Title: National Association of Social Workers. Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter: Records
Inclusive Dates: 1950-1963

Creator:

• National Association of Social Workers. Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter

Call Number: Mss 378

Quantity: 2.0 c.f. (5 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of a national organization of social workers in specialized fields, consisting of organizational materials, administrative records, financial records, election materials, a committees file, section reports, chapter and committee membership lists, newspaper clippings, and the chapter's file of the minutes (1959-1960) of the Council of Wisconsin Chapters of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and of records generated by the national office of the parent organization. Correspondence to and from Wisconsin legislators and U.S. congressmen concerns such subjects as urban renewal, city public housing projects, divorce laws, health and welfare service bills, relief laws, curfew ordinances, and residence requirements for public assistance. Other correspondence, memoranda, minutes and reports, pamphlets, and bulletins pertain to other Wisconsin chapters of NASW; NASW's position on various welfare issues; salary studies; the Tripp Committee Report concerning the School of Social Work of the University of Wisconsin; and the Newburgh (New York) welfare plan which denied relief to specified categories of welfare recipients.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00378

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The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest professional social work organization in the United States. Created in 1955 with the merger of six professional membership organizations, NASW is dedicated “to promote the quality and effectiveness of social work by setting standards; conducting study and research; improving professional education, publication and interpretation to the community.”^[1]

NASW has its roots in past attempts by social workers to organize on a national level. The National Conference of Charities and Correction, founded in 1874, provided the first opportunity for social agency employees to meet together on a national basis to discuss their common interests. Its lax membership requirements, however, dissatisfied many professional social workers, who turned to local organizations or clubs in the early 1900's. The Boston Monday Club was a pioneer among these early associations and was soon imitated in New York, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. There was no formal communication between these clubs, but they did provide a pattern for the organization of local chapters of the American Association of Social Workers (AASW), the first national social workers organization, created in Milwaukee in 1921.

The AASW grew and became the major professional membership association until 1955. Between 1921 and 1955 several other organizations developed which reflected the problems, needs, and experiences of social workers in specialized fields. After several years of study by the Temporary Inter-Association Council, these specialized groups (the American Association of Medical Social Workers, the National Association of School Social Workers, the American Association of Group Workers, the Association for the Study of Community Organization, the American Association of Psychiatric Social Workers, and the Social Work Research Group) merged in 1955 to form the National Association of Social Workers.^[2]

Today NASW has over 60,000 members in 972 local chapters. Members include professionals with undergraduate and graduate degrees in social work or doctorates in related fields, those engaged in social work but with degrees in other areas, foreign members of professional organizations affiliated with the International Federation of Social Workers, and students involved in undergraduate social work majors. A delegate assembly composed of regional and chapter representatives is the governing body of the organization whose powers are exercised by a board of directors. The Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter, chartered in 1955, was one of the earliest chapters.

Branch organizations of the chapter were formed on a geographic basis within Southeastern Wisconsin. Both the membership and the concerns of a branch encompass all the areas of social work practiced by the chapter as a whole. A branch may be organized by ten or more chapter members from an identifiable geographic area too far from chapter head-quarters (in this case Milwaukee) to allow for regular active participation in chapter activities. The chapter also established several sections to afford members the opportunity to participate in activities for the advancement of a specific aspect of social work (group work, medical school work, and psychiatric social work). Sections differ from branches in that they draw membership from all parts of the chapter district and concentrate on only one phase of social work.

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.

The most useful materials providing information on NASW are its publications: NASW News (monthly), Personnel Information (monthly), and Social Work (bi-monthly). Libraries of the University of Wisconsin, Madison do not have these publications. Consult New Serial Titles, 1950-1970 (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Pierian Press, 1968) for a list of libraries holding them.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the National Association of Social Workers, Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 30, 1967. Accession Number: M67-340

Processing Information

Processed by M. Shale (Intern) and Joanne Hohler, August 1, 1976.

Box   1 Folder   1	Series: Organizational Records
	Series: Administrative Records	⇧
	Executive Board
Box   1 Folder   2-7	Correspondence, 1955-1963
Box   2 Folder   1-5	Memoranda, 1954 1962, June
	Minutes of Meetings
Box   2 Folder   6-8	Executive Board of the Chapter, 1955 1963, April
Box   3 Folder   1-2	Chapter, 1955 1963, April
Box   3 Folder   3	Branch, 1961 1963
	Series: Financial Records	⇧
Box   3 Folder   4	Budgets and Treasurer's Reports, 1956 1961
Box   3 Folder   5	Salary Study, 1959 1960
Box   3 Folder   6	Insurance and Retirement Policies, 1960 1961
Box   3 Folder   7	Series: Election Materials, 1960 1963	⇧
	Series: Committees File	⇧
Box   3 Folder   8	Membership -- Minutes and Reports, 1956 1961
	Personnel Practices
Box   3 Folder   9-10	Correspondence, 1957 1962
Box   3 Folder   11	Printed Materials, 1957 1959
Box   4 Folder   1	Minutes and Reports, 1955 1956
	Public Relations
Box   4 Folder   2-4	Correspondence, 1956 1961
Box   4 Folder   5	Bulletins, 1955 1962
Box   4 Folder   6	Minutes and Reports, 1955 1959
	Recruitment
Box   4 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1956 1961
Box   4 Folder   8	Minutes and Reports, 1955 1958
	Social Policy and Legislation
Box   4 Folder   9	Correspondence, 1955 1959, 1961 1963
Box   4 Folder   10	Minutes and Reports, 1955 1960
	Social Work Education
Box   4 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1956 1962
Box   4 Folder   12	Minutes and Reports, 1955 1956, 1959
Box   5 Folder   1	Series: Section Reports, 1957 1961	⇧
Box   5 Folder   2	Series: Membership Lists, 1950 1962	⇧
Box   5 Folder   3	Series: Newspaper Clippings, 1955 1962	⇧
Box   5 Folder   4	Series: Miscellany	⇧
Box   5 Folder   5	Series: Council of Wisconsin Chapters Of NASW Minutes, 1959-1960	⇧
	Series: Records of the National Association of Social Workers National Office	⇧
Box   5 Folder   6	Board of Directors -- Reports, 1958 1961
Box   5 Folder   7	Delegate Assembly, 1956 1962
Box   5 Folder   8	Membership Lists, 1955 1962
	Publications
Box   5 Folder   9	NASW News, 1955 1962
Box   5 Folder   10	NASW Personnel Information, 1958 1961
Box   5 Folder   11	Miscellany

Margaret Fisk, ed. Encyclopedia of Associations, 10th ed., vol. 1 (Gale Research Co., 1976).

Encyclopedia of Social Work, 16th issue, vol. 2 (NASW, 1971), pp. 976-77.