“The objects of this Association are: To provide a centre for higher civic and social life in the city of Rochester and to institute and maintain therein educational and philanthropic enterprises.”
Continue Reading »The community federation, regardless of the way it has been established, must not attempt to be an overlord administering the affairs of the constituent agencies. The federation should be the machinery by means of which the agencies and their social workers function together. When new standards of work are being developed, the federated agencies interested in those standards should help formulate them. The federation can safely exercise administrative direction, but should not exercise administrative control. From this it clearly follows that a social service federation should be entirely representative of the agencies, having only such powers as the co-operating agencies delegate to it.
Continue Reading »Written by Eilleen Bolger. The first naturalization act, passed by Congress on March 26, 1790, provided that any free, white, adult alien, male or female, who had resided within the limits and jurisdiction of the United States for a period of 2 years was eligible for citizenship.
Continue Reading »This entry was copied from the original document. It is both a history of settlement work on the Lower East Side of New York City and an excellent example of community organization in a racially diverse neighborhood. This proposal was written in the first year that Community Action grants were being awarded as part of the War on Poverty.
Continue Reading »Written by Michael Barga. “Some of the earliest sustained social service institutions and health care facilities in New York City were started by the sisters. Their allegiance to local Catholics in the city came in conflict with their obedience to their superiors … eventually leading to the establishment of a separate order recognized as the Sisters of Charity of New York (SCNY).”
Continue Reading »Josephine Shaw Lowell (1843-1905) — Social reformer, Founder of the New York City Charity Organization Society and advocate of the doctrine that charity should not merely relieve suffering but also rehabilitate the recipient. By John E. Hansan, Ph.D.
Continue Reading »In 1908, McLean gave another presentation at the 35th annual session of the National Conference of Charities and Correction held in Richmond, VA. The title was: “How May We Increase Our Standard of Efficiency in Dealing with Needy Families.” One of his major points was the necessity for workers to record and maintain Diagnosis and Treatment Cards for the families they are trying to help. He said:
“…A growing realization of the need of an aid which would impart definiteness to records and give one a clear idea of not only the main problem, but all of the subsidiary problems, caused the Field Department last fall to send out to the societies in the exchange branch of the department, a proposed form to be known as a diagnosis and treatment sheet. A study of the records last winter has convinced the field secretary that these sheets are an absolute necessity, and should be used by all the societies. Even the very best of the records would have been much clearer to the reader with such a sheet. In many cases, apparent lapses in treatment would have been revealed to the societies, if they had attempted to fill out the blanks….”
Continue Reading »This entry is composed of transcribed pages from two documents, both produced by the Charity Organization Society of New York City. The primary source is the “History,” written by Lilian Brandt for the organization’s 25th Anniversary in 1907. The second source is from “A Reference Book of Social Service In or Available for Greater New York” by Lina D. Miller in 1922.
Continue Reading »In 1914, Mrs. John M. ( Mary Wilcox) Glenn gave a presentation entitled “Some Social Causes of Prostitution” at the Forty-first Annual Conference of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections in Memphis, Tennessee.
Continue Reading »Mrs. Glenn’s move to New York coincided with the growing awareness for the need for professional training for charity workers and the importance of trained caseworkers. It was also a time when social welfare advocates and charity workers were beginning to realize the necessity for more efficient organizations of “good will” and better means for dealing with the conditions of a society where large numbers of able-bodied workers were being compelled to seek handouts, depend on breadlines and soup kitchens. Mrs. Glenn became an active participant in discussions about the possibilities of a larger, national movement that would bring together local agencies and advocates into some form of national organization.
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