Skip to main content

Search Results for: social work

Cohen, Wilbur J.: Correspondence

…I have not answered your telegram of July 31 because I have very uncertain as to the general direction our work will take and the staff we will need. The time element is so short that we can not engage in any extensive research work…

Continue Reading »

Cohen, Wilbur J.

Wilbur J. Cohen (June 13, 1913 – May 17, 1987) — Government Official, Educator, Social Welfare Expert By Larry W. DeWitt, Historian, U. S. Social Security Administration Introduction: Wilbur Cohen was one of the pioneers of the U.S. Social Security system, and a life-long expert on social insurance and social welfare programs. Interspersed among his…

Continue Reading »

Young Mens Christian Association

The YMCA idea, which began among evangelicals, was unusual because it crossed the rigid lines that separated all the different churches and social classes in England in those days. This openness was a trait that would lead eventually to including in YMCA’s all men, women and children, regardless of race, religion or nationality. Also, its target of meeting social need in the community was dear from the start.

Continue Reading »

Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls

The residents of the Industrial School were, for the most part, delinquent or dependent colored girls sentenced to prison by local judges and then paroled to the school. There were no foster homes for colored girls who needed care and jail or prison was the only alternative. It is reported that several of the girls were “feeble minded” and a few arrived with contagious diseases…the goal of the school was to teach self-direction and character building with the expectation that… a girl could be “paroled” to a private family in the Richmond area and work for normal wages.

Continue Reading »

University House of Philadelphia

Written by John E. Hansan, Ph.D. “Members of the University of Pennsylvania’s Christian Association (CA) founded University Settlement House in 1898…to promote ‘spiritual welfare of the students of the University of Pennsylvania by encouraging Christian fellowship and cooperation.’ The organization linked its mission for Christian advancement with such social services as operating settlement houses for the poor and providing summer camps for kids from less fortunate families in the vicinity of the University campus.

Continue Reading »

U.S. Public Health Service

The history of the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) developed in stages: 1) the U.S. Marine Hospital Service (1798-1902), 2) the U.S. Public Health and Marine Hospital Service (1902-1912), and 3) the U.S. Public Health Service (1912-present).

Continue Reading »

National Recovery Administration

The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was signed by newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 16, 1933. The new law created the National Recovery Administration (NRA). The NRA began to work with businesses to establish the mandated codes for fair competition, which were to be exempt from the antitrust laws.

Continue Reading »

Children’s Bureau

Written by Kriste Lindenmeyer, Ph.D., Professor of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The establishment of the U.S. Children’s Bureau in 1912 marked a high point in the effort by many Americans to improve the lives of children.

Continue Reading »