The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1957-06-25
Editor /, Of the Herald

Editor Of the Herald
Farmville. Va.
I was interested to read in the
June 18th edition Of the Farmville
Herald that the Prince Edward
County Board Of Supervisors was SO
anxious to reduce the number Of
people on relief as to pass a reso-
luton authorizing the County
Sheriff to investigate Welfare Cases.
To me, this implies a lack of conf
dence in the Welfare Board, which
is appointed by the Circuit Court
Judge, and presumably chosen for
their fitness for the Job They are
all leading citizens and are usually
big local taxpayers, with a personal
interest in saving public funds.
One member Of this Board is re-
quired by law. to also be a member
of the Board of Supervisors and
he and the other Welfare Board
members approve or reject all ap-
plications according to the Virginia
Welfare Laws and the many rules
and regulations set up by the State
and Federal governments, which
provide the largest part of the
money to finance the Welfare pro-
gram 1t is also provided by law
that the Board of Supervisors be
furnished complete list c h
month of all persons receiving help
and the amount they are recovery
list of all new applicants and an
itemized financial report Of all ex-
penditures down to the last postage
stamp.
l agree that the Welfare Board
and Superintendent could do bet
ter job with the cooperation OF the
Sheriff and other local officials and
! it might have a healthy effect if
| they would go out and find out
more about the kind of people being
helped and why 1t might result in
better financed Welfare program
and be the means Of eliminating
some of the conditions in the County
which bring on the need for spend
ing Welfare money
Southside Needs
| II is known fact that Southside
Virginia has the highest rate Of
T.B in the State: patients are
treated in the Sanatoria and re-
leased under doctors orders for
twelve n2l hours bed rest A great
many of these people must apply
for help because they cannot work
some have families Of young chill
dren who also have to be fed
clothed and housed
Southside Virginia has no home
| for the needy aged, so that after
an Old Age Assistance client has
subsisted upon an average OAA
grant Of from $25 10 $50 a month
| for several years and then becomes
disabled from sickness or old age
and cannot care for himself. he
must be boarded in a local home
which is hard to find. or sent to a
nursing home This care cannot be
secured without spending Welfare
funds.
| The Courts are another source OF
Welfare cases. A man is tried and
sentenced to prison for six months
or year. He has a wife and sew
eral small children who cannot be
left alone while the mother works
The Welfare Department is called
upon to support this family until
the father is released We need a
State law whereby any man with q
family who Is sent to prison should
be immediately put to work on the
State Road Force to help support
his family. This would be source
of cheap labor for the Highway De.
partment and save tax money il
two ways AS the law now stands
the man must be charged with non
support in order to do this and the
amount paid to his family cannot
exceed SIS a week regardless of the
size of the family.
Paternity Laws
We are forced to help illegitimate
children cause of our weak
paternity laws which make it i'm
possible to get support from the
father Of such a child unless he ac
knowledges paternity before the
Court, which rarely ever happens
| In most cases of deserving fathers
even if he can be located and put
under Court order to support. we
do not have the backing of the
| Court officers to see that the Court
Order is carried out and the family
eventually returns to the Welfare
Department.
| Our dairy farmers bring in many
itinerant workers without references
OF any kind. They soon prove to be
undesirable people who have moved
from place to place and apply to
the Welfare Dept. for temporary
help. If they are from out Of the
State they can be returnd to their
place OF legal residence, transpor-
tation paid by the Welfare Depart
ment. These people usually have to
be helped on an emergency basis
becaus Of thir children until some
plan can be worked out for them
Mental patients are released from
the State Institutions after few
months treatmen, unable to earn
a living because Of their mental
| condition These alsn hncntnn Mel