Title: Family Service (Dane County, Wis.) Records
Inclusive Dates: 1910-1994

Creator:

• Family Service (Dane County, Wis.)

Call Number: Mss 894; PH Mss 894

Quantity: 6.4 c.f. (16 archives boxes) and 17 photographs

Repository:

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

Archival Locations:

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

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of Family Service, a private social service organization founded as Associated Charities of Madison, Wisconsin in 1910 and subsequently known as Madison Public Welfare Association (1919-1933), and Madison Family Welfare Association (1933-1935). In 1935 it merged with the Children's Service Association to become the Family Welfare and Children's Service Association, and in 1945 it became Family Service. Included are annual reports, minutes, policy documents, subject files, correspondence, clippings, photographs, publications, and financial records. Most extensive and complete are the meeting minutes (1910-1994) which document changes in the mission and programming from an agency that coordinated charitable relief to a direct provider of community service programs and individual and family counseling. Well documented programs include day nurseries, and health clinics, USO/Travelers Aid services, a homemaker service, financial and domestic abuse counseling, and Neighborhood House, an Italian community center. Services geared to children include a tuberculosis camp, foster care placement, and the nationally recognized school-family counseling program Families and Schools Together (FAST). The subject files of President David Fraser (1985-1994) also provide substantial documentation on agency programs and policies. In addition, information on relationships with other community social service organizations may be found throughout the collection.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00894

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Family Service of Dane County, Wisconsin, a private social service organization, was first established under the name Associated Charities in 1910. In the two years preceding its founding, members of the Madison Women's Club and several city aldermen led a campaign to foster cooperation between private charities in order to prevent duplication of relief efforts in Madison. Initially, representatives of these church-based and secular relief organizations comprised the Board of Directors of Associated Charities, and the organization was funded through member subscriptions and community donations. During its first decade, Associated Charities expanded its scope, moving from a coordinating agency for poor relief to an active social welfare organization. By 1920, it oversaw four health clinics, a day nursery, the Neighborhood House (an Italian community center), and a used clothing store called the Service Shop. In order to reflect this expansion in scope, in 1919 the organization changed its name to the Public Welfare Association.

During the 1920s, the association focused its efforts primarily on services to needy individuals and families, and its earlier health clinics and most of the other discrete services were transferred to other public or private relief agencies or incorporated as separate organizations. In 1925, with the help of the Capital Times, the association launched the Kiddie Camp for children exposed to tuberculosis. The association administered this yearly summer camp until 1940 when it became a separate non-profit agency.

Hard economic times in the early 1930s overwhelmed private charity agencies across the country, and Madison was no exception. In 1932, the Dane County Relief Department took on most of the associations routine casework, and four of five association caseworkers became employees of the public agency. The private agency continued as the Family Welfare Association, shifting its focus to serve self-supporting clients experiencing personal or family problems.

The association also began its involvement with children's services in the early 1930s, launching a foster care program in 1932 and acting as a licensed child placement agency. In 1935 it merged with another child placement agency, the Children's Service Association of Madison, and the name of the organization was changed again to Family Welfare and Children's Service Association.

Family disruptions during World War II brought a huge influx of new clients, and applications for service doubled during the 1940s. Social work students from the University of Wisconsin helped handle the burgeoning caseload, and two professional staff workers joined the agency in 1946 when it assumed administration of local USO/Travelers Aid services. Following the lead of the national Family Welfare Association, in 1945 the Madison organization changed its name to Family Service.

The long tenure of Executive Director Sophia Siebecker (1934-1957) provided stability during this era of change, and under her leadership, Family Service established two new programs in the late 1940s specifically designed to aid women and older community residents. The Homemaker Service, first launched in 1949 and revived in 1966, provided in-home domestic help for temporarily incapacitated mothers and for elderly and disabled people. The Women's Service Exchange helped older women find employment.

Until the late 1960s, funding for Family Service came largely through private donations and grants funneled through the Community Chest (later the United Way). However, in 1968 under the leadership of Executive Director Francis R. Redding (1966-1985), Family Service began a fee-for-service system designed to supplement United Way funding. In 1972, services were officially extended to all of Dane County, and group counseling was begun. In 1976, Family Service became a certified out-patient treatment facility allowing clients to utilize health insurance to cover counseling and treatment costs. In addition to general counseling, two specialized service areas were established in the late 1970s: financial counseling and domestic abuse counseling. In 1977, Family Service merged with the Madison Consumer Credit Counseling Service and launched an ongoing initiative to provide financial counseling and other credit services. In 1978, the establishment of Alternatives to Aggression marked the first of several ongoing programs (including Program to Prevent Woman Abuse and Children of Violent Homes) designed to aid the perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse.

