Research

Scope and Content Note

The series contains reports and minutes of the meetings prepared by the Commission during its investigation.

The records include: 1) Minutes of Commission meetings held from October 14, 1914 to January 29, 1915, including information on members present, discussions at meetings, and resolutions and recommendations made by the Commission; the minutes contain a large amount of information on the administration of surveys carried out by the Commission (especially in Westchester County) and on visits to custodial institutions by the Commission members. The records include a copy of the Commission's by-laws; 2) Reports of visits made by Commission members to approximately fifteen custodial institutions in New York and other states. Most of the visits were made in 1914; a few of the reports do not contain the date of visit. The reports contain information on the history of the institution, condition of buildings and facilities, inmates (numbers, classes, sex, ages), staff, diagnosis and placement procedures, training programs, and laboratories and other special facilities. The reports include the Commission's findings on needs of the institution and overall recommendation for improvement; 3) Monthly progress reports, August 1914 to December 1914, providing information on the staff activities, progress of the investigation, work with private agencies, and visits to custodial institutions; includes several reports on mental deficiency received by the commission from other sources.

4) Abstract of final report, February 1915, an 8-page summary of the findings and recommendations contained in the Commission's final report sent to the Legislature.