Collection Guide
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Finding Aid to the San Francisco Office of the Controller Unemployment Relief Program Minutes and Reports
1932-1938
SFH 67
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Title: San Francisco Office of the Controller Unemployment Relief Program Minutes and Reports
Date (inclusive): 1932-1938
Collection Identifier: SFH 67
Creator:
San Francisco (Calif.) . Office of the Controller.
Physical Description:
2.0 boxes
(1.0 cubic feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Abstract: City documents received and/or issued by the San Francisco Office of the Controller as fiscal accountant for unemployment
relief services during the Great Depression. The collection consists of a report by the Director of Relief for fiscal year
1932-1933; minutes of the Citizens’ Emergency Relief Committee (originally named Citizens’ Advisory Relief Committee) for
Sept. 3, 1932 - May 1937; Unemployment Relief Program Reports of the San Francisco Office of the Controller for fiscal years
July 1, 1934 - June 30, 1937 (there is also a cover sheet for the report for July 1, 1932 - June 30, 1934, which is missing
from the collection); and a report called "Suggested Relief Program 1933-1934," also issued by the Office of the Controller.
Language of Materials: Collection materials are in
English.
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
[Identification of item], San Francisco Office of the Controller Unemployment Relief Minutes and Reports (SFH 67), San Francisco
History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Received in the City Archives from the San Francisco Public Library Documents Dept. at an unknown date. Items are stamped
with SFPL Documents Dept. property stamp dated Dec. 27, 1976. The collection appears to have been previously held by the San
Francisco Office of the Controller. Citizens' Emergency Relief Committee Minutes are stamped "received" by the San Francisco
Office of the Controller, Relief Division.
Related collections at the San Francisco History Center include: Family Service Agency of San Francisco Records (SFH 50),
Travelers Aid Society of San Francisco Records (SFH 18); and Widow's Pension Records in the San Francisco Ephemera Collection.
The San Francisco Office of the Controller is responsible for managing the accounting, auditing, and other financial functions
of the City. In its capacity as fiscal accountant for unemployment relief services during the Great Depression, the Office
of the Controller received documents and reports from the newly-established Director of Relief and the Citizens' Advisory
Relief Committee (which later became the Citizens' Emergency Relief Commitee), as well as issuing its own reports and recommendations.
Until the Depression, local private charities administered the bulk of food, shelter, clothing, medical care, and cash assistance
to San Franciscans who were unemployed. In 1931, existing charitable relief organizations were taken over by a public Director
of Relief, who established family relief in the form of food relief.
In Aug. 1932, the State of California passed a bond issue, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors subsequently passed
a City ordinance, effective in Sept., that created the aforementioned Director of Relief and Citizens' Emergency Relief Committee,
appointed by the Mayor. Nine months later, the Federal Emergency Relief Act of 1933 (approved May 12, 1933) created a Federal
Emergency Relief Administration and authorized $500,000,000 for grants and administrative costs. Funds were proportionally
one-third Federal Relief Act funds: one-third State bond issue funds; and one-third local Relief Bond funds. FERA required
immediate transfer of all emergency relief administration from private to public agencies, furthering the development of what
later became the San Francisco Public Welfare Department.
Relief for a few categories of people was administered by other city and county departments as follows and is not represented
in this collection:
"Indigent sick" by the Department of Public Health; "Aged, blind, and widow's pension" by the County Welfare Department, which
was established in 1929; "dependent children" by the Juvenile Court; and "mentally deficient poor" by the Superior Court.
City documents received and/or issued by the San Francisco Office of the Controller as fiscal accountant for unemployment
relief services during the Great Depression. The collection consists of a report by the Director of Relief for fiscal year
1932-1933; minutes of the Citizens’ Emergency Relief Committee (originally named Citizens’ Advisory Relief Committee) for
Sept. 3, 1932 - May 1937; Unemployment Relief Program Reports of the San Francisco Office of the Controller for fiscal years
July 1, 1932 - June 30, 1937; and a report called "Suggested Relief Program 1933-1934," also issued by the Office of the Controller.
The collection documents the relationships between national, state, county, and municipal government bodies in providing relief
monies and services to San Franciscans during a time of transition from privately-administered charities to public welfare.
The collection is arranged in four series: Series 1: Report of the Director of Relief; Series 2: Citizens' Emergency Relief
Committee Minutes; Series 3: "Suggested Relief Program 1933-1934"; and Series 4: Unemployment Relief Program Reports.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
San Francisco (Calif.). Citizens' Emergency Relief Committee.
Public welfare--California--San Francisco--Statistics
San Francisco (Calif.)--Social policy
Social Service--California--San Francisco--Statistics
Unemployed--California--San Francisco