In the mid-1980s, Family Service began to pursue contracts with local and state government agencies and school districts to provide such specialized services as domestic abuse counseling and programming to troubled teens. Under the leadership of newly-appointed president David Fraser (1985-1994), Family Service expanded both its range of programs and its general counseling services. Through Families and Schools Together (FAST), the agency worked with local schools to provide counseling for families with academically at-risk children. The Families in Transition (FIT) and Safe at Home programs offered in-home counseling for families facing the potential loss of children to out-of-home placement.

The Family Service Records document the evolution of a local social service agency from its founding in 1910 through 1994. Particularly well covered are Family Service programs and policies as well as the organization's changing mission and service philosophy. There is also a good deal of information on the interactions between Family Service and other Madison and Dane County relief and social service agencies. Less prominent is information about individual clients. There are select case studies of individuals and families in the meeting minutes and annual reports, especially through the World War II era, but the collection contains no distinct case files, client correspondence or other significant materials that would document client services over time. There is also little information on the interaction between Family Service of Dane County and its national organization, Family Service Association of America.

The Family Service Records are arranged in three series: GENERAL MATERIAL, BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEE MATERIAL, and PRESIDENT'S SUBJECT FILES.

The GENERAL MATERIAL includes annual reports and brochures, clippings, photographs, a client register, and various internal reports and policy manuals. While the run of annual reports is not complete, it does span the duration of the collection and provides good documentation on the organization's programs and mission. Most of the brochures date from the 1980s and 1990s; they document public relations efforts as well as specific Family Service programs. The scrapbooks and newspaper clippings also contain scattered information on agency programs and events, especially for the 1940s through 1960s. The USO/Travelers Aid scrapbook is broader in scope than the others. It provides general information on local aid efforts during World War II as well as material on the role of Family Service in continuing those efforts after the war. The photographs provide limited visual documentation of the organization: most are snapshots of staff members from the mid-1960s. Comprehensive information on internal operations, especially during the late 1970s and 1980s, can be found in the policy and procedure manuals. Included are articles of incorporation as well as policies governing client intake, referral, confidentiality, fees, and personnel and financial matters.

The client register is a unique document in the collection. It dates from the mid-to-late 1920s and lists individual cases (by last name) with brief histories and action notes. This single volume does not provide substantial documentation on agency clients, but it is the only document in the collection that contains a working list of clients rather than case studies selected for discussion or presentation at meetings. Who recorded the information and under what circumstances is unclear. About half the pages were covered with glued-on cash receipt records for the Service Shop for the years 1929-1931.

Another document of note is the 1948 Homemaker Service report. This study, produced by social work students at the University of Wisconsin, documents the need for housekeeping services in Madison. Included are summaries of interviews with hospital social workers, private physicians, clergy, personnel officers of large Madison businesses like Ray-o-vac, and school officials about the housekeeping needs of temporarily incapacitated adults and the elderly. This report helped spur Family Service to establish a homemaker service for the city in 1949. (Much additional information on the Homemaker Service can be found in the meeting minutes discussed below.)

The BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEE MATERIAL is the most significant and substantial documentation in the collection. There is a nearly complete run of meeting minutes from 1910 to 1994. These are arranged chronologically and include minutes of the Associated Charities Council, the Board of Directors, Annual meetings, and various committees including the Executive Committee. Many of the board minutes include policy documents, financial statements, case volume reports, and other materials that were presented to and discussed by the board. Thus, the meeting minutes provide substantial documentation on Family Service policies and operations. For the period before 1985, the meeting minutes provide the most complete documentation in the collection on Family Service and its relationship to other Madison social service agencies including the Community Chest and United Way. For the David Fraser era (1985-1994), the President's Subject Files described below provide additional information that complements the meeting minutes for this time period.

The minutes themselves are richest for the pre-World War II era. Many of the early council and board meetings included discussions of individual clients. Often these clients are not fully identified by name, but background information and discussions of relief options are included. Board members were particularly concerned with services to Madison's Italian community in the 1910s and 1920s, and the minutes include both general discussions of the “Italian situation” and specific information on the Neighborhood House community center. Specific services to African Americans are also periodically recorded. In addition, minutes from this time period include information on the agency's day nurseries, Service Shop, and other programs. Of particular note are minutes from the Camp Committee, 1925-1926, documenting the founding of the Kiddie Camp, a summer camp for children exposed to tuberculosis. Minutes from the early 1930s reflect how the agency dealt with the effects of the Great Depression. All the various name and mission changes, program incorporations, and mergers of the time period are also documented in the minutes.

