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Combs (Carmen) papers
0490
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Carmen Combs papers
creator:
Combs, Carmen W.
Identifier/Call Number: 0490
Physical Description:
5.03 Linear Feet
9 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1923-1979
Abstract: The Carmen Combs papers contains reports, conference proceedings, committee minutes, studies, seminar and institute materials,
pamphlets, analyses of problems and topics, legislation, speech transcripts, and memoranda to Court Referees, and personal
notes. The documents generally focus on the welfare of children. There is much attention given to the juvenile court system.
Carmen Combs was a 1927 graduate of Yale Law School who began her career in Los Angeles by combining practice with a small
firm and volunteer work as chief of the Domestic Relations Department of the city's Legal Aid Clinic. In 1937 she was appointed
as Referee in Los Angeles Juvenile Court, where she served both regularly and on an "as needed" basis for the next 35 years.
Meanwhile she worked on a variety of committees, commissions, and research projects devoted to the improvement of juvenile
justice and the treatment of troubled or neglected children. Earl Warren first appointed Combs to his Governor's Advisory
Committee on Children and Youth in 1947, a position which she retained through the governorships of Goodwin Knight and Pat
Brown. As Chair of the Special Study Commission on Juvenile Crime, sponsored in 1957 by the Governor's Advisory Committee,
she wrote a report on "California Children in Detention and Shelter Care" (3.7, 3.10, 7.2, 7.6, 8.2) and worked for its implementation
on the "Subcommittee on Structure and Organization". On the Special Study Commission, Combs directed a survey of the administration
of juvenile justice, which led to the repeal of California's existing juvenile court law, much of which had been in place
since 1913, and the passage of a new law, effective on September 15, 1961, substantially embodying the recommendations of
the Commission.
Combs' skills as a committee member and as an advocate in letters and presentations to state and county legislative bodies
are apparent throughout the collection, as is her facility as a collaborator. Scattered through the files is her correspondence
with contemporary leaders in the juvenile justice field in California, such as Karl Holton and Heman Stark, and with judges
and officials across the country. In Los Angeles, Combs worked for improvement in public provision of protective services
for abused and neglected children. Her concern for the conditions of juvenile detention evidently stemmed from a 1955 visit
to the Los Angeles County Jail, following which she wrote a strong letter of protest to the County Board of Supervisors about
the practice of routinely housing adolescent boys awaiting disposition of their cases with adult criminals. Combs served on
the Los Angeles Grand Jury in 1956 and 1966, was chairman of the Los Angeles County Youth Committee, and of the Committee
on Protective Services of the Los Angeles Bureau of Public Assistance, and her name appears on the rosters of many other short
lived committees. As a career volunteer, among officials and politicians, her name on such listings is often followed by the
designation - "Citizen At Large".
The collection, reflecting Combs' interests in many aspects of juvenile law beyond those in which she had personal involvement,
includes reports, conference proceedings, committee minutes, studies, seminar and institute materials, pamphlets, Combs' own
lawyerly analyses of problems and topics, legislation, speech transcripts, and memoranda to Court Referees. Of historical
interest are a series of studies on juvenile delinquency and probation (4.2) published by the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco
in the 1920s (4.2), a 1936 report to the public entitled "Your Los Angeles County Juvenile Court" (3.2), and a 1938 judge's
call for reformed legislation entitled "An Appeal on Behalf of the Childhood of California" (2.1).
Advance notice required for access.
The use of archival materials for on-site research does not constitute permission from the California Social Welfare Archives
to publish them. Copyright has not been assigned to the California Social Welfare Archives, and the researcher is instructed
to obtain permission to quote from or publish manuscripts in the CSWA's collections from the copyright holder.
[Box/folder# or item name], Carmen Combs papers, Collection no. 0490, California Social Welfare Archives, Special Collections,
USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Juvenile delinquency -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Juvenile detention -- California -- Archival resources
Proceedings
Transcripts
Notes
Minutes
Mental health planning -- California -- Archival resources
Juvenile courts -- California -- Archival resources
Reports
Child welfare -- California -- Archival resources
Los Angeles County (Calif.). Probation Dept. -- Archives
University of Southern California. Youth Studies Center -- Archives
California. Committee on the Older Girl and the Law -- Archives
California Youth Authority -- Archives
Combs, Carmen W.
Combs, Carmen W. -- Archives