Scope and Content: The Board of State Charities (St 1863, c 240) oversaw the state’s immigration and pauper relief functions, as well as the state’s charitable and correctional institutions. These included institutions for the mentally ill and retarded of Massachusetts, which were responsibility of the Board’s successors, the State Board of Health, Lunacy, and Charity (St 1879, c 291), and State Board of Lunacy and Charity (St 1886, c 101). They were then the sole responsibility successively of the State Board of Insanity (St 1898, c 433), Massachusetts Commission on Mental Diseases (St 1916, c 285), Dept. of Mental Diseases (St 1919, c 350, ss 79-81), and Dept. of Mental Health (St 1938, c 486)
Arrangement: Arranged by institution, thereunder by inpatient registration no.
Restrictions: Mental health client information restricted by statutory provision MGLA c 123, s 36. Mental retardation client information restricted by statutory provision MGLA c 123B, s 17. For conditions of access consult repository
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