EDUCATION: CHILD WELFARE, STATE CARE OF CHILDREN, SPECIAL SCHOOLS, AND INFANT-LIFE PROTECTION. [In continuation of E.-4, 1929.]

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1930 Session I, E-04

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1930. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: CHILD WELFARE, STATE CARE OF CHILDREN, SPECIAL SCHOOLS, AND INFANT-LIFE PROTECTION. [In continuation of E.-4, 1929.]

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. I.—EXTRACT FROM THE FIFTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION. CHILD WELFARE. Number op Children under Supervision. The total number of children under supervision of the Child Welfare Branch as at 31st March, 1930, was 7,006, classed under the following headings : — State wards— In foster-homes, hostels, and with friends .. .. .. 2,939 In situations . . .. .. .. .. . . 1,032 In Government institutions, receiving-homes, &c. .. .. .. 288 In private institutions .. .. .. .. .. . . 292 Inmates in special schools for the mentally backward .. .. 267 4,818 Young persons supervised in their own homes by Child Welfare Officers, by Order of Court .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 870 Infants supervised in foster-homes registered under the Infants Act .. 1,204 Pupils at School for the Deaf, Sumner .. .. .. .. 114 7,006 The extent to which the activities of the Child Welfare Branch have developed in the past five years is to some extent indicated by the following table, which shows the number of children under the supervision of the Branch in each year of the period : —

1926. 1927 1928. 1929. 1930. 3oarded out, at service, in receiving-homes, &c.. . Jnder supervision of Child Welfare Officers infant-life protection Deaf children feeble-minded children 3,859 323 771 116 283 i 3,908 412 878 121 273 4,014 493 902 122 285 4.287 678 1,007 117 275 4,551 870 1,204 114 267 Total 5,352 5,592 5,816 6,364 7,006 J_

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It should be remembered, however, that the activities of the Branch are not limited to the supervision of the children shown above. In recent years the responsibilities of the Branch have been considerably increased by the delegation to it of other duties, amongst which are preventive work in the community, investigation, and supervision where necessary of all illegitimate births, investigations regarding children brought under the notice of Children's Courts, or young persons charged with offences, inquiry regarding all applications for the adoption of children under fifteen years of age, preliminary investigation regarding applications for widows' pensions, the inspection and registration of all children's homes and orphanages, &c. The number of children committed to the care of the Superintendent during the year ended 31st March, 1930, was 672, classified according to reason for committal as follows : Indigent, 310 ; delinquent, 28 ; detrimental environments, 61 ; not under proper control, 190; accused or guilty of punishable offence, 78; neglected, 5 ; and, in addition, 23 were admitted by private arrangement (section 12, Child Welfare Act) ; while 37 were temporarily admitted ; and 1 under section 47 of the Infants Act: making the total number of admissions for the year 733. Classified according to age at the time of admission the numbers are as follows : Under six months, 74 ; over six months and under one year, 38 ; from one to five years, 147 ; from five to ten years, 146 ; from ten to fourteen years, 152 ; over fourteen years, 176 : total, 733. Of the children in foster-homes 180 are over the age of fourteen years, of whom 101 are still attending primary schools, and 79 are receiving higher education. In addition, there are 24 residing in hostels, and receiving secondary education.

