Inventory of the Youth Authority Records
Processed by The California State Archives staff; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Xiuzhi Zhou.
California State Archives
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
Fax: (916) 653-7363
Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
© 2000
California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the Youth Authority Records, including records of the Preston School of Industry, Fred C. Nelles School for Boys
(Whittier), Ventura School for Girls, and the California Youth Committee,
Inventory: F3738
California State Archives
Office of the Secretary of State
Sacramento, California
Contact Information:
- California State Archives
- 1020 "O" Street
- Sacramento, California 95814
- Phone: (916) 653-2246
- Fax: (916) 653-7363
- Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
- URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
- Processed by:
- The California State Archives staff
© 2000 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Youth Authority Records,
Date (inclusive): 1872-1993
Collection number: F3738
Creator:
>California Youth Authority
Repository:
California State Archives
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Youth Authority Records, F3738:[folder number], California State Archives.
Agency History
The State Reform School at Marysville, established in 1860 (
Stats. 1860, ch. 234), opened as California's first state institution for the reform of juvenile offenders. The school operated for
eight years, transferring twenty-eight wards at its closing in 1868 to the San Francisco Industrial School. Established and
run as a city and county institution in 1858 (ch. 209), the Industrial School at San Francisco remained open until 1892.
Legislation in 1889 established the Preston School of Industry and a Reform School for Juvenile Offenders at Los Angeles (ch.
103 and 108 respectively). Preston existed as a correctional institution for male juvenile offenders between sixteen and twenty-one
years of age, while the Reform School for Juvenile Offenders dealt with males and females between seven and eighteen years
of age. The objectives of the two schools aimed at discipline, education, employment, reform, and the protection of juvenile
delinquents.
A State Board of Prison Directors governed Preston until 1893 (ch. 22) when a board of trustees appointed by the governor
superseded the State Board. The Reform School for Juvenile Offenders, governed by a board of trustees, changed its name to
Whittier State School in 1893 (ch. 222) and again in 1941 (ch. 1266) to Fred C. Nelles School for Boys. The girls department
of Whittier became independent in 1913 (ch. 401) creating a separate California School for Girls. Ventura School for Girls
replaced the name California School for Girls in 1925 (ch. 327).
Legislation transferred all three schools, placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Institutions in 1921 (ch. 610),
to the Department of Youth Authority in 1943 (ch. 481). The Youth Authority had been created in 1941 (ch. 937) as an independent
agency called the Youth Correction Authority. The Authority dropped the word correction from its title in 1943 (ch. 690) in
an attempt to emphasize prevention as well as correction in the Authority's program. The Prison Reorganization Act of 1944
(3rd Ex. Sess., ch. 2) moved the Youth Authority to the Department of Corrections where it remained until it became independent
in 1953 (ch. 1304).
Although the Youth Authority has remained independent since 1953, it has come under the jurisdiction of several administrative
agencies. Established in 1961, the Youth and Adult Corrections Agency presided over the Youth Authority until 1967 when the
Human Relations Agency assumed jurisdiction. The Health and Welfare Agency became responsible for overseeing the affairs of
the Youth Authority in 1972. By 1979 the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency (formerly Youth and Adult Corrections) resumed
jurisdiction over the Youth Authority.
The divisions and branches within the Youth Authority have changed repeatedly since the inception of the Youth Authority,
reflecting the Department's changing goals. The Department has included divisions of Administrative Services; Planning, Research,
and Evaluation Development; Rehabilitation; Probation and Delinquency Prevention; Diagnosis and Treatment; Institutions (or
Field Services); Parole Services and Community Corrections and others. In 1994 the Youth Authority included three branches:
Institutions and Camps, Parole Services and Community Corrections, and Administration.
The Board of the Youth Authority has the responsibility for classification, segregation, parole and discharge of all youths
committed to it. In its primary mission, the Youth Authority aims at protecting society from the consequences of criminal
activity by: offering a broad range of services to youthful offenders directed at permanently reducing criminal behavior,
assisting local criminal justice agencies with efforts to combat crime and delinquency, and encouraging the development of
local crime and delinquency prevention programs.
Records of the State Reform School (Marysville) include Board of Trustees' Minute Book, 1860-1868 (B0898, #1155); Cash Ledger,
1861-1868 (B0898, #2308); and Register of Audited Accounts, 1862-1868 (B7857, #2309). They can be found under the bound volumes
inventory of the Youth Authority and the Office of the Secretary of State.
Preston School Of Industry, 1889-1994
Board of Prison Director's Records, 1889-1893
Folder F3738:409
1. PRISON DIRECTORS' MINUTES. 1889-1893.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically, includes subject index.
Minutes relate to selection of school sites; election of Board members; appropriations to pay bills; water supply surveys;
dam construction; appointment and election of architects; bids for building construction and laborers; landscaping and construction
expenditures and Board of Trustee's Minutes, 1893-97.
Folder F3738:410
2. PRISON DIRECTORS' CORRESPONDENCE. 1889-1890, 1893.
Physical Description:
1 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received cover construction site proposals, dam construction controversy, defraying legal expenses from state appropriations
of Preston School of Industry and the laying of the cornerstone.
Folder F3738:411
3. PRISON DIRECTORS' ABSTRACTS OF TITLE. 1889-1890.
Physical Description:
1 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Abstracts pertain to claiming a parcel of land in Amador County (1860), transfer of the land deed (1871, 1872, 1873, 1888
and 1889), ditch and water rights and the transfer of land deed of the Ione Coal and Iron Company.
Board of Trustees' Records, 1893-1927
Folder F3738:412-414
4. TRUSTEES' MINUTES. 1897-1906, 1914-21.
Physical Description:
1 v., 2 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Minutes include Superintendent's Reports and newspaper clippings and relate to finances, paroles, discharges and escapes,
staff appointments and resignations, salaries, transfer of incorrigible inmates, claim payments, farm conditions, bids for
school furnishings and supplies and contractor's notices. See also series entry 1.
Folder F3738:415
5. TRUSTEES' CORRESPONDENCE AND REPORTS. 1894, 1896, 1903.
Physical Description:
1 ff
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters, post cards, lists and reports relate to annual condition, proposals for furnishings and supplies, surveyor's assessment
and contract for installation of heating equipment.
Folder F3738:416
6. TRUSTEES' BONDS. 1893, 1898.
Physical Description:
1 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Bonds relate to school secretary appointment and construction contracts for heating work, plumbing and painting.
Folder F3738:417
7. TRUSTEES' OPINIONS. 1893.
Physical Description:
1 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Opinions and copies pertain to the election of the school superintendent and authorizes the State Board of Trustees to parole
prisoners.
Folder F3738:418-419
8. TRUSTEES' CONTRACTS AND ARGUMENTS. 1894, 1898-1900.
Physical Description:
2 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Contracts relate to elevators, carpenters, roofing and tining, brick masonery, plumbing, galvanized ironwork, heating, painting,
and property conveyance.
Superintendent's Records1893-1984
Folder F3738:1-11,420-428
9. SUPERINTENDENT'S CORRESPONDENCE. 1894, 1899-1900, 1906-1930, 1932-1933, 1940, 1942-1944, 1947, 1949, 1957-65, 1970-1971, 1984.
Physical Description:
2 v., 18ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically, letter book includes alphabetical index.
Letterbook, letters received and sent, copies of letters sent, post cards, telegrams, reports, surveys, summaries, lists,
contracts, photographs, newspaper clippings, rough drafts, and memoranda including correspondence with the State Board of
Control, California Highway Commission and State Board of Charities and Corrections covering such subjects as budget allocations;
highway work crews; enrollment of cadets; parole officer reports, recommendations, and job placement; personnel recruitment
and resignations; Board of Trustees' meetings; inmate escapes; investigations regarding harsh inmate treatment; commitment
lists and release requests; reform school legislation; reports concerning living conditions, discipline, military training, education, and self-government; roster of inmate histories,
1914; inspection and agency progress reports; lists of credits toward parole include inmate's name, company designation, daily
credits, total credits earned, classification of offenses, and description of desired behavior for particular credit assignment;
organization chart and progress report, 1920; and Report of National Conference of Juvenile Agencies and American Prison Congress,
1929.
Folder F3738:12, 429-432
10. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORTS. 1899, 1903-1909, 1915-1919, 1948-1949.
Physical Description:
1 v, 4ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Monthly reports relate to discipline methods; academic and vocational training; medical treatment; new housing; recreation
program; Segregation Unit Projects; visitor tours; inmate newspaper,
Preston Youth; staff meetings; grading parole applicants; weekly division inspections; Youth Authority diagnostic and achievement tests;
parole officer's performance analysis; new inmate orientation and personnel recruitment and educational program. This series
also includes subjects pertaining to investigations such as investigation of Company F (discipline unit), consisting of inmate
interviews regarding reasons for commitment, length of time in company, punishment received during inmate's stay, and comparison
thereof with primary records, 1919; Fred C. Nelles' (Superintendent of Whittier State School) temporary appointment as Supervising
Superintendent; and history of investigation of Preston containing summaries of findings and recommendations pertaining to
Preston's purpose, site and equipment, personnel, living conditions, physical care, medical supervision, recreation, education,
system of punishment, library, and parole program, 1919.
See also series entry 4.
Folder F3738:433-439
11. SUPERINTENDENT'S SUBJECT FILES. 1913-18, 1956, 1965, 1972-73.
Physical Description:
7ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject title and chronologically thereunder.
Subjects relate to building construction and furnishings, El Dorado Lime & Mineral Company (Shingle Springs), Red Cross Auxiliary,
Red Path Bureau, student government, facility tour releases and the Wieden Incident (staff member killed).
Folder F3738:440-444
12. ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTIVES AND ORDERS. 1945-1949, 1967-1975.
Physical Description:
5ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by subject and numerically by assignment number thereunder.
Directives relate to a variety of subjects such as casework conferences, meal tickets, safety training, work shift schedules,
ward profile revision, tattoo removal, Christmas mail to parents, health benefits, mail censoring, staff training furloughs,
open door policy, staff changes, dining procedures and security inspections.
Folder F3738:445-449
13. ADMINISTRATIVE MANUALS. 1945, 1951, 1959, 1969-1970.
Physical Description:
5 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject title and contains tables of contents.
Manuals include organization charts and covers general administration policy, personnel regulations, inmate classification,
group living, operations and security, education, medical services, religion, ward regulations, accounting and staff training.
