Title: Wisconsin. Governor (1979-1983 : Dreyfus): Women and Family Initiatives Office Records
Inclusive Dates: 1979-1982

Creator:

• Wisconsin. Governor (1979-1983 : Dreyfus)

Call Number: Series 1849; Tape 1069A

Quantity: 2.2 c.f. (2 record center cartons and 1 archives box) and 22 tape recordings

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 Marlene Cummings, advisor on women and family initiatives to Governor Lee S. Dreyfus. This position within the governor's office, which replaced the Commission on the Status of Women in 1979, was meant to reflect a new focus on action rather than investigation. In 1979 Dreyfus authorized a general advisory committee and five voluntary task forces to plan legislation and programs in selected areas of concern to women and children. In 1983 the position was replaced by Governor Anthony Earl by the Wisconsin Women's Council. Included are memoranda and evaluations of pending legislation; constituent letters and information on the ERA and the WERA; 22 tape-recorded sessions of “Strengthening the Services for Women in the 80s,” a 1981 Wingspread Conference sponsored by the Women and Family Initiatives Office; minutes, reports, and reference material of the Governor's Advisory Council on Women and Family Initiatives, the Displaced Homemaker Task Force, the Domestic Abuse Council, the Homemaker Task Force, the Single Parent--Single Woman Task Force, and the Violence Against Women Task Force; and subject files on the Affirmative Action Council and public policy issues concerning families. The recordings feature Wingspread Conference talks by Gene Boyer, Sarah Harder, and Kenneth Lindner, secretary of DOA. A few files, such as those on the Easter Seal Society of Wisconsin and the North Amercan Council for Adoptable Children document Cummings' voluntary activities.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-ser01849

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Included in this series are tape-recorded sessions of “Strengthening the Services for Women in the 80s,” a conference held February 23-24, 1981, at the Wingspread Center, Racine, Wisconsin. Proposed by Marlene Cummings, Advisor to he Governor for Women and Family Initiatives, the conference was co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Women's Network, Women's Educational Resources of the University of Wisconsin, and the Governor's task forces and advisory group for Women and Family Initiatives. Composed of plenary sessions and workshops, the conference stressed the problem areas of domestic abuse, family planning, chemical dependency, displaced homemakers, and sexual assault.

An opening plenary session included remarks by Marlene Cummings and by Marion Swoboda, chair of the Governor's Advisory Council for Women and Family Initiatives; a speech by Ken Lindner, secretary of the state Department of Administration, on the state budgetary process and financial situation, followed by a question period; and a motivational speech by Gene Boyer, founder of the Wisconsin Women's Network.

The workshops met in two series. In the first series on February 23, each workshop focussed on one of the problem areas noted above. Participants were assigned to a workshop on the basis of their backgrounds, and discussions centered on what was currently being done in the area of concern, what goals should be set, and what barriers existed to achieving those goals. The workshops' conclusions were summarized in written form overnight.

Participants then were reassigned more randomly for the second workshop series on February 24. On this day, each group worked from the written summaries and each attempted to devise strategies to overcome the barriers identified in all five areas on the previous day. At various points in both day's sessions, participants split into smaller discussion groups, thereby generating large portions of undifferentiated “noise” on the tapes.

A closing plenary session included a 5-minute presentation by each workshop coordinator summarizing their second group's conclusions on strategies for overcoming barriers. A final speech by Sarah Harder, co-chair of the Continuing Committee of the National Women's Conference at Houston, concluded the conference.

Acquisition Information

No accession records were found for the tape recordings but they were undoubtedly transferred to the Archives in 1983 with the paper records. Accession Number: 1983/070, 1983/075, 1985/178

Processing Information

Processed by Karen Baumann, 1984 and Carolyn Mattern, 1998.

