[Civilian War Services]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

CIVILIAN
WAR SERVICES
INCLUDING—
Civilian War Services—An Operating Guide for Local Defense Councils
Manual for Volunteer Offices
The U. S. Junior Citizens
Service Corps
The Neighborhood in Action
Education in Wartime.
Health Service in Wartime
Recreation ^Wartime
Services to G&Rdren of Working Mothers
Suggestions for Easing Committees of Local Def e^^Pouncils
Training Volunteer^^r War Services
The organization of communities for Civilian War Services has been one of the outstanding developments in this war. While the degree of unity which communities have achieved is new in American life, it is an outgrowth of the experiences in community organization of the last 30 years, and also of our oldest and most fundamental principle — the democratic principle.
Director, U. S. Office of Civilian Defense
U. S. OFFICE OF CIVILIAN DEFENSE WASHINGTON 25, D. C.
OCD Publication 3600	April 1944
584185*—44
FOREWORD
During the past three years, the Civilian War Services Branches of local Defense Councils have developed a pattern of operation which combines the prestige of local government with the practices and-methods of cooperative planning and operation which over the years had been developed in the field of community organization.
The problems of communities in the past three years have been varied and intense. In different degrees, they have been faced with congested transportation, lack of houses, crowded schools, not enough hospitals, working women who need assistance in caring for their children, swing shift workers who need recreation at odd hours, increases in juvenile delinquency, manpower shortages, absenteeism, labor turnover and many other specific problems whose solution on a community wide basis has been and still is essential to the war effort. The structure of the Defense Council enables it to meet these problems with a comprehensive community plan in which all interested agencies and organizations can share.
There has been much local initiative exercised in attacking these problems, ordinarily starting in the same way, through the organization of a local committee of leading people who represent groups that have some stake in improving the situation. In addition to this local initiative, Federal agencies exist whose function is to assist communities in solving almost every type of problem. Some of them supply money and facilities; others are concerned with stimulating and advising. Practically, this means that they are organizing and working through committees representing the community groups that must be mobilized for action.
In addition to programs based on local needs there are many campaigns which require the aid of community leaders and volunteers in every community. These include victory gardens, salvage, rationing, car sharing, the sale of war bonds, and many others.
During the past year and one-half, the Civilian War Services Branch of OCD has undertaken to summarize in a series of manuals and operating guides the principles and methods which the experiences of thousands of Defense Councils throughout the country have
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shown to be most effective in meeting war related problems and in carrying out war campaigns. Their value lies in the fact that they are based on experience.
Many of these manuals deal with program content which is outside of the area of responsibility of OCD. In all such instances, the program material has been prepared or approved by the appropriate Federal agencies or national organizations. OCD has interpreted these programs in terms of Defense Council organization and operation.
This volume is being prepared for use of Defense Councils as a reference work or tool in evaluating their operations. It is recognized that terminology varies from State to State and that no particular organizational structure is applicable to communities of different sizes or different characteristics. On the other hand, it is believed that this group of manuals will be useful and will provide suggestive material to communities in further perfecting their War Services work.
Assistant Director in Charge of Civilian War Services.
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NOTES ON THE CHART
This brief discussion is intended only to explain certain features of the chart on the preceding pages and to supplement the graphic representation of relationships. More complete treatment of these subjects will be found in the publications included in this volume.
The functions depicted in this chart do not conflict with earlier approved charts. Recent developments in Defense Councils are, however, reflected. For the sake of clarity, each of the functions of the War Services Branch is shown in a separate box. In larger communities a special committee or unit is usually given responsibility for each of these functions. In the smaller communities, the organization can be much simpler.
War Services Board.—The most important provision in the War Services branch of a local Defense Council is a strong War Services Board. This Board is an over-all planning and coordinating body for Civilian War Services.
The Board surveys the war needs of the community, other than protection; delegates responsibility for the fulfillment of each need; coordinates national and local war programs and services; strengthens and coordinates the many citizens’ organizations and agencies as they relate to the war effort.
In order for the War Services Board to perform these functions, its membership should include: The chairmen of the various planning and/or operating committees, the heads of the Block and Neighborhood Organization, the Volunteer Office, Training, and the Information or Consultation Center. It is important that this Board include the key people from the community—those who can command a following and who can secure community action.
The center line from the War Services Board to the planning and/or operating committees indicates a two-way flow with the following sequence of action: Usually a committee analyzes a situation, determines a plan, submits it to the Board, the Board acts upon the plan and if it approves, refers it back to the committee for suitable action; or the Board itself may initiate consideration of community problems and refer them to a standing or temporary committee for further study or action.
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Planning and/ôr Operating Committees.—Only the most common committees are shown. Many communities have additional committees, while subcommittees exist in some places. On the other hand smaller communities combine functions in a few committees. The War Services Board determines the need for new committees and all committees function subject to the approval of the War Services Board.
Some committees, such as salvage and war savings, concerned primarily with specific programs for which no community agencies exist, usually plan and operate their own programs. This type of administrative responsibility from the War Services Board down to the volunteers of the Citizens Service Corps is indicated by the solid box around “programs carried out by Civilian War Services Committees.”
Other committees such as Recreation, Welfare, and Health, usually referred to as planning committees, normally confine their functions to considering community needs and planning for the meeting of those needs through community agencies. The broken box around “programs carried out by established community agencies” indicates that, while the War Services Board has a responsibility for planning, stimulation, and coordination, it has no administrative responsibility for the programs operated by community agencies. Experience has shown that the best policy is for committees in these fields to stimulate action by community agencies or to bring about the creation of temporary agencies for operating purposes, rather than to undertake operations themselves.
Information or Consultation Centers.—Successful local Defense Councils are finding it necessary to establish a convenient information center where the public may secure information about community agencies and services and about National war programs. Some information centers also make provision for consultation, counselling and/or referral service for war workers, prospective draftees, servicemen, veterans, and their families (or for one or more of these groups).
Block and Neighborhood Organization.—The Block and Neighborhood Organization functions as a service unit under the War Services Board.
Training.—The training unit is a clearing house of information, ideas, techniques, and procedures for training programs.
Collection and Use of Community Data.—It is important that the War Services Board establish a central service to collect, analyze, and interpret information about the community, its problems, and the volume and effectiveness of Civilian War Services programs. Such
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information is needed by the Board and by the committees as an operating tool in planning and evaluating their programs.
In many cities there is a reservoir of information, collected over a period of years, by public and private health and welfare agencies, the Chamber of Commerce, and other groups. One of the first projects of such a unit should be the cataloging of all such pertinent facts.
Citizens Service Corps.—The Corps is a method of recognition for volunteers, over the age of 16, who have been registered in the Volunteer Office and have been referred by this office to an appropriate committee or agency for work in approved War Services programs.
The Junior Citizens Service Corps is a means of recognizing the contribution to the war effort of boys and girls, 16 years of age and under, made in their own school, church and youth agencies under the supervision of adult leadership.
There are no horizontal lines on the chart connecting the various functions; all coordination is through the War Services Board which should be the clearing house for all Civilian War Services activities. If the Salvage Committee desires to use the Block and Neighborhood Organization, the request should be made through the Board and not by direct negotiation between the chairman of the Salvage Committee and the Director of the Block and Neighborhood Organization. It is frequently necessary for two or more committees to work together on a problem with which they are all concerned. For example, several committees are concerned with certain aspects of the problem of juvenile delinquency. The manner in which these committees address themselves jointly to this problem should be determined by the War Services Board.
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V. S. COVER NME NT PRINTINC OFFICE t t>44