California State Relief Administration

California State Relief Administration (SRA)

Agency overview
Formed	April 19, 1935 (1935-04-19)
Preceding agency	State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA)
Dissolved	June 20, 1941 (1941-06-20)

The California State Relief Administration (SRA) was a government agency responsible for administering unemployment relief and distributing state and federal funds to improve conditions in California during the Great Depression. ^[1] It was established in 1935 ^[2] as the successor to the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA), established in 1933. The SRA was effectively abolished in 1941 when the State Legislature refused to grant it further appropriations at the state level. ^[3]

Leadership

List of administrators of the SERA

No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office			Governor(s)	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		R. C. Branion	March 24, 1933	November 30, 1934 [a]	1 year, 251 days	James Rolph Frank Merriam	[5] [6]
2		Vernon D. Northrop	November 30, 1934 [b]	January 8, 1935	39 days	Frank Merriam	[8]
3		Roy W. Pilling	January 8, 1935	February 6, 1935	29 days	Frank Merriam	[9]
4		Frank Y. McLaughlin	February 6, 1935	April 19, 1935	72 days	Frank Merriam

Gallery

• 
  Line up for state relief pay day, Arvin, California, 1940
• 
  Close-up of relief queue on S.R.A. pay day, Arvin, California, 1940

See also

• Works Progress Administration
• Federal Emergency Relief Administration

Notes

1. On leave since July 20, 1934. ^[4]
2. Acting administrator since July 20, 1934. ^[7]

References

1. "Inventory of the State Relief Administration Records" . Retrieved 2012-03-01.
2. "Emergency Taken Out of the SERA". The Healdsburg Tribune . Healdsburg. 19 April 1935. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
3. "SRA Stranded Without Funds". San Pedro News-Pilot . Los Angeles. 17 June 1941. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
4. "SERA Administrator Given 60-Day Leave". Oakland Tribune . Oakland. 20 July 1934. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
5. "Relief dictator seeking offices". The Sacramento Bee . Sacramento. 25 March 1933. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
6. "Branion quits relief post". Imperial Valley Press . El Centro. 30 November 1934. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
7. "SERA Administrator Given 60-Day Leave". Oakland Tribune . Oakland. 20 July 1934. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
8. "SERA officer goes to Hawaii". Oakland Tribune . Oakland. 8 January 1935. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
9. "Los Angeles Man Takes Over Administration of State Relief". San Mateo Times and Daily News Leader. San Mateo. 6 February 1935. Retrieved 19 April 2025.

Further reading

• Leiby, James (Fall 1973). "State Welfare Administration in California, 1930-1945" . Southern California Quarterly. 55 (3): 303–318. doi:10.2307/41170488. JSTOR   41170488 . Retrieved 17 April 2025.
• "LearnCalifornia.org - Student: California During the Great Depression". Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
• "Inventory of the State Relief Administration Records, Administrator's Office, 1933-1941, Series 1" . Retrieved 2012-03-01.
• "LearnCalifornia.org - Typical Family on SRA Relief". Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
• "LearnCalifornia.org - Relief and Agricultural Employees in California". Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2012-03-01.

External links

• Media related to California State Relief Administration at Wikimedia Commons