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Children's Home Society of California (CHS) records, 1954-1993.
MVC031  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
  • Preferred Citation
  • Provenance/Source of acquisition
  • Processing Information
  • Biographical / Historical
  • Scope and Content Note
  • Organization and Arrangement

  • Contributing Institution: Museum of Ventura County
    Title: Children's Home Society of California (CHS) records
    Creator: Children's Home Society of California
    Identifier/Call Number: MVC031
    Physical Description: 1.28 Cubic Feet (1 box)
    Date (inclusive): 1954-1993
    Abstract: Children's Home Society of California has been providing adoption services and child welfare programs since 1891. Beginning as a Los Angeles based foundation, CHS has expanded its services throughout the state of California, including Ventura County. This collection contains one notebook and three scrapbooks donated by the Santa Paula/Fillmore Auxiliary of the Children's Home of California and details the foundation's activities between the years of 1954 and 1993. The notebook consists of a record of by-laws, membership, minutes, etc. The scrapbooks contain news clippings and photographs which provide a detailed historical record of the society's endeavors in Ventura County throughout the second half of the 20th century.
    Physical Location: Stored at the MVC Research Library. All requests to access special collections can be made in advance by emailing the Research Library reference desk.
    Language of Material: English .

    Conditions Governing Access

    COLLECTION STORED ON-SITE: Open for research. Advance requests can be made to Research Library staff via email.

    Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

    Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the museum does not hold the copyright.

    Preferred Citation

    [Identification of item], Children's Home Society of California (CHS) records (Collection MVC031), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.

    Provenance/Source of acquisition

    Santa Paula-Fillmore Auxiliary of the Children's Home Society of California; gift; unknown date of donation.

    Processing Information

    Processed by Library Staff in 2011.

    Biographical / Historical

    The Children's Home Society of California (CHS) was founded by Dr. and Mrs. J.R. Townsend in 1891. The foundation was created with the intent of finding permanent homes for children experiencing homelessness. Originally serving children in the Los Angeles area, CHS expanded to the Bay Area in 1892. By 1904, CHS had successfully found homes for 568 children. In 1925, CHS built a shelter for both mothers and babies. In 1949, a training program established by CHS was added to the graduate programs of UC Berkeley and USC. By 1966, CHS was established as the largest private adoption agency internationally. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, CHS implemented a broad range of child welfare services, reflecting the decrease in adoptions. By the 1990s, CHS was primarily focused on providing various child care services to families. Within Ventura County, CHS Oxnard continues to provide child welfare services and assists children and families throughout the area.

    Scope and Content Note

    The notebook contains records of by-laws, membership, minutes, etc. The scrapbooks contain news clippings and photographs which provide a historical record of the society's activities in Ventura County, from 1954 to 1993.

    Organization and Arrangement

    This collection does not have series and has been described at the item level.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Adoption
    Group homes for children
    Child care services
    Children's Home Society of California -- Archives
    Children's Home Society of California -- History