The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-02-21


The forthcoming report Of the state
board Of charities will on the subject Of
the states care Of children, say:
1.-The experience Of years has brought
several defects in the system of county
children's homes into strong relief, and
until they are remedied the homes
can not fully accomplish the objects for
which they were created. Each Of these
defects has to do in some degree With the
over-crowding which characterizes many
Of the homes. One difficulty which is
encountered at the very outset in the
establishment of a home is the provis-
ion of suitable and sufficient work for
the children. The result is that the chill
dren grow up without having learned
the habits OF industry which are neces-
sary 10 their self-support in later life.
THE method provided by law for the
support OF the homes is open TO serious
objection. The matron should be paid
a stipulated salary instead of a. stated
amount daily for each child in the home.
The per diem plan has been found to
lead to two abuses. Both these abuses
arise from the fact that by practicing
them the matron's income can be in
creased. Her income consists Of what
ever she can save out Of the per diem
paid by the commissioners. and the low
er she can reduce the cost of the food
and clothing furnished the children the
greater are her personal profits. Again.
the greater the number of children in
the home, the greater the matron's in
come. Here, then, is d. constant Iempta-
ton TO the matron TO under-feed and
Underclothe the children and keep them
in the home instead of making an effort
TO place them in private families. The
law provides that the children shall be
comfortably clothed and fed and placed
as rapidly as possible in good homes, but
at the same time establishes a method
Of payment which leads to a violation Of
both requirements. Many matrons carry
out the spirit of the law and disregard
their own interests, but the abuses men
toned are not infrequent. and that they
are not more frequent is due rather to
the character of the women selected for
matrons than to the law itself.
Another Objectionable feature of the
children's homes as carried on is that
many children are placed in them and
cared for at public expense whose par
ents are living and are well able to sup
port them. The law distinctly requires
that only children who have been placed
in the poor asylums are to be admitted
TO the Children's homes. but in this par
ticular the law has been very frequently
disregarded. Today there are, no doubt,
hundreds Of children i'm the county
homes who would not be there had il
been necessary for them TO first enter
the county poor asylum. In many cOun-
ties. there is reason to believe parents
and relatives have come to regard the
county homes as Institutions TO he used
as asylums for children whom they are
tired OF supporting. 1t is found also
I'm many instances that any attempt to
place these children into private families
by indcnture or adoption IS strong
ly opposed by the persons
who are responsible for their
entrance into the homes and who should
themselves give them support. it is not
an uncommon thing for the efforts of the
matrous of children's homes to have their
wards adopted in good private families
TO he thwarted by the objections Of the
relatives of the children who are amply
able to support them, but have foistcd
them upon the public. While IT Is true
that many children Of widowed mothers,
or invalid or incapable parents, must be
supported from The public funds, 1t
cannot be believed that so large a pro
portion of the population of the county
homes should have one or both Parents
living, as statistics show. There is no
doubt that children who are necessarily
inmates of county homes arc deprived
of their just opportunities for education
and industrial training by the over
crowdng due to IN indiscriminate adj
mission of many children who have lao
right to be there.
an every county where there is a
county home cases are familiar in which
children have been adopted by worthy
people and have had to be surrendered
afterward because their relatives have so
annoyed the adaptive parents and SO in
terfered with their control and manage
ment Of the children that the adaptive
relation has had to be severed. This is
so common an obstacle to the successful
placing out of children that in some
counties it has almost stopped the adOp-
ton of children from the county homes.
| In other cases eligible children cannot be
placed in good homes because their ante
| cedents are bad. Even where there are
no living relatives who would interfere
with the child's successful adoption.
there is too often a feeling that the
child has bad blood in its veins and that
IL would be unsafe to take it into the
family As the law prohibits the au-
thorities of county homes from taking
the children into other counties for
adoption. it is impossible to place them
far enough away from home 10 get them
out Of reach of the influence of living
| relatives or beyond the bounds Of the
evil reputation Of antecedents. Repre-
sentatives of children's home societies
from other states have no difficulty I'm
placing their children in good adaptive
I homes in Indiana In many cases par
! ties of children from other states have
! good homes in Indiana counties which
| contain county homes overcrowded with
children for whom no places can be
! found in private families. 1t is certain
| that until the law, under which the
county homes are conducted, is amended
! so as to remedy these defects and 9TH
| ers. the system of homes for dependent
/ children in Indiana cannot become the
! influence fer good which it was designed
! TO be and may be under proper regula-