The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1947-12-25
Article Series Describes
Institutions of the State

CThiS is the first in a series of |
informative articles sent excluS- |
lively to the weekly newspapers of |
the state designed to give the peo-
pie of the state clearer under !
standing of the problems which |
confront this department in handl-
ing the population of its inStitu-
tions-the mentally i'll, malajust-
ed and criminal portions of our
population.
The State Department of Pub
lie Institutions, formerly known
as the Department of Finance
Budget and Business, is one of
the largest and most important
branches of the state government,
! covering wide range of activi-
| tie. Headed by Jack Ballew, the
director, the department super
vises the operations of the Pur-
chasing Division, Central Stores,
Banking, Savings and Loan, Per-
sonnet and Institutions.
! Each of these divisions perform
activities of great Importance to
the people of the state, but none
of them comes quite as close to
the people or affects as many of
them as the Division of Institu-
tions, which concerns not only
the more than $4,000 inmates and
| patients, but also the happiness
and welfare of their thousands OF
relatives and friends.
There are four rather broad
groupings of these institutions:
Mental, Correctional, Educational
! and Soldiers Homes. The Mental
grouping includes the three Men
tai Hospitals at Fort Steilacoom,
Sedro- Woody, Medical Lake near
Spokane and the custodial schools
at Buckley and Medical Lake. The
three mental hospitals are for the
care and treatment of persons at
flicted with mental conditions,
acting in the same capacity to
these people as a hospital would
to a person suffering from ordin-
airy illness or injury and seeking
just as diligently for some way
to effect a cure. The two custodlal
schools carry on the care, custody,
| training and education of the
mentally deficient or feeble mind
| ed.
| The correctional institutions in
! clude the State Training School
for Boys in Chehalis, State School
| for Girls at Grand Mound, Wash
| ington State Reforma,ory at Mon
| roe and the State Fen1tentary al
| Walla Walla. 20
| These institutions, as the name
implies, are primarily concerned
with the custody of persons who
| lhave run afoul of society and
must be segregated from the resi-
of the population for protective
purposes. Every effort is made at
| these institutions, through work
| Iprograms, schooling, vocational
training, discipline and citizen
Iship activities, to equip the in
mates for useful life upon re-
lease.
| The two educational institutions
| are the State School for the blind
and School for the Deaf, both To-
/ Gated at Vancouver, Washington
These schools provide an accredi.
ted high school education fol
those children whose sight OF
hearing is impaired to the point
where they cannot attend regular
| schools and make them useful
citizens Of their communities.
II The Soldiers Homes at Ortine
and Retsil are for veterans o.
Ilmilitary service who are indigen'
! and prevented from making thell
| own living because of injury OF
Ilage. The home at Retsil also &C
| cepts the wives or widows OF sucf
lveterans. 3
II Future articles will cover II
Emore detail the various types o.