Open for use in the Archives reading room.
The Minnesota Social Service Association records are arranged into
nine series:
Copyright is retained by the Minnesota Social Service Association. Please contact the Archives for additional copyright information.
The records were received as a gift from the Minnesota Social Service Association in May, 1991.
Arrangement and description of the records was made possible by a generous financial gift from the Minnesota Social Service Association. The inventory was prepared in 1992 and revised in 1995 by Pat Hennessey.
Unpublished inventory available. Please contact the Archives for more information.
The Minnesota Social Service Association furthers social welfare programs and services through its annual conferences, legislative advocacy, and other projects. The Association has undergone numerous name changes and was previously called: Minnesota State Conference of Charities and Corrections (1893), the Minnesota State Conference of Social Work (1945), the Minnesota Welfare Conference (1960), and the Minnesota Welfare Association (1973).
On January 16, 1893, the Minnesota State Board of Corrections and Charities (a state government body) voted to call a statewide "conference of charities and correction" for the expressed purpose of giving "opportunity for the mutual interchange of views and experience by those who are actively engaged in the work, especially county commissioners and other citizens who work for the relief or improvement of the poor." The newly organized State Conference brought together persons from the private and public sectors to share experiences and concerns. Membership included members and officers of the State Board of Corrections and Charities, trustees and officers of state institutions, judges, county commissioners, county physicians, overseers of poorhouses, sheriffs, managers and officers of private charitable institutions and societies, and other citizens interested in charitable work, social issues, and the correctional system.
In 1938, the organization began its effort to educate the public on social service issues, and, in 1939, formed a legislative committee. Both of these efforts continue through the present, including an active lobbying program to influence state legislation. In 1941, the constitution was amended to allow regional organization, the association began holding some regional conferences as early as 1921. Ten regions were formed, each holding conferences and electing its own officers. In 1944, the governing authority for the Association shifted from a board to a newly established delegate assembly.
St. Paul hosted the first Association conference in May, 1893. Annual conferences have been held every year except 1918, 1931 (when the National Conference of Social Work was held in Minneapolis), and 1945. Conference proceedings were published from 1893 to 1936 and from 1946 to 1954. In 1963, the Association began publishing major papers and speeches but did not resume publication of full proceedings.
The Minnesota Social Service Association (MSSA) records document the activities and interests of the Association from the 1890's through the 1980's. Much of the material dates from the 1930s to the 1970s. Proceedings for most early conferences are included. Board, delegate assembly, and executive committee minutes, which include summaries of discussion as well as official actions, cover the years 1921 to1988. Committee records include minutes of meetings, reports, extensive correspondence, and working files. These records also contain association newsletters, financial records, and administrative working files. The materials give an overview of how the association functioned. Photographic images include more than one hundred photographs of individuals (dating mostly from 1965 to1980) who were association officers, guest speakers at conferences, or otherwise involved with the organization. Color slides used for presentations on social service topics are also included.
The best picture of social conditions, programs, and legislation in
Minnesota is afforded by the conference proceedings (boxes 11-17) and by the
records of the legislative committee (boxes 7-8) and legislative liaison (boxes
22-23). Copies of published conference proceedings are also available in the
The annual conferences bring together people from many different facets of social services in Minnesota. The conference proceedings reflect the association's unique, statewide concern with client needs across the full range of social services. Conference presentations include descriptions of social and economic conditions and public and private programs designed to address these needs. Conference presentations and special reports also analyze the efficacy of human service delivery programs and professional concerns such as the impact of automation on the delivery of human services. The records of the legislative committee and those of the legislative liaison show the wide range of issues addressed by the association, as well as the high level of communication with public agencies and other social service organizations.
The Minnesota Social Service Association records are indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The History and Structure series includes two histories of the organization. The most complete history dates from 1968. A list of dates and officers of conferences (1893-1951), organization charts, and a small file on organizational issues completes this series.
Dates and officers of conferences, 1893-1951
The Policy-Making Bodies series contains records of the Board of Governors, formerly the Board of Directors; the Delegate Assembly; the Executive Committee; and other committees and commissions.
Board records in boxes 1-3 contain minutes (1937-1988), agendas, attendance lists, and information packets. Attachments to the minutes have been removed and filed in other series as follows: reports are filed with the committee of origin, financial statements in the Financial Records series, and some general correspondence and working papers in the Administrative Working Files series.
Delegate Assembly records in boxes 3-4 include minutes, agendas, information packets, correspondence, materials on the 1970 Legislative Workshop, and other records. These materials are organized by type of record and, thereunder, arranged chronologically.
