Evening star., 1925-09-29
BOARD STRESSES
NEEDS OF SERVICE
Temporary Receiving Home
for Children Under Care
Urged by Guardians.

Need for the esta blishment of tenn
porary receiving home where the chill
dren committed to its care could be
studied and properly prepared for
placement either in foster homes or
institutions is stressed by the Board
Of Childrens Guardians in its annual
report to the Commissioners today.
Without such an institution, the
report continued, we are forced to
attempt to select A suitable environ
ment for a dependent or delinquent
child concerning whom we know lit
tie or nothing
The board urges appointment of a
psychologist to it's staff, pointing out
that large number of its wards are
mentally defective. and should have
mind diagnosis before being placed.
CoIored Contingent Cited.
Lack of adequate institutional care
for delinquent colored girls Is cited as
another condition needing attention.
The board states it has been necessary
10 send some of these girls to institu
tions outside the District.
Request also is made for an addi-
tional appropriation for board and
care of children The rate paid to
boarding mothers for the care of
normal child is $50 a month, which.
the report states. is one fourth less
other cities for similar work.
The report shows that during the
last fiscal year the board extended
care 10 Else children. an increase Of
los over the preceding year. A total
of l57 children were committed to
the guardianship of the board during
minority. 9S of whom were formerly
temporary wards. Three hundred and
ninety children were committed for
temporary periods pending home re-
habilitation or the correction Of de-
lnquent tendencies.
Dependents and Delinquents.
OF the 157 committed for the period
Of minority 119 were dependents and
only 3S were delinQuents. OF the
$50 temporarily committed, 1873 were
dependents and 10 delinquents. On
June 80. 1925, there were total OF
1888 children under the boards
guardianship. as compared with
total of 1856 on the same date in
1924. a net increase of 107.
The question may well be asked by
the taxpayer. Why does the public
of children?'" the report continued.
with that question in mind, the
hoard asked Miss Felicidad Alvarez OF
the Catholic University to make a
study of all children committed during
their minority to the Board of Chill
dren's Guardians from July l, 1921.
to December I. 1924, including all
feeble minded children under care.
total of $50 cases were studied, in
Guiding 6s feeble minded children who
had not been committed, but who had
been received under care as feeble
minded at the request of their par
ents Some significant facts taken
from this very Illuminating study are
here mentioned.
Results of Survey Shown.
1T was found that three-fourths
Of the 467 wards had been COM
mitted as dependent children. desti-
tute of suitable home, and that one
fourth had been committed as delin-
uuents. Fifty-tWo per cent were color
ed; 4S per cent white; 5S per cent were
boys; A. per cent girls; rs per cent
were Protestants; 10 per cent Roman
Catholics and per cent of other re-
ligious faiths.
1.-TWO hundred and forty-two of the
4S7 wards were committed on petit
tions filed by the Board of Children's
Guardians, while in 202 cases the ac
tions originated with the Juvenile
Court, and % petitions were filed by
other orga aniZations and individuals.
i
which the children came was the in
come adequate. showing that poverty.
although not the immediate cause in
any case, was the basic cause of the
child's dependency or delinquency in a
large ma jority of the cases: and again
proving the need for a mothers pen
sion in the District of Columbia"
Foster Home for Normal Child.
The board declares in its report that
II firmly adheres to the policy that
for the normal child foster home is
the best substitute for the parental
home. Less than IA per cent of our
children are in institutions. On June
80. 1925, there were 353 children in
boarding homes as compared with 33S
on June 80, 1924. We should spend
much more time with our foster
mothers helping them to meet their
problems and sharing with them the
results Of our larger opportunities
to study advances in knowledge of
child hygiene and child psychology,
which has increa sed both the interest
and responsibility of child placing. 1t
is the desire of the board to keep
abreast of scientific progress in safe
guarding the children committed to
our care"
There was an increase during the
la st year of 33 in the number of cases
presented TO Juvenile Court by the
board. Two easOns are given for this
increas Sc. The first one is that the cor
poration counsel has ruled that when
the board is asked to investigate or
care for mentally defective children it
should have the children committed
to it. Formerly this course was not
deemed necessary.
Increase Further Explained.
Another reason for the increase in
the number of cases presented to the
Juvenile Court is explained. in part. by
the adopted policy of the Board OF
Childrens Guardians to provide other
care pending investiga ton for those
children held by the Womans Bureau
in the House of Detention" the report
continued. Undoubtedly in many in
stances arrangements for their tempo
rary care with relatives or friends can
be effected in time by the Woman's
Bureau workers themselves, but the
practice of that organization Of keep
ing children, pending such adjust
ment. in the House of Detention,
which, in the police organiza ton. has
the status of a precinct and in which
criminal adult women and adolescent
Juvenile offenders are held, is con-
trary to the spirit and principles Of
protective work with children. Tempo
rary commitments have been asked in
many instances solely for the purpose