LEAGUE OF NATIONS

( HIM) WELFARE INFORMATION CENTRE

AMUAL REPORT ON CHILD WELFARE

(summarising Information received from Governments between May 1940 and December 1941)

Geneva, 1942 [Communicated to the Council Official No.: C. 15. M. 15. 1 9 4 2 . IV. and the Members of the [C .Q .S./P.E./C J.2 4 S] League-]

Geneva, February 15th, 1942.

LEAGUE OF NATIONS

CHILD WELFARE INFORMATION CENTRE

ANNUAL REPORT ON CHILD WELFARE

(summarising Information received from Governments between May 1910 and December 1941)

Series of League of Nations Publications

IV. SOCIAL 1942. IV. 1. INTRODUCTION

At its 1933 session, the Child Welfare Committee passed a resolution—approved by the Council on May 22nd of the same year—the object of which was to obtain each year particulars of the progress made in child welfare in the various countries, from both the legislative and administrative points of view*. In compliance with this resolution, Governments are asked to supply the Secretariat with reports containing such particulars. Some Governments adopted the method of sending in such reports, whilst others provided the material from which the reports were drawn up in the Secretariat. Since April 1940, when the last report was issued, the Secretariat has received information from the following ten countries relating to measures taken in 1939 and 1940 :

Page Page Union of South Africa 5 Ireland . . . . • 83 United States of America 39 New Zealand. . . 8 8 A ustralia...... 6 9 Portugal . . . • 93 Egypt ...... 77 Switzerland . . • 95 France ...... 8 0 Uruguay . . . . 1 2 2 UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA

The Government of the Union of South Africa has forwarded to the Secretariat the report of the Department of Social Welfare for the financial years 1937-1939 This Department was set up on October 1st, 1937, and the report covers the period from its inception to the end of the financial year on March 31st, 1939. The Department is responsible for the administration of the Children’s Act 1937 (with the distinction that all provisions relating to industrial schools and reforma­ tories are administered by the Department of Education). The following information has been extracted from the report.

I. C o - o p e r a t i o n w it h P r iv a t e A g e n c ie s

The Department recognises that effective co-opera- tion between State and private effort is the keynote of its work. Social work should be looked on as a joint enterprise between the State and private agencies and the co-operation of the latter should be enlisted so that increased State activity may proceed pari passu with increased private effort. In this connection, the Department introduced in 1938 a scheme for the subsid­ isation of thirty workers—since increased to sixty— in the employ of private agencies 2. The considerations which determine departmental approval of social workers proposed by agencies for subsidy are the following : (a) academic qualifications, (b) previous experience, (c) degree of proficiency in both languages, (d) age, (e) character and personality. The Department has also defined the duties incumbent on subsidised social

1 Printed by Cape Times Limited, Cape Town, 1940. 2 Certain information relating to the scheme was published in the Annual Report on Child Welfare published in 1939 (see document C.91.M.50.1939.IV, page 7). — 6 -

workers, at the same time providing that the executive committee of the employing society may exclude the worker from performing one or more of the duties specified after obtaining the Department’s approval for such exclusion. It is expected that the scheme will have a profound effect upon privately conducted social work, not only in putting the agencies in a position to employ workers where they would otherwise not be able to do so, but also in raising their standards of work. The scheme should also be of real value to the State, since many of the State welfare projects depend upon the effectiveness of private agencies not only in respect of their proper administration but more particularly for the intensive reconstructive work which should complement them.

II. C h i l d W e l f a r e

i. The Child-welfare Movement. The first impetus given to the movement in South Africa, as in many other countries, was the recognition of the necessity for reducing a high infantile mortality rate. Publication of certain vital statistics in 1906 led to the passing of the Infant Life Protection Act of 1907 by the Cape Parliament. It soon became evident that only one side of the problem of child life was being touched upon and, in 1908, a voluntary body, the Child Life Protection Society, was formed in Cape Town. This was followed by the establishment of similar bodies in the other provinces. Concomitantly and in co-operation with this voluntary development, municipalities in the larger centres introduced infant- welfare clinics and visiting-nurses. The movement culminated in 1937 in the passing of the Children's Act. At the same time, with the increasing scope of the activities of the child-welfare societies, the need was felt for some scheme of co-operation between them and this eventually resulted in the formation of the South-African National Council for Child Welfare. The Council consists of representatives of the Union Departments of Social Welfare, Education, Justice, Labour, Public Health, the Mental Hygiene Division of the Department of the Interior, the four Provincial Administrations, the municipalities of a number of the larger cities and the Municipal Associations of each of the four provinces. In addition, professional associations (such as the Federal Council of Teachers) and nationally organised voluntary associations (such as the National Councils for the Blind and the Deaf) are represented, as well as all the child-welfare societies affiliated to the Council. According to its constitution, the Council is organised in the interests of the wrelfare of the children of South Africa, irrespective of race or class, of politics or creed. It exists to deal with all matters of a national character appertaining to the welfare of children, to act as official channel between public authorities and child-welfare societies on matters of national and general child-welfare policy ; to co-ordinate, stimulate and expand child-wrelfare work ; to promote child-wrelfare activities of a national character and to carry on pro­ paganda on a national basis. The Council has, inter alia, appointed nurses to its staff to teach the principles of mothercraft throughout the country. These nurses are lent to local centres, to demonstrate methods or to start local mothercraft and nursing services. In Cape Town, at the Mothercraft Training Centre, es­ tablished under the auspices of the Society for the Protection of Child Life, trained nurses and certified mid wives receive post-graduate courses in mothercraft. The Council also issues The Child-welfare Magazine, a monthly publication which deals with various matters relating to child-welfare interests, and publishes leaflets on local and national child-welfare work. There are ninety-five child-welfare societies affiliated to the Council. Except in the case of a few of the larger of these, the workers are entirely voluntary. Their work covers many phases of child health. Infant and maternity clinics and classes for mothers are carried on in the larger towns chiefly by municipalities, but in many cases they are organised by local child-welfare societies and afterwards taken over by the municipal­ ities. As far as child protection is concerned, all local societies undertake to assist the magistrates in the application of legislation affecting children, including the supervision of protected infants, the visiting of foster children, and the local administration of Govern­ ment maintenance grants under the Children’s Act. The provision and administration of crèches, day nurseries and places of safety form important functions of local societies in some of the larger centres. Preventive work is also undertaken by some of the societies through the establishment of facilities for organised recreation in play centres, children’s libraries, fresh-air camps and clubs. The National Council Head Office receives an annual grant of £300 from the Department and £1,500 for dis­ tribution among child-welfare societies.

2. The Children''s Act, 1937. (a) Commissioners of Child Welfare and Children’s Courts. — The Children’s Act provides for the establish­ ment of Children’s Courts and the appointment of Commissioners of Child Welfare as presiding officers for dealing with cases of children " in need of care ” (a child “ in need of care ” is a child under the age of 19 years who is destitute, neglected or socially maladjus­ ted.) Every magistrate’s court is a Children’s Court and every magistrate a Commissioner of Child Welfare, but in certain centres one of the magisterial staff is specially selected to act as Commissioner. In a few centres, such as Cape Town and Johannesburg, ad hoc Children’s Courts with jurisdiction over several magiste­ rial districts have been established, and here proceedings are entirely dissociated from the adult courts. However, in smaller centres where no such specialised children’s courts exist, special provisions for the dissociation of the Children’s from the Criminal Court apply and the procedure in the case of the former is modified to meet the needs of the child. So, for instance, the Act provides that the Children’s Court shall be held in a room other than that in which any other court generally sits, that only certain persons shall be present at enquiries and that ordinarily the identity of the children concerned in the enquiries shall not be published. — 9

A Commissioner may appoint assessors to sit with him for the purpose of advising him at an enquiry. This provision aims at obtaining closer co-operation between the Children’s Court and private-welfare organ­ isations, at giving social workers a better insight into the problems of child welfare in the Court, as well as at gaining the advantage of the wide experience and intimate knowledge of child psychology and local social conditions possessed by many social workers. It is hoped that Commissioners will draw up lists of social workers in their areas wTho are suitable to act as assessors and call them as a matter of routine to attend the Children’s Court enquiries.

(b) Protected Infants. — An infant is described in the Children’s Act as a person under the age of 10 years. It is considered that a child under that age is unable to act independently in his own interests and that therefore he is in danger of ill-treatment and neglect wrhere the persons in whose charge he is do not have his interests at heart. This danger is particularly in evidence where an infant is living with persons other than his relatives and the provisions of the Act are there­ fore designed to bring the latter cases to the notice of the authorities. Generally speaking, the Act provides that persons maintaining an infant apart from his parents or near relatives for longer than a month shall notify the Commissioner of this fact as wrell as of matters relating to the infant’s removal or death. The Commis­ sioner is required to keep a register of all protected infants in his district, to ascertain the suitability of their custodians, and, where necessary, to take action for their removal to other care. In this connection, he is empowered to appoint persons as infant-protection visitors to assist him with the work of inspection and investigation. The number of protected infants on the registers of all Commissioners of Child Welfare in the Union at the end of 1937 was 1,525. There is reason to believe that only a small proportion of protected infants are actually registered and that notification is very often omitted by reason of ignorance on the part of the public of the provisions of the law'. 10 —

(c) Prevention of Neglect, Ill-treatment and Exploi­ tation of Children. — The Act specifies certain offences against children and prescribes penalties in respect of them. The most frequent charges brought before the Court under these provisions are for ill-treatment, neglect and abandonment. There were 1,708 prosecu- cutions for these offences in 1937. Under all other heads there have been few7 prosecutions, or none at all ; so, for instance, there have been none in respect of allowing children to beg, or causing seduction and prostitution of children. It is probable, however, that these offences were also present in some of the cases charged with cruelty and neglect, but that court action wras taken on the more comprehensive ground in preference, as evidence of the last-named is more easily established in Court. In many cases, also, children wrho are mal­ treated are removed from parents after an administra­ tive enquiry by the Children’s Court and no prosecution of the parents concerned is instituted. The prohibition against begging is, to judge from the lack of prosecutions under this head, largely inoperative. This is probably due in great measure to the attitude of the public, the average person being extremely reluctant to give information to the authorities of cases that come to his notice or to give evidence in any subsequent proceeding. It is greatly to be regretted that this prohibition is not more generally supported. Street trading by children also presents many dangers, especially to the child who is physically weak, retarded in school or poorly controlled at home. The Children’s Act therefore prohibits street-trading by children under 16 years of age, except in so far as it is permitted in accordance with by-laws promulgated by the local authority. In conformity with this provision, local authorities are now7 introducing ordinances re­ gulating street-trading. It is further suggested that consideration be given to the possibility of appointing a person or charitable body as inspector of street trading for the purpose of regular inspection and report. Another provision of the Act which is intended as a protective measure concerns neglected children. The Act provides that a medical officer may examine a — II —

-child who appears to be suffering from any disease or curable physical defect and may direct the person in whose custody the child is to provide the necessary medical treatment. If the custodian refuses to give his consent to any necessary treatment, the Minister may, after due enquiry, override the parent’s decision. This provision limits the right of a parent over his child in cases where his future is jeopardised by failure to give early treatment to curable conditions of ill- health. This limitation is in line with the principle that the proper development of future citizens is the ultimate concern of the State and that, therefore, the State should be empowered to interfere with the rights of parents where its interests are not being properly served. There were twenty-four prosecutions for failure to comply with orders for the payment of maintenance made under the Act. The Act prescribes that parents and guardians are liable for the maintenance of children “ in need of care ” who are removed from their homes and for that of young offenders convicted of an offence who are sent to statutory institutions or committed to private care. Maintenance orders totalling £628 per month in respect of 558 children were made in 1937. It is generally felt that parents wTho, because of their disregard for the interests of their children, are relieved of responsibility for their custody and control should not likewise be relieved of their responsibility for maintenance.

(d) Removal of Children to Other Care. — The Children’s Court is empowered to deal with children “ in need of care ” (children under the age of 19 who are destitute, neglected or socially maladjusted.) All cases may be classified under one of these heads, the first of which is a matter of poverty, the second of unsuitability of parents or guardians and the third of behaviour diffi­ culties on the part of the child himself. Of 1,107 children committed to institutions in 1937, destitution accounted for 663, parental unfitness for 282 and behaviour maladjustment on the part of the child 162. In dealing with these cases, the Court may, after due enquiry, — 12 — send a child to an institution, place the child in the custody of a suitable person or under the control of an approved agency, or direct that the child return to his parents or guardians. Of 7,585 children disposed of by the Courts in 1937, 5,990 were returned to their own homes, 165 were placed in foster-homes, 325 under the control of an approved agency and 1,105 in an institution. Accord­ ing to the provisions of the Act, children returned to their homes or placed in foster-homes may, in addition, be placed under the supervision of a probation officer or other suitable person and may also be apprenticed to an employer. The Department may further make a grant (popularly known as a mother’s pension) towards the maintenance of any child by a foster-parent in whose custody the child has been placed under the Act or by his parent or guardian. Of the 6,480 cases dealt with non-institutionally, 5,548 received depart­ mental grants under this head.

(e) Juvenile Delinquency. — A “ juvenile delinquent ” is a child wrhose delinquent conduct has received the official attention of the machinery of the Court. It is in this sense only that the juvenile delinquent as a class may be distinguished from the far wider group of children known as problem children. In the Union, all children under the age of 7 years are looked upon in law as being absolutely irresponsible for criminal acts, w'hile those between 10 and 14 are presumed to be irresponsible unless the contrary is proved. Further, the criminal law provides that children under 16 years of age shall not be sentenced to death and that males under 21 years may, in addition to or in lieu of other punishment, receive a whipping not exceeding fifteen strokes. Apart from these provisos, the criminal law applies, generally speaking, to juveniles in the same w'ay as to adults, except in so far as criminal procedure is modified and additional measures of disposal are made available under the Children’s Act. The Inter-departmental Committee which drafted the Act considered that there is an essential unity in the problems of juvenile destitution, neglect and delin­ — 13

quency. The conditions which constitute eligibility for committal as “ a child in need of care ” , if allowed to develop unchecked, may lead to delinquency, while, on the other hand, the causal-preventive approach to the treatment of delinquency makes this problem in a sense indistinguishable from the other. In accordance with this principle, the Children’s Act deals both with children " in need of care ” and with juvenile offenders. In respect of the latter, it provides that, when a juvenile offender under the age of 19 appears before the court, his parent or guardian must appear with him. The reason for this provision is the same as that applying in the case of the child “ in need of care Since the factors influencing social maladjustment are principally to be found in the homelife of the child, proper disposal of the case demands an understanding of that home- life, and the responsibility of the parents for the anti­ social behaviour of the child should be emphasised, if adequate treatment is to follow. It is further provided that the preparatory examination of a person under 19 years of age shall be in a room other than that in which criminal proceedings against persons over that age are ordinarily conducted ; that the general public, apart from people whose presence is necessary to the examination, shall be excluded from the Court and that, except in particular circumstances, identifying information regarding the juvenile appearing before the Court shall not be published. While criminal procedure in its relation to juveniles is in essence the same as that applying to adults, the Children’s Act provides important additional measures in relation to the disposal of young offenders. The Magis­ trates may, in lieu of the imposition of punishment, deal educationally with young offenders wrho have been convicted of an offence. If the young offender is under 19 years of age, he may be placed under the supervision of a probation officer, or other suitable person, or under the control of an approved agency or sent to a certified hostel or reformatory. Young offenders between 19 and 21 years of age may be placed under supervision or be sent to a hostel or reformatory. The Act further provides that the trial of a child charged with an offence — i 4

may be stayed and the magistrate may order that the child be brought before a children’s court if it appears that the accused is a child “ in need of care The extent of juvenile delinquency cannot be estimat­ ed from available statistics, but, according to information- concerning European juveniles of 16 years of age and under provided by the Department of Census and Statistics, 1,924 boys and 75 girls were convicted of offences in 1937. Nearly half of the cases were disposed of by the imposition of a fine, 16 %% were cautioned and reprimanded and 11 y2% received corporal punishment. None were sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine. Of 1,259 young offenders under the age of 21 disposed of under the Act, the majority were sent to reformatories and hostels and about 40% placed under the supervision of a probation officer or other suitable person.

(f) Periods of Retention. — A Commissioner of Child Welfare on committing a child “ in need of care ” or a Magistrate sending a young offender to an institution does not designate the particular institution to which the child is to be sent. This is left to the central authority to decide. Similarly, the determination of the duration of the period of supervision or control in an institution or private care does not lie with the Court, but is laid down in the Children’s Act itself. The periods of re­ tention may be summarised as follows :

Classification of child on Maximum periods of retention commitment Institutional com­ Non-institu- mittal : tional commit­ tal : ‘ ' Children in need (a) Up to 18th of care ” and young year of age. [a] Up to 18th offenders under 16 (b) Under super­ year of age. years of age. vision in community from 18 th to 21st year of age, or (c) Further deten­ tion in institution up to 21st year of age. — i 5 —

Classification of child on Maximum periods of retention com mitment Institutional committal : Non-ins titutional committal : " Children in need (а) Up to 21st year (a) Up to 21st of care ” and young of age. year of age. offenders 16 to 19 (б) Under super­ years of age. vision in community from 2 xst to 23rd year of age, or (c) Further deten­ tion in institution up to 23rd year of age.

Young offenders (a) Up to 23rd year (a) Up to 23rd 19 to 21 years of of age. year of age. age. (b) Under super­ vision in community from 23rd to 25th year of age, or (c) Further deten­ tion in institution up to 25th year of age.

The object of all committals is to rehabilitate the child. The period of retention must therefore be deter­ mined by the success of the treatment accorded and it is not possible to determine beforehand how long this process will take. The maximum duration of committal has for this reason been made sufficiently long to give the supervisory authority reasonable time to rehabilitate the child. The periods specified are, however, maximum periods and it is expected that children will be released as soon as the object of the committal has been attained. Where committal is to an institution, provision has been made for transfer from one type of institution to another, for after-care supervision in the community and for recall. The after­ care supervision is intended to bridge the gap between the control of an institutional regime and the compara­ tive freedom of life in the community. As regards transfer, the Act makes it comparatively easy to effect such transfer from an institution where dis­ cipline and control are strict to one where the regime allows greater freedom of action. If a pupil in a reform­ — 16 —

atory, for instance, shows rapid character improvement, transfer to an industrial school or certified institution may be made at an early date and he may therefore gain the benefit of greater freedom while still remaining under institutional control. Transfer in the opposite direction is also possible, since children may occasionally be committed to types of institution for which they are not fitted. (g) Adoption of Children. — Children’s Courts are responsible for the conducting of enquiries and the making of orders in respect of adoptions, while the registration of all such orders made is the function of the Department of Social Welfare. Generally speaking, the Act provides for the adoption of children under the age of 19 years by persons over 25 years of age. In cases w7here the adoption is of a child over 16 or is by one person only and that person is not of the same sex as the child, the adopting parent must be at least 25 years older than the child. Certain concessions are, how'ever, made where the child concerned is the illegitimate offspring of the adopting parent. Orders of adoption were registered in 1938 in the case of 792 children, as follows :

Age of child

Under 2 y e a rs...... 356 2 and 3 years ...... 141 4 and 5 years ...... 76 6 and 7 years ...... 67 8 and 9 years ...... 45 10 years and over ...... 107 792

(h) The Extent and Distribution of Child-welfare Work under the Children's Act. — Since the machinery, both State and private, is not sufficiently complete to ensure constant control over all cases, the figures in respect of the number of children at any one time subject to supervision can only be estimated. The estimate for December 31st, 1937, is 25,000. This — 17 — total includes children registered as protected infants, children placed under the supervision of probation officers or private persons or under the control of approved agencies, grants to mothers under the Child­ ren’s Act, children in, or on licence from, institutions to which they have been committed under the Act and young offenders dealt with under the provisions of the Act. During the three years under consideration, the number of children in institutions and of children 011 licence from institutions has remained practically stationary. This is due to the fact that the institutions accepting children “ in need of care ” have been filled to capacity for several years and practically no new ones have been established during that time. In direct contrast to this is the fact that the number of grants paid to natural parents for the support of children in their own homes has expanded rapidly*.

