Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-02
THE CARE OE DEPENDENT CHILDREN
Warmers Plan for q Board
of Guardians.

THE CARE OLE DEPENDENT CHILDREN
Superintendent Warmers Plan for q Board
of Guardians.
The Stan yesterday gave briefly the provi-
sions of a bill prepared by DIR. A G.. Warner,
to provide for the creation OF a board Of chill
drens guardians. The board is to be composed
of nine members to be appointed by the judges
of the Police Court and of the Criminal Court
for terms of three years and there shall always be
at least three representatives OF each sex upon
the board
The bill provides that the board shall have
the care and supervision of the following
classes Of children: /. All children committed
under section of the act approved February
Is, 1885, entitled An act for the protection Of
Children in the District of Columbia and for
other purposes" 2. All children who are des-
ti;ute of suitable homes and adequate means OF
earning an honest living, all children ADAM
doned by their parents or guardians, all chill
dren of habituaily drunken or vicious and I'M
fit parents, all children habitually begging on
the streets or from door to door, oil children
kept in vicious or immoral associations, all
children known by their language or Life to be
vicious or incorrigible, all juvenile de-
hnquents or habitual truants who may
be committed to the care OF the board by the
Police Court or the Criminal Court OF the
District; and power is hereby given to these
courts to commit such children. when not over
sixteen years of age, to said board: Provided.
That the laws regulating the commitment
of children to the reform schools OF the Dis
| trict shall not be deemed TO be repealed in any
part of this act. 3. Such children as the board
of trustees Of the reform school for boys and the
board of trustees for the reform school for girls
may in their discretion commit TO the board OF
| ch;ldren's guardians, and power is hereby given
the board OF trustees of the said reform schools
! to commit any inmate of their respective in
situations to the board OF guardians. condi-
! tionally upon the good behavior of the child SO
committed. T. Under rules to be established
by the board children may be received and
| temporarily cared for, pending investlgation
or Judgment of the court.
| Children received from the reform schools
| shall be placed at work. bound out or appren-
ticed, and at any time before attaining majority
may be returned to the school from which they
| came, if, III the opinion OF the board OF guar
dians such a course is demanded by the inter-
i ests of the community or the welfare OF the
child. All children under the guardianship OF
| the board shall be visited not less than once n
year by an agent OF the board, and as much
oftener as the welfare of the child demands.
Children received temporarily may not be
kept longer than one week except by Or
| der of the Police Court or the Criminal
Court The antecedents, character and con-
ditions of life of each child received by
the board shall be investigated fully
| as possible and the facts learned entered In
permanent records, IL which shall also De
noted the subsequent history OF each child SO
far as it be ascertained. The Commits
sioners OF the District shall have authority pre-
scribe the form of records to be kept by the board
OF guardians and the methods to be employed
by them in paving bills and auditing accounts,
and an annual report of its operations here
| under shall be made by the board to the super
intendent OF charities. The superintendent of
charities shall have full powers OF lnvesuga-
ton and report regarding all branches of the
work of the board, as well as over all institli-
tions in which children are placed by said
board, and it shall be his duty to recommend
annually the appropriations which in his judg-
ment are necessary for the carrying on Of its
work.
WHAT DIR. WARNER SAYS.
In conversation with a reporter Of The STAR
upon the bill DR.. Warner said:
I'VE need some public agency for investigat-
ing thoroughly the case of each dependent
child. Ii such a child is found to be proper
subject for public care 1t can be placed In an
institution or otherwise provided for by the
authorities, and each institution will then be
entitled to public money in proportion to the
number of such dependent children that 1t
cares for. 1t is desirable that careful and
thorough experiments should be made In the
placing out of children in this community.
The subject of placing out was briefly re-
ferred to In my annual report II consists In
boarding children in private families instead Of
placing them IN institutions, or in finding for
the older children homes where their services
are an adequate return for support. 1t also
involves the adopting Of children into private
families whenever that can be accomplished
with safety. The sooner a dependent child can
be grated into a good home the better it is for
the child and for the community. Many
children can be placed in homes at
once and evils OF institution life
avoided This is true OF all classes OF
children from nursing infants up On leaving
the institutions, also. great care is needed in
selecting homes for the children, and system
attic visiting is necessary in order to mt the
child properly to the home and to make sure
that he is not neglected or abused. In WASH
| ington this work of placing the children when
they can no longer be kept in the institutions
| is done by the matrons or other resident
| officials, chiefly during the summer months
| They are hurried with other duties, and at the
! best are Eot specialists in this work of placing
out. 1t thus often happens that the time
and money spent in retaining Walt are
eventually wasted and the future of the child
ruined because he is not properly placed and
| watched over on leaving the institution. 1t
| needs specialist in this work who can attend
| to placing and visiting his wards all the year
| around to secure good results.
! These considerations apply to the placing
| of children liberated from the reform schools
| rs well as to the dependent children who leave
/ the charitable institutions. The Reform School
| for Boys has long desired TO secure the APP
| pointment of an officer charged with this duty
/ of placing and visiting the boys after they
| leave the institution. The Reform School Tor
! Boys is also overcrowded. and recent expert
ments in the boarding out Of Juvenile delin-
| quents made by the Chlldrens Aid Society Of
| Philadelphia indicate that many cases COM
| monty sent to q reform school can be boarded
| in private homes with better results than when
! sent to a reformatory. 1t would be desira-
BILE that our courts should have an Opportunity
| 10 try this plan Of dealing with selected cases
SOME THINGS THAT ARE DESIRABLE.
| at is desirable that for juvenile dellnquents,
especially girls. there should be some suitable
place of detention other than the station house
| or Jail pending trial or after trial and before
| removal to the reformatOry. 1t is desirable
that it should be possible for the courts to
| make legal and binding commitments to pri-
| waite reformatory institutions such as the House
| of Mercy and the House OF the Good Shepherd.
At present the court can send a Juvenile delin-
quent to such private reformatcry only as g
| compromise and the commitment Is not bind
ing. 1t is desirable that there should be some
! place where the agent Of the Humane Society
or any other officer OF the police force can
a