Scope and Contents

These materials include correspondence, annual reports, board meeting minutes and miscellaneous historical sketches of affiliated agencies generated or retained in the HWPA general business offices. They primarily served as general information files for the HWPA staff about affiliated agencies, and primary subject areas including homelessness, health care issues, and race studies. There are also general business files such as annual reports and newspaper clippings. Board of Director Meeting minutes document the management and day to day activities of the HWPA and provide the most comprehensive body of materials in these records. Through these minutes one can follow the Association's evolution from a committee of concerned citizens to a professionally administered organization. Early minutes from 1923 to 1930 concern the Association continual work to define this role in the community, making policy decisions, and all other types of issues including finding money to pay utilities and rent. With a stronger financial footing and clearer mission, later minutes document more closely their work with social organizations and the numerous reports that they commissioned.

Affiliated Agencies materials include correspondence, annual reports, historical sketches publications, proposals, and other sundry items documenting the activities of numerous social service agencies in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. Most of these materials were submitted at the request of HWPA and link directly to the applications for affiliation in subseries (3). Of note among affiliated agencies are Action-Housing, various departments within Allegheny County, Area Agency on Aging, Boys Club of America, Kane Hospital, Kingsley Association, various departments within the city of Pittsburgh, Salvation Army, and the United Way of Allegheny County. In numerous instances, collaborative efforts were taken for studies.

Applications for affiliation were compiled for the HWPA and include a brief historical sketch of the organization or agency, a description of its activities, and an assessment of viability and need in the community. It is important to note that not all agencies that applied became affiliates to the HWPA.

Publication and Newsletters include various publications, newsclippings, and other sundry publications produced by the HWPA and affiliated agencies. HWPA publications include annual reports (1922-1989), and the newsletter from 1952 through 1990. The newsletter was known as the Federation Notes, Association Notes and lastly, the HWPA Newsletter. Other publications include HWPA internal studies, the Labor Market Letter, Pennsylvania Labor Force and the Socio-Economic Newsletter, all from the late 1970s through 1990. Technical Services materials include reports, planning documents and other sundry items primarily from the HWPA's Group Work Division (Recreation) and Priorities Plan team in the 1950s.

Arrangement

The Administrative Files have been further subdivided into five subseries designated for Board of Director Minutes, Affiliated Agencies, Applications for Affiliation, Publications and Newsletters, and Technical Services.

Applications for affiliation, generally only a few pages each, have been combined and arranged into one alphabetical series.

Arrangement

The Administrative Files are housed in fifty seven archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Board of Director Meeting minutes date from 1923 to 1989 with the Board orientation handbook of 1990 arranged to the front. These minutes are bound, with an alphabetical index list of subjects and names available at the end of every year's minutes.

Information on studies of affiliated agencies is found alphabetical sequence, but listed under a general subject name. These subjects include studies on the deaf, elections, homelessness and Vietnam refugees.

Affiliated Agencies materials are housed in 26 boxes and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Applications for affiliation are housed in two boxes and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Publication and Newsletters are arranged alphabetically by folder title with HWPA publications and annual reports arranged to the front.

Technical Services materials are arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Scope and Contents

The Study Reports include reports, analyses and surveys produced by HWPA for its affiliated agencies. This series contains the most significant material in the HWPA Records and represent the actual finished work and function of the HWPA. An invaluable resource, many of these reports represent initial studies into numerous social welfare issues. The reports have been broken down into these categories: agency administration bibliographies, children's issues, directories, economics, education, elderly issues, family issues, health issues, homeless persons, housing, labor issues, legal aid, mental retardation, planning, population studies, prisons, race relations, recreation studies, rehabilitation studies, social welfare, social research, and war relief. Of particular note are extensive material on children's issues including day care from 1930 through 1988, children's institutions, and juvenile delinquency. The Directories include early directories of philanthropic agencies and social agencies prior to World War II. Population studies include numerous community profiles dating at various times throughout the 20th century. Also of note are extensive reports on recreation facilities throughout Allegheny County that primarily date from the 1940s through the early 1970s.

Arrangement

These reports are arranged by subject that document a wide variety of social issues including: housing, child welfare, population, social welfare and others. Where appropriate, original order and subject classification has been maintained from the organization used at the HWPA library. However, new subject names were used to consolidate these reports and to make the reports more accessible to researchers.

Arrangement

Study Reports are housed in 53 archival boxes and are arranged alphabetically by folder title.