The Washington herald., 1922-06-09
FRICTION CAUSES
! FARMING OUT IN
INDUSTRIAL HOME
Control Said to Be Root
OF Trouble Between
Authorities.
NEED BIGGER STAFF
Investigation Reveals Only 80
Children Out of 1850 Live
In Institution.
NEED BIGGER STAFF

Controversy which has extended
over a period o{ years between the
board of trustees and ofiicials Of the
Wisconsin Avenue Industrial Home
School and the Board of Children's
Guardians is given as the reason
for the latter's policy of removing
children from the school and crowd
ing them in small private paid
homes"
Complicated control of wards OF
the guardians placed with the Wis
cons'n avenue institution. leading
to friction between trustees of the
home and the Board of Guardians. II
was learned yesterday. is respons-
ible for the determination to aban.
don the institution and place chill
dren with private individuals untii
suitable homes can be found.
Conditions arising from sending
children to these private homes
in which as many as twenty-four
children are placed with one fam.
lily, have given rise to charges OF
moral laxity and brutality In the
treatment of wards of the board.
Friction Caused Request.
Although the Wisconsin Avenue
Home was designed US receiving
home for children, the alleged fric-
tion between the guardians and Of
ficials OF the home has led the Board
of Guardians to ask for a new re-
ceiving home. In the annual report
to the Board Of Charities the guar
dians say:
"a temporary receiving home is
still believed to be a necessity. II
takes a considerable amount of time
to get well, enough acquainted with
a child to decide as to what home
IL should go. A temporary home
would give a chance to make that
proper start. Many OF these chill
dren as soon as received have to be
placed in a family boarding house.
This sort of placement means much
extra work for all concerned and is
very hard on the children them
selves. frequently necessitating sew
eral changes before a child is known
we'll enough to enable a worker to
find a home suitable to its needs"
Approximately 1850 children are
in charge of the Board of Guardians
at present. OF this number about
half are being cared for in their
own homes: the others are scattered
over several States in care Of pri-
vate families and small institutions,
according to Information gathered
yesterday.
as Children in school.
The Industrial Home School has
only thirty-eight children out of
the 1850. Private receiving homes
are being assigned the wards of the
board the previously were sent to
the Wisconsin avenLe institution.
Wards of the board. IL was learned
yesterday. are In institutions in New
York. New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland and Virginia. In some
cases the children sent to other
States are feeble minded and are
placed In institutions for treatment.
In other cases they are turned over
to private families who are paid to
keep them.
Answering criticism that as many
as fifteen to twenty-five children are
placed with one family, Mrs. T. r.
West, member of the board of guar
dians in charge of the children, yes
terday said. There are many in
stapces in which large families of
children have been raised respect
ably. Because fifteen children are
placed in one home does not mean
that they are not cared for"
Interest Is Financial.
Charges brought by investigators
of these homes. however. indicate
that where a large number of chill
dren are placed in one home, the
interest of those in charge is finan-
cial rather than a personal intehest
in the children. In other homes
where from one to three children
have been placed. II p declared, the
children are often treated as men,
bers of the family. This. Mrs. West
declares, is the object of the guar
dams.
Investigation of facilities of the
board of guardians reveals that the
board Is handicapped in its work
by having a small personnel. There
are not enough employees, 1t Is be-
lieved. to enable the board to make
Inspections of homes in which chill
dren are sent. 1t is pointed out that
some of the conditions charged in
the paid homes" may exist with
out knowledge of the board. due to
long periods that eIapse between
In the annual report of the board
to the Board of Charities. a re-
quest is made for additional in
vestigators. The report says:
The first need (of the board), as
a larger stan, with salaries ade-
quate to induce workers to come
to us who can supervise and assist
in developing the work. 1t would
not only give the supervision that