The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

viii, 326, [2] pages. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. Pencil erasure residue on fep. The DJ has some wear and a few small tears to edges. This is one of the Praeger Library of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies series. This book deliberately emphasizes the perspective of the Secretary and his office, and is, therefore, unduly brief in treating the program agencies. Even so, the amount of space that could be allocated to the stewardship of each of the ten Secretaries painfully brief. Topics covered include HEW: Large Offspring of a Social Revolution; The First twenty Years; The Structure of HEW and the Office of the Secretary; Social Security; Welfare and Rehabilitation; Education; Health Research; Health Services and Resources; Health and Consumer Protection; Civil Rights; Managing So Complex and Enterprise; ad Whither HEW? There is also an Epilogue, as well as an Appendices listing HEW Programs included in the 1973 Federal Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance; Careers in HEW, and Principal Officials of HEW and Predecessor Organizations 1867-1973. Throughout, the author brings to bear his wide background as practitioner and teacher of public administration by showing the relation between specific pressures and events and the problems of managing so large an enterprise. In the final chapter he examines and comments on the competing proposals to enlarge the Department or to break it up into smaller components. Rufus Edward Miles, Jr. (June 14, 1910 - April 9, 1996) was an American government administrator and author. Mr. Miles' began in 1935 when he moved to Washington to take a position with the Civilian Conservation Corps. During World War II, he worked for the Navy's Bureau of Ships, and after the war, he joined the staff of the Budget Bureau. He held administrative positions at the Federal Security Agency (in part a predecessor of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (H.E.W.). He served at H.E.W. for fifteen years. He also served as an assistant secretary to three United States Presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson. After his retirement in 1965 Mr. Miles was a lecturer and director of the mid-career program of the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University. Subsequently he was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration and was named to the President's Advisory Council on Management Improvement. He wrote several books, including The Department of Health Education and Welfare (1974), a history of H.E.W., and Awakening From the American Dream: The Social and Political Consequences of Growth (1976), which argued that rapid economic growth was not sustainable over the long term. The latter book was a runner-up for the 1977 National Book Award. Miles is the originator and namesake of the aphorism Miles' Law, which states, "Where you stand depends on where you sit." The phrase originated in remarks Miles made in late 1948 and early 1949 while working as chief of the labor and welfare branch of the Bureau of the Budget. In retirement he wrote an essay, "The Origin and Meaning of Miles' Law," which states that it was intended to describe the changes in point of view and behavior of public officials as they move from one position to another. The United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (also known as HEW) was a cabinet-level department of the United States government from 1953 until 1979. It was administered by the United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1979, a separate Department of Education (ED) was created from this department, and HEW was renamed as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). President Warren G. Harding proposed a Department of Education and Welfare as early as 1923, and similar proposals were also recommended by subsequent presidents, but for various reasons was not implemented. It was only enacted as part of Reorganization Plan Number 1 of 1953, transmitted to Congress by President Dwight.…