Finding aid for the Special Service for Groups records 0457
Finding aid prepared by Sue Luftschein
USC Libraries Special Collections
2011 May
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California, 90089-0189
213-740-5900
specol@usc.edu
Title: Special Service for Groups records
Collection number: 0457
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.21 linear ft.
1 box
Date (inclusive): 1948-1983
Abstract: This small collection of reports, correspondence, and studies, documents the activities of Special Service for Groups, 1948-1983.
Included are documents describing the history of the organization, independent evaluations of the work of the agency's social
workers, documentation for an agency study, and various reports and research papers.
creator:
Special Service for Groups, Inc.
Originally founded in 1945 as the Special Service Unit of the Los Angeles Youth Project, Special Service for Groups was incorporated
in March 1952 on the recommendation of the Welfare Planning Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles. Its purpose was to provide
direct leadership of professional social workers working with teenage gangs and delinquent youth.
In 1943, the Los Angeles "Zoot Suit Riots" called attention to the need for more adequate service to youth in the city's growing
urban areas. Eleven agencies approached the Welfare Planning Council seeking funds that would allow for the hiring of additional
workers to provide more adequate services to these areas, where teenage delinquency was rampant. Out of this initial request
grew the Los Angeles Youth Project. Initial priorities were established, including intensified work with "pre-delinquents"
and delinquent youth. Early efforts were not entirely successful, and in 1945 a special Delinquency Committee was appointed,
with members coming from a wide variety of agencies. The Committee directed its attention to neighborhoods in which agencies
were not making progress and in which they saw the greatest need for specialized social workers. The Commitee's first recommendation
was the establishment of a Special Service Unit to be set up within the Youth Project. Its primary function would be the development
of a group work program for gangs and delinquent youth, and to consult with agencies in the development of these programs.
By 1952, it was recognized that the Unit had demonstrated its effectiveness and thus should become a separate agency. The
name was changed to Special Service for Groups, and a board of Directors elected.
Advance notice required for access.
[Box/folder# or item name], Special Service for Groups records, Collection no. 0457, California Social Welfare Archives, Special
Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
This small collection of reports, correspondence, and studies, documents the activities of Special Service for Groups, 1948-1983.
Included are documents describing the history of the organization, independent evaluations of the work of the agency's social
workers, documentation for an agency study, and various reports and research papers.
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 from the copyright holder to quote from or publish manuscripts in the CSWA's collections.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Special Service for Groups, Inc. -- Archives
Correspondence
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions--Archival resources
Minutes
Reports
Social work with juvenile delinquents--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Box 1, Folder 1
History and originals of Special Services for Groups 1948-1957
Box 1, Folder 2
Box 1, Folder 3
Box 1, Folder 4
Community complaints 1958
Box 1, Folder 5
Research papers and reports 1961-1965
Box 1, Folder 6
SSG: A 25 Year Overview 1977, 1983