Evening star., 1924-05-08
WIDER SCOPE URGED
FOR JUVENILE COURT
Mrs. Van Wrinkle Leads Discussion
at Public Hearing
Yesterday.
WOULD RAISE AGE LIMIT
Judge Latimer Advocates Change
in Present System.

Advocates OF broader power Tor the
Juvenile Court and the transmutation
of its jurisdiction from a criminal to
IN equity basis predominated at the
public hearing under the auspices of
the Public Welfare Legislation Com
mission at the District building yes
terday afternoon.
Outstanding among the items in
jected into the discussion was a sug-
gestion from Lieut.. Nina Van Wrinkle,
chief of the woman's bureau of the
police department, recommending that
the bureau be given power to make
all preliminary Investigations of all
children's cases taken into court by
with by police over which the court
may in future have jurisdiction.
Some opposition was expressed to
this proposal by speakers who fol-
lowed, the principal one being that
the work of the police should end
when the case is brought to court
and that investigation of the case
should be directly under the super
vision of the court.
WOuId Raise Age Limit.
Judge Wilmer j. Latimer made a
number of pertinent suggestions
Among them was the raising of the
age limit for Juvenile Court work to
at least eighteen years; to broaden
the powers of the Juvenile Court so
that 1t may act as family court; to
place IT on the same plane as court
of equity. and to amend the laws re-
garding prosecutions for delinquency
and for contributing to delinquency
of minors
NAL statement, in which she took
occasion to criticize the children's 8
bureau standards for juvenile courts
as sponsored by the Department of
Labor. The statement said:
The children's bureau standards
TOT JuVenlle courts should not apply
10 communities like Washington, in
which the metropolitan police de-
partment has a woman's bureau, with
trained social workers as police
women serving on a case work basis
ana making preliminary investiga-
uons OF all girls who are in any
way brought to the attention of the
police"
1t was learned later that when the
standards were drafted at a confer
ence some time ago the police WON
en- bureau was not invited to at
at first hand to the socialized police
bureau angle of Juvenile welfare
work.
Recomm enda tons Made.
=, The recomm mendations which Mrs.
enc mentioned above, included one
which sought the right for the wom-
en- bureau to petition for commit
1nent to the board of childrenis
guardians of such cases as are
deemed without proper parental con
a hnY,
mat there would result better and
more sympathetic understanding be-
tween the families and the board of
chlldren's guardians"
Ine experiences of the women's
bureau, added the statement, shows
mat 1t is an unwise system that per
rrlts public agency to petition for
commitments of children to itself"
O1ner recomrnendations follow:
nat the Juvenile Court be given
wlder Jur1 sdiction than it now has in
that 1t be family court in the
oroaieSt sense of the term.
1t is finally recommended that the
purpose and function of each public
ency supported by taxation be rec
Some objections to these changes
were voiced by James E. Stuart, agent
OF the board of Children's Guardians,
who declared disapprovaI of the
power being given the woman's bu-
feau to investigate children against
whom complaints had been made and
of the practice of the woman's bu-
reau OBTAINING girls and boys which
such Investigations were being con-
Quoted
Mrs. Ellen Spencer Mussey spoke
strongly in favor of transferring the
Juvenile Court to a chancery basis
and in contention OF her point called
attention to the work along this line
being done in other states notably
Ohio, where even suits for absolute
divorce are being heard in a family
court, which is on an equity basis.
Among others who spoke were
Rev. John OGrady of the Catholic
Welfare Council, G. w Chase of the
Takoma Park Citizens Association.
Mrs Louis Ottenburg of the Monday
Evening Club and John H. Small
OF the Georgetown Citizens Asso-
citation. Further discussion will be
heard by the commission Saturday
morning at 1890 in the District
building.