Finding Aid Search

Title

County admission registers

Series Number

B1665

Summary

This series consists of registers, organized by county, listing those admitted to the Syracuse Developmental Center (from the time it was called the New York State Asylum for Idiots, through all successive institutional name changes). The first volume lists name; town; class; age; sex; color; nativity; date admitted; how supported; how clothed; by whom committed; date discharged; date died; and remarks. Volumes 2 and 3 list name; number; age; date admitted; by whom committed; town; nativity; religion; date discharged; to whom discharged; and remarks.

Creator

• Syracuse Developmental Center

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Syracuse State School record of paroles/releases

Series Number

B1664

Summary

This series records those released "on parole" from the Syracuse State School, formerly the Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives (until 1919). Most volumes simply list name, date of parole, and date of return or discharge. Occasionally there are references, with dates, to escapes (elopement) or the reason for parole. There are rare mentions of transfer or death.

Creator

• Syracuse State School

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Daily census and activity registers

Series Number

B1641

Summary

The series consists of daily registers that record the population and activities of patients at the Syracuse State School and its predecessors. Starting in 1883, the asylum purchased and remodeled farm buildings at which older students were placed to learn farming and to produce crops. By 1931 the Syracuse State School had fifteen such "colonies" (eight junior boys' colonies, three senior boys' colonies, and four girls' colonies) and the work activities noted in these registers reflect that system.

Creator

• Syracuse State School

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Colony journal/telephone log

Series Number

B2375

Summary

These books record the use of the colony telephone by patients at one of the colonies at the Rome Developmental Center. The entries are recorded in diary or journal fashion by the ward attendee or other staff. Information includes names of patients and attendees, date and time phone calls were made, and duration of phone calls. The series also contains notes pertaining to the content of phone calls and patients' activities and behavior.

Creator

• New York (State). Department of Mental Hygiene

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access permitted under certain conditions upon application to and approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives dietary record books

Series Number

B1640

Summary

The series consists of dietary records of the Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children, which was renamed in 1919 as the Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives. The registers list separate breakfast, dinner, and supper menus for family, employees, and pupils according to date and building.

Creator

• Syracuse State School for Mental Defectives

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Exhibit material

Series Number

B1697

Summary

The exhibit material, possibly from of the New York exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 includes illustrations of instructional techniques, student products, and educational programs. Also shown are student activities relating to music, physical education, and sewing from the Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children (originally the New York State Asylum for Idiots). Other exhibit material includes reproductions of student progress reports and sample classwork like knitting, crochet, letters, and other writing exercises.

Creator

• Syracuse State Institution for Feeble-Minded Children

Access Restrictions

Restricted due to fragility, pending treatment.Use with assistance of archivist.

Title

Staten Island Developmental Center patient case files

Series Number

19452

Summary

This series consists of case files of patients who died, discharged, or were transferred to other institutions, from Willowbrook State School. Case files document patients' admission, treatment, therapy, and education. They typically contain admission records; records of visitors and correspondents; psychiatrist, physician, and social worker reports and notes; school reports; physical examination information; prescription and dental records; clothing lists; correspondence from other institutions; and information regarding the circumstances under which patients left the care of Willowbrook Records are restricted.

Creator

• Staten Island Developmental Center

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Governor Hugh L. Carey central subject and correspondence files

Series Number

13682_82;_13682_83

Summary

Hugh L. Carey served as governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He practiced fiscal conservatism by limiting government spending, while avidly defending social welfare programs that benefited the less fortunate. Records in this series document the governor's response to the New York City fiscal crisis and his efforts to overhaul the state's approach to care of the developmentally disabled. Records also document the governor's efforts in the areas of economic revitalization, environmental conservation, education policy, and criminal justice reform.

Creator

• New York (State). Governor (1975-1982 : Carey)

Access Restrictions

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

Title

New York State Office of Mental Health administrative reports and seven-day leave reports for state psychiatric centers

Series Number

B1366

Summary

This series consists of computer printouts which tabulate an inpatient census for the statewide network of psychiatric centers. There are two reports for each facility: the daily inpatient census that summarizes the number and type of patient on wards; and on-ward and on-leave census with patient information according to the type of unit or service.

Creator

• New York (State). Office of Mental Health

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Admission and discharge registers

Series Number

B2368

Summary

The registers in this series contain handwritten entries of admissions, discharges, and case observations, among other critical patient information. Data includes name, date of admission, age, county and/or municipality of origin, date of commitment, maintenance, and staff remarks. The indexes in this series record the patient's name, casebook volume and page number(s), existence of clinical records, burial record, autopsy record, or prescription record, or date of discharge.

