Finding aid for the Carmen Combs papers
0490
Natalie Camacho
USC Libraries Special Collections
2014 January
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu
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.
Biographical note
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".
Scope and Content
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).
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
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.
Preferred Citation
[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
Box 3, Folder 5
Combs Notebook--Handwritten Entries
Detention and Shelter Care
Box 7, Folder 2
California Children in Detention and Shelter Care--Report on Implementation Conference
1954
Box 3, Folder 7
California Children in Detention and Shelter Care--Subcommittee for Implementation Reports
1955-1956
Box 8, Folder 2
California Children in Detention and Shelter Care--Survey and Follow-Up Study
1955
Box 7, Folder 6
California Children in Detention and Shelter Care and Summary Version
1954
Box 2, Folder 5
Grand Jury Reports & Recommendations on Juvenile Shelter and Detention Care
1945-1962
Box 7, Folder 3
Juvenile Detention in California--Report to the California Advisory Committee on Detention Home Problems
1946
Box 3, Folder 10
Publication of "California Children in Detention and Shelter Care"
1952-1954
Box 4, Folder 4
County Counsel Opinions re Juvenile Court Materials
1962
Box 5, Folder 2
Institute for Juvenile Court Judges and Referees - Newport Beach
1975
Box 7, Folder 10
Institutes for Juvenile Court Judges and Referees, Judicial Council of California
1964, 1971
Box 4, Folder 3
Juvenile Court Conference--County Juvenile Court & National Council of Juvenile Court Studies
1974
Box 2, Folder 1
Juvenile Court, Proposed Legislation
1937-1938
Box 4, Folder 9
Juvenile Justice Legislation
1976
Box 7, Folder 8
Juvenile Justice Studies--Suburban Los Angeles
1977-1979
Box 5, Folder 3
Legislation and Administration of Juvenile Justice--Paper, Bills
1923-1955
Box 3, Folder 9
Miscellaneous Pamphlets on Juvenile Justice
1953-1979
Box 7, Folder 9
Miscellaneous Papers and Studies on Juvenile Justice
1942-1975
Box 3, Folder 2
Papers on Juvenile Courts
1947-1977
Box 2, Folder 8
Policy & Procedure Memoranda for Juvenile Court Officers & Referees
1954-1969
Box 7, Folder 1
Special Crime Study Commission on Juvenile Justice
1948-1949
Box 5, Folder 4
Special Study Commission on Juvenile Justice--California
1958
Box 2, Folder 3
Superior Court Memoranda to Juvenile Court Referees
1969-1971
Box 4, Folder 8
Superior Court Review of Recent Criminal Cases
1974
Box 1, Folder 4
Committee for Coordinating Delinquency Prevention Activities in Los Angeles County
1960 July 13-1961 February 15
Box 1, Folder 3
Committee for Coordinating Delinquency Prevention Activities in Los Angeles County
1961 February 28-November 3
Box 1, Folder 5
Committee for Coordinating Delinquency Prevention Activities in Los Angeles County
1961 December 4-1962 April 30
Box 4, Folder 2
Commonwealth Club Publications--Juvenile Delinquency
1924-1948
Box 3, Folder 3
Juvenile Crime and Delinquency--Papers
1948-1960
Box 4, Folder 6
Research Proposal--Movies, Television, and Juvenile Delinquency
1960
Box 4, Folder 7
Riots, Runaways, and Marijuana--Miscellaneous Papers
1965-1967
Box 6, Folder 1
The School and Juvenile Delinquency Papers, Reports
1943-1949
Box 2, Folder 7
1931 Study of Social Factors in Juvenile Delinquency. Miscellaneous Papers on Adult Corrections
1931-1948
Box 3, Folder 1
Governor's Conference on Mental Health
1949
Box 6, Folder 7
Mental Health in California--Studies, Reports (1)
1938-1958
Box 6, Folder 6
Mental Health in California--Studies, Reports (2)
1938-1958
Miscellaneous Studies and Reports
Box 7, Folder 4
Mid-Century Study of Children and Youth in California
1950
Box 7, Folder 5
Pasadena--Housing Study and Schools Analysis
1950-1951
Box 3, Folder 4
Rehabilitation/Training/Job Placement Demonstration Project #48
1962-1965
Box 1, Folder 6
Youth Committee, County of Los Angeles
1954-1955
Box 3, Folder 6
Studies, Correspondence re Municipal Youth Commissions
1959-1961
Box 2, Folder 6
Los Angeles County Public Welfare Commission--Foster Care
1955(?)
Box 6, Folder 3
California Committee on the Older Girl and the Law--Correspondence, Minutes
1957-1958
Box 5, Folder 5
California Committee on the Older Girl and the Law--Related Papers
1959-1961
Box 6, Folder 4
California Committee on the Older Girl and the Law--Drafts, Reports, Studies
1956-1968
Box 6, Folder 5
Governor's Advisory Committee on Children and Youth--Minutes, Memoranda
1948-1968
Box 7, Folder 7
California Youth Authority--Correspondence, Reports
1955-1956
Box 8, Folder 1
Youth Program Planning--L.A. Regional Criminal Justice Planning Board
1975
Box 4, Folder 1
County Probation Department Gang Activity Analyses
1959-1960
Box 1, Folder 2
Los Angeles County Probation Department Placement Study (1)
1960 January
Box 1, Folder 1
Los Angeles County Probation Department Study (2)
1960
Box 2, Folder 9
Report Committee on Special Problems to California Probation and Parole Association
1950
Box 2, Folder 4
Correspondence re Need for Protective Services
1956-1971
Box 4, Folder 5
Criteria for Protective Services for Children
1948-1970
Box 2, Folder 2
Los Angeles County--Advisory Committee on Protective Services
1957-1968
Box 9, Folder 1
Personal Correspondence and Notes for Study of Preventative Services
1947-1969
Box 3, Folder 8
Protective Services Demonstration Project, McLaren Hall Advisory Committee Meetings
1965-1966
Youth Studies Center (USC)
Box 4, Folder 10
Youth Studies Center--USC Advisory Council Minutes
1962-1968
Box 5, Folder 1
Youth Studies Center--USC Advisory Council, Organization Annual Reports
1958-1961
Box 6, Folder 2
Youth Studies Center (USC)--Miscellaneous Papers
1959-1964