Folder F3738:13, 450
14. STAFF CONFERENCE MINUTES. 1946-1947, 1950-1959.
Physical Description:
2ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Minutes cover such topics as Sunday uniforms, clothing distribution, athletic activities, new grading system, building maintenance,
segregation unit, supervisor assignments, sub-staff meetings, haircuts, dining room rules, budget matters, landscaping, company
work assignments, weekly movies, religious services, laundry detail, inmate privileges, agricultural programs, receiving officer,
overtime authorization, holiday activity schedules, cadet officers, military reviews, contraband, in-service training, employees'
recreation room, new company procedures, orderlies' duties, Board of Review, homosexual segregation, time card system and
medical treatment.
Folder F3738:451-469
15. STUDIES AND SURVEYS. 1917, 1945-1949, 1958, 1964-1971.
Physical Description:
19ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject title and chronologically thereunder.
Studies and surveys relate to academic and vocational program assessment, compensatory education, operations, pyschiatric
treatment, staff training, Company C evaluation, typology and reconstruction.
Folder F3738:15-17, F3738:752
16. INMATE HISTORY REGISTERS. 1894-1895, 1900-1905, 1909-1914.
Physical Description:
5 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged numerically by date of inmate receipt and chronologically thereunder.
A typical register entry consists of identification number; inmate's name; offense committed; county of origin; date of arrival,
length of sentence; date sentence expires; further court order, or commutation date; personal property in vault; company number;
birthplace; previous commitments; judge's name; inmate's age; grade level in school; whether inmate can read and write or
is illiterate; religious preference; physical description consisting of complexion, eyes and hair color, height, weight, and
identifying marks; date released; to whose custody; custodian's occupation and address; number of months institutionalized;
age when released; height and weight; parents' birthplaces, nationalities, names and addresses; whether intemperate or not; marital status; parents' criminal record;
parents' occupations and change in marital status; names and addresses of brothers and sisters; ages; other relatives' names
and addresses; person with whom boy lives; whether inmate smokes or not; circumstances surrounding arrest; inmate's Preston
discipline record pertaining to punishment or guardline includes date of violation, type of violation, persons involved, and
penalty; and list of parole credits consisting of date, amount of credits received, lost, gained, net loss, net gain, total
monthly credits, names of officers assigning credits, and number of credits assigned.
Folder F3738:18-32
17. INMATE CASE FILES. 1924-26, 1931-48.
Physical Description:
15ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged numerically by inmate number, assigned chronologically.
Files are confidential and contain letters received, copies of letters sent, notes, lists, statements, summaries, reports,
applications, agreements, court orders, transcripts, telegrams, charts, and photographs relating to reports of probation officer,
parents, and physician; inmate's request for change in academic courses; entrance examinations include brief biographical
sketch, school and work reports, habits, family history, and inmate's signed confession; parental requests for communication
and visitation rights; medical and dental histories; discipline and escape reports; operation consent statements and discharge
certificates.
A similar type of record was kept by the Governor's Office. See Register of Inmates, 1894-1912, 1 Vol. (VB 116, F3655:2).
Restricted records
Folder F3738:38-39, 470-472
18. ADMISSION AND DISCHARGE REGISTERS. 1894-1914.
Physical Description:
5 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically; one register is arranged alphabetically by county name.
- F3738:38 (1913-1914)
- F3738:39 (1914)
- F3738:470 ((1894-1913)
- F3738:471 (1894-1902)
- F3738:472 (1914)
A typical admission entry consists of inmate's name; identification number; date; type of offense by inmate; committed by
which court, magistrate, and county; inmate's age; birthplace; parents' nationality; whether they are alive or dead; inmate's
education; and address.
Discharge entry includes inmate's name; identification number; date; whether time expired, discharged, paroled, escaped, died,
or pardoned; committed from which county; education; number of months in institution; age when released; how employed in institution;
employment inmate goes to and address.
See also Governor's Prison Papers Record Group, Youth Authority - Institutions - Preston School of Industry, Receipts and
Discharges, 1894, 1899-1906, 1912-1914. 5ff. (DR601).
Folder F3738:473-482
19. COMMITMENT ORDERS. 1893-1906.
Physical Description:
10ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged numerically by commitment number and/or chronologically.
A broken series of commitment orders from the county or police court includes commitment number or court case number; inmate's
name; crime; county sent from; date commitment order was signed and received; inmate's age and birth date; sentence; names
and addresses of parents and relatives; names of judge, superintendent, sheriff and county clerk and occasionally may contain
additional biographical data.
Folder F3738:33-37, 483-487
20. MONTHLY ENROLLMENT STATEMENTS AND REPORTS. 1912-25, 1936-38, 1949-66.
Physical Description:
10ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
A typical statement contains number of boys confined at beginning and end of month; admitted; released and returned by court
order; on parole, paroled, and returned from parole; on furlough at beginning and end of month; furloughed and returned from
furlough; escaped at beginning and end of month; escaped;
captured; escapees at-large; discharged from school and died. Reports may also include inmate activities and programs.
See also (Secy. of State) Institutions - Preston School of Industry, Board of Charities and Corrections Enrollment Reports,
1903-17. (DR 809, F3617:92).
Folder F3738:488
21. PAROLE REGISTER. 1909-10.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged numerically by entry number and chronologically.
A typical entry consists of a entry number, parole date, inmate's name and prison number, date parole expires, name and address
of guardian (to whom paroled), month letter was received from parolee, date parole was violated and date discharged from custody.
Folder ODC2:21 ((1-9)
22. PAROLE CREDIT ROSTERS. 1927, 1941-43, 1945, 1948.
Physical Description:
9 docs.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically. Inmates' names are listed alphabetically.
Includes minimum amount of credits required by Parole Board to be eligible for parole; inmate's credits (points) to date;
credits awarded to types of acceptable behavior; penalties imposed for poor conduct; inmate's name, grade, company and total
credits accumulated.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:14
23. MONTHLY PAROLE REPORTS. 1919, 1925.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
A typical report consists of remarks concerning parolee activities, cities visited, and types of employment secured; number
and names of boys recommended for discharge; on parole; on Honor Roll (parolees filing progress reports and employed in a
useful trade); in Army and Navy; failing to file progress reports; violating parole agreements and paroled. Honor Roll also
lists parolee's address, occuption and income.
Folder F3738:489-501
24. PAROLEE CORRESPONDENCE FILES. 1904-45, 1952, 1956-68, 1973-74.
Physical Description:
13ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by parolee's name and chronologically thereunder.
Files include letters received, copies of letters sent, transcripts, reports, newspaper clippings, cards and photographs relating
to parolee's education and medical records, investigations and parolee's progress outside the correctional institution.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:502
25. ESCAPE ATTEMPTS REGISTER. 1953-63.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by date and time of escape attempt.
A typical entry contains time and date of escape attempt; inmate's name, company number, supervisor's name, approximate time
and date returned, and circumstances involved.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:40-42
26. INVESTIGATION REPORTS. 1919, 1921, 1924-25.
Physical Description:
3ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by name of plaintiff and chronologically thereunder. Letters received, copies of letters sent, summaries,
telegrams, testimonies, and photographs relating to charges against Preston School of Industry employees by inmates regarding
poor medical treatment, harsh corporal punishment and shooting of escapees.
Financial Records, 1889-1956.
Folder F3738:43-46, 503-504
27. ACCOUNTING JOURNALS. 1889-1913, 1918-33.
Physical Description:
6 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Journals itemize monthly expenditures such as employee salaries and general institutional expenses including commissary, travel,
dental and medical services, repairs, trustees, freight and expressage, rents, legal, livestock, facility improvements, escape
recoveries, probation, telephone and telegraph, inmate transportation, advertising, state printing, postage and miscellaneous.
A typical entry includes date, identification number, type of expenditure, name of recipient and amount of payment.
Folder F3738:47-49, 505
28. ACCOUNTING LEDGERS. 1894-1907.
Physical Description:
4 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Contains monthly totals of expenditures and appropriations relating to salaries, labor, building maintenance including real
estate, water power, fences, repairs and architect's fees; subsistence expenses such as fuel, clothing, crockery, stationery,
hardware, furniture and medicine; department accounts encompassing superintendent's residence, agriculture, hospital, academic
boys' and officers' mess, commissary, laundry, library, bakery, carpentry, printing, and contingency fund; accounts dealing
with particular merchants and business firms and personal sundry expenses.
A typical entry consists of date, type of expenditure, name of recipient, identification number, amount of payment and balance.
See also series entry 9 and Governor's Prison Papers Record Group, Youth Authority - Institutions - Preston School of Industry,
Accounting Ledger, 1895-99. 1 v. (DR601).
Folder F3738:50-52, 506
29. CASH BOOKS. 1890-1911.
Physical Description:
4 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Concerns monthly cash receipts and disbursements relating to salaries; and department accounts.
A typical entry pertains to date, identification number, type of receipt or disbursement, name of recipient or disburser,
voucher number and amount received or paid.
Folder F3738:53
30. PAYROLL AND EXPENDITURES LEDGER. 1918-1921.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Consisting of two sub-series relating to Payroll and Schedule of Bills Filed, respectively.
Payroll entries include item number, occupation, employee name, number of days employed, salary rate, amount of money paid,
check number, type of employment such as support and subsistence, care and welfare, maintenance of buildings and grounds,
farming, and general improvements.
Schedule of Bills Filed contains summary number, purchase order number, purchaser's name, kind of service or merchandise,
unit cost, total amount of payment; check number, undelivered merchandise and nature of service or merchandise.
Folder F3738:54-56
31. BUDGET CONTROL LEDGERS. 1940-1956.
Physical Description:
3 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Pertains to trial balance and bank reconciliations, monthly budget reports covering salaries, operating expenses, equipment,
estimated abatements, total allotments and prior biennium allotments plus analysis of allotment for salary adjustments, statements
of revenue and expenditure, quarterly reports of farming operations, accruals to Controller's Accounts, statements of operation
and monthly reconciliations.
Folder F3738:57-58
32. DEPOSITS AND DISBURSEMENTS LEDGERS. 1911-1918.
Physical Description:
2 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
One volume includes bank deposits only. A typical entry relates to date; depositor's or recipient's name, check number and
amount of deposit or disbursement.
Folder F3738:59-60, 507-508
33. PUPILS' CASH RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS LEDGERS. 1913-1926.
Physical Description:
4 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Consists of date, pupil's name, remarks concerning how money is to be spent, receipt number and amount of money deposited
or disbursed.
Folder F3738:509
34. CLAIMS AGAINST COUNTIES LETTER BOOK. 1899-1900.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by year, alphabetically by county name and chronologically thereunder.
