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The Story of the Children's Bureau

THE STORY OF THE CHILDREN’S BUREAU

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  • Tiled collage of historical images relating to Child Welfare with the words Introduction Birth of an Era 1912.

As the first Federal agency dedicated to the welfare of children, the Children’s Bureau has a long history of addressing some of the Nation’s most pressing social issues. These issues have evolved over the years, from an early emphasis on infant mortality, dependent children, and child labor to today’s focus on child abuse and neglect prevention, foster care, and adoption services. However, the values that informed our early work, and many of the core methods used to conduct it—including collaboration, assistance to States and Tribes, research and data collection, public awareness campaigns, and leadership development—still endure.

Introduction

Progress for Children

From its humble beginning, the Children’s Bureau has made tremendous progress in improving the welfare of our Nation’s children and families. Due in part to the Bureau’s success, its mandate to address the needs of “the whole child” eventually grew too large for a single government agency.
Newsies selling papers on the Capitol steps in Washington, DC, circa 1912.
"Newsies" selling papers on the Capitol steps in Washington, DC, circa 1912.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-nclc-03753

1912–2012

  • The infant mortality rate has dropped from close to 1 in 10 to fewer than 7 per 1,000 live births.
  • Today’s child labor standards were a major victory for the Children’s Bureau and its partners.
  • The first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Illinois; they now exist in every State.
  • Unlike the orphan trains of an earlier era, modern child welfare agencies focus on finding a permanent family for every child.
  • The Children’s Bureau has been at the forefront of efforts to enhance the child welfare workforce.
[LEARN MORE]
Photo of three diverse young boys standing in front of the US capitol building.

Chapter 1

Collaboration

Collaboration with national and international organizations has been a hallmark of the Children’s Bureau’s work from its earliest days. Its broad network helped the Bureau prevent duplication of effort and achieve a scope of work that would have been impossible for its staff to accomplish alone.
Collaboration With the Private Sector: Birth Registration – When the Children’s Bureau was created, no comprehensive record existed of the number of children born in the United States each year. Accurate birth records were essential to the goals of reducing infant mortality and providing important protections for children in school and work, so addressing this lack was among the Children’s Bureau’s first priorities. [LEARN MORE]
Baby being weighed by nurse, circa 1912.
Baby being weighed by nurse, circa 1912.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-48271
Great Seal of the United States, circa 1850.
Great Seal of the United States, circa 1850.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZC4-2108
Flags of the world, circa 1893.
Flags of the world, circa 1893.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Miklian Antiquarian Maps
Federal Collaboration – From its inception, the Children’s Bureau worked closely with other Federal agencies on research and programs pertaining to children’s health and safety. The first formal body to coordinate work among Federal agencies concerned with the well-being of children and youth was the Interdepartmental Committee on Children and Youth, formed in 1948. [LEARN MORE]
International Collaboration – The Children’s Bureau’s international activities began as early as 1916, when Chief Lathrop pledged to help a group of women in Argentina who first envisioned the Pan American Congresses devoted to child welfare. [LEARN MORE]

Chapter 1

Collaboration

The Children’s Bureau works with States, Tribes, and Federal and private partners to provide for the well-being of children, youth, and families. Through information-sharing and collaborative programs, the Bureau seeks to develop knowledge, support systems change, and improve children’s lives.
Photo of a group of young professionals surrounding an older male professional looking at a document.
Federal Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect (FEDIAWG) – The Office on Child Abuse and Neglect leads and coordinates more than 40 Federal agencies participating in the FEDIAWG. [LEARN MORE]
Network for Action – Network for Action is a public/private partnership to spark and support national action to prevent child maltreatment and promote well-being. [LEARN MORE]
Network for Action 2011 logo.
International Visits – Children’s Bureau staff regularly present to groups of international delegates on Federal strategies to promote the safety and well-being of children and youth. [LEARN MORE]

Chapter 2

Assistance to States & Tribes

The Children’s Bureau quickly moved beyond its original mandate to “investigate and report,” administering groundbreaking health and child welfare programs and providing some of the earliest Federal grants to States for social services.
Babies and their caregivers at University Settlement, corner of Eldridge and Rivington Streets, New York, NY, circa 1913.
Babies and their caregivers at University Settlement, corner of Eldridge and Rivington Streets, New York, NY, circa 1913.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-88413
Child Labor—Keating-Owen Act (1916–1918) – The Children’s Bureau’s first administrative responsibility was enforcing the first Federal child labor law, for which Congress appropriated $150,000 in 1917. [LEARN MORE]
Maternity and Infancy Act (1922–1929) – The 1921 Maternity and Infancy Act was the first Federal law providing grants to States to fund human services. [LEARN MORE]
Social Security Act (1935) – Under Title V of the Social Security Act of 1935, the Children’s Bureau was given responsibility for three important children’s programs: maternal and child health, services for “crippled children,” and child welfare services. [LEARN MORE]
Emergency Maternity and Infant Care (1943–1946) – The Children’s Bureau’s Emergency Maternity and Infant Care program provided care for the wives and children of U.S. servicemen deployed during World War II. [LEARN MORE]
CAPTA (1974) – The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 was passed in response to growing recognition of the problem of children who were being abused or neglected by their caregivers. [LEARN MORE]

Chapter 2

Assistance to States & Tribes

Today, the Children’s Bureau supports States and Tribes with funding and policy guidance according to Federal law and regulations.
Funding Programs – Matching funds help States, Tribes, and communities operate every aspect of their child welfare systems, from prevention of child abuse and neglect to adoption. [LEARN MORE]
T&TA Network – The Bureau’s Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Network provides comprehensive support to States, Tribes, communities, and child welfare professionals. [LEARN MORE]
Policy Guidance – Children’s Bureau staff help States and others understand the requirements of relevant child welfare legislation, including the recent CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 and the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. [LEARN MORE]
Planning and Monitoring – The Children’s Bureau helps States and Tribes plan and monitor child welfare services as mandated by Congress to promote positive outcomes for children and families. [LEARN MORE]
Photo of an older Native American Indian woman teaching a young Native American girl how to use a loom.
Resources for Tribes – The Bureau’s Central and Regional Office staff work with federally recognized Tribes to facilitate their access to available funding under programs such as titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act, including direct funding to operate Tribal child welfare systems. [LEARN MORE]

Chapter 3

Research & Data

The Children’s Bureau’s original mission was to “investigate and report” on all matters pertaining to child well-being. During the past century, Bureau research has shed light on many of the most critical conditions affecting all children, as well as those affecting specific, vulnerable groups.

