Family Service of St. Paul

Family Service of St. Paul and its predecessors, Associated Charities of St. Paul and United Charities of St. Paul, provided an array of family related social services beginning in 1892. After a decade of coordinating the relief tasks of member agencies, the organization began to provide relief services directly during the 1910s. From the 1910s through the 1950s, it continued to emphasize family casework and unemployment relief while adding an array of related social and health programs. The 1960s through the 1990s saw a further broadening of programs, greater diversification of funding sources, and increased collaborative projects. Throughout the 20th Century, Family Service was influenced by and responded to changing social and economic factors; the professionalization of social work and evolving theories of family casework; and the formation of government relief programs and subsequent fluctuations in federal funding and priorities.

The Associated Charities of St. Paul was formed in 1892 to promote cooperation between existing charitable agencies and to establish a registration office with a record of the charitable work of all member agencies. At its founding, the organization was not concerned with direct relief work, but left that task to member organizations. Coordination among the agencies was achieved by the representation of member organizations on the board of directors of Associated Charities. James F. Jackson was elected the association’s first general secretary. (See the James F. Jackson papers at the Minnesota Historical Society.)

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