Social Development Approach: A Case Study

Introduction
Social development is an approach that is used in Social welfare. According to Patel 2005 (as cited in Patel 2015, p. 29) social development approach is defined as “ the policies and programs that meet needs , protects and promote rights , manage social problems , facilitates the optimal use of opportunities , empowerment of people and social inclusion.” The approach is believed to have been first introduced by the United Nations in the 1960s to address the address human development needs in the underdeveloped countries (Patel 2015). It also conceptualizes the notion of community development. The approach has been applied in South Africa too and many policies have been implemented to tackle the legacy of apartheid, poverty and other forms of exclusion that existed in the country. This essay therefore serves to unravel in details what social development entails as an approach to social welfare as well as examining the different polices that were put in place emanating from the influences of this

The policies to be implemented should promote the inclusion of the marginalized people in this development process which leads to improvement of their standard s of living (Sherraden 2013). Savings in building poor people’s capacities to actively participate in the economy through human capital development which include education and skill development, public works program, financial capability and assert development are also paramount towards the achievement of community development (Sherraden 2013). To further reaffirm the same point, Midgley& Tang (2001) postulated that social investments and productive capacity promotion rather than depending on the social benefits completely is one critical goal of social development