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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS. Secretary
CHILDREN’S BUREAU
G R A CE AB B O TT. Chief
CHILDREN INDENTURED
BY THE WISCONSIN STATE
PUBLIC SCHOOL
Bureau Publication N o. 150
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SINGLE COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE
OBTAINED FREE UPON APPLICATION TO THE
CHILDREN’ S BU REAU .
ADDITIONAL COPIES MAY
BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF
DOCUMENTS, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE,
WASHINGTON, D . C.
AT
20 C E N T S P E R C O P Y
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i t *5 8 c.
$ 150
CONTENTS
Page
Letter of transmittals_____________________________________________ ----------- ;—
The study— its purpose and method--------------------------------------------------------------Origin and functions of the Wisconsin State Public School----------------------Provisions of the law creating the school----------------------------------------------Changes in the law___:_________________________________ _______ ___________
Placement on indenture__________________________________________________
The terms of the indenture contract-------------Field agents____ ______________________________________________________
Difficulties in placement______________________________________ ._______
Early methods of placement of State wards in Massachusetts—
Record study of “ indentured ” and “ adopted ” children___________________
Types o f homes from which indentured and adopted children were
removed________ ____________________ __________ -— ------------------- -------------Parental status of indentured and adopted children at commitment—
Ages of indentured and adopted children----------------------------------------------Time in institution before first indenture----------------------------------------------Time under jurisdiction before adoption------------.-----------------------------------Indenture before adoption__________________________________________________
Mental characteristics of parents of adopted children------------------------Children of illegitimate birth_________________________________ »--------------Proportion of time in the institution and in indenture homes-------------Field study of indentured children-----------------------------------------------------------------Conditions under which children were removed from their homes------Abnormal fam ily conditions_________________________________________
Source of petition for commitment--------------------------------------------------Agencies dealing with families prior to children’s commitment—
Investigation before commitment----------------------------------------------------Number of children committed from each fam ily— ----------------------Case sum m aries__________________ - — -------------.-------------------------------Placement__________________________________________________________________
Need of study of the child and his history-------------------------------------Investigations of foster homes---------------------------------------------------------Fitting the child to the home--------------------- --------------------------------------Treatment of behavior problems------------------------------------------------------Supervision after placement------------------------------------------------------ U-----Contact of the child with his own fam ily---------------------------------------Separation of brothers and sisters-------------- ------------------------------------The indenture homes---------------------------------------------y— ---------«--------------------Number and location_________________________________________________
Number of placements-------------------------Length of time in the homes-------------------------------------------------------------Conditions in the indenture homes------------------------------Detrimental foster homes-------------------------------------------------------------------Recreational interests------------------------------------------------------------------------- x
Discrimination against dependent children-----------------------------------Case sum m aries-------------------Schooling and work of the indentured children-----------------------------------Opportunities for education— -------------------------------------School-attendance records-----------------------------------------------------------------Reasons for leaving school-----------------------Illustrations of irregular school attendance-----------------------------------W ork done by the children---------------------------------------------------------------Case summaries----------------------- •----------------------------------------------------------
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IV
CONTENTS
Field study of indentured children— Continued.
Page
Mentality and conduct_____ ___ ________________________ ^_________________
78
Placement o f mentally defective children__________________________
78
Children who presented conduct problems_________________________
81
Case summaries______________________________________________________
82
Children returned to their own homes_____________________________ _____
84
Policy of indenturing or releasing to parents_____________________
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Case summaries____________________________________________________
87
Family histories subsequent to the commitment of the children____ _
91
Need for constructive work with the families____________________
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Case summaries_________ J____________________________________________
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A fter careers of the children__________________________ ________________
Ages at release and time under jurisdiction---------------------------------95
Plans for the children’s future_____________________________________
96
Children who went back to their own homes------------------:__________
97
Contact with their former -indenture hom es-------------- .----------------98
Employment after release_____________________________
98
Case summaries________________________________________________________
100
Conclusion----------.-------------------------------- -------- -----------------------------------------------------106
106
Standards of care for dependent children____________________ ._________
The State’s part in a child-welfare program----------------------- ----------------109
The Wisconsin system of placement of its dependent wards--------------110
118
Are the existing shortcomings inherent in the indenture system?------Changes reported as already in progress-------------------------------------------------114
Appendix A .— Movement of the Wisconsin State Public School popula
tion---------------------------------------------------------------------------Appendix B.— Laws and legal decisions-------------------------------- ----------------------120
Appendix C.— Indenture contract used in 1923-----------------------------------------------130
Appendix D.— Items of schedule used in the Children’s Bureau study—
131
IL L U S T R A T IO N S
W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Whereabouts at commit
ment to the care of the State----------------.------------------- --------------------------------- 1W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Percentages of children
coming from Specified types of home---------------------------------------------------------W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Distribution of ages of
adopted children at the time of their commitment to the care of the
State___________ i----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Distribution of ages of
indentured children at the time of their commitment to the care of the
State—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Whereabouts of the 841 children who were under the jurisdiction .of the
Wisconsin State Public School on April 30, 1923--------------------------------------W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Distribution of percentages
of total time as wards spent in the institution by 684 children---------------W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Family conditions at time
of commitment of the children to the care of the State__________________
Families of wards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Per cent dis
tribution by person or agency making application for child’s commit
ment----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Distribution of length of
time spent in indenture homes---------------------------------------------------------------- i—
W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Distribution of days of
attendance of 570 school children----------------------------------------------------------------W ards of the Wisconsin State Public School— Distribution of length of
time spent by 213 children under the care of the State---------------------------
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
U
n it e d
S tates D
epartm ent
C
of
L
h il d r e n ’s
abor,
B
ureau,
Washington, May 1, 1925.
S i r : There is transmitted herewith a report on “ Children In
dentured by the Wisconsin State Public School.”
Respectfully submitted.
G
Hon.
J
am es
J.
D
a v is ,
Secretary of Labor.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
race
A
bbott,
Chief.
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CHILDREN INDENTURED BY THE WISCONSIN
STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL
THE STUDY— ITS PURPOSE AND. METHOD
The study o f children indentured by the Wisconsin State Public
School for dependent and neglected children was undertaken by the
Federal Children’s Bureau at the request o f the juvenile division o f
the Wisconsin State Board o f Control, acting under authority o f the
board, and the superintendent o f the State public school. In coop
eration with these State officials it was decided that an intensive
study o f the histories of indentured children, involving visits to the
children’s homes and indenture homes as well as examination o f
school records, would be the best method o f obtaining information
that would be o f service to the State. As a number o f other States
have somewhat similar methods o f care it is believed that the results
o f the study will have more than local interest.
The children selected for study were the group o f boys and girls
indentured by the Wisconsin State Public School for the first time
during the five-year period 1913-1917. This period was chosen be
cause about half the children indentured during that period and not
later adopted were still under the jurisdiction o f the school at the
time the study was made, and about half had passed from its juris
diction on attaining the age limit o f 18 years or through earlier
release.
O f the total 827 children indentured during the selected period 298
had been legally adopted, 268 were still wards o f the institution on
April 1,1923, and 261 had been released from jurisdiction before that
date, either because they had become 18 years o f age or had been
transferred to other institutions or because they had been restored
to the legal custody o f their parents by order o f the State board o f
control. The records o f children who had been legally adopted after
being indentured were eliminated from the number to be considered
in selecting cases to be visited. O f the 529 other children who had
been placed in indenture homes during the five-year period, the
histories o f 452 (228 who had been released from jurisdiction and
224 who were still wards) were followed up by the bureau agents,
the selection being made entirely on the basis o f geographical avail
ability and the number that could be covered during the period o f
the study.
Altogether children in the following 22 counties were included in
the investigation: Barron, Buffalo, Chippewa, Columbia, Dane,
Dodge, Douglas, Dunn, Juneau, La Crosse, Marathon, Marinette,
Marquette, Monroe, Rock, Sauk, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth,
Washburn, Waukesha, Wood. The field work was begun March 15,
1923, and continued through August of that year. Seven agents, all
1
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2
CHILDREN" INDENTURED B Y WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
experienced in social investigation and family case work, were
engaged in the study.
In considering the findings o f the study it is important to bear in
mind that the inquiry concerned all children who were committed to
the school and indentured for the first time during a period from
6 to 10 years back. This fact should be borne in mind especially in
connection with the histories o f children who were mentally and
physically handicapped. The policy o f the school for the last five
years has been to make no new indentures o f mentally handicapped
children. The children of this type who had previously been placed
out, however, were allowed to remain in the indenture homes unless
difficulties arose that made it necessary to bring them back to the
institution.
The first step in the study was to obtain information from the
records o f the State school for the entire group o f children inden
tured during the 1913-1917 period. This information was then
tabulated in order that a general background might be obtained re
garding the children who had been placed on indenture contracts.
The addresses o f all the indenture homes in which the 452 children
selected for the special study had lived at any time were secured
from the State school, and also data concerning their original homes,
the former residence o f parents and other relatives, and the sources
from which information could be secured. The investigation fol
lowed three main lines: (1) A ll indenture homes (540) in the coun
ties selected were visited. (2) The homes o f the children’s parents
were visited if they could be located. I f at the time of the study the
parents or other relatives were not living in the community from
which the child was committed an effort was made to find them
and to obtain information from -them. County officials, the com
mitting court, social agencies, and others were interviewed in regard
to the conditions in the family at the time o f the child’s removal
and concerning the family’s subsequent history. (3) O f the chil
dren who had been released from the jurisdiction o f the institution
a special effort was made to obtain complete histories after they
ceased to be State wards. Eighty of these children were inter
viewed. In addition to specific data on the cases included in the
study general information was procured in the communities regard
ing local dependency problems and the social agencies that were
seeking to improve conditions. In all the counties visited, both
in the localities from which children had come and in those to which
they were indentured, the agents o f the bureau sought information
from social agencies, judges and other officials o f the courts, poor
commissioners and county nurses, school superintendents and county
superintendents o f schools, and individual teachers.
The entire list o f indentured children was checked with the records
o f the following institutions : Wisconsin Industrial School for Girls,
Wisconsin Industrial School for Boys, State school for the deaf,
State school for the blind, Northern Wisconsin Colony and Training
School, Southern Wisconsin Colony and Training School, Wiscon
sin State Reformatory, Wisconsin State Prison, Northern Hospital
for the Insane, Wisconsin State Hospital for Insane. This was done
to get authentic data concerning the children who had been trans
ferred to these institutions from the State public school or committed
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TH E STUDY— ITS PURPOSE AND METHOD
3
to them after release from its jurisdiction, and information as to
members o f the families o f the State wards who had been inmates
o f any o f these institutions.
When a child is transferred to another institution he is released
from the jurisdiction o f the State school at Sparta. The transfer
is arranged through the State board o f control. O f the group o f
children selected for this study 25 boys had been transferred to the
industrial school for boys, 10 girls to the industrial school for girls,
and 19 children to the institutions for the feeble-minded. Former
wards o f the State public school who were in these institutions at
the time o f the agents’ visits were interviewed, and information was
obtained in regard to their histories.
The items o f the schedule used in the field study are listed in
Appendix D, page 13.
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ORIGIN AND FUNCTIONS OF THE WISCONSIN STATE
PUBLIC SCHOOL
The Wisconsin State Public School for dependent children was
opened in November, 1886, in accordance with a law passed in 1885.
The law creating the school declared that the institution was to be a
temporary home for dependent children until homes could be pro
cured for them in good families. The State board was authorized
to place the children in families on written contracts during minority
or until 18 years o f age.1 The system o f indenture placements in
augurated at the beginning o f the State school’s activity has con
tinued to be the main method up to the present time.
The Wisconsin State Public School and similar institutions for
dependent and neglected children that have been established in other
States were intended to combine, or they have combined in practice,
three functions in the care o f dependent children committed to the
State:
1. To provide temporary care for dependent and
neglected children pending placement in family homes.
2. To act as a placing agency, finding homes for chil
dren and supervising their care.
3. To provide, for longer or shorter periods, cus
todial care for children who could not be placed suc
cessfully, including children for whose care there was
no existing institution in the State and children who
should be cared for in the institution for the feeble
minded but who could not be received because o f lack o f
accommodations.
Neglected or dependent children are received by the State Public
School o f Wisconsin only on commitment through the county court
or the juvenile court. The major part o f the commitments have
the effect o f removing the child permanently from the custody of the
parents, but in a small percentage o f cases the children are com
mitted for temporary care. The temporary commitments are usually
by special order o f the judge, when he desires that a child or a
group o f children from some one family shall be given care tem
porarily until a local situation has been adjusted. In 1923 the law
relating to juvenile courts provided for temporary commitments to
the State public school.
Children who have been made wards o f the State public school
may be transferred to other institutions by action o f the State board
o f control without court intervention. Most o f these transfers are
made to the State institutions for the feeble-minded or to the
boys’ and girls’ industrial schools.
1
See p . 7 fo r d iscu ssion o f term s o f in d e n tu re con tract.
4
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ORIGIN AND FUNCTIONS OF THE SCHOOL
5
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1922, there was expended
for the State public school for dependent children (including the
special allowances for crippled and deformed children) $149,535.40;
for the same year the per capita cost per week is given as $9.72.2
PROVISIONS OF THE LAW CREATING THE SCHOOL
As defined in the law passed in 18853 the object o f the Wisconsin
State Public School was to receive children declared to be dependent
on the public for support, who were over 3 and under 14 years o f
age and who were in a suitable condition o f body and mind to receive
instruction. Provision was also made that children confined in the
State industrial school for boys or the industrial school for girls
might be transferred to the State public school if their condition
made such transfer desirable. Dependent and indigent orphans and
half orphans o f deceased soldiers and sailors o f the State were to
receive preference as to admission, and arrangement was made for
pro rata commitments of children from the various counties, in
order that each county might be permitted its just share.
Commitment to the school was provided for through examination
before the county judges, the superintendent o f the poor, or the
town supervisors bringing the children before the court. The law
provided for examination by a physician o f every child to be com
mitted to the State school, and no commitment was to be made by
the judge unless the physician making the examination certified in
writing, under oath, that in his opinion the child examined by him
was o f sound mind, had no chronic or contagious disease, and had
not been exposed to any contagious disease for at least 15 days pre
vious to his examination before the county judge. A copy of this
certificate was to be attached to other papers accompanying each
child to the school.
B y the same law the Wisconsin State Board o f Supervision was
authorized to designate an agent o f the State public school whose
duties should include visiting all children placed out by the school
and reporting to the board as to their condition. This agent was
also to investigate all applications for children for adoption or
otherwise and in behalf o f the board to enter into written contracts
with persons taking children from the State school. These con
tracts were to contain a clause reserving the right o f the school to
withdraw a child from any person with whom he was placed when in
the opinion o f the board the welfare o f the child required it.
The State board o f supervision was also authorized to return any
child to the county o f his original residence when he became 16
years o f age, if no home had been procured for him or if at any
time after his commitment it was ascertained that the child was o f
unsound mind or body at the time o f his commitment or if for any
reason the board considered the child an improper inmate of the
State school.
The law establishing the school declared that the object o f the
act was to “ provide for such children a temporary home only until
homes can be procured for them in good families.” The board of
2 Sixteen th B ien n ia l R ep ort o f the S ta te B oard o f C o n tro l o f W is c o n s in , fo r th e bien
n ia l period en ding June 3 0 , 1 9 2 2 , p. 3 9 . M ad ison , 1 9 2 2 .
3 W isco n sin , L a w s o f 1 8 8 5 , ch. 3 7 7 .
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6
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCHOOL
supervision was made legal guardian o f all children who became
inmates o f the school. Each placement was to be made under a
written contract for minority or until the child reached 18 years
o f age, in the discretion o f the board. The contract was to provide
for education in the public schools, for the teaching o f some useful
occupation, for kind and ' proper treatment as a member o f the
family, and for the payment on the termination o f the contract o f
a sum o f money, to be determined by the State board o f supervision,
which was to be received by the board for the use o f the child.
CHANGES IN T&E L A W 4
The original age limitations for admission were 3 to 13 years.
In 1901 the lower age limit was changed to permit the school to
receive infants; in 1921 the upper age limit was raised to 16 years.5
According to the original law children were retained until they
reached the age o f 16 years, or after, in the discretion o f the board.
Under the present law the board may retain jurisdiction until the
children are 18 years of age, or until a home or other suitable place
is* provided for them after they have reached that age, in the dis
cretion o f the board.
As the result o f amendments in 1917, Î919, and 1921 the law no
longer states, as did the original act, that the school shall “ provide
for such children a temporary home only * * * until homes can
be procured for them in good families.” The present law appar
ently contemplates that the State public school should provide for
some children long-term care and training, and it is specified that
the school shall educate the children physically, intellectually, voca
tionally, and morally until such time as permanent or temporary
homes can be procured for those eligible for such placing.
In 1901 legal provision was made for the commitment to the
State public school o f crippled and deformed children under 14
years o f age, the age limit for these children being later raised to 16
years and in 1921 to 21 years. The amendment passed in 1921 pro
vided for the reception o f crippled children under 21 years o f age,
i f their defects could be cured or ameliorated by surgical or other
means. The 1901 law authorizing the admission o f crippled chil
dren stated that “ existing provisions for the commitment, care, dis
position, control, and discharge o f inmates o f the school ” should
apply also to the physically handicapped.
During 1921 the legislature removed the provision regarding the
return to the counties from which they had been committed o f chil
dren found to be not sound mentally or physically.6 It also passed
a provision forbidding the placing for indenture or adoption o f any
child who is feeble-minded, epileptic, or suffering from syphilis or
any other disease that might later handicap him, or who has had a
feeble-minded parent or a parent who has suffered from any nervous
or mental disease likely to be inherited. (This legal restriction fol
lowed a ruling of the State board o f control with regard to place
ment that had been in effect since 1918.) The provision does not
4 See A p p en d ix B , p. 1 2 0 , fo r te x t o f la w in 1 9 2 3 .
8 W isc o n sin , L a w s o f 1 9 0 1 , ch. 2 2 3 ; L a w s o f 1 9 2 1 , cli. 4 3 0 .
8 W isc o n sin , L a w s o f 1 9 2 1 , cli. 4 4 4 ,
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7
ORIGIN- AND FUNCTIONS OF TH E SCHOOL
apply to “ any child 16 years of age or over who, in the opinion of
the board, may safely be placed in a home or on a wage contract for
a temporary period not to exceed one year.”
The legislature o f 1921 also added a provision specifying that
the records kept at the State public school shall include the results
o f the physical and laboratory examinations and the test o f the
mentality o f each child by a competent physician versed in psychi
atry and mental diseases, and also requiring that a continuous rec
ord be kept o f the child’s history while he is under the guardian
ship o f the board.7
The law providing for the establishment o f the State public
school authorized the State board to designate some officer, teacher,
or other employee o f the school to act as its agent. An amendment
in 1891 authorized the employment o f one or more agents, and the
present law provides that the board may appoint “ one or more
agents o f the State public school, who shall investigate all applica
tions to take any such children by adoption or otherwise, and the
persons who make the same.” 8
The law provides that the State board o f control is the legal
guardian ox all children committed to the school. The board is
given the power to consent to the adoption o f any such child in
the manner provided by law, its written consent having the same
force and effect as if given by the parent or parents o f the child.9
The law relating specifically to the State public school does not
provide for receiving children for temporary care. However, a
recent superintendent has interpreted as applying to the State
school a provision in another part o f the statutes which permits a
judge to commit temporarily to an institution, and in accordance
with this section o f the law children have been received on tem
porary commitment during the last few years. In 1923 amend
ments to the juvenile court law specifically authorized temporary
commitments to the State p'ublic school.9
PLACEMENT ON INDENTURE
THE TERMS OF THE INDENTURE CONTRACT10
In accordance with the contract form used by the Wisconsin State
Public School in 1923, the State board o f control places a child until
he is 18, reserving the right to cancel the contract and require the
child to be returned to the school whenever the conditions o f the
contract are not executed or whenever the interest o f the child re
quires. Such a reservation, specifically authorized in the original
law,11 was apparently not provided for in the law as amended in
1921, but the the school had wisely continued to include it in the
terms o f the indenture contract. This practice in Wisconsin is in
accord with the legal requirements of Colorado, Michigan, Minne7 Ib id ., eh. 3 9 2 .
8 W isco n sin , L a w s
£Q(> 48 22 (4)
of
1885,
eh.
377,
see.
16;
.
Law s
„ ^
o f 1891,
ch.
259;
S ta t.
1923,
9 See A p p en d ix B , p. 1 2 7 , “ Su rren d er o f p a re n ta l rig h ts th ro u g h co m m itm en t to t h e
S ta te sch o o l,” fo r d iscu ssion o f ad option p ro vision an d ju v e n ile cou rt law con cern in g
tem p orary co m m itm en ts to th e S ta te sch ool, an d p. 1 2 5 f o r t e x t o f th e law .
10 See A p p en d ix C , p. 1 3 0 , f o r te x t o f c o n tra ct.
11 W isco n sin , L a w s o f 1 8 8 5 , ch. 3 7 7 , sec. 1 6 .
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CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
sota, and other States.12 The person receiving the child also reserves
the right to cancel the agreement at any time by returning the child
to the school free o f cost to the State.
The contract also provides that the person receiving the child
agree (a) to keep the child as a member o f the fam ily; (b) to have
him taught a specified occupation; (<?) to have him attend the public
schools a specified number o f months each year until he is 16 years
old; ( d) at the expiration o f the indenture period to pay to the
State board o f control or the superintendent o f the school, for the
benefit o f the child, $50 or pro rata o f that amount for the time the
child remains in the family after his tenth birthday; (<?) in case
the contract is canceled, to return the child to the school at his own
expense when requested by the agent or the superintendent of the
school; ( / ) whenever requested by the agent or the superintendent
to report in writing such facts as may be required about the child
and to furnish the child materials and opportunity to correspond
with the school authorities.
The contract prohibits the removal o f the child from the place
where he was originally indentured without the consent o f the super
intendent o f the Wisconsin State Public School.
Under the present system most of the homes secured are on farms
because the families there are in constant need o f the kind o f help
that can be given by a boy or girl. The child is expected to earn
his maintenance, in part at least, and it is for the service thus
rendered that the family pays $50 to the State school in his behalf
when he reaches the age limit, or a portion o f this amount if he is
released previously. The back o f the indenture contract contains
the following schedule o f pro rata amounts to be paid if the con
tract is canceled before the child is 18 years o f age:
Age
Am ount
1 1 ________________________________
12 ________________________________
1 3 ________________________________
1 4 _______________________________
$6.25
1 2 .5 0
18.75
2 5 .00
Age
Am ount
15.
16.
17.
18-
$31. 25
3 7 .50
4 3 .75
50.00
The State retains this money until the child is 21 years o f age.
F IE L D A G E N T S
For some years the State school had two field agents. A third
agent was added in October, 1907, and the school had the services
o f three field representatives until 1920, since which time there have
been only two. It is obvious that two agents can cover the State
very inadequately. According to the annual reports o f the school
the children placed in indenture homes for the first time have
averaged 180 per year. No data are available in regard to the
actual number o f indenture homes utilized during a year; but in
view o f the fact that many o f the children are placed in several
homes in the course of their indenture histories, it is evident that the
number o f indenture homes to be looked up in a year is very exten
sive. The original inquiry into the desirability o f the home has been
12
T h e C olorado la w on t h is p o in t is a s f o l l o w s : “ E v e ry such co n tra ct sh a ll con tain
a clau se reservin g t h e r ig h t t o said board t o cancel th e sam e w hen ever th ey m ay deem
t h a t th e in terest o f th e ch ild requires i t ; a n d m ay a lso co n ta in a cla u se au th orizin g th e
person ta k in g th e ch ild to can cel the co n tra ct a t an y tim e w ith in 6 0 d a ys fro m th e d a te
o f th e con tract, on retu rn in g th e ch ild t o th e hom e fr e e o f exp ense t o sa id h o m e .”
C olorado, C om piled L a w s 1 9 2 1 , sec. 6 3 1 ( L a w s o f 1 8 9 5 , p. 74, sec. 6 ) .
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ORIGIN AND FUNCTIONS OF THE SCHOOL
9
o f necessity very superficial. Supervision o f the children after
placement has also been o f a very limited character. It is not to be
expected that the two agents o f the State public school could give
the attention needed for each o f about 500 children placed in homes
in all parts o f the State, many of them very inaccessible.13
DIFFICULTIES IN PLACEMENT
The second biennial report o f the State public school14 discusses the
difficulty o f finding satisfactory homes for the children and the
necessity o f returning many o f the children sent out, either because
the home did not prove to be what was anticipated or because the
child was unsatisfactory to those to whom he was indentured. It is
stated that during the first four years o f the school’s work (18871890) 107 o f the 405 children who had been placed in homes—more
than one-fourth— were returned to the school, the number reniaining
in the school on September 30, 1890, being 289. Thus early in the
history of the school it became overcrowded, and it was recommended
that another cottage be added to the five then existing. The large
number o f children reported as being difficult to place is especially
noteworthy in view o f the regulation in the earlier years against
receiving children who were not sound physically and mentally. It
is probable that the first superintendent o f the school stated correctly
the reason for the lack of success in placement when he said :
Some of the children have never been placed out, and some have been placed
out three or four times. The reasons, real and imaginary, on account of which
the children are returned are many. When we consider the former surround
ings of most of our children, the short time many of them have remained in the
school, and that there is but one man to investigate the homes, to place the
children in homes, and to visit them, it is not, perhaps, to be wondered at that
about one-third o f the children are returned.15
EARLY METHODS OF PLACEMENT OF STATE WARDS IN MASSACHUSETTS
A feature o f child-caring work in Massachusetts was the au
thorization o f payment o f board for dependent children placed in
family homes. The State primary school at Monson (for depend
ent children) and the State board o f charities were early given
authority to board children. W ith the development o f the free-home
and boarding-home systems it became increasingly possible to limit
the number o f children remaining in the institution. By 1894 the
State board had placed in family homes so many children from the
State primary school that the trustees o f State institutions recom
mended its abolition, which occurred in 1895. Since that time Mas
sachusetts has cared for destitute and neglected children by pro
vision in free family homes or in boarding homes. Children who
because o f serious physical and mental handicap could not be placed
in family homes, even with the payment o f board, have been given
13 A c co rd in g to in fo rm a tio n received fro m th e d irecto r o f th e ju v en ile de p artm en t o f
th e W isco n sin S ta te B o a rd o f C on trol (A p r il 2 0 , 1 9 2 5 ) , a la rg e r ap p rop ria tion to cover
th e sa la ry o f a n a d d ition al field a g e n t h a s been requested o f th e le g isla tu re b y th e
su p erin ten d en t o f the S ta te sch ool, a ll ch ildren in th e m o st inaccessib le lo c a litie s h a v e
been replaced w ith in th e la s t few m o n th s, an d m ore ch ildren h a ve been placed in tow n s
an d cities.
14 In the F o u rth B ien n ia l R ep o rt o f th e S t a t e B o a rd o f S u p erv ision , S ta te o f W i s
consin C h aritab le, R e fo rm a to ry , an d P e n al I n s titu tio n s , fo r the tw o fiscal yea rs en din g
Septem ber 3 0 , 1 8 9 0 , pp. 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 .
M ad ison , 1 8 9 1 ,
18 Ibid, p, 162,
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10
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
care and treatment in the State infirmary or in other institutions.
In October, 1922, Bradford Infirmary at Canton was opened as a
hospital for wards o f the division o f child guardianship o f the Mas
sachusetts Department o f Public Welfare.
About 1870 Massachusetts introduced another important innova
tion in providing for the presence in court o f an agent o f the State
board when consideration was to be given to the commitment o f
dependent or neglected children. This work, which has continued up
to the present time, has undoubtedly prevented commitment to the
State o f many children who under conditions that exist in most
States would have been made State wards without proper considera
tion o f the circumstances or their special needs.
The Massachusetts authorities early reached the conclusion that
it was futile to rely on securing homes merely through the applica
tions fpr children made to the State school. In order to obtain the
necessary number and types o f homes it was requisite that the State
should make a special effort to find them. Undoubtedly this policy
accounts in large measure for the difference between the Massa
chusetts experience and that o f States where the number o f field
agents has been small and placement limited largely to farm homes
where conditions were presumed to be safe and much preliminary
inquiry or supervision unnecessary. The question arises as to the
result that might have been attained i f the Massachusetts policy had
been followed by Wisconsin from the beginning and special efforts
made to find desirable homes instead o f awaiting applications for
children.
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RECORD STUDY OF “ INDENTURED” AND “ADOPTED”
CHILDREN
As a preliminary to the field study o f children indentured into
family homes information was obtained from the records o f the
State public school concerning all children who had been inden
tured during the years 1913—1917. Explanation has been made o f
the method o f selecting cases for detailed study and of the fact that
no children who were adopted were included in the follow-up in
quiry. A total o f 827 children were placed in indenture homes dur
ing the five years. O f this number, 452 were included in the spe
cial field study, 298 had been adopted, and 77 were omitted for
geographic reasons. The field study thus covered 85 per cent o f the
entire number o f children placed in indenture homes during the
five-year period, exclusive o f the children who after indenture were
legally adopted and whose indenture histories were therefore of
comparatively short duration. Data concerning the 77 indentured
children not covered in the field study because o f the location of the
homes in which they had been placed are omitted. But to bring out
certain significant points o f difference between the two groups re
ferred to for convenience as “ indentured ” and “ adopted ■ compari
son will be made o f the 452 indentured children included in the fo l
low-up inquiry and the 298 children who were indentured and later
adopted.
The 298 children who had been adopted by April 1, 1923, repre
sented 28 per cent of the 1,059 children received as wards o f the
State school during the five-year period 1913-1917, as compared
with 16 per cent adopted out o f the total number o f children
received by the State school since its opening in 1886. Though the
percentage o f adoptions was thus considerably greater during the
period 1913-1917 than for the entire period o f the school’s existence
the information obtained in regard to the children adopted during
the five-year period is probably fairly representative o f the whole
number o f children adopted through the State school. .
TYPES OF HOMES FROM WHICH INDENTURED AND ADOPTED
CHILDREN WERE REMOVED
Information was obtained as to the type o f home (parental or
other private home, or institution) in which 372 of the indentured
and 135 o f the adopted children were living at the time o f commit52021°— 25----- 2
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
11
12
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
ment. A similarity in the percentages o f the two groups removed
from different types o f homes is shown in the following list:
R esidence a t com m itm ent
T o ta l___________________________
Parental home :
W ith both parents------------ ---------W ith mother------------------------------W ith father--------------------------------Step-parental home---------- .---------------Relatives’ h om e--------------------------------Other private home----------------.----------Almshouses-----------------------------------------Institutions for dependent children.
Other institutions----------------------------Abandoned children---------------------------
P er cen t d istrib u tion
A d op ted
In d en tu red
ch ildren
children
100
100
23
19
21
21
10
14
6
—
14
9
5
5
3
o
o
14
9
10
O
9
O
Sixty-four per cent o f the indentured children and 50 per cent of
the adopted group were living with one or both parents or in a
home in which there was a step-parent; 23 per cent o f each group
were living with relatives or in other private homes; and 13 per
cent of the indentured and 25 per cent o f the adopted children were
in institutions immediately prior to their commitment to the State
public school.
The removal of 23 per cent o f the indentured and 19 per cent o f
the adopted children from families in which both parents were living
in the home indicates conditions of family degeneration, neglect, or
incapacity that call for serious consideration. The case summaries
presented later (see p. 30) illustrate the conditions that led to the
breaking up o f families and assumption by the State o f the burden
o f care and support o f the children.
A t the time o f commitment, 21 per cent o f the indentured and
the same percentage of the adopted children lived in homes in which
the mother was responsible for the maintenance o f the family. The
Wisconsin law providing aid for dependent children in their own
homes requires that the fitness of the home shall be taken into ac
count. It is evident from the stories presented that in many o f these
families the mother was not a fit custodian o f her children. In other
instances it is probable that if there had been in the community the
necessary provision for constructive social case work the children
might have remained with their mothers if the home had been sub
sidized from the public “ mothers’ pension ” fund or from some other
source. It must not be forgotten, however, that the amount of aid
provided by certain counties in the administration of the mothers’
pension law is inadequate to keep the children with the mother.
Frequently a mother receiving it has to earn a considerable part o f
the family’s maintenance, and her employment away from home often
means neglect of the children, which in turn leads to delinquencies
and other difficulties that directly explain commitment o f the chil
dren to the State school.
The histories o f some o f the children indicated that the mother had
found it to her advantage to be relieved o f the child s care some
times for no better reason than that she contemplated remarriage
or did not want to be bothered by having the child.
1 L e ss th a n 1 per cen t.
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RECORD STUDY OF INDENTURED AND ADOPTED CHILDREN
13
One-half of the adopted and one-third o f hie indentured children
were known to have been living elsewhere than in their parental
homes when they were committed to the State public school. O f the
133 indentured children in this group only 7 were orphans.2 The
homes o f the others had been broken through the death o f one parent
and through the desertion, imprisonment, or commitment o f parents
to hospitals for the insane or to other institutions. Two of the in
dentured and one o f the adopted children were reported as having
been abandoned by their parents. Five o f the indentured children
were received from homes into which they had been adopted. O f
WARDS OF THE WISCONSIN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL-WHEREABOUTS AT COMMITMENT TO THE
CARE OF THE STATE
[B a se d on 5 0 7 ch ildren
(3 7 2
indentured an d 1 3 5 ad op ted )
com m itm en t w a s rep orted]
fo r
w h om
w h ereabou ts a t
the 45 indentured children received from institutions, 18 were in
county poor farms, 2 children were with their mothers in an institu
tion for the feeble-minded, and 1 in a hospital for the insane. Eight
of the adopted children were received from children’s institutions, 9
from hospitals, 14 from county poor farms where 5 were living with
their mothers, and 3 from hospitals for the insane where the infants
had been temporarily with their mothers. O f the 17 committed
from county poor farms and hospitals for the insane, 15 were the
children of unmarried mothers.
2 In ad d ition
reported.
th ere w ere
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
tw o
orp han s
w hose w h ereabou ts
at
co m m itm en t w a s
not
WARDS OF THE WISCONSIN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL-PERCENTAGES OF CHILDREN COMING FROM SPECIFIED TYPES OF HOME
o
10
_________________«
20
I
30
«
A-0
50
60
»
<
«
70
»
80
1
90
---------
-
1
100
—
INDENTURED CH ILDR EN
P a re n ta l or
step -p a r e n ta l
Home
Un
mar
ried
moth
-e r
BroKen Home
No p are n ta l Hom e
A D O P T E D C H ILD R EN
Parental
or stepparental
Home
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
U nm arried m o th e r
BroKen
Home
No p a re n ta l home
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
P er Cent
RECORD
STUDY
OF
IN D E N T U R E D
A N D A D O P T E D C H IL D R E N
1 5
PARENTAL STATUS OF INDENTURED AND ADOPTED CHILDREN
AT COMMITMENT
Both parents were dead in only 2 per cent o f the number o f chil
dren committed to the State school during the five-year period
studied. The largest proportion (27 per cent) o f the children in the
indentured group were half orphans; the number of those whose
fathers were dead and o f those whose mothers were dead was about
the same. In the group o f children adopted legally after being
placed on indenture only 1 per cent were orphans and 12 per cent
were half orphans.
On the other hand, 19 per cent o f the indentured group, as against
9 per cent o f the adopted children, had both parents living and in
the family home at the time o f the child’s commitment. In addition
to the families in which both parents were living in the home, 22 per
cent o f the indentured group and 16 per cent of the adopted children
had living parents, one or both o f whom had deserted the family or
abandoned the child; 7 per cent o f the parents o f the former group
were divorced or separated, as against 3 per cent o f the parents o f
the adopted children. When the cases in which one or both parents
were dead and those in which the mother was unmarried are elimi
nated, it is found that more than half the indentured children and
more than one-fourth of the adopted group were known to have
two living parents who had evaded their responsibility for the care
and support o f the children or whose children had been taken from
them because o f neglect or bad home conditions. In addition, a
number o f cases in which the information concerning the parents’
whereabouts was insufficient undoubtedly belonged in this class. It
is especially significant that so large a proportion o f the adopted
children had both parents living.
