Preserving our social welfare heritage and advancing social equity through the records of California’s people, history, and communities.
California Social Welfare Archives
Our mission is to collect and preserve the historical documents of California’s social welfare institutions and celebrate influential social workers and other human service professionals throughout California.
Renowned clinical social worker, theorist, educator and author, Barbara Bryant Solomon. Click on the image to watch her interview.
Above photo is CSWA’s 1991 Mission Statement. In Feldman, F.L. (1991) Portrait of a Gentle Man: George D. Nickel. California Social Welfare Archives.
Photo from a social work recruitment flyer, circa 1955. CSWA archive collection #0454
Above photo is of an unnamed social worker employed by All Nations Foundation in 1965. CSWA collection #0421. Click on the image to see more images from this collection.
Save the date!
2025 California Social Work Hall of Distinction Induction Ceremony
Date: November 15, 2025
Time: 4-8 PM PST
Location: Location: Marriott Irvine, 180000 Von Karman Avenue, CA - 92612
Interested in our work?
We’d appreciate your support and involvement.
Volunteering:
CSWA is an all-volunteer organization and most of us are social workers. Should you be interested in volunteering with us, please check out our Committees page for more information on volunteering opportunities.
Financial support:
Please join us in building the CSWA Operations Fund to ensure long-term support for the California Social Welfare Archives. Here’s where your support would go:
Scholarships for social work students interested in social work history (see the Resources page for more.)
Scholarships for researchers traveling to study our collections in our Archives.
California Social Work Hall of Distinction Awards.
George Nickel Social Service Awards
Frances Lomas Feldman Social Work Education Award.
Oral Histories interview production costs.
Stipends for our Work-Study students.
Your generosity ensures that we continue to honor those involved in bringing about social equity and to ensure that the contributions of social work leaders, innovators, and pioneers will be recognized, studied, and preserved for the future. Any size gift is welcome and important.
You can also text-to-give, by texting CSWAHOD to 41444.
Guests enjoying CSWA 45th Anniversary Celebration, Pasadena 2024
