The Bismarck tribune., 1924-09-18
KEEP CHILD IN
HOME, ESTATE
BOARD POLICY
Preservation of Home Ties
Declared Important in Chill
dren's Bureau Work
MANY NEEDS SEEN

"The trend of child welfare work
in this state, as in every other that
has given careful consideration to
the problem, is away from continuous
institutional care for childen," says
Miss Henrietta j. Lund, Director Of
the Children's Bureau of the State
Board of Administration, in report
of the first full years activities OF
this bureau, established by the leg
islature of 1923.
"T'here is always the danger of
keeping boys and girls too long in
institutions, thus depriving them Of
family care and very often relieving
the parents of their natural respon
sibility," she continued. "Strangely
enough, few of the children in insti-
tutions have neither father nor
mother. 1t has been the aim Of the
Bureau in working with agencies, to
stress the value of service to faIli
lies in their own homes.'
Child placing is one of the prime
supervisory duties of the Bureau.
The Bureau has been "actuated by
the belief that the birthright of
every normal child is a family home
and has urged each agency in re-
ceiving children, to inquire careful
ly into the need for service and to
determine whether there is reason
for separating mother and child,'
Miss Lund says.
Foster Homes
No child should be placed in a
foster home without adequate inyes-
/ tigation, Miss Lund says, adding
that there have come to the atten-
tion of the Bureau helpless children
who have been exploited in foster
homes by overwork, or misunder-
stood or neglected." She also has
found, she says, "an unfortunate
tendency on the part of some repre-
sentatives to remove children from
their homes because of unfavorablc
| conditions rather than to aim to
build up the home"
Hospitals receiving maternity pa
tients and children's institutions are
licensed under the new law by the
Bureau. Five licenses have been re-
fused, the report states.
Among the crying needs found in
the work, she says, is for special
care of many more crippled children
and for educational opportunities for
them. The Bureau has, she says, fol-
lowed up closely the cases Of illi-
gitimate children, acting through the
courts without publicity to enforce
care of the children.
Among the needs of the state seen
by Miss Lund is central, official
| agency in each county to act as a
clearing house for all problems con-
cerning dependent, defective and de-
linquent children, and to take pro-
per action in the behalf of such chill
dren. Organization of county child
welfare boards would greatly facil-
eau, she says.
Local Work Praised
With regard to the county welfare
work the report says of Burleigh
county:
! "1n Burleigh county, North Dako-
| to, for instance, trained welfare
worker has been employed for three
years with marked results in the
field of poor relief and mothers
pensions and in work involving hand
lcapped children. For the year end
ing June 30, 1924, there has been a
reduction of $4,000 in county expen-
| ditures for this work-with far
greater service to the unfortunate
families. This plan was made pos
sible by the aid Of the Red Cross,
which was willing to begin the DEM
onstration and still remains a part
of this city and county an.xation
| for welfare activities"