Nebraska Welfare Association [RG4531.AM]

HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG4531.AM:  Nebraska Welfare Association (Lincoln. Nebraska)

Records:  1913-1961

Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska:  Social welfare organization

Size:  0.5 cu.ft.; 1 box

BACKGROUND NOTE

The Nebraska Welfare Association was organized in 1897 under the name of the Nebraska Conference of Charities and Corrections as “an association of individuals and social service organizations for the improvement of social work and for the development of a better civic program in the State of Nebraska.”  Heads of state charitable and correctional institutions were prominent in its founding.  In 1918 the name was changed to the Nebraska Conference for Social Work in order to match the name of the national organization.  Later on the name was changed to the Nebraska Welfare Association.

The most important activity of the Association was to support social welfare legislation.  It was instrumental in promoting the creation of a State Board of Charities and Corrections, 1901; the first juvenile court law, 1904; an orthopedic hospital in Lincoln, 1905; a tuberculosis hospital in Kearney, 1911; a State Children’s Bureau, 1919; a court of domestic relations, 1919; the County Welfare Unit Law, 1931; state legislation, 1937-1947; and a state study of child welfare legislation.  The Association also supported a school of social work at the University of Nebraska.

The Nebraska Welfare Association was funded by contributions from private individuals as well as from the Community Chests of Lincoln and Omaha.  School boards, county supervisors, state educational and welfare departments, women’s clubs, parent-teacher groups, and Chambers of Commerce provided personnel for the association.  The state group, which had offices in Lincoln, was divided into regional units which had officers, committees, and their own programs.  An annual conference attracted national leaders in the field of public welfare.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

This collection, contained in one box, consists of the records of the Nebraska Welfare Association dating from 1913 to 1961.  The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence of the Nebraska Welfare Association for the years 1930-1934 during the time it was named the Nebraska Conference for Social Work.  This correspondence concerns arrangements for the annual meeting of the Conference.  Also included in the collection are the Constitution and By-Laws of the association, minutes of the executive committee as well as of the annual meeting for 1932, and the Annual Report of the President for 1933.

One folder contains reports and position papers concerning state legislation supported by the organization including the establishment of a Child Welfare Bureau and the County Unit Plan for Public Welfare.  Also included in the collection is other printed matter such as conference programs, newsletters, and publicity releases.

The bulk of this collection was received in October 1935 from the Nebraska Conference of Social Work.

INVENTORY

Box 1

Folder

1. 1. Correspondence, 1930-1932

1. 1. Correspondence, 1932, January-July

1. 1. Correspondence, 1932, August-December

1. 1. Correspondence, 1933           

1. 1. Correspondence, 1934

1. 1. Constitution and by-laws, 1913, 1920, 1940 and 1950

1. 1. Minutes of the Executive Committee and of the General Conference, 1932

1. 1. Annual Report of the President, 1933

1. 1. Membership lists and related material, 1932-1961

1. 1. Conference programs, 1932-1958

1. 1. Reports, 1932-1933 and 1950

1. 1. Publicity releases, 1934

1. 1. Newsletters, 1932-1955

1. 1. Historical information about the Nebraska Welfare Association and its predecessor organizations

1. 1. Clippings, undated

1. 1. Miscellany, 1933-1934

Subject headings:

Charities — Nebraska

Nebraska. Child Welfare Bureau

Nebraska Conference for Social Work

Nebraska Conference of Charities and Corrections

Nebraska Welfare Association (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Public welfare — Nebraska

Social work — Nebraska

APD/ct                   08-01-1975

Revised TMM        07-27-2018