Evening star., 1945-11-02
Lack Of Funds
In Child Placing
Hit by Board
officioI Agency Fails
To Meet Standards :.
Set for Privote Groups
BY JULIA EDWARDS.

Ine bOdrQ OF FuDuC welfare
child placement division does not
live up to the standards the board
demands Of private agencies doing
the same work, The Star learned
today.
Members Of the board readily ad-
mitted the anomaly and blamed
1t on the failure of Congress to ap-
propriate SUFFICIENT funds for case
workers.
The board investigates private
agencies applying for licenses under
the Baby Broker Act but operates
outside the law by a ruling of the
corporation counsel.
The board will not recommend
for a license under the act any pri-
vate agency where the social work.
ers handle more than so cases at
a time. It's own workers were carry
ing case total Of 81 as of October
l, the children's division reported.
Reduces Investigative Care.
No social worker can make the
careful investigation necessary for
the proper placement of children
in foster homes when she has so
many homes to investigate, said
Mrs. Thomas F. Norton, director of
children's services for the Council
of Social Agencies.
The situation has developed since
the license provisions Of the Baby
Broker Act went into effect eight
months ago. The board always has
investigated petitions for adoption
filed in the courts.
Since the law prohibiting indi-
viduals from acting as interme-
diaries in adoptions went into effect,
the work of the board in arranging
adoptions has increased from "near
zero" to the point where 1t is the
largest adoption agency in the Dis
trict, reported Miss A. Patricia
Morss. head of the licensing division
of the board.
A committee headed by Mrs. Rad
ford Moses, member of the board,
sets up the standards for judging
private agencies. The Commission
ers grant the licenses on the rec
ommendation of the board.
Revision Of Law Urged.
Representatives of private agen-
cies advocate revision of the law to
make the Board of Welfare subject
to the same standards of efficiency.
The board repeatedly has requested
more case workers and Congress has
repeatedly turned them down, they
pointed out.
Mrs. Norton argued that If the
law required the board TO hire more
case workers Congress would have
to appropriate the money.
Congress would not have to ap-
propriate the money, even il the
law were changed, said A. Harding
Paul, member of the board and
chairman of the Committee on
Children's Services.
He charged that such a revision
In the act as the private agencies
urge would either make it impos-
sible for the boards adoption di-
vision to function or simply place
it in the position of violating the
law.
THE board Is working as hard as
it can to meet these standards. 1t
should get the appropriations it
needs to do so. Forcing us to COM
ply with the provisions would not
give us the money we need to do it,"
Mr.. Paul commented.
Mrs. Moses said that as far as she
knew the provision on case workers
was the only one that the board
fails to meet. During the war, it
could not get as many case workers
as Congress would allow, she added
New Standards Drafted,
Her committee has drawn up a
new set Of standards now before the
District Commissioners for approval.
But 1t is the policy Of the board not
to release them until the Commits
sioners have acted, Mrs. Moses said.
The proposed regulations are in
the hands of Commissioner GUY
Mason, who is out Of town and will
not be back until next week, accord
ing to his secretary.
Some of the private agencies also
would like to see revoked section
OF the law that grants license au-
tomatically to any agency chartered
by Congress doing child placement
work. st. AIMS Infant Asylum.
chartered by Congress, is the only
private agency that receives its IL
cence without an investigation.
Other agencies noted that an
agency chartered by Congress may
have even higher standards than
theirs, but they argued that there is
no reason why they should not all
be subject to the same regulation.
Seton Darr, who represents St.
AIMS on the Standards Committee,
said he preferred not to comment
before such an amendment came
before the committee.