PUBLIC WELFARE DEPARTMENT: PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES BUREAU:

The Bureau was created by the Legislature in 1911 [Laws 1911 c237 s17], when $5000 was set aside in the State Board of Control budget for "clinical and scientific work for hospitals for insane, school for feeble-minded, and penal institutions." In 1921, it became the Bureau of Research and around 1925 it was renamed the Division of Research. In 1937-1938 it became the Division of Examination and Classification and, in July 1939 under the State Reorganization Act [Laws 1939, c431, art 7], it was placed under the Social Security Department's Division of Social Welfare and renamed the Bureau of Psychological Services. By Executive Order, it was transferred to the department's Division of Public Institutions on July 1, 1941. In 1953, the Social Welfare and Public Institutions Divisions were combined to form the Department of Public Welfare.

The Bureau carried on a program by which public and private institutions, social agencies, and schools throughout the state could obtain the services of trained psychologists for the study of individuals who presented problems of personal or social adjustment. They performed both intellectual evaluations and personality assessments on a request basis.

Due to the increase of special education classes in the schools in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Bureau discontinued direct service to public and parochial schools in the fall of 1962. On June 20, 1965, they also discontinued services to county welfare departments and private agencies. The Bureau's remaining services were absorbed by other divisions of the Public Welfare Department sometime prior to its 1984 reorganization as the Human Services Department.

Directors: A. C. Rogers, 1909-1916; Frederick Kuhlmann, 1916-1940; Stuart W. Cook, 1940-.

Sources: Laws and statutes, Bureau records.

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The administrative subject files deal mainly with patient information and services (A-Z, 1921-1951) and background and informational data (A-V, 1921-1947). Some files in both sets, however, contain restricted personal data on individuals. Major topics covered in the subject files include psychological testing in relation to unwed mothers, residents of the state's public institutions, guardianship, sterilization, adoption, foster home placement, and selective service screening; IQ testing in schools; school psychologists; children's reactions to war; rural clinics; various treatments used for the "feeble-minded"; special education classes; and vocational rehabilitation.

There are also reports, articles, and speeches done by bureau staff, particularly Director Frederick Kuhlmann; materials from Kuhlmann's 1939 manual: Tests of Mental Development; and materials documenting the bureau's services to various public and private institutions, including the state hospitals, the Minnesota School for the Deaf, the State Public School, the State School for the Feeble-Minded (Faribault State School and Hospital), Division of Social Welfare, State Board of Parole, State Department of Education, Bureau of Catholic Charities, Children's Protective Society of Minnesota, Lutheran Children's Friend Society, St. Cloud Orphan Home, St. Joseph's Orphanage, and Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children.

Other files document its relationship with the Minnesota Society of Applied Psychology, National Committee for Mental Hygiene, American Association of Applied Psychology, and American Association of Mental Deficiency.

The correspondence and reports (1955-1965) consist mainly of reviews and reports of the bureau. The specimen set of Kuhlmann test of mental development (circa 1958) includes the 1939 manual "Tests of mental development; a complete scale for individual examinations" and its supplementary score sheet and some of the testing materials.

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The records are arranged into two sets of chronological administrative subject files: A-Z (1921-1951) and A-V (1921-1947); a chronological file of correspondence and reports (1955-1965); and a specimen set of the Kuhlmann Test of Mental Development (circa 1958).

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Access Restrictions:

Some of these records include private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record. The restricted records are noted in the finding aid. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Please consult library staff for more information.

Pupil records include private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 90 years from date of last entry in the record. The restricted records are noted in the finding aid. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Please consult library staff for more information.

Records containing information relating to adoptions and illegitimate births are restricted for 100 years. Birth records less than 100 years old must be inspected by library staff to prevent inappropriate disclosure of confidential information. Please consult library staff for more information.

Records containing information relating to sterilizations are restricted for 100 years from date of last entry in the record. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Please consult library staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota. Department of Public Welfare. Psychological Services Bureau. Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 978-68; 989-117; 2002-75

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 001725538

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Adopted children -- Minnesota -- Psychological testing.

Children and war -- Minnesota.

Children with mental disabilities -- Minnesota -- Psyhological testing.

Draft -- Minnesota.

Eugenics -- Minnesota.

Foster children -- Minnesota -- Psychological testing.

Guardian and ward -- Minnesota.

Intelligence tests -- Minnesota.

Involuntary sterilization -- Minnesota.

People with mental disabilities -- Minnesota -- Psychological testing.

People with mental disabilities -- Care -- Minnesota.

Psychological tests -- Minnesota.

Psychological tests for children -- Minnesota.

School children -- Minnesota -- Intelligence testing.

School psychologists -- Minnesota.

Special education -- Minnesota.

State hospitals -- Minnesota.

Unmarried mothers -- Minnesota -- Psychological testing.

Vocational rehabilitation -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Anderson, Rose G. (Rose Gustava), 1893-

Kuhlmann, F. (Frederick), 1876-1941.

Organizations:

American Association of Applied Psychology.

American Association on Mental Deficiency.

Catholic Church -- United States -- Charities.

Catholic Welfare Association (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Children's Protective Society of Minnesota (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Faribault State School and Hospital.

Lutheran Children's Friend Society (Minneapolis, Minn.)

Minnesota School for the Deaf.

Minnesota Society for Applied Psychology.

Minnesota. Department of Education.

Minnesota. Division of Social Welfare.

Minnesota. State Board of Parole.

Minnesota. State Public School.

National Committee for Mental Hygiene.

School for Feeble-Minded and Colony for Epileptics (Faribault, Minn.).

Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children (Minneapolis, Minn.).

St. Cloud Orphan Home (Saint Cloud, Minn.).

St. Joseph's Orphanage (Wabasha, Minn.).

Titles:

Tests of mental development; a complete scale for individual examination.

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