Evening star., 1937-04-18
Boarding Homes No Solution
Of Receiving Home Problem

II
the District appropriation bill
have been meeting with consider
able criticism and opposition In the
civic bodies. In no case Is this op-
position more pronounced than the
proposal to substitute boarding
homes for the Receiving Home for
juveniles. The general verdict ap-
pears to be that the Appropriations
Subcommittee failed to get the cor
rect picture of the Job performed by
the Receiving Home.
This home is q place for the
temporary detention OF children
who fall into the hands OF the
Police Department. These juveniles
are of wide range Of ages and con-
dition. Young criminals, abandoned
children Of tender age and older,
young members of disrupted fami-
lies and some incorrigibles. By far
the greater proportion OF these
young people are of the criminal
type or are detained because Of
serious infraction Of law Some
are guilty, some are just beginners
IN crime, some are innocent and
some are victims Of infectious
disease. Some of these children
have been picked up by the police
because they were lost and are held
until their parents or guardians
may be located.
In most of these cases the juve-
niles are being held until court ac-
ton makes a final determination
as to their future. Where these
boys and girls are placed in the
custody OF the Board Of Public
Welfare they are put In boarding
homes and placed under the super
vision Of guardian designated by
that citizen body
It is generally recognized that
conditions at the Receiving Home
are most unsatisfactory because the
rented building is i'll adapted to
such use. The facilities afforded
for this work are Of the most make
shift character and completely de-
feat the very purpose for which this
home was created.
The use Of a receiving home for
the temporary detention of children
was substituted for the prior method
of sending them to the House of
Detention under the Women's Bu-
reau Of the Police Department. 1t
was considered improper to bring
those Of tender years into contact
with the hardened female prisoners
at the House of Detention. Efforts
to separate the juveniles from the
adults were unsuccessful in the old
institution and 80 the new home
came into existence.
But the Districts all-powerful
exclusive legislature failed to pro-
vide for the creation Of a suitable
substitute for the old method.
Conditions have continued to grow
worse as the business of this home
has increased. Under existing con-
ditions. the innocent little tot. the
first offender, the incorrigible and
the hardened young criminal are
all thrown together. The diseased
and the different racial groups
cannot be separated, simply because
the misflt accommodations will not
permit.
Those who have studied this
problem closely cannot see how
those thus temporarily detained
may be taken care of satisfactorily
In boarding homes. The hardened
types require the rigid restraints
OF q well-equipped institution, as
they could not be held in any Of
the private boarding homes. The
diseased need to be segregated and
subjected to systematic medical
treatment which could not very
well be given In the private homes.
Then the children lost or from
temporarily disrupted homes are
sometimes in the custody OF their
police guardians for so short time
as to make the boarding OF them
in homes impracticable.
It is conceded by all that here
Is a real problem and that its i'm
mediate solution is required.
While these youths are just de-
tanned temporarily, the problem
Is by no means q temporary one.
Consequently, citizens particu-
larly interested In child welfare
and good citizens generally a1o
very emphatically. expressing the
opinion that Congress viii be dere-