The Child and Family Life Department, successor unit to the University Hospital School established in 1922, has provided educational and social support for sick and disabled children while hospitalized at the University of Michigan. The record group includes annual reports, histories, correspondence, and other administrative records relating to the operation of the school. The bulk of the record group is the visual materials series, including photographs, negatives, slides, films, and scrapbooks showing educational techniques, health care treatment, and hospitalized children.
The Child and Family Life Department records relate mainly to the operation of the Hospital School, and include reports, minutes, correspondence, and a wide variety of visual materials, including photographs, slides, negatives, and films documenting the programming efforts of the staff and the experiences of its patients. The evolution of educational philosophy and changes in hospitalization and treatment can be seen both in the documentation as well as through the images that are included in the record group. The records (7 linear feet, 2 oversize boxes) date from 1922 to 2001, but primarily document the period from 1922 to 1960. The records are organized in three series: Reports and Histories, Correspondence, and Visual Materials.