i s t i n g

E l e a n o r Mead,

w rote

sugges­

serv ice•

t h a t t h i s new s e r v i c e

co n sid e red a d u p lic a tio n of s e rv ic e s the F am ily S e rv ic e #

th e

f i r s t w ritte n

re c o rd s w hich i n d i c a t e d

agency,

to g e th e r w ith

of F am ily

tow ard a c o u n s e lin g o b jectiv es

of h e r

and

serv ice

own a g e n c y #

I t i s b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s i n g l y d i f f i c u l t f o r me t o d i s ­ t i n g u i s h betw een th e f u n c tio n s of th e F am ily S e rv ic e A s s o c i a t i o n o f S a n D i e g o , o f w h i c h a s y o u k n o w , I am a n e m p l o y e e , a n d t h o s e o f t h e S a n D i e g o C o n f e r e n c e on F a m i l y R e l a t i o n s , l a r g e l y b e c a u s e o f the ija c re a s e d em p h asis w hich has r e c e n t l y b e e n p u t upon th e p ro p o s e d c o u n s e lin g s e r v ic e o f the l a t t e r o r g a n iz a tio n . S i n c e I am a l r e a d y e n g a g e d i n p r o m o tin g e x t e n s i o n s i n c a s e w ork s e r v i c e t h r o u g h my r e g u l a r p o s i t i o n , i t s e e m s b e t t e r t o me t h a t I c o n f i n e my a c t i v i t i e s i n t h i s s p h e r e t o t h e o n e o r g a n i z a t i on#3> D esp ite

th is

w ould o c c u r w i t h t h e

su g g estio n

t h a t an o v e r la p p in g

esta b lish m en t

a p re v e n tiv e c o u n selin g

of a c o u n se lin g

c e n t e r became a r e a l i t y

of serv ices serv ice,

i n M arch,

d ^ E l e a n o r Mead, L e t t e r t o P r e s i d e n t o f S a n D ie g o C o n f e r e n c e o n F a m i l y L i v i n g , N o v e m b e r 1 5 , 19^4-3 •

17 1 9 M+-*

The f u n d s f o r

the f i r s t

y e a r ’ s o p e r a tio n s w ere

f u r n i s h e d by th e R o sen berg F o u n d a tio n of San F r a n c is c o . C allin g i t s e l f

th e San D iego A s s o c i a t i o n o f F am ily L iv in g ,

the

of

o b jectiv es

the

o r g a n iz a tio n w ere:

1. To p r o v i d e t r a i n e d l e a d e r s h i p f o r g r o u p s o f p a r e n ts o r young p e o p le i n t e r e s t e d in fa m ily r e l a t i o n s , c h ild g u id a n c e , pro b lem s o f y o u th and m a rria g e a d ju stm e n t th ro u g h s tu d y c l a s s e s , d i s c u s s i o n g ro u p s, forum s and le c tu re s. 2. To g i v e t h e l e a d e r s o f o t h e r p r o f e s s i o n a l g r o u p s , n u r s e s , te a c h e r s , group l e a d e r s , m i n i s t e r s , s o c ia l w o r k e r s a n d o t h e r s w ho w o r k w i t h f a m i l i e s a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f p r o b l e m s o f f a m i l y l i f e a n d how t o m eet them . 3# To m e e t t h e n e e d s o f h u s b a n d s , w i v e s , p a r e n t s , t e a c h e r s and young people, c o n c e rn e d a b o u t t h e i r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s w i t h i n d i v i d u a l g u i d a n c e on t h e n o r m a l p r o b l e m s o f f a m il y l i f e a n d s p e c i a l p ro b le m s c r e a t e d b y war condi tio n s . if. To f u r n i s h g u i d a n c e f o r t h o s e g r o u p s i n t e r e s t e d i n d ev elo p in g p a re n t e d u c a tio n program s, yo uth c o u n se l­ i n g s e r v i c e s , an d o t h e r w holesom e com m unity a p p r o a c h e s to p a re n ts and y o u th p ro b le m s. 5# To m a k e a v a i l a b l e t h e m a n y s o u n d , w e l l p r e p a r e d books . . . on c h i l d d e v e lo p m e n t, y o u th p r o b le m s , m a rria g e g u id a n c e and f a m ily r e l a t i o n s . 6 These of

o b jectiv es

show t h e

t h e n e w a g e n c y w as s t i l l

The c o u n s e l i n g

s e r v ic e s w ere

of

courses

the v a rio u s

em p h asis of th e

p rev en tio n , still

and l e c t u r e s

program

through e d u c a tio n .

c o n s id e re d a by p ro d u c t w hich w e re

offered

to

P am phlet is s u e d by th e A s s o c ia tio n f o r F am ily L iv in g i n 1944*

18 the p u b lic * P lan s f o r f i n a n c i a l ask th e p erio d

Com m unity C h e s t f o r o f tw o y e a r s ,

support in clu d ed a pro p o sal to support a f t e r

e ith e r as

an in d e p e n d e n t ag en cy ,

through a f f i l i a t i o n w ith an e x is tin g was t o

be o b t a i n e d

a dem o n stratio n

agency*

th ro u g h in d iv id u a l,

or

F u rth er support

group and o r g a n iz a tio n

m em bership c o n t r i b u t i o n . In a pam phlet is s u e d d e s c r ib in g

th is

new a g e n c y ,

the

f o l l o w i n g was s t a t e d ;

”A c o n f i d e n t i a l p r o f e s s i o n a l s e r v i c e

s e t up b y r e s p o n s i b l e

com m unity l e a d e r s

in d iv id u als

and fa m ilie s

in m atters

to

a s s i s t p erplex ed

p e rta in in g

to fam ily l i f e

and r e l a t i o n s h i p s * ” ^ In

the P ro g re ss

of o p eratio n , fo llo w in g

R eport,

the A sso c ia tio n

issu ed

after

the f i r s t

year

f o r F am ily L iv in g p r e s e n t e d th e

sta tistic s:;

C lie n t s a sk in g h e lp A v e r a g e p e r m onth L a s t 3 m on th s a v e .

301 50 59

P u b lic l e c t u r e s and a d d r e s s e s E d u c atio n a l C lasses

T o ta l in te r v ie w s A v e r a g e p e r m on th L a s t 3 m onth s 102 30

T o tal atten d an ce T o ta l atten d an ce

457 76 88 6 ,3 7 9 775

F i f t y tw o s e s s i o n s a r e a l r e a d y p l a n n e d f o r t h e f a l l t e r m . These i n c l u d e F e d e r a l H ousing g r o u p s , E v e n in g A d u lt C la s s e s , C hurches, and W elfare A g en cies. . . . th ree s e s s io n s in S ta te C o lleg e ev en in g e x te n s io n co u rses w i l l be t a u g h t on The F a m i l y . R e q u e s t s a r e coming i n f o r o th e r c la s s e s and arran g em en ts a re in p r o g r e s s . ” 7 P r o g r e s s R e p o rt o f th e A s s o c ia tio n f o r F am ily A u g u s t , 19 o P ro g re s s R ep o rt o f th e A s s o c ia tio n f o r Fam ily L i v i n g , M a r c h , 19^-5*

L iv in g ,

19 T his r e p o r t

in d icated

met w ith good re s p o n s e

in

the

were g iv e n s u g g e s te d t h a t th is the

t h a t th e agency had a p p a re n tly

One o f t h e

In p e rso n a l p a p e rs,

accum ulated and o f fe r e d In o th er reco rd s, made t o e v a l u a t e in

strik in g

term s

th e

to

l i b r a r y w hich th e

sta ff

of

facts

about who

in te re st

agency had

th e public*

w hich were n o t

serv ices

of th e ir

w hich

e d u c a tio n a l program .

c o m m e n t s w e r e made a b o u t t h e

com m unity show ed i n t h e

L iving

of th e

w h ic h w e re g i v e n was t h e n u m b e r o f p e r s o n s

w ere f o u n d t o be r e a c h e d t h r o u g h th e

the

The f i g u r e s

th e tw o m embers

a g e n c y were q u i t e b u s y . fig u re s

community*

dated,

an a t t e m p t . w a s

o f th e A s s o c ia tio n f o r F am ily

effectiv en ess*

The f o l l o w i n g was

rep o rted : How e f f e c t i v e h a s t h e s e r v i c e b e e n ? a* P a r e n t E d u c a t i o n - - C l a s s e s h a v e b e e n b e t t e r a t t e n d e d t h a n h a v e s i m i l a r c l a s s e s ' f o r some p e r i o d i n t h e p ast* I n s e v e r a l i n s t a n c e s , a t t e n d a n c e was h e l d s te a d y to th e end of th e c o u rs e s o r even I n c r e a s e d over th e o r ig in a l e n ro llm e n t, b . The r a d i o p r o g r a m - - . . . i s c o m m e n c i n g t o a t t r a c t a t t e n t i o n and p r o m i s e s t o be m o s t u s e f u l e x t e n s i o n of th e e d u c a tio n a l f u n c tio n o f the a s s o c ia tio n * C ounseling S e r v ic e s : a.

B e c a u se m ore t h a n s e v e n t y p e r c e n t o f c l i e n t s do n o t come m o r e t h a n o n c e i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o a s c e r ­ t a i n e x a c t l y how e f f e c t i v e i s t h e h e l p g i v e n b y our co n su ltan t s • b* B e c a u s e t h i r t y p e r c e n t o f o u r c l i e n t s d o r e t u r n f o r s u b s e q u e n t i n t e r v i e w s , a n d t h e n u m b e r who com e b ecau se o f o th e r c l i e n t s 1 recom m endation i s s t e a d i l y o n t h e i n c r e a s e , we b e l i e v e t h e v a l i d i t y o f o u r c o u n se lin g s e rv ic e i s being e s ta b lis h e d *

20 c.

I n a d d i t i o n t h e r e a r e many c o m p l i m e n t a r y l e t t e r s i n th e f i l e s from c l i e n t s , w h ich f u r t h e r b e a r s o u t t h e m e r i t s o f t h e s e r v i c e *9

These s ta te m e n ts

are

th e com m unity i n

th is

fo r fam ily liv in g .

fu rth er in d icatio n serv ice,

of th e

p a rtic u la rly

I t was i n t e r e s t i n g

fig u res

assume ad d e d s i g n i f i c a n c e

at a la te r

date

h a d assum ed th e fu rth er

in

in

an o th er s e c tio n o f th is

one y e a r .

I n M arch,

F oundation d id not c o n tin u e made

to

the

its

of ed u catio n

the p ercen tag e These

of ex p erien ces

after

the

T his w i l l

agency

be d i s c u s s e d

stu d y .

The A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F a m i l y L i v i n g program f o r

of

serv ices.

th e l i g h t

of F am ily S e r v ic e Agency, e d u c a tio n a l program .

th at

to n o te

o f c l i e n t s who came o n l y o n c e f o r c o u n s e l i n g

in te re st

o p erated

th is

fu ll

19^+Ss w h e n t h e R o s e n b e r g su p p o rt,

an

a p p l i c a t i o n was

Com m unity C h e s t f o r f u n d s w i t h w h ic h

to

co ntinue

the program . D e v e l o p m e n t _of F a m i l y S e r v i c e A s s o c i a t i o n .

B efore

d is c u s s in g th e e v e n ts w hich fo llo w e d t h i s

request

by th e A s s o c ia tio n f o r F am ily L iv in g ,

th e

Fam ily S e rv ic e

A s s o c i a t i o n w i l l be exam ined b r i e f l y ,

in

d e v e lo p m e n t a n d p o i n t o f g r o w th i n 19^5 • in th e

eig h teen n in e tie s

D iego,

it

F irst

to

trace

its

e sta b lish e d

as th e A sso ciated C h a ritie s

i n c o r p o r a t e d i n 1910. a s

9 R ep o rt to f o r F am ily L iv in g ;

order

f o r funds

o f San

the A s s o c ia te d C h a r i t i e s

th e B oard of D ir e c t o r s D ate n o t g i v e n .

of the A s so c ia tio n

21 o f Sa n D i e g o C o u n t y f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f c o o p e ra tin g w ith o th e r ag encies in b e tte rm e n t of s o c ia l c o n d i t i o n s and t h e g i v i n g o f f r i e n d l y c o u n s e l and m a te r ia l a id a c c o rd in g to th e n e c e s s i t y o f th e un­ f o r t u n a t e ,10 T his

em p h asis

c o n t i n u e d u n t i l 1930*

the p u b lic w e lfa re b ility

ag encies

f o r th e needs

and m a te r ia l

aid

had a s t a f f records,

expanded to

of p e rso n s

became a l e s s

the fa m ily agency.