No. 2.—STATEMENT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE CHILD-WELFARE BRANCH FOR THE YEAE ENDED 31st MARCH, 1930. Investigation and Supervision of Cases appearing before Children's Courts. The number of cases dealt with by the Children's Courts last year was 2,366, and of these 644 were placed under the supervision of Child Welfare Officers. The number actually admitted to institutions, such as receiving-homes, special schools, training-farms, &c, was 672; but all these, with the exception of 148 who require further training, were suitably provided for in the community before the close of the year. The other children appearing before the Courts were dealt with in a summary manner, not calling for supervision, by a Child Welfare Officer. The following statement indicates the numbers (other than those placed under supervision or committed) appearing before all such Courts and the methods of disposal : Admonished and discharged, 574 ; withdrawn, 5 ; returned to institutions, 31 ; dismissed, 71 ; adjourned, 37 ; committed to Supreme Court for sentence, 1 ; committed to Borstal, 26 ; convicted and discharged, 6 ; convicted and birched, 1 ; convicted and fined, 37 ; convicted and probation, 9 ; convicted and ordered to come up for sentence, 3 ; convicted and prison, 1. By-law cases —Withdrawn, 1 ; convicted and fined, 104 ; convicted and discharged, 1 ; admonished and discharged, 151 ; adjourned, 1. Total, 1,060. Of the above, 272 were charged with theft; 121, wilful damage ; 1, false pretences ; 1, loitering ; 2 trespassing ; 1, cruelty to animals ; 2, attempted suicide ; 5, indecency ; 4, rape ; 2, robbery with violence ; 1, manslaughter ; 5, smoking ; 82, mischief ; 1, indigency ; 6, forgery ; 29, stone-throwing ; 24, possessing firearms ; 25, disorderly conduct; 3, obscene language ; 13, assault; 34, breaking and entering ; 3, not under proper control; 31, conversion ; 18, receiving ;8, discharging firearms ; 1, vagrancy ;1, indecent assault; 2, arson ; 1, fraud ; 16, detrimental environments ; 3, drunkenness ;9, breach of Defence Act; 48, breach of Motor-vehicle Act; 1, breach of Railway Act; 6, breach of Acclimatization Act; 10, breach of Fire Brigades Act; 2, breach of Health Act; 2, breach of the Post and Telegraph Act; 4, breach of the Gaming Act; 2, breach of Impounding Act; and 258, breach of by-laws. Children under the Guardianship of the Superintendent of the Child-welfare Branch. At the end of the year there were 4,818 children under control (excluding those mentioned under separate headings below), and, of these, 288 were in residence at Government receiving-homes and probation homes (many of these, of course, only temporarily), training-farm and training institutions, 267 in special schools for mentally backward children, 87 in the four private Roman Catholic schools recognized under the Child Welfare Act; 2,241 children were boarded out in foster-homes, 1,032 were

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in situations, and 660 residing under license with relatives and friends. The remainder were in various private institutions. The young persons over school age in employment number 810 males and 495 females (a number of whom are residing with friends), included in the total of 4,818. Of the males, 623 are farm workers (234 skilled in dairy work and cheesemaking, and 389 competent to milk and carry out general farmwork), 51 are apprentices (of which number some are receiving assistance), and 136 others are employed in various trades. A number of these are also receiving assistance. Of the girls, 378 are domestic workers, 64 factory employees, and 53 engaged in various employments, such as shop-assistants, nurses, dressmakers, &c. Child-placing System. Assisted Service, Higher Education, and Employment of State Children over School Age. At the end of the year 101 State wards over fourteen years of age were in attendance at primary schools and maintained by the Department, 56 were attending secondary schools, and 47 technical schools. Of the State wards in employment, 114, mainly apprentices, were being partly maintained by the Department. Infant-life Protection (Infants Act, 1908). At the end of the year 1,204 infants and young children were supervised in 985 licensed fosterhomes. Of these, 829 homes had one child each, 110 had two children each, 34 had three children each, 8 had four children each, 3 had five children each, and 1 home had six children. Adoptions. By an arrangement with the Department of Justice, applications for adoptions are investigated by Child Welfare Officers before being dealt with by a Magistrate. Daring the year 372 children were adopted, and in twenty-nine of these cases premiums were received by the Department's agents, and paid out usually at the rate of 15s. a week for each child concerned. Of the total number of children adopted, 71 were under the age of six months, 34 between the age of six and twelve months, 150 between the age of one and five years, 70 between the age of five and ten years, and 47 between the age of ten and fifteen years.

Table 1.—Status of Children and Young Persons under the Guardianship of the Superintendent, at 31st March, 1930.

Committals to the Care of the Superintendent during the Year ended 31st March, 1930. The following table shows the new committals according to age : — Boys. Girls. Totals. Under six months .. .. .. 38 36 74 Over six months and under one year . . 22 16 38 One year to five years .. .. .. 90 57 147 Five years to ten years . .• .. .. 91 55 146 Ten years to fourteen years . . ~ 92 60 152 Over fourteen years .. .. .. .. 102 74 176 Totals .. .. ..435 298 733

