SOCIAL SERVICE. The term social service has a some what different meaning in Great Britain and America.
The term social service is a comparatively new one in Great Britain. If it had been used previous to the loth century it would have meant philanthropy and charity in the ordinary sense. Now it includes not only personal social service but all the principal public social services, especially the voluntary work attached to these. It is distinguished from the older philanthropy by its scientific and systematic character, by its insistence on seeking out the causes of social evils and by its broad study and action.
The physical well-being of the young is dependent upon places in which to play, and the National Playing Fields Association, which began in 1925, is trying to open up the country for their recreation. The movement is rapidly spreading. Much time is given also to guilds of play and folk dancing and both men and women who have leisure can serve the rising generation by giving their time to these movements. Another important development is the growth of camps for boys and girls in connection with innu merable clubs and societies. Here the senior boys and girls from public schools have rendered great assistance. For those who are older the Co-operative Holiday Association and the Holiday Fel lowship reach a class already interested in open air life. A great deal of personal service is given by such institutions as the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. The men's clubs and institutes are well known, but women's institutes are becoming an important feature in British national life not only in the towns, but also in the country. Boys' and girls' clubs with their national organizations
and "Toc H" give opportunity for social service. There is a definite tendency to co-ordinate all this recreative work and even the local education authorities are assisting in this, through the juvenile organizations committees set up in 1920. The rural com munity councils, established in about a dozen counties, represent an important development. They are aided by the Carnegie United Kingdom trust and organized through the National Coun cil of Social Service.
Although established under the aegis of local education authori ties, Care Committees are essentially personal. They seek to make friendly contacts within the homes of the people and to link the official with the parents and the children. Voluntary effort has here been most successful, and there are over r,000 care committees in London. Medical and dental inspection in the schools has enlarged the scope of the care committees and also the choice of employment.
The Charity Organization Society is the principal society that investigates the condition of the needy and the unfortunate. The committees are composed of voluntary workers although the sec retaries are whole time expert agents. In many towns guilds of help and councils of social service embrace the Charity Organiza tion Society branches and provide opportunities for service.
Settlement and similar institutions have enabled many like Charles Booth, B. S. Rowntree or Prof. Bowley to carry out investigations into poverty and have marked a new stage in social inquiry. There are now comparative studies of a great many places such as Oxford, Cambridge, Ipswich, Hornsey and West Ham. Such social surveys are required for every large town or city. Personal services rendered by public schools, colleges and other institutions have opened up a large field of social work in the shape of public school and college missions and settlements. The Cavendish club of London is an outcome of this movement.