3. Probation. Twenty-one male and five female probation officers were employed at the end of September 1939. Their main duties may be described as follows : (a) Preventive Services. — To stimulate local authori­ ties, charitable institutions and individuals to interest themselves in local slum and other anti-social conditions and in the provision of social amenities such as commun­ ity centres, playgrounds and clubs, is an obvious duty of each probation officer. Closely linked with this is the fostering of charitable work to meet the local need for social service and to gain adequate voluntary assistance on a co-ordinated basis. These services are only- part of a wider issue, which is the general education of the public w'ith regard to the problems of juvenile delinquency, neglect and destitution, for it is only as the public understands these problems and supports the work being done that progress is made. (b) Treatment of Children “ in need of care ”. — The probation officers are responsible for investigations — i8 — into selected cases of children “ in need of care ” referred to them by the Children’s Courts. These social investigations form the basis of recommendations for rehabilitative treatment. Under this category also falls the supervision of children “ in need of care” referred to the probation officer for supervision. This supervision embraces constant contact with and control over the child, his parents, his school, his employer and his friends over a period of years. (c) The Delinquent Child. — Investigation and super­ vision in cases of delinquency form another important function of the probation officer. The principles apply­ ing in these cases are similar to those applying to the child “ in need of care ” and no real line of demarcation can be drawn between the two groups. (d) Pupils from Institutions. — Both children “ in need of care ” and young delinquents committed to institutions require the attention of probation officers from time to time. In connection with vacation leave, discharge and licence, probation officers are called upon to investigate home circumstances and to make recom­ mendations to the Boards of the institutions concerned. The most important aspect of this part of the work is, however, after-care. During the period a licensee is under the control of an institution after being placed out, the probation officer is responsible for his super­ vision and care. This work is looked upon as of vital significance as the child may easily return to his earlier habits and associates on his release from the circum­ scribed control of the institution. To prevent such recidivism, the probation officer must keep constantly in touch with the child and give him the guidance he requires. (e) District Work. — There are many district cases of committals under the Act to which probation officers cannot give personal attention. These include cases of maintenance grants for children. The probation officer is held responsible for all cases in his area, but he is not expected to do more than assure himself that local private welfare bodies or persons are carrying — i 9 —

out the work satisfactorily. He is expected to investigate some 10% of such cases annually, in this way keeping a check on the standards of work performed and the well-being of the cases involved. Inspections in the district cover cases of children “ in need of care ” and juvenile delinquents committed to the care of a custodian or the supervision of a society, maintenance grants, licensees to farmers, and after-care cases from institutions.

(f) General Welfare Work. — The Department looks upon its probation officers as forming the extension service of the Department. They are regularly called upon to inspect, report upon and to make local arrange­ ments in connection with various departmental under­ takings. It is a matter for consideration w'hether the title " probation officer ” should not be changed to “ social welfare officer ” , to denote the wider field in which these officials operate. During the period February 1938 to January 1939, 10,831 supervision and investigation cases were dealt with by probation officers. Over half their time is devoted to the interests of juvenile delinquents, one- third to children “ in need of care ” and less than 5% to adult cases. Other duties, such as inspections, court attendances, district work and special investigations account for over 12% of the time of the personnel. Comparatively few children “ in need of care ” are placed on probation, the majority apparently being left to the supervision of child-welfare and similar private bodies. This is in accordance with the policy of the Department. On the other hand, juvenile delinquents are generally dealt with by the officers themselves and not delegated to private organisations. The investigation of cases with a view to advising the courts, societies and institutions regarding treatment- measures takes a far more prominent place in the work of the staff than does actual supervision of probationers. The after-care of institutional licensees also constitutes a heavy burden on the probation staff. Well over half the cases of supervision and investigation dealt with by the probation officers are Europeans, while nearly — 20 — a quarter of the work involves Natives. Coloured persons and Asiatics constitute a relatively small proportion of the work for the Union as a whole. At particular centres, however, such as Durban, Kimberley and Pietermaritzburg, the Native problem looms very large, while at Cape Town over half the time of officials is devoted to Coloured and Asiatic cases. One of the questions which must receive continued attention is that of adequate personnel. The average monthly case-load is generally about 150 per unit ; this is in addition to the heavy load of investigations averaging about 40 per month. Effective investigation and supervision cannot be offered, with the result that the probation work performed is of an inferior brand. Much has been done in adding to the actual numbers of probation officers, as well as in increasingly professionalising the service by recruiting to their ranks academically qualified social workers. The addition of welfare officers to the district staffs should help to relieve the pressure, but further increases are necessary. The number of women probation officers is not in proportion to the extent of the probation work among female probation cases. It is the Depart­ ment’s policy more nearly to approximate the number of women workers to the number of female cases, at least in the larger centres.

4. Maintenance Grants for Children. The Children’s Act empowers the Minister to make grants-in-aid towards " the maintenance of any child by any person in whose custody the child has been placed under this Act or by its parent or guardian ”, The main considerations which led the State to embark upon this scheme were twofold. It was the intention to make adequate provision for destitute children in their own homes and to ensure their proper education and gradual rehabilitation by continual guidance and supervision. The other consideration was that the main method of dealing with children who were destitute or “ in need of care ” was removal to institutions. Not only was their support in these institutions largely the financial responsibility of the Department, but institute accommodation was expensive and limited. It was found that children had in some cases been unneces­ sarily removed from their homes where the only reason for such removal had been the poverty of the parents. While the State accepted partial responsibility for the maintenance of destitute children at home, it was not intended that it should bear sole responsibility for the fulfilment of the wider aims it visualised, but that the scheme should constitute a joint enterprise as between the State and private agencies. Child-welfare and kindred organisations play an important part in the scheme. Their functions include the notification of the Court or the Probation Office regarding cases of destitute children “ in need of care ”, making investigations, preparing reports and recommen­ dations, obtaining particulars of the home conditions and environment of families and carrying out general supervision of cases committed to their care, as well as assuming responsibility for disbursement of grants paid through them to cases under their supervision. In the year 1938, grants totalling £210,982 were paid towards the maintenance of 10,548 European and i 4,212 non-European children placed in the custody of their parents, guardians or other suitable persons. From April 1st to August 31st, 1939, a total of £162,567 on behalf of 12,099 European and 4,819 non-European children was similarly paid. With a view to eliminating anomalies and with the object of clarifying the main principles which governed the scheme, the Department, on April 3rd, 1939, introduced certain rules regulating eligibility for grants, maximum grants per family and per child, foster-children, etc. The general procedure followed is that the applicant furnishes a statement to the local Ma­ gistrate. This statement is accompanied by a report from a society, organisation or individual interested in the particular case and by a recommendation from the Magistrate. If the Department is satisfied that a grant is warranted, the necessary approval is conveyed to the Magistrate and the relative grant is paid through his office. — 22 —

In the larger centres, grants are paid direct to the societies and disbursed by them to individual grantees. Grants are ordinarily made for periods of twelve months and may be renewed from year to year provided the family circumstances wrarrant this. The Department’s probation and welfare officers work in co-operation with the Magistrates and societies and carry out periodic inspections of families to ascertain whether the domestic circumstances are satisfactory and the children concerned are receiving the full benefit of the grant. On March 31st, 1939, 5,281 families and 14,760 children were receiving grants. Generally speaking, the scheme has attained its object in that it has served to maintain family life intact in many cases where, but for this provision, the family tie would have been broken. The scheme does not include all groups of needy cases, but is designed to meet the need where poverty is more or less of a permanent nature and, for this reason, cases of temporary distress have been excluded. The age limit has been raised from 16 years to the end of the calendar year In which the 16th birthday7 falls, the object being to enable school-going children to complete the standard in which they are when they attain the maximum age.

5. Places of Safety and Detention. Before children are disposed of by the Courts, whether children “ in need of care ” or young offenders, it is customary to enquire into their personal histories and their home circumstances, either by child or other welfare agencies or by probation officers, and to submit a report to the Commissioner of Child Welfare where children of the former group are concerned, and, in regard to young offenders, to the Magistrate. A report on the circumstances of the child is generally regarded as necessary to enable the judicial officer to decide on the most appropriate measures of care, training and re-education, since, even where delinquency is concerned, a young offender is sent to a reformatory or to a certified hostel or disposed of in one of the other ways prescribed in the Act not as a penal measure, but “ in lieu of any punishment which may be imposed ” : in other words, with a view to his training or re-educa­ tion. Some time necessarily elapses before these pre­ liminaries can be completed. If the child can remain with his parents or relatives or friends in the meantime, the Act permits him to do so ; but in many instances it is found necessary to remove the child from his surroundings pending the final decision of the Court as to his disposal. In this way, children “ in need of care ” are removed to institutions known as Places of Safety and young offenders to Places of Detention. These are now the responsibility of the Department of Social Welfare and preliminary steps have been taken to provide the necessary facilities along social welfare lines. With the exception of three centres (Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pietermaritzburg), where for some considerable time there has been insti­ tutional provision for places of detention, conducted by the Police, young delinquents of all races, both male and female, were detained in police lock-ups or in gaols and, although an endeavour was generally made to keep them separate from adult criminals, in practice this was often difficult. The Department has accepted a recommendation of a departmental committee which studied the question to the effect that private agencies should be invited to establish and maintain places of safety and detention, with State subsidy. There are ten centres where if will be necessary to establish such institutions and, in the majority of cases, the local child-welfare society has expressed its willingness to undertake the work. One of the reasons for which the Department was encouraged to entrust the task to private agencies instead of establishing State institutions was the success which has attended the efforts of the Child Life Protection Society in Cape Town In conducting a combined place of safety and detention for children of all races and both sexes for the last eighteen years. With a view to economy, and also because the number of children involved at several centres would not justify separate institutions, it has been decided to establish combined places of safety and detention as one institu­ tion, catering for both children “ in need of care ” and young offenders, as well as for boys and girls. The period of detention in a place of safety or detention varies from a few days to a few weeks, and in exceptional cases, to a few months, the average being about fourteen days. The other way in which if is proposed to provide for children who must be removed from their homes pending the decision of the Courts is by means of special arrangements made with private families, where the number of children involved does not justify the establishment of a special institution. The local society rents one or two rooms from a suitable private family which is paid, in addition, a combined per caput daily supervision and maintenance grant. The Society, in turn, claims on the Department for the expenses so incurred. Arrangements have already been made at two centres to make provision for so-called safety and detention cases by means of what really constitutes foster-placement. It is recommended that facilities for places of safety and detention be made available at the following centres : Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London, Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Kimberley and on the East Rand. It is not considered that the programme will be completed under two years ; it may even take longer. The chief cause of delay will be the provision of money for building purposes. If the scheme as envisaged can be brought into operation, it is hoped that, while safe-keeping will still remain an important aspect, an endeavour will be made to utilise the period of detention to prevent deterioration in the character and conduct of the inmates on the one hand and to provide conditions for improvement on the other.

6. Certified and Uncertified Children's Institutions. Under the Children’s Act, children “ in need of care ” may be committed either to State institutions, privately administered institutions certified by the State or any other suitable institutions. The Department, upon application, certifies institutions for the reception of children “ in need of care ”, if they are found upon inspection to meet the minimum standards it has laid down. As there is no compulsion to seek certification and as children may be committed to institutions which have not been certified, some 40% of those receiving children have remained uncertified, despite the fact that their standards of care are generally of a high quality. Certification is accompanied by certain advan­ tages, such as legal control over the children committed to the institution’s care and complete departmental inspection, which has as its object constructive advice and guidance based upon co-operation and an inter­ change of ideas not possible where each institution acts independently. There are fifty-eight institutions certified for the reception of European children and, in addition, thirty-five uncertified institutions to which European children are also committed. For non-Europeans there are seventeen certified and ten uncertified institutions. Altogether, the institutions for Europeans accommodate approximately 7,500 and those for non-Europeans 1,400 children. Nearly half are situated in the Cape. The number available to non-Europeans is compara­ tively small though the need is great. Indeed, provision is so limited that the non-European child who is neglect­ ed in his home can only in a small percentage of cases be dealt with institutionally. Most of the institutions are administered under the auspices of one or other of the great religious bodies in the Union, but approximately a quarter of them are undenominational in character. While the reli­ gious institutions tend to receive children of their own special denomination, they are all prepared to admit pupils irrespective of this consideration. Approximately half accept both boys and girls, while 25% are for boys only and 25% exclusively for girls. More than half cater for all ages within the provisions of the Act, including infants, young children and adolescents. The larger institutions of this kind have special infant sections, but the smaller ones do not always make such provision. Since the care of the infant presents — 26 — special problems not easily dealt with in a generalised programme suited to other age-groups, many institutions exclude the infant while caring for all others. 25% of the institutions are of this kind and 3% are for infants exclusively. The remaining 17% restrict themselves to other more or less homogeneous age-groups, such as the group from 12 to 16 years of age. Most of the institutions are comparatively small : 77% have less than 100 pupils and 85% less than 150. The total number of children in certified and uncer­ tified institutions at the end of 1937 was 8,923, of whom 5,088 were committed under the Act and 3,835 privately admitted. There is a steady decrease in the number of children privately admitted to institutions and a corresponding increase in cases committed under the Act. As long as this latter tendency does not result in a lessening of private effort, it is to be welcomed, not only because a departmental subsidy accompanies most cases of committals and therefore provides greater financial support for the institutions which are thereby enabled to maintain higher standards of care, but also because it ensures that the admissions are of children most in need of this form of care and affords more effective control over the pupils by the institutions concerned. As regards race, approximately 4,400 committed children were European, 488 Coloured, 53 Native and 17 Asiatic. Most of the non-European institutions are for Coloured and Asiatic children, there being only one which caters for Asiatics exclusively. Only 16% of those committed during the year were orphans, and it is true to say that comparatively few children in institutions are actually without parents. 1,107 children were committed during 1937. Of these, well over half were committed primarily because of the financial inability of their parents to support them. Whether removal to an institution is necessarily the best solution of the problem in such cases is a matter for consider­ ation ; the foster-home system, for which provision exists under the Children’s Act, also warrants consider­ ation as a means of providing children from poor home environments with good homes within the community. — 27 —

Commissioners of Child Welfare are mainly respon­ sible for the selection of children for institutionalisation, while the Department of Social Welfare designates the specific institution to which each child is to be committed. This is a comparatively easy task in the case of the purely destitute child, but extremely difficult and sometimes impossible in the case of children pre­ senting marked social and psychological problems. Most institutions are equipped to deal with more or less normal pupils only ; only one institution, the Abraham Kriel-kinderhuis, Langlaagte, makes special provision for backward and subnormal elder boys. For the rest of the problem-cases, no proper institutional provision is available. In the earlier days, children’s institutions were fre­ quently equipped with schools of their own. The principle that institution children should share fully in the ordinary school life of the community has, however, long been accepted and, in accordance with this principle, institutions have one by one discarded their school departments. There are, nevertheless, out of 119, still twenty-five certified and eighteen uncertified institutions maintaining their own schools. Thirty-six children’s institutions have provision of some kind or another for the vocational training of older children. Over 30% of the children in institutions who are still of school- going age are one or more years retarded ; the percentage among the general school population is approximately 12. The relatively high figure in respect of children in institutions is due, to a considerable extent, to neglect on the part of the home prior to committal and in some cases to mental subnormality. Nearly 1,000 committed pupils are released from certified and uncertified institutions each year. The highest percentage of these are transferred to industrial schools, mostly for trade training. Transfers to reform­ atories and certified hostels take place in markedly difficult cases, but very few such transfers occur. Of other releases, most are unconditional, the child being returned to his parents or sent to relatives and the institution relinquishing further responsibility. Approxi­ mately an equal number are placed out 011 licence. In — 28 — their case, the institution determines the conditions under which the children live and work, and retains the right of supervision, and recall. This responsibility rests with the institution until the child attains his 21st birthday and in certain cases still longer. Assuming that the period of licence is on an average three years, it appears that at any one time some 600 pupils are out on licence. The after-care of these pupils, as well as of the majority of the 200 unconditionally released each year, is extremely important, since the transition of a pupil from the regime of the institution to the freedom of life in the community presents many problems of social adjustment. The Department is now subsidising institutions in respect of the salaries of after-care officials and it is hoped that this wTill lead to closer contact with ex-pupils and their families. The question of the age on release is an important one. The majority of the children are released between the ages of 14 and 16. In certain circumstances, it is necessary that they be retained to the age of 19 or even 21, but great care must be exercised that long retention does not occur unnecessarily. Nearly 50% of the revenue of certified institutions is received from the State, while in the case of uncer­ tified institutions only about 6% is received from this source. Contributions from private sources are consider­ able. The principle upon which subsidy is paid to private institutions is that the rehabilitation of the child “ in need of care ” is the joint responsibility of the State and private initiative and this principle is being well maintained in practice.

7. Certified Hostels for Young Offenders.

Facilities for the institutional treatment of juvenile delinquents consist of reformatories, administered by the Union Education Department, and certified hostels. The latter are under the management of private organisations, but are subsidised by the Department of Social Welfare. They provide opportunities for the essentially individual treatment of young offenders in — 29 — circumstances approximating home life. There exist nineteen certified hostels, of which ten are doubly c e rtifie d for t h e reception of young offenders as well as children “ in need of care ”. Twelve are for boys and seven for girls and nearly half cater for non-Europeans. Provision is largely restricted to the Rand. The hostels are all comparatively small and, on December 3 1 s t, 1937, accommodated a total of 31 S young offenders : 98 Europeans (72 boys and 26 girls) and 220 non- Europeans (148 boys and 72 girls). In addition, doubly certified hostels also accommodated a number of children “ in need of care The great majority of offences for which the juveniles are committed are thefts of one form or another. Ages on admission differ according to sex and race. In the case of European boys, ages range from 11 to 21 years, the peak being at 18. European girls are not dealt with under 16 years of age. Non-Europe an boys are admitted from 10 to 19, the peak being at 16. The position is the same in the case of non-European girls, with, however, two peaks, one at 15 and another at 18 years of age. These differences are mainly due to the general policy of not dealing with European girl offenders as delinquents if at all possible, but disposing of their cases as children “in need of care”. This policy applies also, but to a lesser extent, in the case of European boys. The facilities available for non-European children being very limited, very young non-Europeans must perforce be treated as delinquents, so that hostels for this group must provide for younger children. Children of school-going age attend school during the day, while the older inmates are placed in employment specially selected for them. The latter contribute towards their maintenance at the hostel. The Lads’ Hostel Committee in Johannesburg has an apprentice­ ship committee wrhich deals with the ^ question of placement. The Committee discusses vocational matters with each boy individually and arranges for weekly talks on the matter. The progress of lads attending^ the technical college in Johannesburg is also supervised. At two hostels special coaching is given, while at another close consultation is maintained by the principal and — 30 — staff with the school teachers. A wide programme is also provided for leisure time. 158 young offenders were released from certified hostels during the year ending December 31st, 1937. There are few unconditional releases ; in most cases, after-care supervision follows discharge.

8. The Crèche. A scheme for the subsidisation of approved crèches was introduced by the Department of Social Welfare in July 1938 1. On March 31st, 1939, there were eight crèches subsidised by the Department, of which five were situated in the Transvaal, two in the Cape and one in the Orange Free State. The number of children on the roll at that date was322, but the average daily attendance only 181, which is probably due to the fact that crèches are comparatively new institutions. Closely allied to the crèche is the nursery school, which caters for infants from 3 years (sometimes from 2 y2 years) to school-going age. The responsibility for nursery schools has not yet been determined. In the Transvaal, the Provincial Administration makes a per caput grant to certain bodies conducting such schools ; the Health Department of the City Council of Johannesburg has established and conducts, at the Council’s expense, a series of nursery schools in the poorer districts of Johannesburg ; the Pretoria Municipality gives a grant which has enabled the nursery school conducted for poor children in that city to continue its work.

9. The Youth Club Movement. No less than other countries, South Africa has given attention to the provision of recreational, cultural and educational programmes to meet the leisure-time

1 Certain information relating to the scheme was published in the Annual Report on Child Welfare drawn up for the third session of the Advisory Committee on Social Questions (document C.91.M.50.1939.VI, page 6). — 3i — needs of young people both in the cities and rural areas. The Gordon’s Institute in Cape Town was one of the earliest clubs established, while the Young Men’s and Women’s Christian Associations, particularly in Cape Town, have sponsored activities which embody many of the features of Youth Clubs. Similarly, the Boy Scout Association and related organisations meet the same needs, more especially of the younger age-groups. On the platteland, important progress has been made and in this connection the valuable work of some of the Afrikaans women’s organisations merits attention for its sponsoring of clubs for women and girls. Affiliated to the Southern African Association of Boys’ Clubs there are now sixty-eight clubs situated in the Transvaal, Eastern Province, West Griqualand, Western Province and Natal, of which nine are for Coloured youths and eleven for Bantu. The parallel Association for Girls counts twenty-eight clubs under its membership. The Department of Agriculture also sponsors rural clubs for boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 20 with the object of teaching better methods of farming and house­ keeping as well as principles of organisation and fellow­ ship. With relatively few exceptions, existing clubs concentrate almost exclusively on the physical education and development of their members. In this they have, to some extent, been influenced and encouraged by the Government’s scheme for promoting the physical fitness of the population. The aim should, however, be much wider—to develop also the mental and spiritual sides of their natures and to cater for their cultural and social needs. The next stage of development in South Africa will no doubt strive after these wider and more liberal objectives. The Southern African Boys’ Clubs Association has appreciated the need for providing trained club leaders and has instituted a training-course for this purpose, issuing certificates to candidates who have satisfactorily completed the course. The Girls’ Association has likewise taken steps to train leaders. Twenty-four girls, mainly teachers and working-girls in offices and libraries, enrolled for the course ; of these, eight are at present — 32 — leading clubs. Training-courses for Bantu have been started, and in January 1939, a six-week course, for four periods a year, was begun for Coloured leaders. The training includes, in addition to the theory of club work, practical experience in the running of a club. The universities and other institutions which provide training-courses for professional social workers are also giving attention to club work as one of the fields in which their graduates may be placed, while the two training-centres of the “ Vroue-Sendingbond ” at Wellington and in Cape Town both make training in club work one of the main features of the field experiences they offer their students. A departmental Committee is making an enquiry to enable the Department to define its attitude towards clubs and to determine in what way it can best assist the movement. In the meantime, the sum of £11,500 has been made available for boys’ clubs for the year 1939/40.