O f the adopted group 49 per cent were the children o f unmarried
mothers. In the indentured group, on the other hand, only 6 per
cent were reported as children o f unmarried mothers.
The following table shows the parental status o f the adopted and
the indentured children at the time o f commitment to the Wisconsin
State Public School:
Parental status, at time of commitment, of adopted and indentured children
and in the families of indentured children
Parental status at time*of child’s commitment
Total___ ________ _________ _____ _
Adopted
children
Inden
tured
children
Families
of the
452 in
dentured
children
298
452
266
H om e maintained b y parents.....................
72
239
120
Both parents living in home________
M other head of family______________
Father dead_____________________
Father deserting________________
Father in prison._______________
Parents divorced or s eparated. .
Father in hospital______________
Father’s whereabouts unknown.
27
27
9
12
4
87
77
21
41
3
10
2
39
41
11
19
3
4
1
3
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
2
16
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OOL
Parental status, at time of commitment, of adopted and indentured children
and in the families of indentured children— Continued
Parental status at time of child’s commitment
Adopted
children
H om e maintained b y parents— Continued
Father head of fa m ily ....^ ............... ...........
M other d e a d . ------- ---------M other deserting.---------------------------Parents separated---------------------------M other in prison or almshouse------M other in hospital for insane...........
M other’ s whereabouts un kn o w n ...
Step-parents........ .•-------- ----------- --------------Father and stepmother------------------M other and stepfather-------------------Stepfather and wife..............................
M other un m arried...------- -----------N o home maintained by parents.
Inden
tured
children
Families
of the
452 in
dentured
children
24
12
7
2
2
22
139
75
27
183
Both parents dead---------- ---------------------------------- ---------------------- ---------- - - Both parents deserting— i -------------------------------»-------------------------------------Parents divorced or separated-........... ............. . . . . . ---------------------------------Both parents in hospital for insane-------- -----------------------------------------------M other dead (father deserting, in institution, or whereabouts not
reported)------------ -------- ---------------- ------------------------------- ------------------------Father dead (mother deserting, m institution, or whereabouts not
reported).........................................................- - - —
............... r------ - - - - - - - M other deserting (father in institution, without home, or whereabouts
not reported)--------------------- p---------------------- --------- - - --------------,------- r Father deserting (mother in institution, without home, or whereabouts
not reported) ................................................- ............. ......................— ------ - M other in institution, father without home, or whereabouts not
reported.................................................- — - - - ....................— ------- -------------- r
Father in institution, mother without home, or whereabouts not
reported_____________________________________________________________ --■
B oth parents in institution_____________________________________________
Whereabouts of both parents not reported............. .......................................
Whereabouts of one parent not reported, other without home-----------Other_________. . . . ______ — _____________; ------------------------------- — ---------—
Parental status not reported.
2?
116
13
5
4
1
6
10
3
3
AGES OF INDENTURED AND ADOPTED CHILDREN
Comparison o f the ages at which the children became State wards
is also significant in connection with their continued placement in
indenture homes or later adoption. Only 7 per cent o f the children
in the indentured group were under 1 year o f age when committed
to the State school, as compared with 53 per cent o f the children
who were legally adopted. When comparison is made o f the ages
at indenture and the ages at adoption it is found that nearly threefourths o f the 452 indentured children who were not later adopted
were placed in the first indenture home when they were between the
ages o f 7 and 16, whereas 82 per cent o f the 298 adopted children
were under 7 years o f age when adopted. Only 10 per cent ox the
children indentured were placed before they were 3 years old, but
57 per cent o f the adopted children were under 3 years o f age when
adopted. The fact that 47 per cent o f the adopted children were
o f illegitimate birth has an important relation to the age at adoption,
since this group o f children were committed to the State public
school at an earlier age than were children o f legitimate birth.
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RECORD
STUDY
O F IN D E N T U R E D
AND
AD O PTED C H IL D R E N
1 7
Per cen-t of total number o f children
WARDS OF[THE WISCONSW STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL-DISTRIBUTION OF AGES OF ADOPTED
CHILDREN AT THE TIME OF THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE CARE OF THE STATE
DISTRIBUTION OF AGES OF INDENTURED CHILDREN AT THE TIME OF THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE
LAnt Ur I Ht oTATE
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’
1 8
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OOL
The following table shows the ages o f indentured and adopted
children at commitment and at time o f indenture or adoption:
Ages of indentured and adopted children at time of commitment to Wisconsin
State Public School and at time of indenture or of adoption
Indentured children of specified ages—
A t commitment
Age
N um ber
Per cent
At indenture
Num ber
T o ta l.
452
Under 6 m onth s..
6-11 months..........
1-2 years------- —
3-4 years......... ........
6- 6 y e a r s ..............
7- 9 y e a r s ..............
10-13 years.............
14-15 years.............
16 years...................
Age not reported.
26
3
27
39
49
116
171
23
30
54
114
180
21
27
Adopted children of specified ages-
A t adoption
A t commitment
Per cent
N um ber
Per cent
N um ber
100
298
100
298
24
Per cent
4
14
39
15
11
137
42
116
45
31
23
19
5
22
50
38
19
17
9
10
8
6
2
1
5
Court commitments o f neglected children are usually made to the
State institution. This accounts for the large number o f children
in the older groups and for the number o f cases m which brothers
and sisters are committed. It has been shown that a large propor
tion o f .the children committed to the State school at an early age,
including a preponderance o f those o f illegitimate birth, are adopted
into the homes in which they have been indentured.
TIME IN INSTITUTION BEFORE FIRST INDENTURE
About two-fifths o f the indentured children were in the State school
less than a month before being placed in their first indenture home.
More than one-third were in the institution from one to hve months.
The details follow
T im e in S ta te school b e fo r e first indenture
N um ber
o f children P e r cent
Less than 1 month.
9 -11 months.
1 y e a r ---------2 -9 years —
Not in the sc
100
177
39
24
110
. __
. _
3 -5
452
55
40
12
20
9
4
35
8
12
3
3
1
TIME UNDER JURISDICTION BEFORE ADOPTION
Two-fifths o f the children had been under the jurisdiction o f the
State public school for less than one year when they were legally
adopted.3 The following list gives the percentages under care tor
various periods o f time o f the 298 children who were adopted:
8 A c co rd in g to in fo rm a tio n received fro m th e d irecto r o f th e ju v e n ile d e p a rtm en t o f
th e W s c o n l n S ta te B oarfi o f C ontrol (A p r. 2 0 , 1 9 2 5 ) , t h e S t a t e p u blic s c h o o l. since
1 9 2 4 h a s follo w e d a ru lin g o f th e board t h a t a ll ch ildren sh o u ld h a v e a tr ia l period o f
a t le a st s ® Z n t h s in t h e fo s te r fa m ily b efo re a d op tion .
M o s t ch ildren are m th e
fo ste r h om es a yea r before con sent to ad option is given .
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
RECORD STUDY OF INDENTURED AND ADOPTED CHILDREN
T im e
under
care
before
ad option — C ontinued
p er
19
cen t
Less than 6 months_____ __________________________________ ___
6-11 months_____ ___________ ______________ _____ ~ 27
1 y e a r -------- ----------------------------------------- 35
4
5 -9 y ears________ _______________________________ _______ ~_________ ~
In view o f the growing sentiment in favor o f State laws requiring
placement on trial for six months or a year before the final adoption
decree it is o f interest to note the large percentages o f children
adopted through the instrumentality o f the State public school when
they had been under care o f the State for less than six months or
less than a year.
INDENTURE BEFORE ADOPTION
O f the 298 adopted children, 149 were boys and 149 girls, out o f a
total o f 750 children indentured—402 boys and 348 girls— for whom
the sex was reported. Prior to legal adoption, 266 o f the children
had been placed in only one indenture home—the one into which they
were later adopted. Twenty-seven children had lived in one in
denture home prior to placement in the home in which they were
adopted, and five children had lived in two homes previously.
O f the 298 adopted children, 12 per cent had lived less than three
months in the home when they were legally adopted, and 22 per cent
from three to five months. Thus more than one-third o f the children
adopted while wards o f the State had been in the foster home less
than half a year. In 1922 the State board o f control passed resolu
tions containing the following statement: “ No step shall be taken to
have a child legally adopted until it shall have been in the adoptive
home at least six months. The responsibility for seeing that a legal
adoption is secured through the courts lies with the affencv niacin«the child .” 4
J r
^
The time spent by the children before legal adoption in the in
denture homes into which they were adopted was as follow s:
T im e in ho m e b efore adoption.
P e r cen t
Less than 3 months_______
3 -5 months_________________
6-11 months____ ___:_______
1 -4 y ears__________________
5 years and over___________
—
12
__
22
—
—
26
36
3
MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PARENTS OF ADOPTED
CHILDREN
•
O f the 298 adopted children, 36 children from 31 families were
known, to have insane or feeble-minded, parents. Both parents o f 1,
the father o f 1, and the mothers o f 16 were insane. The mothers o f
17 children were known to be feeble-minded, and both parents o f 1
were said to be “ simple-minded ” (this family also having children
diagnosed as subnormal). The father o f two adopted children was
epileptic/ Three children who were legally adopted had been com
mitted to the school from State hospitals for the insane in which
they were living temporarily with their mothers, who were insane
inmates. One o f the children also had an insane father. A ll three
1 9 2 ^ eS°(M im eograp bed )S ta te B ° ard ° f Contro1 G overn in g P la c em en t o f C h ild ren , June,
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
20
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
children were o f illegitimate birth. One o f these infants was com
mitted when 17 days old and was legally adopted, through the in
strumentality o f’the State school, at the age o f 5 months and 10 days.
The second child was committed at the age o f 25 days and was legally
adopted when 9 months and 19 days o f age. The third child was 12
days old when committed and 1 year and 1 month old when adopted.
O f course, when these children were received by the State school they
were too young for any mental test, and their stay in the institution
was too short to permit any acquaintance with their probable devel
opment. The first-mentioned child was in the institution for only 25
days before being placed in an indenture home, the second for 2
months and 16 days, and the third for 3 months.
Full information with regard to the parents is not available for all
this group o f adopted children, but the known facts about 12 per
cent show the wisdom o f delaying adoption in cases where the
heredity is known to be bad until it can be determined whether the
children themselves are likely to be affected. A radical change has
resulted, o f course, from the policy begun in 1918 and enacted into
law in 1921, prohibiting the indenture or adoption of feeble-minded
children or those likely to be handicapped by mental disease or
defect.
CHILDREN OF ILLEGITIMATE BIRTH
More than one-fifth (177) o f the 827 children who were placed in
indenture homes during the five-year period included in this study
were known to be o f illegitimate birth, and four-fifths o f the chil
dren born out o f wedlock were committed to the State public school
when they were under 6 months o f age. This situation does not indi
cate that the other sections o f the State are following to any extent
the policy o f the Milwaukee Health Department in attempting to
keep mothers and babies together during the early months o f the
nursing period. Probably, however, the situation has changed dur
ing the last year or two, especially as a result o f the activities of the
juvenile division o f the Wisconsin State Board o f Control in con
nection with enforcing a regulation adopted by the State board in
June, 1922, as follows:
An infant must be nursed at the breast for at least the first three months
o f its life. Every effort must be made to induce a mother to keep her child
permanently by notifying her nearest of kin of her condition and her location
and by obtaining the name of the father of the child. Weakening of parental
responsibility must not be fostered and illegitimacy must not be encouraged
by offering monetary.or easy methods of disposing of babies.®
The details o f the ages at commitment o f the children of illegiti
mate birth follow :
N um ber o f
children
A g e a t com m itm en t
T o ta l_____________________________________ ______ _____________177
Under 6 months______________________ _________ — ---------------------- - 142
6-11 months------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------V 12
1 y e a r ___________________._______________ ,-------------------------------- :— 6
2 years---------------- .— -------- — ,--------------- ------------------------- -—
—
5
3 y ea rs________________________—— - r-----------r—
- --------^
r----------
3
6 R eso lu tio n s o f th e S ta te B o a rd o f C o n tro l G overn in g P la c em en t o f C hild ren, J u n e,
1922.
(M im e o g ra p h ed .)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
recòrd s t u d y
op in d e n t u r e d a n d
a d o p t e d c h il d r e n
21
.
Number of
Age at commitment
children
2
4 y ears_____________________________________________________________
5 y ears_____ ____ __________ ____________i_______ .¿,___ _________ ¡h___ _
i
6 years_________________
1
1
7 y ears__________ 1____ ___________ i_____ ________ - - - . _________ ____
11 y ears________________ * _________ _______________________________ _
2
12 y ea rs________ >____________________ ______________.___ _____________
1
Age not reported_____________________________________________ _ _ __
l
The birth status is o f special interest in connection with the policy
o f the State school regarding adoptions. O f the 298 children adopted
out o f the total group indentured during the five-year period 139
(47 per cent) were born out o f wedlock. On the other hand, o f the
children who were indentured and not later adopted only 7 per cent
were o f illegitimate birth.
O f the 177 children o f illegitimate birth 79 per cent were legally
adopted through the instrumentality o f the State school. These
facts point to a more general policy of adoption in the case o f chil
dren born out o f wedlock than in the case o f other children. This
is explainable partly by the earlier ages at which these children
come to the attention o f the State school and their greater avail
ability for adoption.
PROPORTION OF TIME IN THE INSTITUTION AND IN INDENTURE
HOMES
O f the 688 children placed in indenture homes during the fiveyear period studied who had been wards o f the State for more than
one year 11 per cent had been cared for in the institution half or
more than half the time they had been under its jurisdiction; 18 per
cent, from one-fifth to one-half o f their total time as State wards;
28 per cent, from 5 to 19 per cent of the total time. About two-fifths
o f the children had spent as inmates o f the State institution less than
5 per cent o f the total time they were under the jurisdiction of the
State. The following table shows, for the children under jurisdiction
at least one year, the time under jurisdiction and the numbers who
had spent in the institution different percentages of their total time
as State wards:
Length of time children w ere under jurisdiction of the Wisconsin State Public
School, by percentage o f time spent in the institution
Children spending in institution specified percentages of their time as State
wards
Tim e under jurisdic
tion
Total
chil
dren
Less
than
5
10-19
101
T o ta l..
1 year_______
3-4 years........
5-6 years........
7-9 years........
10-15 years...
N o t reported
5-9
108
136
211
202
28
3
30-39 40-49 50-59
56
46
14
80-89
N ot
re
port
ed
17
22
48
119
97
4
1 Excluding 134 children who were under jurisdiction less than 1 year and 5 who were
directly without any residence in the State school.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
indentured
22
C H IL D R E N "
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
For the same children the relation between the time in indenture
homes and the total period as wards of the State was as follow s:
P ercen tag e o f tim e
as
S ta te
w ard s
sp e n t
in
indentu re ho m es
N um ber o f
ch ildren
Total________________________6 693
Less than 5_________________________
5 -9 _______________
10-19_________
20 -2 9________________________________
30 -3 9________________________________
40 -4 9 ________
5
7
19
9
19
14
P ercen tag e o f tim e
as
S ta te
w a rd s
spen t
in
indentu re hom es
N um ber o f
ch ildren
22
50-59__________________
60-69________________________
44
70-79___________________________
57
92
8(L-89________________________________
90 -9 4________________________________
91
95-99_________ 1_____________________ 305
100________ I _________________________
5
Not reported________________________
4
WHEREABOUTS OF THE 841 CHILDREN WHO WERE UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE WISCONSIN
STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL ON APRIL 30, 1923
About one-tenth o f the children were in family homes less than
half the entire time that they were under the jurisdiction o f the
State school, and about three-fifths o f the children were placed in
indenture homes for 90 per cent or more o f the total time as State
wards. Conversely, about one-tenth o f the children were kept in
the institution half or more than half the entire time they were under
jurisdiction o f the school. Five per cent (32 children) o f those who
had been State wards more than one year had been in the institution
at least four-fifths of the entire time.
It is interesting to note that o f 28 children who had been under
jurisdiction of the State school for periods o f 10 to 15 years only 8
had spent less than 10 per cent (12 to 18 months) in the institution
8 E x clu d in g 13 4 ch ildren w ho w ere un der ju risd ictio n le s s th an one year.
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23
RECORD STUDY OF INDENTURED AND ADOPTED CHILDREN
and 7 had spent there 50 per cent or more (at least 5 to 7Vo years)
In the group o f 452 indentured children which was made the subject
WARDS OF THE ^ C ^ S ^ E m i B L J C ^ ^ B
^ O
^ ^ A
G
E
S
O
F
TOTAL
4-00
375.
350.
325.
300
N u m b e r o f c h ild r e n .
275
250
225.
2001
25 Children.
175
150,
125
I0Q
75
50.
25
3o
s5
55 to
]
So— 55— iio
Percent o f to ta l tim e under c a r e t h a t w a s spent
inthe. institution
r
o f special study it was found that o f 21 children who had been
wards of the State for 10 to 15 years only 2 had been under inden
ture as long as 10 years.
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN1
CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH CHILDREN WERE REMOVED FROM
THEIR HOMES
ABNORMAL FAMILY CONDITIONS
Without careful study o f the situation at the time o f commitment
it is obviously impossible to determine what were the underlying
factors that led to a child’s becoming a ward o f the State. The
present study secured fairly adequate information in regard to
parental status and some o f the major conditions in the homes at the
time o f commitment, but it is impossible to analyze these factors in
relation to their importance as direct causes o f the removal o f the
children from their homes. However, an attempt is made to present
the various abnormal elements reported as existing in the 266 fam
ilies from which were committed the 452 children included in this
study which might be causes or contributing causes. _ Only twothirds o f the children were in their own homes at the time o f their
commitment as State wards, so that the conditions here set forth did
not affect all the children up to the time o f their commitment to
the State.
.
. .
The following list shows the percentages o f the 266 families (or
the 452 children included in the study) which were affected by speci
fied unfavorable home conditions. More than one o f the unfavor
able conditions existed in many o f the homes.
Conditions in families at time of commitment of children
Per cent
Poverty (including families receiving poor relief, 1 6 ; parent
in almshouse, 3 ) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28
Immorality-------------------------------------------26
D esertion___________________________________________________________ 24
Parents neglecting children---------------------------------- ;-------------------------• 21
Intemperance-------- ------------------------------- ----------------------------- - -----------20
Parents’ failure to support-------------------11
Parents unable to control children----------------------------------------------- 11
Insanity--------------------------------------------------------------------------------®•
Illn ess------------------------------------------------------------------— ----------------------"
D ivorce________________ _— ------------------------------------------------------------1
Feeble-mindedness--------------------------------------------------- ----------------------Cruelty to children---------------5
Father or both parents imprisoned---------------------------------- ----------- ■ »
Father with a criminal record------------------------------------------------------3
From the foregoing figures it is apparent that poverty, immorality,
desertion, neglect, and intemperance were the conditions most fre
quently present which might be considered causes o f the child s
removal from the home.
i T h e fo llo w in g agen ts engaged i n th e field s tu d y h a v e a ssiste d in th e preparation o f
descriptiv e m a te ria l and sto ries in th is s e c t i o n : R u th B loo d goo d S a rah T R ogers Irm a
C. Lo n egren , F ra n ces P lek arsk i, M ild red R osen stee l, A lic e S treck ew ald , E lo ise V. S m ith .
24
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WARDS OF THE WISCONSIN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL-FAMILY CONDITIONS AT THE TIME OF COMMITMENT OF THE CHILDREN TO THE CARE OF
THE STATE
2 6 6 fa m ilie s
N on su p p ort,
divorce
desertion,
or
FIELI! STUDY OP INDENTURED CHILDREN
L a ck o f p a ren tal con trol,
cru elty , or n e gle ct
P o v e rty or fa m ily rece iv in g
poor relief
I m m o ra lity
In tem peran ce
F eeble-m in dedn ess or in sa n
ity
P h y sica l d isa b ility
E a c h com p lete b ar rep resen ts 1 0 0 p e r cent o f th e fa m ilie s ; 2 o r m ore o f th ese conditions
w ere rep orted f o r a n u m ber o f fa m ilie s
to
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26
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
SO U R C E O F P E T IT IO N
F O R C O M M IT M E N T
In some counties it is the custom for all applications for commit
ment o f children to be handled by the county poor commissioner,
who fills out the complaint blank and brings the case to the attention
o f the court. In other counties cases are brought before the court
also by private agencies and individuals interested in securing proper
care for the child. Complaints were brought by county, city, or vil
lage officials, the police, or school authorities m almost three-faiths
o f the 188 cases for which the source o f the application was reFAMILIES OF WARDS OF A6EN c ŸS MAK?N6 aV fT O
t FoLN^FORHCHILD'SECO^MITMENTR,BUTI°
N BY
[B a se d on in fo rm a tio n ob tain ed f o r 1 8 8 o f th e 2 6 6 fa m ilie s ]
ported. Less than one-fifth o f the complaints were made by humane
officers, relief societies, probation officers, or institutions. Almost
one-fourth o f the applications were reported as having been made
by parents, guardians, or relatives; and it is very probable that some
o f those reported as coming from county poor commissioners orig
inated with parents who sought aid in having their children pro
vided for.
. „
i . .•
«
_
The following list shows the source o f the applications tor com
mitment in the 188 cases for which this information was obtained:
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
27
F IE L » STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
Number of
,
.
...........
.
P erson or agency a p p ly in g f o r ch ild ’s com m itm en t— C ontinued
la iu u ic is
T o ta l________________________________________ '_____________
]_88
County or city poor official (in 4 cases also a relative, foster
.
parent, school authorities, orhumaneofficer)_______________
72
Parents______________ ______________________________________ ____ 36
Humane officer (in 3 cases also a relief society)___________
20
15
City or village official, other than poor official_______________
Police department (in 1 case also other city official)___ _
11
School authorities (in 2 cases also a relief society and
other individuals)____________________________________________
10
Foster parents or guardian________________________________________
6
Institution official___________________________________________
3
Relief society_____________________________________________________
Probation officer (in 1 case also a parent)______________________
3
Relative____________________________ _________________________ ;____
1
Other individual____________________________________________________
5
The facts just given show that it has been easy for parents to give
their children to the care o f the State. The unmarried mother
could give her child to the State within a very few days o f its birth.
One divorced mother who was anxious to marry again was able to
commit her four children. Another who wished to conceal from
her new husband the fact that she had a son in addition to the
daughter that he knew about, had the son committed within a few
hours after .she heard from the school agent that a home had been
found for the lad.
AGENCIES DEALING WITH FAMILIES PRIOR TO CHILDREN’S COMMITMENT
One hundred and sixty-seven o f the 266 families were reported as
having been known to public or private agencies prior to the com
mitment o f the children. Eighty-six families had been known to
one agency, 45 to two agencies, 24 to three agencies, 5 to four
agencies, and 6 to five agencies. One family was known to six
agencies.
The number o f families known to each type o f agency is given in
the following list:
A g en cies t h a t d e a lt with. 1 6 7 fam iliesi prior to ch ildren’ s
com m itm en t
N um ber o f
fa m ilie s
Private relief agencies_____________________________ 35
Public relief agencies______________________________ 79
Poor commissioner________
Poor farm___________________
61
n
Poor commissioner and poor farm __________________________
7
Correctional institutions__________________ __________
32
Jail__________________ _________________
14
State prison__________________ •_____|__________
5
Girls’ industrial school__________________________
4
Boys’ industrial school__________________________
2
House of Correction; House of the Good Shepherd! home
and farm school ; reform school ; boys’ industrial school
and girls’ industrial school ; boys’ industrial school and
ja il; prison and reform school (1 each)______
7
52021°—25---- 3
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
6
28
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
A g en cies t h a t d e a lt w ith 1 6 7 fa m ilie s p rio r to
com m itm en t— C ontinued
ch ildren’ s
N um ber o f
fa m ilie s
Police______________ *_________________________________________________
Court (other than in connection with commitments to State
school)____________________________________________________________
21
Juvenile_____________________________ _____________— ---------------Circuit, municipal, police, county,or divorce-----------------------
15
24
Health agencies------------------- ------------------------
39
26
Hospital and dispensary______________________________________
11
Visiting nurse_______________— ;---------- j----------------------------------- - 7
Children’s infirmary_________ _________ _________=--------------------4
4
Health department-----------------------------------------------------;------ ------Institutions for dependents-------------------------------------------------------------
25
Children_________________________ v______________________________
Children and adults__________ ________3 ---------------------------------Adults------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ —
13
10
2
Institutions for insane and feeble-minded-----------In sane____________________________________________
Feeble-minded_______________________________ — ----------------------Insane and feeble-minded------ ------------------------------------- j— —
Other agencies------ --------------------------------------Humane societies___________ L'(-----------------------------------------------Home-finding societies-------------------------------------- -— -----------------Big Sister association------------------------------------ -— 1--------------------
23
14
8
1
24
20
3
1
INVESTIGATION BEFORE COMMITMENT
When a family is called to the attention o f the county judge or
poor commissioner as in need o f aid or because the children are
neglected the usual procedure in the rural counties where no relief
societies are located is to have an “ investigation ” by the poor com
missioner, or sometimes by the county nurse i f there is one. This
investigation ordinarily consists o f visiting the family and getting
what little information can be gleaned from neighbors. On this
basis the decision is made as to whether the family is “ worthy ” of
assistance. I f “ unworthy” or i f conditions are patently bad the
family may be called into court. The county judges are, as a rule,
slow to take action, and they give the families a second or third
chance to make good. After the first “ investigation ” no follow-up
is made, and relief is given where there are crying needs for other
treatment. Relief was given in the B family for three years or more
until conditions were found to be “ unspeakable,” as the superin
tendent o f the poor farm put it, with “ two almost naked children
crawling over their aged grandfather, who was fairly eaten up with
syphilis.”
The county commissioners o f the poor, though interested in doing
the best they could in situations involving child dependency and
neglect, were not equipped for doing family case work, even had it
been within the scope o f their duties. They gave relief in k i n d grocery orders, clothing, shoes, or fuel—when the families applied.
I f the situation seemed to call for continued relief the entire family
might be sent to the poor farm; it was cheaper to support them there,
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
29
or at least the money did not come out o f the fund assigned for fam
ily relief to that particular commissioner. In one county, however,
two instances were found where women not eligible for mothers’
aid were given relief in their own homes instead o f being sent to the
poor farm. In one case the woman declared that she would commit
suicide if she were sent there, so the county took over the mortgage
on her farm and was letting her live on it for the rest o f her life.
“ It is just as cheap and the woman is a little happier,” said the com
missioner o f the poor. In the other case a woman was caring for
her epileptic daughter, and the county was looking after the pay
ments on her farm. In this same county, however, there had been
14 children in the county poorhouse, several o f whom had been
there over five months. Four o f the 14 children had left just prior
to the agent’s visit. One o f the families consisted o f a woman and
eight children, who had been deserted; although there were several
clues to the father’s whereabouts no serious effort was being made to
locate him. The superintendent of the poorhouse was powerless to
prevent this family from coming, though he was opposed to having
the children in the poorhouse, not only because it had a bad effect
upon them but because they disturbed the other inmates.
Commitment o f the children to the State school was often resorted
to as a means o f immediate relief in a critical family situation with
out the comprehensive investigation that would have accompanied
any attempt at rehabilitation. For example, in some instances rela
tives learned that the family was in distress only after the children
had been sent to the State school, and when they wrote to the school
they were informed that the children had already been indentured
and could not be returned. A few families took legal steps to regain
custody o f the children, but after the children had been legally
adopted they could not be returned to their own relatives. The com
mitment was usually based on a specific situation, considered from
an isolated standpoint. In other words, the court based the commit
ment on the legal aspects o f the case with practically no considera
tion o f social policy.
Physical and mental diagnoses were usually presented with the
commitment papers—that is, after the case decision—rather than
along with the facts concerning the family for consideration in con
nection with the question o f the child’s removal from his home. The
mental as well as the physical examination consisted o f the filling
in o f a form by the county doctor, with no added information as to
the special physical and mental problems o f the child. Standings in
school work were never found in the court records, and the grade
attended by the child at the time o f commitment was seldom men
tioned except where the child was outstandingly retarded. In the
form that accompanies the commitment papers to the Sparta school
the typical entry concerning mental and physical examination was
u sound o f mind and body.”
NUMBER OF CHILDREN COMMITTED FROM EACH FAMILY
The total number o f children in each family could be secured for
only 233 of the 266 families from which the 452 children included in
the field study were removed. In the 233 family groups there were
917 children under 18 years o f age at the time the children com
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
30
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
mitted became wards o f the State school. Five hundred and thirtynine o f these children had been committed at some time to the State
public school, and 392 were included in the Children’s Bureau study.
Following is the number o f families having each specified number
o f children committed to the State public school:
N u m ber o f children
com m itted
N u m ber o f
fa m ilie s
Total__________________________ 266
One child_____________________________106
Two children________________________ 62
Three children_______________
38
N u m ber o f ch ild ren
com m itted
N u m ber o f
fa m ilie s
Four children____,___________________
Five children________________________
Six children_________________________
Seven children—
------------------------Eight ch ild ren ..____________________
28 *
21
5
4
2
It appears from the foregoing that from each of 160 families
(about three-fifths o f the total number) at least two children were
committed to the State school. One of the interesting things re
vealed by the study was in relation to the commitments o f different
children from the same family at various times. One child out o f
three or four was sometimes committed to the school, or three or four
committed and one left with the mother. Sometimes one or two
children were taken on one date, and some months or years later
another child or two were received from the family.
In 53 o f the 106 families from which only one child was committed
there were no other children; the other 53 families had from 2 to 12
children each, including the child committed. The proportion o f
families in which the two children committed to the State school
represented the entire number in the family group was even smaller—
16 o f the 62 families. In 15 o f the 38 families from which three
children were committed there were no other children.
CASE SUMMARIES 2
The following case summaries show concretely the home conditions
from which children were received as State wards. Some of the
stories also describe briefly later experiences o f the children and the
histories of the families. The conditions described in many of the
homes point to the difficulty and complexity o f the task o f safe
guarding the children from degrading influences. In other cases
there were opportunities for assistance that could have been utilized
so as to allow the children to remain in their own homes.
L ife in America has been none too easy for the father o f Alm a and Alfred.
He came from Europe in 1888 at 26 years of age. He had been a peasant farm
laborer, but he went directly to a large city o f the Middle W est. For five years
he tried to earn a living in the c ity ; during the hard times of 1893 and the
prolonged period of unemployment he went to Wisconsin to visit an aunt. He
homesteaded there on land near the Wisconsin River and later married. When
the youngest o f his four children was 5 months old the mother died. The
baby, a girl, was taken by her aunt, with whom she lived until she was 9
years old, but the father kept the three older children with him. H e sold the
land on which he had homesteaded and purchased for $600 an 80-acre stretch
of sandy, valueless land. Laboriously he got under cultivation- 25 acres, which
he seemed to believe made a good farm, though he was deriving from it only
the barest kind of living. H e was trying to pay off the debt on the farm to
keep from losing it.
, . _ ^
,
_
He purchased from the county for $50 an old schoolhouse, which he planned
to move onto the farm and turn into a home. But when he began to move it
the plaster fell from the walls on the inside and the clapboards from the outT h e n am es o f fa m ilie s an d ch ildren u sed in th e case su m m aries a re fictitiou s.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
31
side, and he had nothing left to move but an old, one-room log house. He had
no assistance in the care of his children, and he did all the work on the farm
except for such little help as his children could give him.
In 1916 he was told that the county was giving aid to the people in this poor
section who were in need of help, and he petitioned his town chairman for aid.
The chairman referred the case to the county poor commissioner, who visited
the home once and suggested to the father that it would be much better for him
to send his two younger children to the State public school than it would be
fo r him to receive aid in money. The children were delighted with the idea
o f going to school and with the description of the fine place and the oppor
tunities that would be open to them. The father reported that he understood
that the children would be cared for and educated and believed that this would
truly be much better than anything he could do for them. H e therefore con
sented to the commitment o f Alma, aged 11, and Alfred, aged 9. Philip had
passed his fourteenth birthday and remained at home with his father. The
father stated that he was amazed when he learned that soon after commitment
both Alma and Alfred were sent to work on farms.
Alfred remained at the State public school for only five weeks, when he was
placed in a farm home a mile away from any public school. W ith Alfred,
there were seven members in this fa m ily ; the foster parents had four children
under 7 years of age. The house and barn were dirty, and the house was poorly
furnished. The children were all dirty. The parents seemed only fairly in
telligent. Alfred had been taken to help with the work because he was large
for his age and appeared strong. Until shortly before the study the foster
father had employed a hired man, but at the time o f the bureau agent’s visit
Alfred, a little over 16, was doing the work of a hired man.
School records could not be obtained for the years preceding 1918. For four
consecutive years the child attended 84, 108, 5 1 % , and 98 days, or 337 days
out of a possible 720. H e never entered earlier than the third month in the
fall. In spite of this irregular attendance the boy was able to complete the
eighth grade in June, 1922, at the age of 15 years. The teacher said he was a
bright lad and could make up the work pretty well, in spite o f being kept out
o f school so much.
.Alm a was In the State public school for three months and was then sent to
a home where, the father reported, she was compelled to work very hard and
was often severely punished. She was there eight months, then back at the
school for one month, in a second home for six months, and then in the school
one year and three months. She was then sent back to her father’s home. In
the meantime the father’s home had apparently not improved. H e still lived
in the one-room log house. A t the request of the school visitor the house was
partitioned so that two small bedrooms were made.
Alm a did not attend school after she was returned to her father, as she had
already completed the eighth grade. There was no one but the father to help
guide the child or to advise her in any way. A t one time the girl left the
father’s home with a boy friend and remained away for a week. W hen she
was located by a visitor from the school the girl explained her absence by
saying that she was visiting some friends and that it rained so hard she was
not able to get home. Alm a remained with her father until she passed her
eighteenth birthday. She did the housework« and worked side by side with
her father on the farm. Shortly after her eighteenth birthday she went to a
large city, where she lived with relatives and was employed.
Philip, the oldest child, went into the United States Army. Theresa, who
was the baby when the mother died, was returned to the father in 1920 to be
come his “ right-hand man.” A t the time of the agent’s visit the house was
very untidy and almost bare. The child’s body and clothing were dirty, but
she was only 12 and had no one to help or advise her. The father tried to
help with the housework and cultivated the farm alone. He was anxious for
his daughter to go to school, and at his request little Theresa brought from
the old trunk, to show to the agent, her reading-circle certificate and honor
diploma for perfect attendance. She will enter the seventh grade in the fall
and says that she is going to be a teacher.
The father realized that for him life in America was better than it probably
would have been in the “ old country.” He wished he could speak English
better. He appeared to be of the type that is eager to learn and to advance
and would appreciate any endeavor to assist and guide him. A resourceful
social agency or a visiting housekeeper could have been of great help to the
fam ily.
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C H IL D R E N
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SCH OOL
The T family— father, mother, and seven children— had been dependent upon
public and private charities for several years. The father, a laborer who
worked irregularly, wras an intemperate man. The mother was a poor house
keeper. The children were neglected, only half fed, and h alf clothed. The
mother was also immoral, and the children frequently saw men callers at the
home during the father’s absence. A t the petition o f the county poor commis
sioner six of the seven children, ranging in age from 1 year to 14 years, were
committed to the State public school. Rufus, the oldest, was beyond the age of
commitment.
