| | Abstract: | The Family Service Association of Cleveland was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1867 as the Cleveland Bethel Union. It extended its services to all the city's poor, transients and unemployed in 1873 and renamed itself the Bethel Relief Association. It merged in 1884 with the Charity Organization Society (founded 1881) and was renamed Bethel Associated Charities, with the added function of investigation and registration of all cases. In 1900 it changed its name to Cleveland Associated Charities and began an era of modern social casework. In 1945 it adopted a new name, Family Service Association, and changed its focus from relief to professional casework services. It merged in 1976 with the Travelers Aid Society and various day care centers to form the Center for Human Services. The collection consists of individual portraits of Family Service Association staff members and views of families and neighborhoods served by the Family Service Association of Cleveland. Included are views of early twentieth century slum conditions in some of the neighborhoods served. | |