III. T h e P h y s ic a l l y a n d M e n t a l l y H a n d ic a pp e d

1. The Development of Blind Welfare. There are two schools in the Union, conducted byr the Union Education Department, one for Europeans at Worcester (roll 180), the other for non-Europeans at Faure in Cape Province (roll 105), where blind children under 19 years of age receive general school education and vocational training. At both, academic courses are provided up to standard VII, whilst vocational training is provided in trades and crafts, such as flat and round machine-knitting, spinning and weaving, and fancy basket-work for girls, and basket-, mat-, mattress- and net-making for boys. At the Worcester school, the boys also receive training in piano-tuning and repairing, whilst recently a beginning has been made with training girls as shorthand-typists. These two schools serve as the recruiting field for blind persons who are later admitted to workshops for the blind, conducted under the ægis of the Department of Social Welfare. — 33 —

Attendance at blind schools has been made compulsory only since 1939 and only in respect of European children. It may be expected, therefore, that, in the near future, the majority of European candidates for workshops for the blind will have received their training whilst at school. There are no compulsory provisions for school attendance for non-Europeans, and experience has shown that on a voluntary basis they are tardy to avail themselves of the education facilities provided for them. It will therefore be necessary to provide adequate training facilities for them under the Department of Social Welfare. Administratively and from the point of view of rendering financial assistance, the Department considers training-centres as workshops for untrained blind persons. These trainees are paid wages, like trained workers in workshops, but on a lower basis. Seven work­ shops and training-centres, employing 113 workers, were receiving subsidies on March 31st, 1939. The minimum ages of admission to and length of retention of blind persons in special schools for the blind under the Depart­ ment of Union Education and to training-centres conducted under the ægis of the Department of Social Welfare, respectively, are as follows : Schools for the Blind under the Department of Education. — (a) Both European and non-European children are admitted who on the first day of the school term have not attained their 19th birthday. (b) These children may be retained until they have completed their course of school education and vocational training. The latter, varying with individual pupils and with different trades, may last from three to five years. (c) Persons are admitted who have attained their 19th birthday, but who have not yet attained their 21st birthday, who wish to follow a course of training provided at a blind school, but not available at a training-centre under the Department of Social Welfare. Training-centres under the Department of Social Welfare. — (a) Persons of all races are admitted who have attained their 19th birthday (with the exception — 34 —

of those mentioned under i(c) above), to complete a course of training in trades or crafts, which may vary from one and a-half to five years, according to the nature of the course and the assimilative capacity of the trainee. (b) As a temporary and transition measure, until adequate provision has been made at the existing school for the non-European blind, Native blind persons may be admitted who have completed their 16th but not their 19th birthday, each applicant for admission to be dealt with on his merits. The age of a Native admitted to a training-centre in terms of this paragraph is determined by a Commissioner of Child Welfare as at the first of January of the year of admission. The Department pays grants-in-aid towards the capital expenditure (50% of the approved cost of purchasing, renovating or repairing of buildings, cost of office and other equipment) ; maintenance and salaries (in the case of workshops and training-centres, two-thirds of the salaries of instructors and 50% of other approved estimated expenditure). It conducts no activities directly for the blind, but subsidises such services through voluntary agencies which have been registered. These societies are affiliated to the National Council for the Blind, which acts as a co-ordinating body, providing guidance and assistance in various ways. The National Council, which receives an annual grant of £400 from the Department, enjoys statut o r recognition under the Blind Persons Act 1936, and is extensively consulted by' the Department on various matters appertaining to blind welfare. It has made substantial grants to the two schools for the blind. It has given more than £1,700 to the printing-press of the Worcester School to assist it in the printing of Braille school books and literature ; further grants totalling £1,450 have been made to the school for various purposes. During the six years of its existence, the After-care Division of the Institute at Worcester has benefited from Council funds to the extent of £900. The Athlone School for non-European blind has likewise been generously supported by the Council, grants totalling more than £3,000 having been made to it during the past nine years. — 35 —

2. The Welfare of the Deaf. There are five schools for the deaf in the Union, three for Europeans (at Worcester, Cape Town and Johannes­ burg), and two for non-Europeans, one at Wittebome (near ' Wynberg) and the other at Worcester. The medium of instruction at two of the former is English, whilst the medium at the Worcester non-European school is Afrikaans, and that at the school at Wittebome is English. The total enrolment at the five schools is 480. The schools are all State-aided and enjoy a liberal subsidy from the Union Education Department. The formula for subsidy consists of the whole (or two- thirds) of the salaries of the authorised teaching staff, including instructors and instructresses for vocational training, -per caput maintenance grants for children whose parents are not in a position to pay, half the interest on loans for capital expenditure, and half of other authorised expenditure directly concerned with the teaching activities of the schools, as opposed, for example, to expenditure on hostels. Two-thirds of salaries are paid where the Department is not represented on the managing committee of the schools. Manual signs have been discarded as a method oi teaching and at all schools the lip-reading and articulation method is used. The introduction of the oral method is of great significance because it facilitates the occupational absorption of the deaf. The schools provide a nine-year course in general education subjects, followed by a three-year vocational course. With the exception of domestic science for girls, which is practised at all schools, and which has been highly developed at three centres, vocational training is at present very limited, and is extensively provided only at the European school at Worcester, where, in addition to agriculture, the boys are taught several skilled trades. _ Most of the boys, when they leave school, seek a living in the country towns, where competition is less keen. T e nucleus for trade training for boys exists at two other schools The amendment to the Vocational Education and Special Schools Act, passed in 1937, makes it compulsory — 36 — for all deviate children, including the deaf and the hard-of-hearing, to attend special schools or classes. A survey conducted by the National Council for the Deaf—a representative body to which are affiliated the voluntary agencies working for the deaf and which receives a yearly subsidy of £200 from the Department— to establish the degree of hearing deficiency amongst school-children proved the need of special classes for the hard-of-hearing. At present only two teachers, both in the Cape Peninsula, provide teaching for such pupils, but there are indications that at least one of the other provinces will take steps to ensure special education facilities for partially deaf pupils. Due regard has been given to the problem of prevention. The selection of children for hard-of-hearing classes often brings to light hearing defects which may respond to treatment. There has been close co-operation between the Education authorities and the National Council in this respect.

IV . C u l t u r a l a n d V o c a t io n a l T r a in in g

a n d E m p l o y m e n t

1. Home Industries in the Orange Free State. A certain number of “ Home Industries ” institutions, including spinning and weaving schools, a dressmaking school, a lace-making school and a distribution depot, administered by the Free State Spinning and Weaving Board, existed in 1938. The findings of a Committee of Enquiry appointed to examine their working made various recommendations, as the results of which the Department decided to continue its grant to the institutions, in the hope that the Board would reconsider the means by which home industry can be encouraged and extended. Several other organisations are endeavouring to foster home industries in rural areas, among them the Oranje-Vroue-Vereiniging and the Women’s Agricultural Union. The Lady Clarendon Spinning and Weaving School in Pretoria, the Technical Colleges and Housecraft Schools also offer courses in home-industry and home-making. 2. The George-Hofmeyr-Huis, Bloemfontein. This institution trains girls from poor rural families for domestic service. In April 1938 there were only 30 girls in training, 2 from Bloemfontein, 13 from rural areas and 15 from small towns in the orange Free State ; 43% were from farms. They ranged in age from 14 to in years, the majority being 16. The course of training occupies eighteen months, the last three to four and a-half of which are spent by the pupils at the Oranje- Vr one-Ve re ini ging Koffiehuis as waitresses. In addition to domestic work, classes are given in Afrikaans, English and arithmetic, physical culture and general subjects. The school is subsidised by the Department to an extent of £28 yearly per pupil.

3. The South-African Women’s Federation Domestic School, Pretoria. The purpose of this school is to provide girls with a domestic science training to qualify them for posts of matron at school hostels and as domestic manageresses at hospitals. During 1938 there were 25 pupils in training, of whom the majority were the daughters of poor parents and approximately 72% came from rural areas. The course is a two-year one and the basis of the Department subsidy is £28 per pupil per year.

4. The Girls' Training-Centre, Pretoria. This building was completed in 1939. The object of the scheme which led to its erection was to provide a training-course for poor European girls between the ages of 16 and 22 years who are no longer at school and do not possess satisfactory educational qualifications. It is the intention to give training in social conduct, deportment and discipline which will stand them in good stead as wives and mothers, as well as to fit them to make an independent existence. Training-courses include domestic science and gymnastics. _ When pupils show marked ability in any particular direction, steps will be taken to transfer them to schools or institutions where specialised training is available without charge. While the regular course covers a period of twelve - 38 -

months, pupils may be permitted to leave the institution after six months if they find employment which meets with the approval of the Department. Recruitment to the institution is the responsibility of the Department of Labour, which carries out this function through Magistrates, Divisional Inspectors of Labour and Juvenile Affairs Boards. A Selection Committee of three members has been appointed by the Department of Social Welfare to scrutinise all applications and to make recommendations regarding admissions. Preference is given to poor girls from rural areas and each province has a quota allotted to it. Board and lodging, clothing, medical treatment and railway fare to and from the institution are provided free of charge and an allowance of is. per day is paid during the period of training. After completion of the course, the Department of Labour takes steps to find the trainees suitable employment. The institution wTas ready for the reception of the girls on April ist, 1939. Despite the fact that there was a long waiting-list, it was considered advisable to admit the girls in small groups of 10 at a time to make possible individual study of each new arrival by the staff. In October the number in residence wTas 40, but it was anticipated that the full quota of 100 would be in residence by the end of the year.

5. Boys’ Occupational Centre, Johannesburg. This Centre was established by the South-African National Council for Mental Hygiene for the benefit of sub-normal boys leaving school wrho are not certifiable. The boys (of whom there were 17 in 1939) are referred to the Centre by school principals or apply directly. The work provided consists of the manufacture of stools, boxes, step-ladders and general repair work. No wrages are paid, but the boys are supplied with certain free services and receive pocket money, half of which is banked for them. The Centre is subsidised by the Department on the following basis : (a) two-thirds of the salary of the instructor ; (6) 50% of the cost of tools and equipment, 50% of the cost of material. — 39 —

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ANNUAL REPORT OF DEVELOPMENTS IN CHILD WELFARE IN THE UNITED STATES DURING THE YEAR JULY 1ST, 1939, TO JUNE 30T H , 1940

The outstanding event in the field of child welfare in the United States during the year ended June 30th, 1940, was the White House Conference on Children in a Democracy, called in 1939 by the Secretary of Labor at the direction of the President. This Conference, fourth in the history of the United States, gave fresh impetus and long-time direction to child-welfare work in the nation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt served as Honorary Chairman, Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor, as Chairman, and Katharine F. Lenroot, Chief of the Children’s Bureau, as Executive Secretary. The general aims of the Conference were : (1) to determine and define the minimum needs for the suitable rearing of children to be adequate citizens of a demo­ cratic society ; (2) to measure the extent to which these services are now actually being rendered and to discover where they fall short in volume, quality, or distribution ; (3) to seek out the causes for such short­ comings as may be found ; and (4) to ascertain and recommend how those causes can be removed, and how suitable provision for child health, training, and development may be adapted to every type of condition and circumstance and be effective for every child in the United States. Membership in the Conference was planned to include a wide range of interest and experience. That all fields of work with children might be represented, the membership included physicians, public-health nurses, nutritionists, and other health workers ; economists, sociologists, statisticians, educators, teachers, editors, and writers ; recreation workers and housing experts ; representatives of industry, labour, and farm groups ; vocational and employment experts, labour adminis­ — 4° — trators, and workers with youth ; public-welfare administrators and social workers in children’s agencies and in the field of delinquency ; Indian and Negro welfare workers ; clergymen ; representatives of various types of organisations and of the public ; and Federal officials. Fhe total membership of the Conference numbered more than 600 persons, many of whom served as consultants to those responsible for the development of reports. The philosophy underlying the organisation of the Conference wras that wisdom does not reside in any one group : that out of many backgrounds and many specialised types of knowledge comes the wisdom that can solve some of the most pressing problems of a democratic society, or can at least lay the basis for their solution. Thus, the Conference was a citizens’ enterprise functioning in co-operation with the Govern­ ment, which issued the invitations, offered a place of meeting, kept the record, and provided the means through which people were able to get together for the discussions of questions relating to and affecting the welfare of all children. The purpose of the initial session of the Conference, held in Washington, April 26th, 1939, was not to solve any problems, but, through preliminary discussion, to get a picture of the kind of questions with which subsequent sessions should deal. Discussion centred around the following main subjects : (1) objectives of a democratic society in relation to children ; (2) eco­ nomic foundations of family life and child welfare ; (3) development of children and youth in present-day American life ; and (4) child and community services for health, education, and social protection. At the final session, held in Washington, January i8th-20th, 1940, the Conference discussed and amended the various reports that had been prepared by a special Conference committee. Work on these reports had been in progress for nearly two years. The General Report of the Conference, as amended, adopted, and published, discusses and makes recommen­ dations concerning such subjects as the place of the — 4i — child in a democratic society ; the application of the democratic principle in the family ; the importance of conserving family life ; relationships between the family and the community ; the fundamental place of religion ; the principles and objectives of education in a democracy ; the place of community recreational services in the lives of children ; general considerations and specific recommendations in the field of child labour ; the educational, vocational preparation, guidance, and placement needs of young people ; the presentation of objectives and the development of procedures for the conservation of the health of children ; the development of new social services for children under special disadvantages, and the extension of existing services ; problems relating to children in minority groups and in migrant families ; and changes needed in the administration and financing of services for children, particularly as related to participating levels of government. The Conference recognised that its conclusions and recommendations would not go into effect automatically. It therefore authorised the establishment of two follow- up committees ; (i) the National Citizens Committee, non-governmental in character and including persons associated with various organisations and associations that participated in the work of the Conference ; and (2) the Federal Inter-Agency Committee, including representatives of Federal agencies that participated in the Conference activities. The functions outlined for the National Citizens Committee include preparing and disseminating printed, visual, and radio material ; enlisting the co-operation of national organisations in studying and furthering the objectives of the Conference ; co-operating with governmental agencies in matters relating to the follow-up programme ; and assisting the States and territories in the development of programmes adapted to the needs and interests of each State. The functions outlined for the Federal Inter-Agency Committee include interchange of information and co-ordinated planning on the part of the Federal agencies in matters related to the Conference pro- — 42 grammes ; co-operation with the National Citizens Committee ; collaboration with such State inter­ agency committees as may be formed ; and encourage­ ment of co-operation between the Federal agencies and the State agencies with which they have close relations in carrying out the objectives of the Conference. Both Committees have been engaged in follow-up work since the final session of the Conference. In April 1941, the National Citizens Committee, in its seventh communication addressed to State follow'-up agencies, reported a continuing and expanding interest in the joint endeavours of State and national organisations to further an implementation of the recommendations of the Conference. At that time, forty-five national private organisations were stimulating action by their members, and follow-up groups had been organised or were projected in twenty-five States.

D evelopments a n d T r e n d s

Amendments to Social Security Act. During 1939, the original Social Security Act 1 was amended in several important respects. Relating particularly to the welfare of children were amendments liberalising the provisions for Federal aid to dependent children, for maternal and child health services, for services for crippled children, and for the Federal old-age insurance programme. Under the amendments, Puerto Rico became eligible on January 1st, 1940, for Federal grants for the three services administered by the Children’s Bureau- maternal and child health services, services for crippled children, and child-welfare services—on the same basis as a State. Social-security funds for general public- health work and for vocational rehabilitation also became available for Puerto Rico.

1 Refer to report submitted in 1935 for description of original Social Security Act. ( Note by the Secretariat. — See document C.316.M. 212.1937.IV, page 7.) — 43 —

Administratively, the most important change brought about by the 1939 amendments was to require that all State plans submitted by State agencies under any part of the Social Security Act administered by the Social Security Board or the Children’s Bureau should develop methods of administration relating to the establishment and maintenance of personnel standards on a merit basis.

Births and Maternal and Infant Deaths. The birth rate for 1939 (17.3 per 1,000 population) 1 was higher than that for any year from 1933 to 1937, but slightly lower than that for 1938 (17.6). The lowest maternal and infant mortality rates on record for the United States were established during the year 1939. According to statistics released by the Bureau of the Census, the maternal mortality rate for 1939 w'as 40 per 10,000 live births, the infant mortality rate 48 per 1,000 live births. The maternal mortality rate for 1939 was 9% lower that that for 1938 and 32% lower than that for 1934 (the year before the passage of the Social Security Act) ; the infant mortality rate for 1939 was 6% lower than that for 1938 and 20% lower than that for 1934. During the years in which reductions of considerable magnitude have been achieved in maternal and infant mortality rates, the decrease in the general death rate has been relatively small. The infant mortality rates for both urban and rural areas have decreased markedly in recent years, although the rates varied widely from State to State. The 1939 rates in urban areas (45 per 1,000) and in rural areas (51 per 1,000) are all-time low records. It is noteworthy, however, that, since 1929, the rate in rural areas has been somewhat higher than the rate in cities. Physicians attended 90% of the 2,265,588 live births registered in 1939. Relatively few births in cities (2%) were attended by non-medical persons, but the propor-

1 Based on population estimates that take into consideration provisional population figures from the 1940 census. — 44 — tion in rural areas was 17%. Slightly more than half (51%) of all the births in the United States occurred in hospitals ; but 81% of all the births in cities occurred in hospitals, in contrast to 22% of the births in rural areas. The States that had relatively few births in hospitals and many births not attended by physicians were States that had high infant and maternal mortality rates. Practically all the States that had large pro­ portions of births in hospitals and few births attended b)7 non-medical persons had mortality rates for their mothers and infants lower than those for the United States as a whole. The reductions in maternal and infant mortality rates attained in 1939 and in the five years of Federal and State co-operation under the Social Security Act are notable. During the period 1935-1939, 11,000 mothers and 75,000 babies were saved who would have died had mortality rates of 1934 prevailed throughout the period, and 800 mothers and 6,700 babies wrere saved in 1939 who would have died had mortality been as high in that year as it was in 1938. Much remains to be done, but the accomplishments of recent years are very encouraging.

Maternal and Child Health Services. The annual appropriation authorised for grants to States 1 under the maternal and child health provisions of the Social Security Act is for the purpose of enabling each State to extend and improve its services for promoting the health of mothers and children, especially in rural areas and in areas suffering from severe economic distress. This part of the act is administered by the Children’s Bureau. The 1939 amendments to the Social Security Act increased from $3,800,000 to $5,820,000 the amount that can be appropriated annually by Congress for grants to the States. For the fiscal year ended June

1 Including the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (as at January 1st, 1940). — 45 —

3oth, 1940, the amount actually appropriated was $4,800,000, and the full amount was appropriated for the succeeding year. During the year, State and local health agencies, with this Federal aid, were enabled to extend and improve their maternal and child health programmes, especially in rural areas. Progress reports from the State health departments for the year ended June 30th, 1940, show that many new activities have been undertaken by State and local health authorities and that many more children and expectant mothers are benefiting from the funds granted to States under Title V, Part 1, of the Social Security Act. Reports from State health departments to the Children’s Bureau show that on June 30th, 1940, there were 1,502 maternity clinic centres 1 in 630 counties in forty-one States, an increase of 273 over the number in existence in the previous year. 18% of the rural counties and 30% of the urban counties were reported to have held clinics at these centres under the super­ vision of State health departments. During the year, there were 2,753 child-health conference centres 1 in 790 counties in forty-six States, or 359 more than in the previous year. 22% of the rural counties and 39% of the urban counties held conferences at these centres during the year. State health departments reported that programmes for dental-health education were carried on by dentists or dental hygienists in 1,153 counties in forty-six States and that corrective dental services were provided in 463 counties in thirty-three States. Early correction of dental defects or diseases is desirable, but the problem is of such magnitude for the country as a whole that it cannot be met with the present resources of knowledge or professional personnel. By June 30th, 1940, approximately 2,000 of the 3,076 counties in the United States had public-health

1 This count was limited to maternity clinics and child- health conferences conducted at least once a month with a physician in attendance. — 4 6 — nurses supervised by the health departments that included maternity service in their nursing programmes. In far too many of these 2,000 counties, however, only one public-health nurse was attempting to serve thousands of persons for all types of public-health- nursing service. More than 1,100 counties had no public-health nurses under State health departments that included service to maternity patients in their homes. During the year, there were 109 counties in the United States where nursing service at home during labour and at time of delivery was made available by the health departments at all times, day or night. It is believed that the presence of a trained nurse with the physician during this critical time is one of the most valuable nursing services provided under the public-health programmes. Nursing-care of the infant during the first few hours of life will do more to reduce the number of infant deaths than nursing-assistance at any other time during infancy. However, it is an expensive type of nursing-service, requiring considerable time and special training in the technique of home- delivery nursing ; therefore, with funds now available, it can be developed in only a few areas each year. In the meantime, State health officers are experiencing increased demands for this type of service. During the year ended June 30th, 1940, almost 900 professional employees of health departments that render services in the maternal and child health programmes were given post-graduate obstetric, pediatric, and dental education in recognised training centres, mostly schools of public health or of public-health nursing. Of these, 115 were physicians, 47 were dentists, 9 were health educators, 5 were nutritionists, and 717 were public- health nurses. The number of fully qualified professional personnel serving in these programmes is still far below the demand. Continued special graduate training for staff members for several years to come is needed to maintain high standards of qualifications. Many State health departments plan post-graduate education programmes on a permanent basis, making this education easily available to all physicians in the — 47 —

State, and are adding courses on the treatment of syphilis and pneumonia and other branches of medicine. The most interesting development in post-graduate education planned by State health departments is the short clinical post-graduate course (of two to five weeks duration) being made available in co-operation with the larger medical schools. In 1940, at least sixteen State health departments arranged for courses in co-operation with medical schools. As at June 30th, 1940, twenty States had laws requiring blood tests for syphilis before marriage certificates could be issued. Eighteen States had laws requiring physicians to take a blood test for syphilis on all pregnant patients. During the year, there was continued and accelerated progress along established lines and in the development of new aspects. Expenditures for maternal and child health services at both the State and Federal levels of government were increased considerably. The employment of full-time obstetricians, pediatricians, and nutritionists by States increased, and expenditures for post-graduate education (medical, dental, and public- health nursing) were more than doubled.

