Description
This collection consists of material documenting Gladys Culp's undergraduate and graduate work at USC, and materials related
to her career in social work with the Bureau of Public Assistance of the County of Los Angeles, especially in the 1960s.
Background
Gladys H. Culp was a sociology undergraduate student at the University of Southern California in the mid 1940s, who also did
some graduate work at USC in the mid 1950s. By 1968 Culp had become a Supervising Social Worker at the Metro North District
of the Bureau of Public Assistance of Los Angeles County. In 1964 she led a statewide demonstration project, undertaken by
Adult Protective Services, to transfer patients, many of whom had been institutionalized for decades, from state hospitals
and institutions for the mentally retarded and impaired out into the community. Over a four year period, Culp and the unit
she headed--entirely made up of workers with "two years experience with the agency, but no professional social work training"--were
responsible for the placement of 585 removed mental patients, mostly in private board and care and nursing homes. Culp was
awarded certificates of commendation and appreciation for her work in this demonstration project. Of particular interest is
her manuscript account of its accomplishment.
Extent
0.25 linear ft.
1 box
Restrictions
The use of archival materials for on-site research does not constitute permission from the California Social Welfare Archive
to publish them. Copyright has not been assigned to the California Social Welfare Archive, and the researcher is instructed
to obtain permission to quote from or publish manuscripts in the CSWA's collections from the copyright holder.
Availability
Advance notice required for access.