After the commitment of the children the father died, and the mother moved
to a larger city where she began to solicit on the streets. She was arrested as
a prostitute and was returned for care to her county of residence. She was
living at the county poor farm, where the officials planned to keep her until
her children were released and could make a home for her, intending that they
should bear the burden of her support. A t this institution the mother helped
with the work when under close supervision. She received no pay for her
services.
Rufus, the oldest of the children, at the time of the study a young man of
23, had not forgotten his brothers and sisters and hoped to reestablish a home
for them as soon as they were released. W ith this desire in his heart he had
been “ fixing u p ” the old fam ily home. Rose, the baby sister, was in the
State public school only one month when she was sent to a home on an
indenture contract and within a short time was legally adopted by the foster
parents. The other children were still in indenture homes at the time of the
study.
W hen Jessie was but 5 months old, her mother and father, then only 19 and
20 years of age, were divorced. They had been married a little over two
years. The divorce was granted the mother on the ground of cruel and in
human treatment and infidelity, and it gave her the custody of the child. The
maternal and paternal grandparents were living at the time of the divorce,
and the maternal grandfather was appointed guardian for both mother and
child. The mother found a boarding home for Jessie but failed to pay for hey
care, and when the foster parents asked to be allowed to adopt her the mother
consented. The adoptive parents were ignorant and very superstitious; the
wife was described as “ almost mentally unbalanced ” and told Jessie weird
tales about witches and ghosts. These the child began to dramatize at night
and became “ obstreperous ” and “ wild,” tearing her clothing and her hair
and breaking the furniture. The maternal grandfather complained of this
situation to the county humane officer. Investigation showed that the com
plaint was well founded and that the child was in a wrong environment, and
the adoptive parents were persuaded to send the child to the State school.
Thus, at 7 years of age Jessie was given to the custody o f the State, while her
own parents, grandparents, and adoptive parents were all living.
A month later she was sent on an indenture contract to a home in the
country. No facts were obtained concerning this home nor the reason for the
child’s return three months later. W ithin three weeks she was sent to her
second indenture home, where she remained for four years.
These foster
parents were good, intelligent people. They lived on an 80-acre farm, which
they owned. The house and barns were neat and well kept. The house was
comfortably furnished and homelike. The foster parents had one child of their
own, a boy a little older than Jessie, and they took her because they wanted
a companion for him.
In this home Jessie had soon “ calmed down.” The foster parents were fond
of the child and tried to do everything for her. The school was a mile away,
and the child attended when she was well enough to do so. She was in the
second grade when she came to the home and had advanced from there to the
fourth grade at the time of her return to the State school. She became very
ill with appendicitis and an operation was necessary, and the foster parents
paid over $500 for the operation and care. Because she did not improve
rapidly and was unable to walk to school she was returned to the State school
to remain only until she had regained her strength. She was removed to one
of the Madison cottages for treatment. A year ago she was allowed to visit
the foster home.
In the meantime the child’s mother had married again and had a com
fortable home. She died of a heart affection four years before the study. The
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IN D E N T U R E D
C H IL D R E N
33
father also had remarried. The maternal grandfather had died; he and his
wife were separated several times, but during his last sickness there was a
final reconciliation and for three months preceding his death he was living
with his wife. A t the time of the study this grandmother had a comfortable
home, was well off financially, and wished to have Jessie live with her. She
had had 14 children, and her youngest daughter was about the same age as
Jessie.
The paternal grandparents lived in the same community, in a small but com
fortable home.
The adoptive father had been dead for two years. The adoptive mother
became more and more peculiar; finally she moved from the community when
her husband died and had not been heard from since.
Marian, 4 years old, pink-cheeked and husky, lived with her parents,
her two big sisters, and her baby brother on an abandoned farm near the edge
o f town. Her father left to his wife such work as was done on his own farm,
while he did an occasional day’s work for his more enterprising neighbors, or
more frequently lounged around saloons and pool rooms.
Marian’s mother loved her children. She tried to work the land herself.
W ith the help of her three little girls she made a garden and cared for the
animals. Money came in slowly. The father, instead o f adding his earnings
to the household budget, often spent on gambling and drink what the mother
had earned. The mother and children went without clothing they needed, they
were not properly fed, and their health failed. The mother began going out
to look for work. She finally drifted to the pool rooms where the father spent
his tim e ; she went oftener and stayed later. Four children, cold and hungry,
were often left alone at the farmhouse all night.
During this time the county poor commissioner had given food to the family
when the little money on hand was needed for rent. After the children were
found alone on several successive visits and the house in worse condition
each time, an effort was made to discover why the mother spent so much time
away from her home and children. She was watched and was taken before
the juvenile judge. The three little girls were sent to the State public school,
and the baby brother was left with his mother. The parents were forced to
give up their home and seek employment on one of the large farms in the
neighborhood.Appeals were made by the mother to have her children returned to her.
W hen the judge refused to grant her request her sister offered to adopt all
three little girls. The aunt was not allowed to take the children, for her
home was dirty and much overcrowded with her own six children and her
husband’s earnings were only $20 a week. The mother then appealed to a
bachelor who had been one of her intimates before her children were removed.
He had a thriving business, but was known to be immoral and had been in
court on a .serious charge. H is petition to adopt the little girls was also
refused.
Marian and her sisters were placed out on indenture. One sister was later
legally adopted, and the other was sent to the girls’ industrial school.
Marian was taken into the home of a young married woman who had no
children o f her own. They lived in a tiny three-room cottage, badly in need
o f paint on the outside and bearing evidence o f poverty within but with flower
ing plants in all the windows and the bare floors and muslin curtains spot
lessly clean. Marian soon forgot her own home and the people in it. She took
her foster father’s name and delighted in the birth o f two little “ sisters,”
the second and third year of her life in her new home. When seen by the Chil
dren’s Bureau agent she was nearly 13 years old, very capable in looking after
the younger children, and a great help to her foster mother. She was a frail
child and had not been able to keep up with her class at school because of
frequent illness, but she was nevertheless doing good work in school. #She
loves to work in her little garden, and she had taken prizes at local fairs with
her flowers and vegetables.
The foster father worked in a foundry.
His
wages had provided for the needs of the family but had not made it possible
to move to larger quarters, and the three-room cottage was so small that the
three children all slept together in one large bed.
About five years after Marian and her sisters were removed from their own
home a visitor from the State school found that their parents had lived ip
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C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
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SCH OOL
three different towns during the interim. They took any sort of seasonal work
they could get, and then moved on. Three more babies had been born. Since
then they had been traced to two more towns and then lost.
In the town of P naughty children were threatened with being given to the
Runneys i f they did not behave. This fam ily had always lived in the com
munity ; the first records of them in the county court dated back to 1899, when
an application was made to have one o f the children examined as to his sanity.
H e was found to be feeble-minded and not insane, but in 1900 he was sent to
the county hospital, later being transferred to the home for feeble-minded.
B y 1906 four other children had been committed to the latter institution.
Little was known of the living conditions of the fam ily, but they seemed to
have struggled along without public relief. The only record o f aid during the
10 years before the bureau’s study was a grocery order amounting to $3.50
given in 1918. In the previous year, however, the fam ily had been brought to
the attention o f the city officials, probably by the city nurse. The children
were found to be neglected and suffering from cold and hunger, the home was
insanitary, and the parents were considered unfit custodians. Laura, aged 16,
was sent to live with an aunt in another State. Nettie, aged 13, was first com
mitted to the care o f a woman living in a near-by community and later to a
minister’s family. The two younger children, Harrison and Nellie, aged 10 and
8, were committed to Sparta.
During the five and one-half years that Harrison was under the jurisdiction
of the State school he was placed in three different homes, thè longest inden
ture period in any of them being eight months. H e was sent to his first home
less than two weeks after his admission to the school. Little information could
be secured at this home except that the child was “ queer ” and gave a great
deal of trouble. H e was returned after eight months. H e was in his second
home only two weeks, being returned by the foster parents because his actions
were so “ queer ” they did not wish to be responsible for him. He played with
matches, and just after he left the home a burned patch was discovered back
o f the barn where he used to play. They said he was stubborn and irrespon
sible and refused to go to school.
^ After his return to the school he was examined and found to have an intel
ligence quotient o f 78. About a year later he was given a third trial in an
indenture home, which lasted for five months. The foster parents took him to
help with the farm work, but he did not prove satisfactory. He was then
a little less than 13 years o f age. H e attended school only 39 out o f a possible
80 days and was not bright in his studies. A fter this last return to the State
school Harrison was again examined and was found to be feeble-minded.
Tw o years later he was committed to the home for feeble-minded, making the
sixth member of his fam ily at that institution. He was there graded as a
high-grade moron, especially defective in m orals; he was considered the
brightest o f the six children o f the fam ily who had been in the home for
feeble-minded. Tw o o f them had died; they were classified as high-grade
imbeciles and “ inherent sex perverts.”
Nellie Runney was indentured shortly after her commitment. The foster
fam ily moved to W yom ing less than a year later, and no further record was
on file.
Mrs. P was running a boarding house under the shadow of a large factory.
She felt that she had been a failure in bringing up her children, that only the
two who were taken under the stricter guardianship o f the State would ever
amount to anything. H er husband never assumed his share of responsibility
for the support of the fam ily, and it was always necessary for the mother to
work a t least part time outside of the home. Thirteen years ago the man was
convicted of attempted rape, but he was not sentenced because he had five
children who needed his earnings. Five years later, when there were six
children, he deserted his family, and the authorities have never been able to
locate him. The mother went to work in a factory all day, leaving the children
to shift for themselves.
W ilm er was 19, hut he was lazy and shiftless and did not bring home his
money. Perry, aged 15, and W alter, aged 12, ran away from school repeatedly;
they annoyed little boys in the neighborhood and they stole whenever they had
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FIELD STUDY OP INDENTURED CHILDREN
35
an opportunity. These two boys were taken into the juvenile court, and after
the court’s investigation the mother was urged to allow all the younger chil
dren to be committed to the State public school lest they should get into
trouble from lack of supervision. She was not willing to do this, feeling that
she was able to manage all except Perry and W alter. These boys were com
mitted to the school and were indentured on farms, where they remained until
they were 18 years old.
In the meantime W ilm er began to go with a crowd o f tough companions.
He spent his time at saloons and pool rooms and finally drifted to Milwaukee
where he lived among gamblers and law breakers. He was- serving a two-year
sentence for adultery at the house of correction.
Prank, 21 years old in 1923, had never held a job for more than a few weeks
at a time. He was tuberculous and had not worked for over a year. He was
a moral degenerate and had attacked several little girls in the neighborhood.
Luella, too, soon slipped beyond her mother’s control. W hen she was 16
she gave birth to a child out of wedlock, who was released for adoption soon
after birth. Luella became pregnant again within a year, and before her
child was born ran away and married a man who was working with a street
carnival, whom she had known for only a week. They left the State, and the
mother had lost track o f her daughter entirely.
W alter returned home from indenture shortly after his eighteenth birthday,
strong, brown, and trained to the discipline of good hard work. He soon be
came interested in the work o f a religious mission and obtained a scholarship
in their training school in a large city. He had been there for a year and
was making good progress.
Perry was never strong physically, owing to a chest injury resulting from a
fall in childhood. He was always very slow to learn and very sensitive to
ridicule. When he returned home after his release from his indenture home, a
short time before the study, his mother was surprised to -find that he had
developed much self-reliance. He tried factory work hear home but did not
like being indoors after his years o f outdoor work on farms. He found work
on a farm near his home town and sends part o f his earnings to his mother
regularly.
Austin had reached the age o f 14 years. He was living at home under the
supervision of the juvenile court. He had stolen 11 bicycles and sold them.
Bernice had almost no happy recollections o f her childhood days. Her own
mother died while Bernice was still very young. Her father married a divorced
woman with two children of her own. That was the beginning of much trouble
in the household. The father served a jail sentence for intemperance. Ber
nice, although only 9 years of age, is said to have caused so much trouble for
her stepmother that she was committed to the State public school, where she
remained for a little more than a year and then was indentured to her father.
The stepmother was evidently no more kindly disposed toward Bernice than she
formerly had been, and the child’s presence at home made her very angry,
especially as the father was wont, to take the girl’s part. The antagonism
between the stepmother and the child caused Bernice to be returned to the
State public school. She remained there three years before she was placed in
an indenture home.
This foster mother owned and lived in a very modern, comfortable house
m the best residence section of a small city. She frankly stated that she took
children from the State public school to get help with the work. She and
her own mother were the only members o f the fam ily, but there were five
roomers in the house. Bernice’s duties—-she was then 13 years o f age— were
entirely housework. She washed the dishes and helped with the cleaning
the washing and ironing, and the preparation of the meals. The foster mother
was giving the girl a good home and was taking the place o f a real mother
m the child’s life. Bernice was receiving the advantages of school and church
training, and recreation for her was provided through these two agencies. A t
the time of the visit to the home she was 15 years o f age and was in her
second year in high school. She attended school fairly regularly, and although
her school work had been gradually improving she was still only a fair pupil.
She was determined to be independent and self-supporting when she became
18, and with that purpose in view she was taking a commercial course in high
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
36
CHILDREN" INDENTURED BY. WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
school. Bernice and the foster mother were friends, and the girl hoped that
this would continue to be her home for a long time.
Meanwhile, at her father’s home things were going from bad to worse. ±he
stepmother was no longer living with the father but had gone to another town
and had started divorce proceedings. The father for two years had been work
ing steadily and earning $26 a week. W ith this he had been suPP°r^P1^I
wife and two stepchildren and a 4-year-old child. But Bernice had had no
place in her father’s home solely because she was objectionable to his* secont
wife. Though the child could not have been left in the honae with the step
mother an agency might have found a home as good as her last indenture horn
where the father would have paid board for her, and this arrangement would
have strengthened the tie between father and daughter.
The family history of Austin and Christopher was so complicated that the
boys themselves were hazy about their various step-parents and grandparents.
Their mother had been married at least three times and at the time of the
study was living in the South, “ probably married again.
She
liked to
wander, around,” and the boys seldom had her address. The
was living with his third wife. It was this stepmother who was so cniel to
the boys when they were 12 and 14 years old that they asked to be sent away
from home. They were made to sleep in an unheated frame carriage house all
winter and went to the house only for meals. They were dirty and covered
with lice. Besides being subjected to these inhuman living conditions they
were knocked around by their father and were finally threatened with a
butcher knife by the stepmother for teasing her own son
The father’s home was visited, and from Present conditions it wasnett y
believe the boys’ story of their past. The father, stepmother, and four chil
dren (the oldest 15 years, the youngest 3 years) were living in a ^ o -r o m n
shack on the edge o f town, scantily furnished and filthy. The woman and
the children were very dirty. The stepmother was an ignorant woman, simpleminded and lazy. Her oldest child— born out of wedlock— was on parole from
the boys’ industrial school. For about 13 years the father had been employed
irregularly at shoveling coal for a railroad, but he was said to be lazy and
ShAusttn, the older of the two boys, was not fortunate in his foster home* he
was deprived o f schooling. H e did not go beyond t
h
e
’ was saM
year’s school record showed but 77 days’ attendance out of 160. He was said
to be not very bright, but his absences may have been at least partly responsi
ble for his backwardness. Immediately after his release the boy visited his
father and stepmother but remained only a short time. H e then visited his
mother in “ the South ” but did not wish to remain there and returned to the
neighborhood of his last indenture home. H e had worked for various farmers
in the neighborhood, earning usually $1 a day. In the winter he made his
home on a farm, where he worked for his board and clothing. The fa*m e
and his w ife were fond of the boy and interested in him. They said that he
must have his work planned for him, but that he was honest and a good steadyworker
H e had not been especially strong physically since having influenza
abr h r i r t o p L r w a s 't o r e fortunate in his foster home, though he too was
deprived of schooling. Although he reached the sixth reader he could not do
even simple arithmetic. A s soon as he had saved a
n^mont hs f % h e y
release he visited his father and stepmother for almost four months. ±hey
treated him well enough, but as they wanted all his money, he left and went to
visit his mother. H e worked his way north again, stopping m various cities
on his wav back to earn his fare to the next point. H e again returned to his
father and worked a while with a railroad section^gang* Wheitoi
Up wns visitin«- Austin before going to another State to take up tarming. n e
said he was ready to settle down, for he realized that he had wandered around
a good deal
However, he seemed to feel that his travels had paid, althoug
he had saved no money. He said of himself, “ I don’t drink have clothes
raou rt Ind have been in no trouble,” H e expressed the hope that if he ever
married he would make a better home for his fam ily than his father had made
for him and his brother.
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F IE L D
STUDY
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IN D E N T U R E D
C H IL D R E N
37
Gustav was 5 years old when his mother died. His father, a saloon keeper,
remarried, and shortly afterwards the boy started to run away frequently.
He gave as his reason that his stepmother stripped him and whipped him with
a strap “ for just little things.” The police, who were called into the home
several times, investigated rather carefully and found that the stepmother
was unreasonable and cruel in her treatment o f him. A t 9 years of age he
was committed to the State school as a delinquent and neglected child, though
his father was in good financial standing and maintained a rather comfortable
home for himself and his wife and could have contributed to the boy’s support.
W hile under the jurisdiction of the State school the' child was indentured
to two hom es; he remained in the first home only three months and in the
second four years. H e was in the State school for three periods.
The boy spoke well o f both homes, saying of one, “ I couldn’t be treated
any better,” and of the other, “ It was an awful nice home.” But in both
homes, it was reported, he showed dishonest traits and was returned on
account o f them. W hile in the second home he had articles o f clothing and
food charged in the town stores to his foster parents and to some o f the
neighbors, continuing to do this even after correction. Returned to the school
from this home, he remained there for one year. Then he and another boy
“ just got the notion, when we were talking one day, to try and run away.
The next day the marshal picked us up and gave us our choice to go back
to Sparta or to go to Waukesha, and we told him we would try Waukesha,
as we knew all about Sparta.” H e was in the industrial school for boys for
1 % years. During this period he did school work in grades 4, 5, and 6.
When nearly 17 years of age Gustav was paroled to his father. For one
year, until he was released at 18, he worked on a farm near his father’s
home for 50 ctnts a day, but his stepmother’s continual nagging irritated him
so that he left home and persuaded his 16-year-old sister to leave also. He
found his way to a neighboring town, went to a farm near by, and offered
his services in return for board and room until he could find permanent
employment. The house was wretched looking and filthy, the people ignorant,
and the children neglected. During the winter before the study he secured
work on a farm at $1 a day. It was then that he wrote to his first indenture
home and asked for employment, promising to work for less than $1 a day.
But the farmer had satisfactory help and did not employ him.
Since the
spring he had been doing the work of a farm hand and earning $35 a month.
A certain amount of mystery surrounded the death of Melvin’s father, but
the coroner gave a verdict of suicide. The father had been at the State
school when a boy. H e seemed to have had a “ queer ” disposition and a
violent temper, and his wife feared him.
He was reported to have kept
loaded guns and revolvers on the walls of his bedroom.
The mother’s fam ily also was known to the State school. She was one o f
nine children, five of whom were committed to the State school and one to the
boys’ industrial school.
Her father was a* heavy drinker and had served
a sentence in prison. Several o f her brothers also had served prison terms.
After the death of Melvin’s father the fam ily was given county aid for a
short time until the four children could be placed. Homes were found for all
o f them, and Melvin was placed with a farmer. After running away several
times and giving trouble he was sent to Sparta at the age of 7 years. H e
was placed less than a month after his commitment, and at the time of the
study was still in the same home. Except for the fact that the child was;
not sent to school regularly, the home was satisfactory, and there seemed
to be a very friendly and kindly spirit between the foster parents and the
boy. Because of the foster mother’s poor health the boy had not attended
school for a year, although he was only 15 years old and had just com
pleted the fifth grade. H e had missed an average of over 11 weeks a year
for the four preceding years.
Melvin’s mother had remarried about seven years before and had moved to
another State. Her husband was a ne’er-do-well, and they were barely able
to make ends meet. The couple had two children, and a daughter of the mother
was also living with thein. The other daughter was “ adopted o u t ” to a
near-by farmer, and the fourth child, a boy, had been legally adopted by a
wealthy man " in another State.
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C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
’The county poor commissioner gave the following meager information
regarding the R fa m ily : Mrs. R was sent to the county farm in 1914 by the
county judge on a charge of adultery; her husband was sent to jail. Mrs.
R ’s five children were committed to the State public school. The mother died
of tuberculosis in 1916 and was buried in the county-farm cemetery. Mrs. R ’s
family was notoriously good for nothing. Her mother was often seen drunk
on the streets of the small town. The county poor commissioner knew nothing
of the five children.
A visit was made to the maternal grandmother, who lived in a small house
about a mile out in the country. The front room was simply furnished with
an old organ, a cot with a white spread, a stove, and an old-fashioned talking
machine. A rag carpet with rugs on top of it covered the floor. Family
photographs covered with dust adorned the- walls. The woman was bare
footed but dressed in a comparatively clean waist and skirt. She was chew
ing tobacco.
The grandmother related that when Alice, her third child, was 17 years qld
she met Hugh R and determined to marry him in spite of the fact that he
drank and w as “ wild ” and that her parents opposed the match.
They
lived with Mrs. R ’s parents part of the time, and fights were frequent between
the father-in-law and Hugh, who was usually drunk. It was into this environ
ment that their five children were born.
In 1913 the R ’s moved to a larger city, where they lived in a filthy, crowded
little flat. They received aid from their church, a private relief agency, and
the county. The children were not in school, and frequent visits of the school
nurse and the truant officer failed to get them there. The mother was hope
lessly ill with tuberculosis. There was no one to make the children ready for
school or to wash and mend their clothes or to cook their meals. Every mem
ber of the fam ily was undernourished. The father was on probation but not
working regularly, and he was wasting his money and drinking.
The mother did not appreciate the danger of infecting her children with
tuberculosis and refused to take the precautions suggested by the health
department. As a result the children were sent to the State public school.
The grandmother was unable to take any o f the children at this time, as she
and her husband were living in a “ little house with two other families ” and
there was no room. Arrangements were made for the mother to have care in
a hospital, but she refused to go or to cooperate in any way with the agencies
that were trying to help her.
A few weeks after the removal o f the children the father was again
-arrested for drunkenness. The parents were then ordered to move back to
their old home in the neighboring county. There Mrs. R set about establishing
a home, so that the children could be returned to her from the school. They
secured a house, and she had all the children’s clothes washed and ready for
them. Then some one gave her husband a pint of alcohol, and he went to a
woman’s house and began “ calling her names,” with the result that he was
sent to ja il and Mrs. R had to give up her cherished plan.
Several months after their return to this county both husband and w i f e .
were brought into court charged with adultery. Because of her physical con
dition Mrs. R was sent to the poor farm, and her husband served another of
m any sentences in jail.
After his wife’s death Mr. R appeared at the grandmother’s home, claiming
the organ and other furniture. A fight was narrowly avoided, and he finally
disappeared without the furniture.
A t the time of their commitment to the State public school in 1914 the
children were the following a ges: Kate, 12 y ears; Eleanor, 1 0 ; Maud, 9 ;
Bella, 8 ; and Homer, 3.
Fred’s mother was very young when she came to America. She found em
ployment as a domestic and later met Fred’s father, a bartender. They mar
ried and had three children, whom they were quite unable to support. The
mother had a friend who cared for the first-born child from the time she was
a year old. The second was adopted by a physician in a neighboring town.
Fred, the youngest, was placed in a boarding home. Shortly afterwards the
father abandoned the mother and children, and about nine years before the
study the mother had secured a divorce on the ground of desertion. She con
tinued to do domestic work and finally secured a position as a waitress in a
hotel, where ¿be earned $4 a w eek; $2 of this was paid for Fred’s board, and.
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the other $2 had to provide clothing for the mother and child, school books, and
incidentals. A visitor from the State school regularly stopped at the hotel
where the mother was a waitress, and the proprietor’s wife suggested to the
mother that she send the boy to the school. The mother talked with the
visitor, who promised to find the boy a good home i f the mother decided to
have him committed. W hen she later received a message saying that a home
had been found for the boy the mother that very day placed him on a train
in charge of the conductor, told him that a kind lady would meet him at the
end of his journey to take him to a good home, and bade him “ good-bye.” She
had not seen him since but was happy and contented about him because she
had been assured that he had a good home and was getting along well.
The boy remained in his first indenture home two months and then was
transferred to a second home not far away because the first foster father had
died. He had been in this home less than eight months when he was re
turned because the foster mother was unable to get hired help and could not
do the extra work for this boy. W ithin the first year and 10 days of his life
as a State school child, he was sent to his third home.
Complaint was received by the school authorities that the child was being
mistreated in this home and was compelled to work too hard. A visitor was
sent to investigate, and as the child seemed to be working too hard the foster
parents were given a “ warning.” A year later, when the agent visited the
home, the foster mother said that the boy would not mind. A t school the
visitor found the boy in overalls and jacket, very dirty, and with his face
and hands unwashed. She took him home and had him clean up. The boy
was still at this home.
Meanwhile, fortune had been kind to the mother. She had remarried. Her
second husband was prosperous and kind, and her home was modern and com
fortable. Fred’s older sister was living with the mother, and the home was
a very happy one. But the mother had never told her husband about the
daughter who had been adopted nor about the boy under the care of the
State school.
Irving’s start in the world was most unpropitious. Not only was he born
out of wedlock, but his mother was insane, epileptic, and notoriously “ im
moral.” Some time after his birth his mother married Mr. I, but the step
father was blind and able to do little or no work. Then they met a Mr.
S whose wife had deserted him about a year previous, leaving him with
three children to care for. A s the I ’s were “ up again st” hard luck, too, they
came to live with Mr. S in order to care for his children. Mr. I at that time
was receiving $100 a year as a pension on account of his blindness. The two
families struggled along for a while, but in 1917 Mr. S applied to the county
poor commissioner for relief.
After investigation had revealed that the
families were destitute, the home W a s filthy, and the parents were immoral,
two children from each fam ily were committed to the State school. A t this
time Irving’s stepfather was sent to the poorhouse because of his blindness
and poverty, and the mother was committed to the State hospital for the
insane. Five months later she was released and rejoined her husband, who
had escaped from the county home and was living in a neighboring county.
A t the time of the study they were receiving $4 a month from the county
relief fund.
Irving was placed in an indenture home, where he remained a little over a
year. The home, from a material point o f view, was satisfactory, but there
was in it another State school boy, who was overbearing in his attitude toward
Irving. The boy’s school attendance was poor, and the records indicate that
he was kept out to work. Though 12 years old when he was placed in the
home he had reached only the third grade. The foster parents returned him
to the State school because they had found him dishonest and they considered
him not mentally capable o f improvement. About two years later, when his
chronological age was 15 years, a mental examination showed that he had a
mental age of 8 years 8 months, and he was transferred to the home for feeble
minded. There he was described as a “ moron:—a bright-appearing boy. Gives
no trouble and can be trained to become a valuable worker.”
The indenture home of Irving’s sister Clara was not visited. She had been
in it for over six years and at the time of the study was 11 years of age.
In 1918, over a year after the commitment of the children, application was
made by the parents for their release. A t that time the father and mother
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were living with the mother’s parents on a rented farm. A s the house was
found to be disordered and dirty, the farm buildings dilapidated, and the sur
roundings filthy, the application was refused. The mother and father con
tinued trying to secure the release o f the children because they wanted the
boys at home to work on the farm.
It is perhaps well that Donald, Ellen, and Raymond were too young to have
a very definite recollection of their earliest childhood days. Raymond was
but 2 and Donald only 1 year old when their father deserted them and their
mother. H e had not been heard from since. The mother was pregnant at
the time of the desertion in 1912, and Ellen, the youngest of this unfortunate
trio, was born a few months later.
The fam ily did not come to the attention of any social agency or official
until November, 1913, when complaint was made that the mother was desti
tute. The juvenile court allowed a mothers’ pension of $14 a month for the
support of the three children, but the pension was revoked in the following
March when the court learned that the mother was immoral. In August o f
the same year complaint was again made, this time asserting that the mother
was intoxicated most of the time and that the three children were being piti
fully neglected. The case was taken to the juvenile court, and the three
children were committed to the State school.
The mother, who was considered rather “ simple,” was placed with her
parents, who allowed her to take a position as housekeeper to a bachelor farmer.
Within two years of the time the three children were sent to the State
school the mother once more came to the attention o f the social agency. One
child had been born out of wedlock, and the mother was again pregnant. The
bachelor farmer was the alleged father of the children. After an investiga
tion by the social agency the case was reported to the district attorney who,
however, took no action. After two years more another complaint was made,
stating that the mother was illegitimately pregnant for the third time. Still
no action was taken. The third child died, and in the fall of the same year
the mother became pregnant again. The father of the children was then
arrested and brought into court. He was frank in admitting his responsibility
and expressed himself as willing and anxious to marry the mother. A legal
marriage was impossible, for the mother had never been divorced from the
husband who had deserted her six years earlier. A fter an examination and
jury trial the mother was committed to a home for the feeble-minded, where
she gave birth to a stillborn infant.
The two children of the couple were sent to the State school, and the father
was ordered to pay $20 a month for their support. H e gave a $500 bond to
his town to guarantee that this obligation would be fulfilled. These two chil
dren died at Sparta during an epidemic of influenza, and the father was thus
released from further responsibility and obligation. The mother’s brothers
endeavored to have her released from the home for the feeble-minded but
failed in their efforts. Not long afterward she died at the institution.
O f the legitimate family, Raymond was adopted within a year, Ellen had
been in a good home for nine years, and Donald had been in three indenture
homes, none of which could be considered satisfactory.
During the first five years of her life Catherine’s fam ily were known to many
social agencies in their city of residence— visiting housekeeper, school nurse,
school-attendance department, police matron, humane officer, and public-welfare
society. Both her parents were intemperate, shiftless, and lazy, and as a con
sequence the seven children in the home were neglected. The fam ily received
aid periodically from the county. W hen Catherine was 5 years old the fam ily
of nine were found living in a one-room abandoned house, and all seven chil
dren were sleeping in one bed. The case was brought up in court, and the
parents begged for another chance before their children should be taken away
from them. This was granted by the judge, and the fam ily were left under
the supervision of the public-welfare society.
The visiting housekeeper helped the fam ily move into better quarters; but
in spite of all her efforts at instructing the mother, the home would look as
bad the day after her visit as it did before. The mother refused to wash
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the children’s clothes or to keep them or the house clean and defied anyone
to force her to do so. The health department again took the case to court,
and once more the parents were given a chance. The mother was pregnant
with her sixteenth child, which a few months later was stillborn. Though
adequate clothing was supplied through charitable sources, the children contin
ued to be ragged and dirty, and their attendance at school was irregular.
In 1916 the younger children were reported to be stealing at school, and
both parents were drinking heavily. A seventeenth child was born and died
of neglect. A 16-year-old daughter had taken up with bad associates. She
was placed on probation by the juvenile court, but a few months later it was
discovered that she was pregnant and infected with syphilis. She was put
under treatment at a hospital and was not allowed to marry the father of the
baby because he was feeble-minded as well as syphilitic. Her baby did not
live. A 15-year-old-girl became incorrigible and began staying out late at
night. She was sent to the House of the Good Shepherd, and there is no fur
ther record of her.
A t this time Catherine, then 7 years old, and four of her brothers were sent
to the State school at Sparta.
PLACEMENT
NEED OF STUDY OF THE CHILD AND HIS HISTORY
When a child is given to the custody o f the State the problem is
not merely to find a place where he will be sheltered, fed, and
clothed and where he will be sent to school 120 days o f the school
year. The State has a larger responsibility for its wards. In order
to plan for the child’s future life its agents must know what the
child’s life has been, what influences there have been for good and
for bad, what habits have been developed, what subnormalities exist,
what is his mental capacity, and what is his physical condition.
This study has brought out many instances o f placement without
regard to the histories o f the children. In many cases the child had
been surrounded by immoral influences, by ignorance, filth, neglect,
intemperance, and quarreling; or the child had been born o f parents
infected with venereal disease, or feeble-minded, epileptic, or insane;
or his early environment had not afforded him the privileges of nor
mal childhood. Sometimes a child had been placed on the day o f
commitment or only a few days later. Within so short a period
there had surely been no opportunity to understand what his problem
was, much less to attempt to give him remedial treatment, whether
the problem was one o f health, o f mentality, or o f behavior.3
Many children were characterized by the foster parents as “ hard
to learn,” or “ queer,” or “ slow.” One 2-year-old boy was taken by
foster parents to be brought up as their own son, as they had no
children o f their own. They discovered that the child was dumb,
and the physician to whom they took him said that he would never
learn to talk. Another example in which the physical condition was
ignored was that o f a boy who was placed out on contract to do farm
work while convalescing from pneumonia. His foster mother said
that he “ wheezed ” and that he “ coughed all night,” with the result
3 A c co rd in g to in fo rm a tio n received fro m th e directo r o f the ju v e n ile d ep artm en t o f
the W isc o n sin S t a t e B o a rd o f C on trol (A p r il 2 0 , 1 9 2 5 ) , th e sch ool’ s fu ll-tim e resident
p h ysician now gives each child on en trance a carefu l p h y sica l exa m in a tio n an d sees th a t
a l l needed correctiv e w ork (th rou gh special diets an d m in o r op eration s) is done fo r him .
A l l ch ildren needing ton silectom ies an d m a jo r op eration s a re sen t to th e W isc o n sin
G en era l H o sp ita l a t M ad ison .
N o ch ild is placed u n til he h a s been in t h e in s titu tio n
th ree m o n th s or u n til correctiv e w ork h a s been com p leted an d h is m e n ta lity and
p e rson ality tr a its are kn ow n.
E a c h ch ild is given a m en ta l te s t before h e is placed,
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CHILDREN" INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
that he was worn out when morning came. The record does not
show that any examination was made for tuberculosis.
Another boy, who had remained in his foster home for 10 months,
was returned because o f ill health. His foster mother said that he
had weak kidneys and he was “ sick all the time,” and that for this
reason he was unable to attend school during the six school months
he was in her home; the foster father, however, said the boy had not
been in the home long enough to go to school. They agreed, however,
that the boy “ took no interest in anything ” and that he was inactive.
He was considered well enough to do chores. Although 14 years old
when placed in this home, he was, according to his foster mother,
more like “ a wistful, small 9-year-old boy.” On his return to the
State school he was transferred to a tuberculosis sanitorium, where
he died.
Three cases o f goiter encountered by one agent had had no medical
diagnosis or treatment, either by the State school before placement or
by the foster parents. One boy’s goiter was so large that it was
difficult for him to turn his neck. It sometimes hurt him when he
worked. He had been in the home for nine years and at the time o f
the visit was almost 18 years old. This boy and the man to whom
he was indentured were in the office o f the superintendent o f the
school in July, 1923, three days before the boy became 18 years o f
age, and after talking the matter over with the superintendent the
man was convinced that it was his duty to have the goiter removed.
A fter being operated on in a hospital the boy went back to his
foster home to recuperate.
Many children placed as normal were below par physically or
mentally or both and had been allowed to stay in the foster home to
the disadvantage o f both home and child. One subnormal child was
being kept in the foster home until he should become 18 years old
so that he would not have to be sent to the home for feeble-minded,
as would be inevitable were he returned to the school. The foster
mother felt that the boy was totally unable to care for himself and
never would improve. He was happy at the State school and would
undoubtedly have been better off in an institution.
One o f the bureau agents came in contact with two cases in which
placement made without the foster parents’ knowing the history
o f the child was causing sorrow to the foster parents and was not
benefiting the child. In each case the foster parents took the child
when a baby; in each case the child had had epileptic seizures before
it was placed. A t the time of the agent’s visit one child had not had
a day o f schooling although he was 10 years o f age, because the
mother did not feel that she could send him to school safely; the
physician who had attended the child stated that he was very much
below par mentally. The girl in the other home had attended school
but was not making the progress o f a normal child; her teachers
were frank in saying that she was “ foolish.” In both cases the
parents had become so fond o f the child that they had made plans
for adoption, but they had delayed action because they realized that
a separation might later be necessary.