Services for Crippled Children. The annual appropriation authorised for grants to States1 for services for crippled children is for the purpose of enabling each State to extend and improve (especially in rural areas and in areas suffering from severe economic distress) its services for locating crippled children and for providing medical, surgical, corrective, and other services and care, and facilities for diagnosis, hospitalisation, and after-care for children who are crippled or who are suffering from conditions that lead to crippling. The original Social Security Act authorised an appropriation of $2,850,000 annually for grants to the

1 Including the District of Columbia. Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (as at January 1st, 1940). 48 —

States for services for crippled children with the require­ ment that the grants be matched by the States. Congress, by amendment to the Social Security Act in 1939, authorised an additional annual appropriation of §1,000,000 for crippled children’s services that is available for grants to the States on the basis of need, no requirement being made that these funds be matched by the States. Of the Si,000,000 authorised, $500,000 was appropriated for the fiscal year ended June 30th, 1940, and was used in part for those States most in need of financial assistance to enable them to care for crippled children. A portion of the fund was set aside by the Children’s Bureau for allotments to States for the development of services to children with heart disease, including provision for the location of children with rheumatic heart disease, for arrangements for diagnosis, hospitalisation, and convalescent care, and for the employment of professional personnel with special training in this field. At the end of the fiscal year, plans had been approved for cardiac programmes in ten States. Registration of crippled children is more nearly complete than at any time in the past. As at June 30th, 1940, there were approximately 266,000 crip­ pled children on State registers. Progress in State registration of crippled children has been made from year to year since 1936, when on September 30th there were about 85,000 crippled children on State registers. Each year, State agencies are employing more systematic methods for locating crippled children. The inclusion on the standard birth certificate of a provision for recording birth injuries and congenital abnormalities will make it possible to locate promptly children with these conditions. In thirty-seven States, provisions have now been made for obtaining on the birth certificate information regarding congenital defects and birth injuries. During the year ended June 30th, 1939, 359 permanent diagnostic clinic centres were in operation, and 519 itinerant clinics for crippled children were reported to have been conducted as part of the State programmes. — 49 “

Crippled children were hospitalised in 561 hospitals by the fifty-one State 1 agencies during the year ended June 30th, 1939. Of these hospitals, 90% were approved by the American College of Surgeons. ' Continued increase in the use of convalescent foster homes is shown in State reports. States have been encouraged to develop programmes for convalescent foster care only where placement service is carried on by a competent child-welfare agency and where correlation of service is worked out through close co-operation between the child-welfare worker and the medical-social worker in the State crippled children’s agency. As more child-welfare workers have become available in local communities, the State crippled children’s agencies have depended increasingly upon them to improve conditions in the child’s own home during his convalescent period. Although many States at first conceived of after-care as medical follow-up alone, they have now broadened their conception to include nursing-care, physical therapy, and social care so that a child at home may continue to improve in his physical condition and may have an opportunity to develop a life as nearly normal as his handicap shall allow. State agencies have continued to raise standards pertaining to the selection of professional personnel using the recommendations of the Children’s Bureau Advisory Committee on Services for Crippled Children as a guide establishing their policies. An increasing number of State agencies select only medical specialists who are certified or who are eligible for certification by the national board of their particular specialty. " Plans were developed during the year in several States dealing with methods for evaluating the quality of care being provided for crippled children under the State programme. During the year, as in former years, emphasis was placed on provisions for further training of staff per­ sonnel. Additional opportunity was provided for

1 Including the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (as at January 1st, 1940). graduate training of staff nurses in orthopædic nursing, public-health nursing, physical therapy, and medical- social work. Twenty-four States indicated that planned in-service training programmes were conducted during the year ended June 30th, 1939, for members of the State and local staffs. In some States, planned programmes were conducted for informing employees of other State agencies regarding the State services for crippled children and the role to be played by the various State agencies in those services. Certain special projects have been continued and extended during the year 1940. Special services for children suffering from cerebral birth palsy are being developed further ; speech correction is being provided for children who have been operated on for harelip and cleft-palate deformities, and summer camps for crippled children are becoming available. These special services, however, are available at this time in only a few jurisdictions.

Child-welfare Services. The annual appropriation authorised for grants to States for child-welfare services is for the purpose of enabling the United States, through the Children’s Bureau, to co-operate with State public-welfare agencies in establishing, extending, and strengthening, especially in predominantly rural areas, child-welfare services for the protection and care of homeless, dependent, and neglected children and children in danger of becoming delinquent. Under the 1939 amendments to the Social Security Act, the amount authorised for annual grants to the States was increased from 81,500,000 to Si,510,000 to cover, in part, the grant for Puerto Rico. Money is allotted to the States on the basis of a flat grant of $10,000 to each State, plus an amount based on the ratio of the rural population in the State to the total rural population of the United States. On June 30th, 1940, all jurisdictions (the forty-eight States, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto — 5i —

Rico) were co-operating with the Children’s Bureau in the child-welfare programme, although four jurisdic­ tions had not functioned continuously throughout the year. The major part of the allotments to the States for child-welfare services was expended for the development of local services. Many of the State workers also did some case work on a regional or district basis and assisted in creating in local communities an awareness of children’s problems and of the need to provide adequate local and State resources to meet them. The emphasis is on community responsibility, not only to provide care for children in need, but also, whenever possible, to prevent that need from arising. On June 30th, 1940, 445 workers paid in whole or in part from funds for child-welfare services were employed in 512 counties with direct responsibility to county departments of public welfare or to other local officials or on assignment by State welfare depart­ ments. Thirty-nine other workers, under the direction of State departments working 011 a district or regional basis, were assisting a number of counties or local communities in their areas to offer case-work service to children, were stimulating interest in better methods of care, and were aiding in the improvement of social resources and the extension of sound community programmes of child care. Six hundred and fifty-two counties had service of this type, and six States found this a valuable method of utilising child-welfare workers. As the programmes within the States expand, they are generally becoming better integrated with the total public-welfare programmes, especially with the child- welfare programmes for which the States had legal responsibility before the passage of the Social Security Act. On May 31st, 1940, 41,386 children in 20,110 families were under care of workers paid in whole or in part from funds for child-welfare services in forty-three States, Hawaii, and Alaska. Children in homes of parents or relatives constituted 76% of all children receiving child-welfare services from workers paid in whole or in part from Federal funds in forty-five States and territories, 17% were in foster homes, 6% were in institutions for dependent or neglected children, and 1% were under care in other places. In contacts with States, emphasis has been placed on the importance of professional training for workers and of a high quality of supervision for persons already on the job. The plans for child-welfare services for the fiscal year 1940 as submitted by the States included provision for educational leave for approximately 160 workers at a total cost, from funds for child-welfare services, of $78,039. The period of leave varied from two quarters to the entire school year. I11 addition to provision for educational leave and competent super­ vision, several States have established local training units within the public-welfare departments. In five States, schools of social work and State agencies have entered into a co-operative arrangement that permits the local unit to accept for field work students who give promise of fitting into a rural child-welfare pro­ gramme. In 1936, twenty-seven States had administrative divisions within the departments of public welfare in which were placed definite responsibilities for direction and leadership of programmes affecting children. As at March 4th, 1940, forty States had either child-welfare bureaux or child-welfare divisions within their depart­ ments of public welfare. The plans for child-welfare services approved for the fiscal year 1940 reflect two trends of particular importance. One is the trend toward further localisation of responsibility for the care and protection of children. The fact that the Federal funds for child-welfare services are available, not only for extending and strengthening State services, but also for paying part of the cost of district and local services has stimulated the development of resources for the care and protection of children where they live. Some States that developed their first plans for child-welfare services on the basis of districts now use the county as the unit of local service. Experience has shown that there is a limit to the coverage that can be provided by a local worker and that, if the area is too large, the case — 53 —

worker cannot actually render case-work service of high quality. The other significant trend is the evidence of increased financial participation by some States and local commu­ nities in service for children that have been stimulated by co-operative child-welfare demonstration made possible by Federal funds. For example, one State is providing all the funds for supervision and consulta­ tion from the State to the local units, leaving the Federal funds to be used for [a) operation of a training unit to which workers may be sent for orientation and for more intensive supervision than is possible in the county units and (6) further expansion of local personnel.

Aid to Dependent Children. For the purpose of enabling each State to furnish financial assistance to needy dependent children, an appropriation is authorised for each fiscal year of such sums as may be sufficient for making payments to States that have State plans for aid to dependent children approved by the Social Security Board. This title (IV) of the Social Security Act is administered by the Social Security Board. Under the 1939 amendments, Federal participation in the programme for aid to dependent children was increased from a third to half of the amounts expended under plans approved by the Social Security Board, including both payments to recipients up to State maxima and costs of administration. The amendments also authorised, effective August 10th, 1939, Federal participation in payments for aid to dependent children under the age of 18 years, if found bj? the State agency to be attending school regularly, instead of under 16 years. The total sum certified for grants to States for aid to dependent children during the fiscal year was §46,100,000. By June 30th, 1940, forty States, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia were administering aid to dependent children under the provisions of the Social Security Act. In June 1940, 333,000 families were receiving aid in behalf of 802,000 dependent — 54 — children. This represents increases over the same month of the previous year of about 12% in both the number of families and the number of children receiving aid under this programme. The present provisions for the maximum assistance payments that the Federal Government may share with the State are $18 a month for the first child and $12 a month for each additional child aided in the same home. An analysis of families accepted for aid to dependent children in 1937/38 indicates that States have found it necessary to make the maximum payment permissible under the Federal act or the State law to a large proportion of the families accepted. This analysis suggests that the Federal maxima tend to limit payments to families, especially those with only one or two children, to amounts inadequate to meet their needs. States and localities have often found it necessary to supplement aid to dependent children from sources such as general relief. To implement more effectively the goals of both Federal and State legislation, the Social Security Board in its fifth annual report suggests that “ authorisation is needed for use of Federal funds to match State funds in payments up to as much as $40 a month for the first child in a household for whom aid is granted ”.

Old-age and Survivors Insurance. Under the 1939 amendments to the Social Security Act, the scope of the Federal old-age insurance pro­ gramme was broadened to include protection of the family, rather than only the wage-earner. The monthly benefits that became payable in January 1940 are amounts paid, under specified circumstances, to workers aged 65 or over ; to wives of those workers when the wife has also attained the age of 65, and to their unmarried, dependent children under 18 years of age ; to widows of insured workers at age 65 ; and to widows at any age who have in their care children of the deceased worker who are entitled to children’s benefits. When an insured worker leaves no widow and no unmarried child aged less than 18, monthly — OO —

benefits are payable to his parents at or after age 65 if at the time of his death they were wholly dependent upon and supported by him. The primary benefit paid to a retired worker represents an amount equal to («) 40% of the first $50 of his average monthly wage, as defined in the act, plus (b) 10% of the amount by which that average exceeds $50 and does not exceed S250, plus (c) an additional increment of 1% of the sum of (a) and (b) for each year in which the individual has received wages of S200 or more in covered employment. Monthly payments to the aged wife or to the child of a retired worker or to the child or parent of a deceased worker equal 50% of the primary benefit ; payments to widows, 75% of the primary benefit. The minimum amount payable with respect to the wages of any individual is 810 a month ; the maximum is $85, twice the primary-benefit amount, or 80% of the individual’s average monthly wage, whichever is least. This last provision, however, may not operate to reduce the monthly amount to less than 820. The average monthly benefits allowed during January- June 1940 for survivors or dependents were : widow’s benefit, 820.71 ; widow’s current benefit, 820,03 ; parent’s benefit, 813.00 ; child's benefit, S12.29 ; and wife’s benefit, 812.07.

Juvenile Delinquency. There are no complete data that measure the actual extent of juvenile delinquency in the United States. Juvenile-court statistics are affected materially by such factors as the availability of social resources for dealing with problems of behaviour without court action, the place of the court in the child-welfare programme of the community and its relationship to other agencies, and community attitudes toward certain types of offences. Nevertheless, the juvenile court is the best source of information on trends available at present. Continuing its plan inaugurated in 1926, the Children's Bureau collected and analysed juvenile-court statistics - 56 - for the calendar year 1939. The area from which these data were reported by the 473 courts co-operating in the plan contained 38% of the total population of the United States. The number of delinquency cases disposed of by these courts during 1939 totalled 83,758. From these figures, it is estimated that approximately 200,000 delinquents pass through the juvenile-court system annually. It is apparent, therefore, that the problem of juvenile delinquency is a serious one nume­ rically. Reports from sixty-seven urban courts that have reported comparable statistics since 1933, and that serve an area containing 23% of the total population of the United States in 1940, show that the number of delinquency cases disposed of in 1939 was 6% greater than in 1938 and approximately equal to the number disposed of in 1937. The 1939 total was somewhat higher than the 1936 figure but lower than 1935, 1934, and 1933. There is apparent a growing awareness in the United States that there is a relationship between juvenile delinquency and environmental factors. The application of child-study and mental-hygiene principles has contri­ buted to the training and preparation of public-school teachers. The growth of a scientific attitude on the part of the school personnel toward children with behaviour problems is indicated by the modification of curricula to meet the needs of individual pupils and by the employment of experts such as psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, social case workers, and teachers especially trained for special-class instruction. Group work and recreational programmes are offering opportunities for the identification of children who have difficulty in making social adjustments. Other social services are offering valuable channels for bringing help to those with behaviour difficulties. The family-welfare or child-welfare agency already in touch with the family is in an advantageous position to discover need for help and to treat the family as a unit, The agency may help the child to meet his personal difficulties and may attempt to modify the family situation that directly or indirectly may have been 0 / ----- a factor in the child’s behaviour. Until recently, these services have been largely limited to urban districts, but the stimulation of public child-welfare services by Federal funds is now extending these services to rural areas. Similarly, the development of child- guidance clinics is being stimulated in some rural areas under the provisions for child-welfare services of the Social Security Act. In many rural communities, work with predelinquent children and with children coming to the attention of the court is now included as part of an organised child-welfare programme. As the interrelatedness of problems of behaviour with problems of disorganisation, inadequacy, and insecurity in family life and with deficiencies in the community’s provisions for health, educational, recrea­ tional, and social services becomes more apparent, there is developing an increased acceptance of the philosophy that the strengthening of basic services for the welfare of all children is the best preventive of juvenile delinquency. The White House Conference on Children in a Democracy pointed out that, because juvenile delinquency in a large measure reflects anti­ social conditions in the community and is so interwoven with breakdowns in family life, its prevention is the concern not only of the traditional agencies for dealing with youthful offenders but also of child-welfare, family-service, and health agencies, of educational and guidance agencies, of organisations giving recreational and group-work services, and of organisa­ tions concerned with standards of relief and housing. In the light of recent developments in the child- welfare field, consideration is being given to the place the juvenile court should occupy among community agencies and to the nature of its relationship to those agencies. Tentative steps are being taken toward defining and delimiting the field of the juvenile court. A few courts are developing specialised intake service based upon understanding of the functions of other community agencies and upon a policy of referring to those agencies cases that can be handled by them without court intervention. Recognition is being given to the concept that certain functions that are purely - 58 -

administrative and that do not require legal authority and decision, including the care of dependent children, should be handled by agencies other than the juvenile court. With the rapid growth of public-welfare depart­ ments during recent years has come rather general acceptance of the idea that such departments should be authorised to assume responsibility for the care of dependent children without court action. The development and rapid extension of welfare services, particularly child welfare, is focussing attention upon the need for integration of the various services for children now being provided by the community. In order to discover and point out the possibilities of such integration, particularly in the field of prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency, the Children’s Bureau in 1937 organised a community demonstration project in a neighbourhood in St. Paul, Minnesota, ihis project was initiated for the purpose of obtaining information about (1) the most favourable division of responsibility between the juvenile court and non­ judicial child-welfare agencies in the treatment of juvenile delinquents and (2) effective ways of preventing juvenile delinquency through utilising and combining various types of treatment methods and social-welfare resources in the earlyr treatment of children presenting behaviour problems. Since it seemed evident that the best method of obtaining adequate information 011 these points was actually to work with the problems involved, a field unit was set up. The professional staff consists of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, two psychiatric case workers, and a group worker. In addition, the services of a visiting teacher are closely integrated with the project. In addition to case-work services to children referred by schools, police, social agencies, and parents, the project is concerned with the development of a recording system to aid in the evaluation and interpretation of material relevant to work on individual cases. It is hoped that this type of recording may be useful in evaluating the case-work function of the project, in making comparisons of various types of cases, in comparing the cases studied with those handled by 59 —

other methods, and in establishing the degree to which the project cases are representative of the problems coming to the attention of child-welfare agencies and juvenile courts. Supplementary to these records are reports of all community contacts that are not primarily concerned with a particular family or child, such as reports on recreational work and interviews with leaders and agencies in the community. Special institutions for juvenile delinquents, now generally called “ training schools ” , have been esta­ blished by all State governments, by some county and city governments, and by a number of private organisa­ tions. The need for a directory of training schools caring for delinquent children was brought to tIn­ attention of the Children’s Bureau by its Advisory Committee on Training Schools for Socially Maladjusted Children, which recommended that the Bureau publish such a directory. Accordingly, in 1940, the Children’s Bureau published a directory of publicly supported training schools in the United States whose primary function was the care of delinquent children. Informa­ tion was obtained from 158 schools—115 State schools (including schools in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico) and 43 county or municipal schools. The coverage of the latter group was incomplete because of the difficulties of obtaining complete lists and of getting returns from them. Of the 115 State schools, 56 cared for boys only, 47 for girls only, and 12 for both boys and girls. The total number of children reported in training schools under public auspices on June 30th, 1939, was 32,597. Of these, 28,652 (20,312 boys and 8,340 girls) were in the 115 State training schools and 3,945 (3,148 boys and 797 girls) in the 43 county and municipal institutions. There is now an apparent trend toward administration of the training schools as part of the total child-welfare programme of the State and away from identification with correctional institutions for adult offenders. Among institutional administrators, much interest in formulating a philosophy, developing standards, and improving practices is in evidence at this time. Two professional associations are active, the National — 6 o —

Conference of Juvenile Agencies and the National Association of Training Schools, whose published proceedings of annual conferences cover a wide range of interests. Since 1937, the Children's Bureau has had an Advisory Committee on Training Schools for Socially Maladjusted Children, composed of training- school superintendents and representatives of closely allied fields. The last meeting of this group with the Children’s Bureau was in November 1940. The efforts of leaders in the institution group to define the function and place of the training school in the child-welfare field are bringing out some fundamental questions concerning the nature and extent of certain of its services and activities in the future.

National Youth Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps. A Federal fund of 8100,000,000 (876,000,000 for 1938/39) was appropriated for the National Youth Administration for the fiscal year 1939/40. The two major programmes of the N.Y.A. for the employment of young people aged 16-24 are (1) the out-of-school work programme, which furnishes work, work-expe- rience, and wages to youth who are out of school, unemployed, and needy ; and (2) the student work programme, which gives needy students opportunity to work for their education in high schools, colleges, and universities. An average of 264,460 youth were employed on the out-of-school work programme during the year ended June 30th, 1940—149,138 young men and 115,322 young women. During the year, 613,000 young people in high schools, colleges, and universities were enabled to continue their education through employment on the student work programme. The work upon which N.Y.A, students are employed under this programme covers a wide range of activities including : (1) departmental assistance, such as repairing school-books and working in libraries ; (2) construction and maintenance, such as repairing and remodelling educational buildings and athletic fields ; (3) clerical assistance and service, such as typing, stenography, and filing ; (4) semi- professional assistance in such fields as research, statistics, and laboratory work. The Civilian Conservation Corps, established to serve unemployed young men and to protect and increase natural resources, had an average monthly enrolment of approximately 276,000 individuals in 1,500 camps in continental United States during the year ended June 30th, 1940. In carrying out its conservation objectives, the C.C.C. undertook such projects during the year as the reforestation of 2,000,000 acres of land, the protection from erosion of more than 4,000,000 acres of farm land, the return of grass and water to the cattle- raising lands of the West, and the improvement of forests and parks and the development of wild-life refuges. For these activities, a total of approximately 8280,500,000 ($285,000,000 in 1939) was spent by the C.C.C. during the fiscal year 1940.

