California Social Welfare Archives

The California Social Welfare Archives (CSWA) was organized in 1979 to collect materials that chronicle the history and diversity of social welfare in California.

The Archives contains correspondence, minutes, memoranda, annual reports, research papers, conference proceedings, oral histories, and newsletters of California social welfare and related organizations which have reflected in their programs the development of social welfare programs, problems, issues, and services in the State. It also contains the personal papers of social workers or social work lay or civic leaders who participated in the emergence of social programs, public or private. Included in the collection are documents illustrating the roles of philanthropic groups and, especially, those depicting the history of marginalized groups as providers and consumers of mainstream social welfare services, as well as their experience in developing and using their own community services through, for example, benevolent societies and religious groups.

 

Directions and Access
CSWA collections may be consulted on the campus of the University of Southern California in the Doheny Memorial Library, Special Collections room 209. The Archives may be used by academic and community researchers.

Email: specol@usc.edu
Special Collections telephone: 213-740-5900.