Finding aid for the Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils records
0406
Finding aid prepared by Sue Luftschein
USC Libraries Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California, 90089-0189
213-740-5900
specol@usc.edu
2011 June
Title: Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils records
Collection number: 0406
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
0.84 Linear feet
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1930-1952
Abstract: The Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils records document the activities of the Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils
(later the Federation of Community Coordinating Councils of Los Angeles County) and Coordinating Councils, Inc., an organization
directed by members of the Board of the LA County organization. The records contain meeting minutes, correspondence, and reports,
1930-1952, created by all three organizations, and as such give a detailed view of the activities of these related organizations.
creator:
Coordinating Councils, Inc. (Los Angeles, Calif.).
creator:
Federation of Community Coordinating Councils of Los Angeles County.
creator:
Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils.
Preferred Citation
[Box/folder# or item name], Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils Records, Collection no. 0406, Special Collections, USC
Libraries, University of Southern California
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
Historical note
Coordinating Councils, or voluntary neighborhood councils interested in community social welfare, were a national phenomenon
during World War I. The Councils typically were concerned with the maintenance of community morale, the prevention of juvenile
delinquency, and the promotion of wholesome recreation and character-building group activities for young people. As advisory
rather than functional bodies, their effectiveness depended on the cooperation of community social service agencies, schools,
parent/teacher associations, and law enforcement personnel. In Los Angeles County the first Coordinating Councils were launched
in 1932 with the formal sponsorship of the Juvenile Court and the County Probation Office. The volunteer members of the Coordinating
Councils attempted to cope with severe community dislocation during two world wars and a prolonged depression.
This collection include records of both the Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils (renamed the Federation of Community
Coordinating Councils of Los Angeles County by the end of the 1940s) and Coordinating Councils, Inc., an organization directed
between 1938 and 1944 by four prominent members of the Board of Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils. This Board convened
representatives of the more than sixty Councils in Los Angeles County, together with executives of public and private agencies,
civic group and service club leaders, religious leaders, recreation workers, school board members, and law enforcement personnel.
Coordinating Councils, Inc. was incorporated as a research and service organization for the advancement of community coordination.
In the six years of its active existence the organization served as a national clearing house for research, assembled a specialized
library, published a bimonthly magazine ("Community Coordination") and a well-received manual, and planned and conducted regional,
state, and national conferences.
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.
Scope and Content
The Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils records contain minutes, correspondence, and reports, 1930-1952, created by both
the Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils (later the Federation of Community Coordinating Councils of Los Angeles County)
and Coordinating Councils, Inc. The majority of the records are meeting minutes: of the Executive Board of Los Angeles County
Coordinating Councils and the Board of Directors of Coordinating Councils, Inc., and as such give a detailed view of the activities
of these related organizations. The Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils records also include voluminous rosters of general
and standing committee memberships, county-wide address listings, organizational charts, local area reports, program proposals,
research papers, and public relations memoranda. Of particular interest is a 1943 report on the Findings and Recommendations
of a Los Angeles County Grand Jury investigating the notorious "Zoot Suit" disturbances, and also a detailed 1941 survey of
the 14 most disadvantaged and impoverished sections of Los Angeles, designated as "Less Chance Areas" by the Information Division
of the Work Projects Administration, which undertook the study for the Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils. The collection
also reflects the efforts of Coordinating Councils, Inc., to finance its activities, which included extensive travel to attend
meetings of Coordinating Councils across the country.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Coordinating Councils, Inc. (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- Archives
Federation of Community Coordinating Councils of Los Angeles County. -- Archives
Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils. -- Archives
Correspondence
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions--Archival resources
Memorandums
Minutes
Nonprofit organizations--California--Los Angeles--History--Archival resources
Reports
Social service--California--Los Angeles County--Archival resources
Box 1, Folder 1-2
Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils membership listings, juvenile indices
1930-1945
Box 1, Folder 3
Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils youth delinquency prevention
1938-1945
Box 1, Folder 4
Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils program suggestions
1938-1945
Box 1, Folder 5
Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils Toy Loan Advisory Board
1938-1946
Box 1, Folder 6
Los Angeles County Coordinating Councils board meeting minutes
1944-1948
Box 1, Folder 7
Federation of Community Coordinating Councils of Los Angeles County assembly minutes
1947-1952
Box 2, Folder 1
Coordinating Councils, Inc., correspondence
1936-1941
Box 2, Folder 2
Coordinating Councils, Inc., Board of Directors minutes
1938-1940
Box 2, Folder 3
Coordinating Councils, Inc., reports, budgets, fund raising, correspondence
1939-1940
Box 2, Folder 4
Coordinating Councils, Inc., Board of Directors minutes
1941-1945
Box 2, Folder 5
Coordinating Councils, Inc., reports, budgets, fund raising, correspondence
1941
Box 2, Folder 6
Coordinating Councils, Inc., fundraising, correspondence
1941-1945
Box 2
"'Last Chance' Areas in the City of Los Angeles"
1941 February
Scope and Content
Prepared for the Los Angeles Coordinating Councils by the Information Division of the WPA.
Box 2
"A Year's Work of the Coordinating Councils"
1941 July
Scope and Content
Prepared by the Information Division of the WPA.