Work Projects Administration. In aiding local and State governments in providing work for large numbers of unemployed men and women, the Work Projects Administration has undertaken a number of educational, recreational, and welfare activities that affect children directly. The W.P.A. nursery-school programme is designed to serve children from relief or other lowT-income groups. The school- day is so arranged as to bring to the children a consistent health programme, a wrell-balanced, nourishing noonday meal, and other advantages that they would be unable to enjoy at home. A regular parent-education pro­ gramme for mothers and fathers of children in the nursery school is an important phase of this project. In January 1940, when the W.P.A. conducted a survey of its education programme, there wTere 1,354 nursery schools in operation with a total enrolment of 38,000 children. In the course of W.P.A. operations, a large number of new recreational buildings or additions have been completed for communities in all parts of the country. Numerous recreational facilities other than buildings — 6 2 —

also have been constructed, such as new or enlarged stadiums, parks, school and city playgrounds, athletic fields, tennis courts, golf courses, and swimming and wading pools. Some of the leadership and supervision required to make effective use of recreation facilities is furnished through W.P.A. recreation projects operated on a State-wide basis with local co-sponsorship of the activities. In February 1939, some 5,500 community recreation councils were actively co-operating in the operation of the projects that provide leisure-time activities under the leadership of W.P.A. workers. Practically all the States and three-fifths of the counties of the United States participated in the recreation programme of the W.P.A. The programme includes provision for physical recreation, social activities (indoor games, folk dancing, etc.), cultural activities (arts, crafts, drama, music, etc.), and supervision of play in children’s play centres. Welfare activities of State and local governmental agencies have been extended also through the co­ operation of the W.P.A. The school-lunch and house- keeping-aid projects are of special significance to children. Under the first project, from the beginning of the programme through December 1939, more than 384,000,000 lunches were served to undernourished school-children ; under the second project, up to the end of 1939, over 17,000,000 visits had been made by housekeeping aides, who render needed emergency assistance and also attempt to introduce into the homi- better methods and higher standards which will be of permanent value to the family.

Other Federal Projects affecting Family Life and Children, The Extension Service of the United States Depart­ ment of Agriculture conducts, in rural areas, educational programmes relating to nutrition, housing, home economics, and parent education, and fosters young people’s associations which seek to develop in rural boys and girls habits of healthy living and the intelligent use of leisure. — 63 —

The Farm Security Administration of the United States Department of Agriculture makes subsistence grants to destitute and low-income farmers, farm tenants, and sharecroppers to supply them with food, medical care, clothing and other items needed for family subsistence. Approximately 60,000 grants were made by the F.S.A. in June 1940. In the past, chief emphasis has been given to cases of extreme distress in farm areas devastated by drought, floods, storms, and similar catastrophes ; now, an increasing proportion of the grants are being given to families that are potential recipients of F.S.A. loans. The F.S.A. makes loans to low-income farm families that are unable to obtain adequate credit from any other source, for the purchase of farm supplies, equipment, live-stock, and land. As at June 30th, 1940, the Farm Security Administra­ tion had built thirty-seven permanent camps (twenty- five as at September 1st, 1939) for farm families migrating in search of wTork as day labourers. The new camps, wrell constructed and sanitary, provide much better living conditions for the families and children of migratory agricultural workers than the unsanitary camps used in the past. In many of the new camps, nursery schools, medical clinics, and other facilities from which children benefit have been provided. In addition to the permanent camps, sixteen mobile camp units (two in 1939) were in operation by June 30th, 1940.

National Defence and Child Welfare. In order to meet existing and anticipated problems created by the National Defence Programme, the Office of the Co-ordinator of Health, Welfare, and Related Defence Activities was created on November 28th, 1940, and is now functioning in the various fields indicated. The objective is not to establish newr agencies to meet emergency demands ; instead, efforts are being directed toward protecting the functioning of long­ time programmes, including those dealing with the welfare of children. 64 -

In carrying out its objectives, the following advisory committees made up of specialists from public and private agencies are considering problems in their respective fields, evaluating resources available, and submitting reports and recommendations to the Co­ ordinator : Health and Medical Committee, Advisory Committee on Family Security, Advisory Committee on Nutrition, Advisory Committee on Recreation. In addition, a Division of Legal and Social Protection is now functioning. Because children’s problems arise under many as­ pects of defence activities, the Children’s Bureau is represented on all the advisory committees dealing with subjects relating to the welfare of children.

G u e s t Ch il d r e n fr o m E u r o p e

For several years before the outbreak of the present hostilities, refuge had been afforded in the United States to European children seeking asylum from racial and religious persecution. Sentiment in favour of aiding refugee children increased considerably during these years, and in 1939 several bills were introdu­ ced simultaneously into Congress to facilitate the entrance of refugee children into the United States. Outstanding among these proposals wras the Wagner- Rogers Bill, which proposed authorisation for the admission into the United States, during the calendar years 1939 and 1940, of 20,000 German children 14 years of age or under, irrespective of the usual quota limitations. No child would have been admitted, under this proposal, unless he wrere assured a proper home with individuals, families, or groups of his own religious faith. During the hearings held before committees of Congress considering the measure, a large amount of information concerning needs and plans for action was presented by many individuals and private organisa­ tions, including a number of child-care agencies. Testimony was given showing that suitable homes were available for many more children than could be admitted under the proposed legislation. Although the measure was not enacted into law, additional evidence of opinion in favour of such legislation, including a large amount of editorial support, was apparent in the ensuing widespread discussion. There were therefore some precedents and the nucleus of organisation for the movement in 1940 to provide refuge in the United States for European children exposed to the new dangers of total warfare. Successful experience in placing children from foreign lands in suitable family homes, through the co-operation of child-care agencies, had given confidence in the possi­ bilities of the new movement. In June, a meeting was held in New York City, under the sponsorship of Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, for the purpose of co­ ordinating official and voluntary effort, facilitating the admission into the United States of European children exposed to the dangers of war, and assuring their care in accordance with standards that experience had shown to be essential. As a result of this meeting, the United States Committee for the Care of European Children was organised on June 20th, 1940, to put a programme into effect. The programme involved the modification of existing immigration regulations, the co-ordination of official and voluntary effort, and the development of methods of assuring the physical welfare and, so far as possible, the emotional security of children uprooted from familiar associations and the shelter of home. To facilitate the entrance into the United States of children seeking refuge from the dangers of war, national immigration regulations were modified on July 13th, 1940. The important modifications, as announced jointly by the Departments of Justice and State, were : (1) children under 16 years of age who can show intent and ability to depart to another country after the war may enter on visitors’ visas outside quota limits ; (2) children admitted as visitors may not be excluded on the grounds of not being accompanied by or coming to a parent in this country ; (3) children whose trans­ — 66 portation expenses are paid by a foreign Government or non-profit corporation will not be excluded. The conditions under which children are admitted on visitors’ visas or permanent immigration visas, for care under the auspices of an organisation, include : (i) the organisation must be approved for such purpose by the Attorney-General ; (2) assurance must be given the Attorney-General that the child shall not become a public charge and that the reception, placement, and care of the child shall be in conformity with the standards of the Children’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor. The plan of the United States Committee for the Care of European Children received the early approval of the Attorney-General, and corporate affidavits sub­ mitted by the Committee are accepted by the Attorney- General and by the United States consular officers as a basis for the issuance of quota or visitors’ visas. The standards adopted by the Children’s Bureau for the care of children have been based on policies and practices accepted and used by qualified agencies in providing care for children in the United States. These standards include standards for child-caring agencies designated for service to European children ; for family-home care for guest children (for the use of foster parents) ; for foster care (for the use of designated child-care agencies) ; for care of children in reception centres ; for medical care ; and for group care of guest children (issued in tentative form). In the designation of child-care agencies to take respon­ sibility for the review of homes and the placement and supervision of children coming to the United States under the auspices of the United States Committee for the Care of European Children, the Children’s Bureau was guided by these standards, which have been regarded as general guides rather than inflexible requirements. The designated child-care agencies are responsible, in the areas they serve, for visiting and reviewing family homes offering to care for European children, for selecting homes suited to the particular needs of the children assigned to the area by the United States — 6 7 —

Committee, for placing children in these homes, and for advising the foster parents and giving general supervision after placement. They have also been responsible in many instances for reception care before placement. A total of 184 child-caring agencies in thirty-four States were designated provisionally by the Children’s Bureau, in consultation with State welfare departments, for immediate service in the placement andesupervision of European children. By December 1940, the facilities of 221 agencies had been carefully reviewed by both the State agencies and the Children’s Bureau and 184 agencies in forty States had received final desig­ nations. This programme was barely under way when the dangers of ocean voyage led the British Government to withdraw its encouragement of overseas evacuation both to the Dominions and to the United States. Most of the children under the supervision of the United States Committee arrived in this country during the period from August to October 1940. In addition to maintaining relationships with official State agencies in regard to the programme, giving advisory service with reference to development and application of standards, and designating child-care agencies for service, the Children’s Bureau, with the assistance of the United States Committee, has compiled and is maintaining a central register of all children coming to the United States for refuge from the dangers of war, not arriving to join a parent already here nor accompanied by both parents. Through the register, State health and welfare agencies are notified of children being cared for in their States. For the purpose of the register, a “ refugee ” child has been defined as a child " 16 years of age or under, who has been admitted to the United States since September 1st, 1938, whose place of birth and/or last permanent residence is in a European country and who does not enter the United States to join a parent already in this country or is not accompanied by both parents Although all data are not yet available, the report of the Register for June 1st, 1941, shows — 68 — that approximately 6,500 children, including nearly 900 admitted under the auspices of the United States Committee, have entered the United States since September 1st, 1938. Of this number, about 53% were accompagnied by a parent or other relative.

* H* Ÿ

Note. — The information sent under the headings : Child labour and youth employment, Administration of the child- labour provisions of the Federal Fair Labour Standards Act, State child-labour legislation, Migratory workers and employ­ ment of children in agriculture, Studies and reports on child labour, Child-labour goals of the White House Conference, Labour Conference of American States, Maintenance of child- labour standards, and Trends in income and relief, has been communicated to the International Labour Office. — 6g —

AUSTRALIA

À. New South Wales.

I. Legislative Measures The Child Welfare Act, 1939, operated as law from December 1st, 1939 ; the Child Welfare Regulations, 1940, as from May 3rd, 1940.

II. W o r k o f t h e C h il d -w e l f a r e D e p a r t m e n t The Secretariat has received the report of the Minister of Public Instruction for the period July 1st, 1937, to June 30th, 1939, published in May 1940 l. The report states that continuity of programme and development has been preserved during the period under review. Probably the outstanding feature of the administration has been the increasing application of scientific skills— medical, psychological and educational—to the individual treatment of State wards, delinquents and other classes of children with whom the Department is concerned. The objective aimed at is the total abandonment of all procedures savouring of un­ differentiating mass methods in favour of the treatment of every child as a unique personality with wholly individual problems, qualities, strengths, weaknesses, desires and aspirations. The fulfilment of this plan calls for adequate professional services, trained staffs, suitable buildings and equipment. Requirements in these directions have been drawn up and proposals have been formulated to meet both immediate and future needs. The professional services were enhanced by the opening, in April 1939, of a second Child-guidance Clinic. As

1 For details concerning the report for the two years ending June 30th, 1937, see the Annual Report on Child Vv elf are published in 1940 (document C.41.M.37.1940.IV, page 32). — 70 - regards new personnel, steps have been taken to secure the selection of those calculated to prove most adaptable to this form of social service, and training schemes have been prepared applicable both to recruits and to the existing staffs.

Children under the care of the State—Boarding-out and Adoption. Wards are received (i) from Children’s Courts, following orders of committal, (2) by application on the part of some responsible person. The Courts have latterly committed comparatively fewer for boarding-out—i.e. placing in a private home for care and maintenance with subsidy from public funds— and more to the care of an “ approved person ”. In 1939, 46 girls w'ere committed to the care of approved persons and 22 for boarding-out. The number of wards under State control on June 30th, 1939, was 3,976, fewer than for many years and the first occasion for a long time that the total wras below 4,000. The diminution is due partly to the fact that less children were committed by Children’s Courts and partly to the policy of discharging older children to the care of relatives after the boarding-out allowance has ceased, when it appears that no good purpose would be served by retaining control. The continuance of boarding-out payments, to permit of further education, after the age of 14 is accepted in the case of : (1) children of outstanding ability ; (2) children whose education has been neglected and who are allowed to remain at school until they secure at least the fundamentals oi an education ; (3) children who are unfit for work (for reasons of immature physical development, infirm health, etc.). The nutritional condition of wards is carefully watched throughout. Special medical examina­ tions are called for where necessary and all children are medically examined before boarding-out. Effort is made to recover maintenance from the relatives of all children received to State control. All wrards are regularly visited and assisted by field inspectors. The boarding-out system depends for its success in large measure upon the support accorded by the general public. Great care is exercised in the selection of — 7 1 guardians and increased attention is being given to the mutual suitability of child and prospective guardian in effecting allocation. The Department offers a free service by which persons desirous of surrendering children are ensured of their adoption into suitable homes. Completed adoptions for the year ended June 30th, 1938, numbered 1,055, while for the year ended June 30th, 1939, the figure reached the record total of 1,112. The report furnishes details with regard to the working of homes for mentally defective wards, training- homes and depots for wards, hostels for mothers and babies and “ after-care ” hostels, all of which it describes as " adjuncts ” of the boarding-out system.

Allowances to Mothers. The payment of allowances to mothers has continued with very little change. On June 30th, 1939, a total of 5,073 mothers and 9,787 children were in receipt of allowances, a decrease of 55 mothers and an increase of 82 children over the year before.

Juvenile Delinquency—Probation. While the majority of the charges against children are brought by the Police, and the Children’s Courts are under the power of the Justice Department, the Child-welfare Depart­ ment is responsible, in its institution and probation systems, for the State’s re-educative and supervisory methods in relation to young delinquents. Children released on probation by Courts are supervised and assisted by Departmental Inspectors. An organisation of some 700 Honorary Welfare Officers renders valuable aid to the salaried staff. During the year ended June 30th, 1939, the number of children released on probation totalled 1,287. The most usual period of probation was twelve months.

Children’s Courts. Juvenile Courts have power to order certain remedialt reatment including : («) release on probation ; (6) committal to the care of an approved person ; (c) committal to a correctional institute for children. The following statistical information is given in the report : during the year ended June 30th, 1939, 2,156 children (1,880 boys, 276 girls) appeared before the Metropolitan Children's Court, of whom 12.8% (11.4% boys, 1 .4 % girls) were committed to institutions. In the previous year, 2,244 children (1,909 boys, 3 3 5 girls) appeared—88 more than in 1939—of whom 1 , were committed to institutions. As in former years, by far the greatest number of offences among boys and girls were met by release on probation. In the year under review, 617 boys and 59 girls were placed on probation as against 245 boys and 30 girls committed to institutions.

Protection of Children. Foster homes for the reception of up to five children under 7 years of age and institu­ tions for the reception of more than five infants are subject to licence. They are supervised by officers of the Inspection Staff of the Department. This applies also to lying-in homes.

Street Trading and Theatrical Performances. The issue of licences for street trading is restricted to male children of 12 years of age 1 and upwards. In each case it must be established that the moral and material welfare of the child is not jeopardised. Penalties are provided against persons who employ or cause the employment of unlicensed lads. During 1937/38, 19 newsagents were prosecuted and suitable action was taken with regard to the children concerned. In 1938/39, 11 prosecutions were instituted. During the same periods 1,599 and 2,I34 licences respectively were issued. The employment of unlicensed children under 16 is forbidden in theatrical performances. Licences may be issued to children over 7 years of age. Safeguards are provided to ensure the regular attendance of children of school age at school. Conditions of employment are also carefully watched. Girls are in a preponderance as licensees.

1 The age has been raised to 15 years in the Child Welfare Act, 1939. — 73

B. Western Australia.

The Secretariat has received the Annual Report of the Child Welfare Department for the two years ended June 30th, 1939 J. The following information is taken therefrom.

W e l f a r e S e c t io n

Wards. The total number of children controlled and supervised under the various sections was as follows :

1 9 3 8 1 9 3 9 Children in institutions, wards of Department, on subsidy ...... 610 594 Children boarded-out on subsidy . . 359 345 In Government receiving-home . . . 35 40 Total number chargeable .... 1,004 979 Children at service and in training . . 258 324 Children with relatives and others, without subsidy ...... 441 464 Children under 6 years of age placed out with licensed foster-mothers and licensed institutions and paid for by r e la tiv e s ...... 143 134 Children 011 probation from Children’s Courts and industrial schools . . . 428 410 T o t a l ...... 2 -74 2,311

Subsidised Institutions. There were 610 children on the maintenance list in subsidised institutions on June 30th, 1938, and 594 on June 30th, 1939, while a further 129 children over the age of 14, not on subsidy, were in training to be placed in employment on June 30th, 1938, and 175 on June 30th, 1939. There wrere 1,990 admissions to the institutions for the two years in question, and 1,950 discharges. Every effort is made to return children to their parents where the home life has sufficiently improved and where the children’s behaviour has warranted their release to a home environ­ ment with relatives or friends.

1 For details concerning the report for the two years ending June 30th, 1937, see document C.91.M.50.1939.IV, page 38. — 74 —

Service Children. The number of wards at service on June 30th, 1939, was 149, while an additional 175 were in training. Children receive a period of training after attaining the age of 14 and are then placed in service, boys going to country employment and girls to domestic service. Boys and girls who have shown outstanding ability receive special educational facilities. Children placed in domestic and country employment are sent out under a Service Agreement which protects them in every possible way against accident or loss of wages.

Boarding-out System. There are still more applications for girls than the Department is able to meet. Homes for infants are still difficult to find. The good standard of foster-parents has been generally maintained and many of them have been able to find work for the children in their care. There was a total of 277 foster- parents acting and available on June 30th, 1939

Legal Adoptions. No less than 115 legal adoption^ were granted for the year 1938 and 117 for the year 1939, compared with 81 for the year ended June 30th, 1937. A pleasing feature of the work is the large propor­ tion of State wards legally adopted, 42 adoptions having been finalised during the twro years. An estimated saving of ^51,000 in maintenance has been effected. As in previous years, a number of relatives adopted children. The following are the ages of the children adopted : 1937 38 193s 39 Under 1 year ...... 33 5° 1-2 years...... 13 22 3-5 years ...... 2 5 24 6-10 years ...... 23 13 Over [o years ...... 21 8 115 117 Unmarried Mothers. Most of the unmarried mothers approach the Welfare Department before their children are born. The Department communicates with every mother after the birth of the child and is alw'ays ready to offer advice and assistance. Many of the mothers — 75 - legally adopt their children ; others apply for foster- mothers to care for them while they go to their em­ ployment.

Probation and Preventive Work— Male Probation Officer. During the years ended June 30th, 1938 and 1939, respectively, 187 and 131 boys were released on probation by Metropolitan Children’s Courts. On June 30th, 1939, there were 351 boys under observation, 278 on probation and 73 on parole from the industrial school. During the year 1938/39, 42 boys were released from the industrial school before the end of their term had expired. Twelve were sent back to their homes and 30 went to positions. The preventive side of the work has not been neglected and, wherever necessary, the Probation Officer has helped parents who were losing control of their boys. Much juvenile delinquency can be attributed to the fact that the boy is unemployed and cannot find work.

Female Probation Officer. During the year 1938/39, 14 girls were released from the Children’s Courts, a decrease of 1 on the previous year. During the period under review, 100 cases relating to girls were attended in the Courts, and during the year ended June 30th, 1939, 41 wards wrere placed in positions or on parole under the supervision of the Probation Officer. The preventive work is the most important and far-reaching of the Officer’s duties.

Children’s Courts. At the end of the period under review, Courts existed in seventy-two centres. In the metropolitan area, the Special Magistrate adjudicates. In other places, the members of the Courts are specially appointed on the recommendation of the Resident Magistrate of the area concerned.