By 1 9 3 6 ,

im p o rtan t p a r t

the

sm all b u d g e t.”

serv ices

of

the

u n d e rp riv ile g e d peo p le agency ca rry in g o f unem ployed, retren ch m en t, by th e

in

o f th e w ork o f

and a c c o r d in g t o

The p u b l i c

a ttitu d e

a g e n c y w ere r e m e d i a l and were the

com m unity.

C om m unity C h e s t o f t h e p r i v a t e As a r e s u l t t h e

an d an a d d e d e m p h a s is was g i v e n t o

was for

th e grow ing num bers en tered a p erio d

f o llo w e d by a r e e v a l u a t i o n by i t s

of

B oard and

f a m i l y a g e n c y 1s p l a c e

a g e n c y was r e o r g a n i z e d f a m ily case w ork.

M is s E l e a n o r Mead,

begun to im prove

the

W ith th e p u b l i c

for

the A s s o c ia te d C h a r itie s

1 9 3 7 9 a new e x e c u t i v e ,

work

The e x a c t a m o u n t o f i t s

the b u rd en o f r e l i e f

i n t h e com m unity.

to

th e F am ily S e rv ic e A s s o c ia tio n

o f two u n t r a i n e d w o r k e r s ,

”a very

in clu d e r e s p o n s i­

unem ployed b u t a b le

a n n u a l b u d g e t was n o t i n d i c a t e d . th at

D uring th e d e p r e s s io n ,

and e f f o r t s

w ere

the

through th e

em ploym ent o f a p r o f e s s i o n a l l y

jo in ed

In

the agency,

program f u r t h e r , tra in e d

sta ff.

^ F . R. Burnham , F i r s t R e p o r t o f A s s o c i a t e d C h a r i t i e s o f S a n D i e g o C o u n t y , M a r c h 1 , 1 9 1 1 * P* ! •

22 I n 1938*

t h e name was c h a n g e d t o F a m i l y S e r v i c e

of San D iego, D uring

in lin e

w ith th e tre n d

the w ar y e a r s ,

in

th ro u g h o u t th e

the n in e te e n

was p u t u p o n t h e a g e n c y f o r w h ic h i t cause

of th e

sib ility

for

em ergency,

th e

A sso ciatio n co u n try .

fo rties,

pressure

was n o t p r e p a r e d .

B e­

agency u n d erto o k a m ajor re sp o n ­

c h i l d p la c e m e n t and gave l e s s

atten tio n

to

fam ily c a se s. M erger of th e

A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F am ily h iv in g

F am ily S e r v ic e A s s o c i a t i o n . w ith in

the

F am ily S e r v ic e

Two m a j o r c h a n g e s

and the

took p la c e

a g e n c y d u r i n g 19^5*

In 19^5 th e W elfare C o u n c il, a f t e r a s tu d y o f Fam ily S e rv ic e , a rra n g e d f o r a t r a n s f e r of t h i s c h i l d p la c e ­ m ent r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to th e D epartm ent o f P u b lic W elfare a n d p l a n s w e re made f o r a f a m i l y a g e n c y w i t h i n c r e a s e d and f u l l y t r a i n e d s t a f f t o c o n c e n t r a t e on f a m i l y c a s e ­ w ork. I n t h e same y e a r , t h e C om m unity W e l f a r e C o u n c i l p ro p o se d t h a t t h e F am ily S e rv ic e A s s o c ia tio n and the A s s o c ia tio n f o r F am ily L iv in g i n t e g r a t e t h e i r program s; th e c o u n s e lin g s e r v ic e to be p erfo rm ed b y F am ily S e rv ic e an d an e d u c a t i o n a l w o r k e r a d d e d to t h e s t a f f t o c o n t i n u e th e e d u c a tio n a l p ro g ra m .ll The C om m unity C h e s t h a d r e f u s e d t h e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F am ily L iv in g

th e ir request fo r

based upon t h e i r

funds.

s e r v i c e w o u ld be r e n d e r e d

m erger of

the

D irecto rs

of

tw o a g e n c i e s .

11 W i l e y ,

r e f u s a l was

c o n v ic tio n t h a t th e m ost e f f e c t i v e

efficien t

the

T his

C h est,

op.

In

the

c i t .,

p . 1^.

com m unity th r o u g h a

the m in u tes

d a t e d J u l y 9#

and

1 9 bS>

of th e

B oard of

the f o llo w in g

23 e x p la n a tio n appears: . . . th e C hest had lo n g f e l t t h a t th e developm ent o f a s e p a r a t e p ro g ra m h a d b e e n a m i s t a k e and t h a t t h e A s s o c i a ­ t i o n f o r F a m i l y L i v i n g h a d s o o n f o u n d t h a t e d u c a t i o n was l o g i c a l l y accom panied by i n d i v i d u a l c o u n s e lin g o r case w ork. The C h e s t f e e l s t h a t t h e p r e s e n t p r o p o s e d e x p a n ­ s i o n o f FSA t o i n c l u d e s o m e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r a n e d u c a ­ t i o n a l program and th e s tr e n g th e n in g of th e b o a rd th ro u g h th e a d d i t i o n o f members f r o m th e A s s o c i a t i o n i s i n l i n e w ith th e p u rp o se of th e C h e st and C o u n c il to s e e t h a t s e r v i c e i s r e n d e r e d t o t h e com m unity i n as c o m p e te n t and a d e q u a t e a way a s p o s s i b l e w i t h o u t u n n e c e s s a r y d u p l i c a ­ tio n and o v erlapping* In

a le tte r

L iv in g,

w hich th e

the f o llo w in g

C hest w ro te

th e A s s o c ia tio n f o r F am ily

statem en t appears:

B ecause of i t s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to a v o id o v e r la p p in g and d u p l i c a t i o n o f s e r v i c e , th e C h e st B oard v o te d u n a n im o u sly to deny your re q u e s t f o r fu n d s. I t i s t h e f e e l i n g o f the B o a r d t h a t so me o f t h e s u g g e s t i o n s m a d e b y y o u i n v o l v e o v e rla p p in g and d u p l i c a t i o n and t h a t th e m ost e f f e c t i v e and eco n o m ical developm ent o f our f a m ily w e lf a r e program can be a c h ie v e d by a co m p lete i n t e g r a t i o n of th e s e r v ic e s o f y o u r a g e n c y w i t h t h a t o f ESA. The C h e s t w i l l g i v e f u l l c o n s i d e r a t i o n t o a n y p l a n w h e re b y s u c h i n t e g r a t i o n can be accom plished* ^ In te rv iew s w ith n in g

at

th at

tim e

in d icated

t h e m e r g e r on t h e p a r t because

of th e

A sso ciatio n . on t h e

J u ly 9,

th ere

were

in

the p la n ­

stro n g f e e lin g s

ag ain st

of th e A s s o c ia tio n f o r Fam ily L iv in g

stig m a of r e l i e f

a s s o c i a t e d w ith F am ily S e rv ic e

The B o a r d o f t h e F a m i l y S e r v i c e A s s o c i a t i o n ,

o th e r hand,

1p

the p e rso n s p a r t i c i p a t i n g

M inutes 191*5.

seem ed r e l u c t a n t

to

tak e

o f B oard of D ir e c t o r s ,

over a fu n ctio n

Com m unity C h e s t ,

-*-3 L e t t e r t o t h e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F a m i l y L i v i n g f r o m t h e C om m unity C h e s t , A u g u s t , 1 9 ^ 5 •

2k s o ne w t o

s o c i a l w ork.

It

seem ed to be

c a s e w o r k e r s w e r e n o t a t home o n t h e Because

ex ist

in

d id f e e l

d en ial

of

s h o u l d b e made

and e d u c a tio n a l fin a lly 19^-5*

stro n g ly

funds by

the C h e s t,

and t h a t

arrange­

co u n selin g

serv ices

a m erger o f th e

agencies

o c c u r a f t e r much p l a n n i n g a n d d i s c u s s i o n ,

was e n l a r g e d b y t h e a d d i t i o n

A s s o c ia tio n as w e ll as

some f u n d s

d id

i n A ugust,

b o ard o f F am ily

o f s i x b o a r d members

from th e A s s o c ia tio n f o r F am ily L iv in g .

w ere

of th e A s s o c ia tio n

The i n t e g r a t i o n was c o m p l e t e d w h en t h e

S erv ice

A sso ciatio n

t h a t much l o s s w o u ld

to c a r r y o u t t h e i r

a c tiv itie s,

th at

p latfo rm .

from th e

th e com m unity by th e d i s s o l u t i o n

through th e m ents

lectu re

th e Board o f D i r e c t o r s

f o r F am ily L iv in g

th e ir feelin g

The l i b r a r y

rem ain in g i n

th e

of th e

tre asu ry

also tra n s fe rre d . I t was u n d e r s t o o d t h a t t h e a u g m e n t e d a g e n c y m u s t f i r s t s t r e n g t h e n i t s c a s e w ork s e r v i c e s b e f o r e s t e p s c o u ld be ta k e n to d ev elo p the e d u c a tio n a l program . An a d d i t i o n a l s um o f m o n e y f r o m t h e R o s e n b e r g F o u n d a t i o n w a s g r a n t e d t o f i n a n c e th e f i r s t y e a r o f the e d u c a t i o n a l pro g ram w i t h th e u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t th e C h e s t w ould c o n t i n u e i t s su p p o rt. By l a t e 194-5* F a m i l y S e r v i c e h a d a c q u i r e d a p r o f e s s i o n a l l y t r a i n e d e x e c u t i v e , s u p e r v i s o r and c a s e w ork s t a f f .14* I n A ugust,

S erv ic e

I 9 I4.5 ,

the

Board of th e

ad o p ted the fo llo w in g

statem en t

San D iego F a m ily of purpose:

The g e n e r a l p u r p o s e o f t h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n s h a l l be t o p r o v id e and m a i n t a i n e d u c a t i o n a l an d c o u n s e l in g s e r v i c e s t h a t w i l l le a d to th e s t r e n g t h e n i n g and s t a b i l i z a t i o n o f fam ily l i f e , to help fa m ilie s and in d iv id u a ls to r e a liz e

3-4- W i l e y ,

o £ . c i t . , p . 10*

25 t h e i r own c a p a c i t i e s a n d t o d e v e l o p t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r l e a d i n g p e r s o n a l l y s a t i s f y i n g and s o c i a l l y a c c e p t a b l e liv es. To m a k e t h i s s e r v i c e a v a i l a b l e t o a l l p e o p l e re g a rd le ss of s o c ia l p o s itio n , ra c e , co lo r or creed; in doing t h i s th e o r g a n iz a tio n w i l l be concerned n o t only w i t h r e m e d i a l work b u t a l s o w ith a b r o a d e r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r p r e v e n t i o n and im provem ent of th o s e c o n d i t i o n s i n . s o c i e t y t h a t im pede th e a c h ie v e m e n t o f t h i s o b j e c t i v e . ^ As t h i s

statem en t in d ic a te d ,

d iv id ed

th r e e ways:

fam ily liv in g , of so c ia l first

and 3)

co n d itio n s

and t h i r d

sib ilitie s

1)

the

so c ia l

fu n c tio n o f th e

c a se work,

2)

com m unity l e a d e r s h i p d ire c tly

of th e s e

affectin g

a g e n c y was

ed u catio n fo r

in

the

im provem ent

fam ily l i f e .

o b je c tiv e s w ere t r a d i t i o n a l

o f f a m i l y c a s e work a g e n c i e s ,

b u t the

The respon­

second goal

.of com m unity e d u c a t i o n f o r f a m i l y l i v i n g h a d n o t b e e n a p rim ary f u n c tio n o f such a g e n c ie s . The e d u c a t i o n a l to

develop

a p ro g ram of F am ily L if e E d u c a tio n i n th e

of a p riv a te

f a m i l y c a s e w ork a g e n c y .

