Utah. Dept. of Public Welfare.

ORGANIZATIONAL HISTORY: The State Department of Public Welfare was created by act of the 21st State Legislature in March 1935, retaining the existing organizational structure and personnel of the federal Emergency Relief Administration in Utah. Initially, the department coordinated distribution of federal aid to Utah citizens, but by 1937 had been charged with administering all forms of public assistance and welfare activities in the state. The Board of Public Welfare, consisting of the Governor and six appointees, governed the department until 1941 when it was replaced by a three-member Public Welfare Commission. The Commission was advised by a six-member Advisory Council from that date.

Three bureaus and two divisions comprised the newly organized department: the Bureau of Assistance and Services, Bureau of Finance and Audits, Bureau of Research and Statistics, Division of Old-Age Assistance, and Division of Child Welfare Services. A major reorganization of state government occurred in 1941, resulting in numerous changes in the organization. Responsibility for the administration of the Utah State Hospital, the State Training School, the State Tuberculosis Sanitorium, the Disabled Miners' Hospital, and the State Industrial School was transferred to the Department of Public Welfare in this reorganization. Also, a bureau of Child Welfare Services was created in 1941 by combining the Division of Child Welfare Services and the juvenile court system. Informational Service, Commodity Distribution, and Food Stamp Sales units were also added, but the Food Stamp Sales unit was dropped two years later when the program was discontinued.

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