R e l i e f S ec t io n

The activities of this Section provide for the relief of destitution throughout the State. Monetary and other vital assistance is accorded to women and — 76 — children deprived of the earning capacity of their breadwinners through diverse reasons, such as death, desertion, old age, temporary and/or permanent total incapacitation. An increase over the previous year’s figures occurred in the number of applications for assis­ tance and in those approved. Of the 831 applications lodged, 633 were successful, 176 wrere rejected and 22 withdrawn by the applicants. 1,157 families, which included 2,572 children and 394 incapacitated husbands —i.e. 4,123 persons—wrere being assisted. EGYPT

REPORT BY THE EGYPTIAN GOVERNMENT ON CHILD WELFARE

The Egyptian Government takes the greatest possible interest in work for child welfare in Egypt from the health, intellectual and social standpoints. Private associations and organisations are also interested in this work. During recent years, child wrelfare has received an amount of attention hitherto unknown. The following are a few illustrations of this fact :

I. L e g isla t iv e a n d J u d icia l M ea su r es

The purpose of the Ministry for Social Questions, which was established in August 1939 \ is to carry out a far-reaching programme of social reform. This programme comprises, inter alia : A. —- The drafting of laws for the protection of erring children. Unworthy parents will be deprived of paternal power. B. — The drafting of laws prohibiting children of both sexes, under a certain age, from attending cinemas, except when the films showm are of an educative character or are exempt from anything likely to have harmful moral effects. These laws will also prohibit the children in question from frequenting public establishments where alcoholic

1 The Information Centre published the Decree of August 20th, 1939, providing for the establishment of this Ministry (Journal officiel of the Egyptian Government, No. 84, August 24th, 1939) in document C.Q.S./P.E./C.1.159, Legislative and Administrative Series, No. 145 (English and French texts). A summary of the Decree is given in document C.12.M.10.1940. IV, page 62. drinks are sold, dance halls, and places and clubs where games of chance are played. C. — The drafting of lawrs for the purpose of ensuring uncontaminated progeny, by requiring all persons to undergo thorough medical inspection before marriage. Arrangements have already been made with a view to carrying out the reforms mentioned in paragraph i above and the laws referred to are about to be promulgated. Further, the laws in force effectively ensure the protection of children in certain respects. According to these laws, judges of Juvenile Courts are empowered to provide such protection. A summary of the laws in question will be found in the Summary of Annual Reports published in 1938 by the Child Welfare Information Centre (see document C.81.M.36. 1938.IV, pages 70 to 80).

II. C h il d -w e l f a r e I nstitutions

1. Reformatory Schools and Similar Institutions. There are four reformatory schools in Egypt : they are at Gizeh, Marg and the Barrage ; the fourth, which is for girls, is at Gizeh. These schools are intended for young offenders who have been sent, on conviction, to these institutions, where they learn various trades, reading, writing and arithmetic, and also receive religious instruction. They will thus be able to wrork at an honourable trade on the expiration of the period of instruction. Apart from these reformatory schools, there are orphanages and homes for children wrho are not orphans wrhere the children learn reading and writing and also certain trades W'hich will later enable the children to earn their living honourably. Several of these are Government institutions. The others are under the control of charitable organisations scattered throughout the country. There are also societies which manage orphanages and homes for foundlings. Their object is to assist - 7 9 “

poor mothers at the time of child-birth, and also to care for newly-born children and to protect children in general. There are some ten such institutions. There are also popular centres where poor children go in their leisure time to learn things which will be useful to them for the improvement of their social condition.

2. Child-welfare Centres. Amongst the chief institutions for child welfare are the child-welfare centres of the Ministry of Public Health. They are concerned with the following : (a) Advice and protection for expectant mothers ; (b) The treatment of expectant mothers suffering from syphilis ; (c) Child-birth and visits to women in childbed for ten days after the birth of the child, and the notification of births to the health offices ; (d) Lectures given to mothers by medical practi­ tioners and mid wives and other health officials (women) ; (e) The protection of children up to the age of 5 years and their vaccination against smallpox and diphtheria, their circumcision, and treatment against syphilis ; (/) The training of midwives in all parts of the kingdom, in schools attached to child-welfare centres.

These centres have undertaken work on a large scale in all parts of the kingdom with a view to carrying out this programme, and they have achieved consider­ able success in that wrork. At the present time, there are thirty-eight child-welfare centres, in addition to the nineteen mobile centres. The Ministry of Public Health continues to contribute actively to the development of these centres with a view to ensuring that the advantages they offer may be made available in all parts of the kingdom. — 8o —

FRANCE

L L e g isl a t iv e M e a su r e s

Family and Birth Rate. The Legislative Decree of July 29th, 1939, concerning the French family and the French birth rate (Journal officiel of the French Republic, July 30th, 1939) is made up of four Titles 1 : Title I. — Assistance to Families. This Title deals with bounties payable on the birth of the first child, family allowances and family assistance. Title II. — Protection of the Family. This Title deals with the protection of maternity, the protection of the child, the protection of the race, measures to combat alcoholism, and the family and education. Title III. — Fiscal Provisions. This Title contains all the fiscal provisions wTiich have been adopted for the protection of the family and which relate to registration fees, direct taxes and indirect taxation. Title IV . — Miscellaneous provisions.

Assisted Children’s Service. The Legislative Decree of September 9th, 1939 [Journal officiel, September 20th, 1939) authorises the provisional admission to the Assisted Children’s Service (“ safe-keeping ” category) of children of mobilised widowers or divorced persons.2

1 Titles I and II of this Legislative Decree have been published by the Information Centre in documents C.Q.S./P.E./C.I.149 and 147, Legislative and Administrative Series, Nos. 135 and 133. A summary of certain parts of these Titles is contained in document C. 12.M. 10.1940.IV. 2 The text of this Legislative Decree is contained in document C.Q.S./P.E./C.I.174. Legislative and Administrative Series No. 158. — S i ­

l l . A dministrative Me a su r es

Family and Birth Rate. The Order of December 13th and the Decree of December 16th, 1939 (Journal officiel, December 18th, 1939) deal with the detailed procedure for the application of the Decree of July 29th, 1939 (see above, under I). The Decree of December 30th, 1939 (Journal officiel, January 1st, 1940) 1 relates to the institution of bounties on the birth of the first child.

Assisted Children’s Service. The Circular of October 17th, 1940, deals with the revision of the scales of maintenance allowances in respect of Public Assistance wards and with grants of temporary assistance for the purpose of preventing abandonment. The Circular of November 30th, 1940, is concerned with the possibility of the attendance of Public Assistance wTards at private schools, wTith the author­ isation of the guardian.

Infant Welfare. The Decree of April 12th, 1939 (Journal officiel, May 6th, 1939) determines the maximum fees and travelling allowances to be paid to Infant Welfare medical inspectors. The Circular of June 15th, 1939, relates to the application of the Legislative Decree of October 30th, 1935 (Journal officiel, October 31st, 1935) and of the Public Administration Regulations of September 1st, 1938 (Journal officiel, October 22nd, 1938) reorganising the Infant-welfare Service, extending the protection given by that service to further categories of children

1 The text of this decree is given in document C.Q.S./P.E./C.I. 186, Legislative and Administrative Series, No. 170. — 82 — and children up to the age of 3 years, and providing for the employment of female social workers in the service.

III. M e a su r e s u n d e r Consideration

The Department of the Secretary of State for the Family and for Health has the following draft proposals under consideration : (a) The draft revised text of the Lawr of June 27th, 1904, concerning the Assisted Children’s Service ; (b) The draft Decree determining the scale of salaries to be paid to infant-welfare female social workers ; (c) The draft LawT providing for the revision of the laws relating to maternal and child welfare. IRELAND

The Irish Government has forwarded copy of the section of the Annual Report of the Department of Local Government and Public Health for 1939/40 dealing with maternity and child welfare schemes in Ireland during the year 1939.

Ma t e r n it y a n d Ch il d W e l f a r e S chem es General. A total of 148 approved schemes were in operation, of which thirty were administered by local authorities and 118 by voluntary agencies. Of the former, four operated in the county boroughs, twenty-one in urban districts and the remainder in the county health districts of Dublin, Kildare, Limerick, Monaghan and Wicklow. The voluntary agencies comprise 101 nursing associa­ tions, eleven institutions and six boarding-out agencies. The Lady Dudley Nursing Scheme, which is included in the total, continued to operate in forty-nine districts. The following is a summary of the work done during the year ended December 31st, 1939 : Number of separate cases visited Total Mothers Children visits paid Local A u th o ritie s ...... 44,566 86,308 390,015 District Nursing Associations . 11,864 24,020 679,684 Lady Dudley Schem e...... 3,600 8,265 302,074 T o ta ls ...... 60,030 118,593 1,371,773 Total attendances at clinics Number Mothers Children of nurses Local A u th o ritie s...... 56, 129 70,1 12 71 District Nursing Associations . 3,955 4 8 9 3 106 Ladv Dudley Schem e...... 49 T o ta ls ...... 60,084 75,005 226 Note. — The figures for “ Local Authorities ” represent the work done by nurses employed by Local Authorities or by associations subsidised by them and those for “ District Nursing Associations ” show the work done only by associations recouped directly by the Department. - 8 4 -

Voluntary Agencies. Nursing associations provide the services of health visitors who are qualified nurses and are well suited by their local knowledge for the work of visiting young and inexperienced mothers and advising them on such matters as diet, treatment of minor ailments, hygiene, etc. County medical officers of health testify to the assistance afforded by these nurses. The boarding-out agencies, which provide foster- mothers for children of deserted, widowed or unmarried mothers and suitable employment where possible for the mothers, dealt with 1,006 cases. 4,079 cases were dealt with by the institutions, w'hich include maternity hospitals and homes for expectant mothers and for children.

County Boroughs.

The following summarises the w■orking of the County Borough Schemes in 1939 :

Cork Dublin Limerick Waterford M others r e g i s t e r e d ...... 3,875 26,929 4,234 981 C hildren r e g i s t e r e d ...... 5,319 55,862 6,854 2,162 Attendances at clinics : M o th e r s ...... 0 868 32.315 2.746 1,516 C h ild ren ...... 1 3.259 35.325 3,056 4,414 * Milk issued free (gallons) . . — 3.307 2,048 567 * Milk issued at less than cost (g a ls .)...... 4 552 — --- — Dried milk, Ovaltine. Virol, etc. (lb s)...... 7,001 75,088 1,014 244 Number receiving food and m i l k ...... 1.348 6,695 1,300 380 Total visits of health visitors . 12.732 195,289 15.246 2,024

* Issued to necessitous expectant mothers, and not part of issues under the National Free Milk Supply Scheme.

Dublin. The arrangements are administered by a staff of twenty-three nurses and two superintendent nurses under the direction and supervision of one whole-time and one part-time medical officer. The nurses act as - 8 5 - health visitors, advising mothers as to hygiene, diet and general care of the children and reporting any insanitary conditions, overcrowding or defects in environmental conditions. They also make reports as to the need for allowances under the Free Milk Supply Scheme. Weekly welfare clinics were held at twelve centres and a brief talk or advice regarding the health of mothers and children was given at each clinic. Voluntary helpers attend for the keeping of records, etc., and a medical officer, who is present at each clinic, gives advice and assistance. In addition, six clinics are held weekly at the Carnegie Child-wrelfare Centre, Lord Edward Street. A special weekly clinic for mothers at this centre is attended by a medical officer who, when necessary, refers cases to maternity hospitals for pre­ natal treatment. Cases attending at the Rotunda, Coombe and Holies Street Maternity Hospitals totalled 8,519. The staffs of these hospitals also attended 4,583 confinement cases in their homes. Annual grants of £150 to the Rotunda and £75 to each of the other maternity hospitals are paid by the Corporation in respect of pre-natal clinics. The dental clinics held three times weekly were attended by 3,534 mothers and 376 children and 141 mothers were supplied with dentures free or under cost price. 5,641 children attended the ultra-violet light clinics for infantile paralysis, rickets, malnutrition, etc. Serious cases of deformity in children were treated in the Orthopaedic Hospital, the Sunshine Home, Stillorgan, and in the orthopaedic departments of various city hospitals. In special cases, mothers received convalescent treatment in the Linden Convalescent and the Sunshine Homes and children were treated for malnutrition at the Cheeverstown Convalescent Home. The Wrelfare Department of the St. John Ambulance Brigade provides a valuable adjunct to the scheme. On production of a certificate from the Corporation, mothers are given a meal daily for three months before and three months after confinement. The diet includes milk and soup and each mother may bring one child. — 86 —

1,096 mothers were served with 77,403 meals during the year and 9,248 pints of milk and 613 layettes were distributed. The Brigade is given an annual grant by the Corporation for these services. A combined Welfare Clinic and dining-hall was opened during the year at St. Joseph’s Mansions, Killarney Street. This clinic is unique as it is incor­ porated in a block of flats and serves a very densely populated area.

Cork. Three health visitors are employed under the scheme and clinics are held at the Maternity and Child Welfare Centre. The medical officer attending the Centre dealt with 2,420 cases, the number of attendances being 5,929. There was a big increase in the number of cases dealt with at the artificial sunlight clinic, 91 cases receiving 856 exposures. Milk was issued at less than cost price to expectant mothers and tonic foods were provided for nursing-mothers.

Limerick. Bi-weekly clinics are held at the Bedford Row Hospital. Tonic food is issued to nursing-mothers and ultra-violet ray treatment provided, 72 administrations being given during the year. The usual visits were paid by the two health visitors to children and nursing and expectant mothers, milk being supplied free to suitable cases of the last-named.

Waterford. The health visitor employed pays periodic visit; to the homes of young children, advising the mothers on matters of infant welfare. Clinics are held thrice weekly at the Welfare Centre, where mothers receive instruction and advice. A medical officer is in attendance at these clinics. The majority of the remaining schemes administered by local authorities are operated in conjunction with - 87 - local nursing associations, which are subsidised by the local authorities concerned. An approved scheme was started in Tullamore Urban District during the year. One-half of approved expenditure by local authorities and voluntary agencies on maternity and child welfare work is recouped from the National Maternity and Child Welfare Grant. Payments for the year totalled £24,851, of which £11,741 was issued to local authorities and £13,110 to voluntary agencies. NEW ZEALAND

The Secretariat has received an extract from the Report of the Minister of Education, covering the statement of the Superintendent of the Child-welfare Branch for the year ended March 31st, 1940. The following information is extracted therefrom 1.

W o r k of t h e C h il d -w e l f a r e B ranch The total number of children under the supervision of the Child-welfare Branch on March 31st, 1940, was 8,043, of whom 4,320 were State wards. The total number coming under the control of the Branch during the year was 596. The permanent field officers stationed in the main centres of population have again received great assis­ tance from the Honorary Child-w'elfare Officers. The system of appointing housemasters for duty in boys’ homes has been extended and has proved very successful, especially in enlarging the scope of the boys’ activities and recreation and in supervising them in the evenings and at the week-ends. A larger number of children than usual passed through the receiving-homes. The question of re-opening the receiving-home at Napier to relieve conditions in the Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne districts was re-examined. The Girls’ Home at Burwood for older girls requiring institutional care for a period was full during the year and the question of providing additional accommodation to enable better classification of the girls to be made was under review. A new7 building for older boys requiring a period of training in an institution was in course of erection at Levin. The numbers in residence have been maintained at both

1 For extracts from the statement of the Superintendent of the Child-welfare Branch for the year ended March 31st, 1939, see document C.41.M.37.1940.IV, page 156. - 8g -

schools for backward children at Richmond and Otekaike. The Girls’ Hostel in Wellington continued to function very successfully. Preventive work was extended as circumstances allowed. An adequate staff of trained persons is essential to its development and this is being augmented as quickly as possible. During the period under review, 286 families, representing 625 children, were taken under preventive supervision, and on March 31st the number of children under the oversight of Child- welfare Officers was 1,906. Contact with the child and the family is maintained until the Child-welfare Officer is satisfied that assistance is no longer needed.

Cases appearing before the Children’s Courts. A total of 2,953 children appeared before the Courts during the year 1939/40, as against 2,801 for the previous year. This increase is almost wholly due to the increase in charges of theft (829) as against the previous year’s total (650). Of the total appearing, 812 were placed under the supervision of Child-welfare Officers, while 21 had their supervision period extended. Of the children placed under supervision, 28 were subsequently committed to the care of the Superintendent. The number committed to the care of the Super­ intendent and admitted to institutions such as receiving- homes, special schools, training-farms, etc., was 509, but all these, with the exception of 181 (104 boys and 77 girls) who required further training, were suitably placed out in the community before the close of the year. The remainder (1,611) appearing before the Courts were dealt with in a manner not calling for supervision by a Child-welfare Officer. On March 31st, 1940, there was a total number of 1,041 children under supervision of Child-welfare Officers by order of the Courts. Of the number (812) placed under supervision during the year, 43 had previously been dealt with by the Courts and placed under supervision. The Courts ordered 10 children to spend a period in an institution. — 90 —

Placement of Children. The Department’s policy is to board children in suitable private homes under the supervision of Child- welfare Officers, and its experience has proved that the boarding-out system is much to be preferred to that of placing children in institutions. State wards who have completed their schooling are in general placed in employment on the same basis as regards wages, etc., as other young people in the community. In some instances, however—as, for example, when they are incapable of competing on equal terms with fellow'-workers of approximately the same age and experience—great emphasis is laid on obtaining a home that will meet the particular needs of the individual. When a child takes his first situation, the greater portion of his wages is banked in a Post Office account by the Department and the balance is paid to him as pocket-money, the amount of which is generally increased every three or six months until the time arrives when he draws his full wages. The money banked by the Department is used in paying for clothing, dentistry, etc., and the balance is paid at any time —generally after he attains 21 years of age—to the young man himself. The Department investigates each application and does what it can to ensure that as far as possible the money is utilised to the best advantage.

Children under the Guardianship of the Superintendent of the Child-welfare Branch. On March 31st, 1940, there were 4,320 children (2,527 boys, 1,793 girls) under control and, of these, 2,081 were boarded-out in foster-homes ; 902 were in licensed situations ; 522 residing under licence with relatives and friends ; 238 in residence at Government receiving-hom.es (many of these only temporarily), training-farms, and training institutions ; 207 in special schools for mentally backward children ; and 54 in the Roman Catholic schools recognised under the — 9i

Child Welfare Act, 1925. The remainder were in private institutions.

Young Persons in Employment. On March 31st, 1940, there were in employment 1,207 (781 males and 426 females) State wards, repre­ senting slightly more than a quarter of the young people (4,320) under control. Of those employed, 301 (199 males and 102 females) were residing with friends or relatives on licence, while the remainder (906) were supervised in situations by Child-welfare Officers. Of the total (1,207), 228 (129 boys and 99 girls) were being partly maintained by the State.

Infant-life Protection and Adoption. The Branch administers that part of the Infants Act, 1908, which relates to the licensing of homes and super­ vision of infants under 6 years of age placed therein apart from their parents. Under the Statutes Amendment Act of 1939, the maximum age under which a child is eligible for adoption was raised from 15 to 21 years. During the year ended December 31st, 1939, there wras a total of 518 adoptions ; of these, 43 were wards of the State. Of the total number of children adopted, 109 were under the age of 6 months, 82 between 6 months and 1 year, 166 from 1 year to 5 years, 96 from 5 years to 10 years, 63 from 10 years to 15 years, and 2 over 15 years. At the end of the year, 624 infants were supervised in 572 licensed foster-homes. Of these homes, 527 had one child each, 39 had two children each, 5 had three children each, and 1 had four children. Payments for maintenance, which were made by relatives, ranged from 4s. to £2 3s. per week for each child.

Deaf Children. The administration of the School for the Deaf, Sumner—the only residential institution for deaf children in New Zealand—is, under an arrangement with the Director of Education, entrusted to the Child- welfare Branch. Normal children of both sexes between the ages of 5 and 7 years are admitted as pupils and remain until they complete their education. On March 31st, 1940, there were 89 children (52 boys and 37 girls) resident at the school, while a further 14 children (11 boys and 3 girls) were attending as day pupils. PORTUGAL

i. L e g isl a t iv e Mea su r es

Law No. 1974 \ of February 16th, 1939, prescribes the following regulations concerning the attendance of minors at public performances : Children under 6 years of age may not attend public performances ; minors from 6 to 12 years of age may attend only children’s performances given in the day­ time ; minors from 12 to 15 years of age may attend children’s performances in the daytime or in the evening and may attend performances for adults if accompanied by their parents or by the persons responsible for their upbringing. Legislative Decree No. 30389, of April 20th, 1940 2, provides for the establishment, in all towns which are administrative centres, of hostels for the reception of persons found begging or suspected of being engaged in begging and for children under 16 years of age who are in moral danger. The latter, in accordance with Article 10 of the above-mentioned decree, are to remain for the shortest possible time in the hostels, the competent guardianship authority (Children’s Court) being informed immediately of their situation and of the provisional measures adopted, with a view to a decision being taken concerning their future and the final arrangements to be made.

