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The Civil Administrative Code of 1917 consolidated the administration of all state charitable and correctional institutions in the Department of Public Welfare. This new executive department succeeded to the powers and duties formerly exercised by the Board of Administration, State Deportation Agent, State Agent for the Visitation of Children, Illinois Penitentiary Commissioners, Southern Illinois Penitentiary Commissioners, Board of Managers of the Illinois State Reformatory, Board of Prison Industries of Illinois, Board of Classification, and the Board of Pardons (L. 1917, p. 2). These duties encompassed not only the operation of all state charitable and correctional institutions, but the visitation, inspection, and licensing of all institutions providing care or services for children or the mentally ill; the administration of state and federal appropriations for the care of veterans in state institutions; the investigation of complaints against charitable groups that appealed for public aid or received trust funds; the visitation and instruction of the adult blind; the establishment of trachoma clinics; the administration of public assistance legislation (i.e., Aid to Dependent Children, Old Age Assistance); the selection of superintendents and administrative staff for county departments of public welfare; the development of programs for the prevention of delinquency; and the gathering and filing of information concerning all convicts and known criminals.
Within the Department of Public Welfare numerous divisions were established to carry out these responsibilities, among them the Division of Child Welfare, Division of Veterans' Service, Division of the Adult Blind, Division of Public Assistance, Division for Delinquency Prevention, and the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. The Division of the Criminologist was responsible for the Institute for Juvenile Research and the Division of the Alienist directed the operation of the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute and coordinated the Psychiatric Nursing Affiliation Program. The Department of Public Welfare also operated a group of research and educational hospitals in conjunction with the University of Illinois.
In addition numerous advisory and non-executive boards were appointed by the Governor to perform special duties in relation to the Department of Public Welfare (e.g., Board of Public Welfare Commissioners, Board of Standardization, Board of State Reformatory Advisors for Women, Advisory Board to the Division for Delinquency Prevention).
In 1941 the newly created Department of Public Safety assumed most of the law enforcement and correctional responsibilities of the Department of Public Welfare (L. 1941, vol. l, p. 1214). These included the operation of the Illinois State Penitentiary, Illinois State Farm, Division of Pardons and Paroles, and Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Correctional institutions for women and children remained in the Department of Public Welfare until the Illinois State Reformatory for Women was transferred to the Department of Public Safety in 1953 and the Illinois Youth Commission took control of the Illinois State Training School for Boys, Illinois State Training School for Girls, and the Illinois Industrial School for Boys, in 1953 (L. 1953, pp. 620, 850). The Department of Public Welfare's duties further were reduced in 1943 when the administration of public aid was transferred to the Public Aid Commission (L. 1943, vol. 1, pp. 272, 276).
The Department of Public Welfare was abolished in 1961 and all its powers and duties transferred to the newly created Department of Mental Health (L. 1961, p. 2666). The following institutions were under the control of the Department of Public Welfare:
Alton State Hospital
Anna State Hospital
Centralia State School
Chicago State Hospital
Dixon State School (formerly Dixon State Hospital)
East Moline State Hospital (formerly Watertown State Hospital)
Elgin State Hospital
Galesburg State Research Hospital
Harrisburg State School
Illinois Braille and Sight Saving School at Jacksonville (formerly Illinois School for the Blind at Jacksonville)
Illinois Children's Hospital-School at Chicago
Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary at Chicago (formerly Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary at Chicago)
Illinois Industrial School for Boys at Sheridan (formerly Illinois State Reformatory at Sheridan)*
Illinois Institute for Crippled Children at Chicago (formerly Illinois Surgical Institute for Crippled Children at Chicago)
Illinois School for the Deaf at Jacksonville
Illinois Security Hospital at Menard (formerly Chester State Hospital for Insane Criminals)
Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School at Normal
Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home at Quincy
Illinois Soldiers' Widows' Home at Wilmington
Illinois State Farm at Vandalia*
Illinois State Penitentiary, Joliet/Stateville Branch (formerly Illinois State Penitentiary at Joliet)*
Illinois State Penitentiary, Menard Branch (formerly Southern Illinois Penitentiary at Chester)*
Illinois State Penitentiary, Pontiac Branch (formerly Illinois State Reformatory at Pontiac)*
Illinois State Psychiatric Institute at Chicago (formerly Illinois State Neuropsychiatric Institute at Chicago, Illinois State Psychopathic Institute at Chicago)
Illinois State Reformatory for Women at Dwight*
Illinois State Training School for Boys at St. Charles (formerly St. Charles School for Boys)**
Illinois State Training School for Girls at Geneva**
Illinois Visually Handicapped Institute at Chicago (formerly Illinois Industrial Home for the Blind at Chicago)
Institute for Juvenile Research at Chicago
Jacksonville State Hospital
Kankakee State Hospital
Lincoln State School (formerly Lincoln State School and Colony)
Manteno State Hospital
Mental Health Center at Chicago (formerly the Division of Community Clinics and Veterans' Rehabilitation Centers)
Peoria State Hospital
Southern Illinois Children's Service Center at Hurst
Tinley Park State Hospital
- These institutions were transferred to the Department of Public Safety in 1941 or 1953.
