Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-30
Letters to The Star ].
The War We Are Losing

The War We Are Losing
In spite Of some qualifications the
impression which the public can hardly
fail to get from the editorial 1.-THE War
We Are Losing" which appeared in The
Star July %, is that the treatment
approach to the problem Of juvenile
delinquency has been tried out in
Washington; has failed, since juvenile
delinquency has increased IN recent
years; and the time has now come to
"get tough" in order to protect the COM
munity.
It is q fact, however, that the treat
ment approach in any of its aspects
has never been tried out in Washington
with any degree Of adequacy Your
editorial, for instance, mentions guild
ance facilities for children as an illus
tration of the method which has been
tried and has failed. The District OF
Columbia Mental Health Survey OF De-
cember, 1852, reported that 1t took at
least six months before a child could
receive any sort Of treatment in the
guidance clinics of the city. The state
ment was conservative. One year would
have been nearer the mark. The sur
vey pointed out that, according to sur
veys made by the schools, approx
mately 1000 pupils were in urgent need
Of psychiatric treatment for serious
disturbances and that teen-age boys
had the longest wait because appro-
pirate workers were not available for
this age group.
The Child Welfare Division OF the
Department Of Public Welfare has been
under stated for years. Some improve
ment has been effected recently. but
the situation is still very far from what
1t should be.
Currently the Juvenile Court Is being
denied much needed additional proba-
ton officers and even transportation
facilities to enable the efficient utiliza-
ton of the existing staff.
After fifty years of effort and count
less condemnatory surveys the Indus
trial Home School for White Children
has just been moved from its pre-Civil
War quarters on Wisconsin avenue to
q modern plant at Laurel.
The Industrial Home School for Ne
gro Boys at Blue Plains for some time
has been so over crowded that boys
can be held for only few months and
must then be turned loose on the COM
munity often to commit new ofenses
and to be committed to the Federally
operated National Training School for
Boys.
The District Training School for the
feeble-minded at Laurel has no custo-
dial facilities for feeble minded delin-
uuents and at all times has long
waiting list with preference necessarily
and properly being given to the lowest
type of feeble minded-the type which
presents the least danger to the COM
munity.
When It comes to children who are
severely i'll mentally the adult wards
Of st. Elizabeths Hospital are our only
available resource.
Washington has some Of the worst
slums Of any city in the country. We
have viewed them with good deal Of
complacency and improvements have
been slow in coming. Paroling and
other authorities, however, are COM
PEELED to return youngsters to living
be kenneled while fully realizing that
the chances of their going straight are
minimal.
The failure of the Community Chest
campaigns in recent years has made it
difficult for private agencies in the
family and child welfare field to MAIN
tain existing services at an acceptable
level and impossible to expand these
services to meet the needs of an expand
ing population.
Do the foregoing facts represent "too
much emphasis on the individual" and
"too much concentration on sympa-
thetic treatment" and will they be
changed for the better by the "stern
discipline" which your editorial recon-
mends?
r. Hnwlond Shaw