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Status. Boys. Girls. Total. In residence Boarded out At service With friends In hospitals or convalescent homes . . In mental hospitals In refuges or cognate institutions .. In orphanages Absent without leave In Borstal institutions Y.M.C.A. Hostel, Auckland Institute for the Blind At colleges Girls' Hostel, Wellington In residence, Roman Catholic schools In schools for mentally backward 157 1,269 687 356 14 6 24 12 23 4 16 131 972 345 304 15 3 84 13 6 288 2,241 1,032 660 29 9 108 25 29 4 5 1 3 14 48 77 16 1 8 14 87 267 39 190 Totals .. 2,802 2,016 4,818

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Table 2 below shows the new committals classified according to the causes of admission. Of the total number (733) 310 were destitute or indigent, 190 not under proper control, and 78 had been charged with punishable offences. Of the children admitted under these headings, 433 were placed out in the community before the 31st March, 1930.

Table 2.—Committals during the Year ended 31st March, 1930, classified according to Causes of Commitment.

Table 3. —Inmates discharged prom Control during Year ended 31st March, 1930. Boys. Girls. Totals. Discharged (Child Welfare Act, section 23) .. .. 215 58 273 Attained the age of twenty-one years . . 10 36 46 Adopted .. 17 34 51 Written off books .. . . .. .. 37 22 59 By death .. .. .. .. ..8 3 11 By marriage .. .. . . .. .... 21 21 Totals .. .. ..287 174 61 Table 4. —Institutions for Backward Children : Numbers at 31st March, 1930. Richmond Otekaike „, ,_i_ (Girls). (Boys). iotals - In residence .. .. .. .. 76 190 266 On vacation .. .. .. .. ..1 2 3 At service .. .. .. . . .... 8 8 Day pupils .. .. .. . . .. 1 .. 1 Totals .. .. ..78 200 278

Table 5.—Particulars of Expenditure for the Year 1929-30.

Taken charge of as Boys. Girls. Totals. I indigent .. tfot under proper control Delinquent Detrimental environments Accused or guilty of punishable offence Admission by private arrangement (section 12, Child Welfare Act) Neglected remporary arrangement doming under section 47, Infants Act 175 97 20 34 63 19 135 93 8 27 15 4 310 190 28 61 78 23 2 24 1 3 13 5 37 1 Totals 435 298 733

Item. Otekaike. Richmond. Total. £ s. d. £ s. d. Salaries .. .. .. .. .. 6,322 10 10 1,743 6 0 Ldvertising .. .. .. .. 27 15 7 24 0 11 laintenance of buildings .. .. .. 134 3 11 287 9 10 la intenance of institutions .. .. 444 18 11 1,470 1 1 £ s. d. 1,743 6 0 24 0 11 287 9 10 1,470 1 1 £ s. d. 8,065 16 10 51 16 6 421 13 9 5,917 0 0 'ravelling-expenses 14,456 597 7 8 1 3 Less recoveries (parental contributions and revenue from farms, sale of articles manufactured, &c.) Net cost to Department 15,053 15 2,960 1 4 9 12,093 13 7 The net ex: ienditure for the -ear 1928-29 was £11,821 6s. Id.

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School for Deaf, Sumner. The number of children on the roll at Sumner on the 31st March, 1930, was 56 boys and 58 girls ; 15 pupils left, and 12 were admitted during the year. Expenditure on School for the Deaf, 1929-30. £ s. d. £ s. d. Salaries.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6,161 0 1 Advertising, &c. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 23 5 3 Maintenance of pupils and sundry expenses .. .. .. .. 2,170 2 6 Travelling-expenses .. .. .. .. .. . . 278 10 3 Maintenance of buildings, furnishings, &c. .. .. .. .. 203 410 8,836 2 11 Less parental contributions and amount received from Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards .. .. .. .. .. 2,820 5 8 Sundries .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9 5 11 National endowment .. .. .. .. .. .. 208 0 0 3,037 11 7 £5,798 11 4 Net expenditure for the year 1928-29, £5,793 18s. 2d. On the basis of the roll number as given above this institution costs the State £52 12s. per pupil.