Sharecropper’s child suffering from rickets and malnutrition, Wilson cotton plantation, Mississippi County, AR, circa 1935.
Sharecropper’s child suffering from rickets and malnutrition, Wilson cotton plantation, Mississippi County, AR, circa 1935.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USF33-002002-M2
Groundbreaking Infant Mortality Study – The U.S. Government could once do little more than guess at the percentage of infants who survived their first year and the reasons why so many did not. One of the Children’s Bureau’s very first undertakings was a search for more definitive answers. [LEARN MORE]
Rickets Demonstration – In 1924, the Children’s Bureau selected the community of New Haven, CT, for a detailed study of the incidence and prevention of rickets. [LEARN MORE]
Depression-Era Research – Much of the Children’s Bureau’s research during the 1930s focused on the effects of unemployment on families and children. [LEARN MORE]
Adoption Outcomes – One of the earliest studies of independent adoption was conducted jointly by the Florida Department of Welfare and the Children’s Bureau, in partnership with the Russell Sage Foundation. [LEARN MORE]
Poster promoting planned housing as a method to deter juvenile delinquency, showing silhouettes of a child stealing a piece of fruit and a child involved in armed robbery, circa 1936.
Poster promoting planned housing as a method to deter juvenile delinquency, showing silhouettes of a child stealing a piece of fruit and a child involved in armed robbery, circa 1936.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZC2-1017
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention – Juvenile delinquency and juvenile courts were a consistent theme of study during the Children’s Bureau’s first 50 years. [LEARN MORE]

Chapter 3

Research & Data

Whether collecting national statistics on families involved with the child welfare system or funding original research and demonstration programs, the Bureau remains a key contributor to the knowledge base necessary to implement evidence-based practice and data-driven decision-making.
Federal and State Reporting Systems – The Children’s Bureau administers Federal and State reporting systems that provide data to monitor and improve child welfare outcomes. [LEARN MORE]
Screen capture of the Child Welfare Outcomes data site.
Discretionary Grants – The Children’s Bureau awards discretionary grants for research and innovative program development through a competitive peer-review process to State and local agencies, Tribes, community-based organizations, and other groups. [LEARN MORE]
Quality Improvement Centers – Bureau-funded Quality Improvement Centers (QICs) promote knowledge development to improve child welfare services in five areas of focus: nonresident fathers, privatization, differential response, early childhood, and the representation of children. [LEARN MORE]
Children’s Bureau-Funded Research – The Children’s Bureau also funds research in collaboration with other organizations. [LEARN MORE]
Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects – The Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration authority gives States an opportunity to use Federal funds more flexibly in order to test innovative approaches to child welfare service delivery and financing.
[LEARN MORE]
Photo of a diverse group of older teenagers smiling

Chapter 4

Getting the Word Out

Throughout its history, the Children’s Bureau has bridged the gaps among science, practice, and parenting through a combination of public campaigns, popular brochures, and research-based periodicals.
Children’s Bureau poster commemorating Children’s Year, circa 1918.
Children’s Bureau poster commemorating Children’s Year, circa 1918.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZC4-9867
Early Campaigns – “Save 100,000 Babies” was the slogan for the Bureau-sponsored Children’s Year (1918-1919). [LEARN MORE]
Popular Literature – The Bureau’s early pamphlets for parents were among the most popular government publications for decades. [LEARN MORE]
White House Conferences on Children – Following the first White House Conference on Children in 1909, conferences were called approximately every 10 years through 1970, serving to focus national attention on the needs of all children. [LEARN MORE]
Research News – The Children’s Bureau began issuing its first research and news periodical in 1919. [LEARN MORE]
Child welfare conference during the early years of the Children’s Bureau, circa 1914-1918.
Child welfare conference during the early years of the Children’s Bureau, circa 1914-1918.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-npcc-33232

Chapter 4

Getting the Word Out

The Children’s Bureau produces initiatives, reports, and information focused on strengthening vital links between child welfare research and practice. These activities enhance awareness and provide tools to help child welfare professionals improve their services to children and families.
Special Initiatives – Special initiatives build broad-based partnerships and recognize public and private efforts to strengthen communities, support parents, and protect children. [LEARN MORE]
AdoptUSKids Campaign – AdoptUSKids aims to raise public awareness about the need for foster and adoptive families for children in the child welfare system and to help States recruit and retain foster and adoptive families and connect them with children. [LEARN MORE]
AdoptUSKids campaign billboard example
Child Welfare Outcomes 2006-2009 Report to Congress coverPhoto of a pile of daily calendar pages with the words Activity Calendar in English and Spanish across the topChild Maltreatment 2010 cover
Reports and Publications – Knowledge built through Children’s Bureau programs, data collection, research, and monitoring efforts is disseminated to the field in the form of statistics, reports, and publications to help child welfare professionals improve their services to children and families. [LEARN MORE]
Research, News, and Information – The Children’s Bureau offers professionals and others concerned with child well-being multiple ways to stay connected to the best child welfare research and resources. [LEARN MORE]

Chapter 5

Leadership

From the eradication of child labor to the reduction of infant mortality to improving living conditions for orphans, the Bureau has provided groundbreaking leadership and garnered critical resources to improve the lives of children and families.
Children’s Bureau Chiefs – Julia Lathrop, first Chief of the Children’s Bureau, was the first woman ever to head an agency of the U.S. government. Many of Lathrop’s successors have been women; all have provided critical leadership on behalf of children, youth, and families. [LEARN MORE]
Children’s Bureau Chief, Julia Lathrop, meets with staff to plan Baby Week, circa 1916.
Children’s Bureau Chief, Julia Lathrop, meets with staff to plan Baby Week, circa 1916.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-hec-06624
Child welfare workers in Minnesota, circa 1920s.
Child welfare workers in Minnesota, circa 1920s.
Photo Credit: Courtesy University of Minnesota School of Social Work
Professionalization of the Child Welfare Workforce – The Children’s Bureau’s early decision to support workers’ professional development resulted in an enduring commitment that continues today. [LEARN MORE]

