Jean M. Barr Interview
Jean M. Barr (1912–2006) was a resident of Saratoga Springs, New York. She recounts her life as a social worker for Child Welfare in Saratoga County. Her parents married in New York City and soon after moved to Saratoga Springs, where Jean’s maternal grandparents lived. After Jean’s father died, her mother worked as a hairdresser to support the family. After training to become a social worker in Philadelphia, Jean joined the Child Welfare department of Saratoga County, where she worked with doctors, judges, and community volunteers to rescue, relocate, and advocate for neglected and abused children. She recounts helping severely abused infants, victims of a house fire, and a pregnant teenager, along with other children in the foster system from the 1930s until her retirement in 1973. She worked tirelessly to care for children, rescuing them from unsafe situations and bringing them to foster families. She reflects on work attitudes in the era before time clocks, as her job was highly mobile and required flexibility and long hours. Her work connected her intimately with the local community and Children’s Court.