Evening star., 1943-10-27
Church, School Heads
Study Ways TO Curb
Juvenile Delinquency

Suggestions for reducing child
delinquency in the District were be-
ing studied today, following the
submission of reports last night by
church and school subcommittee
Of the Advisory Committee on War
tame and Postwar Problems OF the
Child.
That the home is the basic factor
in alleviating the problem was
dressed by Rabbi Norman Gersten-
field, Msgr. Lawrence J. Shehan, the
Rev. John w. Ruskin and Judge Fay
Bentley of Juvenile Court at meet
ing in Thomson School presided
Over by Mrs. Henry Grattan Doyle,
president of the Board of Education.
! Rabbi Gerstenfeld suggested that
q pamphlet be prepared and given
to every parent of every District
school child. The booklet, he said,
should be entitled How to Guard
Your Child" The Committee
On Religious Life in the Nations
Capital, which includes Jewish,
Protestant and Catholic clergymen
Undoubtedly will be glad to pre-
pare supplementary religious Sec
tion and index for such parents
manual" Rabbi Gerstenfeld added.
Suggests Three Remedies.
After stressing that "the church
needs to do some provocative think
ing in meeting the needs of children
and youth" the Rev. A. F. Elmes,
colored, chairman of the subcom-
mittee on the church, asserted that
the religious institutions share
definite responsibility for delin-
quency in the community" AS
remedial measures, he suggested:
"l-Sunday or Sabbath services
are not enough. School and church
leaders should begin to explore the
area of weekday religious instruc-
ton. Churches can make more use
of their buildings and other facili-
ties for youth gatherings, scouting,
neighborhood councils and for leis-
ure time activities.
"2-The public schools and the
churches should explore ways Of
gearing their educational machinery
together so that what both under
take can come to be regarded as of
common concern and importance
in the thinking of young people.
Separation of church and state still
admits recognition of the depend
ency of the one on the other.
"3. The committee suggests that
representatives of all the faiths
could be heard through school as
semblies, possibly twice a month,
on such themes as good citizenship,
the art of living together. what re-
ligious men and women have done
in shaping our culture and our free
dom, etc"
Sees Real Community Need.
DR.. Rustin, president of the
Washington Federation of Churches,
said ministers are concerned with
problems which break up the
home merely ringing doorbells
limits the pastoral function to a
social basis. when minister's time
better could be spent meeting real
community needs
Msgr. Shehan pointed out that
Catholic groups are organizing and
will recommend a series Of sermons
in all parish churches emphasizing
the part that can be played by the
home in meeting child delinquency.
Judge Bentley said child delin-
quency is not a matter of sex or
race, but is community failure.
To act intelligently a court must
have knowledge Of all the facts in
each case, procedure involving
time for investigation, she stressed.
She then cited an instance in which
a pupil quit school here in 1941 and
worked two years in the District
without his absence being reported
by school authorities.
Maladjusted Pupils.
Superintendent of Schools Robert
L. Haycock reported that All. or IA
per cent of 23,433 pupils in five
school divisions, were shown to be
maladjusted, with marked anti
social attitudes. He suggested "ad-