Evening star., 1933-10-26
MISS FAY BENTLEY
APPOINTED JUDGE
Juvenile Court Bench Given
Director of School
Attendance.
4O-FOOT HOLE RIPPED IN BOW

school attendance and work permits of
the Board of Education, has been ap-
pointed Judge Of the Juvenile Court by
President Roosevelt The appointment
was made late yesterday.
Miss Bentley. who has been actively
engaged in social and welfare work in
Washington since 1920, had the back
ing of numerous welfare groups. both
local and national. for the post. 1t
was understood that Mrs. Roosevelt was
among those favorably impressed with
her record of social work when the
Department of Justice was considering
the qualifications of several Of those
suggested for the position.
The present incumbent is Miss Kath-
ryn Sellers Under the peculiar word
ing OF the law. Miss Sellers term is
for six years or until his successor is
appointed and confirmed" Judge Sell
lers' six years expired in 1881. Since
then President Hoover appointed Miss
Pearl Mccall. but that appointment
was not confirmed, and Judge Sellers
continued on the bench.
Native Of Illinois.
Miss Bentley said today she had no
idea when she would take Office.
native OF Bloomington. Ill. Miss
Bentley was graduated from the Univer-
sity of Chicago with the degree of
Phi. b. and took course with the Chi
cago School of Civics and Philanthropy
before coming to Washington in 1920
In that year she was appointed to the
Bureau of Internal Revenue, where she
investigated taxes paid on goods manu-
factured by child labor until the child
labor act was declared unconstitutional
She was then transferred to the Chill
dren's Bureau in the Department of
Labor. In 1925 she was appointed to
her present post under the Board Of
Education.
Her office maintains a census record
of every child between the ages of 8
and Is, whether the child attends public
school or not The ONCE regulates the
employment Of every person in the Dis
trict up to the age of l6 and also the
school attendance of children between
the ages of and l6
In recognition of her work with chill
dren, President Hoover borrowed" her
for work on the White House Confer
ence for Child Welfare, for which she
made extensive studies in child delin-
quency.
She has also been in charge of child
welfare work for the Council of So
cial Agencies. She is a member of the
Protective Social Measures Committee
Of the Social Hygiene Society. and is a
member of the board of directors of
the District League Of Women Voters.
She teaches a course in child vel
fare at George Washington University,
from which institution she received the
degree OF bachelor Of laws in 1890. She
women's Bar Association, Phi Delta
Delta tnternationa legal fraternity,
the American Association of University
Women and the American Association
Of Social Workers. She was recently
appointed a member of the Women'S
Crusade
Adoption Care Asked.
Miss Bentley today urged passage of a
law requiring strict investigation by
trained social workers of homes into
which children are adopted through the
courts.
Miss Bentley, speaking at the opening
luncheon meeting of the Child Welfare
Committee of the District League Of
Woman Voters, told her listeners that
at present where the Board of Public
Welfare places a child in foster home.
thorough investigation is made Of the
home beforehand. There is no such in
vestigation. however. she said. where
foster parents come into the courts and
ask for permission to adopt child. All
that the courts can require. under the
present law. she said. is a statement Of
willingness Of the parents to adopt the
child
Miss Bentley said that the Juvenile
Protective Association has framed a
law to require investigation before
adoption through the courts. which will
be presented at the coming session of
Congress. She urged the League of
Woman Voters to back the passage of
this law
"As many as so children a year are
adopted In our courts" she said, land
only in about 10 cases Is any investiga-
ton made"
Chairman King Of the Senate District
Committee said today he had been told
Miss Bentley is a Republican rather
than q Democrat. He said he had heard
some time ago from number Of Wash
ingtonians Of opposition to her appoint
ment and that the question of whether
she was a Democrat or Republican was
one of the questions brought to his at
tention.