S eptem ber of t h a t m unity c o n ta c ts , and a n a ly z e th e al

fie ld .

It

year, an aly ze

is

w ere e x te n d e d

com m unity n e e d s ,

the f i r s t

ch ap ters.

Ib id .,

effo rts

p.

1.

19^6

se ttin g

From M arch u n t i l

in

y ear o f experien ce

th at co n stitu tes

t o m a k e com­

p lan

c a se w ork a g e n c y ’ s f u n c t i o n

p r o g r a m was i n a u g u r a t e d e n su in g

d i r e c t o r was e m p lo y e d i n M a rc h ,

the

th e program the e d u c a tio n ­ after

b a sis

the fo r th e

26 Sum m ary♦

T his

ch ap ter has tra c e d th e

San D ie g o itfiich c u l m i n a t e d i n San D iego F am ily S e r v ic e for

fam ily l i v i n g .

in itia te d for

to

T his

serv ice.

it

ap p lied

the

The u l t i m a t e

of t h e

of

a sso c ia te d w ith i t .

When t h e

as a

asso ciatio n first

R osenberg F o u n d a tio n ,

the

Com m unity

The r e a s o n f o r

th is

years

was t h e i r

th e com m unity w i t h b o t h e f f e c t i v e

It

seem ed l o g i c a l

to th e

s h o u ld be m erged. of

I n 19^4-5> t h e

relu ctan ce o b jectiv es

in clu d e fa m ily l i f e

t h e new p r o g r a m .

work

the

sp ite

s t a f f was s e c u r e d ,

the

d u rin g

agencies

accom plished i n

r e d e f in e d to

com m unity

s e r v i c e s were r e q u e s t e d

o p eratin g

the r e q u e s t.

e ffic ie n t serv ice.

ag en cies.

a fte r

o f p ro v id in g

two e x i s t i n g

o b jectiv e

w ere

A s s o c ia tio n f o r F am ily L iv in g

e d u c a tio n a l program .

w i t h s u p p o r t by t h e

o b jectiv e

the

co u n selin g

fo r funds,

C hest d enied

In stitu tes

e sta b lis h m e n t of a year round

stig m a of r e l i e f

o rg a n iz a tio n of

w as f o u n d t h a t

resu lt

F am ily L if e

of

ed u catio n

o b j e c t i v e was s e p a r a t e d fro m a s o c i a l

agency because of W ith the

to i n c l u d e

th e need ex p ressed by th e

s p o n s o r i n g g r o u p s was t h e serv ice.

ex p an sio n o f f u n c tio n

A sso ciatio n

O rig in a lly ,

in response

a p rev en tiv e

the

developm ents i n

as w e ll

as

Chest th a t

and the

T h i s m e r g e r was

on t h e p a r t

of b o th

of F am ily S e r v ic e w ere

ed u catio n .

an e d u c a tio n a l

A p ro fessio n al d irecto r,

for

CHAPTER I I I ANALYSIS OP THE PROGRAM OP EDUCATION FOR FAMILY LI V I N G T his c h a p t e r i s tio n

for

an a n a l y s i s

fam ily liv in g It

tio n fo r

new f u n c t i o n ,

D irecto rs, the f i r s t

the

in clu d es

m a te ria l.

ex p erien ces

d iscu ssio n s A b rie f

also

2. 3.

o rg an iza­

r o le p la y e d b y the Board o f

of the

agency v /ith co u rses

d u rin g

for

of c o n sid e ratio n s

fo r fu tu re

p lan ­

g iven.

E d u c a t i o n a l C om m ittee

1.

th e

of s t a f f

and the fo rm o f p r e s e n t a t i o n o f th e

report

A d m in istrativ e

catio n s

a d escrip tio n

y e a r o f t h e program * s i n a u g u r a t i o n a n d w i t h t h e

co n ten t fo r

ning i s

the p ro g ra m o f e d u c a ­

o f f e r e d b y th e San D ieg o F a m ily S e r v ic e

A sso ciatio n . th is

of

O rg an izatio n . . In January,

19^6*

of

th e

the

B oard,

an E d u c a tio n a l D ir e c to r ,

in

o u tlin in g

the

q u alifi­

agreed th a t:

The e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m s h a l l b e a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f t h e a g e n c y ’ s w ork and n o t a s e p a r a t e , autonom ous departm ent. The E d u c a t i o n a l D i r e c t o r s h a l l w o r k u n d e r t h e s u p e r ­ v is io n of th e ex ecu tiv e. P e rso n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s are o f p rim ary im p o rta n c e . The d i r e c t o r s h a l l h a v e b o t h c a s e w ork a n d e d u c a ­ tio n a l tr a in in g and e x p e rie n c e . A young p e r s o n r a t h e r th a n an e s t a b l i s h e d e d u c a to r i s d e s ir e a b l e

1 N evin W iley, ^ E d u c a tio n f o r F am ily L iv in g in a C ase­ w o r k S e t t i n g , 11 ( P a p e r p r e s e n t e d a t t h e N a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e o f S o c i a l W o r k ) , A p r i l , 19^-7* P* k-*

28 O rig in a lly ,

it

w as p l a n n e d t h a t

w ould a l s o c a r r y

a sm all

in a c tu a l p ra c tic e , sure

of

case

how ever,

load.

re sp o n sib ility

T his

because

o th er r e s p o n s i b il i t i e s .

a d d itio n to

the e d u c a tio n a l

for

of

d i d n o t work o u t

the u n e x p e c te d p r e s ­

The p o s i t i o n reg u lar

d irecto r

in clu d ed in

classes

m e e tin g s w ith young p e o p le p la n n in g m a r ria g e , a n d o t h e r g r o u p s who w i s h e d t o s t u d y t h e

of p a re n ts , teen a g e rs,

em otional a s p e c ts

of liv in g . I t was d e c id e d

th at p a rtic ip a tio n

by th e r e s t

o f the

s t a f f w o u ld be u p o n a v o l u n t a r y b a s i s .

E v e r y e f f o r t was

made t o

to ta l

in teg ra te

and as a r e s u l t ,

th is a ll

p rep arin g m a te ria l in g

serv ice

in to

s t a f f members

for

th e

the

a ctiv ely p a rtic ip a te d

c o u rs e s and l e c t u r e s ,

su g g estio n s re g a rd in g procedure;

o f some p r o g r a m s ,

six

in

a n d i n mak~

f o u r assum ed l e a d e r s h ip

as w ell.

P a r t i c i p a t i o n by B oard of D i r e c t o r s . v io u sly ,

agency e f f o r t,

As s t a t e d p r e «

b o a r d m em bers fro m t h e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r F a m ily

L iv in g w ere g iv e n p l a c e s A s s o c i a t i o n when t h e

upon th e Board o f F am ily S e rv ic e

tw o a g e n c i e s m e r g e d .

i n th e p ro g ram th r o u g h t h e i r m em bership

They p a r t i c i p a t e d

on t h e a g e n c y ’ s

E d u c a tio n a l C om m ittee. The e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m i s u n d e r t h e a d v i s o r y l e a d e r ­ s h i p o f o u r E d u c a t i o n a l C om m ittee com posed o f b o a r d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a n d m en a n d women f r o m o u r g e n e r a l m em bership. I n c l u d e d on t h e C om m ittee a r e th e S u p e r ­ in te n d e n t o f S ch o o ls, D ir e c to r of th e F ed eral P ublic H ousing A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , Dean from th e S t a t e C o lle g e ,

29 a b an k er, P r e s id e n t of the P a re n ts T eachers A s s o c ia tio n , a p h y s i c i a n , t h e D i r e c t o r s o f H e a l t h , Home E c o n o m i c s a n d A d u lt E d u c a tio n i n th e C ity S chools and o th e r le a d e r s from v a r io u s p r o f e s s i o n a l and l a y g ro u p s i n th e c i t y . ^ As a r e s u l t city ,

of

th eir

in tere st

th e s e p e o p le w ere i n v a l u a b l e

serv ice

of

the ag en cy to

th e

tin u e d and a c tiv e

in te re st

to a g re a t

for

acted in an

degree

of courses

W ith l i t t l e a great deal lau n ch in g

and f a m i l y

co u n selin g ,

work h a d a n i n d i v i d u a l fam ily l i f e

th e

th e program

and w ere

success*

O rg an izatio n seem ed t h a t

in

th is

back upon i n

fie ld ,

the

was t h e

agency had

in v o lv ed in

A lth o u g h th e r e

the f i e l d s

of ed u catio n

agency’s b e lie f th a t

co n trib u tio n

t o make t o

the

The p r o b le m was t o f i n d and co n cep ts

f i c u l t p rob lem

to

from th e

stu d y

so lv e.

2 I b id ., p. 1.

so cia l

fie ld

of

co n stru ctiv e o f s o c i a l work an

p latfo rm .

of stu d y g ro u p s.

o rg an izin g

they

o rg an izatio n s*

the p r i n c i p l e s

a ttitu d e

resp o n sib le

As s t a t e d ,

g r o u p s who h a d h e r e t o f o r e b e e n a c c u s t o m e d t o

a u th o rita tiv e

t h e new

T hey d i d much to b r i n g a b o u t

such a program .

it

in the

They showed a c o n ­

about d if f e r e n t f a c to r s

ed u catio n .

of p r e s e n tin g

in terp retin g

com m unity.

by v a r i o u s

and p r e s e n tin g to f a l l

in

th e p ro g ra m 's

ex p erien ce

to l e a r n

was e x p e r i e n c e

to

in

ad v iso ry c a p a c ity .

sp o n so rsh ip

ways

and t h e i r prom inence

At -the b e g i n n i n g ,

groups w ould be t h e

However,

th is

was n o t

it

le a st d if - ■ tru e .

30 W i t h l i t t l e e x p e r i e n c e i n o r g a n i z i n g s t u d y g r o u p s , we h a d much t o l e a r n . A t f i r s t we t h o u g h t t h a t , b y o r g a n ­ i z i n g a s e r i e s o f l e c t u r e s , g i v i n g them a d e q u a te p u b ­ l i c i t y , a n d s e t t i n g a t i m e a n d p l a c e , we w o u l d h a v e m a n y e a g e r m e n a n d women f i l l i n g a l e c t u r e h a l l . The f i r s t s e r i e s , e n t i t l e d f,M a r r i a g e f o r M o d e r n s ,f r e c e i v e d e x c e l ­ l e n t n e w s p a p e r p u b l i c i t y , a n d a t t r a c t e d tw o wo m en a n d o n e man. 3 I t was d e c i d e d b ility

for

t h a t th e a g e n c y c o u ld n o t assum e r e s p o n s i ­

o rg an izatio n

The b e s t p l a n

but

to

o rg an ized .

th ese

th e group had

th in k in g

stu d y groups

seem ed to be t o

w h ich was a l r e a d y assista n c e

of

in p u b licizin g assure

p l a n w as d i s c u s s e d

ex p erien ce.

for

The a g e n c y c o n t i n u e d

o rg an izatio n s

view w i t h D av id Rauch,

th is

assum e l e a d e r s h i p

t o do t h e w o r k t o

behind t h i s

a fter

a group to g iv e

th e co u rses,

atten d an ce.

in a personal

The in ter­

the E d u c a tio n a l D ir e c to r .

