{"value"=>"<p>The Welfare Department provided assistance to lost and stranded children and to mentally and physically disabled visitors, operated a housing service for employees, and coordinated accommodations for visitors through the Mayor's Housing Bureau. The department was also responsible for handling cases related to inebriated adults, delinquent minors, and prostitutes operating on the Fairgrounds, which were often referred to various area social service agencies. The office was staffed by social workers and a squad of policewomen who identified unsafe labor practices, assisted on cases related to minors, and who, in conjunction with the Amusement Control Committee, monitored areas of the Fairgrounds considered hazardous or unsavory. In addition, the unit distributed information promoting awareness of social work as a career and publicizing the Fair's welfare and health-related exhibits. Working with the National Youth Administration, the department produced a series of vocational pamphlets and arranged visits to the exhibits of various industry sectors for young adults. The records here include the correspondence of directors Henrietta Additon and Elling Aannestad, reports on the department's development and operations, and statistical and descriptive case summaries. During the 1940 season, the director of Welfare began submitting reports to the director of Public Safety for distribution as part of bi-weekly executive summaries and these can be found with the Public Safety Department Bi-Weekly reports commencing with the June 13, 1940 report. In documenting departmental activities, these records evidence the social service culture of the day, the highly developed social welfare system operating in the New York metropolitan area, and offer a glimpse into daily life on the Fairgrounds and into the broader social environment of the period.</p>"}