Series 1849 Box   1 Folder   1	Background and general material
Box   1 Folder   2	Abortion
Box   1 Folder   3-5	Advisory Council
Box   1 Folder   6-7	Minutes, 1979-1982
Box   1 Folder   8	Affirmative Action
Box   1 Folder   9	Affirmative Action Council (Minutes)
Box   1 Folder   10	Awards
Box   1 Folder   11	Basic Skills Task Force
Box   1 Folder   12	Bearce, Daniel
Box   1 Folder   13	Bill evaluations
Box   1 Folder   14	SB 201
Box   1 Folder   15	Black Women's Assembly
Box   1 Folder   16	Black English
Box   1 Folder   17	Block grants
Box   1 Folder   18	Budget
Box   1 Folder   19-20	Child care
Box   1 Folder   21	Child support
Box   1 Folder   22	Children and Families, Governor's Conference on
Box   1 Folder   23	Children's Code
Box   1 Folder   24	Civil rights
Box   1 Folder   25	Complaints and problems
Box   1 Folder   26	DOA
Box   1 Folder   27	Dental hygienists
Box   1 Folder   28	Discrimination
Box   1 Folder   29-30	Displaced Homemaker Task Force, 1979-1981
Box   1 Folder   31	Divorce
Box   1 Folder   32	Domestic abuse
Box   1 Folder   33-34	Domestic Abuse Council, 1980-1981
Box   2 Folder   1	ERA and WERA
Box   2 Folder   2	Con constituent letters
Box   2 Folder   3	Pro constituent letters
Box   2 Folder   4	Easter Seals
Box   2 Folder   5	Education
Box   2 Folder   6	Ethics Board
Box   2 Folder   7	Family planning and sex education
Box   2 Folder   8	Grants
Box   2 Folder   9	Handicapped
Box   2 Folder   10	Health
Box   2 Folder   11	Health fairs
Box   2 Folder   12-13	Homemaker Task Force, 1979-1981
Box   2 Folder   14	Horizon House
Box   2 Folder   15	International women
Box   2 Folder   16	Ketterhagen clemency
Box   2 Folder   17	Lieutenant governor's program
Box   2 Folder   18-21	Marital property reform
Box   2 Folder   22	Mental illness
Box   2 Folder   23	Minority/Ethnic advisor
Box   2 Folder   24-25	Miscellaneous and unfoldered correspondence
Box   2 Folder   26	Native Americans
Box   2 Folder   27	North American Center for Adoption
Box   2 Folder   28	Noxious substances
Box   2 Folder   29	Overseas visitors
Box   2 Folder   30	Personnel
Box   2 Folder   31	Shelters
Box   2 Folder   32-33	Single Parent-Single Woman Task Force, 1979-1981
Box   2 Folder   34	Speaking engagements
Box   2 Folder   35-36	Violence in the Family
Box   3 Folder   1	Volunteerism
Box   3 Folder   2	WIN
Box   3 Folder   3	Wingspread conference: “Strengthening Services for Women in the 80s,” February 23-24, 1981
Box   3 Folder   3A	Processor's information on recordings
Tape 1069A No.   1	Opening plenary session
No.   2	Closing plenary session
	Workshop 1, led by John Odom
No.   3-5	Feb. 23 session, re: Domestic Abuse
No.   5-6	Feb. 24 session
	Workshop 2, led by Charles Uphoff
No.   7-9	Feb. 23 session, re: Family Planning
No.   9-10	Feb. 24 session
	Workshop 3, led by Cora White
No.   11-13	Feb. 23 session, re: Chemical Dependency
No.   13-14	Feb. 24 session
	Workshop 4, led by Betty Lieberman
No.   15-17	Feb. 23 session, re: Displaced Homemakers
No.   17-18	Feb. 24 session
	Workshop 5, led by Linda Schwallie
No.   19-21	Feb. 23 session, re: Sexual Assault
No.   21-22	Feb. 24 session
Series 1849 Box   3 Folder   4	White House
Box   3 Folder   5	White House Conference on Families