State Wards A Target For Arrows of Scandal

NZ Truth, Issue 1210, 7 February 1929, Page 1

State Wards A Target For Arrows of Scandal

THE Department of Health, through I the channels of the Plunket Soclety> " has established, an unassailable reputation for the Dominion m child saving^ but the same cannot be said for the Education Department m its effort to retrieve the character and personality of the unfortunate children who flnd themselves,, through no fault of their own, driven to shelter m the haven of State aid. ■ The designs of the' child welfare legislation, as intended by the Legislature, are sound m theory, and if the system were given proper effect to the money would be well spent. After a very thorough investigation, "N.Z. Truth" is satisfied that the administration of the system leaves much to be .desired, arid, there is undoubtedly room for the new Minister to lavish any practical talents he -post sesses m righting the wrongs which at proserit exist. ".•'•>'.■'■ . the first place it was found that the child welfare officers attached to the permanent staff are grossly overworked, and herein lies one of the "reasons for, the defect^ m the^present system.' . ' In sparsely-populated provincial districts, under the supervision of, but seldom visited by, permanent officials, the State relies on the, assistance and advice of local voluntary social workjers, and though they :are honest and genuine m their desire to assist/ the less fortunate ; .m embers', of the coin-, munity, there is .room for reform. "The main' object of the child welfare system is 'brie '.bf social readjustment and supervision vi unfortunate children,van investigation of their conduct and thejr family histories, the. investigation and " supervision of ail illegitimate births to'ensure that the children are properly; placed and' cared .for and to 'assist "the ; unmarried mother- Ctq reestablish? herself, m the community. In the cliild welfare system, the. child. Who by .reason of its environment or physical ; or mental condition, is handicapped m the. race of life and. is likely to^bepbmes a\: biirdeji. on. 'the community, should.^f}ji^i'tfr^ reiiattilitatibti #3sd ;:fs3f"' Sivy path/ -but the ' iavbsti^atlpn.Sffmiid^^yjl this paper; show. that m niariy cases thiS; resultwbuli^* :be • difficult bf^achieye-' merit under present conditions. According to ■ the department's own figures, 95 per ■ cent, of the '■■• Stated children under 15 years of age are boarded ; out m foster homes .'., in country djntrlcts where they are, supposed to have the opportunity of becoming members of a private family and,, through participating In the everyday activities of life, being gradually absorbed m the community. •- •■• The principal factor m the success of this scheme is that the ' children so cared for exist under a veil of anonymity. '■; . .. ... ' . , Their family histories, which should

DFDS FSADF AS

Loose Boarding-out System Ignores Dictates Of Common Sense and Leads to Needless Hardship and Suffering

DEPARTMENTAL INQUIRY A NECESSITY

Since ta\ing over the tremendous task °f r the social readjustment oj 'life for destitute, neglected, delinquent and physically afflicted 'children, the Government of New Zealand has spent enormous sums of the people's money, and as a Government^can only be judged by results, it is now opportune to ask : H™ the expenditure been warranted by the results which have attended the activities of the Child 'ffielfdre Branch of the Department of Education ? i :F6k years the Department of Education has been regarded m. many respects as the black sheep of the State departmental family, mainly because of the muddling methods which have been allowed to prevail to the detriment of the efficient working of the system. ■.' ' '.;•:. ; r '...■' ' ;■: ; ■'■ •. ' • ■■'.'■ ■", ' .. .■ '.. .. ' '' • :.-.-■ .;.'-.. ; ■• ; .- ■/

interest nobody but themselves, are supposed to remain conveniently m the background, and I ' apart ..from the knowledge that they have the State -to thank for their progress m life, they ; are never; .reminded from' whence they came nor are any -comparisons made regarding their /station m life. There they may aspire to' the highest, positions m the land, and many instances could be quoted where State S§iaft^iU^entvM i ? ! e n s^b>:;h'oJd'.r,espon'^. SiblQ* Jpo'sitions- which "hayie^completeiy bbscuyed the -kßoAyledgq of their origin: "Unfortunately the theory has so. frequently, failed m practice that "Truth", issues this timely warning .to the newMinister of Education that an inquiry, into the child welfare system , is ah urgent necessity. In the many institutions, most of them m cities, where these children are catered for, the danger is not so apparent. It is m the country where the practice of the system fails, yet with i the employment of a little'common sense, the weakness could easily be overcome. -The maxim that a chain -is only.' as strong as its weakest link applies very forcibly to the New Zealand system of iiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiMiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiniiiiiiliii.iiiiniii imiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiilMtK

child welfare, and ttie most glaring weakness which came under notice is, one which is m direct opposition to the Spirit of the- . fcheme, and which threatens to undermine , the whole