Chapter 5

Leadership

Today, the Children’s Bureau’s leadership can be seen in its commitment to systems change, implementation science, and professional development to support the next generation of child welfare leaders.
Photo of a man sitting on a couch with a young boy in his lap facing a female professional with papers in her hands
Implementation and Systems Change – The Children’s Bureau funds five regionally based Implementation Centers, which focus on implementation of strategies to achieve sustainable, systemic change that enhances the lives of children, youth, and families. [LEARN MORE]
Workforce Development – The Children’s Bureau-funded National Child Welfare Workforce Institute aims to build the capacity of the Nation’s child welfare workforce and improve outcomes for children, youth, and families. The Institute conducts a range of activities to support leadership development, skill-building, and professional growth. [LEARN MORE]
21st Century Child Welfare Roadmap – During 2011 and 2012, the Children’s Bureau will work with Federal, State, Tribal, and private partners in venues across the country to develop a shared vision for the future of child welfare services. [LEARN MORE]
Photo of an older boy touching the words 21st Century floating in front of him
 
 

Introduction   Birth of an Era

Young boys mending broken threads on a loom in a textile mill in Macon GA, circa 1909
Young boys mending broken threads on a loom in a textile mill in Macon GA, circa 1909.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-nclc-01581
President Theodore Roosevelt, circa 1902
President Theodore Roosevelt, circa 1902.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ds-00178

At the turn of the last century, conditions for children in America looked very different from today. More than 1 in 10 infants did not survive their first year. Many children left school to help support their families, often working in dangerous conditions. Orphans were crowded into large institutions, where they received little care or attention.

Lillian D. Wald, founder of the Henry Street Settlement in New York City, and her friend Florence Kelley are credited with conceiving the idea for a Federal agency to promote child health and welfare in 1903. Impressed with the idea, a friend of Wald’s wired President Theodore Roosevelt, who promptly invited the group to the White House to discuss it further. The journey to create the Children’s Bureau had begun.

Many years of nationwide campaigning by individuals and organizations followed. Eleven bills, eight originating in the House and three in the Senate, met with failure between 1906 and 1912. In 1909, President Roosevelt convened the first White House Conference on Children. This meeting brought together social workers, educators, juvenile court judges, labor leaders, and other men and women concerned with children’s well-being, who collectively endorsed the idea of a Federal Children’s Bureau.

Visionary Lillian Wald worked with Florence Kelley and other social reformers to conceive the idea for the Children’s Bureau and helped draft its founding legislation.
Visionary Lillian Wald worked with Florence Kelley and other social reformers to conceive the idea for the Children’s Bureau and helped draft its founding legislation.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-hec-19537
Florence Kelley, who was active in the Settlement Movement, conceived the idea for the Children’s Bureau with Lillian Wald, perhaps as early as 1903, in a conversation over morning coffee.
Florence Kelley, who was active in the Settlement Movement, conceived the idea for the Children’s Bureau with Lillian Wald, perhaps as early as 1903, in a conversation over morning coffee. Together with other social reformers, they helped draft the Bureau’s founding legislation.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-137950

“There are few things more vital to the welfare of the Nation than accurate and dependable knowledge of the best methods of dealing with children...” - President Theodore Roosevelt

In 1912, Congress passed the Act creating the Children’s Bureau and charged it “to investigate and report . . . upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people.” President William Howard Taft signed the bill on April 9, 1912. The bill included an initial appropriation of $25,640.

Link:

Establishment of the Bureau (1912)  PDF - 842.50 KB

Introduction   Progress for Children

Before the Children’s Bureau Today
The infant mortality problem was recognized but not well understood. No accurate national statistics were available, though it was estimated that 300,000 babies died each year, or close to 1 in 10.
Nurses weighing a baby at the Cincinnati, OH, pure milk station, circa 1908.
Nurses weighing a baby at the Cincinnati, OH, pure milk station, circa 1908.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-43678
The U.S. infant mortality rate is less than 7 per 1,000 live births. Resources committed to reducing infant mortality and ensuring access to prenatal and postnatal care have grown exponentially during the past century. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau, within the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, now administers these programs.
Child labor was common, particularly among rural and immigrant families. No Federal child labor law existed.
Children picking cotton, circa 1912.
Children picking cotton, circa 1912.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-npcc-19467
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 restricted employment and abuse of child workers, representing a major victory for the Children’s Bureau and its supporters. Its provisions (and others monitoring child labor) are now enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
An 8-year-old boy in juvenile court charged with stealing a bicycle, St. Louis, MO, circa 1910.
An 8-year-old boy in juvenile court charged with stealing a bicycle, St. Louis, MO, circa 1910.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-nclc-04645
Juvenile courts were still in their infancy. In 1899, Illinois became the first State to establish separate courts for all cases involving children under the age of 16.
Juvenile courts exist in every State, processing nearly 1 million cases each year. Building on the Children’s Bureau’s pioneering work in this area, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, within the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, is now dedicated to supporting States, local communities, and Tribal jurisdictions in their efforts to develop and implement effective programs for juveniles.
Boys riding on what is thought to be an orphan train destined for Texas, circa 1904.
Boys riding on what is thought to be an orphan train destined for Texas, circa 1904.
Photo Credit: Negative #82697d
Collection of The New-York Historical Society
“Orphan Trains” transported abandoned or homeless children from crowded coastal cities to the Midwest, where they were taken in by pioneer families for work or adoption.
Modern child welfare agencies focus on finding a permanent family for every child, preferably within the child’s family or kin. Approximately three-fourths of the more than 400,000 children in foster care today live in foster homes or with relatives. More than half of children exiting foster care are reunited with their families of origin, while one-fifth are adopted by unrelated families that have been carefully screened and prepared for the adoption. Outcomes for children entering State foster care systems are carefully tracked by the Children’s Bureau.
A friendly visitor from the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service, circa 1940.
A friendly visitor from the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service, circa 1940.
Photo Credit: Museum of the City of New York
Child welfare work was still primarily conducted by volunteers lacking formal training in social work.
The Children’s Bureau supports State, Tribal, and local child welfare agency efforts to recruit and retain a qualified workforce through initiatives such as its National Child Welfare Workforce Institute .

