Jene M. Barr Interview

Jene M. Barr Interview

Barr, Jean Middap (1912); Saratoga Springs (N.Y.); Ethnic neighborhoods--United States.; Social Work.; Child welfare.; Child abuse.; Teenage pregnancy.; Foster home care.; Foster children.; Orphans.;

Jean M. Barr (3 March 1912–27 November 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 at 28, her mother began working as a hairdresser to support them. 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.

Saratoga Springs Public Library

06-09-1998

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MP3

English

WSONP.0018.a.1

Mary Ann Cardillo Fitzgerald

Jean M. Barr

Cassette Tape

00:43:49

Oral histories