Milestones

Alone and with others, SCAA played significant roles in the following:

• 1873 Established the nation's first training school for nurses at Bellevue Hospital in New York City
• 1875 Secured the Children's Law, removing children from poorhouses
• 1880 Secured the Tramp Act to rid the state of able-bodied vagrants by imposing imprisonment with hard labor in the nearest penitentiary
• 1881 Enactment of the Reformatory Act, established separate reformatories for women as a deterrence to pauperism
• 1881 Passage of the Right of Entrance law, giving the Association's visiting committees the legal right of entrance to poorhouses
• 1884 Working Girls' Club Movement was initiated by the SCAA Committee on the Elevation of the Poor in Their Homes
• 1885 The first course of training for nurses for care of the insane was established
• 1890 Passage of the New York State Care Act, to provide state care and maintenance for the mentally ill
• 1894 Creation of the Newburgh Agency for Dependent Children, precursor to the County Agents System to assist the county's destitute children
• 1894 Establishment of the Craig Colony for Epileptics
• 1894 Adoption of the Charities Article, an amendment to the state Constitution recognizing the State Board of Charities and state supervision over all public and private charitable, correctional and reformatory institutions
• 1898 Creation of the SCAA Child Adoption Committee, one of the first agencies for providing foster care and adoption services, was established at the Central Office in New York City
• 1899 A contract system of caring for the poor in Montgomery County is abolished
• 1901 Columbia County Agency for Dependent Children was established
• 1903 SCAA was awarded a gold medal at the International Congress on Tuberculosis in Washington, D.C., for having organized the most effective statewide TB campaign at that time
• 1904 New York State Training School for Girls at Hudson was opened
• 1905 A Commission to investigate the operation of the probation system was appointed, and the Rockland County Agency for Dependent Children was established
• 1906 The SCAA Sub-Committee on After-Care of the Insane was organized and after-care work began
• 1907 A statewide campaign for the prevention of tuberculosis in areas outside of New York City began, with visiting nurses employed in Albany, Troy, and Rochester
• 1907 A law for reporting and supervision of tuberculosis cases was enacted
• 1908 An organized effort to promote the establishment of county agencies for children began
• 1908 Enactment of a law permitting the voluntary admission of patients to state hospitals and extending the period of parole to six months
• 1908 The SCAA Subcommittee on Aftercare of the Insane was changed to the Subcommittee on Prevention and Aftercare, in recognition of preventive work already occurring
• 1909 A law authorizing the establishment of county hospitals for tuberculosis was enacted, and tuberculosis hospitals opened in Ulster and Schenectady Counties, and in Binghamton, Elmira, Poughkeepsie and Albany
• 1909 SCAA organized the first sale of Tuberculosis Christmas Seals in New York State through its TB Committees in 52 cities and villages. The amount raised that first year was $26,422
• 1910 The SCAA Committee on Mental Hygiene (formerly on Aftercare and Prevention) begins an intensive statewide campaign for early treatment and prevention of mental disorders
• 1910 A law authorizing the establishment of a Board of Inebriety, and a hospital and colony for inebriates for the City of New York was enacted
• 1911 A fresh air camp for incipient tuberculosis cases opened in Waterford, and twelve additional tuberculosis visiting nurses were employed
• 1911 County Agencies for Dependent Children in Orange, Washington, and Seneca counties were organized
• 1912 Improved methods for providing mental examinations in New York City were secured, and a demonstration mental clinic with social services was established in New York City
• 1913 New York State's public health system was reorganized by enactment of far reaching changes in the 1913 Public Health Law, and by the creation of a modern public health department
• 1913 An amendment to the insanity law authorizing state hospital superintendents to establish outpatient departments and mental dispensaries administered by social workers was enacted
• 1913 The Social Service Department of Mental Hygiene Committee was organized
• 1914 A law allowing emergency admissions to state hospitals without commitment was enacted
• 1914 A special study of ambulance service in New York City was undertaken
• 1914 The two thousandth child was placed in a family home by the SCAA Child Placing Agency
• 1915 A successful campaign to maintain the integrity of the new state health system occurred