Chapter 1   Collaboration

Children’s Bureau pamphlet, <i>Is Your Child’s Birth Recorded?
Children’s Bureau pamphlet, Is Your Child’s Birth Recorded?
Photo Credit: Maternal and Child Health Library
Collaboration With the Private Sector: Birth Registration – When the Children’s Bureau was created, no comprehensive record existed of the number of children born in the United States each year. Accurate birth records were essential to the goals of reducing infant mortality and providing important protections for children in school and work, so addressing this lack was among the Children’s Bureau’s first priorities.

The Bureau began by partnering with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, whose members traveled door to door when necessary to investigate what percentage of births was recorded in specific, local areas. This initial study resulted in the creation (in 1915) of a “birth registration area” encompassing 10 States and the District of Columbia. By 1933, it had expanded to include all States.

Link:

Chapter 1   Collaboration

Photo of the top of stone pillars supporting a stone roof with the words Good Government engraved across the front
Federal Collaboration – From its inception, the Children’s Bureau worked closely with other Federal agencies on research and programs pertaining to children’s health and safety. The first formal body to coordinate work among Federal agencies concerned with the well-being of children and youth was the Interdepartmental Committee on Children and Youth, formed in 1948.

Major responsibilities of this body included planning and conducting follow-up from White House Conferences on Children and Youth in 1950 and 1960. In 1988, amendments to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) created a Federal Inter-Agency Task Force specifically focused on child abuse and neglect, a precursor to today’s Federal Interagency Work Group on the same topic.

Links:

Chapter 1   Collaboration

Photo of an old fashioned Map of the world
International Collaboration – The Children’s Bureau’s international activities began as early as 1916, when Chief Lathrop pledged to help a group of women in Argentina who first envisioned the Pan American Congresses devoted to child welfare.

Children’s Bureau staff have represented the United States on many such international bodies throughout its history, including committees of the League of Nations, Agency for International Development, and the United Nations. During World War II, the Children’s Bureau was a key player in the creation of the U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children.

Links:

Chapter 1   Collaboration

Graphic of a heart with the American flag across it
Federal Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect (FEDIAWG) – The Office on Child Abuse and Neglect leads and coordinates more than 40 Federal agencies participating in the FEDIAWG.

This group provides a vehicle for staff from member agencies to exchange information about child maltreatment-related programs and activities and collaborate to maximize funding and resources. For example, as U.S. troops have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan during the last decade, the Children’s Bureau has worked closely with the Department of Defense’s Military Community and Family Policy’s Family Advocacy Program to provide child abuse prevention resources to installations and educate the civilian community about how everyone can help support and strengthen military families during a deployment.

Link:

Chapter 1   Collaboration

Network for Action – Network for Action is a public/private partnership to spark and support national action to prevent child maltreatment and promote well-being.
The Office on Child Abuse and Neglect is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Violence Prevention’s Knowledge to Action Child Maltreatment Prevention Consortium Leadership Group (K2A), along with other national organizations and networks that support prevention efforts, to sponsor the following activities:
  • Develop a shared vision for the future
  • Engage in shared action to make the Network vision a reality, through strategic projects of national significance
  • Establish stronger relationships as a basis for meaningful collaboration in local, State, and national networks
Link:

Chapter 1   Collaboration

Photo of multinational flags in a pile
International Visits – Children’s Bureau staff regularly present to groups of international delegates on Federal strategies to promote the safety and well-being of children and youth.
From October 2010 to September 2011, the Bureau hosted approximately 80 delegates from more than 15 countries, including Russia, Bulgaria, Iraq, Korea, Denmark, and Nigeria. Topics included the following:
  • Models for working with at-risk youth
  • International adoption issues
  • Programs for abused and neglected children in the foster care system
  • Future direction and priorities of the United States in serving children in need

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

Eight-year-old gold digger Bill Scott is all set to go to work in the mines in Clarksburg, WV.
Eight-year-old "gold digger" Bill Scott is all set to go to work in the mines in Clarksburg, WV.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-82974
Child Labor—Keating-Owen Act (1916–1918) – The Children’s Bureau’s first administrative responsibility was enforcing the first Federal child labor law, for which Congress appropriated $150,000 in 1917.

This duty was short-lived—the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional 9 months later. Nonetheless, it set the stage for the Bureau to administer legislative programs, and greater responsibility soon followed.

Link:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

Photo of orphaned baby from a Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information document emphasizing the importance of aid to dependent children, circa 1940s.
Photo of orphaned baby from a Farm Security Administration/Office of War information document emphasizing the importance of aid to dependent children, circa 1940s.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-fsa-8e09020
Maternity and Infancy Act (1922–1929) – The 1921 Maternity and Infancy Act was the first Federal law providing grants to States to fund human services.
A plan very similar to the act was originally proposed by Children’s Bureau Chief Julia Lathrop in her 1917 annual report. Her vision was for a program that provided funds for:
  • Instruction in maternity and infant care through public health nurses and “consultation centers”
  • Provision of medical and nursing care for mothers and infants, at home or in hospitals
As passed, the Act required States to submit expenditure plans that were approved by a Federal board chaired by the Children’s Bureau Chief.

Link:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act in the White House, circa 1935.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Social Security Act in the White House, circa 1935.
Photo Credit: Copyright Bettmann/CORBIS
Social Security Act (1935) – Under Title V of the Social Security Act of 1935, the Children’s Bureau was given responsibility for three important children’s programs: maternal and child health, services for “crippled children,” and child welfare services.

