III SOME SUGGESTED CHANGES IN THE SYSTEM OF POOR RELIEF IN IOWA DEPENDENT CHILDREN THE system of caring for dependent children in Iowa is one of the wisest pieces of poor relief legislation upon the statute books and therefore needs very little change. There is no doubt that the State Soldiers' Orphans' Home, as a receiving home for children until they are placed in normal family relationships in homes within the State, serves a most useful purpose. More children, however, could be placed out in homes were there more State agents employed by the Board of Control to secure homes for orphans. The present force of State agents probably should be increased, in order that they might not only place more children in suitable homes but also more efficiently supervise the care of those already placed out. The present force of two State agents should either be doubled, or else the law should provide that a county agent be appointed in each county to coöperate with the State agents and to supplement the work of the latter. The system of county agents has been used in a number of the States with considerable success. In private child-saving associations this system has been tried frequently. The State Charities Aid Association of New York State has a system of county agents for the placing of children which seems to work very well. In Iowa the present system, therefore, should be improved either by an increase in the number of State agents, or perhaps better, by keeping the two State agents as at present and supplementing them with county agents. If the plan suggested below-namely, the plan of creating a county board of charities should be adopted, one or more members of this board might well be made the county agent or agents of the Board of Control for the placing out and supervising of the care of dependent children in families in the county. The system in use at the present time among private organizations for the placing out of dependent children is one that has worked very well, and the work of these institutions has been unexpectedly good. These associations are under the supervision of the State Board of Control. Supervision under an efficient board insures sanitary conditions in the homes in which the children are temporarily cared for. It also insures that they shall not be cruelly treated, that they shall be adequately fed and clothed, and in addition provides some sort of control over the placing-out system employed by these institutions and associations. So far as has been discovered, there is very little fault to be found with the plan which the State is following in caring for orphan children through these private organizations. One change, perhaps, would increase the efficiency of these organizations. Doubtless their usefulness would be very greatly increased if the law should require that they work in coöperation with the county agents above proposed. The county agents, if they were members of the county board of charities, could very easily place out and supervise the care of children from these private associations. The county agents would then make their reports both to the private association and directly to the State Board of Control, and thus a double supervision would be placed over the work of these private associations; and at the same time the work of the private organizations and the public authorities would be more closely correlated in the effort to secure homes for orphan children. The present system is a confession of distrust of the public authorities. But the reason for such distrust has ceased to exist. To-day the correlation of private and public agencies should be closer, and State control more complete. If this plan were provided for in the law, then the placing out of children under the authority of the county board of supervisors now provided for in our statute books should be transferred to this county board of charities and correction. In a good many cases if this were done, children would not need to be taken to the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Davenport at all, but could be placed directly from the home from which they were taken to a new home in the county secured by that member of the county board of charities designated as the county agent to place out and supervise the care of dependent children. MOTHERS' PENSIONS Disguised though the fact may be, there is no denying that mothers' pensions are essentially a special form of poor relief. It may be questioned, therefore, whether there is any valid reason why the administration of the mothers' pension law should not be placed under the legally constituted poor relief officials. The problem will not be solved by putting the burden of endeavoring to provide relief for needy mothers and children upon the shoulders of the local court. The judge is probably the best official to deal with juvenile delinquency. It is doubt ful, however, whether he is qualified by training or has the necessary time to deal successfully with dependency. The mothers' pension law is now administered by the court, but it is believed that it should be administered under the supervision of an expert in the State Board of Control. The question of the desirability of creating a board of children's guardians such as exists in New Jersey, as a supplement to the ordinary relief officials and as an agency to prevent pauperism in children, is worthy of serious study. Such a board of guardians provided under the law and made up of experts would have the advantage of special knowledge of the subject and could not only concentrate attention upon the care of dependent children, but also devote themselves to constructive plans for children in danger of falling into poverty and crime. Considering the fact, however, that such a board would be an innovation in this State, and the further fact that there is already a Board of Control whose powers could easily be widened to include the care of dependent children who are not in institutions, and since the experience of the State of Indiana has shown that it is possible to handle children successfully through the ordinary channels of poor relief, it seems quite clear that a better plan for Iowa would be to change slightly the system at present in vogue so as to provide for the care of dependent children through the local authorities under the supervision of a special agent of the Board of Control. This special agent should be a special administrative officer either within the Board of Control or appointed by it, with headquarters at Des Moines. The local administration of the mothers' pension law should be in the hands of the county board of charities mentioned above, under the general direction of the State expert. Such a plan would unify the administration of the relief of children whether in the homes of their mothers, in private children's homes, in State or county institutions, or in foster homes. Such unification is necessary since mothers' pensions are really a form of poor relief designed to benefit children. In this case, as in the case of children taken away from their families, the county board of charities and correction would be the local link connecting the Board of Control with the administration of this problem in the various localities of the State. The State agent for the administration of the law concerning dependent children should be an expert and should be able to advise changes as to methods of treating cases which come under the provisions of the law. Furthermore, the suggestions of this agent, if possible under the Constitution, should have the force of law within due limitations to be set by statute. With very few changes this might be secured by requiring that the suggestions of the State expert on the care of children first receive the approval of the Board of Control, and then be considered as orders from that Board. THE COUNTY HOME Radical changes are needed with respect to the county home. Ideally the county home can never be a successful institution in the less populated counties of Iowa. It is bound to fail in these counties because of the fact that if it is the kind of an institution it should be the almshouse will have very few inmates. Much more important, however, is the fact that if it is but a small institution, it will be almost impossible to deal in a scientific manner with the various classes of dependents and defectives there |