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.)

A shift from coordinating the activities of member agencies to providing direct service necessitated the association's reorganization in 1914. Many of the smaller agencies were transferring their functions to Associated Charities. As a result, the organization had assumed the characteristics of a social welfare agency with clearly defined departments. The reorganization simply recognized the programs that were already being conducted. The Associated Charities was dissolved and a new organization, the United Charities of St. Paul, was formed.

The newly reorganized agency's efforts to establish itself and provide services were hampered by a budget crisis. Financial support wavered and there was considerable inertia among volunteer workers. In spite of these difficulties, the agency established a medical clinic and dental clinics, assumed an increasing family case load, and formed a free legal aid department. During World War I, ongoing financial problems were aggravated by competition for funding and personnel. The agency closed departments and the day nursery on a seasonal basis and dismissed its legal aid attorney and registrar.

The agency faced a series of changes during the post-war years and the 1920s. A rapid increase in unemployment and the number of dependent families resulted in a growing case load immediately following World War I. United Charities' secretary reported that “family case work, with special emphasis on children’s problems is, perhaps, the feature which will have to be most strongly emphasized at this time." The agency also worked to develop a professional social work staff, reflected in the revision of hiring criteria and ties to area educational institutions. One notable achievement during this time was the use of the United Charities by University of Minnesota students for field work training in social work.

The formation of the St. Paul Community Chest in 1920 freed United Charities from fund raising and allowed the agency to anticipate more stable finances, although it continued to undergo a series of financial crisis during the early 1920s. United Charities also assumed an even greater case load as the Community Chest assigned all emergency relief work to the agency in order to reduce duplication of effort between area organizations. Dispensing food, fuel, clothing, and other types of emergency relief continued to be a major activity of the organization. In addition, the agency trimmed programs as it focused on its family service activities. In particular, the Free Medical Dispensary was transferred to The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in 1923. During this time, United Charities also worked to develop research and family case work techniques, influence court procedures affecting families, and establish a children's department.

In 1929, Ramsey County discussed the possibility of reorganizing its Board of Control, which governed public relief. This led the three Community Chest-financed family agencies to clarify the relationships between private and public family social agencies. United Charities directed its full attention to family service and continued to handle unemployment referrals.

Continually changing social conditions, particularly the growth of public welfare during the Great Depression of the 1930s, focused the United Charities’ mission still more sharply. The cost of providing aid to increasing numbers of families and individuals was too great for private and local government resources. As the federal government began to provide relief, United Charities' professional staff worked to administer these public relief efforts.

The establishment of various public works projects under the Works Progress Administration in 1935 took some of the pressure off of the public relief program. The following year, the United Charities resumed its independent status under a new name, Family Service of St. Paul, and affiliated with the Family Welfare Association of America. These changes reflected the agency's renewed commitment to casework and other related services to families.

In 1939, Family Service assumed responsibility for local travelers aid activities following a survey of travelers aid in the area by the National Association of Travelers Aid Societies. Started under YWCA auspices in 1907, the program rendered services to travelers and transients in need. With the United States' entry into World War II, Family Service’s total program was geared to meet wartime needs. Special projects included the establishment of an information center for military personnel who needed welfare or family services. Local draft boards referred those who presented problems beyond the scope of the board’s own programs.

A 1945 study, undertaken to plan for postwar readjustments, concluded that Family Service should aspire to be St. Paul’s “largest non-sectarian agency to handle diagnostic and treatment services and preventive work" and "an important source of referral to the state agencies for economic aid and long time care and supervision.” The organization continued to provide family services and legal aid; undertake research projects; and experiment with new methods of handling case work. It also developed new programs, such as: the homemaker service, direct services for children, parent-child boarding houses, working homes for adolescents, debt adjustment programs, and mental health services.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Family Service cooperated with the Ramsey County Welfare Board and other agencies in a research and demonstration project designed to identify multi-problem families and serve them more effectively through the systematic, coordinated efforts of social agencies. (The records of the Family Centered Project, which include the pilot Family Unit Report Study, are also held by SWHA. See SW017, St. Paul Family Centered Project records.)

During the 1970s, Family Service expanded to meet challenges brought on by economic recession and an increasing divorce rate. Under the direction of Ron Reed, the agency developed programs designed to serve changing families. The agency also established alcohol and drug abuse services. Many new programs were funded from sources other than the United Way, broadening Family Service’s financial base. In 1977, Family Service established an Advocacy Committee, which worked with community groups on initiatives to change charitable contribution tax laws, city housing ordinances, and domestic violence legislation.

The 1980s brought a rising demand for services. Increasing demands on the agency coincided with budget cuts, resulting in a reevaluation of the agency’s program priorities and the formation of new collaborative efforts. For example, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Family Service assumed the programs of or worked closely with East Communities Family Center, Jewish Vocational Service’s COPE program, Midway Hospital’s Center for Domestic Abuse, the Rent Assistance Program, and the Minnesota Center for Grief and Loss. In 2004, Family Service merged with the Children's Home Society of Minnesota to form Children's Home and Family Service.

From the guide to the Family Service of St. Paul records, 1894-2002, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Social Welfare History Archives [swha])