Table Of Content

RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION was established in 1907 by Mrs. Russell Sage for the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States. In carrying out its purpose the Foundation conducts research under the direc- tion of members of the staff or in close collaboration with other institutions, and supports programs designed to improve the utilization of social science knowledge. As an integral part of its operations, the Foundation from time to time publishes books or pamphlets resulting from these activities. Publication under the imprint of the Foundation does not necessarily imply agreement by the Foundation, its Trustees, or its staff with the interpretations or conclusions of the authors. This study was originally supported by Russell Sage Foundation. Originally published 1969 by Russell Sage Foundation. Published 1976 by Transaction Publishers Published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 1976 by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 75-43359 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Main entry under title: On record: files and dossiers in American life. (Law and society; 1) Includes index. 1.Privacy, Right of—United States—Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Public records—United States—Addresses, essays, lectures. 3. Personnel records— Addresses, essays, lectures, 1. Wheeler, Stanton, 1930-1. Title. JC599.U5048 1976 651.5 75-43359 ISBN 0-87855-607-9 pbk. ISBN 13: 978-0-87855-607-6 (pbk) Contents Acknowledgments ix The Contributors xi I. Introduction 1. Problems and Issues in Record-Keeping Stanton Wheeler 3 The Scope of This Volume 4 Themes and Variations in Record-Keeping 8 The Policy Issues 20 II. Educational Institutions 2. Record-Keeping in Elementary and Secondary Schools David A. Goslin and Nancy Bordier 27 American Education and Educational Records 28 The Historical Development of Record-Keeping Procedures 31 Current Practices 38 Trends and Future Prospects 51 Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues 54 3. The Dossier in Colleges and Universities Burton R. Clark 61 The Scope of Record-Keeping 61 The Primary Central Records 63 The Varieties of Location and Style 67 The Varieties of Confidence 72 Use of the Final Record after College 78 The Problem of Anticipation 80 4. Information-Flow within the Professions: Some Selective Comparisons of Law, Medicine, and Nursing Rodolfo Alvarez and Wilbert E. Moore 85 The Profession of Medicine 87 The Professions of Law and Nursing: General Comparisons to Medicine 103 General Comparisons among the Professions 113 Summary 123 III. Economic Institutions 5. The Dossier in Consumer Credit James Rule, David Caplovitz, and Pierce Barker 127 How Credit Reporting Works 128 How Should Credit Reporting Work? 141 Future Trends and Issues 151 6. Record-Keeping and Corporate Employees Ivar Berg and James Salvate 157 Sources of Information on Managers 159 Records on Nonmanagerial Personnel 160 Disclosure of Information on Employees 169 Implications and Issues in the Use of Corporate Dossiers 172 Conclusions 176 7. Personal Information in Insurance Files H. Laurence Ross 179 Life Insurance Underwriting 180 Personal Information in Other Types of Insurance 193 IV. Governmental Institutions 8. Government Records: The Census Bureau and the Social Security Administration Joseph Steinberg 199 Federal Data Collection 199 The Bureau of the Census 201 The Social Security Administration 214 Government Statistics—A Coordinated System 222 9. The Dossier in Military Organization Roger W. Little 227 Forms of Military Dossiers 228 Disposition of Records 240 Issues and Implications 242 10. Security Investigations Jesse Orlansky 247 Federal Personnel Clearance Programs 247 The Investigative Procedure 252 Denial of Clearance 259 Privacy of Information in Dossiers 275 Appendixes 277 V. Welfare Institutions 11. Record-Keeping and the Intake Process in a Public Welfare Agency Don H. Zimmerman 289 The Setting and Its Tasks 291 Reception 294 The Intake Investigation 299 Documents as Objective and Factual Accounts 302 Concluding Remarks 319 12. Records in the Juvenile Court Edwin M. Lemert 323 Purposes of Juvenile Court Records 323 Police and Juvenile Delinquency Records 327 Making and Using Juvenile Court Records 332 Consequences of Juvenile Court Records 339 Dossiers and the “Law Explosion” 346 13. Case Records in the Mental Hospital Kai T. Erikson and Daniel E. Gilbertson 353 Record-Processing 356 The Patient 364 Issues of Confidentiality 369 VI. The Law 14. Legal Control of the Dossier Abraham S. Goldstein 377 The Direct Inquiry: Questions to A by B 378 The Indirect Inquiry: Getting Information from B about A 380 Getting Information about A from the Government 388 Striking the Balance 394 Index 405 Acknowledgments This volume was made possible by a grant from Russell Sage Foundation. The contributions from the Foundation staff, however, go beyond the mere provision of monetary support. A number of my Foundation colleagues provided helpful suggestions and comments, both in the formulation of the general idea of the volume and in the various stages of preparation. I want particularly to thank Lindsey Churchill, who commented on an earlier draft of the Introduction and on a number of the other chapters. Carol Levine was responsible for copy-editing and the index, and I am much in her debt. Both she and Betty Davison of the Foundation's publications staff were uncommonly helpful. Christine Valibus Daillet was responsible for a large share of the typing of the manuscript and for communications with the various authors. She deserves credit for a job well done. Finally, I wish to express my own appreciation to all the authors for their valuable contributions. S. W. ix