Finding aid for the El Nido Services and Lodges records
0409
Finding aid prepared by Rose Roberto
USC Libraries Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California, 90089-0189
213-740-5900
specol@usc.edu
2000 January 4
Title: El Nido Services and Lodges records
Collection number: 0409
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2.5 Linear feet
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1932-1986 (bulk 1970s-1980s)
Abstract: The El Nido Services and Lodges records cover the practical details of El Nido's operations, 1930-1980, documenting its real
estate management, zoning battles, tax questions, insurance and "disaster preparedness" provisions, and occasional personnel
problems of this social service agency. Originally a project of the Los Angeles Section of the National Council of Jewish
Women, the Section established a Children's Bureau in Los Angeles in 1925, and three years later built a camp for underprivileged
and "pre-tubercular" girls in Laurel Canyon. Control of El Nido eventually passed to the Council of Jewish Women of Los Angeles,
Inc., and during the 1970s, with the increasing diversity of Los Angeles' communities, control of El Nido passed from the
Section to a new Board of Directors. By 1981, the El Nido organization that these records document no longer existed; it became
known, in 1981, as Children, Youth and Parent Counseling.
creator:
El Nido Services (Los Angeles, Calif.).
creator:
National Council of Jewish Women. Los Angeles Section.
Acquisition
El Nido Family Centers.
Scope and Content
The El Nido Services and Lodges records, 1930 to 1980, consist of administrative records, blueprints, epehemera and photographs,
that document the day to day activities of this social service organization. The records cover the practical details of El
Nido's operations in all phases of its existence during this period. Documented are its real estate management, zoning battles,
tax questions, insurance and "disaster preparedness" provisions, and occasional personnel problems.
Administrative history
El Nido was originally a project of the Los Angeles Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. This group established
a Children's Bureau in Los Angeles in 1925, and three years later built a camp/residential center for underprivileged and
"pe-tubercular" girls in Laurel Canyon. From 1933 until the early 1940s, the residential center served girls living in the
Los Angeles area who had behavioral problems, or who required health service for such problems as tuberculosis or eating disorders,
and who were in need of "special vocational guidance." At some point thereafter, operation of the Children's Bureau passed
to the Council of Jewish Women of Los Angeles, Inc. This California corporation, with identical membership to the Los Angeles
Section of the National Council of Jewish Women, may have been organized as a parallel agency to facilitate local fund raising
and participation in the Los Angeles Community Chest.
During World War II and its aftermath the Los Angeles Jewish Women's Council was particularly concerned with the welfare of
emigres from Nazi oppression in Europe. The Children's Bureau Agency used the Laurel Canyon center as a temporary Jewish refugee
center for children going into the American foster care system and for young immigrant single mothers or widows with young
children adapting to the United States as their new home. Working with the National Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the Los
Angeles Emigre Service, the Agency created and ran "Americanization and Naturalization programs" on behalf of their foreign
clients.
In 1954, the Council's articles of incorporation stated its purpose "to sponsor a social agency carrying on a program of social
service in the fields of child guidance, service to the foreign born, and such other social service programs as the Los Angeles
Section of the National Council of Jewish Women shall agree upon." By the mid 1950s most Jewish refugees bound for Los Angeles
had arrived and been given full assistance by the Council, and the agency's attention began to focus exclusively on disadvantaged
adolescent girls. During the 1960s and 1970s, due to the rapidly increasing ethnic diversity of Los Angeles communities, the
Children's Bureau Agency began servicing disadvantaged adolsescent girls, some with a history of violence, many of whom were
wards of the local Court System, with residential therapy and counseling services. Their problems ranged from such school
difficulties as truancy, to criminal activities such as prostitution, gang membership, and substance abuse. In addition, the
purposes of the Los Angeles Council of Jewish Women began to diverge from those of its originator, the National Council of
Jewish Women. El Nido had always been non-sectarian in its staffing and service policies, but in the 1970s the rapidly increasing
ethnic diversity of the communities in which it operated created a need for an ethnically and culturally diverse board of
directors rather than with one with membership drawn solely from the Los Angeles Section of the National Council of Jewish
Women. The complicated split between "the Section" and El Nido, finalized in 1978, freed the agency from sectarian obligation,
but also left it without the financial support and sponsorship of the National Council of Jewish Women.
In the mid-1970s El Nido Services owned and operated three residential lodges for troubled teenage girls, and also started
an outreach program of preventative counseling for at-risk youth in Los Angeles school districts. However, in 1980, El Nido
Services lost the lease of its largest residential building, making operation of its smaller units economically impossible.