This represented an entirely new level of Federal-State cooperation in child welfare. The Bureau consulted with many States as they developed plans to use the funds to create or improve public child welfare services, particularly in rural areas. Bureau staff also were available to review proposed State legislation and cooperate or assist with special studies upon request. In fact, consultation to State and local agencies became one of the Bureau’s major functions, planting the seeds of a legacy that continues today.

Links:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

African American GI and his family seeking assistance through the WWII Emergency Maternity and Infant Care program.
African American GI and his family seeking assistance through the WWII Emergency Maternity and Infant Care program.
Photo Credit: National Archives
Emergency Maternity and Infant Care (1943–1946) – The Children’s Bureau’s Emergency Maternity and Infant Care program provided care for the wives and children of U.S. servicemen deployed during World War II.

Funds from the maternal and child health program of the Social Security Act covered the cost of medical, hospital, and nursing care. In the program’s 6 years, about 1.5 million cases were authorized for care, making this the most extensive single public medical care program that had ever been undertaken in the United States.

Link:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

Photo of a blue ribbon with the words Prevent Child Abuse in yellow
CAPTA (1974) – The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 was passed in response to growing recognition of the problem of children who were being abused or neglected by their caregivers.
The Act:
  • Provided assistance to States to develop child abuse and neglect identification and prevention programs
  • Authorized limited government research into child abuse prevention and treatment
  • Created the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN – now the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect within the Children’s Bureau)
  • Created the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information (now the Bureau’s Child Welfare Information Gateway)
  • Established Basic State Grants and Demonstration Grants for training personnel and support programs to prevent and treat child abuse
Links:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

Image of George Washington's face from a dollar bill superimposed with the American flag
Funding Programs – Matching funds help States, Tribes, and communities operate every aspect of their child welfare systems, from prevention of child abuse and neglect to adoption.
Funding sources include:
  • Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (foster care expenses and administration, adoption assistance)
  • Title IV-B of the Social Security Act (preventive intervention, alternative placements, family reunification, family preservation and support, services to support adoptions)
  • Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (funds to help older youth and former foster youth acquire training and independent living skills)
  • CAPTA State Grants (to improve State child protective service systems)
  • Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
  • Children’s Justice Act (to improve investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect)
  • Court Improvement Projects (to improve courts’ handling of child abuse and neglect litigation)
Link:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

Graphic of multicolored people icons linked together by circles and lines
T&TA Network – The Bureau’s Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Network provides comprehensive support to States, Tribes, communities, and child welfare professionals.

Members of the T&TA Network work together to build the capacity of State, Tribal, and local child welfare agencies through coordinated training, technical assistance, research, and consultation services.

Links:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

Close-up photo of a page of text with the word Policy highlighted in green
Policy Guidance – Children’s Bureau staff help States and others understand the requirements of relevant child welfare legislation, including the recent CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010 and the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.
Links:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

Photo of a Child and Family Service Review form
Planning and Monitoring – The Children’s Bureau helps States and Tribes plan and monitor child welfare services as mandated by Congress to promote positive outcomes for children and families.
Planning and monitoring activities include the following:
  • The Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP), a 5-year strategic plan completed by each State, sets forth a vision and goals to help integrate programs that serve children and families and strengthen the State’s overall child welfare system.
  • The Annual Progress and Services Report provides annual updates on the progress made toward accomplishing the goals and objectives in the CFSP.
  • Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs) ensure that State child welfare practice conforms to Federal requirements, determine what is actually happening to children and families as they move through the system, and help States improve services on behalf of children and families.
  • Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Eligibility Reviews determine whether children in foster care and the facilities they reside in meet Federal requirements.
  • The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS), and National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) Assessment Reviews assess and evaluate States’ adoption, foster care, and child welfare data systems and files to assess system functionality and ensure high-quality data are available for the Bureau’s CFSR and other reports.
Links:

Chapter 2   Assistance to States & Tribes

National Resource Center for Tribes logo
Resources for Tribes – The Bureau’s Central and Regional Office staff work with federally recognized Tribes to facilitate their access to available funding under programs such as titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act, including direct funding to operate Tribal child welfare systems.

The National Child Resource Center for Tribes (NRC4Tribes), the newest resource center within the Children’s Bureau T&TA Network, will become the focal point for coordinated and culturally competent child welfare T&TA for Tribes.

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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Children’s Bureau baby thermometer chart showing infant mortality rates according to fathers’ earnings, circa 1923.
Children’s Bureau "baby thermometer" chart showing infant mortality rates according to fathers’ earnings, circa 1923.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-127253
Groundbreaking Infant Mortality Study – The U.S. Government could once do little more than guess at the percentage of infants who survived their first year and the reasons why so many did not. One of the Children’s Bureau’s very first undertakings was a search for more definitive answers.

Eight American cities were selected to represent different conditions for families in different regions. Bureau staff, volunteers, and women’s clubs members painstakingly visited the homes of approximately 23,000 babies, documenting conditions and discovering critical factors that influenced the vastly differing infant death rates among various groups. The result? Between 1915 and 1921, infant mortality rates fell 24 percent.

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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Children’s Bureau pamphlet, Sunlight for Babies, circa 1931.
Children’s Bureau pamphlet, Sunlight for Babies, circa 1931.
Photo Credit: Maternal and Child Health Library
Rickets Demonstration – In 1924, the Children’s Bureau selected the community of New Haven, CT, for a detailed study of the incidence and prevention of rickets.

A common disease at the time, rickets impaired children’s immune systems, making them more susceptible to serious illness and death from pneumonia, measles, whooping cough, and other respiratory infections. Working in partnership with the Yale School of Medicine and the New Haven Department of Health, staff visited every mother with a baby in the study area to educate them about preventive measures such as sun baths and cod liver oil. Regular doctor visits and X-rays provided evidence that these simple preventive measures were effective in improving children’s health.

