Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Virginia Dept. of Public Welfare, Minute books, 1900-1942. Accession 26234, State Records Collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the Dept. of Welfare and Institutions, Jan. 15, 1965.

Biographical/Historical Information

Although the Virginia State Penitentiary was built in Richmond in 1797, a statewide penal system was not developed until over a century later. An act passed by the General Assembly on March 13, 1908, created the Board of Charities and Corrections to administer the penitentiary and several penal farms. On February 27, 1922, the General Assembly passed an act that created the Board of Public Welfare and merged the Board of Charities and Corrections with it. The state government reorganization act passed on April 18, 1927, created the Department of Public Welfare to administer the prison system. Legislation approved March 13, 1942, created both the Department of Corrections and the Parole Board as independent agencies. Corrections departments were merged into the Department of Welfare and Institutions by a government reorganization act approved by the General Assembly on March 30, 1948. This department remained intact until March 9, 1974, when the General Assembly passed an act dividing it into the Department of Welfare, now the Department of Social Services and the Department of Corrections. Three major responsibilities were given to the Department of Corrections: youth, adult services, and probation and parole services.

Scope and Content Information

Minute books and reports of the the various boards and committees concerned with juvenile offenders in Virginia. Included are Virginia Industrial School for Boys, Virginia Home and Industrial School for Girls, Virginia Manual Labor School for Colored Boys, Negro Reformatory Association of Virginia, and the Prison Association of Virginia.