Professionalizing Probation Work in Chicago, 1900‐1935

Abstract

This article examines the ideologies, discourses, and practices of female probation officers in Chicago from 1900 to 1935. Maternalist organizations, especially the Chicago Woman's Club, influenced early probation work through both their financial support of officers and their own participation as volunteer officers. Despite the rigorous training required of female probation officers, maternalist discourses continued to shape probation work, emphasizing the female officers' affective roles and dispositions. Although high case loads and increased paperwork compromised the extent to which female probation officers were able to carry out these roles, especially with delinquent girls, the maternalist rhetoric persisted.

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