Evening star., 1945-09-02
Welfare Board
ReveaIsDetaiIed
Child Care Plan
Report Made Public
Says Charm Of Farm
Would Replace 'JoiIs'

"A new system OF institutional cart
enVlsloning all the charms of fam.
lily life on farm for children now
confined in three District institu.
tions was described last night BY
the Board of Public Welfare in q
public report on the Child Care Gen.
ter it seeks to build at Laurel, Md
In the report, the board for the
hrst time gave complete descrip.
ton OF the type of care the cente,
would provide.
The center, which the board
wants to establish on 1000 acres
would take the place of the Indus
trial Home School, 2453 Wisconsin
avenue, the National Training
School for Girls, on Macarthur
boulevard, and the District Train
ing School, already at Laurel.
Children at the center would suf-
fer none of the shocks or the onus
OF care in an institution, the board
said. They would live in small
groups with children of similar type
and personality rather than with
children committed for the same
reasons.
Legislation Affected.
The board said legislation for the
three institutions will have to be
repealed by new legislation setting
up the center. The board will seek
to have legal custody of all the chill
dren placed in the board
At present, the District Court
commits feableminded children di-
rectly to the District Training
School. and the Juvenile Court
commits delinquent girls directly to
the National Training School. The
board already has custody over all
children it sends to the Industrial
School
The board wants to group the
children according to intelligence,
sex, race and social maturity. If
the board has legal custody, it can
move the child to new group as he
advances in social maturity.
Many children suffer shock when
they have to go through the red
tape of changing institutions, Ray
L. Huff, director of welfare, ex-
planned.
Eight Main Groupings.
The board voted Friday to ask fol
$4,000 to start construction o1
facilities for children now at the
Industrial School. When complete
the center would have central ad-
ministration building and hospita
serving all the children. The chill
dren would live in seven buildings
and four small houses as far as two
miles from the administration build.
ing.
There would be eight main group.
tngs: Normal white girls, norma
colored girls, normal white boys
working boys, moron boys, defective
delinquent boys, defective delinquent
girls and psychotic and adjustmen'
cases. The working boys would hvt
in the four small houses. -.. .
Children put in the custody O.
the board by parents Or courts woule
be examined at the new receiving
home. Congress allotted $265 ,0Ot
to build it near Gallaudet College
Here the staff would decide whethe
the child needs adoption, a foste
home or institutional care. -
Replaces Trial and Error"
When child arrives at the Laure
Center, social workers would plac
him in bis proper group and ar
range a program to meet his needs
The guiding principle at the nev
center would be to help a child "tt
become his best self" rather thar
to command and coerce him to de
as he is told, the report said.
There was complaint that unde
the present system "of trial an,
error" children with confictin
characteristics and differing need
are thrown together. The nev
system puts the child in a sub
stitute family, small group, wher
he will have a healthy emotiona
life and chance to develop hi
aptitudes.
Mr.. Huff pointed out the Distric
will save money under the plan TO
a single hospital, storage and main
tenance department and education
renfer