• 1915 The Social Service Department of Mental Hygiene Committee began social service work at the Cornell Clinic of Psychopathology
• 1915 In cooperation with other agencies, an investigation of juvenile delinquency in rural New York was initiated
• 1915 Three new tuberculosis dispensaries opened
• 1916 Voters in Livingston, Warren, and Rensselaer counties authorized appropriations for construction of tuberculosis hospitals, and tuberculosis hospitals opened in Cattaraugus, Onondaga, and Suffolk counties
• 1916 A special appropriation was obtained for tuberculosis work under the State Health Department
• 1916 A psychologist was added to the staff of the SCAA Child Placing Agency to examine children to be placed in free family homes, and a special agent was employed to assist officials in Livingston County in making provisions for dependent children
• 1917 A Hospital Development Commission was created
• 1917 SCAA undertook a study of illegitimacy in rural New York at the request of the Federal Children's Bureau
• 1917 A Special SCAA Committee on Aftercare of Infantile Paralysis was created (exclusive of New York City)
• 1917 A law was enacted providing for the establishment of special classes for mentally disabled students in public schools throughout the state
• 1918 The State Commission for Mental Defectives was created
• 1918 SCAA Tuberculosis staff were loaned to the Red Cross to help organize and direct a 3 month emergency campaign against influenza in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
• 1918 Tuberculosis hospitals opened in Chemung, Chenango, Niagara, Otsego and Steuben counties; eight new tuberculosis dispensaries were opened; and twenty-three tuberculosis visiting nurses were employed
• 1919 The Mental Deficiency Law was enacted, and replaced various statutes with a comprehensive law providing a uniform procedure for commitment, treatment, and administration of the insane
• 1919 Emergency work for children left homeless during the influenza epidemic commenced
• 1919 The three thousandth child was placed in a family home by the SCAA Child Placing Agency, and the fifteen thousandth case was provided by the SCAA Mothers' and Babies' Agency
• 1919 A state commission to revise the children's laws was created
• 1919 The New York City Visiting Committee organized occupational therapy classes at Bellevue Hospital
• 1920 State hospitals were authorized to employ one social worker to each 100 patients on parole
• 1920 Appropriations for new construction and improvements at institutions for the mentally ill and epileptic during a four-year period reached a total of $2,600,000
• 1920 Appropriations for new construction and improvements at state hospitals during a four-year period reached a total of $7,700,000
• 1920 The name of the Committee on Prevention of Tuberculosis was changed to the Committee on Tuberculosis and Public Health, in recognition of its broadened scope of work
• 1921 Agencies for Dependent Children were established in Cayuga, Putnam and Franklin counties, and a second children's agent was appointed in Niagara County
• 1921 SCAA undertook a special study of 3,300 children placed in free family homes since 1898
• 1921 Four additional state hospital mental clinics were created, for a total of 40 clinics in regular operation
• 1921 The SCAA City Visiting Committee surveyed a provision for venereal patients in New York City hospitals
• 1921 The first complete compilation of New York laws relating to children was prepared by SCAA and submitted to the State Commission to Revise Children's Laws
• 1922 A law establishing Children's Courts in 53 counties of the state was enacted
• 1922 SCAA organized and supervised two health demonstration projects funded by the Milbank Memorial Fund — one in a rural county (Cattaraugus) and one in a medium size industrial city in New York State
• 1922 A law giving counties the power to establish and operate general hospitals was enacted
• 1922 The first special appropriation by the New York State Legislature for development of occupational therapy in state hospitals for the insane
• 1923 The Citizens' Committee on the Protection of the State's Unfortunates, organized by SCAA at the request of Governor Smith, directed a successful statewide campaign for voter approval of a $50,000,000 bond issue for State psychiatric institutions
• 1923 Tuberculosis clinic service of the State Department of Health was augmented to include tuberculosis clinics formerly conducted by SCAA
• 1923 The first county Board of Health in the state was established in Cattaraugus County
• 1923 A State subsidy for teachers of special classes for developmentally disabled children in public schools was increased to 50 percent
• 1923 Dental hygiene service was provided for the first time in Syracuse schools