- These institutions were transferred to the Illinois Youth Commission in 1953.
Access to some of these records is restricted according to the provisions of the Mental Health Code and the State Records Act of 1957 as amended.
206.001
MINUTES OF MEETINGS. July 2, 1917-May 17, 1918. 1 partial vol. No index.
Minutes of regular meetings of the director and administrative staff of the Department of Public Welfare primarily concern the formulation of policy, the appointment of officers of state institutions, and reports on visits to and examinations of state institutions. Also included is a small amount of correspondence among departmental employees and other state officials and a copy of an agreement between the Department of Public Welfare and the University of Illinois for the construction and operation of a group of research and educational hospitals in Chicago (January 1920).
206.002
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS. Ca. 1928-1961. 66.5 cu. ft. No index.
Records consist primarily of correspondence; studies and surveys of programs, facilities, and institutions operating within the Department of Public Welfare; reports of investigations of these institutions; minutes, correspondence, and reports of a wide range of committees within the department or on which the director served (e.g., Illinois Psychiatric and Research Advisory Council, 1934, 1943-1961; Illinois Children's Hospital-School, 1945-1960; Commission for Handicapped Children, 1949-1951; Institute for Research on Exceptional Children, 1952-1958; Legislative Committee, 1955-1961; Commission on Mental Health, 1955-1956; Nursing Advisory Committee, 1956-1958; Psychiatric Training and Research Authority, 1958-1961); annual reports of the Department of Public Welfare and of divisions, institutions, and programs under its control (e.g., Division of Social Service, 1928-1954; Division of Veterans' Service, 1933-1962; Home Economics Section, 1942-1951; Volunteer Services Program, 1951-1961; Nursing Services Section, 1954-1961; Psychiatric Nursing Affiliation Program, 1956-1957); minutes (1949-1957) and annual reports (1943-1945) of the Board of Public Welfare Commissioners; minutes of the directors' staff meetings (1951-1961); minutes of deputy directors' meetings (1952-1958); minutes of business managers' meetings (1949-1959); minutes of mental health advisory committee and subcommittee meetings (1951-1961); training manuals and general information on the training of nurses and psychiatric aids in all state institutions; files on community clinics at Aurora, Bloomington, Champaign, Decatur, Elgin, Herrin, Joliet, La Salle, Marion, and Springfield (1927-1928); photographs of buildings, grounds, special facilities, and patient activities at mental institutions; blueprints of additions and alterations to the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary at Chicago made under the supervision of the State Architect (1907-1910); copies of General Assembly bills concerning the department; a 1957 application for a public health service research grant; and interoffice memoranda and bulletins.
Correspondence with all divisions and institutions within the department, other state agencies, federal agencies (particularly the Children's Bureau of the Federal Security Agency of the Social Security Administration), and with private citizens primarily concerns the admission, treatment, and release of patients; requests for information about patients and institutional operations; employee matters such as appointments, dismissals, transfers, retirement plans, pay adjustments, civil service examinations, training programs, and Court of Claims actions (decisions of the Court and opinions of the Attorney General); licensing of child-care agencies and limited licensing of physicians; filing of departmental reports; chaplaincy program; permanent improvements and maintenance of buildings and grounds; and institutional supplies.
ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS continue at RS 218.001.
206.003
LETTERS OF THE FISCAL SUPERVISOR. January 20, 1933-June 30, 1945. 8 vols. Calendar.
