Archives West Finding Aid

This collection contains records from various Divisions, Bureaus, and Programs within the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services records were integrated under one collection number to help facilitate access and reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog. Please note that some materials in the following groups may have originated in the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Department of Public Welfare, Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services, or other predecessor agencies.

To learn more detail about the records in each subgroup, please click on the links below in the arrangement section to be redirected to those finding aids.

Subgroup 1: Director's Office Division

This subgroup (1977-2002) is comprised of records from the Director’s Office. It contains court papers (1977-1989), press releases (1993-2002), subject files (1994-1997, topics include the 1997 Legislature and Families Achieving Independence in Montana (FAIM)), and clippings (1998-2002).

Subgroup 2: Child and Family Services Division

This subgroup (1987-2005) is comprised of records from the Child and Family Services Division. It contains manuals, manual updates and bulletins, and internal communications about manuals for the programs of the Child and Family Services Division. These include Food Stamps (including FAIM), Aid for Families with Dependent Children, Medical Assistance, and the Family Medicaid Program, as well as a general Child and Family Services manual.

Subgroup 3: Early Childhood and Family Support Division

This subgroup contains records from the sub-subgroup, Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program (1976-2003), which operates within the Family and Community Health Bureau, which itself operates under the Early Childhood and Family Support Division. Records include correspondence, financial records, and subject files, including files on the Intertribal Policy Board.

Subgroup 4: Human and Community Services Division

This subgroup (1935-2001) is comprised of records from the Human and Community Services Division. It contains minutes, expenditures, and related records of the Beaverhead, Blaine, Cascade, Gallatin, Hill, Liberty, and Madison County Welfare Boards. It also contains correspondence, minutes, reports, subject files, and printed materials of the Human and Community Services Division, and day care provider case files of the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Subgroup 5: Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division

This subgroup (1977-1999) is comprised of records from the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division (formerly named Disabilities Services Division and Developmental Services Division). It contains correspondence, covering topics such as child abuse, AIDS, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Health Care Financing Administration, and more; reports, quarterly reports, and subject files on topics such as the Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center, Family Child Care Choices Project, Developmental Education Assistance Program, Developmental Disabilities Planning and Advisory Council, and Montana University Affiliated Programs.

This subgroup also contains records of the defunct Addictive & Mental Disorders Division (1983-2002). The collection was processed separately, as this was originally a distinct Division that is now a part of the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Division. Records include correspondence, reports, and subject files. Also included are case files of the Mental Health Managed Care Advisory group and the Mental Health Access Plan Advisory Group, as well as case files pertaining to the Montana State Hospital campus redesign project of the 1990s.

Subgroup 6: Senior and Long-Term Care Division

This subgroup (1978-2006) is comprised of records from the Senior and Long-Term Care Division. It contains correspondence, including incoming and outgoing correspondence related to the Division, reports, including area plans, area grants, and state plans, as well as subject files, including adult protective services, Alzheimer’s disease, tribal elder abuse, and other related topics.

Subgroup 7: State Healthcare Facilities

The subgroup contains the records from various State Healthcare Facilities. The sub-subgroup (1877-1973) includes materials pertaining to the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs, Montana and its governing body, the Montana State Board of Commissioners for the Insane, from 1877 to 1973. The Montana State Hospital formerly operated within the Department of Institutions, but it was transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services in 1995.

The Montana State Hospital operated under a variety of names including Mitchell and Mussigbrod, Insane Asylum of the State of Montana, Montana State Hospital for the Insane, Montana State Insane Asylum, Montana State Hospital, and Warm Springs State Hospital. The Hospital records include patient registers, dockets, the history of the hospital, scrapbooks, correspondence, financial records, and legal documents. The Board records are primarily correspondence, meeting minutes, and physicians certificates. RESTRICTION: Patient records are confidential and privileged (M.C.A. 53-21-166) but may be used for research under the administrative rule adopted by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Contact the Montana Historical Society Archives for details.

The sub-subgroup, Center for the Aged (now the Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center, 1912-1994) consists of correspondence, subject files, meeting minutes, personal files of patient Mayme Matson (1912-1930), and maps.

Subgroup 8: Office of Inspector General

This subgroup (1976-1998) is comprised of records from the Office of Inspector General (formerly Quality Assurance Division). It contains subject files, including revised versions of manuals for programs on Food Stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Medicaid, and the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP), and court papers on Fair Hearings Trials. Please note that some information has been marked as restricted due to the presence of social security numbers. This subgroup also contains records from the sub-subgroup, the Certification Bureau (1947-1988), which consists primarily of survey files.