A typical entry includes county name, date inmate was received, inmate's name, release date, number of months and days, dates
payment covers, rate charged county per month for inmate's incarceration and total amount paid. There are monthly summaries
giving county name and total amounts expended for inmates' support.
Folder F3738:510
35. CANCELLED CHECKS LEDGER. 1898-1901.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically and numerically by check number.
Contains receipt stubs with cancelled checks attached and includes check number, date check was issued, recipient's name,
bank's name, amount of check and superintendent's signature.
Folder F3738:511-516
36. CLAIM VOUCHERS. 1903-1906.
Physical Description:
6ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by receipt date and numerically.
A broken series of claims for payment of expenses relating to supplies and services. A typical claim includes claimant's name,
date of claim, amount of money claimed, signatures of Superintendent and secretary, date claimed was received, and claimant's
signature. Receipt of purchase is attached to claim voucher giving itemized list of expenditures. Monthly invoice lists are
filed with this series.
Folder F3738:517-518
37. RECEIPTS. 1895, 1903-1906.
Physical Description:
2ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by receipt date.
Two groups of receipts: receipts for payment of salaries and cadet receipts.
Receipts for salaries include date, amount of salary and employee's name. This group also contains receipts for purchase of
furnishings, 1895.
Cadet receipts are for monies charged against inmate's account and include date, cadet's name, company designation, amount
of money charged and Superintendent's signature.
Folder F3738:61
38. EMPLOYEE TIME BOOK. 1909-1912.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Contains date, employee's name and occupation, daily attendance record, monthly total of days worked and amount of wages paid.
Also includes Leave of Absence Slips.
Folder F3738:62
39. INVENTORY REGISTER. 1916.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged numerically.
Covers value and consumption of industrial products; structures and nonstructural improvements; equipment such as machinery,
mechanical appliances and apparatus, tools, furniture, fixtures, and livestock and material supplies.
Folder F3738:519
40. WORK ORDERS. 1910-1919.
Physical Description:
1ff
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, rosters and working papers relate to biennial statistical report, 1910-1912; financial claims; supply and
job orders; annual fiscal report, 1913-14 and building alterations.
Miscellaneous Records, 1893-1984
Folder F3738:63
41. EMPLOYEE AND CADET HANDBOOKS. 1944, 1947, 1950, 1955, 1958 n.d.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Handbooks concern rules and regulations for employees and cadets.
An employee handbook relates to such topics as legal basis and philosophy of Youth Authority Organization, Preston's policies
and procedures, domiciliary care and welfare, training and guidance, classification and casework, military training, medical
and surgical care, religious education, service and supply, and budgeting and accounting.
Cadet handbook pertains to school's objectives, educational training program, classification committee, counseling, incident
reports, Board of Review, major and minor offenses, length of stay, basic rules of conduct, clothing and property, health
and medical care, fighting, cursing, smoking, canteen; visiting; mail privileges and package rules.
Folder F3738:64, 520-523
42. TRAINING COURSE MANUALS. 1909, 1913, 1915, 1942, 1958, 1964, 1972.
Physical Description:
5ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Correlated Course of Study for the Trades and Schools represents a guide to academic courses such as Reading; Penmanship,
Language and Composition, Arithmetic, Geography, English, History, Spelling, Physiology, Civics, Bookkeeping, and Drawing,
and vocational courses including Agriculture, Poultry, Horticulture, Diary, Domestic Science, Laundry, Blacksmithing, Plumbing,
Shoemaking, Printing, Photography, Carpentry, Painting, Sewing, Food Preparation, Masonry, Engineering, Tailoring, Butchering,
Baking, Electricity, Band, Choir, Athletics, and Military Training.
Basic In-Service Training relates to Preston's functions and purpose, objectives such as providing a wholesome environment,
constructive discipline, leadership and training in living together, academic and vocational training, opportunity for religious
and moral development, preventive and corrective medical services, assistance to boys after release, and administration.
Folder F3738:524
43. LOYALTY OATHS REGISTER. 1958-71.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Register primarily relates to employee oath of allegiance but also concerns revocation of drivers' licenses, birth certificates,
complaints, life diplomas, deed assignments, retirements, tax exemptions, power of attorney, sale agreements, death benefits
and appointments.
A typical entry includes filing date, employee's name and type of document filed.
Folder F3738:525
44. MEDICAL REGISTER. 1918.
Physical Description:
1 v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by inmate's name and chronologically thereunder.
A typical entry includes inmate's name, date of treatment, inmate's condition (injury or disease) and type of treatment performed.
Folder F3738:65 (1-14), ODC2;21 (10-14)
45. PHOTOGRAPHS AND NEGATIVES. 1910, 1914, 1919 1920, 1923, 1926, 1930, 1932, 1945, 1948-52, 1954, 1956, 1958-63, 1966-69, 1973-84.
Physical Description:
14 ff. 5 items.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder.
Consists of 387 black and white and color photographs and approximately 2090 negatives in various sizes depicting agricultural
education, athletics, boys (cadets), building and grounds, dedication services, dining, employees, fire fighting, housing,
military, music, students and vocational education.
See also (Finance-Architecture) Preston School of Industry, Historical Record, Photographs, circa. 1930. 1 v. (F3254:10)
- (1) Agricultural Education. n.d., 1910, 1958-60, 63. (27 prints, 31 negatives)
- (2) Athletics. n.d., 1910, 1919, 1948-51, 58-59, 77. (61 prints, 35 negatives)
- (3) Boys (Cadets). n.d. 1913, 47, 49, 58, 59, 61, 68. (19 prints, 9 negatives)
- (4) Building and Grounds. n.d. 1919, 23, 30, 56, 58-62, 66-68, 77, 80-81. (70 prints, 20 negatives)
- (5) Dedication Services n.d., 1930, 32, 58, 69. (17 prints, 11 negatives)
- (6) Dining. n.d., 1969, 78. (12 prints, 2 negatives)
- (7) Employees.n.d., 1926, 45, 48-49, 51, 54, 58, 60-62, 64-65, 73-83, 86. (85 prints, 29 negatives)
- (8) Fire Fighting. n.d. (1 print, 16 negatives)
- (9) Housing. n.d., 1954. (4 prints, 4 negatives)
- (10) Military. n.d., 1920, 25. (2 prints, 4 negatives)
- (11) Miscellaneous. n.d. 1910, 49-51, 60-62, 64, 67-68, 84. (43 prints, 61 negatives)
- (12) Music. n.d. 1949, 60-62, 80. (12 prints, 5 negatives)
- (13) Students. n.d. 1930, 62. (5 prints, 10 negatives)
- (14) Vocational Education. n.d., 1920, 23, 48-50, 51, 58-59, 63, 73, 81. (42 prints, 22 negatives)
- (14A) Additional negatives (98)
- Oversized photographs include aerial views of buildings and grounds, and inmate tatoos n.d., 1960
Folder F3738:66-67, 526-527, 561-566
46. NEWSPAPERS AND CLIPPINGS. 1900-1960, 1968-1990.
Physical Description:
2 v. 6 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
The
Preston Review, March 1913-May 1918; the
Preston Youth, October 1848-January 1953; and
The Prestonian, November 1970 and January 1971 relate to national, state and local news; correctional programs and activities such as self
government, sports, religious services, poems and articles written by inmates.
Clippings cover escapes from Preston; over-age inmates' administration practices; low inmate morale; appointment of Superintendents;
corporal punishment investigation including a series of
San Francisco Daily News articles, 1923, relating to Preston School's harsh disciplinary measures; and abolition of flogging.
Folder F3738:528
47. SPEECHES. 1959, 1965.
Physical Description:
1 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Speeches cover psychotherapy of adolescent male delinquents in a correctional environment and understanding and use of peer
relations. Includes examples of various types of behavior and prescribed treatments.
Folder F3738:529, ODC2:21 (15-16) MC3:11(1-10)
48. CHARTS, MAPS AND DRAWINGS. 1893, 1923, 1930, 1935 1938, 1939, 1944, 1948, 1950, 1959.
Physical Description:
1 ff, 2 items.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by record type and chronologically thereunder. Blueprints of personnel organization charts 1923 and 1944; maps depicting
buildings and grounds 1938, 1948, 1952, and 1959; and architectual drawings of dormitories, barns, dining room, superintendent's
house and reservior 1893, 1923, 1930, 1935 and 1939.
Folder F3738:530-535
49. THESES. 1917, 1930, 1945, 1956, 1963, 1973.
Physical Description:
6 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects relate to Preston's history, inmate band, self-government, drug addiction control, truancy and delinquency.
Folder F3738:536
50. POLICE BULLETINS. 1915-17.
Physical Description:
1 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Majority of the bulletins are from the Oakland Police Dept. and relate to criminal arrests, court operations, lost and stolen
property and announcements on escaped prisoners.
Folder F3738:537-538
51. GUEST REGISTERS. 1981, 1984.
Physical Description:
2 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Registers for Preston School of Industry relate to 40th Anniversary and Open House and includes names, affiliations and addresses.
Folder F3738:68
52. STANDARD FORMS. n.d.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged functionally.
Form samples consist of commitment papers; superintendent's stationery; officer's daily report; general information card;
cadet's history sheet; notice of school enrollment and disenrollment; request slip to work in a particular trade; notice of
trade assignment; recommendation card by school teacher, trade instructuor and company captain for school department transfer;
employment record; semi-annual service report; notices of merit and demerit; daily discipline report; permission to smoke
slip; record of smoking supplies issued inmate; record of medical examination; hospital record; laboratory examination report;
bedside record; daily hospital report; application for parole; application of adviser and friend; vocational, social and investment
statement of boys released; case report by field worker; and monthly parole report.
Folder F3738:558
53. LIBERTY LOAN PROGRAM. 1917.
Physical Description:
1 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Includes post cards, pamphlets, bulletins, addresses, and correspondence relating to the sale of liberty bonds to finance
World War II.
Folder F3738:560
54. PRESTON CASTLE PRESERVATION COMMITTEE. 1980-1984.
Physical Description:
1 ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Copies of letters and memoranda received and sent relating to the restoration of the castle (the administration building constructed
in 1894). Includes a list of buildings and their construction dates, copies of legislation concerning the appropriation of
funds to preserve historical resources and correspondence regarding fundraising activities, open house, assessment of building
repairs needed, publicity campaign and solicitation of private investors.
