Health and Welfare Planning Council of the Dayton Area Inc. Records (MS-689)

The geographic area served by the Health and Welfare Planning Council of the Dayton Area included Montgomery, Greene, and Preble Counties, in Ohio.

The following information is taken directly from the organization's constitution (1967), with minor editing:

The purpose of the Health and Welfare Planning Council of the Dayton Area was to enable the community to have a planned, coordinated, and efficient program of social services. The Council's planning was to be coordinated with other planning services and geared to deal effectively with problems and needs of the total community. The Council sought to achieve its purpose through involvement of representatives of agencies and individual citizens in studies and projects aimed at furthering the health, welfare, and recreation services of the community. It stimulated the formation of neighborhood organizations to deal with neighborhood problems as well as to relate their interests to total community planning.

Any public or private non-profit organization which subscribed to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Council and which had a defined and active program to serve health, welfare, or recreational needs of persons in the Council's geographic area of interest was eligible for membership. Any individual who subscribed to the purpose of the Council was also eligible for membership. Both types of membership required a written application and approval by the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors consisted of thirty-six (36) elected members. Terms of office were three (3) years, and twelve (12) terms expired each year. There was a term limit of two (2) consecutive three-year terms.

The following information is taken directly from the organization's bylaws (1974 edition), with minor editing:

In carrying out its purpose of enabling the community to have a planned, coordinated, and efficient program of social services, the Health and Welfare Planning Council gave emphasis to: RESEARCH, COORDINATION, and PLANNING:

RESEARCH: It was the Council's function to have available - or be able to obtain - factual information on health, welfare, and recreation services. The Council provided guidance to agencies by compiling useful statistics and, in cooperation with agencies, initiated projects and studies geared towards obtaining information needed for community decisionmaking.

COORDINATION: It was the Council's function to work toward efficient and effective programs, and in this role the Council gave leadership on behalf of coordination of services. As of 1974, the Council had within its membership 165 public and private agencies and organizations. The Council also provided information and guidance to other planning services, based on its unique experience in health, welfare, and recreation. It also carefully integrated the information received from other planning groups into the plans of the Council.

PLANNING: The Council helped to identify current and emerging health, welfare, and recreation needs and the development of immediate and long-range plans to meet them.