Two children were ill when they were brought to the foster homes
and died soon afterwards. The indenture contract requires that the
foster parents shall pay the expenses o f sickness and burial, Several
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children who were ill when they were sent to indenture homes were
soon after returned by the foster parents.
A statement regarding present health only was given for the child
who was to be indentured, with no accompanying medical history or
data resulting from special study o f the child to ascertain his physi
cal or mental habits or nervous tendencies. Sometimes a child was
not taken to the school before placement in a home. For instance,
the P children, who were removed from unbelievably bad home
conditions, were kept for a few weeks in the county home and then
placed directly in an indenture home without either physical or
mental examination.
Experience has shown that the family which is to have the care o f
a child should know not only his physical and mental condition but
his previous life, the influences that have surrounded him, and the
habits that he has formed. Placements should be made only with
families intelligent enough to understand the situation and willing
to give the child a home and to help him to overcome his difficulties.
Encouraging instances were found in which the foster mother did
understand the problem and helped the child to a great extent. A
woman in one community knew o f the commitment to the wardship
o f the State o f a child who had had a very poor home. Being inter
ested in what might happen to the boy, and feeling that she could
perhaps give him as favorable a home as anyone, she asked to have
him indentured to her. She has children o f her own and under
stands their problems; she knew the circumstances surrounding the
previous life o f this boy and sincerely desired to help him. Her
knowledge o f the situation and her understanding o f the problem
have been her greatest assets in her relationship with her foster
child.
This instance, however, was exceptional. Usually if the applicant’-s
home was “ recommended ” by the State school agent, and a child
o f the requested sex and age happened to be available in the State
school, the child was indentured and the foster parents were given
little information concerning his background or habits. In one home
the foster parents were surprised when the father came for his son,
whose custody had been restored to him. The foster parents re
ported that they had been informed by the State school that the
parents were dead. Sometimes the State school agents themselves
possessed no knowledge o f the children, but in several instances
knowledge of an unfavorable nature was withheld from the foster
parents.
Children were frequently transferred from one home to another
without being returned to the State school, although the problems
presented in the last home were such that some special adjustment
was necessary. It is but natural that children who have undergone
what these children have in the way of early unfavorable environ
ment, separation from home, various placements, and often cruel
treatment, should have more “ conflicts” and’ other difficulties than
most children, and for this reason it is all the more essential that
there should be physical and mental examinations and a thorough
study o f the child as soon as he is received by the school and as often
as possible or necessary thereafter.
52021°—25-----1
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INVESTIGATIONS OF FOSTER HOMES
The investigation of the foster home included usually a personal
visit by the State school agent, who also made inquiries o f some o f
the people in the community as to the applicant’s general character
and standing. The results o f these visits were recorded at the
State school by placing on the back of the application blank some
such terms as “ satisfactory home ” and “ recommended.” It was
found that little consideration was given to the type o f home and the
traits o f the various members o f the indenture-home family in rela
tion to the temperament or special needs o f the child.
Two children, a brother and sister, 11 and 9 years of age, were placed
with an elderly couple who had had one child of their own. He had been a
“ model ” son, and the foster parents expected the indentured children, who
had had a very poor background and training, to have the same qualities
that their own son possessed. The foster father “ did not like ” the girl, and
the foster mother “ did not like ” the boy.
A boy who apparently disliked small children was placed with a foster
mother who wished to have some one to wqtch the two little sons o f the
family— one about 3 years old and the other a baby— while she did the house
work. The boy was discovered by his foster father holding a double-edged ax
over the older child’s head and threatening to cut his head in two if he did
not behave. A t another time the foster mother found that the boy had almost
smothered the baby in the bedclothes in order to stop the child’s crying.
Later this boy was placed happily in a second home in which there were no
other children.
A 12-year-old girl was placed with a foster mother who had just had a
“ nervous breakdown.” The foster mother had been in poor health for some
time and wanted some one to be with her because she did not like to be alone.
Some one was also needed to help with the work and to take care of the two
boys, who were 4 and 3 years of age. Neither did the foster mother consider
herself strong enough to do much of the washing, which w as consequently
left to the foster daughter. The girl remained in this home for a year and
two months, when she was returned to the State school by the foster parents
because of “ bad sex habits.”
Lack of sympathy on the part o f another foster mother was evident in the
case of a 12-year-old boy who had been in her home for a year and three
months, when he was returned to the State school because o f theft. When
interviewed the foster mother appeared very cold and unsympathetic.
She
stated that she liked some children who were good but did not have much
patience with the others. She confessed she did not pay any attention to the
interests of the child. W h a t he did when his work was completed did not
seem to matter.
Two girls, who, according to their foster mothers, were “ boy crazy,” were
placed in homes in each o f which there was also a State schoolboy with “ bad
sex habits.” The foster parents did not know of any misconduct between the
boys and girls, but both girls were returned because of their indiscreet actions
and bad habits with other children.
Sometimes a farmer or his wife in poor health might apply to the
State public school to get a strong boy or girl to do the work. This
happened in numerous instances and resulted in the overworking of
the children and in lack of proper recreation.
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For six years John C had been in a home helping with the farm work. The
foster father was 80 years of age and quite deaf, and the foster mother was
77 and almost blind. The foster father complained that the boy did not do
enough work, but the neighbors said that he was a hard-working boy. The
foster parents complained also that the boy “ ruled the house, add they had
no control over him. They did not furnish him with any recreation and
objected to that which he found himself.
Martha S was in the L home for two years. Mrs. L became sick, and Martha
nursed her for a long period under a severe strain. The night Mrs. L died,
Martha, at 1 o’clock in the morning, had to walk about a mile to the next
neighbors through the woods to summon help. She declared that Mrs. L ’s
“ f o r m” followed her all the way. This experience seems to have been the
immediate cause of her breakdown, and two months later she was transferred
to the hospital for the insane, where she remained for about eight months
suffering from depressive insanity. Her maternal grandmother had been con
fined in an insane asylum for many years.
Anna C also had to work hard in a home in which the foster mother was a
semi-invalid at the time the child went into it. Because Anna had been placed
with them on contract the foster parents seemed to feel little responsibility for
the girl’s recreation, and she was given unlimited freedom. Her history shows
that she remained out several times all night and entertained men at home
until 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning.
A girl who had been committed to the school because of a nervous affliction
that had not received proper attention in her father’s home was placed in an
indenture home alone with a woman over 70 years old who was infirm and
wanted some one to keep her company and take care of her. She became very
ill and died while the girl was at her home.
A lad o f 8 years, who had been placed in an adoptive home by the State
school but was removed from this home and returned to the school because
the adoptive parents were not giving him proper care, was then placed in a home
where the foster mother was described in the community as “ peculiar and an
old witch.” She is an elderly woman with grown children at home. One of
these, a daughter of 40 years, is subject to epileptic fits, has a violent temper,
and has fought a great deal with the boy.
FITTING THE CHILD TO THE HOME
Fitting the child and the home together is the most essential thing
in placing-out work, and here is the greatest need for keen insight
and tactful work. Some real tragedies resulted from haphazard
placing, and there were also less serious tales o f misfits.
O f 11 children who, at the time o f the investigation, had already
been released from the school’s jurisdiction, 8 told a bureau agent
that they had been in homes that they considered poor. Seven o f
these eight homes were tabulated as detrimental after the agents
personal inspection. These children’s experiences had been so vivid
that none o f them seemed able to get away from the memories, and
they still talked excitedly about it all.
Sometimes from the children and sometimes from the foster par
ents the agents heard o f the following methods o f fitting the child
to the home: One or both of the foster parents would go to the
school to choose a child to live with them or more often to help them
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with the farm or house work. Sometimes the foster parents were
taken through the institution to look over “ the supply ” and to select
the child that appeared to suit their needs. Or three children might
be brought into the room where the foster parent was waiting to
choose the one that was the most presentable.
TREATMENT OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
Many o f the children committed to the State school had been
deprived of normal privileges, and many had also been under un
wholesome influences. Then, upon separation from their families,
they were placed with strangers who only in rare cases understood
them and who sometimes took them merely to help with the work
o f the home or farm. Some children were fortunate enough to be
indentured into homes where they fitted in naturally and where they
remained during the entire period o f their wardship, Other chil
dren had as many as four or five different homes, with alternating
periods in the institution. Under such circumstances it is not re1
markable that the problems presented by the children in the homes
were numerous and varied, the most difficult being that o f discipline.
Many foster parents who possessed the intelligence and sym
pathetic understanding to deal with the problems that arose in con
nection with the children were handicapped by lack o f information
on the children’s history. The situation was especially unhappy,
however, where to lack o f information about the children were added
general ignorance on the part o f the foster parents and inability to
cope adequately with behavior problems. Some children were in
dentured who could be handled successfully only by trained people
or the very rare individuals who possess the gift o f managing diffi
cult children. Many o f these children were returned to the State
school and later transferred to the home for the feeble-minded or
some other institution.
There is little doubt that some boys and girls were transferred to
the industrial schools because o f misconduct that might have been
avoided or bad tendencies that might have been overcome if they
had been indentured in the. first place to the right kind o f homes.
Several cases were met in which difficult boys and girls, often in
adolescence, were placed with young married couples who had had
no experience with children. Some of these remarked to the Chil
dren’s Bureau agents: “ Now that we have children o f our own we
would do differently.” They had come to realize that what they
had considered serious misbehavior on the part o f the State school
children was not really much worse than many o f the mistakes o f
conduct made by their own children.
Enuresis was reported very frequently and probably caused as
many children to be returned to the school as any other one thing.
Though a number o f foster parents were unable to cope with the
situation and some did not even try, many o f them struggled hard
with the children, getting them up at night, setting an alarm clock
for them to get up by, or taking them to a doctor. Frequently the
bad habit began after the child had been in the home for a time and
often seemed an evidence o f the maladjustment o f the child in the
home.
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
47
il She was so crazy about the men that we just couldn’t keep her ”
was a frequent reason for returning to the school girls from 11 to 18
years. A few difficult cases o f this kind were handled successfully
by some o f the foster mothers, who went regularly to dances and
parties with the girls but did not allow them to go out alone at
night. But by far the majority o f the foster parents had not the
slightest idea how to deal with this problem. The boys’ chief sex
difficulty was in their attitude toward the younger children of the
family or at school.
The best child-placing agencies find that agents o f the society can
be o f great help in connection with such problems. To give such
assistance the agent must know behavior problems and understand
the peculiarities o f both the child and the foster parents and must be
a frequent visitor in the home. The necessary facts about the chil
dren and the parents were usually not known to the State school
agents, and they visited the homes only at intervals many months
apart. The foster parents might discover that a child lied, stole,
ran away, abused the animals, was destructive o f property, wet the
bed, or had “ bad sex habits,” and might need assistance in dealing
with these problems. The discovery o f such difficulties in the con
duct o f a child usually resulted, therefore, in his return to the insti
tution or his transfer direct to another home.
A rule o f the State public school prohibits the corporal punish
ment o f the child—a prohibition to which many foster parents ob
jected and which, unfortunately, some violated. Several who ac
knowledged the justice o f the rule complained that the agent had
told them in the presence o f the child that they were not allowed to
use bodily punishment, with the result that the child had there
after refused to obey them. However, it seems that the rule had not
always been observed by agents o f the school not in the employ of
the State at the time the study was made. Instances o f severe cor
poral punishment administered by two former State school agents
were reported to the representatives o f the Children’s Bureau.
On the other hand another State school visitor, in the presence o f
the 12-year-old girl whom the foster father had whipped, informed
the foster parents that the child was not to be so punished. One
foster mother had tried by means o f whipping to break an 11-yearold boy o f the habit o f self-abuse. Although she claimed to have
succeeded she questioned whether she had used the most advisable
means and asked one o f the State school visitors what she should have
done. The visitor is reported to have replied that it was not within
the scope o f her work to tell the foster parents how to bring up the
children.4
Other foster parents reported that they whipped the children, for
bed wetting, for lying, for not going to school, for not working, for
disobedience, etc. One released boy stated that he bore on his back
marks which were the results o f cruel treatment in his first indenture
home. The foster mother o f the next home in which he was placed
4 A c cord in g to in fo rm a tio n received, fro m th e directo r o f the ju ven ile d ep artm en t o f
t h e W isc o n sin S ta te B o a rd o f C ontrol (A p r il 2 0 , 1 9 2 5 ) , th e boa rd exp ects th e field
w orkers to help th e fo ste r pa ren ts w ith th e ch ild ’s a d ju s tm e n t to h is new en vironm en t
an d in overcom ing a n y bad h a b its th a t
th e ch ild m ay have.
In m a n y in sta n c es th is
w ill m ean freq u en t v is its to the fo s te r ho m e, m an y
con ferences
w ith th e fo s te r pa ren ts
an d confid ential v is its w ith th e chUd.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
48
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
corroborated this statement and said that his shirt was bloodstained
and his back raw when he was brought to them direct from the first
home.
One intelligent foster mother said she wanted the agent to talk to
her foster daughter alone and find out just what her trouble was.
Instead, the mother reported, the agent “ jumped on the girl,”
threatening to return her to the State public school unless she be
haved, and the situation was as bad as ever or worse. According to
reports from the families visited, the agents seldom talked to the
children alone, often did not see the foster parents except when the
child was present, and sometimes did not see the child when visiting
the indenture home.
SUPERVISION AFTFR PLACEMENT B
A follow-up system is necessary for successful placement. The
work o f the placement supervisors should be in the nature o f friendly
assistance to the families, helping them to solve the various problems
that arise in the care of the children and not merely enforcing the
child’s right to proper treatment. Owing chiefly to the large num
ber o f children assigned to each agent, this kind o f supervision had
not been done. The employment o f more agents with experience in
child placing would make individualized treatment o f the children
possible. The usual course in case o f trouble seemed to be to remove
a child from the home or for the agent to “ give the child a good
talking to.” Visits to the foster parents occurred not oftener than
twice a year; because o f the large amount o f work assigned to each
agent more frequent contacts with an indenture family were out o f
the question. The purpose o f even these infrequent visits was not
always understood and hence did not produce the maximum value.
B y many the agents were regarded as inspectors. Thus the Chil
dren’s Bureau agent when visiting indenture homes was told that
other foster families in the region had telephoned them that the State
school agent was coming.
One indentured girl told o f having waited three years for a chance
to tell the agent that she was being overworked. The opportunity
never came, but the neighbors at last signed a petition and sent it in
to the State school. This girl finally ran away. Another girl de
scribed severe punishment that she had received in an indenture
home. Two complaints were entered against this home before the
girl was removed. One complaint was entered in November, 1914,
and investigation followed. The school’s agent r e p o r t e d “ Child
had not been placed in school; she was unclean and untruthful and
a moral degenerate. She needed severe discipline and she liked her
home. The family promised to send her to school.” In April, 1916,
an officer o f the Humane Society complained to the State school that
the home was unfit and that a boy from the Milwaukee County School
had been removed because o f overwork and cruel treatment. The
State school record reads that the child was ordered back to
6 A c c o rd in g t o in fo rm a tio n received fro m th e d irecto r o f th e juven ile, d ep artm en t of:
th e W isc o n sin S ta te B o a rd o f C on trol (A p r il 2 0 , 1 9 2 5 ) , th e field ag e n ts o f th e S ta te
p u blic school have been coo peratin g du rin g th e l a s t fe w m o n th s w ith th e s o c ia l w ork
ers in th e com m u n ities w here the in d en tu re hom es are located , an d teach ers, publich e a lth nu rses, B o y S cou t lead ers, B ig S isters, etc.,, are h elp in g w ith th e su p ervision o f
in d en tu red ch ildren.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Fi e l d
study
of
in d e n t u r e d
c h il d r e n
49
the school at once, but the date o f return is given on the record as
April, 1917.
A released child stated that he never had an opportunity to tell
the agent alone o f the experiences that he was having, and when he
tried to say anything before the foster parents his statement was
questioned. The pastor o f a church said that one o f hia families
who had had State school children for years were not having them
attend school regularly, and the children were always withdrawn
from school at a very early age. A mother who had had a State
school child for more than three years declared that she had never
once talked with nor seen an agent from the State school and knew
nothing about any regulations concerning the children except those
in the contract. This family had been allowed to take the child
from another home in the neighborhood. An agent from the school
had called once when the mother was not at home, and neither
foster parent had ever seen a State agent. These stories indicate
that the number o f agents was not sufficient to allow proper super
vision.
CONTACT OF THE CHILD WITH HIS OWN FAMILY
In a considerable proportion o f the situations here dealt with it
would clearly be contrary to the best policy to permit contact o f
the child’s family with the home in which he is placed. These chil
dren were removed from their own homes because o f improper con
ditions, or they were given up by parents who did not want to meet
their responsibilities o f care and support. In such cases visits by
the parents would be detrimental to the child’s interests and would
be an unwarranted burden upon the foster home.
The general policy o f the school was that families were not to have
any contact with their children while they were indentured. Chil
dren were placed preferably at a distance from their former homes,
and correspondence between parents and children was not approved.
This was a necessary restriction in many cases; but in view o f the
number o f children who were ultimately returned to their own
families or were permitted to drift back at the expiration o f their
indentures, the question arises whether it would not have been de
sirable in many instances to maintain some definite arrangement
for keeping the children and the parents in touch with each other.
Many children visited by the bureau’s agents asked about their
parents or other relatives. I f they did not remember their own
homes theyvwere continually wondering about them and wishing to
see anyone related to them. When they were old enough at the time
o f commitment to remember their homes they worried about the
brothers and sisters whom they had not seen since they left the
State school to go to the indenture homes.
On several occasions agents found that though correspondence
was forbidden it was being secretly conducted. Sometimes the foster
parent tried to prevent it and read the letters o f the child. Some
times the letters o f the parents were destroyed before the children
saw them. In two homes, from which the boys ran away, the foster
mother told about forbidden correspondence with relatives and the
efforts she had made to prevent the boys from hearing from their
people.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
50
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
Where there was determination to have intercourse with the
family it was bound to occur; if it was not forbidden but allowed
to go on in a natural way the situation was sometimes better. A
good example o f this was found in one home where the foster mother
said that she knew nothing about regulations o f the State school
on this subject. She allowed and encouraged the girl in her charge
to keep in touch with her own people and had twice invited the girl’s
sister to visit at the home. The foster mother thought it very de
sirable for the girl to keep up this contact with her own family.
SEPARATION OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS
The indenture method o f placement obviously offers even greater
difficulties than does free-home placement in the matter o f providing
care in the same foster home for more than one child o f a family.
One o f the most cruel experiences o f dependent children who must be
provided for outside o f their own homes is the separation o f brothers
and sisters. The children in this group o f indentured State wards
were removed from their homes— often to save them from degrading
influences but sometimes to relieve temporary distress— and were
placed with strangers for a brief period o f years. Their indenture
histories show frequent shifting from one home to another, requiring
readjustment to new conditions. Except in unusual circumstances
family groups were separated, each child to go his own way, the chil
dren o f the same family having varied experiences—all tending to
break up the natural relationship that should exist between brothers
and sisters. No appropriation has been made for boarding-home
care, and unless money is available to provide boarding homes for
several children from the same family these family separations can
not usually be prevented. Sometimes they might have been avoided.
For example, a number o f the indenture homes visited during this
inquiry contained two children from the State school who were not
brothers and si.sters.
The 452 children came from 266 families ; from 113 o f these fami
lies two or more children were indentured through the State public
school. Eighty-six groups o f brothers and sisters were separated
during the period covered in this study. The following list shows
the number o f children in each o f the 86 groups who were never
placed in the same indenture home :
N um ber
o f groups
Size of group
separated
T o ta l_____________________________________________________ ./—
2
3
4
5
children
children
children
children
from
a fam ily_________________________________________
from
a fam ily_______________________________
from
a fam ily_________________________________________
from a fam ily__________________________________________
86
52
19
12
3
Only 27 instances were found in which brothers and sisters were
placed together; in some cases two children were placed in the same
home, and one or two other children from the same family were
placed in another home. Even when brothers or sisters were placed
in the same indenture home the first time, they were rarely placed
together when a change in indenture homes became necessary. In
only 3 o f these 27 cases was the removal from the first indenture
home followed by another placement o f the two children in the same
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
F IE L D
STUDY
OF
IN D E N T U R E D
C H IL D R E N
51
home. Three groups o f two children each who were placed together
lived in only one indenture home during the time covered by the
study. Five other groups were separated after a short period or time
in the same home, one or both o f the children being removed to other
homes and many o f them having a series o f indenture homes.
e Each o f the 16 remaining groups o f which some brothers and
sisters were placed in the same home consisted o f three or more chil
dren. Only one placement o f brothers and sisters resulted in giving
the same home to more than two children o f the same family, so that
in effect all but one o f the 16 families were broken up. In the one
exceptional ca.se two sisters and a brother were placed together in
the same home, but after four years one o f the girls was removed to
another home.
Two groups o f four children each were provided for by placing
a boy and a girl in one indenture home, and two boys in another
indenture home. Three groups having four children each were
divided among three indenture homes, and in nine cases groups o f
three children each were placed in two indenture homes. In one
group o f five children two— a boy and a girl—were placed together
in three different indenture homes; the other three children were
placed in different homes and in different countie.s.
Not only were the children placed in different homes, but in the
majority o f cases they were placed in widely separated counties. O f
the 52 cases in which two brothers and sisters were placed in different
homes, only 14 were placed in the same county. The family groups
o f three children were scattered in three different counties in 10
cases and in two counties in 7 cases; only 2 o f these groups o f children
were placed in homes located in the same county. In the groups o f
four children there was no instance in which all four were placed
in the same county; in two cases the four children were placed in
two counties, in four cases in three counties, and in six cases the four
children from a family were all placed in different counties. Each of
the three groups o f five children was scattered in four countieSi
The case summaries given in this report tell the experiences of
brothers and sisters, and in many cases relate the efforts made by the
older children to get in contact with their brothers and sisters who
had been separated from them when the home was broken up.
Doubtless this separation o f the children frequently prevented the
reestablishment o f homes. The psychological effect o f such separa
tions is a matter of very great importance that should be given
consideration as well as the immediate physical care o f the children.
These experiences do not tend to establish self-reliance, the sense o f
responsibility, and affectionate self-sacrifice, but frequently produce
mental conflicts and instability.
Though in some instances these brothers and sisters might have
been placed in the same home, it is extremely difficult under the
indenture system to keep members o f the same family together.
Since under this system the children are usually taken for the work
they can do, it is difficult to find homes that wiil take more than one
child o f the same family and almost impossible to find' homes that
will take more than two. The solution undoubtedly lies in providing
boarding-home care for groups o f children who should be kept
together.
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52
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
THE INDENTURE HOMES
NUMBER AND LOCATION
The study included visits to homes in which 452 children inden
tured during the period from 1913-1917 had lived to April 1, 1923,
or to the time when the children were released from the jurisdiction
o f the State school. Altogether, 768 indenture homes were reported
for these 452 children; 540 o f these were visited by the bureau
agents. Information was available in the records o f the State school
regarding the period o f placement in each home for the whole
number o f children.
Location was reported for 655 o f the homes. O f these, 515 (79
per cent) were farm homes, including 2 cases in which the family
had moved from the village to the farm ; 22 (3 per cent) were in
villages, including 5 cases in which the family had moved from the
farm to the village; 118 (18 per cent) were located in cities. In this
last group were 2 families that had moved from the,village to the
city and 11 that had lived previously on farms.
NUMBER OF PLACEMENTS
O f the 452 children, 43 per cent had been indentured into more
than 1 home—27 per cent in 2 homes, 10 per cent in 3 homes,
5 per cent in 4 homes, and 1 per cent in 5 homes. Three per cent
o f the children had been under jurisdiction for less than 2 years,
17 per cent for 2 to 4 years, and 80 per cent from 5 to 15 years.
Eleven per cent had been indentured less than 2 years, 23 per cent
from 2 to 4 years, and 66 per cent from 5 to 10 years.
The following table shows the number o f homes into which the 452
children were indentured, the length o f time they were under the
jurisdiction o f the State school, and the length o f time they were
under indenture. Since practically no difference was found in the
number o f homes used for the care o f children who were still wards
o f thé school and o f those who had been released, figures for the
two groups are not shown separately. The number o f homes for the
former will undoubtedly be increased before they cease being wards.
Number of homes into which children w ere indentured, by total time under the
jurisdiction of the State school and by total time under indenture
Indentured children
Years under jurisdiction
Y ears under indenture
Num ber of homes
Total
Less
than
2
2-4
5-6
7-9
10-15
N ot
Less
re
than
port
2
ed
2-4
5-6
7-9
10
T o ta l................ ..............
452
13
76
167
173
21
2
50
103
169
128
2
1 home.......................................
2hom es__________ ....................
3 homes_________ ___________
4 homes_____________________
5 hom es.____________________
6 homes________ _______ _____
7 hom es............................... ..
256
rei
44
22
6
1
2
12
1
42
21
6
6
1
90
46
22
4
4
99
47
14
10
1
1
1
11
7
1
2
2
32
12
4
1
1
41
31
17
10
2
97
47
13
8
3
1
84
31
10
3
2
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1
2
f ie l d
study
of
in d e s t t u b e d
53
c h il d r e n
LENGTH OF TIME IN THE HOMES
I d. obtaining data as to the time children lived in each indenture
home the homes o f parents or relatives into which children were
placed on indenture contracts were excluded because they repre
sented a very different situation from the homes o f strangers. Also
excluded were homes in which the children died or from which
they ran away.
The figures for the length o f time in the first indenture home are
o f especial interest. Twenty-seven per cent o f the children remained
in the first indenture home less than six months, and 20 per cent
lived in the first home five years or more. Less than one-tenth o f
the subsequent placements o f children who were in more than one
home had continued for as much as five years. This is, no doubt,
partly explainable on the theory that many o f the children who
remained in the first home were those who happened to be better
placed in the beginning or who were not o f a type inclined to give
trouble, whereas replacements represent not only failure o f the
earlier homes selected but difficulties encountered in caring for the
children which made subsequent transfers necessary.
Although the time’ in the “ present” homes—those in which the
children were living on April 1, 1923—is not a completed period
and is therefore not comparable with the time in previous homes
it is o f interest. O f the 172 children (excluding those indentured
into parental homes and homes o f relatives) 110 were still in their
first indenture home (all o f them had been in this home for five
years or more), 40 were in their second home, 12 in their third home,
8 in their fourth home, 1 in his fifth home, and 1 in his seventh home.
The following table shows the number and percentage o f chil
dren who had been in their first, their subsequent, and their “ pres
ent ” indenture homes for specified periods:
Time spent by children in first, in subsequent, and in “ present ” indenture homes
First homes
Subsequent homes
Tim e in indenture home
Total........... .....................
Less than 6 months______
6-11 months____ _______
1-4 years___________________
5 years or more_______
N ot reported_________
“ Present” homes
(Apr. 1, 1923)
Number
Per cent
Number
Per cent
Num ber
302
100
216
100
172
100
82
40
118
61
1
27
13
39
20
62
42
92
20
29
19
43
9
5
3
28
136
3
2
16
79
Per cent
The 110 children still in their first indenture homes, in which they
had resided for five years or more—evidently the more fortunately
placed children— represent almost two-thirds o f all the wards who
were in indenture homes April- 1, 1923, and who were not placed
with their own parents or relatives. The conclusion might be that
the children who gave difficulty or whose indenture homes were not
suitable passed out of the jurisdiction o f the State public school
much more rapidly than did the group o f presumably well-placed
children. The number o f children returned to their own homes
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54
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
WARDS OF THE WISCONSIN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL-DISTRIBUTION OF LENGTH OF TIME SPENT IN
INDENTURE HOMES
[B a se d on 5 4 3 hom es fo r w hich in fo rm a tio n w a s obtain ed (ex clu d in g h om es in w hich
ch ildren w ere liv in g A p ril 1, 1 9 2 3 ) ]
before the expiration o f the full term o f State guardianship and
those transferred to institutions for the feeble-minded and the delin
quent should be studied in relation to this conclusion. (See pp. 84,
78, 81.)
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
55
FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
C O N D IT IO N S I N T H E IN D E N T U R E
HOMES
The agents o f the Children’s Bureau visited 540 homes in which
children included in this study had been indentured at any time. It
was out o f the question to make a thorough and detailed study o f
the character o f the home, which would have involved extended
acquaintance with the home over a period o f time, observing the
treatment o f the child, and investigating the family’s reputation in
the neighborhood. In gauging the quality o f the home it was there
fore necessary to rely on such characteristics as were evident to the
agent in visiting the home and talking with the foster parents or
were indicated by information obtained from children who were
interviewed (especially children who had been released from the
jurisdiction o f the school) or volunteered by public officials or other
apparently reliable persons in the locality and on the definite records
o f school attendance. Care was taken by the agents not to risk intro
ducing a disturbing element into the home by discussing conditions
with children living in the home at the time o f the visit. Moreover,
they did not seek specific information from neighbors or other
sources that would be used in ascertaining the character o f a pro
spective foster home.
The absence o f more thorough investigation, however, far from
contributing to the overstatement o f detrimental factors, would prob
ably result in the reporting o f a higher proportion o f homes as sat
isfactory than was actually the case. For example, one home visited
by the bureau agent was reported by the visitor for the State school
as being an unusually good foster home, and the visit to the home
seemed to bear out this estimate. The Children’s Bureau agent
found, however, that the indenture girl had a bad school-attendance
record and had been tardy many days in succession and that the
teacher attributed this to her having to do a great deal o f work in
the home.
After recording the various characteristics o f each indenture home
visited the bureau’s agents classified the homes, from the point o f
view o f their influence on the welfare o f the children, as high grade,
satisfactory, or detrimental. Such classification is necessarily some
what general, and differences o f opinion would naturally exist as to
whether or not certain homes are desirable and as to what the stand
ard should be, but it would be generally agreed that the home in
which the schooling o f a child is neglected can not be considered
satisfactory. The other conditions considered in classifying homes
as detrimental are shown by the list on page 57.
After careful checking o f the reports it appears to be a conserva
tive estimate that the conditions in almost half the 540 indenture
homes for which there was an apparently adequate basis o f informa
tion were detrimental to the children placed in them.6 The figures
are as follows:
C h arac te r o f ho m es
N um ber P e r cent
Total homes classified---------- ------------------------------- 540
High grade_______________________________________ — .—
Satisfactory----------------- --------- ------------_ --------------236
D etrim ental__________ _________ --------------------—%------- 262
42
100
8
44
48
6 A c c o rd in g to in fo rm a tio n received fro m th e director o f the ju v en ile dep artm en t o f
t h e W isc o n sin S ta te B oard o f C o n tro l ( A p r il 2 0 , 1 9 2 5 '), m a n y ch ildren w h o w ere in
poor ho m es a t th e tim e o f th e stu d y in 1 9 2 3 h a ve sin ce been replaced.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
56
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
No information was secured in regard to the indenture homes of
75 o f the 452 children included in the study. O f the 377 children
concerning whose indenture homes there was definite information,
only 41 (11 per cent) had ever been placed in homes classified as
« high grade ” ; 22 o f these children had been in only one home up to
the time o f the study; 9 o f the children were known to have been in
detrimental homes also. A total o f 198 children (53 per cent) had
been at some time in homes rated as satisfactory; 81 o f these chil
dren had been in only the one home, and 18 others had been in two,
three, or four satisfactory homes during their indenture history.
On the other hand, 63 of the children who had been in satisfactory
homes were known to have been also in detrimental homes. Chil
dren who had been placed in homes classified as detrimental totaled
215 (57 per ce n t); 106 o f them had never been in any other type o f
home, 90 had been in one detrimental home, 14 in two such homes,
1 in three homes, and 1 in four homes graded as detrimental.
The following list shows the various types o f homes in which the
452 children had been placed:
„N um 'ber o ,f
C h aracter o f hom es
children
Total----------------------------------------------------------------------------------High grade--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Satisfactory:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------D etrim ental--------- -------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- *
High grade and satisfactory-------- -------------------------------------------High grade and detrimental------------------------------------------------------High grade and not reported--------------------------------------------------- Satisfactory and detrim ental----------------------------------------------Satisfactory and not reported---------- -------------------- -------------------Detrimental and not reported------------------------------------------------------High grade, satisfactory, and detrimental--------------------------- —
High grade, detrimental, and not reported------------ ---------------Satisfactory, detrimental, and not reported--------------------------------High grade, satisfactory, detrimental, and not reported-------Not reported— ---------- .---------------------------------------------------------------
452
22
*»
»
*7
”*1
2
2
22
2
It is o f interest to note the variety o f experiences o f some children.
The histories o f six children, four o f whom had been placed in five
indenture homes, one in six, and one in seven were as follow s.
First ch ild:
Three detrimental homes and 2 graded as satis
factory.
Second child c Two high-grade homes j 2 satisfactory, 1 detri
mental.
Third ch ild: Two satisfactory ; 2 detrim ental; 1 not reported.
Fourth ch ild : One high grade; 1 satisfactory; 1 detrim ental; 2
not reported.
Fifth ch ild: Two satisfactory; 3 detrim ental; 1 not reported.
Sixth ch ild: Four satisfactory; 2 detrim ental; 1 not reported.
O f the 377 children concerning whose indenture homes there was
definite information only about one-third had had indenture his
tories that were apparently satisfactory.
D E T R IM E N T A L F O S T E R H O M E S
It has already been stated that four-fifths o f the homes in which
indentured children were living were located on farms. No doubt
it has been the thought o f the State authorities that a dependent
child is better off on a farm than in a city, and in many cases the
life on the farms undoubtedly may have been an improvement upon
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the conditions from which the children were removed. But i f a
child is to develop normally, his foster home should offer not only
good physical care and schooling but also understanding and trainm g in character. A considerable proportion o f the homes into which
children were indentured fell far short o f providing good training
for future citizenship.
&
The following list shows the detrimental conditions noted by the
bureau agents m the homes of children who were at the time o f the
study wards o f the school and children who had been released from
its j urisdiction:
D e trim e n ta l con d itio n s
Total_________
P resen t R eleased
w a rd s ch ildren
115
Physical condition of child neglected___;______ _ i
Physical condition and schooling of child neglected—_
Deprived of schooling-__________ __________
jg
Deprived of schooling, cruelty_____________
Deprived of schooling, cruelty, too much work—I__I 5
Deprived of schooling, cruelty, neglect__________
Deprived of schooling, too much work_________ _ 13
Deprived of•schooling, home filthy________ IH II_
1
Deprived of schooling, too much work, home filthy_ 1
Deprived of schooling, home insanitary, too much
_
j
work__________________________ _
Deprived of schooling, neglect or improper conduct_ 2
Deprived of schooling, foster parents incompetent__ 2
Deprived of schooling, too much work, foster parents
incompetent___________________________
1
Deprived of schooling, foster parents unable to con
trol child_____________________________
1
Deprived of schooling, too much work, morals of
home questionable________________________ 1
Deprived of schooling, too much work, irtamoralityl___
Deprived of schooling, child neglected, foster mother
i l l - ---------------1
1
Deprived of schooling, bad influence in home_____
Deprived of schooling, neglected_______ _______
2
Too much work__ ____________________
5
Too much work, cruelty, neglect, drunkenness____
Too much work, child mistreated______________
3
Too much work, home morally bad____________
1
Too much work, home disorderly or undesirable—_
Too much work, foster home impoverished and dirty 2
Home morally bad________________________
7
Mistreatment or cruelty_______________I I I —I 5
Neglect___________________________
3
Neglect, abuse or cruelty____________________ 2
Neglect, mother incompetent_________________
5
Neglect, morally bad home________________I____ _
Neglect, foster mother ill- ______
1
Neglect, home filthy________________________ 3
Dissension in foster home____________________ 1
Bad influence in home__ ;___________________
2
Bad environment__________________________
2
Family ignorant and dependent_______ I I _____
2
Foster parents incompetent__________________
Foster parents disliked child (friction or lack of ~
sympathy)----------- ,------------------------------------- 10
Lack of control_______________ -___________
5
Mother i l l ___ ____________________________
3
Mother unfit__________________________ I __ 1
Too much work, cruelty, neglect__________________
Foster father ill__________ _______ __,U_,___
Mother incompetent________ ___ _____
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2
2
34
2
Ï
14
2
2
1
1
2
1
1
12
1
2
1
2
6
5
1
3
4
1
7
7
1
9
9
2
1
1
1
58
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
Not only were children placed once in such homes, but they were
sometimes removed from one detrimental home only to be placed in
another in which conditions appeared no better. Illustrations o f
this practice will be found among the case summaries (see pp. 66-67).
