Evening star., 1921-12-22
ASK AID FORW0RK
AMONG CHILDREN
Pressing Needs Stressed by
Chairman of Board of Chill
dren's Guardians.

More workers and supervisors, with
adequate salaries. home and colony
for the feeble-minded, a temporary
receiving home. and an Industrial
school for the training of colored girls
are some of the measures urgently
needed by the board of children's
guardians of this city. it was brought
out yesterday in an interview with
Mrs. r. Thomas West. executive chair
man Of the board.
An urgent appeal has been made to
Congress to appropriate at least 5000
more per year for salaries. which will
enable the board 10 secure the serv-
ices of from three to Ave more work.
ers. II this appeal is needed, men,
bers Of the board believe, a saving
OF at least $4,000 per year can be ef-
fected.
With additional workers the board
believes that it will be able to place
, its wards In private homes where no
Lodging will have to be paid. thus ef-
fecting a considerable saving to the
government.
The four paramount needs Of the
board follow:
Need Larger stan.
"A larger STAFF. with salaries ade-
quate to induce workers to join the
board who can supervise and assist
In developing the work. 1t would not
only give the supervision that de-
pendent children should have. but
would mean also that there would be
enough workers to do family rein
vestigation as needed and to find
good, free homes for wards with
relatives and others. in many IN
stances, soon after they come to the
m I'd Tha TIM In
would make possible great saving
in the board and care of children and
would enable the board to do the
kind of work that should be done for
the Districts dependent children.
"A home and colony for the feeble
Of the most pressing needs Of the
District. There is no institution Tor
the feeble-minded in which the Dis
trict can place its colored wards, and
at the present time a rather iimioeo
number of white feeble-minded are
accepted at Vineland. n. j.: EiWynl
Pa, and Miss Gundry's in FAILS
Church. Va. leaving no adequate
provision in the majority of cases.
"A temporary receiving home is still
believed necessary. 1t takes con-
siderable amount of time 10 become
we'll enough acquainted with chlid
to decide to what home it should go.
'
give chance to make this most
proper start Many of these children.
jas soon as committed. have had to be
placed at once in family boarding
homes This sort of placement means
much extra work for all concerned
themselves. frequently necessitating
several changes before child is
known we'll enough to enable work.
or ~ find the home suited to its
needs.
Industrial school Needed.
Until there is an Industrial school
for the training of colored girls the
work of the board will remain handi-
capped. as there is practically no
place open for the delinquent older
colored girls committed to the board
bat family boarding homes or places
of employment if they are old enough
to work, neither of which is usually
at all suited I'd their needs. Fre-
quently they should have custodial
care, and, if there was room at the
National Training School, they would
justment of all older children COM
mitted to the board is found to be
very difficult except for such periods
as they can remain in Institutions.
Family homes are much less eager to
receive them because of the added re-
Spun oio SuPCA 'ISioH ucScS-
sary."
According to Mrs. West there are at
present twenty-five workers in the
board. These include four who are
engaged solely in investigating COM
plants. nine who compose the home
finding and placing department and
the rest engaged in divers duties
Officers of the board are: W. w
MILAN. president: Mrs. Thomas Car
ter, vice president. and Mrs. Walter
S. Ufford. secretary: members, Mrs
Gilbert H. Grosvenor. J. Wilmer Lat
inner. George c. Aukam, DR.. William
A. Warfield. Lee Baumgarden and
Morton Little.
Find Family Homes.
"a very important part of the work
done by the board Of children's guard
ians,' says the report of the board,
'is the securing of good family homes
for its wards not already provided
with them. Many excellent new
boarding homes have been added to
our list. and more than 800 perma-
nent wards have been placed in good
free homes to their great. and we
hope lasting. benefit
In this connection, said Mrs. West
no greater opportunity for the real
Christmas spirit toward children
could be offered than to give these
little ones who are under the care
of the board a home. The board is
constantly seeking to increase it's
scope of activity, and much OF, its en-
ergy is concentrated on finding free
homes for its wards