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access permitted under certain conditions upon application to and approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Record of escapes

Series Number

B1661

Summary

This series records those who escaped from Syracuse State School during the period 1934-1953. Entries are arranged according to the month in which the escape was reported; this roughly corresponds to a chronological arrangement by actual escape date (an escape may have occurred earlier than the month in which it is recorded). Periodic notes appear recording dates that escapes were reported to the Medical Inspector (probably during routine checks of the facility).

Creator

• Syracuse State School

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Rome Developmental Center fiscal records

Series Number

B2383

Summary

This series documents receipts and disbursements of cash, billing and payments made for facilities maintenance, documentation of funds encumbered and appropriated, and accounting for cash belonging to patients. The records detail the management of patients' funds, expenditures for patient and facilities maintenance, and handling of monies in general. Records may contain personally-identifying information.

Creator

• New York (State). Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access permitted under certain conditions upon application to and approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Observational notes on female patients

Series Number

B2369

Summary

This series consists of observational notes on the condition of women inmates housed in the Rome State Custodial Asylum. It consists of brief, handwritten entries, with an alphabetical index in the front of the volume. The record for each patient varies in length, and it documents the patient's changing state of mental and physical health from time of admittance to the hospital, and in some cases, until time of discharge, transfer or death.

Creator

• New York (State). Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access permitted under certain conditions upon application to and approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Population census

Series Number

B1674

Summary

The series consists of monthly census summaries enumerating, by gender, the population of the Syracuse State School and its outlying colonies and cottages. Aggregate numbers, not names of individuals, are provided. Data document the expansion of the institution's colony system, as well as how regular admissions, discharges, elopements, and the policy of paroling residents affect total institutional population at a given time.

Creator

• Syracuse State School

Access Restrictions

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

Title

Syracuse State School logbooks of packages, letters, and Christmas gifts sent to patients

Series Number

B1648

Summary

This series consists of logbooks recording receipt of packages and letters and Christmas gifts sent to Syracuse State School patients. Log entries include receipt date; recipient name; name and address of sender. Sometimes there is a note that the package remained "unopened." Volumes listing letters sent to patients show date received; recipient and sender name; and sometimes sender's relationship to patient. Volumes listing Christmas gifts typically show date, recipient, gift item(s); and sometimes sender's name and address. Records are restricted.

Creator

• Syracuse State School

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Litigation Support Services Willowbrook litigation support files

Series Number

21414

Summary

In the early 1970s, the publicized conditions at Willowbrook led to a class action suit alleging civil rights violations (New York State Association for Retarded Children, Inc. v. Rockefeller). Willowbrook clients were deinstitutionalized or transferred to other state facilities. These records document the litigation over conditions at the facility, agency response to the litigation and its aftermath, and oversight of class members during and after the litigation. Included are correspondence, memorandums, reports, minutes, and audit reports. Records are restricted.

Creator

• New York (State). Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. Litigation Support Services

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Syracuse State School "clothing books," ledgers, and cards

Series Number

B1642

Summary

This series consists of ledgers, cards, and "clothing books" that record purchase, cost, and/or distribution of clothing and shoes among students/patients. Ledgers show patient name, item and cost. Girls' clothing books are arranged by year, then alphabetically by type of clothing. Date and name of student is shown. Boys' volumes are arranged by name, then by year(s) and show numbers of items discarded or issued. Also included are a "Shoes Book" and a "County Clothing Account" book. Records are restricted.

Creator

• Syracuse State School

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Medical Inspector's reports

Series Number

B2377

Summary

These inspection reports on Rome State School colonies track the population census. Data represents the overall Rome population for most reports (wards and colonies). There are also some reports for individual colonies, but it is unclear whether all colonies were inspected individually on a routine basis.

Creator

• New York (State). Department of Mental Hygiene

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Section 33.13, Mental Hygiene Law, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access permitted under certain conditions upon application to and approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Syracuse Developmental Center historic prints and photographs

Series Number

B1695

Summary

Photographs take 1878-1925 consist of images of children in their school environment and in individual portraits taken for case files or descriptive admission applications. Later 20th century images show institutional activities like woodworking, farming, sports, and picnics. Some images are enlarged portraits of staff and board members. There is a small amount of miscellaneous print material such as descriptive application files, a plan of the school, greeting cards, programs and brochures.

Creator

• Syracuse Developmental Center

Access Restrictions

Restricted in accordance with Mental Hygiene Law, Section 33.13, relating to confidentiality of clinical records. Access is permitted under certain conditions upon approval by the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.

Title

Syracuse Developmental Center clipping files

Series Number

B1656

Summary

The series consists of clipping files and a small amount of publicity material tracing the history and development of the Syracuse Developmental Center. The files were likely kept by the institution's museum.

Creator

• Syracuse Developmental Center

Access Restrictions

Restricted due to fragility. Use with assistance of archivist.