The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-05-17
OVERSIGHT OF
STATE CHARGES
How Dependent Children are
Being Cared for by
Charity Board.
UNDERTAKING A SUCCESS
RECORD ALREADY MADE Is MOST
coMMENDARLE-soME FACTS
AND FIGURES GIVEN OUT TO
THE PRESS.
UNDERTAKING A SUCCESS
Palladium Special. ]

LFauIldirn Special
indianapolis, May 16.-The work of
the Board of State Charities for the
dependent children is one that will aD.
peal to every citizen. 1t consists in
finding homes for children who are
public wards, visiting such children in
private families to ascertain how they
are doing, and in other ways helping
them to Independent citizenship.
The Board has prepared a statisti
cal report of the work done by it's
agents under the law OF 1897, when
the agency was created by an act OF
the Legislature. The department has
now completed it's ninth year.
For a part of the time there was but
one agent employed. Three others
have since been added to the force
Their duties take them into every part
of the State investigating applications
for children, visiting those already
placed, inspecting orphans homes and
consulting with county officials.
There has been S,813 visits made to
children in family homes in the nine
years, many of the children being Wis
tied a number of times. Most Of these
children were placed by the orphansI
homes, others by the State Agents. In
n per cent of the cases the children
were found to be doing well and 13 per
cent fairly well, while but 10 per cent
were not satisfactory. This indicates
that great care has been exercised in
selecting homes from the families ap-
plying for children.
The applications received and in
vestigated by the agents up to the
present time number 1916. and OF
these it has been found necessary to
reject but 575, or II per cent. Two
thousand and twenty three children
have been placed by the agents since
the department was created. This
number includes requirements, there
having been about $500 children hand
led.
Under the law the agents are re-
CURED to inspect all the orphans
homes in the State, and in compliance
with this duty they have made 1901
visits to such institutions since April
1, 1897. This means an average of
166 visits annually, and since there
are less thar fifty such homes in the
State, it is safe to say they have been
thoroughly inspected. In addition to
this there have been made 231 visits
to county poor asylums and 1877 to
county officials.
For the carrying on of this work
the State appropriates $4,000 annually,
or about $22 per day. The daily ex-
pense of caring for children in an
Orphans Home is twenty-five cents.
The placing of these $500 children in
free family homes has therefore re-
moved from the public a burden a
mounting to 1875 per day, at a cost as
is seen, of less than $25 day.
But above and beyond this financial
saving, large as it is, the State places
the saving of unfortunate childhood to
happy, useful manhood and woman
hood. That this is being done is evil
dent. Four-fifths of the children grow
ing up in these foster homes become
an integral part Of their communities,
finding their place in it's healthful &C
tivities. The benefit of such assimi-
lation, not only to the children, but to
the families and even to the commun-
tiles themselves, can not be calculat-
ed.