Copies of letters and circulars issued by the fiscal supervisor of the Department of Public Welfare to the administrators of all institutions and divisions under the department concern a wide range of administrative matters such as instructions for bookkeeping and store accounting, budget estimates, price information on institutional supplies and equipment, personnel classifications, preparation of requisition forms, inventory procedures, handling of narcotics, and Department of Finance regulations. A small number of the letters were issued by the director of the Department of Public Welfare.
206.004
AUDIT AND GENERAL FINANCIAL REPORTS. 1924-1962. 23 cu. ft. No index.
File contains copies of audit and other financial reports of departmental divisions and institutions made by private accounting firms or departmental auditors at the request of the Auditor of Public Accounts. Included are audit reports; cash audits; and special audits of general books, commissary stores, and special funds. Each report lists the agency's name; date of audit; and narrative comment on agency's scope of activity, management of funds, collections, accounts receivable, appropriations, allotments, liabilities, contracts, leases, inventories, insurance, and surety bonds; tabular statements; schedules;
reconciliations; analyses; and summaries of fiscal operations. Each report usually is accompanied by correspondence among accountants, departmental employees, and the Auditor of Public Accounts concerning audit procedures and recommendations. Files include reports for the following divisions and institutions:
Alton State Hospital, 1932-1954; 1957-1959
Anna State Hospital, 1933-1961
Board of Public Welfare Commissioners, 1931-1953
Chicago State Hospital, 1933-1961
Division for Delinquency Prevention, 1939-1945
Division for the Blind, 1933-1951
Division of Alcoholism, 1957-1961
Division of Child Welfare, 1927-1953
Division of Rehabilitation of Women and Girls, 1943-1949
Division of Reimbursements, 1953-1960
Division of Supervision of Delinquents, 1941-1949
Division of Trachoma Control and Prevention of Blindness, 1944-1952
Division of Veterans' Service, 1939-1951
Division of Youth and Community Services, 1945-1953
Dixon State School, 1930-1962
East Moline State Hospital, 1932-1961
Elgin State Hospital, 1934-1961
Galesburg State Research Hospital, 1949-1961
General Office, 1936-1962
Illinois Braille and Sight Saving School, 1932-1951
Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, 1933-1952
Illinois Industrial Home for the Blind, 1933-1952
Illinois School for the Deaf, 1932-1952
Illinois Security Hospital, 1932-1961
Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School, 1929-1953
Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, 1934-1957
Illinois State Psychiatric Institute, 1933-1950; 1952-1962
Illinois State Reformatory at Sheridan, 1950-1953
Illinois State Reformatory for Women, 1931-1953
Illinois State Training School for Boys at St. Charles, 1932-1953
Illinois State Training School for Girls at Geneva, 1933-1953
Institute for Juvenile Research, 1939-1943; 1952-1961
Jacksonville State Hospital, 1933-1961
Kankakee State Hospital, 1933-1961
Lincoln State School, 1932-1961
Manteno State Hospital, 1933-1961
Mental Health Center, 1944-1962
Peoria State Hospital, 1924-1960
State Deportation Agent, 1941-1946; 1952-1955
Tinley Park State Hospital, 1951-1962
File also includes an audit report of Business Opportunities for the Blind, Inc. (1939-1944) and a report on state aid to mother's pensions for Madison,
Macoupin, and St. Clair Counties (1939).
For later AUDIT AND GENERAL FINANCIAL REPORTS see RS 218.002.
206.005
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. 1948-1961. 12 cu. ft. No index.
Files contain correspondence and material relating to construction and permanent improvement projects at various institutions and facilities within the Department of Public Welfare. A file for each project includes correspondence with the Supervising Architect, the Division of Architecture and Engineering, the Governor, departmental employees, contractors, engineers, and architects concerning the planning, financing, and progress of the project.
