George Nickel

MSW ’32

George Nickel enhanced public welfare services for communities and populations most in need throughout California, developing innovative projects to relieve economic stress on individuals and providing social benefits to the larger community as populations increased due to the Dust Bowl crisis in the Midwest. He was particularly active during the years of the Great Depression and World War II, serving impoverished California communities and helping displaced children after the war. Nickel was instrumental in the passage California’s social work licensing legislation, the first in the United States.

Nickel was particularly involved in the improvement of foster home placements and childcare centers. His early career work was with unemployed homeless single men and couples entering Rancho Los Amigos in Los Angeles County, a place for those who found themselves in need as a result of the Great Depression. In 1932, he became director of the Kern County Welfare Program after it received funding through the Emergency Relief and Construction Act. In 1938, he accepted the position of public relations director of the western area for the California State Relief Administration, addressing sharply-rising interest rates by persuading the legislature to place a lower ceiling on the interest that could be charged. Nickel lobbied for the California social work licensing bill and helped establish consumer credit counseling services in San Diego and Los Angeles.

He was the primary founder of the California Social Welfare Archives (CSWA) in 1978, and served as its president until 1989. Two awards were established by the CSWA in his honor: the George D. Nickel Award for Outstanding Professional Service, and the George D. Nickel Award for Outstanding Contributions to Social Welfare.