Beginning in the 1940s, the meeting minutes become less detailed. Often, information on cases or service volume is summarized quantitatively and appended to the minutes. Board discussions are reported more succinctly than before, and there are fewer details about individual clients. However, Family Service programs are still well-documented, especially the Homemaker Service established in 1949.

The minutes are less useful for the 1960s, as they focus mainly on internal operations, with few details about community needs or services. For the 1970s through 1994, the minutes again include more substantial documentation on Family Service programs and the local social service milieu. There is little information on individual clients for these years. Instead, policy documents, financial reports, action plans, and other materials presented to the Board are prevalent in the files. There is also documentation on the changing nature of Family Service counseling programs including the adoption of group counseling and psychiatric outpatient services. Information on major program initiatives in areas such as financial counseling, domestic abuse, and troubled teens is also included. However, more detailed program information for the 1980s and 1990s can be found in the President's Subject Files.

In addition to meeting minutes, the series includes correspondence, lists of Board and committee members, and a summary of board policies, 1960-1977. Most of the correspondence is spotty, chiefly concerning personnel and financial matters. However, the two books of credentials, 1928-1931, contain incoming and outgoing letters concerning the recruitment and service of board members. At that time, most members were representatives from different private and public service agencies in Madison so the books document the official connections between a wide range of city welfare workers. For general lists of board and committee members, see the lists of members files, 1929-1994.

The alphabetically-arranged PRESIDENT'S SUBJECT FILES are mainly the files maintained by David Fraser, president of Family Service from 1985 to 1994. There is some pre-1985 material relating to programs begun and policies instituted during the tenure of Francis Redding (1966-1985), but the bulk of series covers the late 1980s and early 1990s. Included are program and policy documents, correspondence, handwritten notes, financial reports, clippings, and surveys. There is little information on individual clients.

Of particular note is the material on three program areas: financial and domestic abuse counseling and children's services. Three different program files contain information on financial counseling: Consumer Credit Consortium of Dane County, Consumer Credit Counseling Service, and Financial Counseling. For domestic abuse counseling, Family Service maintained several overlapping programs geared to victims or batterers: Alternatives to Aggression (ATA), adult and child divisions of the Program to Prevent Woman Abuse (PPWA), and Children of Violent Homes (CVH). Information on all these programs is filed as Program to Prevent Woman Abuse (PPWA). Children's programs that are well-documented in the subject files include: Families and Schools Together (FAST), Families in Transition (FIT), and Safe at Home. All of these files contain information on services, administration, personnel, funding, and public relations. Additional program information can be found in the United Way Uniform Application Budget files. Each year, Family Service provided summary information on each program in these funding applications.

While the above subject files document Family Service programs, many files relate more directly to David Fraser's leadership. Files on the Board of Directors, Evaluation Committee, Executive Committee, External Relations Committee, and Space Committee all contain material relating to his personal attendance at meetings and involvement in particular board and committee issues. Of particular note is material on advertising campaigns in the External Relations Committee file and in the Fundraising files. In addition, the agency's strategic planning process is documented in the Planning files. Fraser also represented Family Service in various social service organizations including two that are well-documented in the collection: the Children, Youth and Families Consortium and the Four Agency Cooperative Effort (FACE). These files contain minutes, correspondence, and program documents. The remaining files are less substantial, but they do include additional information on Fraser's presidency and the agency's interactions with other social service organizations.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Family Service via Kathleen M. Kelly, Madison, Wisconsin, 1995-1996. (Deed of gift on file.) Accession Number: M95-248, M96-023

Processing Information

Processed by Nancy Taylor (Intern), 1998.