I f in these cases the actual conditions in the-detrimental homes were
known to the State school representatives, it might be said that the
State did not profit by its experience. But with only two or three
State agents responsible for the welfare o f about 500 children, it has
been impossible, o f course, for the school to obtain full information
in regard to home conditions. For example, in a large number o f
cases the school attendance was found to be below the minimum
specified by the State in the indenture agreement.
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS
In only a very few instances was the school education o f the
indentured children supplemented through activities or guidance
supplied by the State institution or by the home or school or com
munity. The only organized effort in this direction in any o f the
rural districts were the “ calf clubs,” which were under the supervi
sion o f the county agricultural agents. As these were comparatively
recent organizations, few children who came within the scope o f
the study had benefited from them.
Comparatively few homes had musical instruments or other means
o f broadening the child’s interests, and in no community visited was
there any form o f organized recreation. The environment from
which many o f these children came made the kind o f recreation avail
able a matter o f special importance. The churches in some o f the
small communities tried to provide recreation, but they found it
hard to compete with the automobile and the dance halls.
The children received little guidance in their reading. Except
in a very few homes the reading matter was limited to farm
papers. One family received twice a year a box o f books from the
State library commission, and the school libraries sometimes fur
nished reading material. One interesting case was that o f a boy who
had cared nothing for reading until his teacher in the seventh grade
became very much interested in him and loaned him books from the
traveling library to which she subscribed. He absorbed everything
that was given him. Through the granting o f certificates for supple
mentary reading an increased interest in books had been fostered
in this school. I f the agents o f the State public school had the
necessary time they could help the schools put the foster families in
touch with good books and other reading matter.
Some special effort was also needed to teach these children to ap
preciate beautiful natural surroundings.
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST DEPENDENT CHILDREN
The Children’s Bureau agents were impressed with the evidences
o f discrimination in the treatment o f children placed by the State.
One agent reported:
In the homes there were some instances where the attitude o f the
foster parents was: “ Well, what more can you expect? He is a
State school child.” Little faults common to all children were ex-
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aggerated when they occurred in a dependent child. This attitude
among the families in certain communities was so prevalent that the
S£- i° T chll(Jren picked it up; in several instances the State school
children refused to go to school because other children were rough
to them and would not play with them, but only “ picked on them ”
and called them names.
Another agent makes the following statements regarding the
stigma attaching to State school children:
one rural sch° o1 with which the county superintendent was
familiar there were, some years ago, five State school children who were
tabooed
m the community, partly through their own actions and partly
^act tba^ they .had come from the State school. In another district
which centers around a village o f 500 inhabitants a great many State school
children had been placed, and at the time of the study four released boys were
working on their former foster homes or on other farms within a radius of
a
school children were looked upon in this community as
demdediy inferior to other children, but “ about as good as you could e S e c t
SC5 ? L
f0Ur released b° y s two were considered “T e r y
?hildrln w S ;
tW° h -S ^ d i s h o n e s t . In other communities State school
children were often considered
queer.
This attitude was generally found
where a number o f children had been placed close together. The unsatisfactory
S
&
p
'S
X
m0re
ln U" “ localities
overshadow eTr
cbild returned by one indenture home as unsatisfactory or
removed by the State school because o f mistreatment was placed in another
home in the same neighborhood.
e
CASE SUMMARIES 7
There were seven children in the J family, all but one o f whom were sent
to Sparta. The court commitment stated that the father had deserted, and the
F T h ! fen? 16 t0
f ° r t5 e children- There were no relatives able to
assist. The father was the son of a man spoken o f as a “ dead beat and a bad
egg generally
The mother married Mr. J at the age of 17, much against the
wishes of both families. The couple lived together more or less unhappily
for several years, aided occasionally by relief agencies and their own parents
They then began associating with a “ fast crowd,” and trouble resulted.
Amos was 10 years old, and Jane was 8, when they were placed together in
their first indenture home, just 12 days after their admission to the State
school, with a childless couple considered wealthy by their neighbors. The
foster parents owned a well-cared-for 80-acre farm, which the man worked by
himself except during the rush season. They did not take a daily newspaper
and seldom heard o f the outside world. Jane was popular at school and made
many friends, but when she had been in the home for 1 year and 10 months
she was returned to the State school on the ground that she was dishonest and
disobedient and would not help in the house. Amos remained about a year
longer and then ran away. He also was returned later to the State school
Janes second home was with a middle-aged couple in comfortable circum
stances and with no children of their own. The child was well liked at school
and active in sports. The foster parents hoped to send her to college
She
did well m the home until she accidentally met her father while on a vacation
during her second summer in the home. After this she became difficult to
manage and wished to go to her father. The foster parents sent her back to
She was then 14 years of age-. She begged to be permitted
her
At
H ™ nSen^ Ure. T \ but the fos.ter mother was not wining to take
her. A t the time of the study Jane was still at the State school, as her own
home was not satisfactory.
’
Amos’s second home was with thrifty, hard-working people on a large farm
The home was neat and comfortable, but the boy was unhappy. Amos was
popular at school, and his work was good. H is teacher believed that he was
m isplaced; he was a ‘ city type ” and hated farm life. There was continued
7 T h e n am es o f fa m ilie s a n d ch ildren used in th e case sum m aries a re fictitiou s.
52021°— 25------5
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C H IL D R E N
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SCH OOL
friction between the boy and his foster parents because he liked to remain in
town in the evenings, and they considered that he was too young to do so. He
ran away from this home at the age of 13, after having been there about three
and one-half years.
H e was found in the city and taken to a near-by farm. The fam ily liked the
boy, and an indenture was later arranged, but permission for the boy to go to
this home was given before the home had been investigated. This third indenture was not satisfactory. The boy had to work too hard and was not allowed
sufficient time for recreation, even though the foster parents were fond ot
Amos and proud of his school record. He ran away from this home atter
about eight months. H e had been in high school but a short time.
Amos then went to the home of his maternal grandparents and was released
to them at the request o f the county judge. A t that time the boy was a few
months over 14 years of age. About a year later the judge wrote the school
that the grandfather could not control the boy and wished to return him. Ih e
school was not able to take him back, and Amos was sent to his father, who
put him in high school, where he remained until the end of the term, not quite
a year before the study. The boy then wished to return to his first indenture
home to work. H is former foster parents would not take him, and he secured
work with a neighbor, Mr. E. After two weeks he was sent away because he
had wantonly destro- id several articles of furniture and had stolen 12 jars ot
preserves and $10 in cash which he spent in one evening at a carnival.
He then worked with another farmer for one week. During his employer s
absence he broke into the safe and stole money, for which offense he was dis
charged. The boy then “ bummed ” around the neighborhood and broke into
his first foster home, stealing money and preserves. H e then returned to the
E ’s home and stole $20. Mr. E had him arrested,, and he was confined m jail
___
for several days.
, .
,
Amos next went to a city, where he secured work in a grocery store. When
it was found that he was under working age, he was returned to his father.
Mr. J outfitted the boy and sent him again to high school until spring. H e
then worked in the same store with his father until he was <Jlscovered stealing.
Amos was then sent to his paternal grandfather in another State, where he
worked in a store for a short time and earned about $16 a week. The last
time the father heard from the boy he was working in a moving-picture
theater. The superintendent of schools in the boy’s home town thought that
much of Amos’s trouble came from lack o f understanding at home. The boy
had not been given proper clothing and felt there was no real place for him m
the home.
.
.
„ ,
.,
1
Amos’s sister, Sarah, was 5 years old at the time o f her commitment. H er
first home must have been most unsatisfactory unless the home conditions m
1917 were very different from conditions at the time of the bureau agents
visit. The foster parents were “ border-line dependents ” and received oc
casional help from the county. The home w as slovenly, and the three small
children were half dressed and very dirty. The foster mother was barefooted,
and her breath smelled of liquor. They complained that Sarah was rude and
stubborn and refused to obey. She was returned to the State school a t the
end o f two weeks.
,
,,
Sarah’s second home was on a farm in a poor, sandy section. Ih e foster
parents had moved, and the only information that could be secured was that
the child was not liked by the foster parents and was not treated as a member
of the fam ily. The impression of the neighbors was that the child had to
work hard for her age. She was only 8 years old when she left the home
after a two and one-half year indenture period.
.
,
. ..
,
Since Sarah’s return from this last home she had remained at the State
school. A recent mental examination classified her as border-line feeble
minded.
t
Jean was 2 years old at the time of her commitment and was still in the
indenture home in which she was first placed.
j
n. ,
,
Nettie was 11 years old when sent to the school. She remained m her first
indenture home for a little over two years. The reasons given for her return
were increasing disobedience and fondness for boys, which made the responsi
bility of her care more than the foster parents wished to continue.
Leslie was 3 years old a t the time of his admission to the State school and
remained at the school for almost five years. He was indentured about a year
before the study, but his home was not visited.
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The parents of these children were divorced some time after the children’s
commitment, and the father remarried. His second wife was much younger
than he. A t the time of the study they had a 3-year-old child and lived i f I
S * w r5 2 S » ? M ‘r001ni t * ln , a clty’ Tlle stepmother seemed to be interested
n her stepchildren and hoped to have them home as soon as they could afford
t‘ Mr- 3
to be doing well, considering his early background
The
mother of the children was said to be living in Canada with a man to whom
she was not m arried; she had a young baby.
The father o f the H fam ily was dead. H e had been intemperate and was
adjudged insane. He left his widow with five children for whom she was un^ l e t o provide. She was assisted by the county to the extent o f $15 a m onth:
but this was not sufficient, and the children were sent to the State school.
Ira, the oldest, was nearly 12 years of age when he was committed. After
ti e state school two and a h alf months he was placed in his
*
home>£ ber*; be stayed for one year. The foster parents owned
*of 80 acr.e s ; T^lley had 13 cows. The foster mother helped with much
£?e
EJ ery effort was made to keep Ira away from the foster
E g ?
,7 m hy! d W1J* the. family at times- as he had formed a strong
m n iw
w.ould mistreat him if he got a chance. The foster
mother
didn t like
Ira, in part because o f his “ bad sex h a b i t s b u t she
said she thought that if he had remained in the home for a longer period
they could have made a good boy out o f him,” though no effort was made to
° Ver<p0me. tdose t a M * Ira ’s disobedience was attributed largely
lawsuitinflU6nCe ° f neigdl)0rs’ Wlth one of whom the foster father had had a
,, f fi f \ Ira ^ f t the foster parents learned that on his way to school “ he ate
the good food in his lunch and left only a slice o f bread.” H e then begged
lunches from other children. The State school visitor reported that Ira gwas
late to school nearly every morning; that he-did not have a sufficient amount
diddS f f
und t h a t ,he was required to do a great many chores and
did not have the privileges and recreation that he should have had. Around
!h L h° i T
7 af a qui?i cllild: The school record for this child was not avail
able, but the foster mother said that Ira attended regularly except for a few
S V
Hu
of a mile t0
to school. “ H e didn’t care so much
about school and cried easily when reproved by his teacher. H e was in the
third grade when in this home and failed o f promotion. Ira and his foster
parents were of different religious faiths and attended their respective churches.
™ ^ f c WaS/ ^ UrneCL t0 •t-he State scllool at the mutual desire of the foster
parents and the authorities of the school. The foster mother regretted after
ward
not giving him another chance.”
being in the State school for six days Ira was placed in his second
foster home, where he remained for three years and nine months. These foster
parents had a valuable 120-acre farm and were known in the community as
owners of fine stock. The home was a large, well-kept, two-story house and
fur? lshed. The foster parents had three children, the oldest
mo?hPr°f Un?enaruVHIfa W&S difficult
manage, refusing to mind his foster
“ _ e r . For a little over a year another State school boy, between two and
cc yf;aT,s younger than Ira, was also in the home. Ira was very domineering
over this boy who was later committed to the home for ¿ W ^ r n t o S
fS
a month a State school girl, four years younger than Ira, was also indentured
in this home. She was returned because of her “ bad sex habits ” and was
afterward transferred to the girls’ industrial school. There was no difficulty
With Ira in this home so far as sex habits were concerned.
,I ra\ f ?,Stevr pai ’e^ ts recovered from a siege of influenza they found
that the boy had abused the stock during their illness. The heaviest work on
the farm was done by the hired man and the foster father. Ira helped with
the chores and other farm work.
y
w m
The only year for which a complete school record was obtainable was the
last during which Ira attended public school, when, at the age of 14, he was in
the fourth grade. Out o f a total o f 177 school days, the boy attended 97 •
farm work interfered with regular attendance. His foster mother said that
he attended parochial school one year, but the record for this was not available
ST e fr.ieni slliPs. aniong the neighbor boys. His brother was
placed out on a farm in the neighborhood, but the two displayed no affection
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C H IL D R E N '
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SCH OO L
for each other. A t the age of 17 Ira was returned to the State school as
“ incorrigible.”
Between his second and third placements, he remained in
the State school for eight months. Part of this time he was employed as a
fireman at the school for $15 a month and maintenance. He was then placed
on a farm where he was to receive wages of $30 per month. After being in this
home for a week, however, he decided that he did not like farming and returned
to the State school without notifying his employer. He was in this home such
a short time that his employer could remember practically nothing about him.
Five weeks after his last return Ira was released to the county from which
he was committed.
There he worked for a manufacturing company.
No
further information concerning him was obtained.
The second child of this family, May, was 9 years old when sent to the State
school. She was placed in four homes before being finally indentured to her
own mother. In her first home she remained for five months and in the second
for two months. Little was known of these homes. She was placed in her
third home on the day she was returned to the State school from her second.
She was at this time 10 years old. In the third home she remained five months.
Her foster parents owned a farm of 120 acres; the surroundings were untidy,
and the house was very meagerly furnished and not clean. A t the time of
M ay’s placement, the foster parents had no children o f their own. They were
ignorant and uncouth. There was n'o indication of any home life except for
sleeping, eating, and working. The child was taken to be brought up by the
foster parents as their own child and “ to help.” She did such household tasks
as dusting and washing dishes. But the foster parents did not like her. She
was too dark to please them and was also too much interested in boys.
W hen Mary came to this home she was in the second grade. O f the 29 school
days she was in this school district she was present 23. “Across lots May had
a mile and a half to go to school. ‘ B y the regular road which she took a few
times until she became familiar with the way, the distance was three and onequarter miles.
,
,
In her fourth home M ay was'placed with foster parents who owned a run
down farm of 100 acres and a two-story frame house in poor repair. When
seen, the foster mother was dirty and untidy, as was the baby, the only
child in the family. The foster parents took May because they wanted a
girl to play with their child, but M ay was so “ wild
that they could never
leave her alone with the baby nor alone in the house. “ She was always doing
something she should not do.” M ay attended Sunday school every week with
her sister Etta, who lived on the next farm. According to the foster mother
May went to school fairly regularly but disliked it and was not good in her
studies.
,
M ay was returned to her mother on indenture when she was 15 and remained
with her mother after being released from jurisdiction. Five years after the
children had been committed to the State school the mother married a man
with three children.
„
.
.,
,
The fourth child, W ilbur, was 6 years old at the time of his commitment.
H e was in the school three months before he was placed in a farm home and
remained in his first foster home 4 years and 10 months. H is foster parents
were a young couple who at that time had no children o f their own. Althoug
W ilbur had “ improved 50 per cent ” by the time he left them, his foster parents
were unwilling to keep him longer, partly because he had “ bad sex habits
and partly because they sold their farm and moved into the city. W ilbur was
reported as being very untruthful.
,
, ... .
W ilbur was good to the stock and fond o f the fam ily dog, but he often killed
chickens. Once he wrung the necks of six because in their eagerness to eat
they stuck their heads into the pail of feed he was carrying
H e sometimes
milked one or two cows but was not good at milking. H e d:d chores around
the house and barn, but he could not be trusted to drive the team as
his
mind went wandering off on everything but his work.”
H is foster mother did not think W ilbur had attended school before coming
to their home. Almost an entire term went by before the teacher discovered
that he could not read. H e had a very good memory, and through Rearing the
other children recite he learned the entire reading book by heart and said xroin
memory what the teacher thought he was reading.
The foster mother in W ilbur’s second home was an aunt o f his first foster
mother. Here W ilbur was treated as a member of the fam ily, which consisted
o f the foster parents and a grown son 28 years of age. H e slept in the same
room as his foster brother. The foster parents owned a farm o f 160 acres,
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o f which 80 were under cultivation. The home was a small two-story frame
building, barely furnished with necessities. The floors in the dining room
and kitchen were unpainted, and there were no rugs nor curtains. The foster
mother was quiet mannered and seemed very cooperative.
Here W ilbur apparently outgrew his “ bad sex habits,” which were marked
when he first came. This foster mother doubted, however, whether it would
be safe to leave him alone with little girls. She was very much interested in
and very fond of the boy but did not have much hope that he would ever
become very dependable. In his work he was slow and not thorough. Wilbur
was the kind o f child who had to be “ encouraged along.” He did chores, fed
the stock, cleaned out the barn, and carried water and wood.
In both homes he occasionally attended church with his foster parents when
English services were held, which was about once a month. Until the year
before the study Wilbur had always had a great deal of difficulty in school,
the teachers reporting him as inattentive and hard to manage. His teacher
that year believed that W ilbur had in him “ the making of a fine man i f he
had the propet chance,” that he was a bright boy and “ would make a strong
eighth-grade pupil the next year if he had the right kind of teacher.” As
the school library had only “ dull ” books she loaned W ilbur books from the
traveling library to which she subscribed, and the boy showed great interest
in them. According to this teacher, Wilbur was “ kind-hearted and honest,”
but he did not get along well with the other children in school. Both his
teacher and his foster mother said he was “ picked on ” by the others.
Wilbur had repeated the fifth grade but had attended only 102% days of
the 135 days he had been in the district during the school year he had started
in this grade.
In each of the succeeding years he missed from 20 to 40
school days.
Leslie^ the youngest o f the H children, was 4 years old when committed.
After being in the school for 10 months he was placed in his only foster home
with a couple who had no children o f their own and had been anxious for him
to come to them. The foster parents lived in a well-furnished house on a farm
quite a distance from any neighbor. They kept Leslie for a year and four
months, and then, finding themselves unable, young as he was, to prevent him
from stealing from the neighbors and being stubborn and surly, they returned
him to the school.
Leslie remained at the school for six years and four months and was then
transferred to the boys’ industrial school as incorrigible. He was still in that
institution at the time o f the bureau agent’s visit. A t the State school Leslie
had the reputation of having a vicious temper and o f being disobedient, sly,
and dishonest. According to a mental examination he was classified as
“ superior normal ” and as having an “ insane temperament.”
A business man and his wife in a small town o f exceptional civic opportuni
ties decided that they would take a girl from the State school to bring up with
their own son, with the idea of adopting her later. The foster parents’ home
was outstanding in its charm, as well as in the high intellectual attainments
of both parents.
The foster parents were spending many evenings in conference with the
school superintendent and Isabelle’s teacher and hours with the child, trying
to get her work up to standard. Nevertheless, the girl’s school work went
from bad to worse, and in a mental test Isabelle, though 11 years of age,
showed a very low mental age. The teacher reported her as being very sensi
tive and ambitious, and on her good days she joyfully carried home her
marks to her foster parents.
But the child usually had no concentrative
ability.
Isabelle’s classmates shunned her, and she therefore chose playmates from
the first grade. W hile sensitive about her work failures, she had a certain
boldness o f manner and coarseness of voice that made the children shrink
from her presence. These characteristics hurt her foster parents very much,
and they tried without effect to correct her loud, gossipy outbursts about
ne'ghbors.
Through the school nurse, in consultation with a physician, it had been dis
covered that Isabelle was fast developing crippled feet owing to some spinal
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64
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
trouble. The child was sent to the Bradley Memorial Hospital, where she
was to undergo an operation.
Inquiry into Isabelle’s history showed that she was born in a county poorhouse. The foster parents had not adopted her, but they were still fond of
her and were planning to spend their summer vacation near her while she
was in the hospital.
W hen David was 11 years old he was committed to the State school. A
brother 7 years old and a sister 16 months old were committed at the
same time. Their home was filthy, the mother was a person of dissolute and
immoral habits, and the father had been in jail for drunkenness and for
selling intoxicating liquors. During the time that he was imprisoned and
at other periods when he was unemployed the fam ily was aided by county
funds, by a church organization, and by private individuals. According to
the judge of the juvenile court from which the children were committed,
“ The whole T fam ily is a poor, troublesome stock.”
*
After David had been in the State school for a month he was placed in
the foster home in which he had remained up to the time o f the study— a
period of six years and two months. H is foster parents owned a large farm.
The home was a small, two-story frame cottage, rather inexpensively fur
nished but having the necessary comforts. The foster fam ily was composed
of the parents and their two children, a boy o f David’s age and a girl 10
years old. David was taken to be a companion to the boy. The two were
“ chums.” A strong mutual affection existed between David and the members
of his foster family, and he was treated exactly as an own son. He was given
music lessons on the organ for a year and a half. His foster brother played
the violin. There were books and magazines in the home, and a happy fam ily
atmosphere prevailed. The foster parents attended church, and the children
went to Sunday school.
The foster mother did not wish, however, to take the place of David’s
own mother. His parents had been informed of his whereabouts through a
neighbor of the foster parents, who had formerly lived in the same neighbor
hood as David’s own parents. H is mother wrote him regularly every Sunday.
They were “ nice ” letters and contained nothing upsetting to the boy. He
was fond of her and of his brother and blamed his father for his commit
ment to the State school.
o
David’s foster parents wished him to remain with them after he became 18
years old. The boy was undecided, but his foster mother thought he would
stay for at least another year until he finished high school. She said that
having to give him $50 and two suits of clothes, according to the indenture
contract, made the sending of David to high school for another year difficult,
“ but if David wants to stay, we will do the best we can.”
Felix, aged 14 years, was at the State public school only nine days before
he was placed in an indenture home. H is foster father was sympathetic
with State public school boys because he himself had had an unfortunate
youth. The boy was put off the train by the State school visitor, and she
continued on her way without giving the father an opportunity to talk with
her about the child. They said Felix was a nice little chap, reliable and
obedient, but they were not able to break him of bed wetting and so in three
weeks they returned him to the State public school.
H e was taken directly from this home to another farm home in an adjoin
ing county, where he remained four years. Here he often complained about
the mean treatment he had received at the former home.
Felix was the
second State school child in this hom e; he was taken to help the foster
parents with the farm work and to assist in the care o f their little girl.
The foster parents found him trustworthy and reliable, and during the period
that he was in this home he showed no bad habits whatever. The foster
parents beeame very fond of him, and since leaving the home he had corre
sponded with them quite regularly. They were anxious to have him return
and work for'them .
The lad was very fond of reading and usually had library books to read.
Other recreation was provided only when he accompanied the parents on
visits. The child said that as a little boy he had had “ fits.” This occurred
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65
only once while he was at this home; the doctor"pronounced it an epileptic
attack.
From the time the boy came to the fam ily he delivered milk to the cus
tomers, brought in wood and water, helped with the chores, cared for the
jmung child while the parents were in the field, and did errands for the
family. During the last two years with them he plowed and dragged and
did the heavier farm work.
Felix returned to the home of his maternal grandmother in his old home town
after he was released. His older brother was living here also. Felix thought
that he was tired of farm work, and the older brother secured several jobs for
him, such as doing errands for a country store, driving a delivery wagon,
and working in a factory. None of these was to his liking, and four months
later he got a job on a farm where he was paid $35 a month and maintenance.
A t the time of the bui'eau agent’s visit he had been there for nearly two years
and was satisfied. He felt that he was well trained during his period of in
denture and that he would be able to do his part toward getting his brothers
and sisters together again. He had not yet gone to see his mother.
Ella was 8, Horace 11, and Ruth 12 when they were sent to the State public
school. Their mother had died, and their father was unable to proyide for
them. A maternal uncle probably could have cared for the children had he
been consulted, but he knew nothing of their commitment until after it had
taken place. Ella was indentured within, a month of her commitment and .less
than six months later was legally adopted by her foster parents.
Both of Horace’s homes seemed satisfactory, though the school records could
not be secured. Ruth was disappointed that the boy had had so little school
ing and that he could scarcely read or write. She blamed the foster homes,
but the foster parents o f both homes stated it was impossible for the boy to
learn. His eyesight was poor, and this fact probably had much influence on
his progress. Horace had been working on farms in the neighborhood of his
indenture homes since his release about two years before the agent’s visit.
He was easily led, and there was some evidence that the influence on a few o f
the farms had not been good. He was fond o f Ruth and hoped soon to find
work near her.
Ruth, a bright, attractive girl, was most fortunate in her indenture home.
The foster parents, who had no children of their own, were devoted to her and
treated her as their own child even after her release from the State school’s
jurisdiction. Thus she was enabled to finish her high-school course. She was
fond o f children and expected to take a course at a normal school and become
a teacher. For . two summers she had helped to care for the children in a
private fam ily in a large city. A s soon as school was out she secured a posi
tion as clerk in a dry-goods store, where she expected to stay until she le f t for her summer’s work.
A t the time of the agent’s visit her father and her grandmother had recently
died. The summer before, when she and her foster parents were motoring
through her home town, she had stopped to see her grandfather. He was over
joyed to see her, and she got in touch with her own people. She was anxious
to see her sister and apparently did not know that she had been adopted.
On the back of one of the records concerning the three O’Hearn children are
the following entries: “ 6 -9 -1 7 . Letter from mother to State public school
saying she had left her children with her mother, when commitment occurred.
W a s sending wages home, knew nothing of commitment until made, now able
to provide. W ished children returned.
Father in United States Arm y.”
“ 12 -3 -1 7. Letter from father to school requesting information re children.
Mother took children to maternal grandmother when parents separated.” The
parents were then living in Texas.
A t the time of the study in the summer of 1923 the children were still in
their respective foster homes, as all three of them had been indentured
before the letter from the mother was received. A t the time of commitment
Timothy was about 6 ^ears old, Stella 4 years, and Hannah a little over 2
years.
The information submitted with the commitment papers stated :
Timothy born ont of wedlock, as mother ran away with another man, Par->
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CHILDREN INDENTURED B Y WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
ents abandoned children, and maternal grandmother, in whose care they were
left, was unable to provide for them.”
Hannah was the only one of these children visited by the Children’s Bureau.
She was found to be a most attractive girl of 9 years with light curly hair and
blue eyes and a pleasing manner. The foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. V, having
no children o f their own, had decided to take two boys to raise. These two
boys came from Milwaukee when they were small.
They were brothers
and were 16 and 18 years of age at the time of the bureau agent’s visit. Six
or seven years before the foster parents had put in an application for a baby
girl both at the State school and at an institution in Milwaukee. They se
cured an orphan baby less than a year of age from the Milwaukee institution.
A short time later the State school agent wrote about Hannah, and they de
cided to take her also. The little girls go to school together, play together,
and seem very happy. Hannah attended school regularly and was doing well
in her studies.
Little is known of Sidney’s owh home. His parents had been separated
about a year before their children were committed to the State school as
“ unruly and insubordinate”— the result of improper supervision.
H e had
but one placement— in a farm home where he was the only child. He had
been there about five and one-half years and had been released from indenture
only a month when visited. The foster parents were very fond of the boy, and
he had agreed to remain with them for at least one year. H e had been corre
sponding with his father and a released brother but had shown no inclination
to return to his own people.
Sidney did the work of a regular hired man, but no definite wages had been
agreed upon. The foster father expected to give him “ some money ” in the
fall. The fam ily were reputed to be wealthy, and it was rumored in the com
munity that Sidney, i f he remained in the home, would be the only heir. He
was a big, strong, healthy lad and apparently quite satisfied and happy. The
baseballs and bats, boxing gloves, and musical instruments around the house
testified to his having opportunities for varied recreation.
Besides the most common faults o f neglect o f the children’s school
ing and lack o f desirable training, cruelty and neglect of the chil
dren’s physical and moral welfare were reported.
Martin, a quiet, serious boy, said he was treated “ like a d o g ” in his first
indenture home, to which he went at the age of 12% years. He had hardly
enough to eat and wear, was worked very hard, and was allowed to attend
school only the required time. A visit to the indenture home confirmed these
statements. The boy was placed in another home when he was 15 years old but
ran away from it because he was worked too hard and could not get along
with his foster mother.
Not long before he was interviewed Martin had returned to his foster home
to get his little brother Bernard, who was still indentured there. He tried to
frighten the boy into coming with him by threatening to shoot him if he did
not. The ruse did not succeed, but Martin told the bureau agent that he was
determined to “ rescue his little brother from all that he had suffered.”
One boy not quite 10 years o f age was placed in a home rated as satisfac
tory. H e was then moved to a home in which it was reported that he was
given too much work and was treated cruelly, and that the foster parents were
intemperate. After a year in this home he was indentured in a home in
which he was deprived of schooling and in which the foster father had a bad
reputation ; he remained in this home three months. The next home, in which
he remained five months, was rated as satisfactory. Another five months
was spent in a home on which no report was secured. A t the age o f 13 years
he was placed in another home classed as detrimental : here he was deprived
of schooling and was given too much work. In this last home he remained
for four years until his release from the jurisdiction of *the school. This infor
mation was obtained by visits to the homes and from the statements o f the
boy himself,
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FIELD STUDY ÔF INDENTURED CHILDREN
67
Another boy, 12 years of age, lived for two months in a home considered
satisfactory. His next home, also considered satisfactory, cared for him for
two months. The third home, in which he remained for seven months, was
rated as detrimental. In this home the boy was underfed, and the foster
parents showed an obvious lack of understanding and sympathy.
In the
fourth home he was deprived o f schooling, and the foster parents were reported
as finding the boy too difficult to cope w ith ; he remained in this home a year
and three months. The fifth and last placement was also considered detri
mental, especially because the boy was deprived o f schooling. He remained
in this home from the age o f 14 years until his release from jurisdiction.
A third boy, also 12 years of age, was placed in a home in which he was
treated cruelly and deprived of proper schooling. After remaining there a
year and one month he was placed in a second home in which he remained
five years and which was considered detrimental because o f his failure in
school attendance.
A girl o f 15 years remained for one month in a home considered detrimental
because there was also in the home a boy from the State school whose influence
was not thought to be good. In her second home she remained two months.
Here she was required to do too much work and was deprived of schooling;
the foster mother was considered unfit. A t the age o f 16 years she was in
dentured to her parental home, which was also considered detrimental because
the mother was mentally defective.
A boy of 9 years was plaeed in a home in which he w as treated cruelly,
deprived of schooling, and given too much work. He remained there two
years and two months. In his second home this experience was repeated—
for four years and two m onths; and in the third home, in which he lived a
year and one month, he was also given too much work and did not receive
the schooling required.
A girl, 12 years of age, lived for two years in a home in which she was
deprived of schooling, given too much work, and treated cruelly. A t the age
of 15 years she was placed in a home in which she had lived for two years
at the time of the study. This home was not considered satisfactory for a girl
of her age and character, because a boy from the State industrial school was.
paroled to it.
A 5-year old boy was twice placed in a home in which there were intem
perance and other bad influences. After living in the home for two and a h alf
years he was returned to the State public school for about half a year. His
second indenture to the same home lasted almost two years. It was reported
that the child received no supervision nor training. A t the age o f 11 ha was
placed in another home, which was considered detrimental because th■;> foster
mother disliked the child. He had been living there a year and eight months
at the time o f the visit o f the bureau’s agent.
A sister of this boy was also placed in the same homes. She began her
career as a State ward at the age of 7 and remained in the State public
school longer than her brother, so that she spent only four months in the
second indenture home, where she also was under the handicap o f being
disliked by the foster mother.
A girl 10 years o f age lived for four months in a home classed as satisfactory.
The next five months were spent in a home on which no report was obtained.
A t the age of 11 she was placed in a home in which she was abused and
neglected.
After remaining there nine months she was placed in another
home where she was deprived o f schooling and given too much work. A t
the time pf the study she had lived in this home almost two years.
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68
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
SCHOOLING AND WORK OF THE INDENTURED CHILDREN
OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION
The indenture contract usually required that the child should be
sent to school until he was 16 years o f age for six months a year, or
about 120 days. The school year, on the other hand, was at least
160 days, and more often 180 days. When the foster parents merely
lived up to the terms o f the contract the child was deprived of 8 to
12 weeks o f school every year. Often, however, the child did not
-attend even the number o f school days required by the contract.
As a result he would fall below grade, gradually become older than
most of the children in his grade, grow to dislike school, and be glad
o f any excuse to remain out. That, as the foster parents reported,
the child did not like school, did not want to attend, made no prog
ress in school, and preferred to stay at home and work, was to be
expected. On these excuses the children were frequently withdrawn
from school.
In most o f the rural districts there was no provision for education
beyond the eighth grade. A high school was sometimes found within
2 miles o f the home, but more often it was from 5 to 9 miles away,
or even farther. A child might have completed the eighth grade at
the age o f 13 or 14 years. But since the indenture contract required,
school attendance until he was 16 years old, in some instances the
foster parents continued to send him to the rural school, and in con
sequence he repeated the eighth grade two or three times. It is not
surprising that such children hated school, presented behavior prob
lems, were absent frequently, and gained little advantage from
attendance.
Many o f the children came from bad social environments and had
not attended school regularly before indenture. The schools were
often so overcrowded that the teacher could not give the necessary
special time and attention to these backward children, and they spent
most o f their time in recess or in just “ sitting.” Some o f the coun
try schools had over 50 children, and only one teacher, with grades
ranging from primary through the eighth. The distances in the
rural communities were considered too great to make practicable the
establishment o f special classes for backward pupils, although one
county superintendent was planning to try one in an especially back
ward community.
Comparatively few o f the indentured children included in this
study finished the eighth grade in school, and a much smaller num
ber attended high school. Many of the capable children were not
allowed to go to high school chiefly because they could not finish
before time for their release from the State school’s jurisdiction, and
the foster parents would practically be deprived o f the services of
the children when they were grown, and would thus get very little
return on their investment in the child’s upbringing. In some in
stances, where the foster home was too far from a high school for
the child to attend, no effort was made by the State school authorities
to find a place for the child nearer the school or to help get him a
scholarship. .
The table on page 69 shows the ages of children under jurisdiction
o f the Wisconsin State Public School and their grades in school on
April 1, 1923, so far as this information was available.
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69
C H IL D R E N
Ages o f children under jurisdiction of the Wisconsin State Public School and
grades in school on April 1, 1928
Number of children of specified ages
Grade in school
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Total years
years years years years years years years years years years years
First grade________
Second grade_______
Third grade..............
Fourth grade_____. ..
Fifth grade............ .
Sixth grade________
Seventh grade______
Eighth grade........ .
First year high school
Second y e a r h ig h
school......... ...... _
Third y e a r h ig h
school___________
Continuation school.
