The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1922-12-23
cHILDREN'S BUREAU
u. S. Department of Labor
Washington, d. c.
Annual Report of the children's Blu
reau Summaries Ten Years
Work for Children

Federal Children's Bureau, in the
tenth annual report Of the chief to the
Secretary of Labor. made public to-
day. Since 1912, when the Children's
Bureau was established, the number
of States having special divisions deal
ing with child health has increased
from TO 70; the number providing
mothers pensions has increased from
2 to 20; more than half the States have
created commissions to make compre-
hensive inquiries with view to bring
ing their child welfare legislation and
administration up to standard, and a
similar number have organized State
bureaus or divisions dealing especially
with dependent and delinquent chill
dren. Birth registration in an ade-
quate form has been extended over
an area including 66 per cent of the
population, and ~ States are now CO.
operating with the Federal Govern
ment to reduce the unnecessary loss
of life among mothers and babies
which the registration figures have
shown. There has been an increasing
appreciation OF the importance of link
ing up State and local child-welfare
administration, Miss Abbott declares,
and the medical profession is giving
more consideration to the social and
economic aspects OF child health, while
social workers have learned the i'm
portance of a physical diagnosis be-
fore determining social treatment.
THE Children's Bureau does not
claim responsibility for these changes"
the report states. at can, however, be
said that its investigations furnished
the facts on which action was fire.
quently based, and because of the CO.
operation of experts in child welfare,
public and private child-bearing agen-
cies, and women's organizations, the
bureau has been able to focus national
attention on some of the most i'm
portant aspects of child care" Miss
Abbott pays tribute to Julia c. La
throp, whom she succeeded as chief
OF the bureau just after the prepare
ton of the last annual report, declar-
ing that under her direction the prac-
teal value of scientific research and
educational bureau in the field of child
care was established. ITO what ex-
tent it will be enabled to expand to
meet opportunities for service" she
continues, SIS a question of public pol
icy involving a decision as to the rela-
tive importance of children and their
welfare as compared witt. other OBJ
jects OF national expenditure" The
ChiIdren's Bureaus current appropria
ton, Miss Abbott states, will enable
it to meet only a small per cent OF
the opportunities offered it for sub
stantial contribution to the welfare OF
children.
The work of the bureaus tenth
year, as described in the report. in
cluded studies OF the unemployment
situation in its effect on children; COM
pletion of a "Children's Year Survey"
in Porto Rico; cooperation with the
children's code commission of North
Dakota in studying child labor in that
State, particularly on the farms, and
with both this commission and SIM
liar body in South Dakota in survey
ing child dependency and delinquency:
study OF care for dependent children
in the District OF Columbia and of the
administration of aid TO children in
their own homes-or mothers pen
sions in various States: arranging OF
conferences on special phases OF
mothers pension administration and
employment-certihcat issuance: stud
les of organized methods for promot-
ing the welfare of children in their
transition from school to work, includ-
ing vocational guidance; studies OF the
work of mothers and children on truck
farms in Maryland, New Jersey, and
Virginia; publication of 81 reports and
leaflets, and administration of the ma
ternity and infancy act passed Novem-
Der q, 1921. The report includes
discussion of the situation created by
the decision of the United States Su-
preme Court last May, holding the
child labor tax law unconstitutional
In reporting on the administration
of the maternity and infancy act, Miss
Abbott states that the funds which IT
apportioned to the States for the year
ending June 80, 1922. did not become
available until April, but that payments
have been made to II of the ~ States
accepting the act and that work By