White House Conference on Child Health and Protection (1930 : Washington, D.C.)

In 1930 President Hoover gathered professional leaders in a variety of fields to serve on the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection. It evaluated the national state of child care and protection and, through its reports, made recommendations for child welfare services on all governmental levels. Dr. Eugene Lindsay Bishop, 1886-1951, was commissioner of the Tennessee State Health Department in 1930. He served on the conference's Committee on Public Health Organization.

From the guide to the Eugene L. Bishop White House Conference on Child Health and Protection Collection, 1929-1931, (History of Medicine Division. National Library of Medicine)

Historical Note

The White House Conference on Child Health and Protection was convened by President Herbert Hoover in Washington, D.C. on November 19-21, 1930, to raise awareness and focus public attention on issues affecting children. These conferences on children and youth were held at approximately ten-year intervals starting in 1909.

A Planning Committee was set up in July 1929 with Ray Lyman Wilbur and other individuals who were experts in their fields to work out detailed plans for a conference to "study the present status of the health and well-being of the children of the United States and its possessions; to report what is being done; to recommend what ought to be done and how to do it." Julia Lathrop, first chief of the Children's Bureau and her successor, Grace Abbott, were involved in the Planning Committee.

Recommendations of the Planning Committee prompted President Hoover to invite all interested people across the country to participate in a conference in Washington, D.C. on November 19-21, 1930, to discuss issues affecting children's lives and exchange ideas. Out of these discussions came recommendations covering prenatal care, parenting skills, education, health, and development of social skills for all children. Thirty-one volumes of information prepared by the White House conference were incorporated into a nineteen point statement and designated the Children's Charter. It carried a promise from all delegates that they would try to make it a reality.

The November conference was only the first part of President Hoover's program. The second part was to convene follow-up conferences in communities and neighborhoods where children lived. Such conferences were convened in thirty-two states, two hundred counties, and many communities, and generated public support.

The collection includes records of the American Child Health Association. It was created in 1923 out of a friendship between Herbert Hoover and Dr. L. Emmett Holt. Their plan was to integrate various volunteer organizations to make it easier to administer finances and carry out welfare programs for children. Its main focus was on education, health care, family environment, and nutrition, which they considered essential ingredients of a productive life for children. It existed until 1935.

From the guide to the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection Records, 1909-1950, (Hoover Institution Archives)