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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Children’s Bureau poster, Is Your Child Healthy?, circa 1923.
Children’s Bureau poster, Is Your Child Healthy?, circa 1923.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-npcc-24903
Depression-Era Research – Much of the Children’s Bureau’s research during the 1930s focused on the effects of unemployment on families and children.

For example, studies looked at living conditions for the vast numbers of adolescents who took to the road and the effects of the economy on families of railway workers. At the same time, the Bureau assumed responsibility for the only monthly national relief statistics available, compiling data from all U.S. cities with populations of 50,000 or more.

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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Traveling dispensary of the Department of Labor, Children’s Division, circa early 1900s.
Traveling dispensary of the Department of Labor, Children’s Division, circa early 1900s.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-16718
Adoption Outcomes – One of the earliest studies of independent adoption was conducted jointly by the Florida Department of Welfare and the Children’s Bureau, in partnership with the Russell Sage Foundation.

Beginning in 1957, this study examined conditions associated with favorable or unfavorable adoption outcomes. It found, among 484 nonprofessional adoptions, “... that the overall picture of the homes is not as bad as some had feared, but not as good as those concerned about children think it could and should be.” Findings were used to support further professionalization of adoption placement services.

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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Boys gang, Cleveland, OH, circa 1911.
Boys gang, Cleveland, OH, circa 1911.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-51276
Juvenile Delinquency Prevention – Juvenile delinquency and juvenile courts were a consistent theme of study during the Children’s Bureau’s first 50 years.

The Bureau studied causes of delinquency during World Wars I and II. It also reviewed the organization and methods of many of the Nation’s earliest juvenile courts, giving rise in 1923 to the first published juvenile court standards. In 1927, the Bureau began recording standardized juvenile court statistics of delinquency, dependency, and neglect. The Children’s Bureau also studied police work with juveniles and began offering special training conferences for police, teachers, and social workers on the topic in the 1940s. In 1952, the Bureau co-sponsored five meetings to discuss juvenile delinquency with the privately funded Special Juvenile Delinquency Project. The Effectiveness of Delinquency Prevention Programs was issued in 1955.

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Chapter 3   Research & Data

National Youth in Transition Database logo
Federal and State Reporting Systems – The Children’s Bureau administers Federal and State reporting systems that provide data to monitor and improve child welfare outcomes.
These include the following:
  • Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) collects case-level information on all children in foster care for whom State child welfare agencies have responsibility for placement, care, or supervision and all children who are adopted under the auspices of a State public child welfare agency.
  • National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) is a voluntary national data collection and analysis system.
  • The National Youth in Transition Database (NYTD) collects case-level information on youth in foster care, including the services paid for or provided by the State agencies that administer the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (CFCIP), as well as outcome information on youth who are in or who have aged out of foster care.
  • Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) is a comprehensive automated case management tool that supports social workers’ foster care and adoptions assistance case management practice.
  • Child Welfare Outcomes (CWO) is both a data site and an annual Report to Congress. The data are drawn from AFCARS and NCANDS to provide State and national information on child welfare.
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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Photo of file folder tabs with the tab labeled Grants in focus
Discretionary Grants – The Children’s Bureau awards discretionary grants for research and innovative program development through a competitive peer-review process to State and local agencies, Tribes, community-based organizations, and other groups.
Programs include the following:
  • Abandoned Infants Assistance provides funding for the development of comprehensive support services for families affected by substance abuse and/or HIV/AIDS.
  • Adoption Opportunities help eliminate barriers to adoption and find permanent families for children.
  • Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act Research and Demonstration Projects support research and demonstration and training programs for preventing and responding to child maltreatment.
  • Child Welfare Training enhances the skills and qualifications of child welfare workers.
  • Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (CBCAP) support Tribes, Tribal organizations, and migrant programs in developing linkages with the statewide CBCAP program and/or providing services otherwise consistent with the purposes of the CBCAP.
  • Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program trains designated staff of eligible health centers in providing adoption information and referrals to pregnant women on an equal basis with all other options.
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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Photo of a compass with the arrow pointing to the word Quality
Quality Improvement Centers – Bureau-funded Quality Improvement Centers (QICs) promote knowledge development to improve child welfare services in five areas of focus: nonresident fathers, privatization, differential response, early childhood, and the representation of children.

Each QIC conducts a national needs assessment and knowledge gap analysis on its issue, funds demonstration projects to address identified gaps, conducts cross-site analyses, and disseminates the findings.

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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Graphic of a magnifying glass over the word Research bolded in Red surrounded by miscellaneous words in gray
Children’s Bureau-Funded Research – The Children’s Bureau also funds research in collaboration with other organizations.
For example:
  • A Report to Congress on Barriers and Success Factors in Adoptions From Foster Care: Perspectives of Families and Staff Supported by the Adoption Opportunities Program identifies child, family, and agency factors that promote or act as barriers to successful adoptions from foster care.
  • Child Welfare Systems’ Responses to Children of Color seeks to identify programs and practices that address perceived racial or cultural disparities within the child welfare system and to pilot studies of policies and practices related to services for children of color in the system.
  • Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4) provides updated estimates of the incidence of child abuse and neglect in the United States, measures changes in these estimates from earlier studies, and examines the incidence of child maltreatment in relation to various subgroups defined by the child’s characteristics and family or household characteristics.
  • LONGSCAN reports provide information about the Longitudinal Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, sample demographics, measures utilized, and more.
  • National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) seeks to learn what happens to the children and families who come in contact with the child welfare system.
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Chapter 3   Research & Data

Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration Projects – The Child Welfare Waiver Demonstration authority gives States an opportunity to use Federal funds more flexibly in order to test innovative approaches to child welfare service delivery and financing.

States can design and demonstrate a wide range of approaches, including subsidized guardianship, services for caregivers with substance use disorders, and adoption and postpermanency services, to reform child welfare and improve outcomes.