183
i
3
5
8
10
8
14
15
11
2
i
2
4
2
2
1
1
4
1
2
1
9
9
1
5
3
1
3
4
1
6
1
1
1
3
9
12
17
5
2
4
3
2
1
2
8
5
1
i
i
2
5
i
3
3
2
1
3
2
1
3
1
1
2
i The children not included were out of school or not reported.
SCHOOL-ATTENDANCE RECORDS
Special attention was paid by the Children’s Bureau agents to
securing school records o f the children while indentured. For a con
siderable number it was not possible to obtain adequate reports o f
school attendance, because the school registers could not be found,
the families had moved, the records were imperfect, or the homes
were not visited. In some o f these homes the children were over or
under school age, or they were under care for a very short time or
during vacation. More or less complete information was obtained
in regard to the attendance o f children placed in 246 o f the indenture
homes studied. In 98 (40 per cent) o f these homes the children had
attended school less than the required minimum o f 120 days a year.
More or less adequate information was obtained in regard to the
attendance o f 205 children. Altogether there were secured 570 at
tendance records, some being records for one year and others for
several years’ attendance o f one child. More than one-fourth o f
these records showed attendance o f less than the required 120 days a
year, and 15 per cent less than 100 days. The minimum o f 120 days,
however, is considerably less than the school term in most o f the
counties.
The 570 attendance records o f State wards showed the following
numbers and percentages o f attendance during one school year:
Days of attendance
Number of
annual
attendance
recordsi
Total----------Less than 60—
.
60-79_____ ___________
8 0 -9 9 ________________
100-119____ ___ _____
120-139____ _______
1 4 0 -1 5 9 -___ _____ .L*
160 days and more.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
. .
Per cent
distri
bution
570
100
25
26
35
81
133
161
109
4
5
6
14
23
28
19
70
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OOL
O f the 192 children 14 years or over for whom grades in school
were reported 23 were known to have attended high school. Three
WARDS OF THE WISCONSIN STATE PUBLIC 8hCH00^ j||)ISTRIBUTION OF DAYS OF ATTENDANCE OF
* E a c h ch ild w a s cou nted a s m a n y tim e s a s th ere w ere com p lete seh oo. records ava ilab le
fo r him .
T h e •370' “ sch ool children. ” rea lly rep resented 5 7 0 records o f 2 0 5 school
children.
children were 14 years o f age, 4 were 15, 7 were 16, 7 were 17, 1 was
18, and 1 was 20 years o f age. It should be noted that seven-tenths
o f these children were beyond the ages to which the families were
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
71
required to send them to school. Eleven children were in the first
year high school, 9 were in the second, 2 were in the third, and 1 was
in the fourth.
REASONS FOR LEAVING SCHOOL
O f the children 16 years o f age or over who were in the indenture
homes on April 1, 1923, information as to school attendance was se
cured for 47 ; 10 were still in school, 30 had left school before reach
ing 16 years, and 7 had left school after they were 16. Eighteen had
left school when they were 15, 7 when they were 14, and 4 when they
were 13. Only 3 (15,16, and 17 years old respectively) were in high
school. O f the 19 in the eighth grade 9 were 15 years old, 3 were
16, and 1 was 18. Eight were in the seventh grade (3 being 14 and
5, 15 years old). O f 88 children who had been released from juris
diction, 40 had left school when under 16 years and 45 when over
16, and 3 over 16 years were still in school.
The following reasons for withdrawal from school were obtained
for 113. children o f 16 years or over, 38 o f whom were still wards o f
the State school and 75 released :
N u m ber o f
ch ildren 1 6
Reasons for withdrawal from school
years and over
T o ta l___________ ;___________ _________________________ 113
Total wards______________.___________________________________
38
Kept out of school to work on farm or at home________________
Completed eighth grade and no advanced school near by_______
Expelled from school or left on account of bad behavior_____
Attained required school age__________
Disliked school_____________________________________________________
Ran away__________________________________________________
Failed in school work_____________________________________________
Total released children________________________
18
Attained required school age________________ _____________"______
Kept out of school on account of work__________________________
Completed eighth grade (includes 4 children for whom there
was no advanced school near b y )______________________________
Disliked school____________________________________________________ .
Left school on account o f bad behavior_________________________
Ran away___________________
Child backward in school___________________________ ;____________
Family moved, and child did not want to enter new school____
State public school agent satisfied to have child stop school___
26
16
6
5
3
3
2
1
75
14
7
3
3
3
2
1
ILLUSTRATIONS OF IRREGULAR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
The following brief summaries show school-attendance conditions
for some o f the children included in this study, as reported by their
teachers:
Boy, three-year period from 13-15 years o f a g e : School attendance
109, 83, and 69 days out o f 160-day school year. Grades 4-6.
Kept out for work. Boy did not like school and would not
study.
Boy, three-year period from 13-15 years o f a ge: Attendance, 105,
35, and 29 days, respectively; school terms, 156, 149, and 180
days. Grades 4 -6 . “ Needed to help ” because father o f foster
mother ill.
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c h il d r e n
in d e n t u r e d
W is c o n s in
state
scho ol
Boy, two-year period from 13-14 years of a g e : Second grade. A t
tended 121 and 96 days out o f 180. Child “ du m b” m school,
and foster parents did not think it worth while to send him.
Girl two-year period from 10-11 years of a g e : Attended 140 and
154 days out of 180. Kept home to help with younger children.
Girl 12 years: Grade 6. Attended 84 days out of 119. Illness
and death of foster mother and transfer to another home inter
fered with attendance.
Boy, four-year period from 13-16 years of a g e : Attendance re
ported for three years as 62, 82, and 75 days out of 160 days
each year. W hen 14 years missed seventh and eighth months
because “ hard at work.” A t 15 years was out for three months
because of work and absent also because of influenza.
Girl, first indenture home, age 11-12 years: Attendance irregular
because of work. Second indenture home, age 16-17 y ears: Kept
out of school all year. Foster mother considered books too ex
pensive. During second year in this home attended continuation
school and high school. Attendance irregular because o f illness
of foster mother.
, .
Boy, 9' years i Attended. 39 out of possible 59 days, after being
placed in home. Boy presented behavior problems and was also
kept out for work. Fourth home, 12-15 years of a ge: Attend
ance 101, 37, 30, and 21 days out of school years of 160 and 138
days. Boy was disturbing element in school, and it seemed im
possible for him to learn.
„ ‘ ,
w C -ijL
Girl, 13 years: Grade 4. Attended 99 out o f 160 days. Child had
“ poor memory.” Kept out to work.
Boy 14 years: Grade 8. Attended 113 out o f 155 days. Sickness.
Boy, four-year period from 13-16 years of a g e : Attended 64, 54,
45, and 48 days out of 160-day school year. First year kept out
for work. For three years attended only second term because of
Boy, 13 y ears: Attended only 6 out of possible 20 days after being
placed in home. Illness— “ running ear.”
_
Boy, 14 years: N ot in school because of tuberculosis.
Girl 10 years: Irregular attendance due to tuberculosis.
G ir f 12 years: Not in school because of scarlet fever in district
and illness of foster mother.
1* ■
L
Boy, 14 years i Grade 3. Attended 47 out o f 180 days. Four weeks
late entering in fall, and other absences due to work.
Boy, three-year period from 11-13 years of a g e: Attended 101, 106,
and 80 out of 180 days each year. Kept out to work.
B oy 11 years: Second indenture home. Attended 104 out ot 180
days. Absence due to ill health and work. Third indenture
home, 12 years of a g e : Irregular attendance. Kept out to work.
Boy, two-year period from 13-14 years of a ge: Attended. 101 and
128 days out o f 160 each year. Absences first and last o f year
indicate work. Age 15 years1: Attended 42 out of 160 days.
Illness (sciatica). Age 16 years: Attended 14 days out of 154.
Boy disliked teacher and was old for his grade.
Girl, 7 years: Not in school because of illness.
Girl 13-16 years: Irregular attendance. Teacher reported that
the girl was always tired and that she did poor work. She be
lieved the girl worked so hard that she did not have time to pre
pare her lessons.
___
Girl, 14—15 years of a g e : Grade 5. Attended 37 out of 160 days.
Left school because boys teased her.
'
Girl 8 -11 y ears: Attendance irregular. Child did not like school
nor get along with teachers; probably out because of work. Out
of school entirely from 12-14 years of age, probably at work.
Girl 15 y ears: Grade 7. Attended 11 out of possible 45 days. _ In
home only two months. Poor health; transferred to hospital
Boy, 11 y ears: Third grade. Attended 103 out of 158 days. Kept
out to work.
* « ‘3
I
„„
.
Girl, 15 years: Grade 7. Attendance only 60 days because of work
and bad weather.
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F IE L D
STUDY
OF
IN D E N T U R E D
C H IL D R E N
Girl, 14 years: Grade 8. Missed one month of school and was
tardy 16 times, sometimes several hours. Cause, w o rk ; child
tired from work when she reached school; lived next door to
school.
Boy, 15 years: Grade 6. Attended 73 % days out of 150. Kept out
to w ork ; distance to school % mile. The following year repeated
grade 6 and attended only 28 days.
Child, 15 y ears: Grade 8. Attended 109% days out o f 157. W ith
drew— lack of interest.
Boy, 14 years: Grade 7. Attended 97 out o f 160 days. Disliked
teacher and gave trouble. The next year, apparently under a
new teacher, attendance much improved.
Boy, 7 -14 years: Remained in same home during this period,
school attendance averaging 110 days a year. Repeated second
and third grades. W a s tardy 55 times in one year and entered
from four to seven weeks late each year. -Kept out to work.
A t 15, when in grade 8, refused to go longer and withdrew as
foster parents wanted him at home to work anyway. Attended
only 56 days the last year.
Boy, 7 y ears: Attended only 94 days out o f 174. Absences in Janu
ary and February; he had a 2% -m ile walk to school. Age
1 3 -1 4 : Attended 58 and 34 days out of 180 d a y s; repeated grade
6. Boy was mischievous in school, and other boys had bad
influence on him. Foster parents had to struggle with stealing
tendency, which they finally seem to have conquered.
Boy, 11-14 y ears: Attended an average of 65 days out of 136 days
each year for four-year period. Kept out to work. Withdrew
at age of 14 years, in grade 7.
Boy, 13 y ears: Grade 5. Attended 65 days out of 180. Kept out
for work. After change of homes attendance became almost
perfect, child attending high school.
Boy, 11-17 years, seven-year period: During this time child was
placed in three different homes, all of which were classed as
detrimental— one because of cruelty as well as too much work
and deprivation of school. Average attendance, 90 days a year.
A few absences were due to illness. The fourth and last home
was satisfactory, but the boy was beyond school age.
Boy, 9 -14 y ears: Attendance averaged 95 days a year for six
years. Absences due to work. Spent four years in the sixth
and seventh grades and withdrew at the age of 14.
(Foster
parents stated that boy withdrew because he lost interest, but
they did not allow him to return when he later wished to do so.)
Girl, 7 -12 y ears: During six-year period attended 126, 53, 65, 26,
52, and 75 days. Kept out to care for children in the foster
family.
Girl, 14 y ea rs: Attendance, 40 out o f the 70 school days she was
in one home. She left school in December, waiting to be re
turned to State public school but was not returned until Febru
ary 26. In the next home she attended 12 days from April to
June, and during the following year she attended 70 days. She
disliked school and refused to go because she was much larger
than the other girls.
Girl, 6 y ears; boy, 8 y ea rs: W ere habitual truants. Attendance,
67 and 80 days, respectively, out of 187. The next year, how
ever, both attended school for more than required 120 days.
Boy, 12-15 y ea rs: Attendance averaged 84 days out of 180 during
four-year period; entered three or four months late each year
because o f work. Completed grade 8.
B o y : Attendance averaged 79 days a year during three-year pe
riod; 45 “ tardies” one year. Boy did not like to attend school
and presented behavior problems in the home.
Girl, 11 years: Grade 2. Attendance, 71 days out of 160. Fifteen
days’ absence due to illness, the rest to work. Age 1 2 -1 4 :
Kept out to work. Then apparently was made to return to
school and attended 97 days out of 200. Withdrew at age of 16
to work, when in grades 3 and 4,
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73
74
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L’
Girl, 15 years: Missed some time because of work. Completed
grade 8 at 13 years and at age o f 15 was repeating same grade
for third time, the high school being 6 miles away.
Girl, 12 y ears: Attendance, 30 out o f 160 days. The next year she
attended 74 days and withdrew from eighth grade. Lived 2 ^
miles from school and was kept out to work.
Boy, 9-15 years: Attendance during seven years averaged about
118 days a year. Repeated third grade twice and finally with
drew from fifth grade at age o f 15 years. Home superior in
every way, but boy disliked school and made such slow progress
he probably could have gone little further.
Boy, 7-15 y ears: Attendance quite regular for three years. During
next three years attendance at public school was 108, 84, and
110 days, respectively, but boy finished spring term at the Ger
man parochial school. A t 15 years of age he withdrew per
manently.
The irregular attendance of other children was attributed to their
having been kept out for work. In many o f these cases definite rec
ords o f attendance could not be obtained; only such statements as
the following were found: “ Lost schooling at beginning and end of
year because o f work ” ; “ work on farm ” “ attended irregularly,
weather bad, and needed for work ” ; “ work, late registration—with
drew in spring” ; “ probably work—absence in fall and spring” ;
“ placed in home in March— out for work, probably ” ; “ frequently
kept home for work ” ; “ most o f absences in spring—work.”
WORK DONE BY THE CHILDREN
As the idea o f service by the children underlies the indenture con
tract, it was not surprising that the Children’s Bureau agents were
frequently asked whether there was a strong boy or a good worker
at the State school, and this would be followed by the remark that
“ hired help costs so much ” or “ I could use a good girl now.”
The payment o f $50 to the State public school .when a child be
came 18 years o f age, or a proportionate payment when he left an
indenture home earlier, was complained o f by the foster parents and
appeared to affect their attitude toward the children in respect to
the work required of them. Many felt that they had to get at least
the equivalent o f the $50 in work. Several parents complained that
the children had been returned to State public school just as they
were beginning to be o f some value to them.
Many o f the families wanted boys or girls to “ help with the work,”
sometimes to relieve their own children. The happiest placements
were those with foster parents who had no other children and wanted
a child to treat as their own.
Several children had been sent to work out before they were 18
years old, although the indenture contract expressly prohibited it.
Boys had worked for other farmers, and in a few instances girls had
worked for other families.
In cue case a 16-year-old girl was allowed by the foster parents
to go into the home o f a blind man and stay nine weeks with his
wife following confinement, so that the $25 promised for this service
might be used to pay part o f the indenture money to the State public
school. The money was not paid; and when the insistence o f the
foster mother that the blind man pay her called the matter to the
attention o f the State school the girl was returned to the institution
at once,
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
75
According to the contract the foster parents are required to furnish
all medical and surgical treatment necessary, but many families were
in no position to afford such expenditures, although the homes were
often satisfactory in other respects. I f the child needed an opera
tion, either he had to be returned to the school, in which case it was
not certain that he would be sent back to the same indenture home,
or the foster parents had to pay for the operation. The foster par
ents o f one boy paid $40 for an operation on his foot and felt it was
unjust for the State public school to demand the indenture money
when the boy was returned to it. In many instances necessary but
not urgent medical work was left undone. Inattention to teeth was
very general, and eyes, tonsils, adenoids, etc., were neglected.
CASE SUMMARIES 8
In a large number o f instances young indentured children were
expected to do a great deal o f work, with the result that their school
ing was seriously interfered with, because they were compelled to be
frequently tardy or absent or they were so weary and dulled by the
work that they profited little from attendance at school. The case
summaries that follow will make these conditions concrete. Other
illustrations o f work and loss o f schooling have already been given
in the section relating to indenture homes.
The G’s owned a farm o f 480 acres and 50 head of cattle. Mr. G was said
to have plenty o f money, but he employed no help. Into this fam ily Christina,
11 years old, and her twin brother, Oscar, were indentured over five years be
fore the study. The school was 2 y2 miles away, and the children had an
average attendance of only 55 and 62 days a year for three years. But they
passed their .eighth-grade examinations except arithmetic, and they were to
have returned to school to complete that subject but had never done so. The
Children’s Bureau agent found Christina working in the barn— at the time 16
years of age, undersized and underweight, and shabbily dressed. Mrs. G said
Christina did a gredt deal o f the cooking and cleaning and also helped with the
milking. Christina liked to read, but she had no time to do so. Oscar was
not seen by the agent, but he was said also to be below average weight and
height.
A neighbor stated that Mrs. G was in poor health and went away every
month or so for treatments. A t these times Christina did all the housework.
The neighbors felt that the foster parents expected an endless amount o f work
from the two children.
Except for about two months Paul had been in the home o f M r D or his
brother for over seven years. School records obtained for three of the six
years he was supposed to attend show an attendance of 89 days out o f a total
of 151, 43 out of 140 (term was shortened because of influenza epidemic), and
10 out of 163 days. He was in the fifth grade for two years and withdrew
from school at the age of 14, still in the fifth grade.
He worked as an apprentice in a bakery shop for $3 or $4 a week but left
because he could not stand the gas ovens. After that he worked on a farm in
the vicinity of his foster home, earning $30 a month. Permission had not been
secured from the State school. Paul was allowed to keep the wages he earned.
The well-educated mother in M artha’s indenture home declared that she was
willing that the girl should have all the education she wished provided she did
her work satisfactorily. The home was an attractive bungalow with all mod8 T h e n am es o f fa m ilie s an d ch ildren used i s ease sum m aries a re fictitiou s,
52021°—25----- 6
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
7 6
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
ern conveniences, for the W ’s were well to do. Martha was taken at the age
of 14 “ to help with the work.” She went almost everywhere with the W ’s in
thè capacity of a nurse girl.
Martha’s school attendance for the one complete school year while in this
home was 157 days out of 177. She was tardy 16 times during the year, al
though she lived very near the school. She was not sent to church or Sunday
school, because, the foster mother said, “ her mind was distracted from her
work enough at school as it was.”
According to Mrs. W , the girl’s duties were as follows : In the morning she
dressed the children, washed the breakfast dishes, did the upstairs work, and
often prepared vegetables for dinner before going to school. After school she
washed the dinner dishes and helped get supper, and then she washed the
supper dishes and sometimes helped with the ironing. On wash days she was
sometimes kept home from school to help hang up clothes.
The statement of her teacher in the school record book is as follows :
“ Martha let out to work by State. Is so overworked before and after school
that she does not do as good work as she is capable of doing. Attendance ir
regular. Tardiness of several hours due to work not unusual.”
After a time Martha began to be dissatisfied on account of the work she
had to do, and after one year and four months in this home she was returned
to the State school.
Bertha, less than 12 years o f age, was sent to live with a coarse, uneducated
couple, whose home was a small five-room house, crudely constructed and hav
ing little furniture. Mr. P admitted that they had taken the child to work
because their own children were too small. H e sa id : “ I will never take an
other child unless I can get one young enough, so I can break ’em in to work.”
The P ’s attitude was that the child was their property, and they resented the
fact that she wrote to her own mother while there. Bertha told the superin
tendent of the State school the following facts regarding the h om e: She was
kept from school sometimes two or three weeks at a time (the school record
confirms this statement) ; she did a great deal of the housework and helped
care for the three young children, prepared breakfast for the fam ily, milked
five or six cows every evening, and helped do other farm work.
She had
received two whippings with a strap and had been cuffed. The child was in
this home two years and two months.
The fam ily to whom the girl was indentured at the time Qf the study had two
children of their own, 8 and 4 years of age. Bertha was 17 years o f age when
the bureau agent saw her, and there was in the home a 17-year-old boy paroled
from the State industrial school. There was little recreation, as everyone was
too busy. The foster parents and the children in the neighborhood were fond
o f Bertha. She was a willing worker and had a pleasant disposition. She
helped with the housework and cooking and did all the work in the absence
o f the foster mother.
Information was accidentally secured that the foster mother often went to
visit her mother for several days at a time, leaving Bertha alone with the
foster father and the industrial-school boy, to do the housework and care for
the children. A t 17 she was a frail-looking girl, quite childish in appearance.
She had always disliked school and refused to go for weeks at a time. She was
so much older and larger than the other girls o f the sixth grade that she was
ashamed to go. Between April, 1921, and April, 1922, she attended school just
82 days, and she stopped the day she was 16 years old. Her school work was
reported to be as good as that o f the average student.
Elbert was 9 years of age when he was placed in his first indenture home,
the fam ily consisting only of the foster parents, who were living on a rented
farm. He was taken to work, and he seems to have done little else, for the
neighbors used to see him hoeing com and potatoes all day, even on Sundays.
Besides this he did chores, pulled weeds, gathered eggs, and carried wood.
O f the 135 school days he was in this home he attended 100 days, being kept
out 25 days at one time to help with the farm work. Although 9 years of age
he was only in the first grade. The nearest church was 10 miles away. The
home was 2 miles from the school.
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H E L D STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
77
One day Elbert left a gate open and was whipped so severely that he ran
away. Neighbors joined in the search, not to return the child, but to protect
him from his foster father. H e was discovered in an apple tree, and his body
was found to be black and blue. Seven o f the neighbors went to the home and
accused the farmer o f cruelty and abuse, and he acknowledged having whipped
the boy.
His next home was on a fine 120-acre farm. There were four children in the
family. The foster parents were refined, well-educated people, the mother
treated the boy as one o f her own children, and when he was seen by the
bureau agent he seemed to be quite happy there. H e was then about 16 years
old, and he was milking two to four cows daily, doing chores, hoeing, and help
ing with other farm work. The one detrimental feature of his home was the
boy’s lack of schooling, as he had attended an average o f only 115 days out of
an average school year o f 155 days. H e withdrew in February, 1923, in the
fifth grade. The foster parents reported that he was needed on the farm and
seemed to make so little progress in school that they kept him at home.
Sophie’s home for six years— she was 17 when the bureau agent saw her—
had been with Mr. and Mrs. F and their four children, all of whom were under
8 years o f age. They lived on a large farm in a good farming district, but the
buildings were somewhat run down. Most of the people in the community con
sidered the F ’s a fine fam ily and thought they had given the State public
school children a good home. The F ’s admitted that S'ophie was taken to help
with the work and was considered a maid. She cared for the children and did
much of the housework. A released child, formerly at this home, said of the
foster parents: “ They Always treat you rough in that place and expect you to
work.”
The foster parents said that Sophie visited the neighbors and went to school
socials and picnics for recreation. They declared that the child attended
church regularly; the priest said that she hardly ever came to church.
Her school record throws an interesting light upon the interference o f her
work with school. The first year Sophie was in the home she was 11 years o f
age. During the 160-day term she attended but 71 days. Fifteen days’ ab
sence were due to illness; the other 74 (alm ost 16 weeks) were due to work.
She was promoted to the third grade on trial. The following three years she
was not enrolled in the village, the rural, or the parochial school. Then in
1921, at the age of 15, she entered school during the third month and withdrew
the following May, having attended 97 days out o f a possible 200. She was
doing third and fourth grade work but was not promoted td the fifth grade.
Mamie, at the age of 10 years, helped an expectant mother and later acted
as a nursemaid to the baby. She sa id : “ I had to sweep, wash the dishes,
tend the baby, scrub floors. Yes, I had to stay out of school sometimes for
work.” O f her second home she reported: “ I had to help do housework. I
did ironing and helped with the washing and baking. I cleaned barns and
toward the last year milked four or five cows a day and sometimes drove the
team on the hayfork and hay loader.” The school record indicates that the
child was kept out o f school 41 days during one year. Mamie explained: “ I
went to school quite regular but not any too regular. The first month they
kept me out to work on the farm and sometimes on wash days.”
Stella, at 10 years of age, was placed in her second indenture home and re
mained there for almost four years. She did the heaviest kind of. work on the
farm, even plowing. The foster mother said that Stella did not do housework
nor care for the children because she disliked such work. The school author
ities stated that Stella had no chance to show what she could do in school
because she was kept at home so much and was worked so hard that when she
did attend she was too tired to study. One year she attended school 3 days,
and another year her attendance was 29 days. A t 15 years of age she was only
in the third grade.
A t the request of the associated charities the humane officer investigated the
home and reported the child overworked and abused. The conditions were
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
78
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
reported to the State school. T h e State school visitor reported that the child
was not in school but that her stories of mistreatment were not dependable.
She was returned to the State school because the foster mother was nervous
and in poor health.
Flora, aged 1 3 % , was “ considered as a member of the fam ily.” Her duties
were as follow s: She got up early every morning and put up lunch for a
young man boarder, prepared breakfast, and did what other work she could
before school. A t noon she came home and got lunch for the fam ily. After
school she sewed and helped with the housework and ended the day by washing
all the supper dishes. She frequently missed school to do the washing and
ironing or cleaning. The foster mother said that if Flora would just get up
early enough she could also have had all the beds made and the breakfast
dishes washed before school.
The foster mother regretted that Flora went to the regular school, for i f she
had attended vocational school one or two days a week she could have stayed
a t home and sewed the rest o f the time. The child could then have helped her
a great deal more and could have learned dressmaking. The foster mother was
making her living by dressmaking and had one assistant. She claimed that
Flora did not like school because she was large and overgrown and felt
awkward and ill at ease there.
Flora, however, told a different story on this point. She declared that she
really liked school and wished she could attend more regularly. She found
it very hard to keep up with her lessons when she missed so much time. Both
the truant officer and her teacher complained of her absences and the work the
child had to do. The teachers had taken an interest in Flora and helped her
make up her work after school. The truant officer could not understand why
the child was indentured in this home. He sa id : “A ll the woman wants Flora
for is to do the work. She has no idea of giving the child a home.”
Even good clothes, the movies, and all-day automobile trips on Sunday
could not compensate for the drudgery demanded o f her.
MENTALITY AND CONDUCT9
PLACEMENT OF MENTALLY DEFECTIVE CHILDREN
O f the 452 children included in this study 19 were transferred to
institutions for the feeble-minded while they were wards o f the State
public school. The following diagnoses were entered for these chil
dren in the records o f the institutions for the feeble-minded :
M e n ta l diagn osis
N um ber o f
ch ildren
T o ta l________________________
Imbecile______________________________
High-grade imbecile_______________
Moron__________________________
19
Number of
M e n ta l d ia g n o sis
ch ildren
Low-grade moron__________________
Middle-grade moron_______________
1 High-grade moron______ ____________
2
Epileptic and feeble-minded_____
Not 2reported________________________
2
3
5
1
3
It should be remembered in this connection that the selection for
the bureau’s study was on the basis of children who had been placed
in indenture homes during a certain period o f years. No effort
was made to discover how many o f the total number o f children
received by the school during that period were considered to need
custodial care in the institution for the feeble-minded. Undoubtedly
the proportion o f mentally defective children would be considerably
augmented i f there were added to the list the children whose mental
condition prevented their placement in indenture homes, though
they were not sent to the State institution for the feeble-minded.
f A c co rd in g t o in fo rm a tio n received fr o m th e d irec to r o f th e ju v e n ile de p artm en t o f th e
W isc o n sin S ta te B o a rd o f C o n tro l (A p r il 2 0 , 1 9 2 5 ) , a ll ch ild ren are n o w g iv e n m ental
te s ts b efo re placem en t, ch ildren fou n d t o be feeble-m in ded o r su b n orm al a re n o t placed,
a n d border-lin e case s a re g iv e n special su p ervision an d pro te ctio n .
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P IE L » STUDY OP INDENTURED CHILDREN
79
In Wisconsin, as in most other- States, the custodial care provided
for the feeble-minded has been inadequate, but the addition o f a
second State institution within the last year or two has made better
care possible. The need for such care by the State is shown very
strikingly in the results o f a study made by psychologists attached
to the Wisconsin State Department o f Public Instruction, who in
August, 1922, examined all the children then in the State public
school for dependent children. A county institution having been
made available for the care o f the feeble-minded, 88 mentally handi
capped children were transferred from the State school to this home
for the feeble-minded in September, 1922. Among them were a
number o f the children reported on in this study, who were thus
finally given the opportunity to receive the proper kind o f care after
having been vainly tried in indenture homes or kept in the institution
for dependent children for several years.
The facts here presented do not indicate the policy o f the State
school, but they do picture the result o f inadequate provision for
the feeble-minded, which has necessitated the care o f such children
in an institution not equipped for it where their presence could not
help being detrimental to the other children.
Within the last few years there has been fairly adequate attention
to examination o f children when they were received by the school.
Mention has been made (see p. 6) o f a law passed in 1921 which
forbade the placing out o f children who were feeble-minded, epilep
tic, or diseased, or one or both o f whose parents were insane or
feeble-minded. Obviously the strict application o f this rule must
result, to some extent, in turning the school into a custodial institu
tion for handicapped children, at least until adequate provision is
made for them in other institutions.
The stories o f children indentured into* farm homes and later
found to be suffering under mental disabilities should prove the
social wisdom o f not placing such children in homes where they
can not receive the necessary supervision and protection. Many sub
normal children can undoubtedly profit by life in farm homes, but
tli6 foster parents should have full knowledge o f the chilcPs disabilities. Moreover, in finding the home and supervising the child, a
degree of care would have to be exercised that is impossible with
t!6 P ^esen^ SI? a11 staff o f the State school. The section o f this report
that deals with adoption cases (see p. 11) brings out the special
danger o f permanent placement without adequate investigation as
to the mental condition o f the child.
On the 19 indentured children who were later transferred to the
State home for feeble-minded only 8 were under 6 years o f age
when committed to the State school. The other 11 children ranged
from 6 to 15 years, and mental diagnoses should have been practicable. The histories o f a number o f these children disclose mental
defect or disorder in the parents.
The child of a mother in a hospital for the insane was committed to the
fetate public school at the age of 6 years. After being indentured to two
aiixerent homes for a total period of a year and eight months and spending
nve years and two months in the institution he was transferred at the age of
id years to the ptate home for feeble-minded. The records “of the institution
tor the feeble-minded classify him as a middle-grade moron.
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
80
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
Another child, whose mother was epileptic as well as insane and who had
been committed to a hospital for the insane, was received into the institution
when he was almost 12 years of age. He had lived in one indenture home for
a year and two months and in the school for dependent children for two years
and five months and had spent three months as a runaway before he was trans
ferred to the State custodial institution. There he was classed as a moron.
The daughter of a woman who had been committed to a hospital for the
insane five times was transferred to the school for the feeble-minded when she
was 12 years old, after being under the care of the school for dependent children
for over five years, eight months of which she spent in indenture homes.
A girl whose mother was in a hospital for the insane was transferred to the
school for the feeble-minded at the age of 13 years after having been under
care of the school for dependent children for six years. Six months of this
period were spent in an indenture home and the rest in the institution.
A child who was a year old when committed to the school for dependent
children was transferred at the age of 10 years to the home for the feeble
minded. The child’s mother had been committed as feeble-minded, ranking as
a middle-grade imbecile. The baby had been placed in two indenture homes,
remaining in them for one year altogether.
The mother of a State ward was committed to the institution for the feeble
minded some time after he himself— at nearly 3 years of age— was received
into the State public school. After living in one indenture home for five and a
half .years and in the State school for over nine years, at the age o f almost 18
years he was transferred to the institution for the feeble-minded, where he was
diagnosed as epileptic and feeble-minded and as having a mental age of 6
years. A brother of this boy, also a State ward, was transferred to the W is
consin Industrial School for* Boys.
One of the former wards of the State school— a girl who had been received
there when almost 16 years of age— was committed to t i e State home for the
feeble-minded some time after her release from the jurisdiction of the State
public school. She had given birth to an illegitimate child, which was placed
fo r adoption.
In several o f the cases reported, more than one child from a family
were committed to the Wisconsin Home for the Feeble-minded.
From one family o f 11 children, 6 were committed to that institu
tion. One of them, who was first committed to the State public
school, was in indenture homes for 13 years. Another o f these
children, who was transferred to the institution for the feeble
minded at the age o f 9 years, classed as a high-grade moron, was
received at the State school at the age of 4 years and placed in an
indenture home 14 days after admission. He remained there only
six months, spending the other four years and nine months in the
institution.
Undoubtedly part o f thé reported lack o f schooling, which was
discussed, in a previous section, was due to the fact that the children
were subnormal and did not profit by the instruction given in the
^ordinary ungraded country schools, unfitted to cope with this type
o f problem. Children who are subnormal mentally, though not
-actually feeble-minded, can be trained if given proper opportunities.
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C H IL D R E N
8 1
But in the school suited only to the normal child they get into diffi
culties, are apt to become insubordinate, give cause for concern
because they are easily led, or show bad traits that the foster parents
are unable to deal with wisely.
A ll this is evidence o f the necessity for mental examinations such
as have been given during the last few years o f the history o f the
State school, and an inquiry into the social histories o f the parents
including thorough study or the child when he is admitted.
CHILDREN WHO PRESENTED CONDUCT PROBLEMS
The inquiry revealed the fact that 25 boys and 9 girls o f the 253
boys and 199 girls included in the study were transferred to the
State industrial schools while they were wards o f the State public
school. The ages o f these children at the time o f transfer ranged
from 11 to 17 years. The reasons given for the transfer were as
follow s:
R eason fo r tra n sfe r t o
in d u stria l school
N u m ber o f
ch ildren
T o ta l________________________
34
Incorrigible________________________
Ran away__________________________
Ran away and stole_______________
12
10
6
R eason ror tr a n s fe r t o
in d u stria l sch ool
N u m ber o f
ch ildren
Ran away and incorrigible________
B u rglary___________________________
Sex delinquency__________________
Theft and breaking into houses—
3
l
l
1
Under the Wisconsin law the commitment o f children to the State
school made possible their transfer to the industrial schools by the
board o f control without court hearings on the question o f delin
quency. Running away from the State public school or the inden
ture homes was the most common cause o f transfer to the industrial
school. The children reported as incorrigible apparently presented
problems o f management and showed the need for special care in the
selection o f foster homes for adolescent children, rather than serious
delinquency.
The indenture history o f many o f these children showed that they
had given difficulty in the foster homes?. These children had been
placed in a total o f 58 indenture homes during the time they were
wards o f the State public school. Nineteen o f them had been in
only one indenture home, nine in two homes, four in three homes,
one in four homes, and one in five homes.
In 36 o f the 58 homes the children remained for less than two
years. In only four cases did the children remain in an indenture
home for as much as five years; one child was in the first home in
which he was indentured for five years, two were in the first home for
six years, and one was in the second home for seven years.
One o f the nine children who were in two indenture homes was
in these homes for eight years and six months—in his first home for
one year and one month and in the second home for seven years and
five months. The total time spent in the indenture homes by the
other eight children was somewhat less, varying from one month and
five days to six years and ten months.
One o f the four children who were in three indenture homes stayed
sixteen days in the first home, five months in the second, and four
years and four months in the third. For the other three the total
time spent in the indenture homes was one year' and one month, one
year and four months, and four years and eleven months. The child
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CHILDREN INDENTURED B Y WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
who was placed in four indenture homes remained in them ten
months, four months, two years and three months, and two years,
respectively.
. _
The total time the child who was in five indenture homes remained
in these homes was less than four years—eleven days in the first, two
months in the second, two years and ten months in the third, seven
months in the fourth, and three months in the fifth home.
CASE SUMMARIES10
In some homes that offered the State wards excellent care and
opportunities for training the children were unable to profit by
these advantages because o f physical, mental, or temperamental
handicaps. Sometimes these handicaps were already present when
the child was placed, and sometimes they appeared later. A knowl
edge o f the child’s history would have indicated that special care in
placement and supervision was necessary.
Shortly after Mark was bom his mother, the baby boy, and another child of
3 years were sent to a State home for the feeble-minded. Nothing is known of
the father except that he was at the time working on a farm and that he had
abandoned the mother and the two children.
