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Document Type

Research Paper

Abstract

This paper provides a detailed case study of the transfer of the Children's Bureau from the Department of Labor to the Social Security Administration within the Federal Security Agency, a move made effective by the President's Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1946. The history of the Bureau begins with its inception in 1912 following years of advocacy by leaders such as Lillian Wald and Florence Kelley, who argued that the government should monitor the nation's child crop as diligently as it monitored farm crops. Originally placed in the Department of Commerce and Labor, it moved to the Department of Labor in 1913, where it remained for thirty-four years. 

The push for reorganization stemmed from a desire to consolidate federal health, education, and welfare functions to eliminate duplication and improve coordination with state agencies. Early agitation for the transfer occurred as far back as the 1930s, often met with fierce resistance from Bureau chiefs like Grace Abbott and later Katharine Lenroot. These leaders feared that splitting the Bureau's health and welfare functions or placing it in a subordinate position within a non-cabinet agency would destroy its integrity and weaken its ability to advocate for children. 

Despite this opposition, President Truman moved forward with the 1946 plan, transferring the Bureau’s research and grant-in-aid functions while leaving its industrial child labor division within the Department of Labor. Although Katharine Lenroot secured an assurance from the President that the Bureau would remain intact, it was ultimately placed under the Social Security Administration, occupying a lower hierarchical position than it held previously. The study concludes that while the transfer caused initial friction, it eventually led to a more integrated federal approach to social services, culminating in the establishment of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953.

Research Highlights

  • The Problem: Addressing the administrative duplication and lack of coordination between the Children’s Bureau and other federal health and welfare agencies. 

  • The Method: A case study analysis of legislative actions, presidential reorganization plans, and personal interviews with department officials to track the Bureau's movement between 1912 and 1956. 

  • Quantitative Finding: A total of 11 bills were introduced over six years before the Bureau was established; the Bureau remained in the Labor Department for 34 years; the Senate passed the 1946 Reorganization Plan No. 2 by a margin of only one vote. 

  • Qualitative Finding: Bureau leadership feared "dismemberment" and the loss of hierarchical prestige upon moving to a non-cabinet agency; advocates argued that "integration" of services was more efficient than specialized age-group agencies; by 1956, employee sentiment had shifted from 10% to 100% agreement regarding the Bureau's location in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Publication Date

1-1957

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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