Fred C. Nelles School for Boys (Whittier), 1889-1964
Trustees' Records, 1889-1932
Folder F3738:69
55. BOARD OF TRUSTEES' MINUTES. 1889.
Physical Description:
1 Vol.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically
Minutes related to establishing a State Reform School for juvenile offenders, establishing a Board of Trustees; election of
officers; superintendent's appointment; inspection of out-of-state institutions to determine suitable building plans and methods
of discipline; selection of sites for correctional facility; preparation of building plans and specifications; accepting construction
bids; setting salaries for personnel; and auditing and approving claims for services rendered.
Folder F3738:70
56. STATE SCHOOL CONFERENCE MINUTES. 1919.
Physical Description:
1 Vol.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Conference membership consists of trustees from California School for Girls; Preston School of Industry; Whittier State School;
Pacific Colony; and Sonoma State Home. Minutes cover such topics as trustee responsibilities; superintendent's duties; punishment
and discipline; defective delinquents; juvenile delinquency prevention; and inmate segregation.
Folder F3738:71-91
57. BIENNIAL REPORTS. 1890-1918, 1924-1932.
Physical Description:
21 Vols.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Said Board of Trustees shall, on or before the first day of December every two years, make to the Governor a full and detailed
report of their doings as such Trustees, and of the expense of said institution... (
Stats. 1889, ch. 108).
Includes Superintendent and departmental reports, supplemented with photographs, relating to school's objectives and progress;
statistical statements of conditions such as recapitulation of pupils admitted and dismissed, nativity of pupils and their
parents, offenses committed, length of terms and educational levels; financial summaries; and recommendations for improvements.
Series contains Department of Institutions Biennial Reports, 1924-32, encompassing reports from mental hospitals, homes for
feeble-minded, and correctional schools.
See also Youth Authority-Institutions-Fred C. Nelles School for Boys (Whittier), Biennial Reports, 1896-98. 1ff. (DR 577,
GP3:137).
Folder F3738:92
58. PUBLICATIONS. 1890-91, n.d.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Three volumes pertaining to proceedings and addresses at laying of State Reform School Cornerstone, February 12, 1890; excerpts
from act establishing State Reform School; and descriptive booklet covering school's history; administrative organization;
cottage plan for housing; hospital and medical care; religion and counseling; education program; physical education and recreation;
vocational program; and trial placement.
Superintendent's Records, 1914-1961
Folder F3738:93
59. SUPERINTENDENT'S CORRESPONDENCE. 1914, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1926-30, 1934, 1939-41.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received and sent, copies of letters sent, minutes, notes, reports, programs, and bulletins including correspondence
with Department of Social Welfare regarding such topics as administrative policies; investigation of inmate suicide including
transcript of radio talk,
A Thoughtless and Unwise Investigation and Governor's Committee Report into cause of inmate death; Superintendent's inspection tour; minutes of Department of Social
Welfare concerning Whittier School Catalina Camp improvements, methods of discipline prior to 1912, construction plans and
licensed homes for parolees; announcements of special events printed by inmates; and wanted circulars for escaped boys.
See also series entry 59.
Folder F3738:94
60. SUPERINTENDENT'S MONTHLY REPORTS. 1939, 1948-49.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Reports cover such subjects as inmate dress standards; supervision
procedure changes; personnel layoffs and vacancies; teacher evaluations; building and grounds maintenance; farm production;
retesting program; monthly activity schedules; speaker's bureau; supervisor in-service training; inmate field trips; sport
events; employee sickness; recreation program; chaplain's reports; Division of Training and Treatment; medical care; vocational
training; progress statements; nutrition research; academic program; school film; visitor tours; construction projects; discipline
problems; grading evaluation plan; and probation department.
Folder F3738:95
61. ARTICLES AND PUBLICATIONS. 1914, 1920, 1927, 1930-31.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Written and printed by Whittier State School, publications include
The Whittier Idea, a review of Whittier State School since 1890;
The Twenty-Four Hour School, 1920;
The Maladjusted Child When He is Put to Work, 1927; Fred C. Nelles - An Appreciation, 1930; and
Delinquent Boys Individualized, 1931.
Folder F3738:96-97
62. NELLES STAFF NEWS. 1958-61.
Physical Description:
2ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Articles relate to Civil Service Exam Announcements; Youth Authority and Whittier State School histories; in-service training;
monthly activity schedules; personnel rules; construction plans; personnel biographical profiles; salary adjustments; employee
benefits; athletic events; dietary program; types of furloughs; employee retirements; personnel vacations and sicknesses;
training programs; staff meetings; teaching conditions; social events; inmate field trips; personnel changes; advertisements;
performance report changes; and religious messages.
Inmate Records, 1891-1950
Folder F3738:98-170
63. INMATE HISTORY REGISTERS. 1892-1948.
Physical Description:
59 Vols. (Vol. #41 is missing), 14ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Supplementary documents (loose) from registers are foldered for security purposes and arranged numerically by inmate's identification
number.
A typical entry consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, and photographs and includes identification number; inmate's
name; offense committed; commitment date; county name; judge's name; complainant's name; inmate's description such as weight,
complexion, eye and hair color, sex and identifying marks; birthplace and date of birth; parents' names and birthplaces; whether
living or not; state of residence; present address; parents intemperate or not; marital status; names of schools attended;
number of years in school; previous penal commitments; if so, amount of time institutionalized and offense committed; number
of brothers and sisters; father's occupation; whether inmate smokes or not; can read or write; kind of employment; whether
inmate is profane or intemperate; date of arrival at school; Whittier history covers length of sentence, amount of time served,
release date and may include dated deportment remarks; and parole record relating to name of parole officer, county name,
report date, whether in person or by letter, parolee's employment, address, and remarks concerning inmate's success.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:171-175
64. MONTHLY ENROLLMENT STATEMENTS. 1904-1946.
Physical Description:
1ff, 4 Vols.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
A typical statement pertains to such criteria as number of boys and girls, plus totals confined at beginning and end of month;
admitted and released by court order; on parole at beginning and end of month; paroled and returned from parole; on furlough
beginning and end of month; furloughed and returned from furlough; escapes at beginning and end of month; escaped; captured;
escapees at-large; and discharged from school. Volumes also include names of boys and girls on parole, paroled, returned from
parole, on furlough, discharged, escaped, captured, and transferred.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:176
65. ADMISSION AND RELEASE LEDGER. 1891-1916.
Physical Description:
1 Vol.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
A typical entry relates to admission number; inmate's name; birthplace; age; sex; parents' names and address; inmate's physical
description including race, color of hair and eyes, weight and height; admission date; offense; county name; name of person
or county charged with inmate's cost of maintenance; length of sentence; amount of good behavior time; discharge date; and
reason for discharge such as expiration of sentence, escaped, committed to Insane Asylum or died.
Restricted records
See also Governor's Prison Papers Record Group, Youth Authority - Fred C. Nelles School for Boys, Receipts and Discharges,
1893-94, 1900-02, 1912, 1914. 3ff. (DR 601) and Governor's Office, Records of Inmates of Whittier School, Reform School Registers,
1891-1917. 2 Vols. (VB 116, F3755:3,4).
Folder F3738:177
66. PROBATION OFFICER REPORTS. 1930.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Reports contain a list of inmates placed on different ranches within a particular county including inmate's name, age, type
of offense, and rancher's name and address.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:178-266
67. INMATE PUBLICATIONS. 1895-1896, 1898-1899, 1901, 1903-1908, 1910, 1912, 1914-1950, n.d.
Physical Description:
86 Vols., 3ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Printed by inmates,
The Whittier (newspaper), 1895-1896;
Whittier Boys and Girls Magazine, 1898-99, 1901, 1903-08, 1910, 1912;
The Sentinel (magazine), 1914-41; and
The Nelles News (newspaper), 1942-50, contains photographs and articles pertaining to superintendent's messages; department (weekly inspections)
and company activities; local and national current events; feature stories such as cost of juvenile delinquency, theory of
punishment, child labor in England, nutritional value of food, public school system, and national reformatory conferences;
fictional stories; athletic events; letters from boys and girls at Camp Whittier, Catalina; grade school promotions; vacation
adventures; poetry; church services and inspirational messages; jokes; and famous quotations. Includes Illustrated Cut Book
with photographs, 1917.
Folder F3738:267
68. INMATE HOME COTTAGE REGISTER. 1919-1922.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by registrant's name and chronologically thereunder.
Includes inmate's name, entry date, and date transferred and company number.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:268
69. CAMP WHITTIER REPORT. 1930.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Compiled by Camp Director, report includes campground conditions; medical treatment rendered; quality of food served; recommended
activities; needed improvements; personnel acknowledgements; daily log of events and daily program schedules.
A typical log entry for daily program consists of date; weather conditions; and time schedule for such activities as meals,
recreational and athletic activities, and work assignments.
Miscellaneous Records, 1891-1964
Folder F3738:269
70. EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS. 1891, 1901, 1943.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Contains rules and regulations relating to act establishing a State Reform School for juvenile offenders; trustee meetings;
personnel specifications; school history; description of building and grounds; employee duties and privileges; in-service
training; supervision and counseling; academic and vocational training; medical and psychological treatment; community placement
of boys; and parental communications.
Folder F3738:270.
71. SOUVENIR REPORT. 1905.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Pertains to school history and site; officers and staff; academic and vocational instruction; military training; medical treatment;
building and grounds; agricultural production; parole systems; property improvements; girls' department; officers' and employees'
roster; and photographs of staff and inmate activities.
Folder F3738:271, ODC2:9(3-8)
72. PHOTOGRAPHS. 1891, 1912-1915, 1919, 1921, 1927, 1929-1931, 1933-34, 1937-1938, 1943-1944, 1955, 1959, 1964, n.d.
Physical Description:
25ff. 6 ODC
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Consists of 159 black and white prints of various sizes depicting the following subjects:
- (1) Agricultural Education, 1934, n.d.
(6 prints)
- (2) Athletics, 1913-14, 1919, 1937-38, 1943-44, n.d.
(28 prints)
- (3) Boys (Cadets), 1912, 1944, 1955, n.d.
(13 prints)
- (4) Building and Grounds, 1891, 1914-15, 1930, 1944, n.d.
(13 prints)
- (5) Camp Whittier, n.d.
(8 prints)
- (6) Dedication Services, 1934, 1964, n.d.
(5 prints)
- (7) Dental and Medical Care, n.d.
(3 prints)
- (8) Dining, n.d.
(5 prints)
- (9) Drama, n.d.
(3 prints)
- (10) Employees, n.d.