In June, 1915, Mark, not yet 20 months old, was committed to the State public
school. H e was kept in the State school just 14 days, and then was sent to
live with a family who took him because they were anxious to have a son.
There-was one child in the family, a girl of 12. Four years before the study a
second daughter was bom to the foster parents.
A t the time of the agent’s visit Mark had lived as a member o f this family
for eight years. The foster parents had often thought of adopting him, but
were deterred by his frequent and sudden “ epileptic fits,’ ’ as the attending
physician called them, to which he had been subject ever since his indenture.
He was not attending school because it was a mile from the home, and the
foster mother was afraid to have him go alone. H e had gone to school only
for a few weeks in 1921, when the fam ily lived nearer to the schoolhouse. The
mother said that he was very willing to w ork; he could bring in water and
wood, feed the chickens, and run errands, and he liked especially to wash
dishes. In winter he swept and shoveled snow. He was active physically, but
his activity was not being directed.
The attending physician did not believe that Mark would outgrow the epilep
tic attacks and considered him fa r below par mentally. Tfie foster parents,
however, were anxiously waiting for the child to recover, so that they might
feel safe in adopting him.
George’s mother, who had run away and got married when She was 16,
deserted her husband and four children. George was later bom out of wed
lock and after being in an institution for some time was left with his grand
parents. When he was 8 years old he was brought before the juvenile court
on a petition signed by the school-attendance officer alleging that the grand
parents were unable to control h im ; that he was a truant from school; and
that he took things from the desks of other children. H is teacher said that
he “ made no academic progress,” and that he did not “ sense things.” As a
result he was committed to the State school, under whose supervision he
remained for 10 years.
After six weeks at the State school George was indentured in his first home,
in which he stayed 18 months and about which, little is known. From the
second home, in which he remained only four months, he was returned on the
grounds of disobedience, profanity, and the prospect that he “ would not be of
much help when he grew older.” In the third home he was expected to help
with the farm work, but he was treated as a member of the family. The foster
parents found him “ stubborn and undependable ” but kept him for 14 months.
i° The Tinmog of families and children used in case summaries are fictitious.
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IN D E N T U R E D
C H IL D R E N
83
The foster parents in the fourth home also called him stubborn, but he
remained there for four years and five months and was working there as a
farm hand at the time of the study, after his indenture period had expired.
This foster father doubted whether George would ever be capable o f getting
along by himself and kept' him “ out of sympathy.”
George did not make friends with boys and girls of his own age but “ al
ways played with the little ones.” In his last home he was very fond of his
foster sisters, 6 and 2 years old, and made and painted a doll bed and chair
for the older. He liked to make things, and his foster mother said that in
this type of work he learned readily. In academic work the reverse was true.
No matter how many times George was shown he could not seem to grasp
what was told him. He was removed from one school at the request of the
teacher and from another at the request o f the teacher and the school board.
One of these teachers had tried to control George by whipping him and was
reported by the foster mother to have given him “ six lickings in one day.”
There was no record o f the boy’s school attendance while he was in his
first indenture home. W hile in his second home he missed 20 days out o f a
possible 59 days. His attendance record during the next two years while in
the third home showed 44 and 111 days present out o f 46 and 155 days, re
spectively. The first year in the fourth home showed 101 days o f attendance
out of 160, but during the next three years he attended only 37, 30, and 21
days, respectively.
Although the fourth indenture home was visited a number o f times by
State school agents George saw only one o f them and this agent, a man, but
once. On this occasion the boy had been disobedient, and the visitor is re
ported to have “«pulled a strap out o f his pocket ” and whipped him for
his misconduct. From this time on, whenever George learned that a State
agent was calling at his foster home, he “ hid in the hay loft of the barn.”
It was only after much persuasion that he consented to talk with the Chil
dren’s Bureau agent. George looked well cared for physically but appeared
immature for his years.
Allen was 12 years old when indentured to Mr. and Mrs. R, who lived in
an attractive home and had no children of their own. During the two years
that he was with them he entered several homes, taking money, food, and
other articles. He was said to have had a bad influence over the other boys.
The foster mother tried to see that he had good associates. She dressed him
well— he was particular about his appearance— and bought him war-savings
stamps and started a bank account for him. The foster parents became very
fond o f h im ; but after he had run away twice, giving as his reason his dis
like of school, they returned him to the institution because the foster mother
feared “ something serious would happen to him.” Two months after his re
turn he again ran away and was transferred to the industrial school, from
which he ran away several times. He had been released a short time before
the study, and nothing was known o f his whereabouts ju st then, though the
foster parents had heard from him occasionally after he left them.
Mr. and Mrs. R greatly regretted that they had seen noth'ng of Allen’s
record before he came to them, which was not entirely favorable. They
would have been glad to give a permanent home to a child that they were
able to control. But their experience with Allen made them unwilling to
take another from the State school.
When Ludwig was 11 years old he ran away from home because his step
mother mistreated him, and went to the State school. H e was placed with
a kindly, middle-aged couple with no children o f their own who owned a farm
not far from a village of 500 inhabitants. He was in this home for about four
years, and when he first came “ you couldn’t have asked for a nicer boy.” H e
was dependable and honest. A ll the children in the neighborhood liked him.
H e pleased his foster parents very much when he learned to speak German,
their native language.
When Ludwig had been in the home for about two years he was visited by
his two older brothers, who seemed to have a bad influence upon him so that
from that time on he became less dependable. About a year and a half later
two brothers and a sister visited Ludwig and in a yreek earned the reputation
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84
CHILDREN- INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
in the neighborhood of being “ regular toughs.” After their departure the
foster mother discovered that some jewelry and other articles were missing.
Ludwig’s foster parents thought that after this second visit from his fam ily
he deliberately tried to be unruly so that he would be sent back to the State
school and then perhaps placed with his brothers and sister, with whom he
was corresponding. He became disobedient, was unkind to the stock, did not
do his chores properly except under supervision, and was expelled from school.
Ludwig was finally returned to the State school when his foster parents
found that he had planned to run away. H e had taken $11 from his foster
father’s purse and hidden it in his clothes, which he had already packed. When
he was being returned he tried to mail a postal card to his own fam ily saying
that he was going back to the State school and asking his brothers to come
and get him. H e was transferred instead to the boys’ industrial school, from
which he was paroled to his father after being in the institution a year and
nine months.
CHILDREN RETURNED TO THEIR OWN HOMES
POLICY OP INDENTURING OR RELEASING TO PARENTS
It is the policy o f the State to return children to their own homes
when this appears to be practicable, the children remaining under the
supervision of the State school. When it is considered desirable to
do so, legal restoration o f the parents’ control may be made by action
o f the State board o f control.
O f the 452 indentured children, 78 (17 per cent) were returned to
their own families under indenture contracts; 6 of these children
were returned twice. O f the 78 children, 28 had been restored to the
legal control o f their parents at the time o f the study, and probably
many o f the others were restored afterward. Many o f the children
indentured to their own parents, however, were returned to the
institution later.
The 78 children were returned to 53 families. Two or more
children were returned to 17 o f these families ; 11 families had two
children, 4 had three children, and 2 had four children. Both
parents were living in the homes to which 34 o f the 78 children were
returned. Nine children were returned to families in which the
father was the sole head o f the family, the mothers o f 5 children be
ing dead and the mothers o f 4 in jail. Thirteen children were re
turned to their mothers; the fathers o f 4 o f these children were dead,
the whereabouts o f 5 was not reported, and the parents o f 4 were
divorced. One o f the reasons for return was the remarriage o f the
mother or father. In six families there were stepmothers, only one
o f these families having been a “ stepmother family ” at the time of
the child’s commitment. In 12 cases the children were returned to
homes in which the mother had remarried. No report was obtained
as to the status o f the parents o f 4 children who were returned to the
custody o f one or both parents.
Thirteen o f the 78 children were under 5 years o f age when they
were returned to their own families; 3 were 1 year or less, 3 were
2 years, 3 were 3 years, and 4 were 4 years o f age. Seventeen were
5 to 9 years o f age, 22 were from 10 to 13, and 26 were 14 or over.
Analysis o f the length o f time under care before the return to their
own families shows that more than half o f the 78 children had been
under care o f the State for at least one year before they were re
turned to their parental homes,
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f ie l d
study
P e rio d under care b efore
retu rn to ow n h o m e
N u m ber o f
children
Total________________________
Less than 6 months_______________
6 months___________________________
1 year-----------------------------------------------
c h il d b e n
85
P eriod un der care before
return to ow n h o m e
N um ber o f
children
in d e n t u r e d
78
17
16
12
2
3
4
5
6
years______ ____ ;__ _______ ___
years„_____ T__ ,__ \___ ______
years__________ ______________
years_______ !’____________ ___
years-------------------------:_______
00t - 05 <0 CO
,
of
The causes o f commitment were given as follow s:
C ause o f c o m m itm e n tu
N u m ber o f
ch ildren
T o ta l_______________________ --------------------------------- 1,_________
78
Abandonment by father, mother unable to support___________
15
Dependency, and neglect by parents______________ 1______________ 14
Home unfit_______________________________________________________ __
3
2
Neglect, children delinquent_______________________________________
Abandonment by parents___________________________ ____ ^________
1
N eglect________________________________________________________
8
Dependency, neglect by father, mother dead___ ____ ___ _______
1
Dependency, neglect by mother, father dead____ L.___ ' X f ) v
1
Father unable to provide, mother dead_____ s_-___.____
1
Neglect by father, mother deserting_________ .w ig _________ ■
___
3
1
Dependency, child delinquent____________________
Improper guardianship, child delinquent_____ ___ d___ __________
2
Mistreatment________________ _________________________
1
l
Neglect, child delinquent, father dead_______________ ||____ j j __
Parents ill and unable to provide________________ ~
_____ _ l.
2
Parents divorced, mother insane______________ _______ __$3|_____ i-.
2
Father in jail, mother in hospital_________________,_______
l
Mother unable to support, father dead_____ ________________________ 2
Father deserting, child delinquent______ —_____ __________ ______
4
Abandonment by father, mother im m oral-__________________’— 4
3
Mother insane, father unable to provide_____ ________ ____ ____
2
Dependency, father deserting_____________________
3
Mother in jail, father deserting______________________ ___________
2
_____ __ 2
Dependency, mother dead________________________ Not reported___________________________________________ _____ _;_____
1
The table on page 86 shows the parental status at the return o f the
children as compared with the parental status at the time o f commit
ment for the 53 families for which this information was obtained.
11 P a re n ts
liv in g u n le ss oth e rw ise stated .
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g>
Parental status at the return of the children, hy 'parental status at the time of commitment to the Wisconsin State Public School
Families of children indentured 1913-1917
Parental status at return of child
Total
Total...................................................-
Mother head of family
Father head of family
Father Mother
Both
and
and
parents
step
step
living
Father Father mother
Mother Mother
father
Father
in
in
Mother
in
not re dead
Total
dead
dead desert
sane
dead desert
home Total
ported
ing
ing asylum
53
16
9
5
23
113
4
4
28
8
3
2
5
3
1
i
F dtlim diiil stepmother _ _
Father dead__..............
1
3
1
3
1
1
1
7
1
2
4
1
2
1
1
i
17
4
3
3
3
2
1
i
i
14
3
1
12
1
12
3
1
1
x
2
1
2
1
5
1
1
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
i
2
6
3
Parents Father Both Father
divorced in jail, parents desert
mother desert ing,
or
sepa in hos
ing mother
ill
pital
rated
5
5
1
3
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
5
1
4
1
1
1
3
1
3
1
1
1
Both parents living, whereabouts not
Status not reported— ..................................
1
1 Includes one family whose parental status was different at second return of child; namely, mother and stepfather were living in home, father was dead,
a In cases where one parent is reported as “ living,” the only information secured was that the parent was alive, but whereabouts was unknown.
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1
1
1
1
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
Parental status at commitment
FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
87
CASE SUMMARIES 13
No child should be removed from his home unless such a step
is necessary; he should be removed only temporarily if the conditions
which made removal necessary can be and are corrected. Once he
is removed the return to the home should be a part o f a carefully
thought out plan for the child’s welfare. Family conditions must
be thoroughly understood before such a plan is made. Returns and
subsequent removals are difficult experiences for the child. There
can be no justification for removing a child from a demoralizing
environment by court action and then returning the child later to the
same environment.
It is difficult to make a very definite comparison o f the home con
ditions to which children returned and about which the Children’s
Bureau agents obtained first-hand knowledge with those which
existed at the time o f commitment—in many cases years before the
investigation took place. The facts available from the study, how
ever, seem to indicate that many homes had shown little improve
ment between the commitment and the return o f the children, and
many had changed for the worse. One o f the bureau agents re
ported that conditions in only 1 out o f 20 homes visited by her
seemed better than they were at the time o f the commitment o f the
child, judging by the court records and other information as to
the earlier situation. In 4 o f the 20 homes the conditions seemed
decidedly worse when the child returned than when he was com
mitted.
There were some cases, however, in which the original situation
had not involved neglect or bad conditions and some in which the
character o f the home had changed between the commitment and
the return. For children from such homes there is need for tem
porary care o f a type not provided by the State school at the time
o f the study.
Sometimes children were returned to their own families just be
fore they reached the age limit o f 18 years, evidently with the in
tention o f making this definite arrangement for them before they
should cease to be under the jurisdiction o f the State. The combina
tion o f the ages o f a number o f the children and the length o f time
they had been wards o f the State before their return to their own
families points toward the possibility that some families applied
for such restorations because the children had become o f working
age. Many o f the stories which follow will suggest to the case
worker ways in which the family situation could have been greatly
improved if contact with the family could have been maintained
after the return o f the child to his own home.
In the course o f the study 36 o f the 53 parental homes to which
children had been returned, either on indenture or with full restora
tion o f parental control, were visited by Children’s Bureau agents.
O f these homes 19 were noted as detrimental to the welfare o f the
children. Briefly, the situation was as follow s:
Boy, 8 y ears: Father did not provide properly for the child.
Boy, 14 y ears: Parents dependent and intemperate, home insani
tary.
Girl, 17 years: Stepmother disliked the girl, no control over her.
12 T h e n a m e s o f fa m ilie s a n d ch ildren used in th e case su m m aries a re fictitious.
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8 8
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OOL
Boy, 11 years: Home morally bad, no supervision over child.
Boy, 11 y ears: Home morally bad, child neglected.
Girl, 12 y ears: Child neglected, mother feeble-minded.
Boy, 8 years: Mother sent to ja il twice, child neglected.
Boy, 13 years: Mother “ profane and treacherous,” child mis
treated.
Girl, 13 years: Mother irresponsible, child deprived of schooling.
Girl, 4 years: Mother’s character questionable, mother deserted.
Girl, 16 years, and boy 8 years: Bad living and health condi
tions.
Girl, 15 years: Mother feeble-minded.
Brother and sister, 2 years and 4 y ears: Children neglected, mother
feeble-minded, fam ily dependent.
Girl, 10 years: Stepmother mistreated child.
Girl, 2 years: Abused.
Girl, 5 years; boy, 8 y ea rs: Home morally bad.
Boys, 6 years and 9 y ears: Mother insane.
Boy, 5 years; girls, 8 years and 9 years: Children neglected, mother
feeble-minded.
Boy, 7 y ea rs: Neglected.
A t the time o f M yra’s commitment her father was in ja il for wife-beating,
and her mother was in the hospital recovering from the injuries inflicted
upon her by her husband in a drunken row. Myra was cared for by a neighbor
until she was sent to the State school. She was a year old at the time, and
was dirty, neglected, and covered with sores. The parents were notorious for
their immorality and intemperance and frequently had all-night parties at
their home often resulting in fights.
Less than three months after her commitment Myra was returned to her par
ents on an indenture contract. There is no record of conditions in the home at
that time.
W hen the bureau agent visited the fam ily Myra was still under the super
vision of the State school. The home life had greatly improved. The father
worked steadily, earning $18 a week, and owned the six-room cottage, dilapi
dated but neat and clean, in which he and the mother and four young children
were living.
The children were neatly dressed and well behaved.
Both
parents were-now temperate. The mother had developed serious trouble with
her feet and was unable to go out.
She did her housework kneeling or
crawling, but with Myra’s help she kept the home in good condition.
Myra, a frail-looking child of 11 years, was 17 pounds underweight and
frequently became ill. She was backward in school and repeated both the
first and the third grade. Her teacher felt that the poor progress was due
both to her poor physical condition and to too much work at h om e; the child
was always tired. She was shy and did not make friends readily, for she was
confined pretty closely at home because of her mother’s health and her home
duties. She washed dishes, made beds, cared for the chickens, dusted, and
swept. Although not kept out of school for work she had little time for
recreation.
After the death of her husband in 1914 the mother of six children made a
brave struggle to keep the fam ily together but finally broke under the strain
and was sent to the hospital for the insane. Linda, the oldest child, aged 13
years, then tried to keep the fam ily together on the $25 a month pension which
the mother had been receiving, but after two months this proved impossible
and the children were committed to Sparta. Nine months later, when the
mother had recovered, she found that all the children except Linda had been
indentured. Linda was returned to her, and the mother gave her a two-year
high -school and business training course and was anxious to do as much for
her other children. She was a hard-working woman and had saved money,
but she was induced to see that she could not support all five of the other
children and agreed to let them remain in their indenture homes until they
were released at 18.
Mr. Y had kept his fam ily of five children together, with some financial
help from private charities, but he finally appealed to the juvenile court to
have them cared for. The mother was immoral and had abandoned her family.
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C H IL D R E N
8&*
The father was an irregular worker and a heavy drinker. Four of the chil
dren were sent to the State public school, and the fifth was placed with rela
tives in the country, the board to be paid by the father through a private
relief agency.
Two years after her commitment to the State school and at the age of 13
Beatrice was indentured to her father. He never had a home, but for some
time she lived with him at cheap hotels. Later he placed her with relatives
who were known to be immoral, and she was permitted by the State school
to remain in that home, in spite of warnings by the relief society concerning
its character. After the mother in the home died the girl was boarded in
several families, being shifted from one place to another.
Beatrice had never been able to keep a job long because she was “ stupid
and did not work well.” In 1923 at the age o f 18 years she was earning $3
a week as nurse girl in a place which she had had for six weeks.
Her
employers, a teacher, and a social worker, all reported her feeble-minded;
she had left school at 15 years of age and was then in the fourth grade.
Annette was the only one o f a fam ily of seven children committed to the
State school. No reason was given for the commitment o f only one child.
Less than six months later Annette was returned to the parental home. Both
parents were shiftless, and the father was an irregular worker and a habitual
deserter. The children were undisciplined and mischievous, raced the streets,
and took things which did not belong to them. The home was a small cottage,
untidy, poorly furnished, and overcrowded. The mother wove rugs at home,
leaving the housework to the children, who were inadequately fed and clothed.
In 1917 the father was drowned, and the mother received “ mothers’ pension ”
aid until her remarriage four years later. Several times during this period
threats were made to withdraw the aid because the mother was thought to be
living with the man she later married. Annette remained in the home for
three years and was then returned to the State school as “ beyond control
and endangering the morals o f other children.” She was then 13 years old.
After an indenture to another home for a little less than two years, Annette
was again released to her mother and stepfather, who were then living in an
eastern State.
Between 1913 and 1915 the F fam ily were under the supervision of the poor
toaster, the health department, the probation department o f the juvenile
court, and a relief society of the city in which they lived. The six children
were inadequately fed and clothed. Conditions were bad, but the case was
in court eight times before the five older children were finally removed. The
father then threatened to leave the home, but upon being told that \f he did
so the children could never be returned, he decided to remain and try to im
prove conditions.
During the next six months the parents made fair progress, and the home
improved to such an extent that Julian, aged 6, was returned on an indenture
contract. The father was a good -steady man, interested in the home and de
termined to get his children back. But the mother was untidy, lazy, and dirty
and had little real interest in her children.
Two o f the boys had been legally adopted and could not be returned. The
parents and the two children lived in a four-room cottage, which was very
untidy and dirty. The father worked steadily as a day laborer, earning $21
a week. Julian, now 14 years of age, was in the first year o f high school and
attended school regularly. H is teacher marveled that a boy o f such intellec
tual tendencies should come from such a wretched home. He worked after
school hours selling papers, running errands, and picking up odd jobs, all of
which brought him enough for his clothing. He received encouragement from
his father, who was sympathetic and was proud o f him.
August’s older brothers were in the State industrial school on charges of
stealing and housebreaking, his mother was reported to be a prostitute, and
his father neglected August and the two younger children. When the mother
left home for a month the children were brought before the juvenile court as
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$0
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
neglected and were to be sent to the State public school, but the mother re
turned and was allowed to keep them.
About a year later the father was sent to ja il for six months for larceny.
The mother went out to work, and August, now 11 years old, became the leader
of the neighborhood gang o f boys. He rarely went to school, and he admitted,
not without pride, that he had stolen knives, marbles, candy, perfumes, skates,
a gun, a pipe, tobacco, and milk. The principal of his school considered him
vicious and incorrigible— a danger to the other children in the school— and
petitioned the juvenile court to send him to the industrial school. He was sent
instead to the State public school. W ithin two months the State school agent,
after visiting the home, recommended the return o f the boy to his parents. At
the end of two years, with a record of having broken into six houses, he was
sent to the industrial school for boys, where he remained for five years.
W hen he returned home he joined his brothers in alternately working and
loafing. He associated with what was described as “ a very tough crow d”
and was suspected of illicit liquor dealings.
Howard’s mother was in the habit o f going to dances at roadhouses, leaving
her children alone, while her husband spent the evenings at the saloon. In
July, 1913, the mother left home, taking the youngest child, 4 years of age, with
her. The father neglected the other children— -Howard, aged 8, and Alma,
aged 5— and they were sent to the State school. The father was arrested at
this time for drunkenness and disorderly conduct. He asked that the children
be committed for two months until he could make a home for them. In two
weeks, however, the mother returned home, and the children were returned
irom the State school on indenture contracts, just one month after their com
mitment.
The following year Howard attended school 80 % days out of 187 and failed
in the third grade. The next year he attended 158% days, Alm a attended
67 days and failed in the first grade. The second year she attended 136 days.
Her school record was very p oor; she was inattentive and apparently unable
to concentrate. She would forget overnight all that she had learned the day
previous.
The home was an old cottage, always dirty, in a dilapidated section of the
city. The father worked irregularly because of drink but could make good
wages. The children were allowed to run wild and were always on the streets,
for their parents took no interest in their training, recreation, or health.
In 1915 the fam ily left town taking the children with them, and neither the
State school officials nor the neighbors or town officials had heard from them
since.
Much to his foster parents’ surprise Arnold had turned up at their home at
Christmas, penniless, ragged, and dirty. H e had left them over a year before,
but he wanted to come back and work for them again. H is sojourn working
in a large city had been discouraging to him. He could not remember all the
places or the length of his various jobs.
During the year Arnold had been away from the indenture home he lived in
three rooms with his parents and five brothers and sisters. W ithin five years
his fam ily had lived in at least 11 different homes, from which they were put
out because of the filthy condition of their rooms or which they left owing
rent. They had been known to six social agencies since moving to the city
in 1918. A brother, 15 years o f age, was under the care of the Sparta school;
a sister of 23 years was in the State home for feeble-minded. Arnold also
showed very limited mental capacity; though he had had average school op
portunities he was in the third grade at the age of 15 years when his school
ing ceased.
When Arnold first entered his indenture home his habits, physical and
mental, were similar to those of the rest of his family. But with patient
and kindly help, during a period of five and one-half years, he had developed
into a fairly neat boy and a good farm helper. His foster father said that
before he was released the farm work could have been intrusted to h im -for
three or four days at a time. B ut during the year at his own home Arnold
had acquired rough language and filthy personal habits. H is chief- interests
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
91
were “ movies ” and girls. His habits and talk were so vile that his foster
parents threatened to discharge him unless there was decided improvement.
His work had become very poor, and he was unreliable. The foster parents
expected to continue their efforts to help him. They had started a bank
account for him and were aiming to teach him clean personal habits and
to make him again a good worker.
FAMILY HISTORIES SUBSEQUENT TO THE COMMITMENT OF
THE CHILDREN
NEED1 FOR CONSTRUCTIVE WORK WITH THE FAMILIES
The report has already touched on the problems incident to the
return o f children to their own homes, either through indenture by
the State school while they were still wards o f the State or on their
own initiative at the expiration o f the State’s jurisdiction. Atten
tion has also been called to the importance o f social work with fami
lies, not only that children may not be committed until everything
possible has been done to enable them to remain in their own homes
and that responsibility for support by the parents may be enforced,
but that the children shall not be returned to homes unfit to receive
them. In the absence o f such assistance it is to be expected that on
return many o f the children will be exposed to the environment
from which they were taken.
The county officials seemed to consider their responsibility ended
when the children had been removed. Unless some other serious
problem arose in the family no more attention was paid to it. No
effort was made to improve the home while the children were away
or to better conditions in any respect. When a child returned home,
therefore, he either fell into step with things as he found them or
became very unhappy and left, drifting about without a place that
he wished to call his home.
From the following brief summaries of family conditions subse
quent to the commitments o f children it will be noted that the State
did not require the parents to contribute to the support o f their chil
dren, even when they appeared to be financially able to do so. An
other policy which these case stories illustrate was the commitment
o f children “ piecemeal.” One or more children would be removed
from a fam ily; in a year or so, another child or two would be taken
by the State. There were also families where parents had separated,
giving up the children to the State; later they lived together again,
sometimes not interested in the return o f the children but in other
cases requesting their return and receiving back some or all o f the
children. In a few instances adoption had occurred by the time the
parents applied for the return o f the children.
CASE SUMMARIES18
A girl and three boys had been under the care o f the State for six
There were three older children in this fam ily who remained in the
home. When the children were committed both parents were living
home. They subsequently moved to another State and at the time
study were living on a small farm.
18 The names of families and children used in. the case summaries are fictitious.
52021°— 25------7
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
years.
fam ily
in the
o f the
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
The younger of two children had been a ward of the State for Six years 5
the older child was released on attaining the age of 18 years after having been
a ward for four years. A t the time of commitment the children were living
with their mother and stepfather, who later moved to another community.
The following agencies were reported to have dealt with the family, subsequent
to the commitment of these children: The State home for the feeble-minded, to
which one child was committed; the county poor farm, to which the step
father was com m itted; a State hospital for the insane, to which the mother
was committed; and the county poor commissioners, who had given aid to
the parents.
O f four brothers and sisters who were removed from the home of their
parents, one was adopted, two were committed to the home for feeble-minded,
and one had been indentured for six years. An older son of working age was
left in the home. The parents were still living in the same community m a
cottage on the outskirts of town, which the mother inherited from her parents.
The father was a day laborer, working on the streets. Two of the three
children who had been born since the four children were committed died of con
vulsions in infancy, and a 4-year-old child in the home could not talk. The
mother was again pregnant. The father had been idle all winter. The fam ily
was known to the police department. The county poor department gave aid
from time to time.
A boy who was committed from a home in which both parents were living
remained under care for eight years. Four children were left in the home.
During the time since the boy was committed the mother had had two miscarriages, one stillbirth, and at least one live birth, the child dying in infancy.
Two other children died— one had pneumonia and the other burned to death.
The family' had received county aid at intervals for 10 years. The mother had
been in poor health and had received free hospital care. A t the time of the
study a 15-year-old daughter who was venereally diseased was pregnant and
had been sent by the municipal court to a maternity home. The mother was
filthy and seemed stupid. The father worked in a laundry, earning $30 a
week; he was said to be subnormal mentally. The fam ily lived m a dirty,
neglected, four-room cottage, 1 mile outside of town.
A t the time of commitment of a boy and a girl their father had deserted,
and the mother was reported as being feeble-minded and morally depraved.
These children had been under care for eight and one-half years at the time
o f the study. Another child who was committed at the same time was later
adopted. W hen the children were committed the mother was put under the
guardianship of her parents. W ithin five years she gave birth to three ille
gitimate children, two of whom were committed to the State school and later
died
W hen she was pregnant for the fourth time she was committed to the
State home for feeble-minded, where the child was born dead. The mother
died later at the home for the feeble-minded.
A boy, who had been a ward of the State four and one-half years, was com
mitted from a home in which both parents were living. Eight children were
left in the home. The year the child was committed the parents moved to
another State with the eight children; they returned four years later. Three
children had been born since the commitment. The father could not earn
enought to support the family, and they were aided by the relief society
1916 to 1919. They boy was indentured by the State school to his own father
in 1913, six months after he was committed, but he was later sent to the State
industrial school for boys because of truancy. In 1922 a sister, aged 19 years,
eloped with a married man and was sentenced to jail on an adultery charge.
A t the time of the study the fam ily was living in a six-room flat in poor repair.
The home was dirty and untidy, and the building insanitary. The father
was unemployed, and three children were working. The mother and two
daughters were ardent workers in a religious organization.
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
93
Prior to their commitment three boys, who had been State wards for six
years, were living in the home of an uncle. The father had deserted, and
the mother was ill. Two years before this study was made the father, then
living in Oklahoma, made inquiry about the boys. The mother had been in
California for six years and was remarried. Her husband was reported to
have an income of $3,000 a year.
Because of the insanity of the mother and the divorce of their parents two
girls were committed to the State public school in infancy. They had been
living with the mother, who was later committed to the State hospital for the
insane. They remained under care for 11 years. Sixteen months after the
children were committed the mother was paroled from the hospital to her own
mother’s care. Arrangements were made with the father to pay $40 a month
to the mother for the support of the children, so that they could be returned to
her. To settle the matter the parents were remarried, and the children were
returned. Two months later the parents were arrested for disorderly conduct.
For. six years the parents alternately lived together and apart. Tw o more
children were born to them. Three years before the study the fam ily moved
away.
A mother and her six children were living in the county poorhouse, the
father having abandoned the fam ily. In December, 1915, five of these children
(four girls and one boy) were committed to the State public school and re
mained under care for three and one-half to seven and one-half years. After
commitment of the children the mother and the baby moved to another com
munity, and in 1918 they moved again to a large city. The mother found work
cleaning cars in a railroad shop and applied to have her children returned to
her. B y that time two of the children had been adopted, and two had been
released because they had reached the age limit. One was restored to the
mother. One released child had to receive treatment for a tubercular hip.
W hile the mother worked out the youngest child was neglected and under
nourished. The mother had kept roomers and boarders and had worked hard
to provide a home for her children.
The home of three children (two girls and a boy) had been broken by the
desertion of the father. The children were living with the mother at the
time of commitment. They had been under care for nine years. One child
from this fam ily had been adopted previously. About six months after the
children’s commitment the father tried to gain possession of the children.
A s he had failed to contribute toward their support for two and one-half
years, the application was denied, but the records do not show that any at
tempt was made to have him make payments toward their maintenance.
Two girls and a boy had been wards of the State for seven years. W hen
committed they were living with the father, the mother having died. Later
the father married a woman who had five children of her o w n ; three children
were born to this marriage, and all these eight children lived at home. The
fam ily had received some county aid. The father asked for the return of the
children after his remarriage, but investigation showed that the parents were
intemperate and the home was crowded. One child was returned to the home
temporarily but was mistreated by the stepmother and was returned to the
State school. The father was in poor health and probably had tuberculosis.
Neither the father nor the stepmother spoke English. They were living in a
poorly furnished but fairly clean rented house near the railroad tracks and
were letting rooms to foreign laborers.
The periodic insanity o f the mother was responsible for the removal o f three
boys and a girl from the parental home. Two o f these children were wards o f
the State for five years and three months, and two for almost six years.
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94
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
Twelve children had been born in this fam ily ; no information was secured re
garding the other eight. The mother was sent to the hospital for the insane
for the fifth time, when the children were committed to the State school. She
remained there about one month. Five months after commitment two of the
children (aged 6 years and 9 months, respectively) were returned to the home on
indenture and remained there. It was reported that the mother sometimes
became violent if a stranger talked to her.
A boy who had been a ward of the State seven years and eight months
was being cared for in a home other than his own at the time he was com
mitted. The father was dead. The mother remarried a few months after
the child’s commitment, and the couple moved to another State, where they
lived on a farm. The stepfather was said to be a ne’er-do-well. Two children
remained with the mother when the boy was committed to the State school.
One of these at the time of the study was with the mother and stepfather;
the other had been “ adopted out ” to people living on a near-by farm. Two
children had been born since the mother’s remarriage and were living with
the parents.
Both parents were living in the home from which three boys were com
mitted to the care of the State. They remained under care from five and
one-half to six years. One o f these boys was later transferred to the W is
consin Home for Feeble-minded. Three children were left in the home, but
two o f these (both girls) were committed two years la ter; after being under
care of the State school for some time, one was transferred to the Wisconsin
Industrial School for Girls, and the other to the institution for the feeble
minded. When visited the fam ily was living in a one-room shack on a farm.
The house was filthy. Both parents were heavy drinkers, though conditions
had apparently improved somewhat. The boy who had remained in the home
was becoming incorrigible. The fam ily from time to time had been in receipt
of public and private aid.
Four children (three boys and a girl) were removed from a home in which
both parents were living. They were under the care of the State from one
to five and one-half years. Another daughter, committed at the same time, was
over 17 years o f a g e ; when she was released from jurisdiction on reaching
18 years she returned to her parental home. Five children remained with
the family. Two years after commitment of the children to the State school
the family, moved to a large city. Here they lived in 11 different homes, being
evicted again and again either because o f filth or because they owed rent.
They had received help from neighbors and church societies and sometimes
from the county. Two girls were found to have a venereal disease. One of
them gave birth to a child out of wedlock and was in the house of correction
for a time before being sent to the Wisconsin Home for Feeble-minded. The
baby was placed for adoption. The eight people in the fam ily were living
in three rooms. The father was earning $21 a week as a night watchman.
The mother was subnormal mentally, and all the members of the fam ily had
been in poor health.
Following the death of the father as the result o f an industrial accident
two boys were committed to the State public school. They were under care
four and five years. About a year after the commitment the mother received
$3,000 compensation for her husband’s death. W ith this money she bought
a house, and she supported herself by taking in washing. She applied for the
return o f the children, but the State school refused her request. One o f the
boys committed to the State school was later transferred to the Wisconsin
Industrial School for Boys because he had run away. O f the children not
committed one was legally adopted, one was taken care of by friends in
another State, and the oldest boy remained with the mother until he, too,
was sent to the boys’ industrial school. The mother remarried two years
after the father’s death, and the fam ily was living in the house she had
bought. One child had been born to this couple. The 16-year-old girl, who
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
95
was cared for by friends in another State, had returned and was considered
to be very immoral. The mother was shiftless and had no control over the
children.
girls hhd a boy Who were under the care o f the State from three and
one-half years to eight and one-half years were removed from the home in
which both parents were living. A little over a year prior to the commitment
of the children five o f the children o f this fam ily had been placed in an
orphanage, and the mother and the youngest child had been sent to the poor
fa r m ; the father was serving a sentence in prison for assault. The home was
reestablished upon the father’s release, but conditions were so bad in a short
time that four of the children were committed to the State school. About a
year after their commitment application was made to the State board of control for their return to the home, the father being “ very much upset mentally ”
because o f the removal of the children. Two o f the children were then in
dentured to the parents, and another was returned to them two and one-half
years later. The fourth child had been adopted. The children were neglected
and the mother was committed to the Wisconsin Home for Feeble-minded!
from which she escaped and joined the father. About a year later she and
the father had a serious fight and were told to leave the county. The mother
and one child moved to the city, where the mother tried to get work. She was
arrested for adultery, and the child was sent to live with the father who was
maintaining a home in another State. A short time before the study was
made the mother began to keep house for a widower and his eight children.
