About: Jane Margueretta Hoey

Jane Margueretta Hoey (January 15, 1892 – October 6, 1968) was an American social worker and welfare administrator who served within the Social Security Administration of the U.S. federal government. Born in Nebraska and raised in New York, Hoey developed an inclination towards social work from her mother Catherine, and studied under a variety of Catholic social workers. She was sought out for a position within Social Security in 1936, where her first boss, Harry Hopkins, also worked, and she served as the director of the Bureau of Public Assistance for nearly 20 years. In 1953, the Eisenhower administration abruptly fired Hoey as an effort to replace career civil service appointments with political appointees. She continued to work and write on social work until her death in 1968.