Building on the outreach program in the Los Angeles school district, the board members of the Agency reorganized their operations
in 1981 to provide a variety of counseling services from newly established outpost offices to fifteen Los Angeles communities
under a new name: Children, Youth and Parent Counseling. The goals of the counseling program were threefold. They centered
on preventive intervention: to avert future emotional problems of children of divorced parents; to support the completion
of school and provide job placement skills for teen-agers who became parents; and to provide alternative activities for young
adults at high risk for becoming involved in criminal activities.
These agency records, which cover the most mundane practical details of El Nido's operations, documenting its real estate
management, zoning battles, tax questions, insurance and "disaster preparedness" provisions, and occasional personnel problems,
reflect also the difficulties confronting an agency in the late 1970s that found itself providing outmoded services to a radically
changed client population. As El Nido negotiated to free itself from close association with the Section, it also re-evaluated
its program and its ability to manage, as an open institution, the increasingly violent and seriously delinquent girls referred
to it by county probation departments. The loss if its largest facility in 1980 provided an opportunity for El Nido to reassess
its organization. By then welfare policy makers, and some legislators, had begun to promote family preservation in virtually
all circumstances, and to disfavor social services provided to adolescents separated from their families in residential facilities.
That the El Nido board of directors was deeply engaged in the debate is evident from legislative material collected here,
and from its correspondence, particularly with the California Association of Children's Residential Centers which was leading
an advocacy campaign in the legislature for maintenance of residential services.
In 1981, after the inevitable closure of the residential facilities which had been the setting for El Nido's operation for
decades, the agency turned to the business of fund raising, promotion, and development of outpost offices where it would provide
a variety of social services in fifteen Los Angeles communities under a new name--Children, Youth & Parent Counseling.
Conditions Governing Use
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.
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], El Nido Services and Lodges records, Collection no. 0409, California Social Welfare Archives,
Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Organization
There are ten series within the collection, and no sub-series. The largest series consist of minutes from annual meetings
and committee work of the Agencies board of directors. The creators grouped these records according to subject, and within
each folder they are, for the most part, arranged chronologically. For maximum accessibility, this finding aid lists the series
alphabetically by name. However, since the original order for these records was maintained, the series appear in the boxes
in the following order: By-laws; Tax Status; Property Management; Budget; Board of Directors; Public Relations; Correspondence;
Programs; Fundraising; and Publications.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
California Association of Children's Residential Centers, Inc.. -- Correspondence
El Nido Services (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- Archives
National Council of Jewish Women. Los Angeles Section. -- Archives
Blueprints
Brochures
Child welfare--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Clippings
Correspondence
Family services--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Financial records
Legal documents
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions--Archival resources
Maps
Press releases
Reports
Scripts
Social service--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Social work administration--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Social work with immigrants--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Social work with teenagers--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Youth--Services for--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
By-laws
1954-1979
Scope and Content
This series contains the Agency's by-laws from the 1950s through the 1970s. There are numerous drafts of by-law amendments
with hand-written notes on the margins of the drafts or on memos attached to the drafts. It seems this folder was created
in preparation for the 1978 split between the National Council of Jewish Women and the Agency soon to be renamed El Nido Services,
since it also contains legal documents pertaining to the official name change from the "Council of Jewish Women" to "El Nido
Services." (See also Series 5 for more Name Changes Documents.)
Box 1, Folder 1
Bylaws documents
1954-1978
Box 1, Folder 4
Name change documents
1978-1979
Tax Status
1932-1979
Scope and Content
This series contains correspondence from the Internal Revenue Service and California State officials granting the Agency,
under its various names, tax exemption. There is also correspondence between the Agency and other local and federal government
agencies regarding clarification of bank laws, property tax, and information for the tax return filings of various board members.
Also in this series is a 1973 letter from a board member urging Governor Reagan to pass the Tax Exempt Bill.
Box 1, Folder 5
El Nido Lodge tax exemption
1942-1971
Box 1, Folder 6
IRS classification status 509(a)
1933-1971
Box 1, Folder 7
IRS admission tax dues
1932-1933
Box 1, Folder 8
IRS exemption from bank and corporate franchise tax
1936-1954
Box 1, Folder 9
Board members' tax returns
1966-1974
Box 1, Folder 10
Property tax exemption
1955, 1979
Box 1, Folder 11
Exemption for unemployment insurance
1938-1960
Box 1, Folder 12
CA state exemption requests
1943-1973
Box 1, Folder 13
FICA Social Security tax
1951-1956
Box 1, Folder 14
Exemption from sales tax
1941, 1954
Box 1, Folder 15
Regulations information on tax exempt organizations
1945, 1953
Property Management
1964-1981
Scope and Content
The Property Management series contains property titles; blueprints of the various properties; leases; correspondence and
memos regarding building safety, building payments, and building insurance. There are also statistical reports on the number
of girls served at each lodge. Other information indirectly relating to the properties held by the Agency such as freeway
zoning in the area and maps are included, too.
