The Psychiatric Field Service was established on July 1, 1925 as an independent statewide agency under the supervision of the State Board of Control, and assumed the functions of the former Field Service Department of the Psychiatric Institute. The agency was supervised by a psychiatrist, and included a physician, one male and one female psychologist, and administrative support staff. Under Chapter 435, Laws of 1939, the Psychiatric Field Service was placed under the supervision of the Division of Corrections in the newly formed State Department of Public Welfare.
The Psychiatric Field Service examined and reported on the physical and mental condition of every person admitted to the Wisconsin State Prison, the Wisconsin Home for Women, the Wisconsin State Reformatory, the Wisconsin School for Boys, and the Wisconsin School for Girls. The agency also examined inmates of these institutions and the Milwaukee House of Corrections who were: eligible for parole; suspected of being mentally diseased or so mentally deficient as to require segregation or sterilization; under consideration for executive clemency or pardon; or for any other reason at the request of institutional managers or the State Board of Control. The agency also examined individuals at the State Public School, Wisconsin School for the Blind, Wisconsin School for the Deaf, Northern State Colony and Southern State Colony who were suspected of being mentally diseased or mentally deficient. Finally, the agency examined inmates of the Central State Hospital at the request of the State Board of Control.
Examinations were conducted in two parts. The first part was administered by a staff psychologist and consisted of a case history interview, an intelligence test, a Terman psychometric test, and a psychoneurotic inventory. The second part was administered by the staff physician and staff psychiatrist, and consisted of a physical examination and a follow-up psychological examination.