Mss 894	Series: General Material
Box   1 Folder   1	Annual reports, 1911-1993
Box   1 Folder   2	Brochures, 1970-1994
Box   1 Folder   3	Client register, pre 1929
	Clippings
Box   1 Folder   4-5	General, 1910-1967
Box   1 Folder   6	USO/Travelers Aid, 1946
Box   1 Folder   7	Constitution of Associated Charities, 1910-1911
Box   1 Folder   8	Employee handbook
Box   1 Folder   9	Newsletter, 1990-1994
PH Mss 894	Photographs, 1957-1969, 1993
Mss 894 Box   1 Folder   10-12	Policy and procedures manuals, 1971-1994
	Reports
Box   1 Folder   13	Investigation of family court, 1919
Box   1 Folder   14	Homemaker Service, 1948
	Series: Board of Directors and Committee Materials	⇧
	Meeting minutes
Box   2 Folder   1-5	1910-1922
Box   3 Folder   1-8	1922-1945
Box   4 Folder   1-12	1945-1969
Box   5 Folder   1-8	1970-1977
Box   6 Folder   1-9	1978-1986
Box   7 Folder   1-8	1987-1994
Box   7 Folder   9-10	Correspondence, 1916-1986
	Member information
Box   8 Folder   1-2	Books of credentials, 1928-1931
Box   8 Folder   3-4	Lists of members, 1929-1994
Box   8 Folder   5	Profiles and conflict of interest statements, 1989, 1992
Box   8 Folder   6	Policy decision record, 1960-1977
Box   8 Folder   7	Information packet for board members, circa 1993
	Series: President's Subject Files	⇧
Box   8 Folder   8-9	Accreditation, 1987-1988, 1993
Box   8 Folder   10	Affirmative Action, 1981-1985
	Board of Directors
Box   8 Folder   11-12	1990-1991
Box   9 Folder   1-3	1992-1994
Box   9 Folder   4	Child abuse investigations, 1984-1990
Box   9 Folder   5	Children Come First (CCF), 1993-1994
Box   9 Folder   6-9	Children, Youth and Families Consortium, 1986-1994
Box   10 Folder   1	Client survey, 1976, 1981
Box   10 Folder   2-5	Consumer Credit Consortium of Dane County, 1987-1994
Box   10 Folder   6-7	Consumer Credit Counseling Service, 1986-1994
Box   10 Folder   8	Dane County Association of Voluntary Agency Executives, 1989-1993
Box   10 Folder   9	Dane County Needs Assessment, 1981, 1990
Box   10 Folder   10	Dean Clinic, 1988-1989
Box   3 Folder   9	Development workshop conducted by FSA, 1986
Box   10 Folder   11	Elderly Services Feasibility Study, 1992
Box   10 Folder   12	Employee survey, circa 1987
Box   10 Folder   13	Eunice Project, 1993
	Evaluation Committee
Box   10 Folder   14	1986-1987
Box   11 Folder   1-2	1989-1991
Box   11 Folder   3-4	Executive Committee, 1985-1992
Box   11 Folder   5-6	External Relations Committee, 1989-1993
	Families and Schools Together (FAST)
Box   11 Folder   7-10	1988-1990, undated
Box   12 Folder   1-2	1991-1994
Box   12 Folder   3	Families in Transition (FIT), 1988-1994
Box   12 Folder   4	Family and Personal Support Program (FPSP), 1990-1993
Box   12 Folder   5	Family Preservation Program, 1993-1994
Box   12 Folder   6	Family Service of America, 1983-1990
Box   12 Folder   7	Financial Counseling, 1986-1993
Box   12 Folder   8-10	Financial statements, 1983-1994
Box   12 Folder   11	Fiscal file, 1989-1993
Box   13 Folder   1-2	Four Agency Cooperative Effort (FACE), 1990-1993
Box   13 Folder   3-6	Fundraising, 1989-1993
Box   13 Folder   7	Intern and student program guidelines, 1993
Box   13 Folder   8	Juvenile Court Minority Task Force, 1987-1989
Box   13 Folder   9	Juvenile Court Pilot Project (JCPP), 1989-1990
Box   13 Folder   10	Madison AIDS Support Network (MASN), 1994
Box   13 Folder   11	Mental Health Consortium of Dane County, 1987-1990
	Middleton Family Service
Box   13 Folder   12	1990-1991
Box   14 Folder   1	1992-1994
Box   14 Folder   2	Miscellaneous correspondence, 1985-1994
Box   14 Folder   3	Newspaper clippings, 1985-1992
Box   14 Folder   4	Personnel, 1974-1994
Box   14 Folder   5-6	Planning, 1987-1994
Box   14 Folder   7	Plays for Living, 1993
Box   14 Folder   8	Private practice issue, 1979-1980
	Program to Prevent Woman Abuse (PPWA)
Box   14 Folder   9-11	Alternatives to Aggression (ATA), 1984-1994
Box   15 Folder   1-2	NIMH Grant, 1987-1988
Box   15 Folder   3	Referral agent surveys, 1985-1994
Box   15 Folder   4	Safe at Home, 1990-1994
Box   15 Folder   5	School Based Mental Health, 1990-1992
Box   15 Folder   6	Service volume, 1984-1985, 1992-1994
Box   15 Folder   7	Social Agency Coordinating Committee, 1985-1987
Box   15 Folder   8	Space Committee, 1994
Box   15 Folder   9	Start Smart, 1991-1994
Box   15 Folder   10-11	Unit Representative Council (URC), 1993-1994
	United Way
Box   15 Folder   12	Management Assistance Program (MAP) and miscellaneous material, 1989-1994
Box   16 Folder   1-6	Uniform Application Budget, 1984-1994
Box   16 Folder   7	Wisconsin Association of Family & Childrens' Agencies, 1980-1994
Box   16 Folder   8	Wisconsin Association of Nonprofit Organizations, 1993-1994