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.

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.

1.28 Cubic Feet (1 box)

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.

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