The Wilmington morning star., 1945-01-22


always the best
On the basis of that truism alone, the pro
posal to combine the City and County juve
nile courts and clothe it with additional authori
ty of a court of domestic relations merits
real consideration from all interested in the
welfare Of our youth
1t would be tremendous step toward sim.
plification of the handling of the juvenile
problem here. Other North Carolina cities
such as Asheville. Charlotte, Durham, Win.
ston-Salem, Raleigh and Goldsboro, have
found the system Of two separate courts I'm.
satisfactory, have merged them with their
counties courts for a more effective system
Because Of the shift in population and the
fact New Hanover is more or less a metro.
politan. county, youths unfortunate enough to
be hailed into juvenile court find themselves
shifted from court to court and from one set
Of probation officers to another, which is GER
tainly not to the best interests of the children
This also means more work for the already
over-taxed officials.
At the present time, the city pays for its
court total OF $3.50, including the salary
OF judge, two probation workers and in
cidental court expenses On the other hand,
the county pays for two matrons at the juve-
nile detention homes, upkeep of the homes,
food and other expenses of the inmates, re-
gardless from which court they come The
county also pays for the transportation of all
juveniles sent to state institutions &c. as a
matter of fact, the city and county are now
cooperating in the care OF these juveniles and
expense. according to ]. R. Hollis, Superin-
tendent of Public Welfare
This cooperation has increased the effici-
ency Of the courts within the past two years.
We believe its extension to their merger is in
order and, with the legislature in session, this
is most opport1ne time to make the change.
Just as important as the proposed consolida-
ton IS the suggestion to empower the court
with the authority c: that of a court of do
nestle relations
ALI welfare officials agree that practically
every child's problem goes back to the home.
Broken homes mean delinquent children not
because the youngsters want to be bad but
N~S"NoS tiieAC ID ilO SUPERVISION, conditions
are such that the avenues to rnisbehavior and
crime are opened wider than in properly
maintained homes Therefore, under the pro-
posed court, problems Of both the home and
child would be given consideration at the
same time, by the same Judge and other court
officials In addition closer cooperation be-
tween the court and Welfare authorities would
be possible This has been the case in other
cities and we believe the same satisfactory
results would be forthcoming here
There are other advantages as Mrs, Louise
0. Neikirk, Mecklenburg County Supernten.
dent of Welfare, recently pointed out in COM
munication to local welfare officials
I'VE think that by combining the courts it
is more economical method too, cutting
down overhead experse-the same staff: same
judge; same office space, and the same Gin
most lnstances} set of records. Too, many
families move in and out of the city limits
and' with this plan, they still remain under
the Jurisdiction of a court that is thoroughly
familiar with their history she said
The proposal is sound from every stand
point Now is the time to act and an early
meeting of the city council and county com.
mlssioners to reach a decision will be wei
coined by all interested in our juvenile prob.
lem.