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£ s. a. Net expenditure at institutions as above .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11,522 9 1 Repairs to buildings .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. 2,254 8 3 Salaries of staffs of homes, Child Welfare Officers, visiting nurses, &c. .. .. .. .. 30,876 18 11 Boarding-out of children— £ s. d. Payments to foster-parents .. .. .. .. ~ .. .. 82,872 10 5 Payments to Postal Department as commission .. .. .. .. .. 733 11 6 £ s. d. Issues of clothing, &c. : Prom institutions .. .. .. .. ~ 1,117 211 From Central and Branch Stores .. .. .. 1,912 3 10 3,029 6 9 Medicine, medical attendance, dentistry, clothing, Sec. .. .. .. .. 3,420 0 5 90,055 9 1 Inmates at service— Issues of clothing, &c. : Prom institutions .. .. .. ... .. 1,753 2 6 Prom Central and Branch Stores .. ~ ~ 1,611 14 10 3,264 17 4 Miscellaneous payments (clothing, and medical, &c.) .. .. ... .. .. 3,878 16 0 7,143 13 4 Refund of maintenance payments . -...... .. .. .. .. 108 11 8 Refund of inmates' earnings .. .. .. .. ~ .. .. .. .. 50 14 3 Rent, office requisites, &c. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ~ 2,248 10 8 Travelling-expenses .. .. .. ~ .. .. .. ~ .. ... 8,256 7 3 Wages of inmates ~. . .. ... .. . . .. .. . , .. 240 16 5 Legal expenses . ~......... .. .. ~ . .73 5 2 Transfer and removal expenses .. .. .. .. .. .. ~ .. 98 14 8 Contingencies .. .. .. .. .. ~ ~ .. ~.,43 16 6 Less recoveries— 152,973 15 3 Parents and others .. .. .. .. ~ .. .. 23,730 15 10 Sales of farm-produce .. .. .. .. .. ... .. 2,504 7 5 Inmates' earnings for clothing, &c. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7,499 10 7 Miscellaneous .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . , 855 0 6 National endowment .. .. ... .. .. .. 3,5.14 0 0 38,103 14 4 £114,870 0 11

Table 6.—Child Welfare: Expenditure for Year 1929-30.

Institution. Foodstufls. Clot B t| and Fuel, Light, i Medical and Household and Water, s Dental. Requisites. Farm and Garden, Sundries. Total. Add Stocks, 31st March, 1929. Total. Issues to Board, I I I I Deduct Issues to Service. Deduct StstSch, Expenditure 1930. Girls' receiving-homes — £ s. d. Auckland .. .. 309 19 11 Hamilton .. .. 190 14 4 Napier .. .. 137 0 0 Wanganui .. .. 147 15 7 Christchurch .. .. 272 6 8 Dunedin .. . . 148 13 4 Boys' receiving-homes — Auckland .. .. 275 13 3 Wellington .. .. 281 6 10 Christchurch .. .. 200 1 5 Dunedin .. .. 129 17 6 Boys' Training-farm, Wera- 1.370 3 1 roa Children's Home, Miramar 399 19 4 Girls' Hostel, Wellington.. 338 13 8 Girls' Home, Burwood .. 751 7 0 Girls' Home, Timaru .. 214 7 2 £ s. d. 84 7 2 474 3 5 274 11 1 61 12 6 768 7 9 9 5 6 £ s. d. j £ s. d. 79 2 10 67 11 8 47 2 1 i 8 9 7 47 8 10 j 13 3 6 24 8 11 18 0 170 18 3 59 14 6 57 7 0 22 17 8 £ s. d. 37 5 2 22 1 7 16 10 8 19 4 0 47 13 7 13 16 4 £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 67 10 5 j 645 17 2 .. 645 17 2 101 19 11 844 10 11 360 16 4 1,205 7 3 15 13 5 504 7 6 601 6 3 1,105 13 9 33 3 7 287 12 7 i 215 17 1 503 9 8 80 5 8 1,399 6 5 ! 787 13 3 I 2,186 19 8 102 7 3 354 7 1 .. 354 7 1 £ s. d. 154 19 11 109 5 3 13 15 8 682 12 9 £ s. d. 327 18 8 218 8 7 31 5 1 53 15 8 ! £ s. d. 368 15 5 551 18 0 212 18 9 779 6 0 40 12 8 £ s. d. 645 17 2 353 13 3 226 1 11 245 10 2 671 5 3 313 14 5 22 4 8 27 14 4 310 5 6 31 3 11 1,513 15 8 129 4 0 63 14 2 50 16 2 1 7 2 10 84 3 9 4 15 9 75 5 2 : 42 1 7 495 12 11 101 11 2 19 15 7 38 3 1 53 18 4 22 4 5 183 6 3 53 9 10 564 1 6 .. 564 1 6 49 12 7 454 15 10 .. 454 15 10 74 4 11 i 727 9 8 151 9 5 878 19 1 39 4 I 339 16 8 .. 339 16 8 366 10 6 5,791 19 4 4,758 11 3*10,550 10 7 48 7 2 208 4 11 199 18 7 26 17 10 6,122 10 9* 564 1 6 454 15 10 422 8 5 312 18 10 3,861 6 1 1,760 19 9 28 18 11 537 14 10 67 II 3 122 8 9 230 5 8 16 19 8 185 8 10 121 15 11 88 4 2 | 21 8 11 337 5 9 | 75 7 2 58 19 5 0 13 0 i 41 11 10 24 15 5 154 5 11 14 2 3 i ' 127 6 7 j 943 13 9 .. 943 13 9 26 16 4 i 622 7 3 .. 622 7 3 ! 1,548 11 6 .. 1,548 11 6 97 17 7 | 402 19 1 .. 402 19 1 0 2 3 943 11 6 622 7 3 1,548 11 6 336 6 0 .. 66 13 1 ■• Totals .. .. 5,167 19 1 4,014 16 10 1,931 8 1 611 15 5 i708 14 5 1,760 19 9 1,236 2 8 15,431 16 3 6,875 13 7 22,307 9 10 1,104 15 0 1,377 7 9 18,302 18 0 11,522 9 * Includes Live-stock.