• 1924 SCAA released a study titled How Foster Children Turn Out by the SCAA Child Placing Department, which studied 910 children, now over the age of 18, who had been placed by SCAA over a 25-year period. Over 77% became decent, self-supporting citizens as a result of their placement
• 1924 Adoption Law amended to require an investigation before adoption is granted
• 1924 The need of building improvements in New York City hospitals emphasized and issue of corporate stock for this purpose urged by SCAA
• 1924 Over 3,800 disabled persons given occupational therapy instruction at Bellevue Hospital by the SCAA New York City Visiting Committee
• 1924 Intensive case finding work in tuberculosis in Cattaraugus County resulted in increasing the number of survivors from 219 registered in 1923, to 427 at the close of 1924
• 1925 $6,605,000 appropriated for new construction in New York City Hospitals following special effort by the SCAA New York City Visiting Committee
• 1925 SCAA cooperated in the drafting and enactment of the Illegitimacy Bill, improving procedures in establishing paternity, and giving the mother as well as the defendant the right to appeal
• 1926 A five-year project for the eradication of diphtheria in New York State by immunization was launched in cooperation with other health agencies — 125,000 children outside of New York City were immunized
• 1926 A study of the State's archaic poor law began, with replacement by a modern public welfare statute
• 1926 Establishment of a State Psychiatric Hospital in Syracuse was authorized, and appropriation made available from the $50,000,000 bond issue
• 1926 At the request of the State Medical Society, SCAA secured the support of upstate and New York City voluntary health agencies to enact far reaching amendments to the Medical Practice Act defining such things as who shall practice medicine, the training they will receive, and annual registration of physicians
• 1927 The Welfare Legislation Information Bureau was organized by SCAA to give current information on welfare bills to local committees and other welfare and educational organizations
• 1927 A mental health clinic was created for joint service to the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, the Brooklyn Bureau of Charities, and SCAA's Child Placing Department
• 1927 10,000 Chautauqua County school children were x-rayed in TB screenings between Nov. 26, 1926 and May 19, 1927
• 1928 An intensive three-year study on the prevalence and social significance of mental disease in New York State began
• 1928 The 30^th anniversary of the SCAA child placing work was commemorated — in 30 years, 4,290 children were placed in free family homes
• 1928 A special study commenced to determine to what extent the State program for handicapped children was identifying handicapped children, particularly those of pre-school age
• 1928 The tuberculosis death rate (exclusive of New York City) was the lowest in the history of the state - 76 per 100,000 population or 50% lower than in 1907
• 1928 The SCAA Committee on Tuberculosis and Public Health leads all other State tuberculosis associations in the per capita sale of Christmas Seals for support of the campaign against tuberculosis
• 1929 New York enacts a modern Public Health Law
• 1929 A notable conference with leading psychiatrists, State hospital administrators, and State officials was held under SCAA auspices to consider the desirable size of State hospitals for the mentally ill
• 1929 The 20th anniversary of the County Tuberculosis Sanatorium Law, written and secured by SCAA, which led to the establishment of 35 county and city municipal sanatoria in the state, outside of New York City
• 1929 30,000 mothers with children were assisted since the founding of the SCAA Mothers' and Babies' Department in 1893
• 1929 Surveys made of all mental hygiene resources in the State, including clinics, institutions, courts and social agencies - including a special mental hygiene survey of Albany County
• 1929 County Children's Committees of SCAA now cooperating with public welfare officials, children's courts and Boards of Child Welfare in 38 counties to meet the needs of sick and poor children
• 1929 The diphtheria mortality in New York State, outside of New York City, decreased by 42% as a result of a four year diphtheria prevention campaign by health agencies
• 1932-36 SCAA distributed 2,000,000 flyers and pamphlets in campaigns for public support of three bond issues to aid the poor
• 1938 SCAA Tuberculosis Committee helped draft and secure enactment of laws requiring pregnant women and marriage license applicants to be tested for syphilis
• 1940 The Public Welfare Law and State Charities Law were combined and codified as the Social Welfare Law
• 1945 Christmas Seals sales exceed $1 million for the first time