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Chapter 4   Getting the Word Out

A nurse examines one of the Okeechobee migratory labor camp’s first babies, providing both prenatal and postnatal care to mother and child, Belle Glade, FL, circa 1940.
A nurse examines one of the Okeechobee migratory labor camp’s first babies, providing both prenatal and postnatal care to mother and child, Belle Glade, FL, circa 1940.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USF34-054200-E
Early Campaigns – “Save 100,000 Babies” was the slogan for the Bureau-sponsored Children’s Year (1918-1919).
This wartime program mobilized 11 million volunteers across the Nation to help reduce infant mortality. The effort also persuaded the majority of State governments to form child welfare programs or agencies. Other goals included the following:
  • Weighing and measuring infants and toddlers
  • Encouraging healthy recreation and play
  • Keeping children in school

The Children’s Year concluded with the development of new minimum standards for the health, education, and work of normal children and for the protection of children in need of special care. Baby Week Campaigns, a collaboration between the Children’s Bureau and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs that started as early as 1916, were an important precursor to the more comprehensive Children’s Year effort.

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Chapter 4   Getting the Word Out

Children’s Bureau pamphlet, Out of Babyhood Into Childhood, circa 1929.
Children’s Bureau pamphlet, Out of Babyhood Into Childhood, circa 1929.
Photo Credit: Maternal and Child Health Library
Popular Literature – The Bureau’s early pamphlets for parents were among the most popular government publications for decades.

They were particularly critical to women living in rural areas, who often did not have access to a doctor’s care or guidance. The series began with Prenatal Care, first published in 1913. This was soon followed by Infant Care (1914) and The Child from 2-6 (1915). All were bestsellers; the most popular, Infant Care, had been through 10 editions with a total distribution of 45 million copies by the end of 1961.

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Chapter 4   Getting the Word Out

Five hundred youth were among the attendees at the Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth, 1950.
Five hundred youth were among the attendees at the Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth, 1950.
Photo Credit: National Archives
White House Conferences on Children – Following the first White House Conference on Children in 1909, conferences were called approximately every 10 years through 1970, serving to focus national attention on the needs of all children.
The scope and topics varied greatly. For example:
  • The 1919 White House Conference on Standards of Child Welfare was an intimate gathering of approximately 200 specialists, laymen, and international visitors. By contrast, the 1930 White House Conference on Child Health and Protection was preceded by 16 months of fact finding by experts, attended by more than 3,000 participants, and documented in 32 volumes of final reports.
  • The Midcentury White House Conference on Children and Youth, a gathering of nearly 6,000, was notable for being the first to emphasize children’s emotional development, with its focus on a “healthy personality.”
  • Among the 14,000 people attending 1960’s Golden Anniversary White House Conference on Children and Youth were 1,400 official youth delegates of high school and college age.
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Chapter 4   Getting the Word Out

60th anniversary issue of the Children’s Bureau publication, Children Today (March 1972), and a later issue featuring the customs and rituals associated with birth and infancy from ancient times to the modern day (March 1988).
60th anniversary issue of the Children’s Bureau publication, Children Today (March 1972), and a later issue featuring the customs and rituals associated with birth and infancy from ancient times to the modern day (March 1988).
Research News – The Children’s Bureau began issuing its first research and news periodical in 1919.

Child Welfare News Summary began as a mimeograph for Bureau staff, but the mailing list soon expanded to include as many as 1,200 State and local partners. It was produced until 1935, when it was replaced by The Child, a journal produced monthly to “provide a regular means of communication” between the Children’s Bureau and its State and local constituents. Later versions included Children (1954-1971) and Children Today (1972-1997).

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Chapter 4   Getting the Word Out

Screen capture of National Foster Care Month web section
Special Initiatives – Special initiatives build broad-based partnerships and recognize public and private efforts to strengthen communities, support parents, and protect children.
They include the following:
  • Adoption Excellence Awards are awarded annually to honor States, organizations, businesses, individuals, and families that have demonstrated excellence in providing stable, permanent homes for our Nation’s children in foster care.
  • National Child Abuse Prevention Month is celebrated each April to encourage individuals and communities to support children and families and help prevent child maltreatment.
  • National Foster Care Month is celebrated every May to acknowledge the work of foster parents and draw attention to programs and practices that promote permanency for children and youth.
  • National Adoption Month is celebrated each November to raise awareness about the adoption of children and youth in foster care.
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Chapter 4   Getting the Word Out

AdoptUSKids Campaign – AdoptUSKids aims to raise public awareness about the need for foster and adoptive families for children in the child welfare system and to help States recruit and retain foster and adoptive families and connect them with children.

Funded through a Children’s Bureau cooperative agreement, AdoptUSKids offers a national photolisting of children waiting for families. In partnership with the Ad Council, AdoptUSKids has launched a multimedia national recruitment campaign to find families for waiting children. To date, more than 16,000 children previously featured on the national website have found permanent families.

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Chapter 4   Getting the Word Out

User Manual cover example and Prevention Resource Guide cover example
Reports and Publications – Knowledge built through Children’s Bureau programs, data collection, research, and monitoring efforts is disseminated to the field in the form of statistics, reports, and publications to help child welfare professionals improve their services to children and families.
Key resources include:
  • Adoption and Foster Care Statistics (AFCARS) Reports – Case-level information on all children in foster care
  • Child Maltreatment Reports – National statistics on child abuse and neglect
  • Child Welfare Outcomes Reports – Annual reports to Congress on child safety, permanency, and well-being
  • User Manual Series – Guidance on identifying, preventing, and responding to child maltreatment
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Chapter 4   Getting the Word Out

Research, News, and Information – The Children’s Bureau offers professionals and others concerned with child well-being multiple ways to stay connected to the best child welfare research and resources.
Child Welfare Information Gateway logo
  • Child Welfare Information Gateway connects professionals and the general public to timely, essential information and practical resources on programs, research, evidence-based practice, laws and policies, training approaches, statistics, and much more.
Children’s Bureau Express logo
  • Children’s Bureau Express (CBX) offers subscribers monthly updates with the latest news and resources from the fields of child abuse and neglect prevention, child welfare, and adoption.
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Chapter 5   Leadership

