Research


Scope and Content Note

This series consists of meeting minutes of the Board of Social Welfare and reports produced by various committees of the board, particularly in regard to the process of approving certificates of incorporation under the state's Not for Profit Corporation Law. The board is responsible for oversight of state policy and programs for children and adult care and for protecting the welfare of disabled, needy, and dependent persons, especially by visiting, inspecting, and setting standards for institutions and agencies caring for such persons. Under Chapter 110 of the Laws of 1971, the board was given the power to approve certificates of incorporation for public welfare agencies.

The records include: meeting agendas, often including "action items" memoranda and/or a "Corporate Matters Index" listing names of corporations under review; minutes of board meetings; reports on investigations and preliminary inquiries into approval of certificates of incorporation, usually by the Committee of the Whole, which first considered applications and then recommended approval to the entire board; reports by various other committees on such matters as rules, adoption, adult care, budget, children's services; and training schools and shelters; and draft resolutions of the board.

14251-97: The accretion consists of records dating from the time the Board of Social Welfare was removed from the Department of Social Services and established as a separate agency within the Executive Department. They are apparently administrative files which pertain to Board meetings. Included are property appraisal correspondence and reports; staff meeting and agenda preparatory material; lists of board members and terms; copies of letters by board chairman Herbert Tenzer; budget material; original transcripts of addresses to the board; and a small amount of employee time/salary information.