• 1946 Tuberculosis death rate in New York State, outside of New York City, declined below 30 per 100,000 population for the first time
• 1946 The voluntary mental health movement was given impetus by the SCAA State Committee and Affiliates, which organized mental health committees to demonstrative the effectiveness of citizen action. This led to the development of the SCAA New York Society for Mental Health
• 1947 SCAA publishes "Keystones in Psychological Thinking About Children" and distributes copies to 165,000 physicians in the U.S. and Canada
• 1949 The SCAA State Tuberculosis Committee expanded its services to include the New York Heart Assembly, which provided a central point for scientific, voluntary, and official heart efforts in the state
• 1950 The first Heart Fund appeal totaled $180,500
• 1955 A joint fund for Medical Education and Research pooled SCAA State TB Committee and Affiliate Christmas Seal sales and Heart Funds for the support of statewide medical education and research projects
• 1955 The updated tuberculosis death rate declined to a new low of 7.2 per 100,000 population — as compared to 152.8 in 1907
• 1960's SCAA conducts Chemung Study demonstrating that it takes more than an array of social services to lift families out of poverty
• 1965 SCAA organizes Citizens' Committee for Clean Water, resulting in voter approval for $1 billion pollution prevention bond issue
• 1960's SCAA joins coalition to ease the shortage of trained social workers by expanding graduate school capacity and developing undergraduate curricula
• 1967 During the State Constitutional Convention of 1967, SCAA took the lead, along with other agencies, to press for progressive sections on health and welfare which led to content changes - but the referendum was defeated
• 1967 Project on Older Americans developed with the State Office for the Aging to design a mechanism for evaluating programs for the aging in communities throughout the state
• 1968 To preserve the integrity of the State's cost-effective planning of health facilities development, SCAA mounted a campaign that defeated efforts of the for-profit nursing home industry
• 1970 Working for wider utilization of reality orientation to combat senility amongst the elderly, SCAA's pamphlet "What Are You? I Am Old" proved to be the most popular publication in SCAA history with more than 7 printings and 117,000 copies produced
• 1970's SCAA launches "See for Yourself" campaign sponsoring visits by community leaders to impoverished households, a model later replicated by 23 states
• 1972 SCAA created the New York State Coalition for Family Planning, a statewide organization to foster accessible family planning services for all who need them, regardless of ability to pay
• 1972 Coalition for Home Health Services in New York State organized to overcome the barriers to the development of these services
• 1973 COCOA, the Coalition of the Concerned for Older American was created
• 1976 SCAA's involvement in the Health and Welfare Network in New York State provided valuable state budget advice to lawmakers - particularly during New York City's fiscal crisis
• 1977 SCAA convened the Arden House Conference on Long Term Care
• 1977 Coalition for Home Health Services in New York State becomes the Home Care Association of New York State (HCA), an SCAA spin-off
• 1980 SCAA organized the first Mental Health Action Network to unify advocacy efforts around the state budget on behalf of community-based care
• 1980 In conjunction with the New York State Chapter of NASW and the New York State Catholic Conference, SCAA forms the Coalition for Fair Public Assistance which obtained increases in welfare grant levels
• 1980 — 1986 SCAA assumed sponsorship and staff support for the Human Services Counterbudget, a major advocacy tool and critique of the State Executive Budget, providing analysis and alternative fiscal options
• 1981 SCAA helped form the New York State Federation on Child Abuse and Neglect
• 1981 In response to federal budget cuts, SCAA helped form SENSES, the Statewide Emergency Network for Social and Economic Security
• 1985 SCAA and others organize the New York State Health Care Campaign
• 1985 Enactment of a pilot statewide nutrition outreach and education program to inform families of the availability of nutrition assistance programs, which subsequently expanded and became the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program
• 1985 & 1987 SCAA was instrumental in convincing lawmakers to provide tax relief for the poor, by removing income tax burdens on working New Yorkers with poverty or near poverty wages
• 1987 Nutrition Consortium of New York State, part of SCAA, becomes an independent organization