F am ily S e rv ic e A s s o c ia tio n does n o t sp o n so r c o u r s e s , i n s t e a d , v a r i o u s g ro u p s assum e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r s i g n ­ in g up i n t e r e s t e d p e r s o n s . The t h i n k i n g h e r e i s t h e s a m e a s h a v i n g a c l i e n t come t o t h e o f f i c e , r a t h e r t h a n t h e c a s e w o r k e r m a k i n g a home c a l l . We f e e l t h a t i f t h e com m unity w a n ts t h i s t y p e p ro g ra m , t h e y s h o u l d assum e some r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r i t . In a d d itio n , i t i s b e lie v e d t h a t m ore p e o p l e w i l l be r e a c h e d i f a n o t h e r o r g a n i z a t i o n sp o n so rs the c o u rse ; u s u a lly t h i s w i l l b rin g to g e th e r a g r o u p s h a r i n g i n t e r e s t i n s p e c i f i c t y p e s o f problem s.M Leaders th e

in

v ario u s

agency w ith i t s

o r g a n i z a t i o n s w ere a n x io u s

to h elp

new p r o g r a m .

A f t e r a s i n g l e l e c t u r e , o n e PTA g r o u p w a s a n x i o u s f o r a s e r i e s o n HC h i l d D e v e l o p m e n t • 11 T h e p r e s i d e n t w a s en th u sia stic . The s e r i e s w a s s c h e d u l e d , a n d f o u r m o t h e r s

^ i b i d . * P« 5* k- D a v i d R a u c h , P e r s o n a l I n t e r v i e w ,

O ctober 2,

19if?.

31 cam e t o t h e f i r s t m e e t i n g * The p r e s i d e n t was s o s u r e t h a t t h e s e r i e s was n e e d e d t h a t sh e b e g g e d u s to c o n ­ t i n u e * . The l a r g e s t a t t e n d a n c e i n t h e w h o l e s e r i e s w a s e ig h t.5 F in ally ,

it

was

d ecided t h a t

m u s t s i g n up f o r a c l a s s , The f e e l i n g

before

on t h e p a r t

The f i r s t

of

b etter

learn in g the

to

m atter,

use for

found t h a t

the

to e x p ress

ex p erien ce. pro b lem s

th at i t th eir

own

It

it

was t h e

sp ecific

c o n te n t o f th e courses*

to

sta ff

th e y w ere f a c i n g ,

At f i r s t ,

c a s e w ork l i t e r a t u r e

gave the

th en , a

and

co u ld be m et.

ca se work k now ledge,

w ould be a p p l i c a b l e th erefo re

o p p o rtu n ity

th e se pro b lem s

C ontent of c o u r s e s . sta ff

fo rth a

of th e p ro g ra m ’s d ev elo p m en t,

u n d erstan d in g of

o f ways b y w h ic h

persons

in tere st.

year

p ro v id e d v a lu a b le

w ould b r i n g

o f o r g a n i z a t i o n m em bers;

w ould a f f o r d them a b e t t e r or la c k

in tere sted

a s e r i e s w ould be p r e s e n t e d .

seemed to b e t h a t t h i s

p a rtic ip a tio n

in tere st,

tw en ty -fiv e

t h i s w ork.

c a s e work s u b j e c t

However,

had l i t t l e

w ish of th e

it

w as

t o o f f e r ¥/hich

T eaching m a t e r i a l

draw n fro m r e l a t e d f i e l d s

w as

o f p s y c h o lo g y and

so cio lo g y * At th e b e g in n in g

the

e n tire

over p lan s fo r le sso n m a te ria l. p r o g r a m was u n d e r w a y ,

^ Loc.

c it.

th at

sta ff

s p e n t days going

I t was f o u n d ,

d iffe re n t

after

groups v a rie d

the in

th eir

32 responses so lu tio n series, is,

to th e to

same l e c t u r e m a t e r i a l .

th is

p r o b l e m w as t o p r e p a r e

and t h e n l e t

The m a in e m p h a s is tw o fo ld :

to d is c u s s

reactio n s

arisin g

b asic

in d ic a tio n of to p ics

C h i l d r e n 11; 2 )

of a ll

to g i v e

needs,

and to

offered:

and 6)

of m ateria l p resen ted

1)

"P are n ts

A ffair";

ed ging t h a t p a re n ts

n eg ativ e

u su al' m o r a lis tic

5)

3)

A ttitu d es "We,

v ario u s An

the

title s

Tow ard P aren ts";

" B u ild in g f o r W ell

in d iff e r e n t le c tu re

"P are n ts

A ttitu d es

do h a v e v a r i o u s

and su g g e stin g a ttitu d e s.

th at

"M odern A p p ro ach to F a m ily U n i t y . "

The i n t r o d u c t i o n g a v e t h e a u d i e n c e

ch ild ren ,

describ e

t h a t was g i v e n w as i l l u s t r a t i v e

c o u r s e was e n t i t l e d

for a

thought.

c o v e r e d c a n be o b t a i n e d from t h e

1|_) !,I s M a r r i a g e a P r i v a t e

One t a l k

th e m ost

o f th o se n e e d s.

"M a rria g e f o r M oderns";

B alanced L iv e s";

o u tlin e

t h e m a t e r i a l p r e s e n t e d v*as

from f r u s t r a t i o n

courses

a bare

th e group d e c id e upon th e em p h asis;

th e a r e a to w hich th e y w ished

of v ario u s

The m o s t s a t i s f a c t o r y

th a t i t

T his

of th e

se ries.

type

T his

Tow ard C h i l d r e n . "

r e a s s u r a n c e b y acknow l­ attitu d es

was n e c e s s a r y

tow ard t h e i r to c o n tro l

p r e s e n t e d a d e v i a t i o n from th e

approach.

In u n d erstan d in g our c h ild re n , i t i s im p o rtan t to u n d e r s t a n d o u r own f e e l i n g s a n d a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d t h e m . No o n e e v e r h a s c o m p l e t e c o n t r o l o f h i s f e e l i n g s , b u t s o m e t i m e s , w h e n we a r e a w a r e we f e e l a c e r t a i n w a y . we c a n t r y to c o n t r o l t h e a c t i n g o u t o f t h a t - f e e l i n g . ^

^ B e r n ita Haddock,

L ectu re,

F all,

19^6*

the

I t was h o p e d t h a t w ould o f f e r

the

accep tan ce

the p a re n ts

su fficien t

own a t t i t u d e s

and w ork o u t m ore

rela tio n sh ip s

w ith th e ir

In th ese jectio n ,

and d i s c u s s e d . concept

M rs.

th is

secu rity

in tro d u ctio n

to search th e i r

s a tis f a c to r y ad ju stm en ts

in

ch ild ren *

courses,

id e n tific a tio n

g iven in

such con cep ts

as

am bivalence,

pro-

an d r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n were e x p l a i n e d

Haddock,

for

in stan ce ,

in tro d u ced

the

of am bivalence9

We h a v e t w o k i n d s o f a t t i t u a w a r e , a n d t h o s e we do n o t we d o n o t r e c o g n i z e m a y b e in o u rselv es. We m ay f e e l o f d i s l i k e f o r a p e r s o n to t o o u r s e l v e s #7 As a n e x a m p l e ,

a c h ild 's

d es--th o se reco g n ize. o n e s we d o to o g u i l t y even adm it

am bivalence

o f w h i c h we a r e A t t i t u d e s w hich n o t l i k e to se e about our fe e lin g s th ese fe e lin g s

tow ard h is

p aren ts

discu ssed ^ P a r e n t s may f i n d i t d i f f i c u l t n o t t o b e u p s e t b y s u e . , ex p ressio n s. However, i f a c h i l d does n o t f e e l f r e e t o e x p r e s s some o f h i s h o s t i l e f e e l i n g s a s w e l l a s h i s a f f e c t i o n , h e may k e e p t h e s e f e e l i n g s I n s i d e - - a l l b o t t l e d u p - - p e r h a p s t o com e o u t l a t e r i n a m u c h m o r e d i s t u r b i n g way .o The i m p o r t a n c e out th e

of p a re n ts

attitu d es

was e m p h a s i z e d t h r o u g h ­

talk .

I m p o r ta n t a s i t i s t h a t a c h i l d be h e lp e d to d e v e lo p a c c o rd in g t o h i s c a p a b i l i t i e s , th e m ost im p o rta n t a re th e a t t i t u d e s on th e p a r t of th e p a r e n t s t h a t r e a s s u r e t h e c h i l d - - t h a t make h im f e e l w a n t e d and s e c u r e a n d lo v e d .9

3k It

wa s s u g g e s t e d ,

punishm ent,

I t be

w ould r e a l i z e d irected

fo r in stan ce,

it

adm in istered

to w a r d him a s

sta ff

o th er

w ere

work to

not anger

courses, It

t h e n was d r a w n f r o m

was t h e f e e l i n g

and m e e tin g

of the

th e m a te ria l,

the f e e l i n g s

o f the

t h a t was t h e a c t u a l ways i n w h ic h c a s e w ork tran sferred

the s t a f f

to t h i s

attem p ted

th e se group

make t h e s e g r o u p em otional

ch ild

person.

ed u catio n al s e ttin g .

M ethods b y w h ic h m a t e r i a l above,

some a c t ;

was t h e m a n n e r o f p r e s e n t i n g

the d is c u s s io n ,

p a rtic ip a n ts sk ills

for

than s o c i a l w ork.

th at i t

lead in g

a to ta l

of th ese

a c h ild needs

I n s u c h a way t h a t t h e

was p u n i s h m e n t

The c o n t e n t fie ld s

th at i f

as w e ll

was p r e s e n t e d .

As s t a t e d

to ad ap t th e te c h n iq u e s

situ atio n s.

d iscu ssio n s,

It

was t h e i r

w hich f o ll o w e d

as i n t e l l e c t u a l

ex p erien ces

of case

o b jectiv e

to

the l e c t u r e s , for

the

p a rtic ip an ts. We f o u n d t h a t t h e b e s t m e t h o d w a s t o b o r r o w f r o m t h e f i e l d o f c a s e w ork, n o t a n sw e rin g the q u e s tio n s d i ­ r e c t l y , b u t u s i n g them a s b a s i s f o r d i s c u s s i o n . We a l s o f o u n d t h a t o t h e r members o f th e g r o u p f r e q u e n t l y c o u ld answ er th e q u e s tio n s i n an e f f e c t i v e m anner, p a r ­ t i c u l a r l y In the case o f very p u n itiv e p a r e n ts . One m o t h e r a s k e d w h a t t o do w i t h a t h i r t e e n y e a r o l d b o y who a l w a y s w a n t e d s o m e t h i n g t o e a t w h e n h e c a m e home from s c h o o l. The d i s c u s s i o n l e a d e r a s k e d t h e m o t h e r what she d id about I t . She d i d n o t l e t him e a t b e ­ c a u s e i t w ould s p o i l h i s s u p p e r . The o t h e r p a r e n t s w ere up i n a rm s . They o f f e r e d v a l u a b l e h e l p on w h a t t h e c h i l d c o u l d e a t a f t e r s c h o o l so i t w ould n o t a ffe c t h is supper. And b y p a r t i c i p a t i n g I n t h e a n s w e r , many o f t h e p a r e n t s w ere f o r c e d t o t h i n k th e

35 situ a tio n I t was

fe lt

t h r o u g h f o r t hems e l v e s

th a t th e

i m p o r t a n t i n m aking p a rtic ip a n ts. th eir

two t e c h n i q u e s m e n t i o n e d a b o v e w e r e th is

By g i v i n g

own e x p e r i e n c e s

of the

u n iv ersality

sp ecific w o rries

th is

and o th e r s i t u a t i o n s .

became m ore t o l e r a n t , sid e

facto rs,

the present

p a r e n t s becam e m ore aw are hot

only in t h i s

b u t th ro u g h g e n e ra lly sh a rin g

th eir

T his b ro u g h t a b o u t

o th e r p ro b lem s.

of developm ent t h e i r

for

an o p p o r tu n ity to

and t h e o r ie s ,

more s e c u r i t y i n m e e t i n g stag e s

th e group

of t h e i r pro b lem s,

situ a tio n , in

an e m o t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e

M o re a w a r e o f

c h i l d r e n w ere e x p e r i e n c i n g ,

had l e s s

w ere b e t t e r a b le

need to p ro je c t to fa c e

th eir

the they

blam e on o u t ­

own a t t i t u d e s

and p re j u d i c e s . It fe lt

seems i n c r e a s i n g l y e v i d e n t ,

c a s e work had s o m e th in g u n iq u e

to p eo p le,

in

sig n ifican t

o rie n tin g m a te ria l

th a n th e m a te r ia l p e r

A nother im p o rta n t m a t e r i a l was T his

accep tan ce,

was m ore t h a n to

the

in

W iley,

c i t •,

approach

w h i c h was m o re

of

p.

c lien t

re la tio n sh ip ,

was a v e r b a l l i z e d w i l l i n g n e s s

p o i n t o f view ,

o£.

them ,

in it s

se.

th e w orker to

s i o n o f w arm th to w a rd th e p e r s o n ,

^

offer

sta ff

the w o rk er gave t o p a r t i c i p a n t s .

an a t t i t u d e , i t

accep t an o th ers

to

th a t th e

f a c t o r i n the p r e s e n t a t i o n

acceptance as

to

th en ,

6.

it'w a s d esp ite

a con tin ued ex p res­ d isag reem en t.

