THE RISE OF SOCIAL-WORK IN PUBLIC MENTAL-HEALTH THROUGH AFTERCARE OF PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL-ILLNESS

in the early years of the 20th century, social work's practice boundar ies expanded to include direct work with people with the most serious mental illnesses through the function of aftercare. Using complementar y and mutually reinforcing efforts to promote social reform in the cav e of people with mental illness and then to provide that care directly , the young social work profession established its presence in the eme rging public mental health field and significantly broadened prevailin g standards of acceptable cave. This article presents a historical cas e analysis of the early events contributing to the identification of s ocial work with aftercare and illustrates processes of creating profes sional ''place'' while influencing public perception of social needs r elevant for the profession's continued growth and influence in the cur rent reconfiguration of human services systems.