LibGuides: State Institutions : Administrative Agencies

About Administrative Boards & Departments

Since the first institutions were established by the State of Minnesota a variety of boards and departments have provided oversight to them. Among the administering boards and departments are:

State Board of Corrections and Charities (1883-1901)
State Board of Control (1901-1939)
Department of Social Security, Division of Public Institutions (1939-1953)
The Department of Public Welfare was created in 1953 when the three divisions of the Department of Social Security were split into two functionally aligned agencies. Employment and Security became a department on its own while Social Welfare and Public Institutions were combined to form the Department of Public Welfare.
The Department of Public Welfare was changed to the Department of Human Services in 1984.
The Corrections Department was established by the legislature in 1959, bringing together in one department the functions formerly performed by the independent Youth Conservation Commission, the Board of Parole, and the Corrections Division of the Department of Public Welfare.

The records of the Public Welfare Department Public Institutions Division include indexes to residents or patients in many of the institutions covering the years 1868-1924.

For residents after 1924, search the Department of Human Services patient index cards. The patient cards cover multiple institutions and are divided into two series, one for patients who were temporary residents of those institutions and a second for those who died in the institution.

Researching Administrative Agencies

Search the library catalog for published materials and archival records about specific administrative agencies.

Administrative Agency Links

In addition to indexes found in the records of specific state institutions there are indexes in two series of records in the administrative agencies.

Patient Registers & Indexes in the Department of Public Welfare
Indexes and registers of patients at several state hospitals from their beginnings until about 1924.
Aggregated Patient Cards in the Department of Human Services
Patient index cards in the records of the Human Services Department State Operated Services covering multiple state hospitals and institutions circa 1920s to 1990s in two series, regular and deceased (those who died while residents).
Library Catalog
Search for books, pamphlets, maps, A/V materials, and archival and manuscript collections in our Library Catalog.