Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-15
WELFARE DIRECTOR
ASSISTANT URGED
Changes in Phases of Work
Recommended by Bureau
of Efficiency.

The District Commissioners today re-
ceived three reports from the Bureau OF
Efficiency all recommending changes in
various phases of the activities Of the
Board of Public Welfare and some of its
dependent institutions. The recon-
mendations call for creation of the posi-
ton of assistant director of public well
fare in charge Of personnel and bust
ness administration; redefining the du-
ties of the present assistant director to
include administration of such profess
sional phases of the boards activities
as would ordinarily be assigned to well
qualified sociologist; development OF
laundry facilities at the District reform
atory and at Gallinger Hospital; and a
more effective application of the work
ing capital fund Of the District Work.
house and Reformatory..
In their report on the assistant di-
rector of public welfare the bureau re-
called that this had previously been
recommended in a report dated June
Is. 1927. Shortly thereafter the COM
torship and appointed Paul L. Kirby, a
child specialist, to the position. This
was not in line with the recommended
ton of the Bureau of Efficiency. which
had intended the position to be held
by one skilled in business administra-
ton, g.
l. Criticism Withheld.
This bureau withheld criticism of
the decision" the report today reads,
because of an informal understand
ing that a business manager would be
appointed as soon as funds for the
payment of salary became available.
It was our understanding that the
money formerly intended for the chief
of the child welfare division would be
diverted to this use. Accordingly, as
soon as it became apparent that this
ter was directed to the District Com
missioners calling attention to our
recommendation that a business man
ager in the Board Of Public Welfare
be appointed.
ut is now understood that chief OF
the Child Welfare Division has been
appointed. On the face of it, this ap-
pears to result in overbalancing the
supervisory staff Of the child welfare
work of the board OF course. it may
be said that this situation may be met
by designation of the assistant director
as business manager. Unfortunately
however, it cannot be expected that one
who has given long years to profes-
sional pursuit as Sociologist and child
welfare specialist could suddenly change
his vocation and forthwith become an
efficient business manager for such a
large, important and highly decentral-
lied organization as the Board OF Public
af inY1S fnf LING
nearly four and half million dollars
annually"
Competent Aid Stressed.
The report then goes on to sum-
Marie the extent of the boards many
sided activities and continues: ut can
be readily appreciated that If the di-
rector of public welfare Is to supervise
the operation of the institutions and
activities noted above. in addition to
conducting the research work and pre-
pairing recommendations as required by
law, that it Is absolutely necessary for
him to have competent assistants, whom
ne can hold responsible for the efficient
operation of the several phases OF the
boards activities"
The report. states that the duties Of
the present assistant director should
be clearly defined to include only such
as would be expected of well qualified
sociologist, and goes on to recommend
that an assistant director be appointed
to be held responsible to the director
for all work relating to business man.
agement and personnel organization
The proper functioning of the two as
sistant directors as suggested would
relieve the director from a mass of de-
tails which now take up large share
of his time, and would leave him free
to conduct the research work and pre-
pare recommendations for improving
the welfare work of the District, az
contemplated by the act creating the
board" the report concludes.
Laundry work at the District Re-
formatory, which has a population o.
425, expected to be increased to SOC
at the end of the current fiscal year
is done in bath tubs, the report states
In order to improve these conditions
the bureau recommends that as soon az
is placed in operation 1t take over the
laundry work of the District Jail, anc
that the laundry equipment now at the
Jail be transferred to the reformatory
at Lorton, Va, and there placed II
operation, together with such service.
able equipment as may be obtained
from the women's department of the
District workhouse. The bureau rec
commended this only as a temporary
solution of what may possibly result II
"a serious situation with respect t.
the health, not only of the inmates
but of the officers and other employe!
of the institution"
Gin o1O Saving Seen.
The bureau recommends that the paic
personnel now operating the Jail laun-
dry be continued in the new laundry al
Gallinger, supplemented by work de-
tall of inmates from the jail. This sys-
tenn, the bureau finds, would result In
an annual saving of $l0,920.
In the third report. the bureau recon-
niends that the amount of $78,700 as
working capital for the various indus
trial enterprises at the District Work
house and Reformatory be substituted
for the present SIS 5000, and that the
appropriation for maintenance of the
District of Columbia Reformatory be in
creased from $4,000 to $90500 for the
purpose of transferring an additional
So. 500 to the working capital fund te
cover the initial cost of establishing a
book bindery.