Janet Theodora Lusk (27 April 1924 – 20 June 1994) was a Scottish social worker who was a pioneer of

social care in Scotland Social care in Scotland encompasses social work; care home services in the community for adults, children and young people; and services for young children, including nurseries and after-school care clubs. National Care Service The National C ...

, Director of the Guild of Service (1962 – 1984) and the first female Convener of the

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national membership body for Scotland’s voluntary organisations. SCVO's mission is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in building a flourishing society and support them ...

(1984 – 1990).

Early life

Janet Lusk was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

on 27 April 1924. She was the fifth and youngest child of Mary Theodora Colville and her husband, Reverend David Colville Lusk (1881–1960). Her father was ordained in the

United Free Church The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; , ) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and the majority of the 19th-century Free Church of Scotland. The maj ...

, and at the time of her birth, was the Chaplain to the Presbyterian members of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. One of her siblings was Rev Dr Mary Irene Levison (1923–2011). Her family relocated to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

when her father became minister at West Coates Church. She attended St Leonard's School,

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

until 1942, and then joined the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existe ...

. After the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

she studied French and Spanish at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, followed in 1956 with a post-graduate qualification in child care from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

Early Career

Lusk started her career in social work at Edinburgh Children's Holiday Home, and in 1957, she began as a caseworker in the Edinburgh-based voluntary organisation, the Guild of Service for Women, working with unmarried mothers and their children and adoptive parents. In 1960, she became a senior caseworker, also establishing placements for students from the new

child care course.

Director of Guild of Service

From 1962 to 1982, Lusk was Director of the Guild of Service, which began life in 1911 as the Eastern Division of the

National Vigilance Association The National Vigilance Association (NVA) was a British society established in 1885. Its goal was to combat prostitution, particularly forced prostitution by children. It has been described as the main social purity organization in the United Kingdom ...

, and later changed its name to Family Care. As Director she pioneered social work practice in adoption, residential child care and single-parent families. She was a leading authority on adoption and served on the Scottish Education Department's Departmental Committee on the Adoption of Children (Known as the Houghton Committee) in 1972. She was also influential in pushing for the professionalisation of social work services in Scotland. On retiring she was appointed Convener of

, the first woman to hold the position. She continued in the role until 1990.

Later life

In the

1970 Birthday Honours The 1970 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in suppleme ...

, she was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) for services to child care. Lusk died in Edinburgh on 20 June 1994 following a car accident. She left a bequest to

St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh The Parish Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh. Probably founded in the 7th century, the church once covered an extensive parish around the Old Town of Edinburgh, burgh of Edinburgh. The church ...

, where she had been an Elder. Her bequest was used to restore the church's 19th century pipe organ.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lusk, Janet 1924 births 1994 deaths Scottish social workers Officers of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Scottish women Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Birmingham