36 As in the person to person r e l a ti o n sh i p , attempted to stimulate thinking,

the case worker

r ath e r than to i n s t i l l

ideas• Future planning.

In planning for the course,

Mr.

Rauch hoped to u t i l i z e more and more e f f e c t i v e techniques by which the course could increasingly be an emotional ex­ perience f o r p a r t i c i p a t o r s .

He hoped eventually to use

psycho-dramatic techniques.

For instance,

he would have the

people i n the group act out scenes presenting common problems* An adolescent g i r l might be portrayed being asked for a date; two groups could present the same problem,

showing how people

might react d i f f e r e n t l y to the same s i t u a t i o n .

Group d i s ­

cussion growing from such presentations would be meaningful indeed to individuals who would be apt actors.

to i d e n t i f y with the

Movies would be another technique by which emotional

as well as i n t e l l e c t u a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n might be secured. Mr. Rauch,

as well as the other members of the s t a f f ,

believed the i n i t i a l

objectives of social work, t h a t is work

with individuals, must not be forgotten.

Energies must not

be spread so t h i n l y t h a t l e s s effective work i s

done.

The

s t a f f was supposed to make use of agency time to prepare courses for t h e i r discussion groups.

As t h is did not work

out, future planning included organization of the workers’ time so that

they would not have to use t h e i r free time for

37 th eir

work. Sum m ary.

tio n al

program

creased to

A stu d y of

showed t h a t th e

the felt

of

the

th is

s t a f f was t o

developm ent o f th e in c reasin g ly to

them .

the program

th ro u g h

th is

i t was fo u n d t h a t

new s e r v i c e it

courses,

fie ld s

work w e re f o u n d t o be

exp erien ces

th e

and a s s i s t e d com­ o th er

atten d an ce,

sta ff

fe lt

A lth o u g h

tech n iq u es

to

th is

o th er

of s o c ia l

new s e t t i n g .

e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m became

th e

in

c a s e work l i t e r a t u r e

o b tain ed .

tra n sferab le

m en t w o u ld e v e n t u a l l y make i t agency s e rv ic e .

proved

co u ld be used f o r le s s o n

of agency s e rv ic e .

gain ed ;

sta ff

of s o c io l o g y and p s y c h o lo g y w ere

su p p lied s u b je c t m a te ria l,

accep ted as p a r t

the

to th e

secure

A stu d y of

t h e s o u r c e s f r o m w h i c h c o n t e n t w as

y ear th e

it

W ith

w o u ld be b e s t f o r

m ateria l th at

the

P a r t i c i p a t i o n b y the

t h e i r e d u c a tio n a l com m ittee,

brought f o r t h l i t t l e

the f i r s t

in ­

The B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s was a c t i v e

and o b t a i n m e e tin g p l a c e s .

fie ld s

a g e n c y was

o f t h e new f u n c t i o n ;

o r g a n ! z a t i o n s - to s p o n so r th e

the

educa­

d i r e c t o r who w o u l d h a v e

serv ice.

E x p e r ie n c e showed t h a t

hence

the

be upon a v o l u n t a r y b a s i s .

the agency in i n t e r p r e t i n g

m a te ria l,

of

b u d g et of the

program ,

a part

stim u latin g

m u n ity .

o rg an izatio n

em ploy an e d u c a t i o n a l

m ain r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r rest

the

in creasin g ly

M is ta k e s w ere made, its

co n tin u ed

a dynam ic p a r t

In

d ev elop ­

of th e

to tal

CHAPTER IV EFFECTS OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM UPON OTHER SERVICES OFFERED BY THE AGENCY ~ T his c h a p t e r i s

a

t i o n a l program upon th e S tatistics

stu d y of

the

e ffects

o th er se rv ic e s

show ing th e a c t u a l num bers

of th e

ed u catio n are g iv en .

of w eighing e f f e c t s

upon in ta k e

m ad e b y t h e

agency. reached

The d i f f i c u l t i e s

d iscu ssed .

s ta f f reg ard in g p o ssib le

the e d u c a ­

of persons

th ro u g h fa m ily l i f e

are

of

in flu en c e

S tatem ents are p re ­

sen ted . A tten d an ce T o tal a tte n d a n c e year i t

of in

was o f f e r e d

the

com m unity i n

fam ily l i f e the p u b lic

fam ily l i f e

courses

d u rin g

courses.

the f i r s t

was a s f o l l o w s : Number o f m e e t i n g s

S in g le le c tu r e s D i s c u s s i o n Group M e e tin g s P a r e n t Y outh C o n fe re n c e s T o tals

A ttendance

£2 71 9

2,983 1 ,8 7 0 3 >0 9 0

132

7,9k3

A to ta l

o f 7 » 9 b-3 p e r s o n s w e r e r e a c h e d i n 1 3 2 m e e t i n g s

v ario u s

ty p es.

PTA g r o u p s ,

M ost of

and fe a tu re d le c tu re s

ch ild re la tio n s h ip s . group

these m eetings

d iscu ssio n s

S eventy-one

i n w hich th e r e

persons p a r tic ip a tin g

in

were

sponsored by

and d i s c u s s i o n s of

of

on p a r e n t

th e se m e e tin g s w ere

were from f i f t e e n

each m eeting over a p e rio d

to

th irty

of from

39 six

t o te n weeks* D i f f i c u l t i e s in evaluating e f f e c t s

irrbake. effects

of program upon

One factor which rendered an evaluation of the of the program upon agency intake d i f f i c u l t was the

im p o s sib ility of weighing the r e l a t i v e influences

of the

program as d i f f e r e n t i a t e d from the changes brought about by the reorganization of

the agency.

The reader w i l l

recall

that the agency was reorganized in the same year that i t s function was expanded to include education for family living* At that time, the agency1 s emphasis upon child placement and administration of r e l i e f was changed to a focus upon family case work* acquired.

A new executive as well as a new s t a f f were In a d d i t i o n , - the agency i n i t i a t e d a fee service,

which i n i t s e l f

suggested a d i f f e r e n t type service and client*

All of these factors were i n t e r r e l a t e d .

I t would only be

possible to make a valid evaluation of e f f e c t s i f a l l factors

in agency service had remained constant,

other

or i f a

large number of persons from the study groups had subse­ quently come to the agency f o r individual help.

However,

it

was found that only the names of the persons p a r t i c i p a t i n g in the PTA sponsored groups were kept* agency f i l e s

An examination of

disclosed the names of only seven persons from

these groups who had come to the agency f o r individual case work services*

I t was impossible to t e l l how many may have

lf-0 come t o was

th e

ju st

agency as

as d i f f i c u l t

a re su lt

sp e c u la tio n c u ltiv ated tio n al

to

It

been

o r h o w m a n y came a s a r e s u l t o f

about the program .

count s e lf

sources

s tu d y groups*

t o e s t i m a t e how m a n y m a y h a v e

r e f e r r e d b y t h e s e peop>le, new spaper p u b l i c i t y

of o th er

re fe rra ls,

I t w ould o n ly be

and r e f e r r a l s

from un­

as h av in g b e e n re a c h e d th ro u g h th e

educa­

serv ice*

I t i s d i f f i c u l t to e v a lu a te d i r e c t l y th e r e s u l t of our work i n t h i s f i e l d . The s u s t a i n e d a t t e n d a n c e i n o u r d i s c u s s i o n g r o u p s , t h e n e w g r o u p s who h a v e h e a r d o f o u r w o r k f r o m p e o p l e who h a v e a t t e n d e d p r e v i o u s c l a s s e s , t h e p e o p l e who come f o r c a s e w o r k s e r v i c e a s a r e s u l t o f a t ­ t e n d a n c e a t o u r c l a s s e s , t h e f r e q u e n t c a l l s we g e t f r o m t h e p r e s s t o m ake comments on t h e s t a t u s o f f a m i l y r e l a t i o n s o r s p e c i f i c o c c u re n c e s i n th e c i t y , w here th e y w a n t ,fe x p e r t o p i n i o n , 11 t h e i n c r e a s e d n u m b e r o f r e f e r r a l s f r o m s o u r c e s w h i c h we h a v e n o t c u l t i v a t e d d i r e c t l y , . . • a l l a t l e a s t in d ic a te an accep tan ce of our p r o f e s s io n a l c o m p e t e n c e i n t h e f i e l d o f f a m i l y r e l a t i o n s *1 S taff re la tio n

to

th in k in g g o als

reg ard in g

the

and o b je c tiv e s

of th e

w ere h e l d w i t h a l l m em bers o f t h e reactio n ascertain take# b asic

to t h i s th eir

sta ff

agency* to

In te rv iew s

secure

th eir

program of e d u c a tio n by th e agency, th in k in g as

The i n t e r e s t sim ila rity

e d u c a ti onal program i n

of

to i t s

they d isp la y e d th eir

effects in

the

upon agency i n ­ program ,

r e s p o n s e s seem ed t o

program had a lr e a d y b een i n t e g r a t e d

in to

and to

to ta l

and

the

in d icate

the

agency

^ N e v in W ile y , “E d u c a t i o n f o r F a m ily L iv i n g i n a C a se ­ w o r k S e t t i n g , 11 ( P a p e r p r e s e n t e d a t t h e N a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e o f S o c i a l W o r k ) , A p r i l , 19^4-7# P* 7*

Ip. services.

I t was generally believed the program was a t

l e a s t p a r t i a l l y responsible for

the increase in intake,

and

f o r the more representative number of cl i e n t s from the com­ munity asking for help with problems.

They believed the

program had helped in making the agency’s services known to many people in such groups as the PTA, church groups and both men and womens clubs# effectiveness as

The s t a f f did believe the actual

of such a program would be d i f f i c u l t

they regarded i t

as a program i n mental hygiene.

to measure, They

believed t h a t i f the material presented helped some p a r t i c i ­ pants accept new ideas, gain improved feelings

develop more constructive a t t i t u d e s , of personal

then be considered as meeting i t s

security,

the course could

objectives i n bringing

about happier family l i f e . On the whole,

the s t a f f f e l t

that this program did

meet some of the needs of people taking the course; gave them an increased feeling of

th at i t

adequacy in meeting the

problems confronting them in t h e i r daily l i v e s . I t was the s t a f f ’s opinion that the effectiveness

of

the program could only be measured by the b e t t e r use of the agency i n

the community, as could be seen by more requests

for services,

r e f e r r a l s from unfamiliar sources,

and by the

occasional requests for services d if fe r i n g from the assistance they had thought themselves giving.

As an example,

worker described a telephone c a l l she received.

one

A woman

h2 called the agency to

ask how she should handle the children

who were teasing a peddler because he was a Negro*

Again,

college students frequently came to the agency to obtain expert opinions on family r e l a ti o n s writing*

for papers

they were

A woman telephoned to ask what type clothes to buy

for her youngster who was j u s t

s t a r t i n g kindergarten*

had heard i t was important t h a t he be dressed l i k e

She

the other

children. S ta f f reaction to p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the educational program* ing

The e n t i r e s t a f f reported the course was stimulat­

to them as professional people*

They explained that i t

proved an incentive to additional reading and thinking* When leading a discussion, prin cip le s well in mind*

it

was necessary to have basic

In discussing various problems,

the s t a f f found questions which were raised often as stimulating to them as to the group* ened t h e i r viewpoints, normality.

