The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1936-11-05
Director Of Child Welfare in the
United States Says Prospects
y Bright for Dependents

During the last year there has
been a number of interesting devel-
opmentS In the child welfare field
not only in the United States but in
North Carolina made possible thru
measures of the Social Security Act.
Workers in both public and private
agencies are keenly aware of these
increased opportunities for service
to handicapped children and are
eager to modify, develop and
strengthen the program of their in
dividual agencies so that it may be
an integral part of harmonious,
coordinated and comprehensive
whole.
DR.. G. C. Carstens, Director of the
Child Welfare League of America, is
doing more perhaps than any one
other social worker in the United
tSates to assist public and private
agencies to reshape and blend their
program so that the maximum SER
vice to children may be given in
each state. On September 22nd, DR..
Carstens spoke at the annual meet
ing of the North Carolina Orphan
age Association and his discussion of
how provision of the Social Security
affect the work of child-caring in
stitutions and how these institutions
may help to make most effective
these provisions was most stimulat-
ing and challenging to all who heard
him.
After briefly outlining the provi-
SionS for u Aid to Dependent Chill
dren (2) Maternal and Child Health
and (3) Aid to Crippled Children
and Child Welfare Services, DR..
Carstens stressed the following
points:
l. That dependent children whose
own families can provide safe en-
vironments for their development
should be assisted from public
funds;
2. That the private child-caring
agency should emphasize foster
home care adapted to the need of
the individual child. In many in
stances boarding home care must
be used as free homes are thing
of the past;
3. AS widowed fathers have more
problems to, face in making proper
plans for their motherless children
than do widowed mothers in making
plans for their fatherlesS, children,
private agencies can render a speci-
al service to these fathers;
f. Legitimate and orphan chill
dren usually should be placed for
adoption if young enough to make
happy adjustment;
5. Private agencies also may pion-
eer in the field of child welfare and
develop programs which later may
be taken over by the public agencies
after public opinion has been edu-
Gated to the need of such program
and necessary legislation and public
funds are provided;
6. But private agencies should not
be subsidized from public funds as
the subsidies can not be adequate
and moreover tend to "dry up"~pri-
vate contributions and to lessen the
interest and the concern of individu
al citizens in the welfare of the un-
dee privileged.
z. AS far as possible local COM
munities through their agencies
should assume responsibility for
planning for children. DR.. Carstens
congratulated North Carolina on not
having a centralized commitment
system or bureau to which children
are committed by Juvenile Courts
but that the Juvenile Courts them
selves make plans for the children.
This centralized commitment system
is unwieldy and on the whole has
been found unsatisfactory in other
states.
8. Any phase of an investigation
or any plan for child should not
be regarded as "an end in itself"
but rather means" to the all i'm
portant end of serving the child ac-
cording to his need, and thus as
incidents" in the child's life.
g. The most necessary equipment
of any institution or agency is ade-
quate and trained personnel, and
the personnel should work most
carefully to serve the need of the
particular child.
10. No agency has the moral right
to "pick" the cream of dependent
children as those whom it will serve
and leave the others ''to stew in
their own juice. The less promising
children have been neglected by
both public and private agencies.
Now the program for care of de-
pendent children must be so co-ordi-
mated that every child may be prop
erly served.
IL. Boards of private agencies and
local communities of public agencies
must be educated to the value of
flexible programs adapted to the
current needs of the child and the
community.
DR.. Carstens feels that the pros
poets for dependent and neglected
children are brighter now than ever
before and by consolidating gains of
recent years, a sound basis will be
made for developments suggested
above and for winning the battle for