The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-10-16
,e local advisory boards.

the local advisory boards. These
boards are INSTRUMENTATION II
membership, and number from three
to dozen persons. They are or
4 ganized in communities all over the
state, and cooperate with superin'
tendents and assistants, reporting ca
ses OF destitute and neglected chill
dren, helping to find desirable homes
and assisting to safeguard the vel.
fare of those placed In homes in their
locality. Wisconsin, for example, has
over three hundred of these local
boards; Illinois has six hundred.
and forty; Iowa nearly thousand.
The societies for the most part are
not endowed and do not receive aid
from public treasures but derive
their support from voluntary con-
tributions. Their contributions are
from churches, public schools, Sum
day schools, fraternal lodges and So
cieties Of various kinds, and also
from individuals of every occupation
and degree. Large gifts are rare;
small gifts are multitudinous. From
two to three dollars is perhaps the
average size of gifts to the society.
The number of persons who actually
contributed one dollar or more last
year to the Wisconsin society was
over 1900; to the Illinois society was
l11,0O0 An estimate on this point,
based upon such records as are avail
able, places the number of persons
contributing at present to the fede-
rated societies OF the National Chill
dren's Home Society at not less than
10000. While some of the states
feel strongly the need Of the endow-
ment in order to give greater stability
to their work, yet this feature of con-
tributions from great numbers Of
small givers is generally regarded BY
the society as an ideal condition in
private benevolence and one of the
strongest elements of its system.
1t will be seen from the above ac-
count Of the organization that the
federation Of state societies, with all
their superintendent and assistants,
their thousands of local advisory
boards, and their tens of thousands
of financial contributors, forms vast
network of benevolent interest and
care thrown about the neglected chill
dren Of a large portion of the coun-
try. 1t extends into the largest ci-
ties, where 1t performs it's part in
child-rescue work, cooperating freely
with other. charities, public or pri-
vate, and with the juvenile courts;
and also into thousands of towns and
villages and remote country districts
where no other help comes.
1t Is the rule Of the societies to
make thorough Investigation of each
case reported to them to ascertain
whether permanent or only tempo
rary provision is required for the
child; whether in case parents are
living 1t is absolutely unavoidable
that the child be taken from them;
whether in case parents are dead
there be not relatives who are in
duty bound to assume the care of the
child. The fact should be empha-
sized that the leadership and best
thought of the Children's Home So
cieties at the present time appreciates
the grave responsibility of serving
the bonds of blood relationship.
The receiving homes, Of which
there are one or more in each state,
are designed only for the temporary
care of children, the period Of deten-
ton in them being only until the
proper home can be found. Still the
societies have modified their meth
DDS in this respect in the direction of
certain admitted advantages of i'm
stitutional care, to-wit: In MANY. ca
ses the period Of detention is some
what extended, giving opportunity
for building up the physical condi-
ton of the child, through diet, medi-
cine or minor surgery, and also for
such course of moral discipline as
may be necessary. Such process of
renovation will frequently better the
child's chance of securing good
home.
Placing Out.--The selection of
homes for children is made with
great care. The proposed home Is
investigated and reported on by mem
bers OF the local advisory board and
also by trained agent of the So
ciety. The society must have assur-
ance of the good character of the pro-
posed foster parents, that they are
church-going and Sabbath-observing
nenula that thew are financial1v a h1e