CHILDREN'S BUREAU

New Children's Bureau Video

The Children’s Bureau, 1912–2012: A Passionate Commitment. A Legacy of Leadership

U.S. Children’s Bureau, 2012. Children’s Bureau leaders and staff—past and present—speak passionately about their commitment to the Bureau’s work and how that passion translates into better outcomes for children, families, and communities. Available in English and en Español.

Watch the Video (10:53 minutes)

Children’s Bureau silent movies provided parents in the 1920s with guidance on how to raise healthy children.

Our Children (Reel 1)

U.S. Children’s Bureau, 1919. (National Archives, No. 13610) Created to support the Children’s Health Conference in Gadsden, AL, this educational film illustrates health-promotion efforts to make a community “safe for babies.”

Watch the Video (10:33 minutes)
Our Children (Reel 2)

U.S. Children’s Bureau, 1919. (National Archives, No. 13610) Created to support the Children’s Health Conference in Gadsden, AL, this educational film illustrates health-promotion efforts to make a community “safe for babies.”

Watch the Video (11:26 minutes)
The Best-Fed Baby

U.S. Children’s Bureau, 1925. (National Archives, No. 13609) A neighbor and her doctor offer advice to a new mother on the advantages and correct ways to breastfeed a baby.

Watch the Video (10:39 minutes)
Posture Clinic and Exercise

U.S. Children’s Bureau, circa 1926. (National Archives, No. 13607) This film exemplifies the Children’s Bureau’s early work in promoting healthy development of children through an emphasis on posture and physical fitness.

Watch the Video (19:05 minutes)

John F. Kennedy Remarks on the 50th Anniversary of the Children’s Bureau

April 9, 1962, Dallas, TX. (JFK Library and Museum, No. WH-085-001). President Kennedy speaks of how the Children’s Bureau “blazed new trails” in confronting juvenile delinquency, decreasing infant and maternal mortality, and addressing the needs of children with disabilities.

Access the audio recording (11:38 minutes) Access the written remarks
President Roosevelt and the Social Security Act

FDR's speech at the ceremony of the signing of the Social Security Act in 1935.

Listen to the speech

Justice, Not Pity: Julia Lathrop, First Chief of the U.S. Children’s Bureau

Dr. Cecelia Tichi presents a captivating account of Julia Lathrop and her groundbreaking efforts as the first chief of the Children’s Bureau.

Listen to the audio mp3 (9.01 MB) of the 2007 presentation. Access the full online transcript, (PDF 157 KB)

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