Evening star., 1940-03-27
Help Child by Keeping
Home Intact, Welfare
Division Is Advised
Advances in G Co-ordinotino
Services Stressed at
Monthly Meeting


mating family and child care serv-
ices and the need of continued
progress were emphasized yesterday
by speakers at the monthly meet
ing of the child welfare division,
Washington Council of Social Agen-
cies, held in the Y. w. C. A., Sew
enteenth and K streets NV. The
speakers and their subjects were as
follows:
Miss Emma o. Lundberg, assistant
director of the child welfare divi-
sion, Children's Bureau, who spoke
on planning Family and Child
Welfare Services for a Co-ordinated
Community Program; Miss Patricia
Morss, director of the child well
fare service, Board of Public We'll
fare, whose subject was "The Views
of a Children's Agency Executive
on the Strength and Weaknesses of
the Family Care Program in Rela-
ton to Adequate Community Serv-
ice to Children, and Paul L. Kirby,
assistant director, Board of Public
Welfare, who talked on Present
Plans for the Coordination of the
Programs of the Family and the
Child Care Divisions in a Public
Agency"
Urge Keeping Homes Intact.
The three speakers dealt particu-
larly with the problem of aiding
families in keeping their homes
iyfocf o,I ovrroceod tho x.;a1, fhot
the best possible way to help a
needy child is to help its family
in such a way that the child may
continue to live in home environ
ment and become adjusted there.
The three emphasized also that this
idea is in line with that developed
at the White House Conference on
Child Welfare.
Miss Lundberg said that "child
welfare begins at home through the
welfare of the whole family" She
developed the thought that tco Of
ten. owing to lack of funds or facil-
tiles, the amount of care given chill
dren by agencies is governed by
what those agencies are able to
provide rather than by the full and
actual needs of the child.
Home Aid Up $50 Per Cent.
Miss Morss said there has been
an increase of some $50 per cent in
home aid, which has been made pos
sible through additional funds and
provisions through the Social Sc
curity Board. She declared it a
good investment" whenever possible
to keep a child in its own home,
even if it requires years of work on
the part of a case worker in keep
ing the family intact.
She advocated q central intake
service for the family and child
welfare divisions of the Board of
Public Welfare. Such an integra-
ton of service would result in the
routing Of an applicant to the divi-
sion best equipped to render the
service needed and would prevent
the shopping around" and con.
fusion which now exists, she said.
Mr.. Kirby declared the founda-
ton of family welfare lies in the
4AOAAAV SAAAA oVA CooCO tlAC ullkOI GdllCC
of welfare agencies trying to keep
the home intact.
The most significant work of the
Board of Public Welfare during the
last year mas been the establishment
OF a unit to give protective services
to children in their own home, he
said.
Juvenile Court Praised.
A resolution was adopted by the
division indorsing "the philosophy
OF the Juvenile Court as a medium
Of social treatment of the juvenile
as sound and in keeping with mod
ern social work trends" The reso-
luton also reiterated the divisions
approval of the Juvenile Court Act
Of 1898, after declaring the courts
concept in Handling the problems
of minors recently has been chal-
lenged." Copies of the resolution
are to- be sent to President Roose-
velt and Attorney General Jackson.
Mrs. w. A. Roberts, executive Sec
retary Of the Council Of Social Agen-
cies, reported the councils board Of
directors on Monday approved Of
legislation advocated bX the di-
vision for the ucensing4 so-called
child-placing agencies and also the