Family Counseling of Greater New Haven, Inc. records

The Family Counseling of Greater New Haven, Inc. (FCGNH) provided welfare and social services for 124 years to New Haven County. The organization underwent significant transformations, including several name changes during its history: Organized Charities Society (1878-1887); Organized Charities Association (1888-1929); Family Society of New Haven (1930-1945); Family Service of New Haven (1946-1971); and Family Counseling of Greater New Haven, Inc. (1972-2002).

The group that became known as the FCGNH was first established in 1878 under the name Organized Charities Society, but within a few years adopted the name Organized Charities Association (OCA). Francis Wayland, dean of the Yale Law School, served as the president of the organization for its first twenty-five years. The OCA initially formed as an emergency measure to deal with the growing population of unemployed transients. Within a few years, the OCA shifted emphasis from the unemployed to providing relief to the "worthy" poor in the form of food and fuel assistance, housing, and employment. It also served as the clearinghouse for charity organizations in New Haven. By 1881, the organization adopted the functions and goals of the Charity Organization Society, which began in London in 1869. This society sought to teach families how to be self-sufficient, educate the community in the "correct" principles of relief, and eradicate poverty. The OCA became the second non-sectarian Charity Organization Society in the United States. It instituted home visiting and sent out visiting agents to the poor, and in many cases recommended the removal of children to orphanages and correctional facilities.

By the early twentieth century, the OCA shifted from a benevolent society to a professional family relief organization. The first visiting nurse joined the staff in 1913, and the Case Study Committee was formed to supervise the work of "friendly" visitors and to discuss individual cases. World War I and the influenza epidemic marked the reorganization of the society, as the demands for family casework service increased. By the 1920s, a small staff of trained social workers assumed casework responsibilities. As the society professionalized, the OCA joined nationally recognized social work organizations, including the American Association for Organizing Family Social Work, the National Social Workers' Exchange and the American Association for Social Work.  Reflecting the new emphasis on family casework, the organization changed names to the Family Society of New Haven in 1930, and in 1946 it became the Family Service of New Haven (FSNH). Between 1935 and 1955 a number of new programs, including psychiatric consultation and group therapy were added, and the "Supervised Homemaker Services Program" was implemented in 1943 to address maternal and child health cases. By the 1960s, the FSNH increased its role in the community by offering services to the inner city and offered advice through the "What's Your Problem?" column in the New Haven Register.

In the late 1960s, FSNH worked collaboratively with Community Progress, Inc. to provide mental health services to New Haven as well as other communities in the state. FSNH received a number of inquiries from local cities to establish branch offices to meet the growing demand for mental health services. In the 1970s, the board of directors received funding from Orange, Guilford, and Madison, which led to the formation of branch offices in these towns. New programs aimed at youth services, parenting, child abuse, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation for developmentally disabled adults were added and the FCGNH became a licensed psychiatric clinic. By the 1990s, substance abuse programs and employee assistance programs were established. Long standing financial problems, however, plagued the organization and in 2002 the board of directors permanently ended 124 years of "unbroken service."