(2 prints)
- (11) Handicrafts, n.d.
(4 prints)
- (12) Military Drill, 1949, n.d.
(5 prints)
- (13) Miscellaneous, n.d.
(13 prints)
- (14) Music, 1927, 1929, n.d.
(6 prints)
- (15) Processions, n.d.
(4 prints)
- (16) Religious Services, 1944, 1959, n.d.
(4 prints)
- (17) Students, n.d.
(4 prints)
- (18) Testing, n.d.
(2 prints)
- (19) Visitations, n.d.
(2 prints)
- (20) Vocational Education, 1914, 1930, 1944, n.d.
(21 prints)
- (21) Youth Authority Board, n.d.
(2 prints)
- (22) Over-sized Documents include staff and employees and aerials of building and grounds, 1931, 1933, n.d.
(11 prints).
See also (Finance-Architecture) Whittier State School, Historical Record, Photographs of buildings, circa. 1930. 1 Vol. (F3254:10).
Folder F3738:273
73. NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS. 1918-1919.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Most articles relate to inter-mural baseball and football competitions; remainder concerns superintendent's speaking engagements,
and farm production.
Folder F3738:273
74. HISTORIES. 1932, 1964.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Dissertations relating to school's history; present organization; reorganization plan; procedures for implementation; costs;
staff selection; moral and religious emphasis; and guidance programming and conclusions (Barden, Harold E.,
Reorganization of Educational Program, Whittier State School. Unpublished Term Paper. University of Southern California, 1932. 19 no. leaves.) and beginnings of state reform school; unfavorable
publicity; re-examination and future plans; life of wards; state action; probation and parole; state of disorganization; change
of reform philosophy; The Whittier Idea; termination of girls' department; care for feebleminded; 24-hour schools; commitment
changes; and inmate living conditions: and other changes and contributions (Reid, Daniel,
The Early History of the Fred C. Nelles School for Boys. Unpublished M.S. thesis. University of Southern California, 1964. 92 no. leaves.)
Folder F3738:274
75. WHITTER STATE EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER. 1934.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Published by Whittier State School Employees, an affiliate of California State Employees Association (CSEA), newsletter relates
to editorial comments; messages of school superintendent and CSEA President; placement methods; old timer's autobiography;
employee vacations and sick leaves; Board of Managers' suggestions; and advertisements.
NOTE: Financial Records. See Governor's Prison Papers, Youth Authority, Whittier Reform School, Accounting Ledgers, 1893,
1896-1900. 2 Vols. (DR 601); Youth Authority - Institutions - Whittier State School, County Assessment Lists, 1891, 1896.
1ff. (DR 1176, F2914); and (Secretary of State's Office) Institutions - Fred C. Nelles School for Boys (Whittier), County
Assessment Lists and Overdue Tax Claims, 1898-1899. 1ff. (DR 821, F3617:589).
Ventura School for Girls1909-1982
Folder F3738:275, 540
76. Superintendent's Correspondence. 1926-1933, 1941-1943, 1952-1954, 1958, 1960, 1962.
Physical Description:
2ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, minutes, reports and memoranda pertaining to study of deliquent girls, parolee placement,
medical treatment, building and grounds maintenance, vitamin-enriched foods, admission standards, care of syphilitic girls,
inmate population, parole violations, institutional rules and regulations, visiting procedures, inmate indoctrination, classification
committee, diagnostic system of reception center-clinics, master plan for transfer to new facility, employee duties and in-service
training.
Folder F3738:541-543
77. Administrative Manuals. 1964.
Physical Description:
3ff.
Scope and Content Note
Manuals include training policies and program procedures and relate to psychiatric treatment, religion, business services,
in-service training, Ventura Reception Center-Clinic, administrative procedures, personnel and inmate regulations, emergency
procedures and orientation programs.
Inmate Records, 1909-1963
Folder F3738:544-547
78. Inmate History Registers. 1909-1963.
Physical Description:
4v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by date inmate was received.
A typical entry includes admission number, inmates name, age, county sent from, crime (cause), date received, length of sentence,
type of court passing sentence, judge's name, guardian's name and address and remarks such as relationship to inmate, date
sentence expires or change in commitment status.
Restricted records
See also Governor's Office, Youth Authority - California School for Girls, Register of Inmates, 1913-18. 1Vol. (VB 116, #1048)
Folder F3738:548
79. Discharge Register. 1914-1947.
Physical Description:
1v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by discharge date.
Register includes inmate's admission number, name, county sent from, cause (crime) and disposition such as discharge date,
transferred to county jail, released by court order or term expired.
Restricted records
Miscellaneous Records, 1918-1982
Folder F3738:276
80. Publications.1948, 1960.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Newsletter,
Ink Spot, includes articles on school activities and cartoons. Book, a Christmas publication, pertaining to Ventura's Christmas activities
and program; director's holiday greeting; and selected poems, riddles, and stories, and a history of Ventura School.
Folder F3738:549-552
81. Scrap Books. 1918-1975.
Physical Description:
4v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Books contain photographs, newspaper clippings, newsletters and memoranda relating to vocational education, recreation, buildings
and grounds, housing, employees, students, dedication services, music, new building construction and religious services. One
volume, 1965-75, relates to volunteer visitor program and includes history of Ventura School, philosophy of the Department
of Youth Authority, instructions for volunteers and activities and special events of the visitor program and Ventura School.
See also (Finance - Architecture) Ventura School for Girls, Historical Record, Photographs of Buildings, circa. 1930. 1v.
(VB 456, F3254:10)
Folder F3738:553-556
82. Visitors Registers. 1972-1974, 1977-1982.
Physical Description:
4v.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
A typical entry includes date of visit, visitor's name and address, affiliation, time of arrival and departure and reason
for visit.
Folder F3738:557-558
83. Plaques. 1968.
Physical Description:
2 items.
Scope and Content Note
One plaque from the Ventura County Association for Retarded Children Inc. recognizing Ventura School for their outstanding
contribution towards the education and welfare of the retarded and the other plaque from U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson
congratulating the graduating class.
Youth Authority Records (Part 1), 1937-1965
Director's Records1937-1978
Folder F3738:277
84. DIRECTOR'S MINUTES. 1943-1946.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Minutes pertain to Youth Authority's administrative staff meetings and relate to such topics as Director's speaking engagements;
postwar building program; clinic sites; budget allocations; camp inspections; inmate trust funds; employee in-service training
program; agricultural crops; personnel scheduling; inmate population; escape prevention; employee housing; inmate medical
treatment; forestry camp work projects; employee salaries; parole statistics; opening and closing of youth camps; cadet uniforms;
inmate orientation classes; public relations; personnel changes; community surveys; foster home placements; instructors' regional
workshops; divisional activities consisting of diagnosis, treatment, probation and research; legislative program; delinquency
control; special meetings regarding approval of places as preliminary detention centers; inmate transportation and deportations;
agency reorganization; investigation of Preston; educational programs; and inmate salary rates.
Folder F3738:278
85. GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL REPORTS. 1956, 1962.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Reports from the Director to the Governor relating to clinic and school activities; reorganization of department's research
committee; social work conferences; county forestry camps; juvenile control and detention; parole officer in-service training;
budget allocations; community workshops; Ventura School dedication; research publications; legislation; probation; and admissions
to and departures from authority facilities.
Folder F3738:279
86. SUPERINTENDENTS' MINUTES. 1952, 1955-1956.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Minutes cover meetings held by superintendents of schools, camps, and clinics pertaining to such subjects as group counseling;
care of special problem cases; incident and law enforcement reports; furloughs; interracial marriages and visitations; budget
recommendations; out-of-state placement; Superintendent Institute Minutes; inter-departmental agreements; employee in-service
training; religious services; recreation; vocational training; food services; forestry camps; inmate clothing; psychotherapy
programs; inmate escapes; firefighting; classification counselor assignments; inmate population; medical and dental treatment;
monthly parole releases; inmate transfers; employee personnel files; pre-parole programs; institutional inspections; return
of wards to court; proposed canteen procedures; inmate tatooing; and Interagency Community Relations Institute.
Folder F3738:280-281
87. MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS. 1944-1949, 1951, 1958-1959, 1961, 1963
Physical Description:
2ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Reports from the superintendents of correctional schools to the Director on school and department operations, including such
subjects as academic program; school visitors; personnel changes; inmate population; building and grounds improvements; escapees;
forestry camps; special events such as holiday celebrations, Sunday programs, cottage group picnics and sports competitions;
speaking engagements; medical care; superintendent inspections; farm production; racial population distribution; grading system;
camp work projects; amusements and recreation; budget allocations; inmate supervision and discipline; food service program;
and community contacts.
Folder F3738:282
88. CIRCULAR LETTERS. 1947-1957.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Circular letters, index included, represent policy decisions pertaining to division chief's monthly reports to director; staff
meetings; youth authority case numbers; inmates' personal trust funds; incident reports; intra-departmental transfers and
furloughs; application for parole; fingerprinting of inmates; mental hospital referrals; procedure in escape cases; commitments;
initial home investigations; case file content; sex registration law; crippled children services; use of intoxicating liquors;
and procedure for reporting population movements.
Folder F3738:283-292
89. GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE. 1944-1952, 1957-1958.
Physical Description:
10ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, post cards, statements, minutes, summaries, questionnaires, transcripts, theses,
reports, bulletins, telegrams, charts, tables, and memoranda relating to topics such as inmate treatment costs; daily sick
call reports; discipline and punishment; smoking regulations; religious services; optical care; nutrition research; school
and camp inspections; incident reports pertaining to inmate criminal misconduct; agricultural production; forestry camps;
aptitude and interest testing; postwar construction; in-service training; academic and vocational instruction; escapees; pre-parole
classes; farm operations; organization chart and outline, Sept. 16, 1948; professional internships; building programs; receiving
cottage program; college training program in juvenile delinquency; probation, and parole; Directory of Youth Authority schools
and camps, March 10, 1949; inmate segregation program consists of placing inmates of same age and similar offenses in same
living units; counseling services; medical-psychiatric program; inmate referrals for hospital treatment; clothing production;
population reports; administrative policy changes; school evaluations and recommendations; criminal statistics; Youth Authority
Activity Reports to Governor's Council, 1958; and custody status of inmates.
Folder F3738:293-316
90. SUBJECT FILES. 1937-1950, 1965, 1970-1975, n.d.
Physical Description:
25ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder.
