Records of a vocational guidance study for deaf and blind youth

Alphabetical by name of correspondent.

The series consists of correspondence and related survey materials concerning a special study of the vocational guidance, training, and placement needs of the blind and deaf in New York State. George E. Hutcherson, chief of the Bureau of Physically Handicapped Children, and Joseph J. Endres, chief of the Bureau of Guidance, directed the study for the Education Department as part of a "Committee on the Study of Vocational Guidance of the Deaf and Blind in New York State."

A large part of the committee's work concerned over 1,000 surveys sent to schools for the deaf and blind and to former students who left school or graduated during 1927-1936. The aim was to use the experience of graduates and an evaluation of curriculum to enhance opportunities for handicapped youth to earn a living. Files are present for Dr. Roy M. Anderson, Teachers College at Columbia University; Dr. Sherman G. Crayton, State Teachers College at Buffalo; and Edward J. Dowling (apparently chairman), who worked on a technical advisory committee.

The records include sample copies of the special survey forms, which provide a profile of students, course of study, and employment prospects; correspondence and progress reports by members of the committee; and routine correspondence among committee members on procedures, mailings, and providing workers to conduct the survey. There are carbon copies of survey results for the New York School for the Deaf (May 1938), but neither overall tabulation of survey results nor final recommendations of the committee are present.

This accession resulted from a project undertaken by Archives staff in 1997 to accession or reintegrate estrayed or unidentified records.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.