Subgroup 9: Public Health and Safety Division

This subgroup contains records from the sub-subgroup, Environmental Health and Food Safety Section (1979-1980, formerly named Food and Consumer Safety Bureau). It consists of records related to the Pierce Packing Company’s Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) spill in Billings, M.T. in 1979.

Subgroup 10: Health Coalition (Advisory Council)

This subgroup (1990-2002) is comprised of records from the Health Coalition (formerly Healthcare Advisory Council), an Advisory Board to DPHHS. It contains minutes, agendas, handouts, member lists, charters, and other related materials.

Subgroup 11: Montana State Board of Health (Predecessor Agency)

This subgroup consists of two separate collections, as they were initially processed separately and have not yet been completely integrated. Both collections contain records from the State Board of Health (later named the Board of Health and Environmental Sciences). The first collection (1907-1994), formerly RS 238, is comprised of minutes, reports, licensing laws, as well as materials from the Food and Drug Division, including correspondence, court papers, press releases, field investigations, speeches, subject files and miscellany. The second collection (1907-1966), formerly RS 58, contains correspondence, meeting minutes, court papers related to field investigations, and reports.

Subgroup 12: Montana Relief Commission (Predecessor Agency)

This subgroup (1934-1936) is comprised of records from the Montana Relief Commission, which merged with other State Boards and Divisions in 1937 to form the Department of Public Welfare. Records include interoffice correspondence regarding earthquake fund allocations; financial records, including emergency fund transmittals, auditors reports, and daily reports; and miscellany, including a list of personnel of the County Emergency Relief Committee.

Subgroup 13: Department of Public Welfare (Predecessor Agency)

This subgroup (1933-1973; undated) is comprised of records from the Department of Public Welfare, which was abolished in 1971. It consists of general correspondence, arranged by subject; minutes of the Division of Child Welfare Services field staff, the Montana Relief Commission, the State Board of Public Welfare, and the Old Age Pension Commission; organizational records; reports on public assistance, day care facilities, and other matters; subject files on county medical plans, legal services, and other issues; writings; and miscellany.

Subgroup 14: Department of Health and Environmental Sciences (Predecessor Agency)

This subgroup contains records from various Divisions (sub-subgroups) that formerly operated within DHES. The sub-subgroup (1940-1982), Centralized Services Division, consists of correspondence with the Governor's Office and subject files on various topics including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the Health Education Bureau, as well as 40 volumes of financial ledgers. Records from the sub-subgroup, (1952-1994) Health Services Division, include subject files from the various Bureaus under the Health Services Division. The largest concentration of records stems from the Nursing Bureau and the Family/Maternal Child Health Bureau.

Subgroup 15: Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (Predecessor Agency)

This subgroup (1971-1992) contains records from the former state agency, Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. It consists of Director's Office correspondence, reports, and subject files, along with the Board of Social and Rehabilitation Appeals minutes, organizational materials, and miscellaneous records for five advisory councils.

This subgroup also contains various records from former Divisions and Bureaus (sub-subgroups) that operated within the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. The sub-subgroup, Audit and Program Compliance Division (1972-1987), is comprised of correspondence, subject files, reports, and memos. The sub-subgroup, Centralized Services Division (1969-1975), consists of financial records prepared by the Budget and Management Services Unit, including expenditure reports and projections, Grants-in-aid applications and records, cost allocation plans, and work papers for budgets and plans. Records from the sub-subgroup, Office of Legal Affairs (1970-1995), which operated within the Centralized Services Division, include correspondence, Administrative Rules Review files, case files, legislative files; and subject files.

The sub-subgroup, Community Services Division (1966-1984), consists of subject files, with topics including budgets and cutbacks, and district and regional offices. Also included are records from the sub-subgroup Medicaid Services Division (1988-1992), which is composed of subject files, primarily related to AIDS, Home Health, and Medicaid. Additionally, it contains records from the sub-subgroup, Family Assistance Division (1984-1994). Records in this sub-subgroup consist of correspondence, minutes, subject files, and clippings. It also contains records from the sub-subgroup, the Reimbursement Bureau (1985-1992), which consists of Janie Wunderwald’s correspondence (Chief of the Reimbursement Bureau) relating to Medicaid and Medicare.