The experience fresh­

gave them a renewed perspective of

I t was reassuring t o have contact with these

people in community groups.

Their p a r t i c i p a t i o n gave the

s t a f f a renewed understanding of the problems people were facing; It

i t helped them f e e l more apart of community l i f e .

forced them to v erballize

tent than they had before. director,

said:

t h e i r thinking to a greater ex­ David Rauch, the educational

k3 I t p la c e s th e s o c ia l w orker i n an a u th o r it a t i v e p o s i­ t i o n , and s o o n e r or l a t e r , t h i s m u st be a c c e p t e d a n d u s e d co n stru ctiv ely # Such a p o s i t i o n I s n a t u r a l l y v e r y ego i n f l a t i n g , and g iv e s a f e e l i n g of s t a t u s n o t o r d i n a r i l y ex p erien ced by a casew orker. I t p ro v id es a d e f in ite c h a lle n g e ; the group le a d e r m ust th in k q u ic k ly i n o rd e r to h a n d le th e q u e s ti o n s from the au d ie n c e # I n g r o u p d i s c u s s i o n s , t h e w o r k e r f i n d s t h a t many t h i n g s c a s e w o r k e r s h a d t h o u g h t m ore o r l e s s u n i v e r s a l l y a c c e p t ­ ed a r e not# One s u c h t h i n g i s m a s t u r b a t i o n . Por In ­ s ta n c e s in c e t h i s program h as been in e f f e c t , i t h as been found t h a t m ost p e o p le s t i l l t r y to i n h i b i t t h i s p r a c t i c e th ro u g h p u n itiv e m ethods. R e a liz in g t h i s , th e w orker dev elo p s a s h a rp e r aw areness of th e c u l t u r a l I n flu e n c e s e f f e c t i n g a c l i e n t s b e h a v io r p attern s. ^ It

was

the

p a rtic ip a tio n

s t a f f fs com bined o p in io n ,

in the

to w hich t o

relate#

fo r persons

w ith w ell

p erso n alities, of th e ir

em p h asiz ed the

developed eg o s,

w ives,

im p o rtan ce

d irect

in tak e

is

even

b eh av io r

It

re­

in d eterm in in g

S om etim es,

pro v ed th e b a s is

th is

clo ser

for a keener d iscu ssed #

t o do m ore t h a n

to

sp ecu late

i n f lu e n c e s w hich th e e d u c a tio n a l program had

upon o th e r agency s e r v ic e s ,

in re la tio n

As t h e a g e n c y w a s r e o r g a n i z e d

ed u catio n al

or h o stile

o f s o c i a l m ores

I t was d i f f i c u l t

it

w ith w ell in te g r a te d

o f pro b lem s i n d i v i d u a l c l i e n t s

Sum m ary.

tiv es#

g av e th e m a norm

husbands or f r ie n d s .

com m unity l i f e

u n derstan ding

th at

s h o w e d t h e m how d i f f i c u l t

and b e h a v io r p a t t e r n s #

c o n ta c t w ith

upon th e

It

to a c c e p t th e a g g r e s s iv e

ch ild ren ,

•attitu d e s

e d u c a tio n a l program ,

th en ,

f u n c t i o n was a d d e d ,

w ere i n t e r r e l a t e d . ^ D avid Rauch,

the

causes

The s t a f f

to

for

g oals

same y e a r

the

the p r e s e n t

b eliev ed

P erso n al In te rv iew ,

and o b j e c ­

the

type

program of

O c to b e r 2,

19^4-7•

e d u c a t i o n was a t

least p a rtia lly

the in c r e a s e d p r e s t i g e p r e s t i g e was n o t e d i n th e com m unity f o r

serve

clien ts

from

various

The s t a f f r e p o r t e d as i n c r e a s i n g

p eten ce

and g i v i n g

bo th of

th ese

th eir

group

from

reg ard in g

the

econom ic l e v e l s the

T his

too,

p roblem s th a t

the

agency to

com m unity, in

th e

own f e e l i n g s

to

com m unity

of p ro fe s s io n a l

them a re n e w e d p e r s p e c t i v e

of

the

program had su ch i n d i r e c t

f a c to r s h av in g had in flu e n c e

work w i t h c l i e n t s *

for

the a g e n c y by

one f a c t o r w h i c h h a d e n a b l e d

a m ore r e p r e s e n t a t i v e

fects

purposes

how ever,

t h e com m unity*

The s t a f f b e l i e v e d ,

serve

life *

agency in

the i n c r e a s e d use o f

co n su ltiv e

fam ily r e la tio n s h ip s * program m ig h t be

of th e

resp o n sib le ,

ef­ com­

on n o r m a l i t y ;

upon t h e i r

case

CHAPTER V REPORT OP INTERVIEWS WITH TWENTY PERSONS WHO PARTICIPATED I N STUDY GROUPS In te rv iew s had p a r tic ip a te d by th e

PTA,

w e r e h e l d w i t h t w e n t y o f t h e p e o p l e who in

the

s tu d y groups w hich h a d been sp o n so re d

a n d w h i c h w e r e l e d b y M r. R a u c h ,

a g e n c y ’ s program o f e d u c a tio n f o r in terv iew s O ctober,

took p l a c e

19^-7*

than a year a f t e r th e

th e

names and a d d r e s s e s series

th e

and a t

in terv iew , It

th e purpose

of th is

w as e x p l a i n e d t h a t w h i l e

r e s e a r c h was f o r a t h e s i s the

th at

in the p r o je c t.

t h e homes o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s .

req u irem en ts

o c c u r r e d m ore

atten d ed .

in

A ppointm ents

i n t e r v i e w was e x p l a i n e d b r i e f l y .

pressed in te re s t

These

i n w hich he h ad r e t a i n e d

of a ll p a rtic ip a n ts

each p e rso n by te le p h o n e ,

the

t o be I n te r v i e w e d w ere c h o sen

Rauch’s f i l e s ,

of d i s c u s s i o n g r o u p s .

of

of A ugust and

in terv iew s

s tu d y groups w ere

The n a m e s o f t h e p e r s o n s a t r a n d o m f r o m M r.

fam ily l i v i n g .

b e tw e e n th e m onths

In m ost c a s e s ,

d ire cto r

tim e

th is p a rtic u la r w ere made w i t h the

purpose

A ll persons

of

asked ex­

The i n t e r v i e w s w e r e h e l d i n At

the tim e

of the

actu al

s t u d y was d e s c r i b e d more f u l l y .

the p rim a ry p u rp o se

t o be w r i t t e n

f o r a m asters degree i n the s tu d y ,

of

the

in fu lfillm e n t

of

s o c i a l work,

th at

t h e a g e n c y was i n t e r e s t e d

in

and w o u ld u s e

fo rm a tio n and su g g e stio n s

secured in th ese

in terv iew s

in ­ in

kh t h e i r future planning f o r the program. viewed had had opportunity to r e c a l l

The people i n t e r ­

the discussion groups

and to rethink the values they had derived from p a r t i c i p a ­ tion.

Eleven of these people had even reviewed class notes

in preparation f o r the interview. that now, a year l a t e r ,

Twelve persons remarked

they were able to observe various

changes in t h e i r a t t i t u d e s ,

changes which had begun i n the

group discussions they had attended. Although a schedule was used,

the general method of

procedure was to question each individual about his rea ction to the course. the interview, or l e s s

I t was found that i n the course of

the points i n the schedule were covered more

spontaneously.

at l e a s t

or her

Most of these people had attended

three of the s i x classes offered t h e i r groups,

majority more,

a few l e s s

than three times.

the

In the group,

three couples were represented. The general reaction to the program of the people interviewed varied from enth usia stic r e j e c t i o n of the agency’s e f f o r t s .

approval to t o t a l The mother of three

children said:: I was very much impressed by the course, and am anxious to do everything possible to help express com­ munity i n t e r e s t and to encourage Family Service to con­ tinue in this work. This course helped me to understand more than any reading, thinking, counseling, or similar courses have i n the p a s t , the needs of my children, and how I can meet them.

47 On the other hand,

a gentleman who explained he attended

classes to gather material f o r a book he was writing,

said:

The m aterial the group leader presented tended to lower standards. I t was poorly organized. In a posi­ t ion to encourage and in s p i r e , he did n e i t h e r . His ideas about the r o l e s of parents in r a i s i n g children were t o t a l l y unacceptable to me. More typical responses to the course, however, expressed with e i t h e r p o sitiv e adjectives ing, H " i n t e r e s t i n g , "

and "enjoyable";

adjectives such as "disorganized,"

were

such as "stimulat­

or with negative

"repetitious,"

and

"irritatin g ." On the whole,

i t was found t h a t t h i r t e e n of these

people expressed what might be termed a p o sitiv e reaction to the s e r i e s

of l e c t u r e s and discussions.

These were the

people, who despite d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n s with specific aspects of the classes,

said they were looking forward to attending

other discussion groups led by a representative from the PSA. Seven of the people interviewed had a negative a t t i t u d e ward the course as a whole,

to­

and said they would not be

i n t e r e s t e d i n other classes given by the agency.

Despite

t h e i r negative response to the discussion groups as a whole, a l l but one of these seven recognized some b en e fits derived from p a r t i c i p a t i o n , features

or were impressed favorably with specific

of the courses.

interviewed, then,

All but one of the twenty persons

expressed both negative and positive f e e l ­

ings about e i t h e r the course i t s e l f or specific factors in

the presentation*

In the material which follows

the co l l e c ­

tive responses of these persons have been broken down in r e l a t i o n to specific aspects of the course*

E ff o r t s have

not been made to in d icate which group made the responses described#

I t i s believed such a break down would only con­

fuse the reader,

and would not add value to t h i s

Reasons f o r attending*

report*

There were t h i r t e e n of these

people who gave general reasons for attending*

Five were

i n t e r e s t e d i n preparing themselves for problems they f e l t inevitable in r a i s i n g children.

Their feelings seemed

t y p i f i e d by the explanation of one mother:

flI was i n t e r ­

ested in preparing myself for the problems I know I w i l l face as soon as my children begin school in the fall.** of these

t h i r t e e n women said they attended to !!s t u f f the

class*n

They denied having any i n t e r e s t i n the subjects

Four

covered, although some admitted they had found a great deal of s e cu r ity in the understanding they achieved through d i s ­ cussions*

Two of these t h i r t e e n people said they merely

wanted to hear problems others were facing; attended because of c u r i o s i t y ,

one mother

and another explained her

i n t e r e s t was solely that of inveigling neighbors,

who M need-

ed i t , 11 to go* Seven of the twenty persons presented specific ques­ tions

they had at the time as t h e i r motive f o r attending*

One mother wanted to learn how much allowance her teen age boy should have;

several wanted to know how to discuss sex

with t h e i r children,

and the others were i n t e r e s t e d in l e a r n ­

ing an a u t h o r i t y 1s opinion about the amount of freedom adolescents should be given. Reasons f or not completing the course. people,

nine did not complete t h e i r courses.

Of the twenty These nine

gave such reasons as ,fthe b i r t h of a b a b y , !llack of i n t e r e s t , *fd i s s a t i s f aeti on with presentation of .material, rt and utoo busy with c h i l d r e n . M One person missed the f i r s t

t a l k in a

series because she did not know she was e l i g i b l e to attend. I t was i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t the woman who had t o drop out when her baby was born secured the remaining l e c tu r e notes from a neighbor who attended a l l of the sessions.

She f e l t

the

written material was not as meaningful as she had found the t a l k s and c l a ss discussions to be. Familiarity with m a t e r i a l . had taken similar courses.

Nineteen of these people

Thirteen,

however, f e l t t h i s

p a r t i c u l a r series was the most helpful of a l l courses on understanding children. applicable,

They thought the material was more

more r e a l i s t i c

than that given in other l e c t u r e s .