Records relating to the Los Angeles Coordinating Council, 1937-1950, are included. Karl Holton, Youth Authority's first director,
was Los
Angeles County Probation Officer. The Juvenile Court and L.A. County Probation Department originally sponsored the coordinating
council.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, agendas, minutes, reports, rosters, summaries, surveys, outlines, resolutions, transcripts,
newsletters, bulletins, publications, telegrams, press releases, and memoranda concerning American Prison Congress; Assembly
Interim Committee on Juvenile Delinquency; Attorney General's Committee on Juvenile Delinquency; coordinating councils; curfew;
federal and state forestry camps; legislation program; National Youth Administration; Sex Variance Committee; Trail Finders
School for Boys; and youth centers and councils and Multi-Year Programs, 1970-1975.
Folder F3738:559
90A. ORAL HISTORY PROJECT RECORDS. 1978.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Records include steering committee memoranda and interview transcripts of retired Youth Authority employees.
Administrative Officer's Records, 1943-1965
Folder F3738:317-336
91. FISCAL RECORDS. 1943, 1944, 1946-48, 1952-54.
Physical Description:
3ff. and 17 Vols.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, statements, reports, charts, lists, summaries, and vouchers relate to budget legislation
including report of committee investigating camps for juvenile delinquents, 1941; postwar construction; and Foster Home Disbursements.
Accounting ledger samples include annual budget proposals and justifications of Youth Authority's Administration relating
to facilities, delinquency prevention, paroles, diagnosis and classification, and training and treatment and schools pertaining
to administration, care and welfare, medical care, training and guidance, maintenance and operation, subsistence and housekeeping,
and farming and processing.
See also Youth Authority; Institutions; Ventura School for Girls; County Bills, 1933. 2ff. (DR 890; F231, 232).
Folder F3738:337-343
92. RESEARCH AND STATISTICS. 1943-1954, 1958-1959, 1965.
Physical Description:
7ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically thereunder.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, reports, tabulations, summaries, and memoranda relating to proposed organization
and objectives of new Division of Research, April 21, 1958; research discussion group proceedings; juvenile probation reporting
statistics; inmate population; escape recapitulations; probation standards; parole case load characteristics; and a Statistical
Analysis of Characteristics of Juveniles and of Dispositions or Treatment Processes, June 30, 1952.
Diagnosis and Treatment Division (Confidential), 1948-1957
Folder F3738:344-346
93. TRAINING AND TREATMENT DIVISION, CHIEF'S CORRESPONDENCE. 1948-1953.
Physical Description:
3ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Prior to 1953, Division of Diagnosis and Treatment was known as Division
of Training and Treatment with chief as head administrative officer.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, lists, summaries, minutes, reports, studies, press releases, telegrams, and memoranda
covering subjects such as discipline manual; State Advisory Committee on Institutional Religion; outside recreational activities;
administrative staff changes; Girls' School Program; employment opportunities; medical treatment for parolees; camp superintendents'
meetings; budget allocations; division chiefs' meetings; group supervisors and attendants; methods of handling aggressive
delinquent children; teaching qualifications; staff development; academic and vocational education; incident reports; field
counselors' duties; National Conference of Juvenile Agencies; inmate transportation; co-educational institutions;
Findings of Juvenile Hall Workshop, June 13-14, 1952; psychotherapy, consolidation of Training and Treatment Division and Diagnosis and Classification Division;
Youth Authority Board meetings, California Probation and Parole Association; parole clothing; Educational Intern Evaluations;
procedures for receiving new inmates; and Study of Menus and Food Consumption, Jan., 1953.
Folder F3738:347
94. DEPUTY DIRECTOR'S CORRESPONDENCE. 1955-1956.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
The Personnel Board has approved the establishment of the position of Deputy Director, Division of Diagnosis and Training
(see letter dated April 29, 1953; series entry 55).
Letters received, copies of letters sent, newsletters, reports, and memoranda relating to such topics as California Probation
and Parole Association News; county probation department's in-service training; selection and training of personnel for institutions
serving delinquents; invitations to conferences; inmate transfers; Parole Violation Reports; personnel recordkeeping procedures;
and inquiries regarding former employees and employment opportunities.
Folder F3738:348
95. MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORTS. 1948-1949.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Reports pertaining to vocational and academic programs; Public Works Projects; pre-vocational training; religious instruction;
recreational programs; new housing projects; segregation unit;
Preston Youth (publication); escapees; forestry camp management orientation; farm improvement programs; in-service training; school newspapers;
diagnostic testing schedule; offcampus activities; clinical tours; educational interns; building and grounds maintenance;
medical treatment; Boy Scout activities; firefighting training; nutrition research; evening school program; personnel changes;
construction plans; training program evaluation; inmate transportation; Congress of Correction Meeting, 1949; library services;
forestry camps' staffing, projects, and programs; physical education; smoking regulations; reclassification study; holiday
schedules; Sacramento State College's experimental training program; and employees' handbooks.
Folder F3738:349-363
96. GENERAL SUBJECT FILES. 1948-1953, 1955-1956.
Physical Description:
15ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject title and chronologically thereunder.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, statements, reports, minutes,
manuals, brochures, questionnaires, and memoranda concerning clinics including history of Diagnosis and Classification Division,
1942-47, and Diagnostic Clinic Procedures, 1949; cooperative teacher training program; Crime Control Program (Fresno State
College) relates to professional internship; disciplinary practices; food control and rations; forestry camps including camp
evaluations; Training and Treatment Division's Progress Report, 1948-52; group therapy, in-service training program; religious
services; and staff training and development.
Folder F3738:364-377
97. CLINICS, SCHOOLS, AND CAMPS CORRESPONDENCE. 1950-1957.
Physical Description:
14ff
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by name of institution and chronologically thereunder.
(1) Clinics - Southern Reception Center and Clinic
Scope and Content Note
Letters received, copies of letters sent, minutes, lists, schedules, outlines, reports, graphs, and memoranda relating to
monthly activities including inmate population, employee appointments and separations, special guests entertained, special
events of interest, public appearances, business management, and program development; administrative staff meetings; procedures
for apprehension of escapees; Clinic operations; method of informing inmates of Y.A. Board decisions; academic program; inmate
receiving schedules; Attorney General's Committee on Crime Prevention; treatment program; graphs depicting number of inmates
ordered transferred to Y.A. facilities at weekly Board Meetings; Clinical Service Department; accounting office inspections;
religious preference of inmates; placement operations; clinic inspection reports; and length of stay of inmates in clinics.
(2) Schools - Fred C. Nelles School for Boys, Fricot Ranch School for Boys, Los Guilucos School for Girls, Paso Robles School
for Boys, Preston School of Industry, and Ventura School for Girls
Scope and Content Note
Letters received, copies of letters sent, statements, summaries, lists, reports, charts, agendas, minutes, and memoranda pertaining
to program analysis of Fred C. Nelles School for Boys, 1950; medical treatment; delivery of new commitments; discipline measures;
budget allocations; incident reports concerning criminal actions; property inventories; farming operations; initial home investigations;
water safety program; inmate grading system; recommendations for parole; school inspections; inmate transfers to mental hospitals;
college extension courses; girls' educational program; administrative staff meetings cover clinic reports, special diets,
inmates' case histories, monthly activity reports, kitchen procedures, personnel vacation schedules, and budget; Los Guilucos
School for Girls reorganization recommendations; parolee clothing; recreation and rehabilitation; inmate academic transcripts;
foster home placement; college intern programs; psychological services;
Preston Youth (newspaper); aptitude and interest tests; trades advisory council; narcotics control; academic credits; and in-service training.
(3) Camps - Ben Lomond Forestry Camp, Coarsegold Forestry Camp, and Pine Grove Forestry Camp
Scope and Content Note
Letters received, copies of letters sent, logs, summaries, newsletters, and memoranda including Forestry Camp Supervisor's
correspondence regarding parole clothing, escape recapitulation, camp activity
reports, C.Y.A. monthly newsletters, incident reports, parole officers' activities, camp custodial staffing, parole officers'
duty statement and standards of performance, inmate release procedures, fire suppression crew activity reports, Supervisor's
Daily Logs, 1953, budget, fire fighters' training, camp superintendent's qualifications, camp census, and camps' accomplishments
and goals, 1956-57; and deals with monthly activities such as staff meetings, trips, illnesses, recreation and crafts program,
road construction and fire fighting, camp inspections, and in-service training sessions; camp improvement recommendations;
inmate work schedules; review of individual cases; safety committee; camp dances; pre-parole classes; canteen operations;
incident reports; Coarsegold Camp organization chart, 1948; camp escapes; and laundry production schedules.
Field Services Division, 1948-1957
Folder F3738:378-380
98. DELINQUENCY PREVENTION FILES. 1943-1945, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1958.
Physical Description:
3ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, minutes, reports, surveys, and publications pertaining to Delinquency Prevention
Sectional Meeting; establishment of a division of delinquency prevention; curfew laws; Youth Authority, Division of Field
Services Report, 1943-1947, including plan for Youth Authority organization and recommendations to 1943 legislature, creation
of Division of Probation and Placement and Division of Field Services, deportation program, Delinquency Prevention Section,
California Youth Committee (Committee on Youth in Wartime), probation, detention home services, forestry camp subsidy, interstate
compact, law enforcement, recreation, county surveys, community programs; interpretation of Y.A. Program, and standards for
state-subsidized juvenile homes and camps; and
Standards for Juvenile Halls, 1958.
Folder F3738:381-384
99. PAROLE AND PROBATION RECORDS. 1943-1944, 1946-1948, 1951, 1954, 1957-1958, 1965.
Physical Description:
4ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject title and chronologically thereunder.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, lists, reports, bulletins, agendas, minutes, publications, and memoranda covering
Bureau of Parole Correspondence relating to Women Parole Officers' Meetings, foster home placement, improvement in employment,
parole research project, pre-parole instruction, Y.A. Board policy for handling escapee situation, tatooing problems, school
transcripts, monthly activity reports, and parole caseloads; deportation plans; placement officer induction procedures; Supervising
Parole Officers' Meetings; and
Standards for Performance of Probation Duties, 1954.
California Youth Committee1943-1955
Scope and Content Note
The California Youth Committee (
Stats. 1945, ch. 1024), an advisory committee to the Governor and agencies concerned with youth problems, was attached to Youth Authority's
Field Services Division for administrative and budgetary purposes. The Committee's responsibilities included solving the major
problems identified by the former Youth in Wartime Committee (
Stats. 1943, ch. 293), such as improvement of detention and jail facilities, transients, juvenile records, 24-hour schools and forestry
camps, field of recreation, and surveys.