• 1987 SCAA played a major role in passage of the Prenatal Care Act of 1987, providing prenatal services to impoverished women
• 1988 Enactment of New York's Family Access to Health Care Act expanded Medicaid eligibility, and culminated a 4-year SCAA effort and major goal of the Health Care Campaign
• 1988 SCAA helped create the state's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Nutrition Outreach and Education Program, and the infant formula rebate system within the WIC Program
• 1988 SCAA advises in the design of New York's Child Assistance Program (CAP), an alternative to welfare
• 1988 Findings from SCAA's report "The Psychiatric Admissions Crisis: Its Impact on the Future Direction of the Mental Health System", contributed to creation of the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program to ameliorate gridlock in the mental health system
• 1989 Passage of the Prenatal Care Act of 1989, culminated a three-year effort by SCAA and others to expand Medicaid eligibility for prenatal and infant care
• 1990 Enactment of an annual Tax Expenditure Report so that decision-makers and citizens can see what various tax policies cost and accomplish in New York
• 1992 Enactment of the Early Intervention Program to identify and treat developmental problems in children
• 1993 New York adopts School Breakfast mandate, one year after SCAA and the Nutrition Consortium launch the School Breakfast Campaign
• 1993 SCAA co-chaired the Child Health Crisis Strategy Group which helped enact the Children's Health Insurance Reform Plan (CHIRP) requiring all insurance policies issued in the state to offer children's preventive health services
• 1993 Child Health Crisis Strategy Group sees its measures included in the "NYPHRM V" legislation on hospital reimbursement to provide funding to the Child Health Plus program
• 1993 Enactment of the Community Mental Health Reinvestment Act to use funds from the closure of state facilities to pay for community-based services
• 1994 SCAA initiates the Mobilization for our Children, calling for a children's agency and redeployment of resources for prevention
• 1994 Child Health Crisis Strategy Group succeeds in raising the age of children eligible for Child Health Plus from 13 to 14 years old in 1994, and to age 15 in 1995
• 1994 Enactment of a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to supplement low and moderate wages for more than 1 million New York families
• 1995 SCAA chairs the New York State Welfare Reform Task Force and develops the Task Force's final report, which refocused welfare reform efforts on self-sufficiency and employment
• 1996 SCAA in partnership with business and labor develops post-NYPHRM legislation expanding the Child Health Plus Program
• 1996-97 SCAA takes lead in child support reform: overdue child support cases transferred to Tax And Finance for collection; automatic cost of living adjustments for some orders
• 1997 New York State establishes a new Office of Children and Family Services, long promoted by SCAA
• 1997 Co-convened the Child Care That Works Campaign that, three years later, helped secure almost $120 million in available child care subsidies to working families and $40 million for a worker recruitment and retention program
• 1997 SCAA celebrates its 125^th anniversary with an Albany luncheon and keynote by social critic and best selling author Jonathan Kozol
• 1997 Establishment of the New York State Community Health Partnership (NYSCHP) to increase the public's awareness of community health and encourage community participation in local health initiatives
• 1998 SCAA holds a forum on the Child Welfare Block Grant and future state financing strategies
• 1999 Formation of the Emergency Coalition to Save Universal Prekindergarten which secured increased funding for early learning programs for four-year-olds
• 1999 SCAA and Child Care, Inc. create the Universal Prekindergarten Resource Partnership to provide technical assistance and other supports to schools, parents, and providers
• 1999 SCAA succeeds in securing an additional increase in the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 25% of the federal credit
• 2000 SCAA secures an additional increase in the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 25% to 30% of the federal credit. In aggregate, the state EITC will be worth more than $700 million by Tax Year 2003
• 2000 SCAA secures an expansion of New York's refundable Child & Dependent Care Credit, worth more than $35 million to eligible families, to assist them in paying for child care that enables them to work
• 2000 Through the coalition Child Care That Works, SCAA helped secure an increase of almost $120 million in available child care subsidies for working families, and $40 million for a recruitment & retention wage supplement program for child care workers as part of the 2000-01 state budget
