“Making the Way More Comfortable”: Charlotte Whitton’s Child Welfare Career, 1920-48

Abstract

Charlotte Whitton’s influence in professionalizing Canadian social work cannot be overestimated. As Director of the Canadian Welfare Council, she was instrumental in establishing a social work network by recommending appointments to key positions across the country. This network assisted Whitton in implementing the recommendations of more than a score of CWC social surveys that bore her imprimatur. Determined to standardize social work, she transformed ad hoe child care practices into cohesive child welfare policies. Her promotion of central Canadian models of child welfare drew hostile regional responses, especially in Alberta. Her commitment to the boarding-out principle contributed to the de-institutionalization of dependent children.

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