One fa t h e r Saids This course was d i f f e r e n t in t h a t i t offered the speaker1s thinking about basic causes. He made us see

5o that people have fundamental needs which have to be met#' Understanding t h i s , r e a l iz in g what every person needs, you can apply i t to your own s i t u a t i o n , and figure out yourself why your ch ild is showing some behavior problems. Five persons made no e f f o r t to compare t h i s with other courses they had had.

Two people said they preferred other

presentations they ha.d heard*

Many of these people had

courses in college on child psychology.

They a l l

agreed

t hat the material assumed a great deal more meaning now that they have children of t h e i r own. Reaction to presentation of m a t e r i a l .

The twenty

persons interviewed a l l expressed very emphatic reactions to the group leader,

and more s p e c i f i c a l l y to h is techniques

in leading group discussions*

Thirteen persons said that the

material was presented i n a way that was stimulating and meaningful.

One of these persons explained what she meant

in the following way:, Mr. Rauch did not t a l k down to the audience. W e didn*t f e e l lectured a t . He seemed to believe so thoroughly in the things he said, that i t helped me to achieve a f ee lin g of acceptance and security, both in p a r t i c i p a t i n g in the discussion, and in j u s t being a mother. Another woman, said: Mr. Rauch expressed no emotion with the discussion t hat would be disturbing. He was accepting. This seem­ ed to make me f e e l more confidence in myself, in my own ideas* Thirteen persons said the course gave them a b e t t e r feeling of s e c u r i t y in t h e i r roles as parents.

Two p a r t i c i p a n t s

51 analyzed more closely the reasons for the increased adequacy they fe l t *

Both pointed out the acceptance given them by

the speaker, from him*

The remaining seven commented upon the l e a d e r 1s

attitude in active,

and the absence of any feeling of c r i t i c i s m '

terms of resentment t h a t he had not taken a more

a u t h o r i t a t i v e approach.

While some believed they

liked the idea of group discussions,

they f e l t

the leader

had not controlled the group to the extent he should have; they f e l t his permissiveness, left

and reluctance to give advice,

them f,up in the a i r . ,f In considering the material which was presented in

the lec tu re s preceding the group discussions, many of the participants

thought i t was disorganized,

and too vague*

too generalized,

On the other hand some of the other p a r t i c i ­

pants brought out p a r t i c u l a r l y that the specific examples given by the lea der in his l e c tu r e s c l a r i f y his points*

served to i l l u s t r a t e

and

One person commented upon the l e a d e r ’s

emphasis upon underlying causes f o r personality disturbances in children.

She did not f i n d th is information helpful in

meeting daily emergencies with her children*

She wanted

rules she could follow i n making immediate decisions about such matters as punishment, permissiveness, There was disagreement,

too,

to the amount of material presented* went too slowly,

and so forth*

in the group’s reaction Some thought the leader

others would have preferred to l i n g e r over

52 the content longer.

The subject matter i t s e l f was found

acceptable by a l l but one p a r t i c i p a n t .

This man, whose

reaction was quoted e a r l i e r i n the chapter,

was a r i g i d

person, who attended many other courses offered by the agency.

He was always quite verbal in his disapproval of

the p r o j e c t. I t was found that the main i n t e r e s t of a l l t i c i p a n t s were the group discussions. again d i f f e r e n t ,

and i t

i s possible

the p ar­

Their opinions were

that

t h e i r individual

needs a t the time of the discussions were major factors i n determining t h e i r reactions

to them.

One h a l f of the par­

t i c i p a n t s were enthusiastic about the group discussions which followed each l e c t u r e . were stimulating,

They thought the discussions

and ,!the best p a r t

were ’’extremely well handled,

of the course”; they

and ’’most h e l p f u l . ”

Some of

these ten thought there should have been more group dis­ cussions.

Others suggested t h a t helpful as they were,

discussions should have been given l e s s

time.

ten people thought the discussions ”i r r i t a t i n g ’’vague,” and ’’not a t a l l h e l p f u l . 1’ attitude

the

The other at times,”

One woman ty p if i e d the

of this group when she said;

I t was i r r i t a t i n g and not p a r t i c u l a r l y helpful to have one person use a l l of the time to r e l a t e a specific problem and what he did about i t . However,

sixteen of these people said that the group

discussions were helpful in showing the thinking of various

53 people.

They seemed to achieve some feelings

of s e c u r i t y in

learning that problems f o r which they held themselves person­ a l l y responsible were often problems faced by most parents. Some complained that the discussions participants,

and made the e n t i r e

served to confuse the

course seem disorganized

and i n e f f e c t i v e . Effects and influences of the course. pants said the course met no need,

that they were unable to

use any of the information offered. thought the questions were answered,

they had a t

Six p a r t i c i ­

Five p a r t i c i p a n t s

the beginning of the course

e i t h e r d i r e c t l y or i n d i r e c t l y ,

and t h a t

they

were able to use the information in a constructive way with t h e i r children.

These were the people who had wanted to

know how to discuss sex with t h e i r children, how to dete r­ mine the amount of allowance they should give t h e i r children, and how much freedom they should give t h e i r adolescent children.

One of the seven who had specific problems in

mind when she took the course said the discussions did not answer her p a r t i c u l a r problem, but did give her a renewed f a i t h in h e r s e l f ,

and the courage to go on trying.

One

mother said the course showed her that she needed individual counseling.

Others reported t h a t seeing and hearing what

other parents were doing enabled them to give t h e i r own ado­ l escent children more freedom,

to allow them to ftgrow up .H

5k I t was i n t e r e s t i n g to note th at some of the p a r t i c i ­ pants brought out contradictory material in t h e i r interviews* For instance, course.

Then,

one parent said she was not helped by the l a t e r in the interview,

said:

I attained more se cu rity in handling my children* For instance, I learned t h a t i t i s normal f o r a child to love and hate i t s parents. Knowing t h i s , I have not been so threatened by my children*s open resentment of me a t times. I have become more accepting of t h e i r behavi or* None of these mothers or f a t h e r s described dramatic changes i n t h e i r family r e l a t i o n s h i p s ,

as a r e s u l t of the course;

but most of them did f e e l that they were more comfortable in t h e i r own roles as parents*

The discussion groups had

made them aware of the u n i v e r s a l i t y of problems i n parent child re l a ti o n s h i p s . them,

This knowledge seemed to reassure

to allow them to be more objective in examining t h e i r

own problems,

and in working out solu tion s.

Feelings about individual counseling as to group discussions.

a.

supplement

I t was found that sixteen of the

group preferred group meetings t o individual counseling* They had no desire f o r individual help.

Eleven of these

people mentioned s p e c i f i c a l l y th a t one of the main values of the course was in the group discussions.

Only four

persons believed there should be individual counseling to supplement the group discussions.

However,

stated the problem i n an i n t e r e s t i n g way:

one mother

55 I think th at most mothers would say they would get more out of the course and the material presented i f they could s t a t e t h e i r problems individually* One mother f e l t her problem was not ffbig enough” to bring to a professional counselor.

This f ee lin g seemed to be

shared by the others;

however,

they only implied t h i s ,

did not verballize i t

so d i r e c t l y .

Feelings about using agency s e r v i c e .

they

Eighteen of

these people s t a te d very d e f i n i t e l y t h a t theywould not use the agency f o r individual help* they f e l t f r e e to ,

Two of t h i s number said

but had no cause to,

yet*

These were the

same women who had used the agency l i b r a r y on a number of occasions* interest

One woman stated the reason f o r t h i s lack of

in agency service,

in a way that seemed representa­

tive : I f e e l t h a t most women have a vague anxiety, but t h a t they are unable to define it* They hope to reach a b e t t e r understanding of t h e i r overall problem through the course in which they can hear not only the l e c t u r e r , but can gain reassurance through group discussions about various problems* They hope to find the solutions to t h e i r own problems i n t h is manner* Only one person seemed i n te r e s te d i n making use of agency services through individual counselling.

This mother

explained she had not heard of Family Service before taking the course,

and was most i n t e r e s t e d to l e a r n she could take

her problems there* her evident i n t e r e s t ,

I t was i n t e r e s t i n g to note t h a t despite t h i s woman had not yet made an appoint-

56 ment with the agency,

although a

period of

six

monthshad

elapsed since she had decided to do so. Attitudes about r e f e r r i n g of t h is group,

people to

the

agency. Six

although not i n t e r e s t e d i n agency service for

themselves, had r efe rred a number of persons to the

agency.

Three of the twenty s t a t e d they would r e f e r people i f i t seemed indicated. Suggestions♦

I t was suggested by a number of these

people t h a t t h i s program of the agency be given more p u b l i c i ­ ty.

Thirteen were i n t e r e s t e d in courses in marital r e l a t i o n s

and so c i a l hygiene, the next year.

and hoped these subjects would be offered

One suggestion was made about group d is­

cussions • I t would be more helpful i f i l l u s t r a t i o n s from the audience could be used to show d i f f e r e n t reactions that grow from specific deprivations and f r u s t r a t i o n s . This would be a way of emphasizing that people did not react in the same way to the same underlying d i f f i c u l t y . If i l l u s t r a t i o n s could not be taken from the audience, f o r t h i s purpose, people then should not be encouraged to describe t h e i r own problems. The group discussions are bogged down with accounts of behavior which are not used enough f o r learning purposes. Fifteen people e:xpressed i n t e r e s t i n courses which both husband and wife could a ttend .

Five believed books should

be available a t the l e c t u r e to be taken home and studied. Another suggestion was that

teen agers attend one meeting,

and answer questions about t h e i r age group.

57 I t was suggested, on one age group*

too,

th at the l e c t u r e s should focus

Four thought there should be a time l i m i t

on group discussions,

and th at an e f f o r t

do away with the r e p e t i t i o n of material Summary*

should be made to from class to class*

The d i f f i c u l t i e s inherent i n evaluating the

effectiveness of a preventive program were indicated i n these twenty interviews*

A varied response was obtained

from these people regarding such f a c t o r s as presentation of m aterial,

subject matter and group discussions*

varied description of e f f e c t s was given* the group reported an increased feeling roles as parents*

A less

For the most p a r t , of se c u r i t y in t h e i r

Apparently t h i s increased feeling of

adequacy was as much a r e s u l t of the acceptance given them by the leader as i t was the r e s u l t of an improved understand­ ing of behavior*

I t was the r e s u l t

too,

of group discussions

i n which they were able to see t h e i r problems with a new perspective* then,

The courses offered reassurance and support,

as well as psychological information. These interviews disclosed the f a c t t h a t these people

would probably not have been reached by a so c i al work agency, had i t not been f o r the educational program.

Fifteen of these

people sta te d d e f i n i t e l y they did not plan to ask f or i n ­ dividual help,

as they believed t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r problems

could be handled more constructively i n a group setting*

I f t h e i r reactions were t y p ic al of the t o t a l group reached through the educational program, service i s

i t would appear t h a t t h i s

enabling the agency to reach people who would

not otherwise use agency service.

CHAPTER VI SUM MARY AND CONCLUSIONS Summary*

I t has been the object of t h i s

study to

examine the program of education for family l iv i n g offered by the San Diego Family Service Association,

in order to see

how t h i s expanded function r e l a t e d to the goals and objec­ tives

of the agency.

In order to do t h i s ,

it

was necessary

to examine the f ac t o rs which led up to t h i s development, organization of the course,

the e f f e c t s o f the educational

program upon the other services to obtain

the reactions

pation i n

the course*

of the agency,

i t was observed t h a t

social work has only recently begun to r e a l i z e in prevention through education.

were only three

and f i n a l l y

of a sample group to t h e i r p a r t i c i ­

In the statement of the problem,

sibility

the

i t s respon­

In 19^75 there

social work agencies in the country offering

education for family living*

Social work with i t s wealth

of experience in working with f am ilie s, has been slow to t e l l the general public what i t has learned* of t h is t h e s i s

I t was the purpose

to study the program of one agency,

in order

to see how the program was in te g rated with the t o t a l agency service* A study of the living in

development of education for family

the San Diego Family Service Association revealed

6o that

t h i s program was imposed upon the agency by the community.

The Community Chest objected to the separate development of an educational and counselling agency in the community. They f e l t

t h i s brought about a duplication of s e r v i c e s .

