Grace Abbott was an American social worker who served between 1878 and 1939. Her concern for improving immigrant rights and welfare for the children made her stand out as a passionate and selfless social worker ( Sorensen, 2015). Abbott was appointed as the director of Chicago Immigrant’s Protective League after graduating from the University of Chicago with Master’s Degree in 1909. Her journey as a social reformer and political activist is traced from the role she played as a director in different government organization at the start of her career. Notably, Grace Abbott used her position to write, testify, and lobby for immigrants’ rights before the legislative and judicial bodies like the Congress and Supreme Court (Abbott, 2015) Therefore, her first career role gave her an opportunity to champion for children and immigrant rights.
Abbott’s contribution to safeguarding child labor rights earned her an opportunity to serve as the administrator in the Children’s Bureau between 1917 and 1919. In this capacity, Abbott played a significant role in implementing child labor protection laws ( Wishart, 2011 ). In 1919, she was appointed as the director for Illinois Immigration Commission by the governor for Chicago. However, in 1921, she returned as the director at the Children’s Bureau. Abbott was very concerned about children's safety because her childhood life was quite difficult. Sorensen (2015) notes that the 1893 financial crisis made it difficult for her parents to provide the basic needs including food, healthcare and education for them. Thus, she embarked on enforcing and administering the Sheppard Towner Act, which was very controversial. The Sheppard Towner Act lobbied for the development of healthcare for all prenatal women and children ( Wishart, 2011 ). Also, the act pushed for the provision of grants and aids to the states to create health care programs. However, in 1934, she retired from the Children Bureau and transcended to work as a professor at the University of Chicago. As a professor in the School of Social Services Administration, Abbott continued to support public services efforts in the U.S. and across the globe. Markedly, Abbott played a vital role during the passing of the Social Security Act as a noble professor to write various articles and reviews on the importance of the Social Security Act.. Hence, having lived under a society where many residents could not afford to educate their children or get quality healthcare, Abbott devoted her career on fighting for the basic human rights. Also, while at the University, Abbott became the director for the Immigrant’s Protective League where she learnt the hardships many immigrants faced and started advocating for more protective legislations as a social worker.
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Grace Abbott’s contributions to social change
Implementation of Child labor Laws
The Congress, courtesy of Grace Abbott, passed the first child labor laws. While working at the Children Bureau, Abbott's role included investigating and reporting all child welfare issues. At that time, child labor had increasingly become standard across the country. Thus, Abbott persuaded Congress and President Taft to enact the child labor act to restrict child labor in the U.S ( Sherraden et al., 2015). In 1919, the Child Labor Laws were implemented as federal laws despite having been opposed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1918.
Championed for Immigrants
Abbott was recognized as an advocate for immigrants across the U.S. When serving as the head of the Immigrants Protective League in Chicago, she used her position to implement various immigration laws regulations ( Sherraden et al., 2015). For instance, she implemented rules that regulated employment agencies from exploiting immigrants. The legislations were not only adopted in Chicago but also in other states in the U.S. Also, Abbott worked tirelessly to oppose the implementation of the literacy test on immigrants, which aimed at restricting many people from eastern and southern parts of Europe migrating to the U.S.
Social security
Abbott cherished for the social security of both the women and children ( Jabour, 2016). Thus, she championed the Sheppard-Towner Act's adoption so that women and children can receive maternal health care. Besides, she also encouraged the state to implement a program to collect information on juvenile delinquency, child labor, among other social issues, to ensure the community is safe ( Jabour, 2016). Today, many states in the U.S. and across the globe prioritize on the provision of access to public healthcare system. Similarly, issues of gender-based violence and violation of children rights are strongly condemned. Therefore, Abbott’s contribution to social security has initiated social changes in the modern world.
Conclusion
The living legacy of Grace Abbott defines what modern social workers should stand for. Her voice for the rights of children and women in society the importance of coming up with different legislation to solve social injustices in our society. As a social worker, I strongly believe in safeguarding the right of women, children, the elderly, immigrants, and everyone in the community. In the modern world, children and women face many social injustices. Thus, there is a need to champion the implementation of different laws to curb the societal injustices and chauvinisms. In reference to Grace Abbott’s legacy, social changes can be initiated to eliminate societal prejudices.
References
Abbott, G. (2015). The Grace Abbott Reader . University of Nebraska Press.
Jabour, A. (2016). “Uphill All the Way:” Grace Abbott and Women’s Work in Building the Welfare State. Social Service Review , 90 (3), 550-561. doi: https://doi.org/10.1086/688757
Sherraden, M., Stuart, P., Barth, R. P., Kemp, S., Lubben, J., Hawkins, J. D. Coulton, C., McRoy, R., Walters, K., Healy, L & Angell, B. (2015). Grand accomplishments in social work (No. 2). American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare . https://aaswsw.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/WP2-with-cover.pdf
Sorensen, J. (ed.). (2015). A sister's memories: the life and work of Grace Abbott from the writings of her sister, Edith Abbott . Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wishart, D. J. (2011). Abbott, Grace (1878-1939). University of Nebraska–Lincoln . http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.pg.002
