SCAA Archives

With a 136-year history, SCAA's archives are a treasured resource for historians, educators, and social policy researchers interested in public health and social welfare efforts spanning the late 19th century through the late 20th century. In 1990, SCAA conferred more than 100 years of agency records to the Manuscripts & Special Collections Unit of the New York State Library, located on the 11th floor of the Cultural Education Center in Albany. A 40 page Finding Aid for the SCAA collection describes the contents and box number to request for viewing.

The records cover  SCAA's early beginnings, legislative initiatives, and service developments in public welfare and public health in New York State. Available for public access are:

• A complete series of Minutes and Annual Reports of the SCAA Board of Managers, the SCAA Executive Committee, the State Committee on Children and Public Welfare, and of the State Committee on Children and Community Service
• Books and pamphlets by such early SCAA leaders as Louisa Lee Schuyler and Homer Folks, along with contemporary studies such as Joseph Prendergast's Social Welfare Law in New York State
• A large and important series of reports, minutes, annual reports and constitutions of the County Public Welfare Committees of SCAA, which provide a unique local view of the welfare problem in New York State in the early 20th century, prior to enactment of federal welfare legislation during the 1930's
• Subject files on issues ranging from tuberculosis control to welfare, child welfare, and mental health - providing broad insight into issues of concern to SCAA
• Photographic files of the organization give a visual glimpse into early human service efforts and their clients

Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt signs modern public welfare law, 1929. Former SCAA Executive Director Homer Folks is 2nd from the left.