Staff Reorganisation

The directors of "Truth". (N.Z.-) Ltd., have to advise that the services of: — Messrs. R. N. Burns (Managing Editor) H. R. Clayton (Accountant) J. P. Bolton ( Sub-editor) Miss I. Wilkinson (Contributor), and HJL; Hawthorne (Typiste) \ ,',; .. ;,; have been terminated by the directors, and they are now m no way, either directly or indirectly, associated with "Truth." Neither is Miss P. Ramsay, recently employed as a clerk. Consequent upon such terminations, the following appointments have been made : — " * Messrs, R. A. Jesson (Managing Editor) J. W. Gallery (Manager) F. A. Symes (Sub-editor).

stability and safety of the system. In small country towns where children are committed to the care of the State it is almost inevitable that their history :is known by all and sundry. Where domestic differences arise and cause a severance of matrimonial ties or m cases of illegitimate birth, it is

the children ; who V always suffer by reason of the fact that the history of their parentage is known arid they too, m time, must becbiiie acquainted with the reasons for their committal to the State.' •.'■■■ ". . ' ■' ■'•,, , '•■■ :-• >. '" ■ .;' :■ . One very unfoi'tunate case which: is a striking commentary on the system, was found m a small township- where

a three-year-old child is boarded out m a foster home.

.This child, a bright, likeable youngster, ■ is the product of a criminal act and :as such, and, contrary to popular

belief, is' of normal mentality and quite intelligent. •'.'.. ' .

Yet the. child, welfare authorities m their wisdom considered it advisable to board the youngster m a foster homo m the town where she was born, where the entire population is aware of the sordid story of her parentage.

T"he child welfare officers must hav.e an inexhaustible faith; m human nature .'•; if t^ey assume ythat , this youngster vyill be- allowed tip grow many years older before some . "busy-body" thinks it adviuable to tell her who. she is> : ' ' ; • • , ;.'•' A medlGal_ man told J'Truth" that this child's .mentality was unusually sound

for one born under such circumstances, and that she had every chinee of making good despite the • serious disadvantage of her parentage. '

Is it conceivable that social welfare workers cannot see for .themselves that this child's chance m life is prejudiced by leaving her boarded but m her birthplace?

Given a reasonable chance,- the child will succeed-, but imagine Her prospects when, having" ovei'come all 'her handicaps and grown to womanhood, she learns the true stor> of her existence from schoolmates or tnrough the agency of ah' idie tongue!

The way of the State child is sufficiently hard without such futile' blundering as m this case.

•In ; the case quoted above, ' it would entail nothing more than a book entry to have transferred the child to another district where the sad story of her family history would not have been known, and there, under the influence of some affectionate foster-mother, she would have the chance of reaching womanhood with her mind untainted concerning her unfortunate origin.

But up till the present the social welfare system has been content to let this child grow up to suffer not only the absence of a mother's' hand, but

also the knowledge that she was an unwanted child. , Another case investigated by "Truth" concerned a child who was committed through the tainted morals of its parents'. , . In this case also the history pf the family was a frequent ; topic of conversation m the town and, not hayingexperienced the benefit of any -real home life, the child adopted wayward tendencies and" became a trifle unruly. •At school and ait home; instead of being, punished for ■•■:.- .the;.child was taunted with remind- ,j erSjOf the misdeeds of its parents— a striking instance of the' sins of the father being visited on the children. Here again the Child Welfare, Department could have sheltered a defenceless child; had sufficient initiative and thought'been given to its case Jbefore it was* placed m a foster home m a town .where it was 'born and reared. ' " ; "Truth's" investigator met many fine types of people m charge ... of these foster homes, and. was satisfied that if the bringing up of the children' was left, entirely to them, the children would have nothing to fear as they fought their way through life. But it is not. only the unhealthy environment pf a disrupted home thaj needs removal. In justice to the cliildren they should.be removed far eriojighaway to be out of hearing of the wag-' ging, scandalous tongues which; are ! so ever ready to strew tneir paths with the greatest obstacle which- could everblock their' way to social readjustment. • .•■■■■■■■::'■ ■ ■■ •- -.-. :"' •' ■' '•.■• '-'-■■■ " Last year there were four thousand State children'boarded .out. at service and m receiving homes, and one thousand of these were being maintained m licensed foster Homes. . The most pertinent question to be asked at the moment is this: Is the Minister satisfied that the welfare of every child is thoroughly considered before it is boarded puti ;'and is he satisfied . with the /present methods; of ' inspection? v '^ ' ■'':<' •■ w^-N-" .'— '"' ■ ■ '^■Jfine' twr^is Ibein^.^pEi6f?n.State:;ijr^-; ■stitutipns;.yrhe,re w^bm v TOerij^l- I dbiTi'estic. tasks ; right lip to" Stilted craftsmanship, the boarders, .both boys and .. girls, • are being afforded almost 'a' replica of a true home- atmosphere while they are being taught to fulfil that : 'place m society for which they were intended. . The result of the investigation conducted by. '.'Truth" proves conclusively that if the Education Department is to sympathetically administer the provisions of the Child Welfare Act m. the interests :of "unfortunate , children, its staff needs enlarging by a considerable number. a • The service requires more trained officers than it has at present engaged, and for the system to succeed there 'must be an urgent introduction of more, common-sense • methods than those which have, come under review.