The California Youth Committee changed its name in 1951 to the Governor's Advisory Committee on Children and Youth. Members
of the former Youth in Wartime Committee were reappointed by the Governor to the California Youth Committee (Governor's Advisory
Committee on Children and Youth). Therefore, a continuous series of records exist from 1943 to 1955.
Folder F3738:385-388
100. CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH IN WARTIME CONFERENCES, MINUTES-CORRESPONDENCE. 1943-1950.
Physical Description:
4ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged numerically by conference number and chronologically thereunder.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, notices, reports, summaries, newsletters, agendas, minutes, and memoranda pertaining
to Citizens' Advisory Committee on Youth in Wartime covering such subjects as family welfare; child welfare, including foster
homes, adoptions, and child care centers; compulsory education; health services; juvenile delinquency prevention; minority
groups; housing; recreation and youth activities; parent and early childhood education; employment of minors; court services
for youth; Y.A. clinical facilities; mandatory vocational guidance; transient youth; and physically and socially handicapped
children.
See also Governor's Office - Governor's Commissions, Committees, Conferences - Governor's Conference on Youth & Welfare; Preliminary
Report, 1948, and Governor's Conference on Children & Youth; Reports and Minutes, 1953-54, 1956. (DR 1470, F3588:351, 352).
Folder F3738:389-390
101. MINUTES. 1946-1950.
Physical Description:
2ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Minutes include reports from departments of Youth Authority, Mental Hygiene, Education, and Employment pertaining to youth
services and concerns topics such as history and progress of California Youth Committee; juvenile control; correctional facilities;
pending legislation; adoptions; citizen participation in youth services; education; juvenile justice; transient youth study;
recreation; youth centers and councils; health and medical care; community organization; detention homes; and probation services.
Folder F3738:391
101A. CHAIRMAN'S CORRESPONDENCE. 1948-1953.
Physical Description:
1ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received and copies of letters sent regarding Citizens' Committee on Youth in Wartime; survey of California programs
for handicapped
children; wartime youth problems; Governor's Advisory Committee on Children and Youth; dental services for children; Mid-Century
Study of California Youth; reorganization of California Youth Committee; Mid-Century White House Conference on Children and
Youth; population of juveniles in state mental institutions; care of emotionally disturbed children; committee appointments,
and meeting announcements.
Folder F3738:392-395
102. GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE. 1945-51, 1953.
Physical Description:
4ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, rosters, summaries, reports, agendas, minutes, and memoranda pertaining to such
topics as juvenile delinquency prevention, subcommittees on Transient Youth and Strengthening Family Life; organization and
objectives of California Youth Committee;
California Youth Committee and Its Appraisal of the Youth Authority, 1946; committees on Studies and Surveys and Rural Life; regulating distribution of crime comics; motion picture censorship;
bibliographies on sex offenders and juvenile narcotic addiction; Mid-Century White House Conference on Children and Youth;
summer youth development workshops; children's programs of Social Welfare Department; Governor's Advisory Committee on Children
and Youth; continuation education; probation standards; discrimination in housing; 24-hour schools' program; and publication
requests.
Folder F3738:396-408
103. SUBJECT FILES. 1944, 1946-1955.
Physical Description:
13ff.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by subject title and chronologically thereunder.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, summaries, outlines, notes, reports, bulletins, rosters, lists, agendas, minutes,
questionnaires, publications, telegrams, and memoranda relating to Adoption Committee; Citizen Participation in Youth Services
Committee; Governor's Advisory Committee on Children and Youth includes a Study on Shelter Care Subcommittee; Recreation Committee;
Committee on Conferences and Workshops; Study of Transient Youth; and National Mid-Century Committee on Children and Youth,
Inc.
Youth Authority Records, Part 2, 1872-1993
Scope and Content Note
Additional records processed at a later date than Part 1>
Administrative Records, 1872-1992
Folder F3738:567
104. Director's Correspondence and Memoranda. 1943, 1950-1977.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Papers relating to the Youth Authority's administration, operations, programs, goals, and accomplishments. Correspondence
also relates to the nomination of Hood House as a state landmark. Includes a 1950 governmental reorganization survey of field
services. Contains correspondence of Karl Holton, Director; Harold Butterfield, Deputy Director; Heman G. Stark, Director;
and Allen F. Breed, Director.
Folder F3738:568-571
105. Superintendent's Minutes. 1952-1956.
Physical Description:
4 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
(See also Youth Authority--Director's Records--Superintendents' Minutes F3738:279)
Arranged chronologically.
Minutes covering meetings held by superintendents of institutions, camps, and clinics relating to hiring, medical exams, escapes,
programs, counseling, institutional inspections, special problems, visitation, budget, placements, procedures and policies,
treatment, in-service training, reporting injuries, identification cards, transfers, personnel matters, clothing procedures,
emergency preparedness, canteen procedures, discipline, releases, and institutional population. Also includes minutes of the
training advisory committee and special incident reports relating to ward escapes and similar activities.
Restricted information included under special incident reports of escapes.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:572
106. Camp Superintendents' Minutes. 1952-1960.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Minutes of meetings held by camp superintendents covering topics such as Youth Conservation Camps, joint projects with the
Division of Forestry, camp manuals, policies and procedures, duties of administrators, parole, attendance, budget, programs,
camp population, placement, camp statistics, personnel, counseling, grading, assignments, clothing, inspections, escapes,
crafts, operations, equipment, maintenance, releases, and other topics.
Folder F3738:573-588
107. Administrative Reports. 1947, 1951, 1956-1981.
Physical Description:
16 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Administrative reports outlining the history, organization, operations, goals, management, nomenclature, decision making,
treatment, and programs of the Youth Authority. Contains speeches and Director's Reports to the State Board of Corrections,
a report of the Committee on Analysis of Board Activities, and a report of the Committee to Analyze Release Procedures. Also
includes reports by Directors Allen Breed and Pearl West along with correspondence, memoranda, and reports relating to Senate
Bill 463 introduced in 1963 affecting the powers of the Youth Authority director and board.
Folder F3738:589-593
108. Manuals. 1951, 1955-1970, 1974-1978.
Physical Description:
5 file folders. 3 volumes.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically and by subject.
Administrative, board, and parole manuals covering Youth Authority policies and procedures.
Folder F3738:594
109. Governor's Advisory Committee on Children and Youth Subject File. 1948-1969.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Reports, conference agendas, minutes, and other papers on the history and activities of the Advisory Committee.
Folder F3738:595-597
110. Youth Correction Authority Act History Files. 1939-1949.
Physical Description:
3 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by document type.
Papers on the history of the Youth Correction Authority Act and its implementation. Includes reports and assembly journals
documenting the implementation, legislative changes, and early study of the Act. Also includes Imra Buwalda's correspondence
with members of the American Law Institute that developed the model Youth Correction Authority Act.
Folder F3738:598
111. Federal Prison System Contract File. 1978.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by document type.
Papers relating to a contract between the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Youth Authority for the Youth Authority to accept
federal prisoners.
Folder F3738:599-600
112. Probation Files. 1958, 1963-1973.
Physical Description:
2 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Reports, correspondence, memoranda, a newsletter, and a contract relating to the Los Angeles County Probation Department's
joint efforts with the Youth Authority. Includes items from Karl Holton, Probation Chief and the Youth Authority's first director;
Kenneth E. Kirkpatrick, Chief Field Services Division and later Chief Probation Officer of the Los Angeles County Probation
Department; and David Bogen, Chief, Juvenile Facilities Division, Los Angeles County Probation Department. Also contains a
1958 survey report of probation and juvenile detention in Kings County.
Folder F3738:601
113. Parole Board Study File. 1961-1962.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, and other papers relating to a 1962 study on Youth Authority parole policies
and procedures.
Folder F3738:602-605
114. Parole Program Study Files. 1972.
Physical Description:
4 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Papers relating to an evaluation of the Youth Authority's Increased Parole Effectiveness Program (IPEP) by the Scientific
Analysis Corporation. Includes a copy of the evaluation along with memoranda and a report by the Youth Authority responding
to the study.
Folder F3738:606-614
115. Oral History Project Information Files. 1978.
Physical Description:
9 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically and by subject.
Minutes, memoranda, reports, agendas, newsletters, and history material relating to the activities of the Youth Authority's
Oral History Steering Committee. Also includes research material accumulated for reference during a Youth Authority oral history
project.
Folder F3738:615-652
116. Oral History Tapes and Transcripts. 1872, 1965, 1967, 1978-1980.
Selected digitized audio recordings from this series.
Physical Description:
34 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by last name of interviewee.
Transcripts and audio tapes of oral interviews of retired Youth Authority personnel. Includes interviews of past Youth Authority
directors and superintendents. Topics vary widely covering the history, development, and administration of the Youth Authority.
Audio tapes of interviews can be found filed separately in the vault. Tape collection includes two reel-to-reel tapes (F3738:651-652)
dated 1964 of O. H. Close, Chairman of the Youth Authority; Paul J. McKusick, Administrative Officer to the Youth Authority
Board; Robert V. Chandler, Superintendent of the Preston School of Industry, and Milt Watt, Blacksmith.
Interviews include:
-
Bell, Orin
- Superintendent of the Southern Reception Center Clinic, 1953-1965
June 9, 1978
-
Belvin, Mildred
- Member of Governor Earl Warren's Wartime Youth Committee, 1943
August 28, 1978
-
Breitenbach, Eugene
- Youth Authority Board Member, 1953
January 22, 1978
-
Butterfield, Harold F.
- Deputy Director of the Department of the Youth Authority, 1953
June 21, 1978
-
Buwalda, Imra
- Participant in establishing the Youth Authority in 1942
February 16, 1978
-
Byrne, Richard
- Field Placement Officer for Preston School of Industry, 1934
January 23, 1979
-
Clark, Jack B.
- First minority Superintendent of the Southern Reception Center Clinic
October 26, 1978
-
Dolan, Beatrice
- Superintendent of Ventura School for Girls, 1953
January 14, 1978
-
Eva, James
- Assisted in organizing the Northern California Youth Center, 1962
August 17, 1978
-
Havery, R. G.
- Placement Officer for Preston School, 1932
February 10, 1978
-
Heer, Theodore O.
- Placement Officer for the Youth Authority, 1945-1965
April 6, 1979
-
Lavagnino, Lawrence
- Group Supervisor for Preston School, 1943-1946
February 16, 1979
-
McKibben, Robert
- Chairman of Governor Earl Warren's Wartime Youth Committee, 1943-1946
October 2, 1978
-
McKusick, Paul
- Administrative Officer to the Youth Authority Board
January 30, 1978
-
Milligan, William S.