Executive Committee records in boxes 4-5 contain minutes and agendas, arranged chronologically.
The Association's committees were appointed as the need arose and many existed for only a short time. Other committees changed names while continuing the same functions. Committees with differing names but similar functions are filed together, such as the Publicity Committee, Public Relations Committee, Public Information Committee, and Information Commission.
The Constitution and Bylaws Committee records consist primarily of various drafts of the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. Discussion of proposed changes is found in the records of the Board and Delegate Assembly.
(see also Series 4, Financial Records)
Finance Committee records include minutes, correspondence, and other working papers of the committee. Most cash report statements and other financial data have been removed and filed with Series 4, Financial Records. In the 1980's the Finance Committee and Personnel Committee held some joint meetings, and these records are filed following the Finance Committee records.
The Legislative Committee has extensive records (boxes 6-8), including minutes, correspondence, bill charts, resolutions, and records concerning the 1985 Juvenile Code Workshop. Early records are bound in committee notebooks. The Series 6, Administrative Working Files, contains records of the legislative liaison, who worked closely with, and was often directed by, the Legislative Committee.
Lists of officers, committee members, and the general membership are filed under the records of the Membership Committee (boxes 8-9).
The Resolutions Committee records (box 10) contain resolutions proposed or passed by the Delegate Assembly. Some resolutions are also found with the Legislative Committee records and in Series 5, Regional Records.
The State Conferences series includes conference proceedings
dating from 1893-1936 and 1946-1954 as well as major papers and excerpts from
later conferences. Also included in this series are presentations given at
conferences, conference programs and agendas. Other groups, such as the State
Association of County Commissioners, held conferences in conjunction with the
State Conference, and their proceedings are included in the Association's
published proceedings. The Executive Officers of the State Institutions
quarterly conference of 1932 was published separately, but has been filed with
the other proceedings. In 1938, a
Six years bound in one volume.
Five years bound in one volume. 1909 meeting was held early in 1910.
Two years bound in one volume
Two years in one bound volume
Two years in one bound volume
Bound into one volume are combined proceedings for 1931-1932 and proceedings for 1934; no proceedings for 1933
(published in
March 6-9, 1960.
March 19-22, 1961.
March 18-21, 1962.
March 18-21, 1962.
March 17-20, 1963.
September 26, 1963, in Moorhead, Minnesota.
March 15-18, 1964.
March 14-17, 1965.
March 14-17, 1965.
March 13-16, 1966.
March 12-15, 1967.
March 31-April 3, 1968.
March 31-April 3, 1968.
March 23-26, 1969.
March 23-26, 1969.
The Financial Records series contains audits, financial statements, budget working files, general ledgers, check registers, and tax returns. Also included are files on the United Fund, which helped fund the organization. Vouchers, invoices, and payroll registers were discarded during processing by the Archives.
The Regional Records series include reports from regional chairs to the Association, some delegate lists, regional conference programs, correspondence, and maps delineating regions.
The Administrative Working Files series includes reports, correspondence, and the working files of the board, executive secretary, and legislative liaison. Much of the correspondence consists of cover letters or other routine letters. Also included are studies and reports on topics of interest to the Association and records concerning some affiliated organizations and projects. Prominent among these are the minutes, 1956-1979, of the Welfare Directors Association, later called the Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators (MACSSA). These minutes include attachments such as correspondence, reports and membership lists. Some committee records of the latter organization, dating from 1983-1988, are also included. Legislative Liaison records include correspondence, notes and background materials used by Dr. Blue Carstenson, 1972-1979, and Virginia Watkins, 1981-1988, in their lobbying efforts.
The Publications series includes newsletters, studies sponsored by
the organization, and brochures. There is an almost complete set (1960-1976,
volumes. 1-17) of the
The Photographs series consists primarily of pre-publication
photographs for the
Two slide shows are also included. "100 Years of Concern," produced by the National Conference of Social Welfare to commemorate its 1973 centennial, contains a script and numbered slides with identification lists. Another presentation, "The Public Response," includes slides in a tray and an audio tape. Other loose slides are identified only as "slides for Connie Donnelly."
(see also oversize storage)
(see oversize storage)
Series 9 includes annual scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings related to association activities and members. The clippings are arranged chronologically and date from 1933 to1970. The series also includes a scrapbook created in 1925-1926 by Fern Chase, an organization member. The Fern Chase scrapbook contains articles, poems, and other memorabilia that reflect some of the social attitudes of the time.