Children’s Bureau Chiefs – Julia Lathrop, first Chief of the Children’s Bureau, was the first woman ever to head an agency of the U.S. government. Many of Lathrop’s successors have been women; all have provided critical leadership on behalf of children, youth, and families.
Children’s Bureau Chiefs include the following:
  • Julia Lathrop (1912–1921) guided the Bureau’s formative years, overseeing an increase in staff from 15 to more than 200, as well as the shift in its mission from strictly investigation and reporting to administering programs. Her brainchild, the Maternity and Infancy Act, was signed into law during her final year at the Bureau.
  • Grace Abbott (1921–1934) joined the Bureau in 1917 to run the child labor division and administered the short-lived Keating-Owen Act. Her most important tasks as head of the Children’s Bureau were to administer the groundbreaking Maternity and Infancy Act and help draft the Social Security Act of 1935.
  • Katharine Lenroot (1934–1951) was a social worker who worked first as a special investigator and then assistant director of the Children’s Bureau, authoring studies on juvenile courts and issues facing unmarried mothers. Lenroot had an international focus, creating the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, representing the United States at four Pan-American Child Congresses, and serving on the executive board of UNICEF from 1947 to 1951.
  • Martha Eliot (1951–1956) , a medical doctor, served as director of the Bureau’s division of child and maternal health from 1924 to 1934 and as assistant chief from 1934 to 1949. Among her accomplishments were helping to draft the child welfare portions of the Social Security Act and conceiving and implementing the Emergency Maternity and Infant Care program.
  • Katherine Oettinger (1957–1968) was a working mother and the first Bureau chief formally trained as a social worker. During her tenure as Chief, Oettinger presided over a sixfold increase in the Bureau’s budget and was instrumental in focusing public attention on child abuse and neglect, programs for children with disabilities, juvenile delinquency, and the development of child care.
  • Pardo Frederick DelliQuadri (1968–1969) oversaw children’s services in Wyoming, Illinois, and Wisconsin and served as the U.S. representative to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) under President Kennedy. While DelliQuadri was chief, the Children’s Bureau sponsored several research and demonstration studies that showed the serious health, educational, and social risks involved in school-age pregnancy.
  • Edward Zigler (1970–1972) participated on the National Planning and Steering Committee of Project Head Start in 1964. Appointed the first Director of the Office of Child Development and Chief of the Children’s Bureau in 1970, Zigler led efforts to conceptualize and mount such national programs as Health Start, Home Start, the Education for Parenthood Program, the Child Development Associate Program, and the Child and Family Resources Program.
  • John Meier (1974–1976) was responsible for starting the New Nursery School, a precursor to the Head Start program. While Chief of the Children’s Bureau, Meier influenced and helped create significant legislation, including writing sections of the Education for All Handicapped Law.
  • Blandina Cardenas (1977–1979)
  • John A. Calhoun III (1980–1981) helped to write and then saw Congress enact the landmark Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980.
  • Clarence Eugene Hodges (1981–1984)
  • Dodie Truman Livingston (1984–1989) was a writer and researcher dedicated to issues concerning adoption. Both an adoptee and an adoptive parent, Livingston oversaw the development of the Bureau’s Family Assessment Form, which was validated by research and used in hundreds of agencies across the United States.
  • Wade Horn (1989–1993)
  • Olivia Golden (1993–1998)
  • Patricia Montoya (1998–2001)
  • Joan Ohl (2002–2008)
  • Bryan Samuels (2010–Present)
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Chapter 5   Leadership

Children’s Bureau staff, circa 1923.
Children’s Bureau staff, circa 1923.
Photo Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-npcc-24896
Professionalization of the Child Welfare Workforce – The Children’s Bureau’s early decision to support workers’ professional development resulted in an enduring commitment that continues today.

Faced with a limited source of child welfare funds authorized by the Social Security Act of 1935, the Children’s Bureau determined it could achieve the greatest impact by using those funds not for maintenance of children in the States’ care, but for the employment and training of child welfare staff. Early funding supported inservice training, higher quality supervision, and professional educational leave to enhance workers’ skills and abilities as well as to address the never-ending challenges of staff shortages and turnover. In 1960, about 10 percent of the $13 million allocated to States for child welfare services was being used for educational leave.

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Chapter 5   Leadership

Photo of a group of diverse hands holding up a globe
Implementation and Systems Change – The Children’s Bureau funds five regionally based Implementation Centers, which focus on implementation of strategies to achieve sustainable, systemic change that enhances the lives of children, youth, and families.
In addition to working with the T&TA Network to provide consultation and support, each center has formal partnerships with States and Tribes in its region to execute programs. Other Implementation Center tasks vary by region and include:
  • Facilitating peer networking across State and Tribal systems via webinars and conference calls, listservs, regional forums, learning communities, and training opportunities
  • Providing expertise, resources, and technical assistance needed to enhance agency capacity to implement and sustain systemic change
  • Building and disseminating resources, knowledge, and best practices about effective implementation in child welfare
  • Engaging families and youth in achieving systems change
  • Integrating cultural and linguistic competence
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Chapter 5   Leadership

Photo of a group of professionals sitting at a table while one female stands
Workforce Development – The Children’s Bureau-funded National Child Welfare Workforce Institute aims to build the capacity of the Nation’s child welfare workforce and improve outcomes for children, youth, and families. The Institute conducts a range of activities to support leadership development, skill-building, and professional growth.
These include the following:
  • Development and delivery of child welfare leadership training curricula to middle managers and supervisors, through its Leadership Academy
  • Facilitation of national peer networks of child welfare trainees, students, and leaders
  • Strategic dissemination of effective practices in workforce development, leadership, and cultural responsiveness
  • Implementation of B.S.W. and M.S.W. traineeship programs in partnership with 12 universities
  • An extensive project evaluation
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Chapter 5   Leadership

21st Century Child Welfare Roadmap – During 2011 and 2012, the Children’s Bureau will work with Federal, State, Tribal, and private partners in venues across the country to develop a shared vision for the future of child welfare services.
These strategic discussions will culminate in the production of a “roadmap” for the Bureau’s next 100 years. Highlights will include system reforms and improvements; prevention efforts; sustainable effective practices; and innovations that will continue to contribute to child and family safety, permanency, and well-being.

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