20 MCQ on Who Were the Friendly Visitors? Origins, Purpose, and Impact on Modern Social Work

1. Who were the Friendly Visitors primarily associated with?

A) The Settlement House Movement
B) The Charity Organization Societies (COS)
C) The Progressive Era labor unions
D) The Red Cross

Answer: B) The Charity Organization Societies (COS)
Explanation: The Friendly Visitors were volunteers associated with the Charity Organization Societies (COS) in the late 19th century. They aimed to provide moral guidance and personal assistance to poor families rather than just material aid.

2. What was the main purpose of the Friendly Visitors?

A) To distribute food and clothing
B) To investigate and reform the poor through personal relationships
C) To provide medical care
D) To advocate for political reforms

Answer: B) To investigate and reform the poor through personal relationships
Explanation: Friendly Visitors sought to uplift the poor by offering moral guidance, encouraging self-sufficiency, and assessing their needs rather than just giving handouts.

3. In which century did the Friendly Visitors emerge?

A) 18th century
B) 19th century
C) 20th century
D) 17th century

Answer: B) 19th century
Explanation: The Friendly Visitors became prominent in the late 1800s as part of the Charity Organization Societies movement.

4. Which modern social work practice evolved from the Friendly Visitors’ approach?

A) Group therapy
B) Casework
C) Community organizing
D) Policy advocacy

Answer: B) Casework
Explanation: The one-on-one, assessment-based approach of Friendly Visitors laid the foundation for modern social casework.

5. What was a major criticism of the Friendly Visitors?

A) They were too focused on systemic change
B) They were often paternalistic and judgmental
C) They refused to help immigrants
D) They only worked with children

Answer: B) They were often paternalistic and judgmental
Explanation: Critics argued that Friendly Visitors imposed middle-class values on the poor without fully understanding structural poverty.

6. Which prominent social reformer was associated with the Charity Organization Societies?

A) Jane Addams
B) Mary Richmond
C) Dorothea Dix
D) Frances Perkins

Answer: B) Mary Richmond
Explanation: Mary Richmond, a key figure in professionalizing social work, was influenced by COS methods and emphasized systematic casework.

7. How did Friendly Visitors differ from Settlement House workers?

A) They lived among the poor
B) They focused on temporary, individualized assistance
C) They advocated for labor rights
D) They provided free healthcare

Answer: B) They focused on temporary, individualized assistance
Explanation: Unlike Settlement House workers who lived in poor communities and promoted collective reform, Friendly Visitors provided short-term, moral-based assistance.

8. What was the primary method used by Friendly Visitors to assess families?

A) Home visits
B) Surveys
C) Public hearings
D) Church referrals

Answer: A) Home visits
Explanation: They conducted home visits to evaluate living conditions, morals, and needs of poor families.

9. Which value was emphasized by Friendly Visitors in their work?

A) Social justice
B) Individual responsibility
C) Government dependency
D) Religious conversion

Answer: B) Individual responsibility
Explanation: They stressed self-help and moral upliftment over systemic solutions.

10. What was a key limitation of the Friendly Visitors’ model?

A) Lack of funding
B) Ignoring structural causes of poverty
C) Over-reliance on government support
D) Focusing only on children

Answer: B) Ignoring structural causes of poverty
Explanation: Their focus on individual behavior often overlooked economic and social inequalities.

11. Which group was primarily targeted by Friendly Visitors?

A) Wealthy elites
B) Immigrant and working-class families
C) Military veterans
D) Farmers

Answer: B) Immigrant and working-class families
Explanation: They worked mostly with urban poor, including immigrants.

12. What was the religious influence on Friendly Visitors?

A) They were strictly secular
B) They were tied to Protestant ideals of moral reform
C) They only worked with Catholic charities
D) They rejected all religious involvement

Answer: B) They were tied to Protestant ideals of moral reform
Explanation: Many were influenced by Protestant charity traditions emphasizing personal virtue.

13. How did Friendly Visitors contribute to professional social work?

A) By creating licensing standards
B) By introducing systematic case documentation
C) By lobbying for welfare laws
D) By establishing hospitals

Answer: B) By introducing systematic case documentation
Explanation: Their record-keeping influenced modern social work documentation practices.

14. Which later movement contrasted with the Friendly Visitors’ approach?

A) The New Deal
B) The Settlement Movement
C) The Civil Rights Movement
D) The Temperance Movement

Answer: B) The Settlement Movement
Explanation: Settlement workers like Jane Addams focused on community-level change rather than individual moral reform.

15. What was a common recommendation by Friendly Visitors to the poor?

A) Join labor unions
B) Move to rural areas
C) Practice thrift and temperance
D) Demand government aid

Answer: C) Practice thrift and temperance
Explanation: They promoted personal habits like saving money and avoiding alcohol.

16. Which term best describes the Friendly Visitors’ philosophy?

A) Radical socialism
B) Social Darwinism
C) Scientific charity
D) Libertarianism

Answer: C) Scientific charity
Explanation: COS and Friendly Visitors believed in "scientific charity"—rational, individualized assistance.

17. What replaced the Friendly Visitors’ volunteer model over time?

A) Government welfare programs
B) Trained, paid social workers
C) Religious missions
D) Private philanthropy

Answer: B) Trained, paid social workers
Explanation: Social work professionalized in the early 20th century, shifting from volunteers to trained professionals.

18. Which concept did Friendly Visitors help pioneer in social work?

A) Crisis intervention
B) Needs assessment
C) Macro practice
D) Universal basic income

Answer: B) Needs assessment
Explanation: Their home visits involved evaluating families’ specific needs, a precursor to modern assessments.

19. How did Friendly Visitors view poverty?

A) As a structural economic issue
B) As a result of personal moral failure
C) As an inevitable social condition
D) As a racial issue

Answer: B) As a result of personal moral failure
Explanation: They often attributed poverty to individual behavior rather than systemic factors.

20. What legacy did Friendly Visitors leave for modern social work?

A) The importance of policy advocacy
B) The emphasis on relationship-based helping
C) The focus on large-scale institutional reform
D) The rejection of volunteerism

Answer: B) The emphasis on relationship-based helping
Explanation: Their one-on-one approach influenced modern casework and client-worker relationships.