Investment Definitions Three Community Functions of Social Welfare

At the heart of the ideas of community are notions of social justice (p. 9). The authors argue that the objectives of social welfare programs, redistribution of wealth to increase well-being and the creation of communities and sustaining them in healthy ways are vitally interrelated (p. 9-10). At least six community functions of social welfare are discussed. I focus on three including the functions of production, contribution, and consumption; the function of socialization; and, the function of social control in the fostering of social welfare and in the building of communities.

The function of production, contribution, and consumption in social welfare is to link individuals into the larger Canadian economic community in a non-exploitive manner so that individuals have control over their lives (p. 99-100).

The function of socialization in social welfare is to integrate immigrant communities and first nation's peoples fully into Canadian society by equipping them with the behavioral, social and political skills necessary to thrive within their communities and outside of their communities (100).

The function of social control in social welfare is to step in when socialization does not fully address the negative behaviors of some community members. Social control steps into to find ways to protect the larger community (101).

Three Communities who have been marginalized by Canada's social welfare programs

Among other groups, several communities have been particularly marginalized, including senior citizens, disabled individuals,...

Unfortunately lots of disparate unconnected programs often deal with different aspects of the needs of senior citizens (p.71).
Disabled individuals have experienced marginalization through a pattern similar to that of senior citizens. Because they come with so many other characteristics, they could be elderly, disabled, immigrants, sometimes the unique resources needed to address their disability is not readily identified (p. 71). The marginalization is particularly severe with respect to the effect of disabilities on employment and poverty.

Aboriginal communities have experienced marginalization through language barriers, reservation census miscounts, and lack of access to resources. The extent of their poverty is undetermined and unclear (p. 62).

Dominant Cultures Resistance to Diversity & The Role of Social Workers

In large part, some of the dominant culture's resistance to diversity is rooted in the historical relationship between communities of color and the former European colonizers (p. 108). There are still remnants of the superiority and inferiority conceptual model that was used by Europeans in subjugating native populations and forcibly taking their land. The resistance to diversity is more about resistance to change and resistance losing control over these populations. Current models of interaction severely the limit the freedom of aboriginal and other native communities and populations to govern themselves (p.…