Box 1, Folder 16
El Nido Lodges fire prevention systems
1974-1977
Box 1, Folder 17
El Nido Lodges disaster plans
1974
Box 1, Folder 18
Hayworth and Beverly properties documents
1967-1974
Box 1, Folder 19
El Nido Martel location
1964-1973
Box 1, Folder 20
Opposition to zoning
1968-1979
Box 1, Folder 21
Title search insurance of grant deed
1978
Box 1, Folder 22
CA state agency for surplus property
1977
Box 1, Folder 23
El Nido lease, Beverly and Hayworth
1981
Budget
1949-1983
Scope and Content
This series contains reports for staffing, program revenue, estimated spending projects, tables showing expenditures, financial
statements, and statistical charts on the number of girls served at each lodge.
Box 1, Folder 24
Services to foreign born
1949-1953
Box 1, Folder 25
5-year trends in agency
1971-1977
Box 1, Folder 26-27
Agency staffing patterns
1972-1976
Box 1, Folder 28
Financial statements
1982-1983
Box 1, Folder 29
Administration notes
1975-1977
Board of Directors
1964-1985
Scope and Content
This series makes up the bulk of the collection. There are separate folders for the various Board Committees, and most folders
are roughly in chronological order. Most folders contain minutes of either Committee or annual Board meetings. Announcements
and invitations of the Agency’s meetings and special guests are included, as well as slides from a 1980 meeting and a guest
signature book for meetings held between 1981-1984.
Box 2, Folder 1
Meeting announcements
1966-1983
Box 2, Folder 3
Executive Committee
1979-1982
Box 2, Folder 5
Board meeting notices
1983-1985
Box 2, Folder 6
Joint committee meetings
1964, 1982
Box 2, Folder 7-8
Staff committee
1979-1980
Box 2, Folder 9
Personnel committee
1978-1979
Box 2, Folder 10
Board of Director parties
1985
Box 2, Folder 12
Membership committee
1984
Box 2, Folder 13
Committee assignments
1978-1979
Box 2, Folder 14
Board of Directors lists
1976-1981
Box 2, Folder 16
Board meeting minutes
1980-1982
Box 2, Folder 17
Membership committee
1983-1984
Box 2, Folder 18
Community involvement committee
1973-1979
Box 2, Folder 19
Agency section agreements
1977-1980
Box 2, Folder 20
Various drafts and final forms
1978-1979
Public Relations
1980-1986
Scope and Content
This series contains news articles about El Nido, press releases from the Agency, and brochures. It also contains Publicity
Committee memos and scripts of television spots and contact information for broadcasters.
Box 2, Folder 21
El Nido press publicity
1980-1981
Box 2, Folder 22
Agency public relations plans and projects
1981-1982
Box 2, Folder 24
Other agency newsletters
1981-1985
Box 2, Folder 26
El Nido draft press releases
1981-1985
Box 2, Folder 27
Broadcasting information
1983-1986
Correspondence
1973-1986
Scope and Content
This series contains general correspondence and correspondence with other members of the California Association of Residence
Centers.
Programs
1969-1980
Scope and Content
This series contains statistics of children served at the El Nido lodges, childcare agreements with Los Angeles County, and
a guide for counseling techniques utilized by the Los Angeles County elementary schools. Interestingly, there is a Masters
thesis included in a folder evaluating the effectiveness of residence center program of El Nido lodge, that indicate several
weaknesses of El Nido Services.
Box 2, Folder 32
Information on other CRC centers
1979-1980
Box 2, Folder 33
El Nido exploratory study [Master's thesis]
1969
Box 2, Folder 34
"Evaluating an Agency-School Group Counseling Program"
1974
Box 2, Folder 35
Evaluation--El Nido
1974-1976
Box 2, Folder 36
El Nido program review
1975-1978
Box 2, Folder 37
Los Angeles County
1975-1979
Box 2, Folder 38
Reports on evaluation of El Nido
1970-1980
Box 2, Folder 39
"A Guide to Group Counseling in Elementary Schools"
1969
Fundraising
1981-1984
Scope and Content
This series contains copies of fundraising membership appeals and memos requesting donations. There is also information on
an El Nido program to consolidate health services for "at-risk youth" and a grant rejection letter.
Box 2, Folder 41
Drew Medical School grant
1981
Box 2, Folder 42
Gardena Employee Assistance program
1983
Publications
1970s
Scope and Content
This series contains brochures that the Agency produced for families going through divorce and gives the families advice on
how to deal with potential conflicts with their former spouses. Presented from the perspective of helping the child adjust
in these situations, the brochures provide very practical information.
Box 2, Folder 43
Conciliation court brochures
1970s
Box 2, Folder 44
[Article on role of grandparents during divorce]
1979
