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Finding aid of the Welfare Planning Council, Los Angeles Region, records
0434
0434
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Table of contents
Title: Welfare Planning Council, Los Angeles Region, records
Collection number: 0434
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
4.2 linear ft.
10 boxes
Date: 1939-1974
Abstract: The Welfare Planning Council, Los Angeles Region, records, consists of correspondence, brochures, minutes, and reports, dated
1939-1974 (bulk 1950s-1960s), that document the activities of the Council in the areas of social welfare planning, research,
and development, and the coordination of health, welfare and recreational programs in the Los Angeles area. Material dating
before the establishment of the Welfare Planning Council in 1953 covers the Metropolitan Welfare Council's studies regarding
its separation from the Los Angeles Welfare Federation, with the correlative creation of the Welfare Planning Council.
creator:
Welfare Planning Council, Los Angeles Region.
Genevieve Carter, Albert Feldman, Frances Lomas Feldman.
Advance notice required for access.
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.
[Box/folder# or item name], Welfare Planning Council, Los Angeles, records, Collection no. 0434, California Social Welfare
Archives, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
The Welfare Planning Council, Los Angeles Region, records, consists of correspondence, brochures, minutes, and reports, dated
1939-1974 (bulk 1950s-1960s), that document the activities of the Council in the areas of social welfare planning, research,
and development, and the coordination of health, welfare and recreational programs in the Los Angeles area. Material dating
before the establishment of the Welfare Planning Council in 1953 covers the Metropolitan Welfare Council's studies regarding
its separation from the Los Angeles Welfare Federation, with the correlative creation of the Welfare Planning Council.
The Welfare Planning Council was created in 1953 when the Welfare Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles was reorganized at the
recommendation of the Citizen's Study Committee of the Welfare Federation of Los Angeles. To create a division responsible
solely for programs and agencies, the committee had judged that the Welfare Council should be separated from fund-raising
functions of the Los Angeles Welfare Federation, then known as the Los Angeles Community Chest. This establishment of the
Welfare Planning Council continued the historical evolution of social welfare supervisory councils in Los Angeles. The first
such council had been the Charity Conference Committee, organized in 1908; the next, the successor Los Angles Council of Social
Agencies (1914), which then changed its name to the Welfare Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles, in 1944. Thus, the WPC dated
its origins to 1914. The Council's purpose, as outlined in a 1961 brochure, was to conduct research and development in the
area of social welfare, plan social welfare programs, and coordinate health, welfare, and recreational programs in the Los
Angeles area. In short, the WPC was to provide an overall vision and coordination for social welfare in the Los Angeles region,
as well as to take an active part in the Community Chest's hearings on budgets of member agencies. These Council activities
are well documented in this collection, especially in the area of research, where a large number of research reports have
been preserved.
The Council had a President and a fifty-five member Board of Directors drawn from the general public, representatives of Council
social welfare organizations, and state agencies. Such Los Angeles governing bodies as the Board of Education, City Council,
and Board of Supervisors played a major role in selecting some directors. The Welfare Planning Council would maintain this
structure until its reorganization in 1961, in the form of a non-delegated Board of Directors whose members came from a broader
spectrum of Los Angeles groups and interests than the previous board.
As a social welfare organization dedicated to the interests of all Los Angeles County, the Welfare Planning Council, early
in its history, began to develop local councils, so that area concerns might be more fully addressed. In 1954, the Harbor
Area Welfare Planning Council was established, while in the same year, the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles areas
received staff for area planning councils. This emphasis on local concerns continued during the tenure of Mrs. John W. Eagle
as president of the WPC (1955-1957). For example, the Administrative Study Committee under her leadership emphasized "area
planning extension," with plans for area councils for South Central and East Central Los Angeles. By 1964 six area councils
would exist; studies and reports that these councils issued are numerous in this collection.
During the late 1950s the Welfare Planning Council undertook a major project in the area of mental health. In 1957, the three-year
Mental Health Survey of Los Angeles was begun, with the Survey's results published in 1960, and the "Mental Health Development
Program" established in 1961 to follow up on the Survey's findings. This important milestone in mental health services in
Los Angeles is well documented in this collection. See, for example, the Mental Health Survey Report found in Box 4, folder
1.
By 1971, the Welfare Planning Council had been absorbed by the United Way and given the new name of "The Planning Council."
All information on the Welfare Planning Council comes from holdings in this collection.
See also Council of Social Agencies of Los Angeles records, Collection no. 0480, California Social Welfare Archives, Special
Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Welfare Council of Metropolitan Los Angeles. -- Archives
Welfare Planning Council, Los Angeles Region. -- Archives
Bylaws (administrative records)
Clippings
Correspondence
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Social conditions--Archival resources
Memorandums
Mental health planning--California--Los Angeles County--Archival resources
Mental health services--California--Los Angeles County--Archival resources
Public welfare--California--Los Angeles County--Archival resources
Reports
Social service--California--Los Angeles County--Archival resources