The records of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) -- Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter include organizational records, administrative records, financial records, election materials, committees file, section reports, chapter and committee membership lists, newspaper clippings, and miscellany. Added to the records of the chapter itself are the chapter's file of minutes of the Council of Wisconsin Chapters of NASW and of records generated by the national office of the parent organization.
The chapter's ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS consist of a copy of a petition for chapter status; by-laws and subsequent revisions of them for chapters, branch organizations, and the Council of Wisconsin Chapters; and a copy of the constitution for the Council of Wisconsin Chapters. The ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS include executive board correspondence (1955-1963) and memoranda (1954-1962); and minutes of the meetings (1955-1963) of the executive board, the chapter, and branches. Arrangement is chronological within each category.
Virtually all of the Executive Board Correspondence is of a routine nature: letters and memos to committee chairmen concerning policy changes, board decisions, and notices of meetings; letters to and from state social agencies; and letters to Wisconsin legislators and U.S. congressmen about social policy legislation. The correspondence for 1955-1956 includes letters pertaining to the creation of the association, and some of the 1960 correspondence concerns a salary study made by the personnel practices committee. There was correspondence in 1961 about qualifications for the Children's Court judge for Milwaukee and several 1962-1963 letters pertain to the creation and establishment of the Racine-Kenosha branch of NASW -- Southeastern Chapter. The Executive Board Memoranda are primarily those sent to chapter chairmen from the national organization's board of directors. Subjects covered include nomination and election procedures, legislative priorities, social policy programs and policy changes. Other memoranda entitled “Chapter Service Packets for Chapter Chairmen” contain information on functions and activities of NASW, committee guidelines, reports on national developments of concern to social workers, and occasional lists-of NASW chapter chairmen.In addition, there are copies of the “Washington Memorandum” which deals specifically with congressional social policy legislation. There are also memoranda (July-August 1961) assailing the Newburgh (New York) plan, which denied relief to welfare recipients capable of employment if they refused any “bona fide” job offer, and also dealt more restrictively with recipients of aid to dependent children. Filed under Minutes of Meetings are minutes covering executive board (1955-1963), chapter (1955-1963), and branch (1961-1963) meetings. The board and branch minutes include lists of members present, and the board minutes sometimes contain financial reports. The minutes of the branch meetings are very sparse.
The FINANCIAL RECORDS consist of an incomplete file of proposed and estimated budgets and treasurer's reports; insurance and retirement policies, brochures, and application forms; and a 1960 salary study. ELECTION MATERIALS (1960-1963) are items concerning nomination and election information, opinion survey results (1961) on qualifications for Milwaukee County judges up for reelection, and the completed ballots for the 1962 election of chapter officials.
The records found in COMMITTEES FILES are arranged alphabetically by committee with correspondence, minutes and reports, and printed materials when available, filed separately in chronological order for each committee. The Membership Committee segment consists of fragmentary minutes, notes, and reports for the years 1956 to 1961. The Personnel Practices Committee papers include routine letters and memos (1957-1962) to the committee from its chairmen, several letters and memos relating to the 1960 salary study conducted by the committee, printed materials (1957-1959), and minutes and reports (1955-1956). The Public Relations Committee records are composed of routine memos (1956-1962) from the executive board; letters (1956-1962) about meetings and policy decisions; letters (1960-1962) to President John F. Kennedy and to local government officials relating to the chapter's opposition to a proposed curfew ordinance; printed bulletins (1955-1962) to inform members of chapter activities; and eight reports (1955-1959) on functions, methods, recommendations and meetings of the committee. The Recruitment Committee file contains very fragmentary correspondence (1956-1961) and incomplete minutes and reports for the years 1955 to 1958.
The Social Policy and Legislation Committee minutes and reports (1955-1960) are often fragmentary, but the correspondence (1955-1959, 1961-1963) does include letters to social welfare agencies and to congressmen covering such subjects as urban renewal, city public housing projects, revisions of divorce laws, health and welfare service bills, improved relief laws, and residence requirements for public assistance. Letters to and from Governor Vernon Thompson and Senator William Proxmire are found in this folder. The Social Work Education Committee correspondence (1956-1962) is primarily with the University of Wisconsin about the merger of the State College of Milwaukee with the University of Wisconsin system. Letters with the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents about the Tripp Committee Report concerning the School of Social Work of the University of Wisconsin are found here. A copy of the Tripp report, March 23, 1956, is filed with the committee's minutes and reports.
SECTION REPORTS (1957-1961) comprises a fragmentary file of reports from the group work section, medical school work section, and the psychiatric social work section. The MEMBERSHIP LISTS include lists of chapter members, committee members, and officers for various years, including addresses and telephone numbers of the officers. The NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS provide information on housing codes and on NASW's position on various welfare issues. Undated memos, letters, reports, notices, travel brochures, and a few copies of minutes of the NASW West Central Wisconsin Chapter for 1955 are filed under Miscellany.
Minutes of five meetings during 1959 and 1960 of the COUNCIL OF WISCONSIN CHAPTERS OF NASW have been retained in the files of the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter. The chapter also kept a small group of RECORDS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS generated by the national office. Included are the reports of the national Board of Directors (1958-1961) and of the Delegate Assembly (1956-1962), both small and incomplete files. The board of directors folder contains only three reports, and two work-books comprise the whole of the delegate assembly material. The national office Membership Lists (1956-1962) list national officials, chapter chair-men of all local chapters, and include a membership inventory arranged by chapter number and region. The inventory also includes membership by category (student members, foreign members, et cetera) and total membership by chapter. The Publications section consists of two incomplete files of NASW publications: NASW News (1955-1962) and Personnel Information (1958-1962). Pamphlets published by NASW, and unpublished pieces including a “Directory of Official State Agencies on Aging as of October 1, 1959,” and the “Background Paper on Social Services for the Aging” (1960), are found under Miscellany.
