The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-01-04
HOW CHILDREN
ARE ABANDONED
Miss Francis Day Of the
Board of Children's Guard
ians Shows That the State
Pays for Many Unneces-
sarily
RELATIVES HAVE MONEY
BUT THERE IS NO LAW TO COM
PEI THEM TO SUPPORT THE
CHILDREN WHOM THEy WISH,
TO DESERT. 4

TO DESERT.
Miss Frances Day, general agent OF
the New Jersey State Board Of Chii-
dren's Guardians, has this to say in the
Boards annual reports
'The great number Of children COM
mitted to the care of the board since its.
organization. and the great number OF
children committed every year, has in-'
eyitably led the board into q line OF
work which was not contemplated at the
time of its organization, vet it is Of great
| value to the children whose cases we in-
yestigate and of greater value to the.
municipalities and counties Of the state.
The work consists of efforts to induce or
compel the relatives of apparently de-
pendent children to care for them within
their own families. Much of this work
could be done by overseers of the poor
! throughout the state if they would take
the time to investigate the family his
tories of children committed BY them, or
| if they would fully realize that the pro-
visions of the poor laws apply to. der
pendent children as we'll as to adults.
Il do not understand that children
committed to our care are legally
| chargeable to the county or municipali-
ties from which they come unless they
have acquired legal settlement under
the poor laws. A different notion seems
to have taken hold of most Of the over
seers of the poor. They act under the
false impression that every dependent
child is public charge per Sc. no mat
ter what may be its legal settlement
and conclude that when they have COM
mitted a child so that it comes within
our power, they have done their full
| duty.
These suggestions are made in no
critical spirit. We appreciate the hans
dicaps, local and otherwise. under which
overseers work. At the same time it
should not be taken amiss if we suggest
that oyerseers devote their energies to
investigating the simpler cases. and that
the services of the board are always at
the disposal Of public officials, when
their efforts tend toward the interests of
the children and toward the economicai
administration of their affairs relating
to dependents. Numerous cases might
] be referred to in Illustration of the exs
tent of this work. but one which Is
typical will suffice. 1t is that Of three
bright children whose mother had
hanged herself because her husband
drank and neglected his family.
| AFTER the mothers death the father
took the children to board at the same
place he was boarding, rather than give
them to the grandmother, who was very
anxious 10 take them. Soon after the
father deserted them and the woman
with whom he had left them took the
children to the overseer Of the poor. She
! told him they had grandmother who
had refused to do anything for them.
Without investigating whether the
1 M
grandmother would take care of the chil-
dren the poormaster committed them to
| the almshouse.
'The agent was there when. the chill
dren were brought in. An Investigation
was started at once, and the grandmother
was seen. She said she had tried TO get
but he refused. She ownsstwo large tene-
ment houses, which bring In good in
come, and is we'll able to care for the
| children. She wanted to take them at
once, and felt very bad because they,
had been in the almshouse 8and their
names had appeared on the books OF that
institution. She said she would have
given half of what she owned rather than
have this stigma on them for the rest OF
| their lives.
"a little investigation on the part or
the Overseer Of the Poor in this ease
would not only have been a beaeiis to
the county, but would have saved the
children and grandmother the disgrace
which She felt 50 keeuly 81 having the
cl,i!drcn's names on the almsAonse rec
ordS
Several times during the 5car we
have had to face the question Of our
jurisdiction over mothers wfe have been
committed to almshouses with their II
legitimate children. Under our aaw We
are obliged to remove children wa are
| over II months old within thirty days