Files also include land surveys; site plans and drawings; blueline prints and drawings; cost estimates; contracts; notifications of acceptance of bids; preliminary plans and specifications; specifications for plumbing, heating, electrical, and general work; reports on the status of appropriations for permanent improvements; requests for release of funds; authorizations for release of funds; photographs of work sites, buildings, and facilities; change orders; certificates of substantial completion; and minutes of meetings to plan or review projects. Files include material for projects at the following institutions:
Alton State Hospital
Anna State Hospital
Chicago State Hospital
East Moline State Hospital
Elgin State Hospital
Dixon State School
Galesburg State Research Hospital
Harrisburg State School
Illinois Braille and Sight Saving School
Illinois Children's Hospital-School
Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary
Illinois School for the Deaf
Illinois Security Hospital
Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School
Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Home
Illinois Soldiers' Widows' Home
Illinois State Psychiatric Institute
Illinois State Reformatory for Women
Illinois State Training School for Boys at St. Charles
Illinois State Training School for Girls at Geneva
Illinois Visually Handicapped Institute
Institute for Juvenile Research
Jacksonville State Hospital
Kankakee State Hospital
Lincoln State School
Manteno State Hospital
Mental Health Center
Peoria State Hospital
Southern Illinois Children's Service Center
Tinley Park State Hospital
For files on later CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS see RS 218.003 and RS 219.001.
206.006
SOCIAL SERVICE IN INSTITUTIONS CLOSED CASES. Ca. 1943-1951. 3 cu. ft. No index.
Closed case files of the Chicago office of the Division of Social Service in Institutions of the Department of Public Welfare contain material for individuals referred for placement at the Dixon or Lincoln State School. Each file contains a social service record which includes the names and addresses of the patient and parents; summarizes all contacts with the patient; describes patient's family history, early development, and institutional history; notes any change in status; and lists dates case was opened, reopened, and closed. In addition each file usually includes correspondence with departmental employees, particularly the superintendents of the Dixon and Lincoln State Schools, concerning the patient's adjustment to the institution and requests for parole or discharge; results of psychological examinations; change in status forms; discharge record; and separation form. Reasons for closing cases usually were death, transfer, discharge, or permanent institutional placement of patient.
206.007
GENERAL ORDERS. 1910-1923. 1 vol. Index, 1910-1915, 2 vols.
Orders to department institutions concern patient care, duties of officers of institutions, construction of facilities, employee conduct, appointments, salaries, supplies, holidays, appropriations, job descriptions, workmen's compensation, unions, safety, name changes of state institutions, and new divisions within the department.
206.008
ADMISSION AND DISCHARGE REPORTS. 1920-1951. 8 cu. ft. No index.
Reports provide a monthly record of admissions to and discharges from state mental hospitals. Admissions show the admission date and the patient's name, age, residence, identification number, and indication of previous admission to a mental institution. After November 1942 the type of admission (i.e., insane, first admission, voluntary, court ordered, readmission, transfer, feeble-minded) also is provided. Discharges show the date of discharge or death, the patient's name, and after November 1942, the type of release (i.e., discharge, death, transfer). Reports cover the following state mental hospitals:
Alton State Hospital
Anna State Hospital
Chester State Hospital
Chicago State Hospital
Dixon State Hospital
East Moline State Hospital
Elgin State Hospital
Galesburg State Research Hospital
Jacksonville State Hospital
Kankakee State Hospital
Manteno State Hospital
Neuropsychiatric Institute
Peoria State Hospital
206.009
REPORT ON THE STATE MENTAL HOSPITALS IN ILLINOIS. 1953. 3 vols. No index.
Report of the Central Inspection Board of the American Psychiatric Association surveys, evaluates, and provides recommendations in regard to the operational phases of state mental health facilities. Subjects include laws related to the admission and discharge of patients; treatments of mentally ill criminals, patients with sociopathic personality disorders, psychotic children, epileptics, patients with tuberculosis, and veterans; research work; personnel policies; public relations; volunteer services; new facilities; conditions of facility structures and utility systems; consulting, visiting, and resident medical staffs; family and after care programs; educational programs; clinical and pathological laboratories; medical records; medical libraries; psychotherapy; psychosurgery; shock therapy; hydrotherapy; occupational therapy; industrial therapy; physical therapy; recreational therapy; patient libraries; patient restraint and seclusion; tuberculosis treatment; facilities for patient hygiene; clothing services; fire protection; dietetics; housekeeping; facility farms and/or industries; religious services; facility pharmacies; and the surgical, dental, x-ray, psychology, social service, and out-patient departments of each institution.
Facilities evaluated include:
Alton State Hospital
Anna State Hospital
Chicago State Hospital
East Moline State Hospital
Elgin State Hospital
Galesburg State Hospital
Illinois Security Hospital
Jacksonville State Hospital
Kankakee State Hospital
Manteno State Hospital
Peoria State Hospital
These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
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