United Community Services Planning Department Records

Accession Number: 
UR002466
Use restriction: 
NO NAMES APPEARING IN CASE FILES MAY BE CITED. RESEARCHERS USING THE UNITED COMMUNITY SERVICES PLANNING DEPARTMENT COLLECTION ARE REQUIRED TO SIGN A RESTRICTED STATEMENT.
Extent: 
70.75 linear feet (69 SB, 2 MB, 1 OS)

The United Community Services of Metropolitan Detroit has its origins in the establishment of the Detroit Community Union in 1917. The Union was reorganized into the Council of Social Agencies of Metropolitan Detroit in 1932, and merged with the Detroit Community Chest in 1951 to become the United Community Services (UCS). UCS operated alongside the United Way for Southeastern Michigan (United Foundation until 1989), which was primarily a fundraising organization. They merged to form the United Way Community Services in 1995, which merged with the United Way for Oakland County to become the United Way for Southeastern Michigan in 2005. UCS was an umbrella organization for a wide range of social welfare agencies in the Metropolitan Detroit area, and sought to promote social services (including child care, family, health, recreation, and community planning) through the centralized planning, coordinating, and budgeting of those agencies. The Planning Department was responsible for identifying social problems, working with citizens and service organizations to identify and propose solutions to those problems, and fostering the involvement of members of the community in the community service process. The Planning Department consisted of various component councils and committees throughout its history, each tasked with fulfilling the goals of effective community planning for specific geographic areas or community concerns.

Part 1 of the records of the United Community Services Planning Department consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, publications, research studies and other material documenting health and human services in metropolitan Detroit. Part 2 consists of correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, proposals, and other paper materials documenting the department’s efforts to effectively identify and improve social welfare concerns in the metropolitan Detroit area. The councils and committees represented include those responsible for planning for geographic, demographic, and functional concerns including children and youth services, health services, recreation, and social services. It also includes records related to the administrative functions of the Planning Department, including records from the Metropolitan Area Planning (MAP) Committee and the Coordinating Council.

Date: 
1938-1987
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