1 The Information Centre published the text of this Law in document C.Q.S./P.E./C.I.105, Legislative and Administrative Series, No. 96. 2 Diario do Governo, I. No. 92, April 20th, 1940. — 94 —

2. P ractical A pplica tio n o f L aw s r e l a t in g to Ch il d W el f a r e by t h e St a t e , L ocal A u t h o r it ie s , a nd P rivate O rganisations for t h e A ssistance o f Ch il d r e n

Studies are being continued by the Ministry of the Interior with regard to reforms in the assistance services, and by the Ministry of Justice with regard to reforms in the matter of justice and young persons. — 95 —

SWITZERLAND

REPORT ON ASSISTANCE AND SOCIAL WELFARE WORK DURING 1939 (STATE AND COMMUNES)

A c tio n in fa v o u r o f Y o u n g P er so n s

I. Confederation.

Legislative Measures. The Federal Council Order, dated January 13th, 1939 \ regarding the entry into force of the Federal Law concerning the minimum working-age provides that the Federal Law of June 24th, 1938 2, concerning the minimum working-age is to enter into force on March 1st, 1940. Nevertheless, in cantons where school attendance up to the age of 15 years is not yet compulsory, the entry into force of the law, or of certain of its provisions, may, by Order of the Federal Council, be postponed, in the case of absolute necessity, for one year. This measure may be renewed, but the entry into force of the law may not be postponed beyond March 1st, 1942. Applications in this connection were to be received not later than November 1st, 1939. Eight applications have been received but no decision has as yet been taken thereon. A circular, dated January 17th, 1939 3, relating to the Federal Law in question and addressed to the cantonal authorities by the Federal Department of the Interior and the Federal

1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 3 of January 18th, 1939, page 174. 1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 3 of January 18th, 1939, page 169. (See also the Annual Report on Child Welfare published in 1940 (document C.41.M.37.1940.IV, page 173).) * Feuille fédérale, No. 3 of January 18th, 1939, Vol. I, page 89. — g6

Department of Economic Affairs, recommends to the cantons, as the most appropriate measure for filling the gap existing between the present school-leaving age and the age of starting wage-paid work, the general prolongation of compulsory school attendance to the age of 15 years, conjointly with a corresponding development of elementary school education. The attention of cantonal authorities is, moreover, particularly drawn to the importance of utilising the services of the labour offices for the purpose of finding work for children leaving school, in agriculture, forestry and domestic economy, which do not come within the scope of the Federal Law. This circular also emphasises the special importance of the first year’s wrork in domestic service if those engaged therein are to remain in that employment. The Federal Order, of June 21st, 1939 1, on the execution of the transitional provision of Article 34 (4) of the Federal Constitution, concerning old-age insurance and the insurance of survivors and Ordinance No. I, dated September 1st, 1939 2, concerning assistance by the cantons to indigent aged persons, widows and orphans, and also aged unemployed persons increase the Federal assistance granted since 1934 to aged persons, widows and orphans. The grant to the cantons is increased from 7 to 15 million francs and, further, grants are made of 1% million francs to the Foundation for the Aged (" Pour la Vieillesse ”) and 500,000 francs to the Foundation for the Young (“ Pro Juventute”) for widows and orphans, thus making a total of 17 million francs. The sum available for widows and orphans cannot exceed 1 % million francs, as 11 % millions go to aged persons and 4 millions to aged unemployed persons (in accordance with the terms of the Federal Order of December 15th, 1939,3 concerning the allocation,

1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 24 of June 2 8 th , 1939, page 595. 2 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 35 of September 1st, 1939- page 802. 3 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 52 of December 20th, 1939 page 1541. — 97 — as between the cantons, of the Federal grant for assistance to aged unemployed persons). The following are entitled to benefit by the Federal assistance : indigent widows under 65 years of age and children u n d e r 18 years of age both of whose parents are dead, or whose father is dead, and also, as an exception to the general rule, children whose mothers are dead and children born out of wedlock, all the aforesaid being of Swiss nationality, irrespectively of the canton to which they belong and the length of time for which they have been settled therein. Persons who are permanently supported by or permanently in receipt of relief from the Public Assistance authorities are not entitled to benefit by this Federal assistance. The practical work of assistance will be considerably improved as a result of these new provisions (more precise investigations and enquiries concerning the situation of applicants, the periodical review of the assistance granted, contact with other assistance organisations). Ordinance, dated March 8th, 1938, on the organisation of war-time economy, and Regulations, dated November 24th, 1938, concerning the powers of war-time economy offices of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs. Under these provisions, a War-time Assistance Office is established under the authority of the Federal Social Insurance Office. This office comprises a secretariat and six sections, the sixth of which is concerned with assistance to young persons, families and the infirm. On April 5th, 1939, the Swiss Social Work Conference set up a Swiss War-time Assistance Committee, the chairman of which is the head of the sixth section of the Federal War-time Assistance Office, and the Swiss War-time Assistance Committee has itself set up a sub-committee for " assistance to young persons The Federal Order for the purpose of maintaining and making known the spiritual heritage of the country, dated April 5th, 1939 \ is based on a message, dated December

1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 14 of April 12th, 1939, page 423. — g8 —

gth, 1938, by the Federal Council, in which reference is made to the special duties connected with the spiritual defence of the country, both at home and in the matter of activities abroad, and also to the development of the patriotic education of young persons. This order contemplates the establishment of a “ Pro Helvetia” foundation under the presidency of the head of the Department of the Interior and with the collaboration of the cantons and universities and of those cultural institutions and associations of the country which prove to be most important in relation to the object assigned to the foundation. The latter is provided with an annual grant of 500,000 francs, of which an amount of 100,000 francs will constitute its capital. The Confederation makes grants for courses organised for the purpose of training teachers of civics, for providing Swiss teaching equipment for middle schools, for the organisation, at universities, of holiday courses for students from other linguistic regions, etc. On October 20th, 1939, in view of the changed circum­ stances, and in virtue of a Federal Order concerning the establishment of a “ Pro Helvetia ” Labour Com­ munity,1 the Federal Council entrusted to the “ Pro Helvetia ” labour community the duties relating to the spiritual defence of the country. The object of this labour community wTill be, in particular, to strengthen love of the place of birth and of the mother-country. It comprises two groups—the People’s Group and the Army Group—each of which receives half of the grants made.

Administrative Measures. The drafting, in accordance with the Federal Law of June 26th, 1930, on vocational training, of Regulations concerning the vocational training of apprentices and the minimum requirements at their final examinations has been continued during 1939 by the Federal Office of Industry, Arts and Crafts and Labour, with the collaboration of the cantonal authorities and of the various vocational groups concerned. Six new sets of

1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 44 of October 25th, 1939, page 1326. — 99 —

regulations have been published, with the result that there are now sixty-six sets of regulations covering in all ninety-one trades and occupations.

II. Cantons.

Young Persons of School Age.

Legislative Measures. The Ordinance of the canton of Aargau, dated March 3rd, 1939, concerning school-buildings contains provisions relating to the laying-out of sports-grounds and play­ grounds, sheltered, as far as possible, from the wind, the making of school gardens, the fitting-up of special classrooms for instruction in manual wyork, and for meetings and libraries, and also the installation of shower-baths, cloak-rooms and lavatories and the supply of absolutely healthy drinking-water. The Law of the canton of Neuchâtel, dated May 17th, 1939, concerning the -prolongation of compulsory school attendance and the Order by the Council of State, dated December 22nd, 1939, concerning the entry into force of that law provide that compulsory school attendance, which is for a period of eight years, shall be prolonged by not more than one year in the case of young persons who, after completing their eight years of school attendance, have no regular, normal occupation. The communes are required to arrange for a ninth year of instruction for such pupils. In agricultural and wine­ growing districts, the period for wrhich compulsory school attendance is prolonged shall, in the case of pupils of both sexes wrho have been engaged in agriculture and household work throughout the summer, be reduced to the period between November 1st and the end of the school year. Nevertheless, all communes may, with the authorisation of the Council of State, and subject to the exception with regard to pupils in agricultural and wine-growing regions, institute a ninth school year for all their pupils, if they defray the whole of the expenditure relating thereto. This law came into force at the beginning of the 1940/41 school year. — IOO —

Administrative Measures. Regulations concerning the admission of school-children to membership of associations were promulgated, on December 19th, 1939, by the Schools Committee of the city of Solothurn. Under these regulations, only such youth organisations and associations as are authorised thereto after application to the Schools Committee may accept as members school-children of at least the fourth school year who are in daily attendance at school. This authorisation will be granted when the youth organisations or associations writh youth groups concerned pursue educative aims and are under appropriate responsible direction. No school-child may belong to more than one association or youth organisation. Meetings and exercises must take place during the daytime, must not exceed three hours a week and must terminate not later than 8 p.m. in summer and 7 p.m. in winter. In schools in the Ticino, a booklet entitled Buona creanza was distributed, free of charge, to school­ children in the autumn of 1939. The object of this publication is to encourage children to be more polite and well-behaved. It tells them how they should behave at home, in the street, at school, in company, in trains, etc. Many practical hints concerning meals, the way to greet people and the way to behave are devised to inculcate the fundamental elements of good breeding, On October 19th, 1939, the School Management Board of the city of Zurich appealed to families and persons responsible for children of school age to devote special attention to the home-training of children during the period when their fathers are absent on service at the frontiers and, in particular, to keep them under supervision out of school hours in order to protect them against the risks of unruliness and moral abandonment. Families are asked to see that the children do all their homework punctually and with due care, that they come home in the evenings at the proper time and that they do not go to bed too late, Their night’s rest ought, moreover, not to be disturbed or shortened by the wireless.

v'-t 1 r 101 —

The Burgerschaft (Council of Burgesses) of the city of Bern opened a new orphanage in 1939. New children’s homes (orphanages) were opened also by the commune of Malters (Zurich) and the commune of Tuggen (Schwyz). By decision of the Communal Council, dated January n th , 1939, the city of Zurich took over, as from January 1st, 1939, the forest-school of the Zürcher W alderholungs- stâtte Foundation, Zurich 7, and placed it under the administration of the Schools Department, under the name of Freiluftschule Zürichberg.

Young Persons over School Age.

Legislative Measures. The Regulations, dated March 28th, 1939, for the application of the Law on vocational training, of the canton of Neuchâtel (May 17th, 1938), contain provisions concerning vocational schools (admission, grant of scholarships, examinations, certificates). The Ordinance concerning vocational schools of the canton of St. Gallen, dated January 13th, 1939, deals with the objects and organisation of vocational schools and technical training courses intended to supplement vocational instruction and to broaden the general and patriotic education of apprentices (compulsory attendance at school, certificates, supervision). The Ordinance concerning the organisation and development of vocational guidance of the canton of St. Gallen, dated July 4th, 1939, makes the cantonal Apprenticeship Office responsible for the organisation and supervision of vocational guidance. This office carries out the additional duties thus placed upon it (organisation of continuation courses and lectures for officials concerned with the work of vocational guidance, matters relating to the placing of apprentices, the development of the scholarship system, etc.) in conjunction with the cantonal Conference of Vocational Guidance Advisers and with the schools and professional and trade organisations. The Education Department determines the number of vocational training centres — 102 — for each district, after consulting the chairman of the district School Board, the communal offices and the trade circles concerned. Vocational guidance is entrusted to a male and a female vocational guidance adviser. The officials concerned are chosen by a special committee, which also draws up the budget of the vocational training centres. Expenditure in this connection is borne by the “ political communes ”, The canton makes grants. For each commune, the vocational training centre, in agreement with the communal authorities and the professional and trade organisations of its area, appoints one or more reliable persons (informers) whose duty it is to provide information concerning the various businesses and undertakings and concerning the candidates for apprenticeship. The Regulations of the canton of Valais, dated February 24th, 1939, concerning the Law of November 13th, 1935, on the execution of the Law on vocational training, define the powers of the cantonal Apprentice­ ship Committee, heads of schools of arts and crafts, local apprenticeship committees and trade and professional groups. The supreme cantonal authority in the matter of vocational training is the Education Department. The cantonal Apprenticeship Committee organises and supervises, inter alia, the final examin­ ations of apprentices and gives decisions on any questions that may arise between masters and apprentices. The local committees are responsible for the supervision of the premises in which apprentices work (these are to be inspected twice a year) and hold themselves at the disposal of the cantonal Apprenticeship Committee for the purpose of conducting enquiries and acting as mediators in regard to any difficulties that may arise between masters and apprentices. The other provisions of these regulations are concerned with the premises in w'hich apprentices work, vocational instruction in schools of arts and crafts, and final examinations. The premises in which apprentices work and the schools of arts and crafts are to be inspected by educational and technical inspectors appointed for that purpose by the Education Department. — 103 —

The Ordinance of the canton of Zug, dated October 18th, 1939, on the execution of the Federal Law concerning the minimum working-age empowers the Department of Commerce and Arts and Crafts to schedule any business or establishment as coming within the application of the Federal Law and makes Police offices responsible for supervision in regard to the application of the law. The Law concerning apprenticeship, of the canton of Zug, dated June 19th, 1939, relates to the execution of the Federal Law of June 26th, 1930, on vocational training and appoints as the competent authority, for the purposes of the Federal Law, the cantonal Apprenticeship Committee, which consists of nine members and exercises supervision over the vocational training of apprentices in the establishments in which they are placed, examines apprenticeship contracts, organises intermediate and final examinations and takes the necessary decisions in regard to any difficulties that arise, etc. The canton provides special vocational guidance centres for boys and girls respectively. These centres are responsible also for finding places for apprentices and for developing vocational instruction by granting scholarships to apprentices. The canton has also established at Zug a School of Arts and Crafts which provides vocational instruction and is placed under the control of the Apprenticeship Committee. The Ordinances of the canton of Zurich, dated July 6th. 1939, concerning the training of apprentices in hotels, cafés and restaurants and in bakeries and pastry-cooks’ and confectioners' businesses lay down regulations in regard to working-hours and rest-periods and also in regard to holidays in the two branches in question. Extending the scope of the cantonal Ordinance > concerning cantonal assistance for the purpose of the vocational training in domestic economy of girls leaving school (March 26th, 1925), the Appenzell (Inner Rhodes) “ Standeskommission ” decided, on July 1st, 1939, to make grants, not exceeding half the cost of maintenance, on application therefor, to necessitous girls, belonging to peasant families, attending the Appenzell School of Domestic Economy. These grants will be made from — 104 —

the cantonal fund in aid of vocational training in agriculture. A model contract of employment for female workers in domestic service was published by the Regierungsrat of the canton of Bern (but for the city of Bern only) on February 28th, 1939, and another by the Regierungs­ rat of the canton of Solothurn on April 15th, 193g, Both these contracts contain clauses concerning working- hours and hours off duty, nightly rest, extra work holidays, wages, food, lodging, sickness insurance, references, etc. In 1939, on the initiative of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, the Education Department of the canton of Vaud organised, in the district of Aigle, a three-months (residential) course in domestic economy, reserved for girls between 15 and 16 years of age. The cost was defrayed, to the extent of 60%, by the Federal Office of Industry, Arts and Crafts and Labour, Bern, and, as to the balance, by the Education Department and the pupils, who were required to pay the sum of 50 centimes a day. In the case of necessitous pupils, the Department of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce made grants and it also took steps to find places for the pupils on the termination of the course. By an Order of the Council of State of the canton of Valais, dated July 27th, 1939, children under 16 years of age are prohibited from attending cinema­ tograph performances, even if they are accompanied by a relative. This prohibition may, by decision of the cantonal committee for the examination of films, be extended to young persons of from 16 to 18 years of age. (Amendment to the Regulations of October 27th, 1916, concerning the execution of the Law of November 12th, 1915, on cinematograph and other similar performances.) The Law, dated May 21st, 1939, concerning publie establishments and the sale of alcoholic beverages, of the canton of Zurich, and the Ordinance dated March 6th,' May 21st, 1939, concerning the execution of that law prohibit the serving of children under 12 years of age who are not accompanied by adults and also prohibit the admission to public establishments of persons under — 105 — i8 years of age for the purpose of selling goods or for the" purpose of giving performances of any kind whatsoever. The employment in public establishments of youths or girls under 16 years of age is authorised only up to 8 p.m. and their presence in dance-halls of any kind is prohibited. Female employees habi­ tually occupied in serving customers must be at least 20 years of age and male employees at least 16 years of age.

Administrative Measures.

In the Law of the canton of Vaud, dated December 12th, 1938, concerning private employment agencies, a special section is devoted to the placing of girls in situations abroad. Every case of placing of this kind must, at least eight days before the departure of the person concerned, be reported on an official form to the Department of Justice and Police. Employment agencies must defray the cost of the return journey should this become necessary, more particularly in cases where no complaint can be made against the girl concerned. The provisional scheme of teachers’ training for domestic economy continuation schools of the canton of Zug, drawn up by the Education Board on May 2nd, 1939, provides also for the teaching of hygiene and recom­ mends that, in communes where it is possible to extend the time-table and broaden and develop the curriculum, the latter should provide for more advanced instruction in hygiene and medical care and training of a moral character and with reference to the life of the individual, the family and the social group, and also training in the science of education. This includes also a continuation course for the study of the written use of the mother-tongue, guidance concerning reading in regard to books, periodicals and newspapers and supplementary instruction in the way to behave in different circumstances of daily life. As far as possible, the curriculum must also include instruction in the elements of civil law. — i o ô —

All Ages. Legislative Measures. The " Welfare of Assisted Children in Switzerland” a thesis for the diploma of the Women’s School of Social Sciences, Zurich, by Nelly Vogtli, printed in the review Gesundheit und Wohlfahrt, Zurich, Orell Fiissli, No. io, 1939, gives detailed information in regard to the present position of assisted children in the different cantons and towns. The Regulations concerning the exercise of supervision over assisted children by the “ Pro Juventute ” Foundation, promulgated by the Petty Council of the canton of Graubiinden on May 19th, 1939, entrust supervision over assisted children, in so far as such supervision is not provided for directly by the commune, to the " Pro Juventute ” Foundation acting in conjunction with the cantonal Assistance Office. The " Cadonau ” Committee of the "Pro Juventute ” Foundation represents the Foundation in its relations with the cantonal authorities. The district committees are responsible for supervision in their own districts and appoint female social workers (Fiirsorgerinnen) in numbers appropriate to local requirements. These social workers give voluntary service. The area to which their work extends is, as a rule, the administrative area of the commune. They exercise supervision over all assisted children in their district and visit them when necessary and also investigate the circumstances of the families which desire to receive an assisted child. The relevant authorisation is issued by the competent cantonal authority. Ordinances for giving effect to the Federal provisions concerning assistance for survivors (widows and orphans), in accordance with the Federal Order regarding the execution of the transitional provision contained in Article 34 (4) of the Federal Constitution, relating to old-age insurance and the insurance of survivors, of June 21st, 1939 \ have been promulgated by all the cantons, in some cases, howrever, only during the first

1 See page 96 of this volume. — 107 —

half of 1940. In these ordinances, the various cantons give particulars concerning the right to assistance (the extension of this right to children who have lost only their mother in the cantons of Fribourg, Graubiinden, Solothurn, and Valais, and to children under 18 years of age born out of wedlock in the cantons of Fribourg and Valais), and also concerning the amount and period of assistance, the procedure for the review and refund of assistance and the penalties applicable to widows and children in receipt of this assistance. Lastly, they specify the cantonal assistance centres and the cantonal assistance committees and also the local assistance centres, which receive applications for assistance, examine them, decide the extent of the assistance to be given, grant the assistance and, finally, exercise supervision in regard to this branch of assistance. The Law of the canton of Basel-Land, dated March 27th, 1939, concerning public assistance, introduces certain amendments, which experience has shown to be necessary, in the Law on public assistance, which has been in force since 1929. The extent and nature of the assistance granted to young persons are, however, not affected by these amendments. The Regulations of the canton of Vaud, dated December 5th, 1939, concerning the execution of the Law regarding social welfare and public assistance (May 16th, 1938) make the communal authorities, public assistance committees, parish councils, clergy and, through the Education Department, the school governors and the teaching staff responsible for reporting to the Depart­ ment of the Interior (assistance to young persons being organised by the State in the canton of Vaud) any minors who, by reason of infirmities, bad conduct, difficult character, or any family circumstances, need assistance, supervision and instruction. They direct that, in such cases, an investigation shall be made and that the attention of the guardianship authorities shall, if necessary, be drawn thereto. Children who are normal physically and mentally are, preferably, to be placed with respectable families. Supervision over all assisted children under 15 years of age is to be exercised by the authorities, the medical officer appointed for that i o 8 — purpose and the inspectresses and persons designated by the Department of the Interior. Authorisation to receive assisted children, whether in return for payment or not, is granted by the Department of the Interior. The Ordinance, dated April 15th, 1939, of the canton of Solothurn, concerning the execution of the Federal Law regarding the measures to be taken against tuberculosis contains provisions relating to schools and establish­ ments for children and young persons (periodical examinations of teachers, staff, pupils and boarders, by school doctors wTho practise as such in either a primary or accessory capacity and who are appointed by the communes of residence, the education of pupils suffering from the disease, the withdrawal from service of teachers and staff suffering from the disease, and, where necessary, the assistance to be granted to those concerned). If a child is living in an environment and in circumstances which entail a danger of infection with tuberculosis, and if no change in these circumstances is possible, the child must be removed and any measures necessary must be proposed to the guardianship authorities by the medical attendant. Instruction in regard to the symptoms of tuberculosis and means of preventing the disease must be given periodically to pupils in the higher classes of elementary and middle schools and to boarders in institutions. Students in the teachers’ training-college will, through their advanced instruction in hygiene, school-children’s assistance and related matters, acquire a knowledge of the essential principles that will enable them later to collaborate effectively with the school medical service. As regards the cost of treatment of children and of the help to be given to assisted children, the canton may make grants to necessitous patients and may also, in respect of the school medical service and the supervision of assisted children, make grants to their communes of residence amounting, according to their economic situation, to not more than 25% of the duly recorded net expenditure allocated to the campaign against tuberculosis. By an Order, dated December 20th/2ist, 1939, of the Landrat, supplementing the Police Ordinance of the canton of Uri, dated February 7th, 1893, the sale to minors of all — i o g — dangerous fire-arms, ammunition and powder, and also of fireworks, is absolutely prohibited.