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Table 7. —Average Cost of maintaining Wards op the State (excluding those at Service) UNDER THE CHILD WELFARE Act POR YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 1930. £ s. d. Gross cost, as per Table 6 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 152,973 15 3 Less— Reduction of liabilities as at 31st March, 1930, compared with £ s. d. 31st March, 1929 .. .. .. .. .. 212 7 5 Direct expenditure on account of wards at service .. .. 3,878 16 0 Issues from institutions and stores to wards at service .. .. 3,264 17 4 Salaries —Preventive and other duties not connected with wards under control, estimated at £14,000 .. ... .. 14,000 0 0 Travelling-expenses of officers and wards .. .. .. 8,256 7 3 Refund of inmates' earnings .. .. .. .. 50 14 3 Rent, office requisites, &c. .. .. .. .. .. 2,248 10 8 Legal expenses .. . . .. . . .. .. 73 5 2 31,984 18 1 Net cost .. .. .. .. .. .. .. £120,989 17 2 Number of inmates .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,597 Average cost per week per inmate — £ s. d. Gross .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 0 17 11 Recoveries .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..043 Net average cost per week per inmate .. .. .. .. £0 13 8 ——t Table 8. —Government Expenditure on Private (Roman Catholic) Schools, 1929-30. For the maintenance of State wards who are inmates of the four private institutions recognized under the Child Welfare Act, 1925, the Department pays capitation at the rate of 10s. a week each. The following table indicates the expenditure under this beading : — £ s. d. St. Mary's, Auckland .. .. .. .. .. .. 360 6 5 St. Joseph's, Upper Hutt .. . . .. .. .. 816 2 5 St. Mary's, Nelson .. . . .. .. .. .. 218 7 2 St. Vincent de Paul's, Dunedin .. . . . . .. 207 18 8 £1,602 14 8 Table Ba.—Government Expenditure on the Maintenance op Inmates sent to other Institutions, 1929-30. £ s. d. Salvation Army Home, Auckland .. .. .. 26 2 7 Mount Magdala Home, Christchurch .. .. .. .. 101 18 3 St. Mary's, Otahuhu .. .. .. .. .. .. 087 St. Joseph's Orphanage, Napier .. .. . . .. 58 14 3 Salvation Army Home, Eltham .. .. .. . . .. 2 4 3 Salvation Army Home, Temuka .. .. .. .. . . 2 4 3 £191 12 2 Table Bb.—Gross Recoveries prom Parents and Others. 1928-29. 1929-30. £ s. d. £ s. d. Child Welfare .. .. .. .. 21,232 19 9 23,730 15 10 Special Schools .. .. .. .. 2,737 011 2.623 5 1 Charitable Aid Boards (Special Schools) .. 2,058 6 1 2,184 11- 6 £26,028 6 9 £28,538 15 5

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