- Ward of Whittier State School, 1932-1938
April 27, 1978
-
Milne, David
- Lived on the grounds of Whittier State School, 1932-1938
February 11, 1980
-
Perry, Mary B.
- First Superintendent of Ventura School for Girls
August 10, 1978
-
Pirkey, Jane Sedgwick
- Food Administrator for the Department of the Youth Authority from 1943-1957
August 187, 1978
-
Shire, James
- Senior Group Supervisor, Northern Reception Center Clinic
August 16, 1978
-
Stark, Heman G.
- Second Director of the Youth Authority
March 9, 1978
-
Shire, James
- Institutional cook at Calaveras Camp and Fricot Ranch School, 1946-1953
August 16, 1978
-
Tankersley, Lois
- Secretary to First Youth Authority Director, Karl Holton
May 23, 1978
-
Tonzi, George
- Preston School Employee from 1934-1936
April 5, 1978
-
Tregoning, W. L.
- First Clerk for the Youth Authority Board, 1943-1958
January 24, 1978
-
Walden, Iris
- First Personal Director for the Department of the Youth Authority
January 17, 1978
-
Scudder, Keyon J. (transcript only)
- Criminologist and Social Engineer
1967
Folder F3738:653-676
117. Theses, Dissertations, and Reports. 1929-1992.
Physical Description:
24 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Papers relating to the general history of the Youth Authority, the goals of the Youth Authority, administrative history, field
work and programs at the Preston School of Industry, juvenile detention in California, Fricot Ranch, penology, the 1889 State
Reform School, and the treatment of emotionally disturbed Youth Authority wards.
Fred C. Nelles School for Boys (Whittier), 1930-1979
Scope and Content Note
(See also Youth Authority--Fred C. Nelles School for Boys-- F3738:69-98, 170-274)
Folder F3738:677-680
118. Correspondence and Memoranda. 1941-1947, 1955-1979.
Physical Description:
4 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence and memoranda from Youth Authority Directors Heman G. Stark, Allen F. Breed, and Pearl S. West relating to
the administration of the Fred C. Nelles School for Boys. Other correspondence relates to personnel, discipline, maintenance,
and sale of land at Fred C. Nelles School. Includes letters of O.H. Close, Chairman of the Youth Authority; Harold A. Slane,
member of the Youth Authority; Paul J. McKusick, Superintendent of Fred C. Nelles School for Boys, and Karl Holton, Director
of the Youth Authority.
Includes restricted materials.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:681
119. Information File. 1930, 1949, 1956-1976.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Newspaper articles, investigative reports, and memoranda relating to a ward escape and a suicide.
Includes restricted materials.
Restricted records
Preston School of Industry, 1897-1990
Scope and Content Note
(See also Youth Authority--Preston School of Industry-- F3738:409-560)
Folder F3738:682
120. Superintendent's Reports. 1905-1907.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Monthly reports covering Preston budgeting and statistics on the number of cadets received and released.
(See also F3738:431 Youth Authority--Preston School of Industry--Superintendent's Reports--1903-1909)
Folder F3738:683-691
121. Middle Managers' Meeting Minutes. 1985-1993.
Physical Description:
9 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Minutes of weekly meetings held by the Middle Managers of the Preston School of Industry. Topics include discussion of problems
and means to resolve them, procedures, needs, budget, school instructors, classes, programs, wards' personal property, clothing,
and related issues.
Folder F3738:692
122. Ward Grievance File. 1988-1990.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically with grievance forms and grievance log separated.
File includes a ward grievance log outlining the ward's name, filing date, nature of grievance, comments, and response. Also
contains grievance forms filed by wards that detail the ward's grievance, desired course of action, and the response to the
grievance.
Includes restricted information.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:693-699
123. Lodge Program Guides. 1981, 1984-1985.
Physical Description:
7 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged alphabetically by lodge.
Program guides of Preston lodges including the Fir, Evergreen, Hawthorne/Juniper, Ironwood/Greenbrier, Buckeye, Tamarack,
and Ponderosa Lodges. The guides overview each lodge's programs, policies and procedures, detailing goals, treatment, counseling,
dress, religious services, recreation, laundry, and dining among other rules.
Folder F3738:700-702
124. Manuals. 1914, 1937-1938, 1950, 1955, 1969-1973.
Physical Description:
3 file folders. 6 volumes.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by subject.
Administrative, employee, and institutional manuals covering rules and regulations, policies, education, medical services,
business and accounting, security, staff training, and other topics.
Folder F3738:703-719
125. Medical Files. 1920-1921, 1947-1948, 1952, 1955.
Physical Description:
17 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by document type with examination records filed alphabetically.
Papers relating to the medical procedures, examinations, and operations at the Preston School of Industry. Includes records
of operations performed on Preston wards, wards from other institutions, and Preston cadets from 1947 until 1955. Also contains
records of medical examinations of wards dating mainly from 1920. Other papers include Preston's procedures for the treatment
of the physically handicapped, quarterly hospital reports, and several monthly reports of the Preston Medical Department.
Includes restricted material.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:720-721
126. Inmate Case Files. 1909, 1918-1919, 1936-1937.
Physical Description:
2 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically by document type.
Correspondence, medical reports, criminal records, depositions, and other papers regarding a cadet committed to Folsom State
Prison and another cadet shot and killed at Preston during an escape attempt.
Restricted material.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:722
127. Commitment Papers. 1904-1905, 1909, 1916.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Commitment orders for cadets committed to the Preston School of Industry. Orders include age of cadet, originating county,
and length of commitment.
Folder F3738:723
128. Salary Receipts 1904.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged numerically.
Receipts for salaries received from the Trustees of the Preston School of Industry. A sample receipt includes name of salaried
employee, date, and salary amount.
Folder F3738:724-726
129. Vouchers. 1904.
Physical Description:
3 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged numerically by voucher number.
Account and bill receipts, invoice lists, and warrants to the Controller of the State of California for payments made by and
for the Trustees of the Preston School of Industry. A sample voucher includes date, account name, purchase, and amount paid.
Folder F3738:727
130. Inventory. 1897.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by subject/type.
Detailed inventory listing property owned by the Preston School of Industry. Includes items such as gardening, printing, housekeeping,
carpentary, educational, engineering, tailoring, and agricultural supplies.
Items require preservation treatment.
Folder F3738:728
131. Fire Department File. 1974.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by document type.
Papers relating to the Preston Fire Department that became disbanded sometime before 1991. Includes a report entitled, The
Organization of the Fire Department, and two papers on the fire department responding code and sounding procedures.
Folder F3738:729-734
132. History Subject Files. 1894-1969.
Physical Description:
6 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged in chronological order by document type.
Papers relating to the history and administration of the Preston School of Industry. Reports, correspondence, memoranda, and
other items covering the condition of the school, school investigations, transfers, admittances, programs, and discipline.
Includes early school reports, histories, an 1898 bond on construction, and a 1945 study of Preston. A 1938 listing of wards
in a document entitled 5,000 Credits earned Toward Parole is filed separately (restricted).
Includes restricted material.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:735
133. Newspaper Clippings. 1914, 1919, 1961-1963.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Newspaper articles relating to Preston commitments, escape attempts, cadet deaths, and a riot.
Folder F3738:736
134. Photographs. c.1988-1990.
Physical Description:
56 items. 1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged by subject. Format: photoprints.
Photographs documenting the Preston buildings and grounds, personnel, health care office, dining hall, the dedication of a
new building and ward activities and programs including the Preston band, woodworking and electronic shops, computer lab,
gym, and classrooms.
Includes restricted material.
Restricted records
Whittier State School, 1889-1944.
Scope and Content Note
(See also Youth Authority--Fred C. Nelles School for Boys)
Folder F3738:737
135. Correspondence. 1889-1942 (broken series).
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence of Superintendent F. C. Nelles, K. J. Scudder, and E. J. Milne regarding requests for leave, transfers, and
other matters relating to Whittier State School. Also includes an original 1889 real estate deed.
Includes restricted material.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:738-739
136. History Subject File. 1890-1891, 1919, 1931, 1934, 1939-1941, 1942-1944.
Physical Description:
2 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Papers on the history and development of Whittier State School as well as investigative reports on cases of suicide at the
school. Includes speeches, a 1934 plan of Whittier buildings and grounds, and a 1941 school report. Also contains correspondence
of Superintendent E. J. Milne and Governor Culbert L. Olson and Superintendent Paul J. McKusick.
Includes restricted material.
Restricted records
Folder F3738:740
137. Scrapbook. 1905-1908.
Physical Description:
1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Contains newspaper clippings mainly from 1908 relating to an investigation of the Whittier State School. News articles detail
charges made against Whittier Superintendent J. P. Greeley of cruelty, incompetence, and immorality for which he was later
exonerated.
Institutions and Camps, 1899-1993
Folder F3738:741-746
138. Institutional History Files. 1899-1978 (broken series).
Physical Description:
6 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Papers relating to the history, administration, and programming of Fricot Ranch School for Boys, Los Guilucos School for Girls,
Ventura School for Girls, and Paso Robles School for Boys. Includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, newspaper articles,
press releases, and investigative summaries.
Folder F3738:747-748
139. Diagnostic Centers Subject Files. 1954-1965.
Physical Description:
2 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Papers relating to the Youth Authority diagnostic centers. Contains a paper outlining the original concept of a Northern and
Southern diagnostic center. Includes program manuals covering the history, development, and operations of the Northern California
Youth Center (also known as the Northern Reception Center and Clinic).
Folder F3738:749-750
140. Camps Subject Files. 1946, 1950-1963, 1975-1976.
Physical Description:
2 file folders.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Papers relating to programs and policies of Youth Authority camps. Includes a superintendent's handbook on Camp Ben Lomond,
the DeWitt Nelson Training Center correspondence, and a paper on county camps.
Folder F3738:751-752
141. Ephemera. 1891, 1914-1917, 1940, 1945, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1991-1993.
Physical Description:
8 items. 1 file folder.
Scope and Content Note
Arranged chronologically.
Items relating to the Preston School of Industry, Whittier State School, and Fricot Ranch School for Boys. Includes invitations,
leave-of-absence cards, brochures, a Christmas card, pamphlets, illustrations, a guest sign-in book, a World War I railroad
scrip book, and a California Teachers Association certificate.
Includes restricted information.
Restricted records
