1500-007 1 of 2

STATE BOARD OF WELFARE/DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE
The State Board of Welfare was an outgrowth of two older state agencies – the Mothers Pension Commission, created by the Legislature in 1917 and renamed the Commission for Aid to Dependent Children in 1943, and the State Board of Charities, created in 1919 and renamed the State Board of Welfare in 1943. These two agencies were merged (by the Legislature) in 1945 to form the State Board of Welfare.1
The responsibilities of the new agency remained the same as the previous agencies, namely, foster home care and placement, protective services to children in their own homes, supervision of adoptions and the licensing of child care agencies and individuals. It was also responsible for administration of the sterilization law, and issuance of reports on public and private welfare programs throughout the state.2

1500-007 2 of 2

STATE BOARD OF WELFARE/DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE

1 45 DL, Ch. 97 §1.

2 IBID, Ch. 97 §2.