• 2000 Entering a third century of service in the new millenium, SCAA unveils its new name, the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy, at a December 12th press conference
• 2001 The Universal PreKindergarten Resource Partnership is renamed the Center for Early Care and Education, committed to the development of comprehensive early care and education services for all children birth through five
• 2001 SCAA co-sponsors the New York State Children's Dental Summit and releases a report Giving Children a Reason to Smile, Strategies to Improve Children's Oral Health in New York State
• 2002 The New York State Coalition For Adult Home Reform, co-founded by SCAA, released its recommendations for improving conditions in homes serving adults with psychiatric disabilities, in a policy paper Meeting The Needs Of Adult Home Residents With Mental Illness
• 2002 SCAA, in conjunction with the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the NYS Dept. of Labor, the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, and supported by over 38 statewide human service and trade organizations, released a joint recommendations paper Recommendations on the Reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) Program
• 2002 The Adult Home Workgroup, an appointed administrative panel of which SCAA is a member, released its Report of the Adult Facilities Workgroup with recommendations for improvements in services and oversight of adult homes in NYS
• 2003 The Winning Beginning NY Campaign (WBNY), working to inform policy-makers and the public of the many benefits of early learning to children, families and society was launched on Jan. 13, 2003. WBNY is coordinated by the Center for Early Care and Education
• 2003 SCAA released the report The Cause of Dignified Living: The Psychiatrically Disabled in Adult Homes providing both an historical overview of SCAA's mental health efforts and current state efforts to improve services in adult homes
• 2003 SCAA joins the Timothy's Law Campaign to end discriminatory insurance coverage for mental health and dependency services. The Campaign goal is passage of Timothy's Law
• 2004 SCAA released Timothy's Book: Real Stories about the Cost of Health Insurance Discrimination Against Mental Health & Chemical Dependency
• 2004 SCAA and the Center for an Urban Future release Between Hope and Hard Times: New York's Working Families in Economic Distress, showing that 1 in 4 working families in New York are on the economic margin
• 2004 With its Winning Beginning NY Campaign colleagues, released New York's Action Plan for Young Children and Families, a blueprint for a coordinated, comprehensive system of early care and education for New York's children, age birth to five and their families
• 2006 Winning Beginning NY helps secure $50 million in new UPK funding in the 2006-07 state budget - the first funding increase in over 5 years
• 2006 SCAA launches the New York Children's Action Network (New York CAN), a broad-based initiative that brings together a variety of coalitions, organizations, and individuals all concerned about issues affecting children and families with the goal of elevating the importance of supporting all children in New York State
• 2006 Timothy's Law is passed and signed into law
• 2006 SCAA released a survey of New York State's 62 district attorneys, Power Failures: Power of Attorney Authority and the Exploitation of Elderly New Yorkers
• 2007 SCAA and the New York State Coalition for Adult Home Reform released the Action Plan for Dignity, Respect and Recovery for People Living in Adult Homes
• 2007 Winning Beginning NY receives a national "PreK Champion" award from PreK Now for successfully advocating expansion of New York State funded prekindergarten programs
• 2007 SCAA and the Center for an Urban Future release Working to Learn, Learning to Work: Unlocking the Potential of New York's Adult College Students
• 2007 SCAA releases the white paper Disconnected Youth: An Answer to Preventing Disengagement, focused on preventing disconnection among young people involved in the child welfare and children’s mental health systems
• 2008 SCAA releases A Crisis of Care: Addressing the Shortage of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists in New York State, originating from a September 2007 roundtable on STEPS (Solutions to End Psychiatric Shortages) Campaign, this policy paper is a preliminary discussion piece that examines the reasons behind the crisis-level shortage of Child Adolescent Psychiatrists (CAPs)
• 2008 SCAA releases Disconnected Youth: An Answer to Preventing Disengagement, Vol. 2, concentrating on two other systems—education and juvenile justice—and recommends ways that the state can prevent disconnection with changes in those systems