Homer Folks, Executive Director of SCAA from 1893 to 1947 and a leading figure in the eradication of tuberculosis, worked closely with founder Louisa Lee Schuyler.
Folks was one of the first people to preach that the protection of children starts with the protection of family units- children in poorhouses were a symptom of poverty and economic conditions these families were in. Folks said about Louisa, “finding poorhouses wretchedly managed, she did not proceed to establish a series of private homes for the aged, but insisted that the poorhouses should be brought up to standard; finding the insane badly off in local institutions she did not develop a large activity of private charity in the care of the insane, but helped to establish an efficient, adequate, competent State system for their care; finding Bellevue Hospital in a bad way, she did not throw up her hands and promote the multiplication of private hospitals, but undertook very concretely and directly the redemption of Bellevue.”
As Executive Director of SCAA, Folks made major contributions to progressive social policies: removing children and mentally ill persons from almshouses; establishing the family court and probation systems; providing home care to strengthen families of neglected children; condemning and reducing child labor; establishing public aid for dependent mothers; creating services to prevent and treat mental illness; infusing social work into medical treatment and public health care; and promoting programs to combat communicable diseases. He was an instrument in the drafting and passage of New York’s Public Health and Public Welfare Laws and formation of the U.S. Public Health Service.
Mr. Folks recognized that the problems of public health and public welfare were inseparable. With an uncanny insight into the dangers of bureaucracy, Folks felt strongly that private citizens have a duty to oversee and promote sound standards of health and welfare. He believed in and worked through knowledgeable and dedicated citizen leaders, starting with the Board, committees and affiliates of SCAA. Homer Folks’ dedication, insight and strategic skills made him a trailblazer in social welfare.
Louisa Lee stressed the importance of public policy and public support, and together she and Folks created a legacy with SCAA that continues to make real and high-level change for families and children across New York State.
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