Janie Porter Barrett (1865–1948) was a noted African American child welfare reformer. In 1890, she founded the Locust Street Social Settlement, one of the first settlements for black people in the United States. She later established and became superintendent of Virginia Industrial School for Colored Girls in 1915.
12
Article
Naomi Farber
Alfred Kadushin (1916–2014) was a distinguished practitioner and academic in the field of social work. Professor Kadushin was most significantly known for his scholastic contribution to the field of child welfare and in the areas of supervision and interviewing.
Article
Katharine Cahn and Nocona Pewewardy
Dr. Kristine E. Nelson (1943–2012) was a nationally recognized child welfare historian and scholar, as well as a social work educator and administrator. Her early work in child welfare and a deep commitment to social justice informed her scholarship, research, and leadership. Her research focused on family preservation and community-based child welfare practice, with a focus on families entering the child welfare system due to neglect or poverty-related challenges. She was a significant contributor to advancing new frameworks of child welfare practice and had a successful career as a social work educator and administrator, retiring as Dean of the Portland State University School of Social Work in 2011.
Article
Sadye L. M. Logan
Lillian Catherine Milanof (1922–2015), Professor Emerita at Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville, has, as her heritage, a lifetime of accomplishments as an advocate for social justice.
Article
Edmund Sherman and William J. Reid
Ann Wentworth Shyne (1914–1995) was a founding member of the influential Social Work Research Group, which promoted research on social work practice. Her work had a considerable impact on family and child welfare services and on social work research.
Article
Juei-king Lee
Chu-Sheng Yeh (1915–2008) promoted the well-being of children and youth in the areas of education, health, and social welfare. Professor Yeh established two programs related to social administration and social work for two universities. As a female scholar, she made a valuable contribution to the early stage of social work development in Taiwan.
Article
Allan Moscovitch
Charlotte Whitton (1896–1975) was a woman of enormous energy, personal ambition, and drive. She had essentially three careers: as a social worker who was the guiding force behind the ascendency of the Canadian Council on Child Welfare, as a journalist and campaigner on child welfare and other social service issues, and as a municipal politician who rose to be the first woman mayor of a major Canadian city.
Article
Patricia L. Ewalt
Elizabeth Low Lucas (1895–1986), an advocate for children and the first Hawaiian woman to receive a professional education in social work, worked in Hawaii's Department of Social Welfare and was director of pupil guidance in the Department of Public Instruction.
Article
Jean K. Quam
Grace Abbott (1878–1939) was a teacher who went on to become Director of the Immigrants Protective League of Chicago and Director of the U.S. Children's Bureau. In 1934 she became professor of public welfare at the University of Chicago.
Article
Elizabeth A. S. Benefield
Wallace H. Kuralt, Sr. (1908–1994) was a social work practitioner and administrator. He directed the Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services and pioneered efforts to implement child care, child development centers, and is credited with instituting early family planning services.
Article
Maryann Syers
Katharine Fredrica Lenroot (1891–1982), praised for her contributions to child welfare, juvenile delinquency, and child labor laws, worked at the U.S. Children's Bureau for 37 years. She became its chief in 1934 and represented the United States at UNICEF.
Article
Allan Moscovitch
John Joseph Kelso (March 31, 1864–September 30, 1935) was a young journalist when he became involved in child welfare in his adopted home of Toronto. He was instrumental in the passage of the first child protection legislation in Canada, and in spreading the need for voluntary children’s aid societies across Ontario and for similar legislation across Canada. He became superintendent of child welfare in 1893 and remained in that post for 40 years, shaping the development of the child welfare system in Ontario and Canada.
Article
David Cory and Catheleen Jordan
Odessa Sayles, MSW, was a leading advocate for adoption of Black children by Black families in Houston, Texas, during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. She was well known for dedicating her life to children and to uplifting the Black community. Serving as lead program director for foster care and adoptions for Harris County Protective Services for Children, she was steadfast in seeking culturally appropriate homes for children facing adoption.
Article
Eric R. Kingson
Elizabeth Wickenden (1909–2001) was a social work administrator and advisor, policy writer, and advocate. In the 1950s, she launched an effective coalition of social welfare and labor organizations, known as the “Wicky Lobby.” A pioneering legal rights advocate, she advanced legal services and class action strategies on behalf of public assistance and child welfare clients.
Article
Tor Slettebø
As a feminist, social worker, administrator, educator, researcher, writer, and editor Kikkan Ustvedt Christiansen (1932–2020) was one of the pioneers in developing social work as a professional practice into an academic discipline and research field in Norway. Even when she ended her career as a respected researcher in child welfare, she never surrendered her identity as a practitioner and engagement for social justice.
Article
Jean K. Quam
Charles Loring Brace (1826–1890) was a writer, minister, and social reformer. He worked with homeless children, initiating child welfare services, and was the founder and executive director of the Children's Aid Society of New York City.
Article
Philip Bernstein
Helen Gurin (1918–1991) was a leading teacher, supervisor, and guide for a generation of professionals in social work, psychiatry, psychiatric nursing, psychology, and child care. The Massachusetts chapter of NASW named her Social Worker of the Year in 1983.
Article
Larraine M. Edwards
Julia Clifford Lathrop (1858–1932), an advocate of child welfare and mentally ill people, helped found the country's first children's mental hygiene clinic, the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute, in 1909. She became the first director of the U.S. Children's Bureau in 1912.
Article
Willie Tolliver
Bogart Leashore (1947–2007) was dedicated to high standards of social work education, social justice and cultural diversity, sound social work practice, and the welfare of children. He was Dean of Hunter College School of Social Work from 1991 to 2003.
Article
Alvin L. Schorr
Leonard Withington Mayo (1899–1993) was concerned with child welfare, mental retardation, and public health. He was dean and vice president at Western Reserve University, professor at Colby College, and served on four White House Conferences on Children and Youth.
12