In

order to give the mpst e f f e c t i v e and e f f i c i e n t service to the community, the Chest urged a merger of the Association for Family Living and the Family Service Association. the

time,

social

At

t h i s did not seem a logical development to the

work agency.

It

was the s t a f f ’s feeling t h a t educa­

t ion was not p a r t of t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l function; were not trained to do t h is type work.

t h a t they

I t was the feeling

of the other agency that a so c ial work agency would not be accepted i n this

educational f i e l d because of the stigma of

r e l i e f associated with social work.

I t was predicted that

persons who would otherwise have asked f o r individual counselling,

would not go to a social work agency f o r help.

An educational d i r e c t o r was hired who had both social work and an educational

tr a i n in g .

arose in organizing the program,

Different problems

and the s t a f f had to think

through the l i m i t s of t h e i r new function. social work l i t e r a t u r e had l i t t l e

I t was found that

material which could be

applied in the educational s e t t i n g as lesson m a t e r i a l . ever,

i t was f e l t

that

How­

social work techniques of working with

people were tr an sf e r ab le

to t h i s new s e t t i n g .

took an active p a r t in organizing m ater ial,

The s t a f f

offering

6l suggestions and cr i t ic i sm s discussions*

and in leading d i f f e r e n t group

With t h i s program,

i t was found t h at- th e Board

of Directors was helpful in i n t e r p r e t i n g

the service to the

community and i n urging sponsorship of courses by various organizations in the city* After one y e a r !s a c t i v i t y in the f i e l d , ficult

i t was d i f ­

to estimate the d i r e c t e f f e c t s of t h i s function upon

t o t a l agency service*

I t was the general f ee lin g of the

s t a f f t h a t the type problems brought to the agency,

the more

representative proportion from the community becoming clients,

and the increased recognition of the agency by the

community were a t l e a s t p a r t i a l l y the outgrowths of the educational program#

However,

with which to prove t h i s

there were no actual

figures

opinion, mainly because the agency

was completely reorganized the same year the function was expanded* The year of p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the f i e l d did convince the s t a f f t h a t contrary to t h e i r original

thinking,

the

educational program could and had to some extent become a dynamic p a r t of agency service*

Because of the e f f e c t s

which the program had upon the workers, tion,

in providing stimula­

bringing about renewed'feeling of professional competence,

and because of the comfort they f e l t i n t h i s new function, s t a f f began to f e e l

this a l o g i c a l p a r t

of t h e i r work*

the

They

found t h e i r work with individual c l i e n t s assumed more meaning

62 as a r e s u l t them*

of the perspective the educational course gave

In contact with normally functioning people i n these

classes,

they became more aware of common problems,

normal defenses

to these problems.

I t placed them i n a

b e t t e r p o s i t io n to evaluate t h e i r c l i e n t s t h e i r c u l t u r a l backgrounds* experience,

They f e l t

on the other hand,

in the educational

field,

in r e l a t i o n to

t h a t t h e i r case work

formed a valuable background

i n helping them work with the

group on an emotional as well as i n t e l l e c t u a l b a s i s . felt

it

and

They

helped them recognize the meaning behind questions

which were raise d ,

and in stimulating the group to think

t h e i r problems through r a t h e r than to be s a t i s f i e d with pat answers*

It

enabled them to recognize questions indicating

deepseated problems,

and at times to r e f e r these people to

the agency f o r individual counselling. Interviews were held with twenty persons who par­ t i c i p a t e d in the courses in order to determine from t h e i r reactions i f tives

the agency was more f u l l y r e a l i z i n g i t s

through t h i s expansion in function.

objec­

These Interviews

reemphasized the d i f f i c u l t i e s inherent in evaluating the effectiveness of a preventive program.

A v a r i e t y of r e ­

sponse's were obtained from t h i s group regarding the course as a whole,

and regarding specific features of the course.

On the whole,

i t was found that t h i s group- achieved a b e t t e r

feeling of s e c u r i t y ,

of adequacy in t h e i r roles as parents.

63 This apparently was as much a r e s u l t of the method by which the material was presented as i t

was in the b e t t e r under­

standing they reached through the content in i t s e l f . also the r e s u l t able

of the group discussions,

I t was

in which they were

to hear about problems faced by others,

and r e a l iz e d

thereby various aspects of behavior displayed by t h e i r children were normal. Many of this group had taken similar courses, but seemed to find t h i s the most meaningful,

and the most helpful*

Various explanations were given for t h i s : facing the problems now, more meaningful;

and therefore the material

seemed

t h a t the emphasis upon basic causes for

d i f f e r e n t behavior problems was helpful; symptoms had been discussed.

than i t was to t r e a t

heretofore,

sp e c i f i c

I t was more helpful to know

why a person acted i n a p a r t i c u l a r way, cause,

th at they were

and to co rre ct the

the symptoms,

and have another

symptom a r i s e . I t was i n t e r e s t i n g to note t h a t none of these people would have come to the agency for individual service;

only

one person thought individual help would have been preferable* This e n t i r e group,

then, had i t

not been f o r the educational

program, would probably never have been reached by a social work agency.

As a r e s u l t of the contact,

one wished i n d i ­

vidual counselling and several persons had r e f e r r e d a number of persons to the agency for help with t h e i r problems.

61j_ Conclusions.

I t is d ifficu lt

to estimate the e f f e c t s

of the educational program on r e l a t e d agency services at t h i s time,

because of the absence of figures upon which an

evaluation might be based*

I f the r e p l i e s of the small

group intervievvred were at a l l representative

of the t o t a l

group reached through the educational program per se, Is the l e c t u r e s ,

and study groups,

it

that

would appear that t h i s

service enabled the agency to reach many people who would not otherwise use agency help with t h e i r problems* supposition i s

t r u e,

I f t h is

the program does enable the agency to

meet the needs of a g re a t e r proportion of the population. I t does enable the agency to rea liz e more f u l l y the objectives s t a te d in i t s

charter*

The widespread i n t e r e s t in th is program suggests t h a t In the years

to come many more family agencies will enter

the f i e l d of education f o r family living* a f t e r longer experience in the f i e l d ,

It

will

only be

and careful study of

community response t h a t social workers will know the v a l i d i t y of t h i s development. work methods,

skills,

I t i s believed t h a t social

lim i ta t io n s and objectives in the

educational f i e l d w i l l have to be c l a r i f i e d i f in family l i f e

its

service

education i s to be increasingly effective*

Regarding t h i s i n t e r e s t shown by the

spe cific program in San Diego, t o t a l group of p a r t i c i p a n t s

discussions has been noted*

thb

in group

As i t has been suggested t h a t

65 many b en e fits

of the courses were derived from the leader-

group r e l a t i o n s h i p ,

it

is

recommended that a t t e n t i o n be

focused upon that aspect of the course i n order to develop it

into an experience of maximum meaning.

t h a t records

I t is

suggested

of the group process might prove valuable

tools f o r study i n gaining a~ b e t t e r understanding of the i n t e r a c t i o n of p a r t i c i p a n t s ,

and of t h e i r needs i n t h i s

s i t u a t i on. It

i s believed th a t the program should be given

more p u b l i c i t y .

For instance,

time, place,

and e l i g i b i l i t y

requirements should be emphasized in p u b l i c i t y r ele ase s, well as the t i t l e

and content of the courses.

as

General

descriptions of the program should be released to the news­ papers,

in order to su s t a i n i n t e r e s t . Another problem which must be recognized i s

the need

f o r administrative planning i n r e l a t i o n to s t a f f p a r t i c i p a ­ tion in the program.

I t is

recognized, however,

increased experience in leading groups, needed in preparing m at er i al .

l es s

that with

time w i l l be

The workers will be able to

r e f e r to notes retained from previous l e c t u r e s , adapt the material f o r new groups*

and then to

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY Burnham, F. R . , F i r s t Report of Associated Charities of San Diego County* San Diego: San Diego P r i n t e r s , March 1, 1911. 3 0 pp. English, 0. Spurgeon, and Gerald J . J* Pearson, Emotional Problems of Living. New York:; W. W. Norton and Company, I ^ S F T - W

p p

: -------

Hamilton, Gordon, Theory and Prac t ice of Social Case Work. New York: Columbia Press, 19lf0. 371 pp. Hertel, Frank J . , ”Whither Family L i f e , ” Survey Midmonthly, Volume LXXXII, December, 194-6. Wiley, Nevin, ”Education for Family Living i n a Casework S e t t i n g , ” Paper presented a t the National Conference of Social Work, April, 194-7* BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION SINCE NOVEMBER, 194-7

A.

THESES

Haddock, Bernice, ”A Study of the Parent Education Needs of F if t y Mothers of Children under Five Years of Age Living in Shanks Village . ” Columbia University, 1949*' Oestreieh, Dorothea and P a t r i c i a Vance, ”Education in Human Relations through a Group Experience.” University of Wisconsin, 194-9B.

ARTICLES

Rauch, David, ”The Caseworker in Family Life Education,” Journal of Social Case Work, November, 194-6 (Reprint).

68 C.

REPRINTS OF SPEECHES

R e p r in ts o f s p e e c h e s g i v e n a t B ie n n ia l M eetin g o f the F am ily S e r v i c e A s s o c i a t i o n o f A m e r i c a i n D e t r o i t , N o v e m b e r , 1 9 I4.8 . B r i n k , C h a r l e s B . , ’’What C a s e w o r k S k i l l s A pply t o F a m ily L i f e E d u c a tio n .* ’ B o o t h l e y , M a r g a r e t , ’’C a s e w o r k K n o w l e d g e F am ily L i f e E d u c a t io n .” Leach,

Jean,

and K nowledge an d S k i l l s

in

’’Group D y n a m i c s I n F a m i l y L i f e E d u c a t i o n . ”

Power, Edward J . , t i on. ”

’’Grou p D y n a m i c s i n F a m i l y L i f e E d u c a -

R a u c h , D a v i d , ’’How D o e s an A g e n c y O r g a n i z e a F a m i l y L i f e E d u c a t i o n P r o g r a m and What C om m u n it y N e e d s i s i t D esign ed to M e e t . ” S m a l l , E v a , ’’C a s e w o r k K n o w l e d g e a n d S k i l l E d u ca tio n .” D.

i n F am ily L if e

PROGRESS REPORTS

P r o g r e s s R e p o r t s o f t h e San D i e g o F a m ily S e r v i c e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r 1 9 I4.7 , 1 9 ^.8 , a n d I 9 I4.9 .

APPENDIX

DEVELOPMENTS IN FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION PROGRAM SINCE 19^7 The family l i f e

education program i n the San Diego

Family Service Association remained more or l e s s

the same

as described in preceding pages, u n t i l the f a l l

of 1 9 ^-8 ,

when the educational d i r e c t o r l e f t

At that time,

it

the agency.

was planned to employ an experienced case worker who

could assume a small case load, f o r the educational program.

as well as the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

I t was believed t h i s would

bring about a closer in te g r at i o n of family l i f e with other agency services*

However,

education

the agency’s budget

was cut when the Community Chest drive f e l l

short of i t s

finan cial goal. This r e s u lt e d in a reduced program by the agency.

The

educational program has been limited to about one h a l f of its

former a c t i v i t i e s .

The Executive Secretary of the

agency has assumed a larg e p a r t of the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for courses.

The emphasis of the program has changed, not only

because of these s e t backs, thinking about the program.

but also because of changes in Experience in t h i s ,

and other

agencies has indicated t h a t the most e f f e c t i v e program of education by so c ial workers i s through small groups, r a t h e r than large audiences,

for i t i s with smaller groups that the

social worker i s best able to t r a n s f e r his s k i l l s , able to e s t a b l i s h meaningful relationships pants in the learning experience.

i s best

t h a t aid partici**

For these reasons,

then,

71 the program of the San Diego Family Service in 1950 d i r e c t s its

a t t e n t i o n to group discussions.

The community has con­

tinued to display the most i n t e r e s t i n parent child r e l a t i o n ­ ships,

and hence t h i s has become the focus of most of the

discussion groups.

VrriverByt*' of Southern California Library