Administrative Measures. Through the cantonal school inspectors and teaching staff, the Education Board of the canton of Obwalden organised a campaign during Advent 1939 and Lent 1940 against the use of oaths and strong language. For this purpose, posters in colour, so worded as to attract the attention of children, were distributed for display in school playgrounds and corridors. Teachers were asked to give their pupils written work which would lead them to reflect on this subject, to arrange for a minute’s quiet meditation when the children came into class from the street or the playground, and not neglect the duty of discreet personal supervision. In August 1939, the city of St. Gallen, after making the necessary provision, appointed an official responsible for the supervision of assisted children (in application of the provisions of the Cantonal Ordinance, dated October 31st, 1930, concerning the execution of measures to be taken against tuberculosis).

REPORT ON ASSISTANCE AND SOCIAL WELFARE WORK DURING 1940 (STATE AND COMMUNES)

A c t io n in f a v o u r o f Y o u n g P e r s o n s

I. Confederation.

Young Persons over School Age. Legislative Measures. (a) Pursuant to the Federal Law of June 24th, 1938, concerning the minimum working-age1, the Federal

1 See page 95 of this Volume. — no —

Council promulgated Regulations concerning the execution of the Law on February 24th, 1940 1. According to the provisions of this Ordinance, the following come within the application of the law, namely : commercial, craftsmen’s and industrial establishments, including establishments of home­ workers ; the hotel industry, including restaurants and taverns ; the theatre and cinematograph industry and similar branches of economic activity ; private establish­ ments, the professional activity of which is concerned with the fine arts, science and technical work, education or instruction, the provision of hospital accommodation or the care of the sick (including the care of children, infants, and women in childbed, but not including the nursing of the sick in their own homes). In all these establishments, only persons over 15 years of age may be allowed to wrork. The law does not apply to the following : agriculture, forestry and related branches of activity, such as the care and breeding of cattle, cheese-dairies and local milk collection centres, fruit­ growing, wine-growing, market gardening, the cultivation of berries, sugar beet and tobacco, businesses connected with an agricultural undertaking and serving for the utilisation of its own products, such as milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables ; private domestic service ; establishments of a public character or of public utility concerned with the arts, science, education or instruction ; organisations concerned with social work or the care of the sick. Lastly, the law' does not apply to the work of running errands performed by children over 14 years of age employed in establishments coming under the Law of March 31st, 1922 (concerning the employment of young persons and of women in arts and crafts), in commercial undertakings or in connection with domestic industry. In commercial undertakings, such children may, moreover, perform light accessory work. The children in question may be thus occupied only on working-days and, on an average, for any period of two consecutive wTeeks, for not more than 40 hours a week. The working-hours must fall

1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 10 of February 28th, 1940, p. 219. — Ill —

between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., with a two-hours break at midday, and between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturdays and the days immediately preceding public holidays. This latter provision does not apply, however, to the delivery of goods for retail shops or for craftsmen. Apart from Sundays and public holidays, eighteen days' holiday, including at least six consecutive days, must be given each year. The cantons may prohibit the employment of children not over 15 years of age, either in general or in respect of certain categories of occupations, certain establishments or certain kinds of work, and they may make their authorisation subject to the observance of special provisions in regard to the premises in which the work is performed and the conditions of work. In the case of the cantons (Bern, with the exception of a few districts, Nidwalden, Glarus, Zug, Fribourg, Solothurn, Graubünden, Aargau, Thurgau, Vaud, Valais and Neuchâtel), in which school attendance up to 15 years of age is already compulsory, the law came into force on March 1st, 1940. In the other thirteen cantons, and also in the Jura district of the canton of Bern, a postponement until March 1st, 1941, was allowed. Most of these cantons did not apply for a further postponement of the entry into force of the law, as children who had left school could be employed in agriculture until they reached the minimum age for admission to vocational training. Only a few cantons, of which Zurich was one, applied for a further adjournment. The Federal Council, however, did not accede to these applications and declared that the law would enter into force on March 1st, 1941, throughout the whole of Switzerland. For the guidance of all persons exercising paternal power over children coming within the scope of the Law concerning the minimum working-age, the Depart­ ment of Economic Affairs of the canton of Zurich drew attention to the arrangements made for a year’s agricultural service, and for training in domestic economy, the preparatory classes in metalwork and woodwork at the trade school of the city of Zurich, the voluntary one-year course in domestic economy at the Swiss Technical School for Girls, Zurich, and the — 112 — trade schools at Zurich and Winterthur and also the three-months course in rural domestic economy of the Zurich Peasants Secretariat. In virtue of the Law concerning the minimum working-age, amendments became necessary, in March 1940, in regard to the following Federal laws and ordinances : (i) Federal Law of June 18th, 1914/June 27th, 1919, concerning work in factories : it is made unlawful for children not over 15 years to be present in the work-rooms. (ii) Ordinance of October 3rd, 1919/September yth, 1923, on the execution of the Law concerning work in factories : in the matter of applications for the authorisation, in exceptional circumstances, of the presence of children not over 15 years of age in the work-rooms of factories, competence passes to the cantonal governments. (iii) Federal Law of June 26th, 1930, on vocational training : any minor who is no longer under the obligation to attend school, is over 15 years of age and is working, in a public or private establishment, with the object of learning one of the trades referred to in the law, is deemed to be an apprentice within the meaning of the lawr.

(6) With reference to Article 8, paragraph 2, and Article 26 of the Federal Council Ordinance dated January 4th, 1940 1, concerning the execution of the Federal Council Order, dated December 20th, 1939 \ provisionally regulating the payment of grants in respect of loss of wages to workers on active military service, the Federal Department of Economic Affairs decided, with retrospective effect as from April 1st, 1940, that, in regard to both male and female apprentices, for the purpose of determining the right to grant and the

1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, N o. 1 of January 3rd, 1940, page 12. 2 Recueil des Lois fédérales, N o. 52 of December 20th, 1939, page 1552. — ii3 —

amount of grant for loss of wages, account should be taken only of money-wages.

All Ages. Legislative Measures. The Federal Council Order, dated December 2nd, 1940 \ providing for family grants and supplementary grants in respect of children to members of the Federal staff for Christmas 1940, authorises non-recurring grants for children. The following are entitled to receive these grants, namely : officials, employees and workmen in permanent whole-time employment in the service of the Confederation or of the Federal Railways, who have children under 18 years of age and whose annual wages do not exceed 7,000 francs. The supplementary grant for children amounts to 10 francs per child if the employee has one or two children, and 20 francs if the employee has more than two children, under 18 years of age. Employees who are not on the permanent staff but who are in full-time employment and employees who are on the permanent staff—i.e., who are employed without a break, but who are not in the full-time employment of the Confederation or of the Federal Railways—are entitled to receive the full amount of the grant or half the amount of the grant for children, according to the number of days' or hours' work respectively. Married women employed in the service of the Confederation are not entitled to receive the grant for children unless their earnings constitute the sole resources of the family. The Ordinance, dated January 4th, 1940 2, concerning the execution of the Federal Council Order of December 20th, 19393, provisionally regulating the payment of grants in respect of loss of wages to workers on active

1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. s s of December 4th, 1940, page 1965. 2 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 1 of January 3rd, 1940, page 12. 3 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 52 of December 20th, 1939, page 1552. — i i 4 — military service, the Federal Council Order, of June 14th, 1940 provisionally regulating the payment of grants in respect of loss of earnings to persons in independent positions (in agriculture and as craftsmen) on active military service, the Federal Council Order dated December 28th, 19402, amending the system instituted on December 20th, 1939, and January 4^ 1940, for the payment of grants in respect of loss of wages and the Order, dated December 28th, 1940 3, amending the system for the payment of grants in respect of loss of earnings, also contain provisions concerning grants for children.

II. Cantons and Communes.

(a) Mothers, Infants and Young Children.

Legislative Measures. From the funds of a foundation which it possesses, the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds makes a grant of 50 francs in cash to families in poor circumstances on the birth of a child, or starts a savings-bank book with the same amount. Under a communal Order, dated December 20th, 1940, the commune of Wetzikon (Zurich) introduced, as from January 1st, 1941, free assistance at childbirth for all women of Swiss nationality in childbed who have been settled in the commune for more than six months. Unmarried mothers are assimilated to married mothers. There is no limitation as to the choice of the midwife. The commune grants to pregnant women who go to a hospital for their confinement the sum of 30 francs (for twins, 40 francs). Doctor’s fees, if any, are to be defrayed entirely by the women themselves

1 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 28 of June 1 9 th 1940. page 9 6 1 . 2 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 6 0 of December 3 0 th, 1940, page 2114. 3 Recueil des Lois fédérales, No. 6 0 of December 3 0 th, 1940, page 2117. — ii5 — or by the sickness-insurance funds. Applications, duly completed, for free assistance in respect of childbirth must reach the Health Committee within fourteen days after the birth of the child. The communal Order concerning free assistance at childbirth of Seegràben, a commune adjacent to Wetzikon, is in similar terms.

Administrative Measures. A small maternity ward, with five beds, was attached to the hospital of Payerne in January 1940.

(b) Children of School Age.

Legislative Measures. On July 12th, 1939, the Council of State of the canton of Vand promulgated Regulations for school doctors. According to these regulations, the school doctor is attached to the cantonal Health Service. He must inspect school-children aged 7, 12 and 15 at least once a year and record his observations on each child’s card. He notifies the teaching staff of any school-children whose state of health seems to call for medical treatment and he also communicates with the medical practitioner in attendance in regard to children who are often ill or whom he has specially noted. The fee paid is fr. 1,10 per year for each child on the register.

Administrative Measures. On October 22nd, 1940, the Obwalden Education Board prohibited pupils of all elementary and secondary schools throughout the canton from being in the streets or in public places, etc., after 8 p.m. unless they are accompanied by their parents or by responsible adults. Early in 1940, the Education Board of the canton of Schwyz, basing itself on the cantonal ordinance concerning the execution of the Law relating to — n 6 tuberculosis, and in agreement with the cantonal Health Department, addressed a circular to the communes. According to this circular, the communes must, for the purpose of ensuring the inspection and supervision of pupils of elementary and secondary schools, appoint a school doctor and arrange for the inspection of children entering school for the first time in 1940. In addition, a census of abnormal children must be taken. On February 29th, 1940, the Executive Council of the canton of Zurich decided to close the blind department of the Zurich Hospital for the Blind and Deaf and Dumb (Zurich 2) at the end of the school-year 1940/41 as, owing to the continuous decline in the number of in-patients (during the years 1937-1939 from four to five children residing in the canton), the maintenance of this department can no longer be justified, more particularly on educational grounds.

(c) Young People over School-age.

Legislative Measures. Ordinances for the execution of the Federal Law of June 24th, 1938, concerning the minimum working-age were promulgated by the Executive Councils of the canton of Aargau (June 14th, 1940), the canton of Solothurn (April 2nd, 1940) and the canton of Thurgau (February 25th, 1941). An Ordinance, dated April 13th, 1940, of the Executive Council of the canton of Zurich, lays down regulations concerning the training of apprentices (health certificates, working-hours, rest periods) in hairdressers' businesses, and an Order, dated June 13th, 1940, by the same authority regulates the working-hours of apprentices in butchers’ shops. The Education Law of the canton of Geneva, dated November 6th, 1940, contains also provisions relating to the Girls’ Vocational and Domestic Training School (connecting it with the sixth year of the elementary school, two divisions—a junior division with two years’ teaching and a senior division with two years’ teaching and - i i 7 — two and a-half or three years’ teaching for dressmaking), the Higher School of Commerce, with four sections, the School of Arts and Crafts, with six sections (decorative arts, manual arts, mechanics, watch-making, etc.) and the School of Horticulture (three years’ teaching). The Law, dated July 2nd, 1940, amending the Education Law, dated October 13th, ig 10, of the canton of Luzern makes school attendance compulsory for eight years (beginning, wThen a child is 6 years of age before October 1st, in the spring of the following year), empowers communes to make manual training compulsory for boys, and requires communes to provide and maintain special continuation schools for the domestic training of girls leaving school. Schools may be provided jointly by several communes. Domestic training may, with the assent or by decision of the Education Board, be entrusted to private continuation schools. Attendance at domestic training continuation schools is compulsory for all girls over school-age. In the canton of Schwyz, the Education Board amended the curricula of elementary and secondary schools so as to include instruction in domestic economy. The Domestic Training School, attendance at which is compulsory for pupils who have left school, was opened in the autumn of 1940.

Administrative Measures. On July 15th, 1940, the cantonal Apprenticeship Committee published School Regulations concerning the cantonal vocational school of Sarnen (Obwalden), which is organised, on a system of vocational classes, with graduated years of apprenticeship and one full day's vocational occupation each week.

(d) All Ages.

Legislative Measures. Under the terms of an Order by the Council of State, dated July 5th, 1940, concerning family allowances to n 8 — cantonal staffs, the canton of Fribourg grants to cantonal pfficials and members of the teaching staffs of higher secondary and elementary schools, and also to Police officials, in addition to their regulation salaries, an annual family allowance ranging, according to the number of their children under 18 years of age, from 40 to 1,040 francs (one to ten children) and to roadmen an annual allowance of from 30 to 540 francs (one to ten children). In virtue of an Order by the Executive Council, dated October 25th, 1940, children’s allowances and autumn and winter allowances were granted by the canton of Solotkurn to cantonal officials and employees, including the cantonal Police and secondaty and elementary teachers in the cantonal school and in the winter school of agriculture, and also to cantonal roadmakers and to the staffs of cantonal establishments and services. By a Communal Order, dated December gth, 1940, similar allowances were granted by the commune of Winterthur to permanent full-time employees of the city and to auxiliary employees who have been continuously in the service of the city since April 1st, 1940. The Order by the Executive Council of the canton of Basel-Land in regard to the administration of public assistance dated February i6th, 1940, contains a special section concerning assistance to the sick and to women in childbed and brings all assisted children under 16 years of age who are not already placed under the control of other authorities (orphans’ department, guardianship office, association for the upbringing of the indigent) within the supervision of the communal public assistance authority, with the collaboration, where necessary, of social workers. The Regulations of the canton of Geneva, dated November 26th, 1940, concerning public collections, make it unlawful to employ girls of school-age for selling flowers in the streets for charitable objects. Boys may not be employed for this purpose during school hours. Authorisation for their employment outside school hours will be granted only by the Education Department and not by teachers or heads of schools. — n g —

The Education Law of the canton of Geneva, dated November 6th, 1940, refers also to the Child Welfare Office, established in virtue of the Law of July 2nd, 1937, which is responsible for supervising and developing the physical and moral well-being of children and young persons. The Order of the Council of State of Geneva, dated November 19th, 1940, concerning the admission of children to cinematograph performances, provides that children may not be admitted to cinematograph performances except when the posters state explicitly that the performances are intended for children or are of such a nature that children may be admitted thereto, either alone or accompanied by adults. In November 1940, the Grand Council of the canton of Vaud amended the Law of August 31s#, 1916, concerning the compulsory insurance of children so that the insurance fund will, in future, be required to defray the cost of medical treatment and medicaments in cases of illness or accident whereas, hitherto, certain accidents—e.g., accidents occurring in the practice of sports, occupational accidents, etc.—had been excluded. The fund may also, with the authorisation of the Council of State, make grants to institutions concerned with the health of children. An Order, dated October 10th, 1940, by the Council of State of the canton of Schaffhausen, concerning the celebration of young citizens' festivals, provides that all young citizens who have at the time attained their majority are to be welcomed on admission to the body of electors at a communal meeting or, if such an opportunity does not present itself, in some simple way, on the occasion, if possible, of some day of commemor­ ation or existing public holiday (e.g., the National Fes­ tival), when an appropriate address is to be given and they are to receive copies of the Federal, Cantonal and Communal constitutions. The Swiss Criminal Code of December 21st, 1937, embodies, in a special Title, provisions concerning minors (children under 16 years of age : investigations, upbringing under supervision, special treatment, change °f treatment, disciplinary measures, non-intervention ; — 120 — young persons of from 14 to 18 years of age : investigation, reformatories, placing with a family, special treatment, substitution of one measure for another, release on probation, penal measures, conditional suspension of enforcement of sentence, suspension of sentence, non-intervention, deletion of measures entered on the record ; minors of from 18 to 20 years of age). The cantons must designate the authorities who are competent to deal with children and young persons, decide the procedure to be followed and, subject to the maintenance obligations of parents, determine who is to defray the expenditure arising out of the placing of a child or young person when neither the latter nor the parents are able to pay. During 1940, ten cantons promulgated laws concerning the execution of the Swiss Criminal Code. These contain provisions concerning the above-mentioned three points in regard to cases in which minors are concerned.

Administrative Measures. The provisions concerning the execution of the communal Ordinance of the city of Bienne, Bern, relating to guardianship and assistance to young persons, dated January 10th, 1940, make the Director of the Youth Office (Jugendamt) responsible, inter alia, for the following : assistance to children bom out of wedlock, supervision over children assisted by the commune, arrangements for guardianship of minors and for super­ vision in regard to education, and measures in respect of children reported to be abandoned or in moral danger. A circular addressed to school committees by the Education Board of the canton of Nidwalden, concerning the duties of the Young Persons' Assistance Office, appoints the school committees as young persons’ assistance offices for their school areas, not only for school-children but also for children who have not reached school-age and for adolescents who have left school. Cases calling for the intervention of the authorities include physical and mental ill-treatment, indigence of parents, attendance by minors at dance-halls and baths where

.. rr — 321 — mixed bathing is allowed, being out of doors late at night, the wearing of masks in public places, attendance at cinematograph and theatre performances not suitable for young people, etc. A circular by the Department of the Director of Justice of the canton of Zurich concerning the non-publication of adoptions of children states that publication will no longer be authorised. District councils must in future communicate the decisions taken by them in such cases only to the persons concerned and to the authorities competent in regard thereto. — 122 —

URUGUAY

The following measures in regard to child welfare were carried out in Uruguay in 1939, through the intermediary of the Children’s Council : (a) Extension of the work in rural districts, where various youth hostels were inaugurated in the following localities : Salto (one establishment for youths and another for girls), Paysandû, Fray Bentos, San José, Flores, Florida, Minas, Treinta y Très and Tacuarembô. Each hostel has room for thirty boarders and is organised on the Family Home system. These hostels will provide accommodation in their respective districts for some 300 young persons, who would otherwise have come to the capital, Montevideo, where the various establish­ ments are already overcrowded. (b) Compilation of the " Card index ” relating to the work of young persons. This already contains particulars of 15,000 boys who have been authorised to go to work. The object is to ensure that the work is carried on in hygienic conditions, that the boys con­ cerned have completed their compulsory attendance at school and are in sufficiently good health, and that the economic circumstances of their families make it necessary for them to work. (c) Campaign for prophylaxis against tuberculosis in establishments under the authority of the Children's Council and in public schools. The radiological process of Abreu is employed and by this means mass examina­ tions can be rapidly carried out. These are followed by immunisation with B.C.G. (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin).

r* £

a n n u a l r e p o r t s o n c h il d w e l f a r e drawn up by the Information Centre with the documentary material received from Governments. Five Reports published in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940 and 1942 respectively are available. Ser. L.o.N. P. I937.IV.6 ...... 1/-S 0 .2 5 Ser. L.o.N. P. 1938.IV.5 ...... 3/- $0.75 Ser. L.o.N, P. I939.IV.5 ...... 4/- $1.00 Ser. L.o.N. P. 1940.IV.4 ...... 4/- $1.00 Ser. L.o.N. P. 1942.IV.1 ...... 4/- $1.00

SUMMARIES OF THE LEGISLATIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERIES OF DOCUMENTS of the Information Centre. Four Summaries published in 1938, 1939, 1940 and 1941 respectively are available. Ser. L.o.N. P. 1938.IV .3...... 1/- $0.25 Ser. L.o.N. P. 1939.IV .I...... l/-$ 0 .2 5 Ser. L.o.N. P. 1940.IV.1...... 1/6 $0 .40 Ser. L.o.N. P. 1941.IV.3 ...... 1/6 $0.40

PLACING OF CHILDREN IN FAMILIES Volume I: Fundamental Concepts, Histo­ rical Development, Characteristic Features in Differing Systems, Principles and Proce­ dures in the Organisation of Services. (Ser. L.o.N. P. 1938.IV.14/I) 3/- $0.75 Volume II : Various Systems of placing Children in Families. (Ser. L.o.N. P. 1938 IV.14/II) 5/- SI . 25 THE ILLEGITIMATE CHILD Study on the Legal Position of the Ille­ gitimate Child. (Ser. L.o.N. P. 1939.IV.6) . . . 4/- $1.00

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