Evening star., 1939-08-25
District Welfare
Needs Estimated
Al $9,565,215
New Construction Stuff
Increases and Child
Care Expansion Asked
BY DON S. WARREN.

BY DON S. WARREN.
Appropriations approaching the
$4,000 900 level were proposed by the
Board of Public Welfare to cover the
needs Of the long list of welfare and
penal institutions and services under
It's direction in its l941 estimates,
released today by the District Com
missioners. The board requested
$9,565, ,215, or an increase Of $2,214.-
800 over appropriations made for this
fiscal year. The total was not as
high as had been anticipated in some
quarters.
Many new construction projects,
some new policies in administration,
and more than 800 new employees are
proposed for the agencies in the
estimates, which will be subjected
to review by the Commissioners be-
fore they forward them to the
Budget Bureau.
In connection with the proposed
sale of the property used by the
Industrial Home School for White
Children, on valuable" land on Wis
consin avenue NV, the board has
proposed expenditure of 100000 for
new improvements on District -oWned
land at Muirkirk, Md, as possible
new location for the Industrial
Home School for Colored Children,
now at Blue Plains. D. c., to which,
1t has been suggested. the white
industrial home school might be
transferred.
Would Expand Child Care.
The board also has proposed ex-
pansion of the Districts child well
fare services. Development of dis
trict Offices for the service, estab-
lishment of housekeeping and con-
valescent care and broadening Of
the board and care program are
among new proposals.
Once again the board calls for
construction of a building for the
Receiving Home for Children to re-
place the present rented quarters in
the 300 block of Potomac avenue
Sc, which has been condemned by
members of Congress as well as by
public and private welfare leaders
as inadequate and otherwise unsat-
lsfactory. An appropriation of $175,-
600 is requested for plans and con-
struction of a new building that
will provide more adequate size and
suitable segregation of classes Of
wards.
The board also calls for many new
construction projects for housing
treatment of the feeble minded at
the District Training School at Lau-
rel, Md to provide care for many
of the long list of applicants on the
waiting list; for many new employees
at the Jail to staff new additions
now being erected and for contin-
ulng construction of new quarters
and provisions of added personnel
at the workhouse and reformatory
at Occoquan and Lorton, Va.
Small Assistance Increase.
A relative small increase was pro-
posed by the board for the Public
Assistance Division. but these esti-
mates are to be revised somewhat
due to changes in the Social Sc
curity Act. adopted at the past ses-
sion Of Congress, permitting larger
Federal grants in some local relief
categories
For personnel services in the ad-
ministrative staff of the board, an
increase from $144.53O to s165 ,23O
is proposed, which would permit the
employment of a new social worker
for the care of the insane and nine
additional employees for the child
welfare service.
For the Division of Child Welfare
the board proposes an increase from
1894 300 to $500, 100 for board and
care of children, calculating that
the daily average number of wards
in the 1941 fiscal year will be 1900
and the per capita cost s29166 a
year, an increase of $2266 over the
present. A sum of $4,000 is re-
quested to permit the opening of
four district Offices of the division.
An appropriation of $4,000 is re-
quested for the proposed house.
keeper service and $4,000 for start
ing system of convalescent care.
The housekeeper service, the
board said, would be "one of the
best investment" in keeping chill
dren out of the more expensive
form of foster care. as it would
enable motherless children to re-
main in their own homes. The
! convalescent care item. the board
said, would permit some expert
mentation with a daily average Of
IS children at the rate of $50 a
month, particularly with colored
child cases for whom no provision
is now made, as there is for white
children, in privately financed in
stitutions.
More Jail Personnel Sought.
Increased personnel is requested