Emma Octavia Lundberg (October 8, 1881 – November 17, 1954) was a Swedish-American child welfare advocate.

Biography

Lundberg was born in Tranegärdet, Humle Socken,

Västergötland Västergötland (), also known as West Gothland or the Latinized version Westrogothia in older literature, is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish), situated in the southwest of Sweden. Vä ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

on October 26, 1881, to Frans Vilhelm Lundberg and Anna Kajsa Johanson. Her family emigrated to

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, in 1884 where Lundberg went to attend Rockford High School, graduating in 1901. Lundberg then completed both a bachelor's in 1907 and a master's degree in 1908 from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

before going to work studying the living conditions of immigrant families in cities. She worked for a number of organisations including the Associated Charities in Madison, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, the United Charities of Chicago and the United States Immigration Commission. By 1913 Lundberg was a deputy at the Wisconsin Industrial Commission before she moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to take over as the first Director of the

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

Division of the

United States Children's Bureau The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency founded in 1912, organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child a ...

. Katherine F. Lenroot joined the bureau shortly after and the two produced a number of publications together. Lundberg joined the

Child Welfare League of America The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that coordinates efforts for child welfare in the United States, and provides direct support to agencies that serve children and families. The organization's visio ...

in 1925, resigning from her position in D.C. and became their Director of the Department of Institutional Care and then Director of Studies and Surveys. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

Lundberg worked for Governor

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

as Director of Research and Statistics at the New York Temporary Emergency Relief Administration as well as working as a consultant for a variety of other public agencies. In 1935 Lundberg returned to the Children's Bureau. Lenroot was now Chief of the Bureau. Lundberg took up the position of Assistant Director of the Child Welfare Division from then until 1942. From that point on she acted as a consultant for social services and in 1945 she retired due to ill health. During her time in positions of influence Lundberg had created the ground work for the children welfare provisions under the

Social Security Act The Social Security Act of 1935 is a law enacted by the 74th United States Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. The law created the Social Security (United States), Social Security program as ...

of 1937 and taken part as research secretary to the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection and assistant secretary of White House Conference on Children in a Democracy (1940). When Lenroot retired, she and Lundberg lived together in Hartsdale, New York where Lundberg died on November 17, 1954.

Bibliography

* Illegitimacy as a Child Welfare Problem (1920, 1922) * Juvenile Courts at Work (1925) * Children Deprived of Parental Care (1926) * Public Aid to Mothers with Dependent Children (1926) * Child Dependency in the United States (1933) * Unto the Least of These: Social Services for Children (1947)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lundberg, Emma Octavia 1881 births 1954 deaths People from Ulricehamn Municipality People from Rockford, Illinois People from Hartsdale, New York University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Swedish emigrants to the United States