AFTER CAREERS OF THE CHILDREN
AGES AT RELEASE AND TIME UNDER JURISDICTION
O f the 452 children indentured and not adopted 213 had been
released from jurisdiction and 15 had died at the time o f the investi
gation. O f the 213 nearly three-fifths (122) were released on reach
ing the legal age limit, 18 years. The others were released at various
ages, some being returned to the custody o f their families and some
transferred to other institutions. The following table shows the
ages at release and the length o f time under jurisdiction for the 213
children who had been released:
Length o f time the released children mere under the jurisdiction of the W is
consin State Public School and ages at release
Children indentured 1913-1917 who had been
released on A p r. 1,1923
Ages at release
N um ber of years under jurisdiction
Total
Less
than 2
Total
I year—
4 years.
6 years.
8 years.
9 years .
10 years
II years.
12 years.
13 years.
14 years.
15 years.
16 years.
17 years.
18 years.
19 years.
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213
1
9
6
11
12
21
11
12
122
3
2-4
72
2
1
2
1
4
3
4
7
8
6
3
33
7-9
86
45
10-15
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL,
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
97
release and to find out what their plans were; but because o f the
amount of work that had to be done by the two agents it was quite
impossible for them to give much help in this way. Several families
were reported as being distressed because it was nearing time for
the children in their charge to be released and the State agents had
not been around to talk over the plans for the children. Both foster
parents and children wanted this advice. However, it seems that
the agents visit the children ready for release much more frequently
than they used to. One instance is mentioned o f a girl who remained
in the indenture home three months after her time was up, but the
agent did not appear. No effort seems to have been made by the
school to find suitable work for the children who were released, nor
did the school have any means o f learning the conditions o f the
homes into which the children went—very frequently, as has been
said, their own homes, from which they had been removed because o f
bad influences.
One foster mother was worried about the probability that her
18-year-old foster daughter, who had been operated on for tubercu
lar glands, would return to her own home to nurse a sister ill with
tuberculosis. The girl’s term w*as almost up, but nothing had been
heard from the school and no place had been found for her.
»
A 17-year-old boy, seen in his indenture home by the bureau agent
four months before he was to be released, appeared very eager for
guidance, but no one had suggested to him any plans for the future.
His foster mother said that they were waiting until the boy became 18
years old to see what he wanted to do. He did not care to continue
in farm work.
The children sometimes spoke o f being “ bound ou t” and felt that
they were by no means free agents, looking forward to their eight
eenth birthdays for release from servitude. Guidance after the chil
dren are 18 and have left their indenture homes would be difficult.
CHILDREN WHO WENT BACK TO THEIR OWN HOMES
Somewhat detailed information was obtained in regard to the
histories o f 70 boys and 53 girls after they were released from the
jurisdiction o f the State; all o f them were 18 years or over at the
time o f the study. One o f the most interesting facts is the number
o f these children who resumed contact with their relatives. Exclud
ing 4 boys and 9 girls who were indentured to their own families
at the time o f their discharge, 28 boys and 29 girls returned to their
parental homes or to brothers and sisters with homes elsewhere.
The return to their original homes or to near relatives o f at least
three-fifths o f the children who were kept under the jurisdiction
o f the State school until they were 17 or 18 years of .age may indicate
one o f two things. Some children may have been removed from
homes to which it was perfectly proper that they should return,
the conditions that led to their commitment having been brought
about by misfortune and temporary poverty. On the other hand,
there was abundant evidence that many returned to conditions that
were dangerous. Possibly some separations o f parents and children
could have been avoided through aid to the mothers or through pres
sure upon the parents to compel them to fulfill their obligations
toward the children.
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CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL.
Many o f the children studied apparently gained little through the
aid given by the State except maintenance during a period o f years.
They had not been so trained that without some help they could seek
a higher level than their original environment. Sheer helplessness
and loneliness doubtless accounted for the return of some. I f con
tact with the families had been maintained, if constructive work had
been done with the families, and the return o f the child had been
carefully planned for, this reuniting o f the families would have been
the desirable outcome.
CONTACT WITH THEIR FORMER INDENTURE HOMES
Though a considerable proportion of the indenture homes failed
to come up to the standard that should be demanded it was not
unusual to find foster parents who had a very sincere interest in the
welfare o f the children temporarily in their charge. O f the 127
children whose after careers were followed, 82 boys and 28 girls were
known to have kept up some contact with former indenture homes,
not always their last homes. Almost half these children had re
mained in the indenture homes for a longer or shorter period after
their release from jurisdiction, several of them working for wages
1n the home or on the farm. Others—most o f them boys— remained
in the neighborhood working for farmers who had known o f them
through the indenture homes. In a number o f instances boys and
girls returned to their indenture homes for visits, kept up corre
spondence, brought the future husband or wife to become acquainted
with the family, and in other ways showed that many o f the inden
ture homes had taken the place in some measure o f the parental
homes that these children lacked.
EMPLOYMENT AFTER RELEASE
The State has not as yet assumed the responsibility for vocational
training or vocational guidance for these dependent wards. Not a
single child was found who, at the time o f release, had been trained
to do any but housework or farm work. So far as the Children’s
Bureau agents could learn, every child who had employment in
which he was happy and earning his livelihood had found it through
his own efforts without assistance from the State. A fter release
there was often a pitiful drifting from one job to another. Three o f
12 released children seen by one agent had definite desires for further
school training along technical lines, one wanting to be a nurse and
the other two wishing to study some mechanical trade. It would
be worth the cost for the State to work out a program for discovering
the abilities o f the children and, so far as practicable, providing the
necessary training. Such vocational guidance as is being provided
for all children in the more progressive city schools is especially
needed for as helpless a group as these State wards.
Definite information was obtained in regard to the occupations of
46 boys and 46 girls out o f the 13*5 children who were released from
the school’s jurisdiction when they were 17, 18, or 19 years o f age.
In addition to this number 1 boy and 1 girl had been committed to
an institution for the feeble-minded and 1 boy to a correctional insti
tution. and another boy had died,
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F IE L D
STUDY
OF
IN D E N T U R E D
99
C H IL D R E N
The following list shows the number of the released boys and girls
o f the ages mentioned who were engaged in specified occupations
on April 1, 1923:
Num ber
Occupations
of girls
Num ber
Occupations
of boys
Total_________________________
56
Total________________________•
75
Housewife (m arried)_____________
H ousew ork_______________l_________
Clerk in store_____________________
Factory worker____________________
Telephone operator________________
N u rse_______________________________
Nurse girl___________________
Laundry worker___________________
Student_____________________________
N ot reported________________________
21
Farm laborer______________________
Factory worker____________________
Arm y or Navy_____________________
Railroad employee______ _________
Lumber-yard w orker____ _________
Painter___________________1 _________
Mechanic— odd jobs_____ _________
Student_____________________________
No occupation____________________
Not reported________________________
26
7
6
5
2
2
1
1
1
10
8
3
3
2
i
1
2
2
27
O f the 46 boys whose work histories were known 26 were working
on farms on the date specified. However, 8 of the 26 had been on
their *>wn resources less than one year, and only 3 had been released
from the State’s care three years or more. The following table
shows the period since release for the boys working on farms and the
boys engaged in other occupations:
Period since release for boys working on farms and in other occupations
N um ber of boys—
Period since release
Less than 6 m onths.............. ..
6 m onths................................ .......
1 year____________________ _____
3 years.............................................
Working
on
farms
In other
occupa
tions
5
3
7
8
1
1
1
6
3
4
Num ber of boys—
Period since release
Working
on
farms
In other
occupa
tions
1
1
26
20
Nine boys who were doing farm work were still living in the
homes into which they were last indentured. Five o f the 9 had been
released less than a year, 3 had been out a year, and 1 had been out
two years. Nine o f the 26 boys were working on farms in the neigh
borhood o f their last indenture homes. One o f the other 8 was re
ported as working in the neighborhood o f his own home. One whose
parents were dead was working on a farm where he had been placed
by a parole officer upon release from a correctional institution.
Three had gone to other States, and 1 was working on a wheat farm
in Canada.
The greatest number o f the girls had married after their release
from the State school’s jurisdiction and were reported as housewives.
O f these 21 girls, 15 had one or two children. Only 7 of the 46 girls
whose occupations were reported were doing housework at the time
o f the study. For these girls the periods since release were as fo l
lows: 1, two months; 3, one year; 1, two years; 1, three years; and 1,
six years. The last mentioned was living with relatives and doing
their housework. Four o f the 7 girls doing housework were still in
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100
CHILDREN INDENTURED B Y WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
their last indenture homes. Only 2 girls had secured this type o f
employment independently of their indenture homes and relatives,
though for almost all the girls this was the occupation in which
training was supposed to be given in indenture homes. ^It is to be
presumed that the girls who were married after their release—
almost half the whole number—would find their experience in
household duties of help and that their standards o f living might
thereby be improved over the conditions from which they were
committed to the State school.
CASE SUMMARIES 14
The following case summaries tell something o f the after careers
of children released from the jurisdiction of the State school and
indicate the difficulties which they met in their first years as their
own masters. The need o f guidance and help in establishing them
selves after release is very evident. The stories of these children
show the results o f failure to give them training adapted to ¿heir
inclinations and abilities. Indenture-home experiences and ownhome conditions are included in order to give a picture o f the “ back
ground ” of the children when they went out to make their own way
in the world.
The mother of Martin and Bernard was found living in an old shack among
the hills. She had been supported by the town from the time the father was
placed in a State hospital for the insane until the two boys were sent to Sparta
by the court because the mother was unable to manage them. Afterwards the
mother received county aid for the smallest child. The father died, and four
years later the mother married again, the fam ily continuing to live in the little
house, for which they paid a small yearly rental.
This is the fam ily background of Martin, who at the time of the study had
been released from indenture about six months and was working in a small
lumber town. Like many of the released children, Martin had so varied a
work record that he could not remember the exact dates or places of his em
ployments, although he mentioned about six different jobs he had held; among
them were assistant cook in a lumber camp, piling copper in a copper mine,
mill worker, laborer on the roads, and sorting laths for a lath company. He
averaged three to five months in each job. H e was expecting to take up auto
mobile repair work.
For two months after his release Franklin worked on a farm near his in
denture home, earning $100 during this period. Then he secured work in a
factory, where he had been for three years at the time he was interviewed.
He was earning 58 cents an hour, and although he was only 21 years old he
had been advanced to the position of under foreman in one of the departments.
He was a reliable worker and a clean and ambitious young man and was de
termined to advance. For two winters he had been studying arithmetic and
chemistry through correspondence courses and had already enrolled in a course
in algebra for the coming winter.
Franklin was one of five children committed to the State school when the
mother died. He was 11 years old at the time that he was indentured to a
home where he remained for seven years. H is foster father had had several
children from the State public school, always applying for another when an
older child was ready to leave. The boy was very fond of going to school but
was permitted to attend only until 14 years of age. During his three and
one-half school years he was present only 335 days, or an average of about 96
days a year. Franklin believed that he was taken into the indenture home
only for work.
u The names of families and children used in the case summaries are fictitious.
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
101
When Harriet was sent to the State school at the age of 10 years her mother
had been in a hospital for the insane for five years, and the child was living
in the home of her father and a woman to whom he was not married. She was
placed successively in two unsatisfactory homes. In the first she was over
worked. In the second she was deprived of a year of schooling to wait on her
foster mother, a woman of about 70, who was too ill to be left alone. The
lonely, dull life of the child may easily be imagined.
Harriet’s foster mother died just nine days before her release from the
school. The girl remained in the home for a few days and then went to see
a married sister who lived in the home town. Two days later Harriet secured
work as a domestic. She was a very satisfactory worker, was well-behaved,
and showed an excellent disposition, but she was discharged because her em
ployer found that her body was covered with scabs, an affliction which she
had when first taken under the care of the State school and for which she had
never received proper treatment. She was in this home only two weeks.
She next went to live with another sister for a week, helping with the house
work and the care of the children. Then through the efforts o f the secretary
of the relief society she procured work in a shoe factory as a machine operator,
earning 16 cents an hour. She was desirous of fitting herself for as high a
standard of work as possible and had made arrangements to enter evening
classes.
Occasionally the boys and girls, on their release from the j trisdiction o f the State, remained quite contentedly with the people with
whom they were living at the end o f the period o f indenture. This
was a somewhat reliable sign o f a good placement.
Myrta’s mother and father were both taken to a hospital for the insane
within a period of four months. She lived with her seven brothers in a little
house on a farm. The farm was heavily mortgaged. The four older brothers
were abusive and mean to the younger children. Myrta gathered wild berries
to sell in order to get enough food for them to eat. When the youngest brother
became very ill with meningitis Myrta and her three younger brothers were
committed to the State public school. Myrta was indentured and has had but
one home— not at all a home of culture but one where there was comfort and
kindness. She said she loved the home—-she was not nagged at nor were any
heavy demands made upon her. She continued to live there after her release
and was receiving $5 a week for her work. She expressed a hope that it would
always be her home.
When children o f a family were reunited after release and com
bined to make a home, it was very likely to be found that the parent
who had given them up was forced to do so by poverty and formed
the nucleus for a successful home when the children had fulfilled
their indenture period and were in a position to be self-supporting.
The F ’s offer a fine example.
The F ’s were divorced, and the mother being unable to provide for all her
four children, Fanny, Alexander, and Stuart were committed to the State
public school. No further details of the home conditions at time of commit
ment were obtained.
Fanny remained in her first indenture home four years and was then trans
ferred to a second home on a contract to work. This fam ily consisted of four
adults and a daughter about Fanny’s age.
When she was 18 Fanny returned to her mother, who had moved to G and
was supporting herself by doing practical nursing. Because the girl had very
few clothes when she came home she did housework for a year to earn enough
to buy a complete new outfit. In 1920 she entered the nurse’s training class
at the G hospital and took the two-year course. Since then she has been em
ployed at the hospital, earning $80 a month and her maintenance. The hospital
is near her home, and she sees her mother daily.
Alexander, a fine-looking, straightforward lad of 20, was earning $120 a
month in a railroad freight office, where he had been employed for a year and
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102
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
a half. When he came home he attended an automobile school and had been
■promised employment by a motor company, but because of the industrial de
pression this promise could not be fulfilled. Alexander spoke very highly of
his foster parents, with whom he remained eight years. H e considered his
indenture experience a valuable asset.
i
Stuart, the youngest o f the three, had been released only a few months.
Upon returning home he worked in a store for a while, earning $60 a month.
He became ill, and an operation was necessary. On recovery he entered an
electrical course at the technical high school and expected to continue through
the two and one-half years of the course. During the summer vacation he
had gone to work on a farm near his former indenture home.
Stuart also had a very happy foster home and would have liked to continue
working for his foster father, who offered to send him to high school, but
his mother wanted him to come home.
. , .
.S '
The home to which these children returned was a neat, pleasingly furnished
flat. A ll the children contributed to the support of the home and were proud
and happy to be together.
Six of the B children had been committed to the State public school in
1916 because of the unfitness of their home. The father was an irregular
worker and intemperate. The mother was immoral and neglected her home
and children. The home situation did not improve even after the parents
were relieved of the responsibility of all but one child, a 14-year-old boy.^ The
father died soon afterwards, and the mother left the community to go to a
larger place, where she was soon arrested for soliciting and sent back to her
county of residence. She had been cared for at the county farm ever since.
She did fairly well as cook there, but could not be trusted in the community
and had to be closely watched.
Two of the six children had already returned to their old home community.
After release from the jurisdiction of the State Louise remained in her
indenture home for three months, but she then went to her maternal grand
mother to be near her brothers. Her foster mother thought the true reason
to be that the girl craved the companionship of boys and girls of her own age,
which was not available in the neighborhood of the indenture home. Her
two older brothers— one a young man 23 years of age who had never been
committed to the State school and Raymond, a released boy supported her
for a short time, but later she secured work in a factory. She had been un
happy at this work and was learning to be a telephone operator, earning
$9.50 a week. Her supervisor said she was very slow to learn and seemed
stupid. She was undersized and pale and was taking treatments for goiter.
Louise had wanted very much to go back to her own people, but after two
months with them she wished herself back in her foster home, where she liked
her work about the farm and where she was not always getting into trouble
because of being slow. This foster home— a large farm — where she had lived
for six years, was a very satisfactory one. The family consisted o f the foster
parents and three grown sons. Louise was treated as a member o f the fam ily
although she had been taken to help with the work. She was retarded in her
school work and disliked going to school because she was older than most ot
the children in her grade. During her three months’ stay after release she was
not paid wages, but she was given money and clothing upon leaving.
Raymond was in his first foster home only three weeks, because the foster
parents were unable to break him of an unpleasant habit and refused to keep
him. H e was transferred directly from that home to another farm in an ad
joining county, where he remained for four years. H is experience there was a
happy one. H e was taken to help with the farm work and assist in the care
of the foster parents’ own child, but his tasks were not too bard for him. He
also returned to his grandmother’s home after his release. H is older orotner
secured several jobs for him— errand boy in a country store, driving a delivery
wagon, and working in a factory. H e thought he was tired o f farm work, but
he did not like his new employments, and so four months later he got a place
as farm helper, where he was paid $35 a month and maintenance. H e ha
been there for nearly two years and was content.
.
A t the time o f the study the three older children were working. toward re
uniting the fam ily, and the oldest son had been “ fixing up
the old fam ily
home for them.
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FIELD STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
103
The day Em il was released from his six-year indenture he left his foster
home and went to visit at the home of his foster sister for a few days, and
then went on to the home of his father and stepmother in a large city outside
the State. H e secured work at $14 a week in the shop where his father was
employed. He had a disagreement with his father, and as soon as he found
another job which paid him a dollar a week more he quit this place. The second
job was as clerk in a hardware store; he remained there only three weeks.
His third experience was as clerk and delivery boy in a grocery store where
he earned $17 a week. H e was no longer living in his father’s home and
found that practically all his earnings were spent for board and room. After
two months in the city he decided to return to his indenture home but had
only money enough to take him to the home of his foster sister. H is foster par
ents, who were fond of him but had been a little too easy with him, learned of
his plight and paid his expenses to their home. During the week he was with
them he annoyed his foster mother by his impudent manner and irregular
hours. H e remained away until 3 in the morning, and once all night after
securing money from the foster parents to go to a show. The foster mother
felt that she could not keep the boy at her home under such circumstances,
but she and her husband tried to persuade him to remain in the community
and do farm work. By this time, however, he was anxious to return to the
city and get another job at factory work. The foster parents had given him
money for expenses, and he was planning to leave for the city the day after
the Children’s Bureau agent saw him.
Vincent was committed to the State school when he was 13 years o f age.
The reasons given for his commitment were “ delinquency and incorrigibility.”
Although the fam ily, in which there were eight children, had been receiving
county aid Vincent was the only one o f the children sent to the State public
school.
Within six months of his commitment the fam ily moved to Iowa to live on
a rented farm, and Vincent was permitted to return to his parents on in
denture. In 1916 they came back to Wisconsin to the same community and
for three years were constantly aided by a relief society. The boy’s conduct
did not im prove; while in Iowa he had been committed to the State industrial
school because o f truancy.
During the six years before the agent’s visit Vincent had never kept the
same job more than six months. His employers at one factory, where he had
worked about fifteen different times, stated that on a new job he would be
interested and do good work for about one month. H e continued to live at
home and was supposed to pay $5 a week board, though often he paid none
for months at a time. The dwelling, a six-room flat, was in an insanitary con
dition. There were six other children in the home, and the father was un
employed at time o f the agent’s visit.
Adolph had been in an indenture home about four months when he was
ordered released to his fa th e r .. The boy spoke well o f the foster home and
expressed himself as fond of his foster parents. They were prosperous and
well-thought-of people. After his release to his father at the age o f 13, Adolph
lived with relatives on a farm. Nine months later he returned to his father
and attended school for a little over a term, completing the seventh grade.
Then for a year he worked in a lumber camp. Three years before the study
he returned to his former indenture home, and for nine months he worked on
the farm for w ages; but in the winter he again worked in a logging camp,
getting $40 a month and his board and room. In the summer he went back
t ° farm work, at which he did well if some one worked along with h im ; other
wise he was^ shiftless and slow. After that he repeated his seasonal program
o f working in the woods until spring and farming during the summer.
Six years before the study Adolph’s mother had deserted the family, leaving
t“ e father with three small boys. The paternal grandparents then cared for
the children, assisted by financial contributions from the father. Two years
later the father disappeared, and the support he was giving ceased. The
grandfather died the next year, and the grandmother had to appeal to public
and private charity. One boy, aged 10, had died during the previous sum m er;
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
104
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
the investigation showed that the two remaining children were not receiving
proper care, and they were committed to the State school, for neither parent
could be located. Five months later the parents were reunited, and the juvenile
court ordered the children’s release to the father. The mother soon deserted
for the second time. A t the time of the bureau agent’s visit the grandmother
was caring for the father and Adolph’s 12-year-old brother.
As a timber
scaler the father could earn from $65 to $85 a month, plus his room and board,
if he worked regularly, but for a year he had been running a bar in a “ softdrink ” hang out for lumberjacks. H e was literally drinking himself to death
on “ moonshine,” and he made little more than enough for his own food.
Adolph, who was only 18 at the time of the study, expressed a keen interest
in his younger brother and hoped to be able to give him a good education. H e
said he did not wish to continue farm work indefinitely. He wanted to study
mechanics and was planning to save for a course in that subject.
Elsa’s first placement was unsatisfactory both to the child and to the foster
parents, and she remained in the home only two weeks. The child’s second
indenture was to her aunt and uncle, with whom she continued to live for about
two years after release. During this time she worked for the most part in a
basket factory, where her average wage was about $10 a week. When work
at the factory was scarce she did housework, at which she earned $3.50 a week
and her keep. W hile she lived with her aunt after release she always helped
with the housework and paid $2 a week for board. She walked to and from
the factory, 2 y2 miles away.
In May, 1920, Elsa was married to a young farmer in the community. A t
the time of the agent’s visit they were living on their own farm— a valuable
piece of land. They had a large, well-built house, and good barns. There were
two babies, both girls, one 2 years old and the other 3 months. Elsa had a
younger sister come to live with her as soon as the latter was released, and
she had also made a home for her father.
Minna was fortunate in having lived for almost five years, until her release
over a year before the study, in only one indenture home. Immediately after
her release she married a man o f respectable family, who was proving to be
a good husband and “ a good provider.” They were living in two rooms, which
Minna was keeping neat and homelike.
Minna’s foster mother was an able woman, who owned and ran a summer
boarding house. She had always been kind and helpful to the girl and sent her
to school until she was 16 years old, when the girl had completed the first
h alf year of high school at a near-by town. But Minna did not apply herself
in school and she ran out nights, so her foster mother was obliged to bring
her home where she could watch her. Minna had also made purchases and
had them charged to her foster mother without the latter’s consent. The
foster mother said that Minna’s word could not be depended upon, although
she tried hard to break the child o f her lying habits. The girl had told guests
that she was overworked and deprived of schooling, though there was abso
lutely no foundation for these stories. A former teacher and other people
suggested that Minna’s lively imagination often accounted for her prevarica
tions.
Minna’s early life made her feel that she had just grounds for resentment
against her parents. Her father was an old, broken-down man, who drank and
was unable to hold any kind of job. H er mother entertained men, among them
a colored man who lived on the floor below theirs, and this gave rise to scan
dalous rumors in the neighborhood. The home w as always filthy and the chil
dren neglected, and they were often seen in a saloon with their mother and
various men. The fam ily had been aided by the county poor superintendent
and a local relief organization. When the mother had to go to a hospital for
an operation the children were sent to a home for the friendless and later
were committed to Sparta. After her release Minna very unwillingly visited
her mother in answer to a letter stating that she was ill. The girl seemed
to have settled down very satisfactorily in a small community near her foster
mother, and she regretted her actions while living in her indenture home.
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FIEID STUDY OF INDENTURED CHILDREN
105
After he was released from indenture and before he was 20 Morris married
a girl who six months later bore him a child. The fam ily was living with the
wife’s people, and Morris worked as a farm laborer, but last winter he worked
very little, and they lived on the wife’s folks. H is foster father had given him
work driving a team, but he wore out the horses on sleigh rides at night. He had
..also received financial aid from the foster parents, but they refused further
assistance, and his visits to them ceased. When his foster mother suggested
that he should get work on the city streets he replied that he was “ no pick
and shovel man.”
V
Morris’s after career is quite in line with all that had gone before. He had
been committed to the State school at the age o f 11 because his father was
unable to provide for his children and they were neglected. A sister was
committed at the same time and was soon adopted. Over seven years later
two children of 6 and 4 years were also committed. Their home was reported
as dirty and neglected, and the mother as “ lavishly dressed” and in the
habit of using profane language. The parents were said to “ fight all the
time ” and to live a “ wild life.” A t the time of the study the father worked
in a mill and the mother was employed in hotels and restaurants.
Morris was soon returned from his first indenture home. A t the age of 12
years he was indentured to a second home where he lived for nearly four
years. These foster parents had a prosperous 200-acre farm 2 % miles from
the county seat, and they owned a sizable herd of fine stock. They had no
children and took Morris to be brought up as their own son. “ W e wanted him
to be on an equality with other children,” said the foster mother, “ and we
may have spoiled him.” It is certain that his history shows lack of firm con
trol by the foster parents.
The foster mother said that they had given the boy a watch, a pony, good
clothes, and a room to himself, but that he was impudent to her, that he was
expelled three times from school, and that he often stayed away from home all
night, sometimes with a girl. The boy declared that he had been kept out of
school to w o rk ; there was no hired help on the farm. After being returned to
the State school as incorrigible he was taken back by the foster parents be
cause “ he cried all the time ” and they were “ sorry ” for him. A few months
later, when he was 16 years of age, he again ran away. This time he got
jobs in a city and spent part of his time with his own parents. After nearly
a year he returned to his indenture home voluntarily.
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CONCLUSION
STANDARDS OF CARE FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN
The adequacy o f the Wisconsin system o f caring for the State’s
wards must be measured by the generally recognized standards as
to what a State program for dealing with dependency should include.
These may be stated briefly as follow s:
A. Prevention o f dependency, neglect, and degeneracy. This re
quires sound and healthy community as well as individual life. It is
referred to here not because it is completely possible o f attainment
nor because its accomplishment is the responsibility o f a child-caring
agency but because agencies that are engaged in the care o f the chil
dren who become public wards should realize the responsibility of
working back to the source o f the difficulty and of cooperating with
both public and private agencies in the eradication o f the causes of
dependency.
B. Preventing the unnecessary removal o f children from their
families by social case work with the families, by “ mothers’ pen
sions,” etc. It is a generally accepted principle in modern child-car
ing work, public or private, that children should not be removed
from their own homes on account o f poverty alone. Conditions
which require at least temporary removal o f the children but which
may be eradicated by family rehabilitation should not be allowed to
become permanent.
C. For children who must be taken from their own homes provi
sion in family homes or in institutions according to the needs and
characteristics o f the individual child. The steps involved in de
termining what treatment is needed may be summarized as follow s:
1. Thorough investigation o f the family history, the child’s home,
and his community environment.
2. Careful study of the child himself—his physical and mental
condition, his habits, and his personality.
3. Determination, from this investigation and study, whether a
child should be placed in a family home or in an institution, and
selection, after investigation, o f the home or institution o f the type
to meet his needs.
4. Except where the welfare o f the child clearly dictates the con
trary, family relationships should be maintained. Brothers and sis
ters should be kept together, contributions by the parents toward the
support o f the children should be required, and interest in the other
members o f the family should be encouraged.
Most o f the children who become State wards are seriously dis
advantaged because o f their physical and mental condition, either
inherited or the result o f bad environment or both. Very few o f
them present only problems o f poverty. These neglected children
need very specialized training and protection. Since they will be
dependent in the future upon their own resources they should be
given every possible opportunity to acquire training that will fit
106
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
CONCLUSION"
107
them for definite vocations and should not be placed in homes
where they will be given merely shelter and maintenance for a few
years. To carry out such a program there must be resources for
different types o f care. Placement in free homes and in homes for
possible adoption should be used especially for those children who
are to remain under care for a considerable period o f time and
whose parents or other relatives are not likely to be able to provide
for them in the future. Boarding homes are used for the care o f
children who require special attention and for whom free care
is not available under proper conditions; temporary care is fre
quently secured in this way, as well as care o f physically or men
tally handicapped children. It is generally accepted by authorities
on child care that children under 5 years o f age should not be kept
in institutions but should be provided for in boarding homes or
free homes. I f the child is o f legal working age occupations should
be selected with a view to their permanent vocational value, and
the children should be placed under wage contracts which define
the work the child is to do and require a payment that is consistent
with his earnings. Such children may be either regularly employed
on a full-time basis or working part time while attending school.
For children who need special training or who require treatment
because o f mental difficulties or physical handicaps and for children
who present conduct problems institutions in which modern scien
tific treatment is available may be a necessity. It is, however, the
experience o f child-caring organizations that many children o f this
type can be even more successfully cared for in family homes
carefully selected because o f their special fitness to deal with such
children.
The ideal for the children whose care and protection must be
assumed by the public is the realization o f the principle o f equal
opportunity. Like other children they must have good physical
care, an education, wholesome recreation, and normal family life.
Work in the amount that is wholesome and educational for all
children should be required o f dependent children— and no more.
They should not begin to be self-supporting before the age at which
the law allows more fortunate children to begin work. In general,
because o f an unfortunate physical or social inheritance, these
children require a longer period of preparation for citizenship
than do more fortunate children.
Free homes and boarding homes are increasingly regarded as the
best agencies for carrying out such a program.
The necessary boarding or free homes or institutional care or
special educational opportunities will not be available for these
children unless the resources in the State for such care are syste
matically developed through education of the public and careful
investigation o f the homes that are offered. A certain number o f
free homes can always be found into which children will be taken
because the families really want to give homes to the children, but
a considerable proportion o f the children who must be received
as wards o f the State are not o f the type suited to free-home care.
The younger children and those whose parents are not likely ever
to claim them can be placed in free homes for adoption, but this is
52021°— 25------ 8
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108
CHILDREN INDENTURED B Y WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
impossible in the case o f many older children, especially handi
capped children. I f the State arranges for the payment o f board
for children it is possible to secure special types o f homes for those
presenting particular needs and requiring an unusual amount o f
care. Boarding-home care is therefore coming to be accepted as a
necessary resource in provision for dependent children.
There has been much difference o f opinion as to the desirability o f
a central State institution giving temporary care to children who do
not require special treatment or training before they are eligible for
placement in family homes. The weight o f opinion would appear to
be in favor o f the policy o f caring for these children in boarding
homes or in local institutions, such as detention homes, for the short
periods before placement in family homes instead o f transporting
them to a central State institution, provided the necessary study o f
the child’s mental and physical condition can be locally made.
A fter the decision has been made as to the type o f placement that
is needed for a child, and the child has been so placed, it is still
necessary for the agency to keep in touch with the child. The foster
parents should be informed by the placement agency as to such part
o f the child’s history as is necessary for proper care and training.
His present physical and mental condition must be explained to them
so that they understand from the beginning the challenge o f existing
handicaps and are prepared to cooperate with the agency in overcom
ing them. Contact between the agency and the foster family through
a trained and experienced social worker is helpful in connection with
various health and behavior problems that may arise at home and at
school and in making available community resources for recreation,
vocational guidance, and education along special lines. Removal
from the foster home will occasionally be necessary even with the
most careful preliminary investigation. This can be done promptly
with little emotional cost to the child only if the social worker really
knows both child and foster parents and is a frequent visitor in the
family.
The extent o f the placement work by State bureaus caring for de
pendent children, especially in boarding homes, is shown by the fol
lowing examples: The division o f child guardianship o f the Massa
chusetts State Department o f Public Welfare has under its guardian
ship in the course o f a year more than 6,000 dependent children. More
than four-fifths o f them are placed in family homes; 12 per cent o f
the whole number are in free homes, 61 per cent in boarding homes,
and 11 per cent in wage homes.1 New Jersey, with almost 3,000 chil
dren under care o f the State board o f children’s guardians on June
30, 1922, provided for 36 per cent o f them in free homes and 64 per
cent in boarding homes.2 The Ohio Department o f Public Welfare
in its report for the year ended June 30, 1922, gives the following
statistics for its child-care division for the fiscal year: Number of
children in free foster homes, under supervision o f children’s bureau,
1,415 (I I per ce n t); number of children at board in private families,
575 (29 per cent).3
’
^Annual R ep o rt o f th e D ep a rtm en t o f P u b lic W e lfa r e , M a ssa ch u setts, fo r t h e ye a r en d
in g N ovem ber 3 0 , 1 9 2 2 , pp. 1 5 - 1 6 .
B oston , 1 9 2 3 .
2 R ep ort o f N ew Jersey S ta te B oard o f C h ild ren ’s G u ard ia n s fo r th e Y e a r 1 9 2 2 p 7
8 F ir s t A n n u a l R ep ort o f th e D ep a rtm en t o f P u b lic W e lfa r e o f th e S ta te o f O hio, fo r th e
y e a r ended J u n e 3 0 , 1 9 2 2 , p . 4 8 ,
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ÔÔÎfCLÜSÏÔK
ioô
THE STATE’S PART IN A CHILD-WELFARE PROGRAM
From being limited to the administration o f State institutions and
activities in accordance with definite statutory provisions the work
o f State boards—whether concerned with health, industry, agricul
ture, or charities and corrections—has come to include the develop
ment o f higher standards and the improvement of conditions
throughout the State. Such boards have undertaken the task o f edu
cating public opinion and helping the local governmental units, pri
vate organizations, and individuals in the State so to conduct their
activities for the common welfare that the conditions which formerly
called for intervention by the State may be prevented or ameliorated.
Wisconsin has furnished a most interesting illustration o f this new
ideal in the work o f its State industrial commission. The aim o f this
commission has been the education o f the people o f the State to the
end that employers and employed may be united in a common pro
gram for improving industrial conditions. The official body in the
field o f charities and corrections—the Wisconsin State Board of
Control—has not yet undertaken activities similarly looking toward
prevention and general improvement o f conditions. The work of the
board o f control so far has been concerned in the main with the
management o f State institutions for the criminal and delinquent,
the insane, the feeble-minded, the dependent, and the physically
handicapped.
In 1922 there was organized, as a part o f the work o f the State
board of control, a juvenile bureau, which was created in accordance
with a law passed during the previous year. This law authorized
special activities for children, but the work o f the bureau was Very
much limited during its first year because of a small appropriation.
The staff provided consisted only o f the director o f the division, one
field worker, and one stenographer; A t the end o f the first year the
bureau was, in effect, discontinued, because of a drastic decrease in
the salary for the director and a change in the policy o f the State
board of control concerning the work. In July, 1924, a reorganized
juvenile department o f the Wisconsin State Board o f Control began
its activities.
In States where the child-caring work is done by a State agency
rather than by an institution this agency is a division or bureau o f
the State board o f charities or public welfare, and its duties usually
include the supervision o f private agencies and institutions and the
administration o f other work authorized by law. The centraliza
tion o f all the child-welfare activities o f the State in the State board
has great advantages over division o f responsibility. I f the public
child-caring work is to be properly related to the general child-wel
fare program of the State a serious study o f community conditions
and cooperation in preventing children from becoming wards o f
the State are essential.
In developing the child-welfare program in a State due attention
must be given to the local conditions in that State, particularly
to the interrelation between the work o f the State department deal
ing with the care and protection o f children and the work that is
being carried on by other State and local agencies. In Wisconsin,
for example, the activities o f the State board o f health and the State
department o f education relating especially to the physical and men
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CHILDREN" INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
tal condition o f dependent and delinquent children should influence
the program o f the State board o f control. Some State departments
have given special attention to the development o f juvenile courts
and probation. Particular emphasis has been placed on the promo
tion o f this work in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Pennsyl
vania, Oregon, and California. Where the law gives the State wel
fare department some authority over the administration o f aid to
dependent children in their own homes one o f its important func
tions is cooperation with the local agencies in the raising o f the
standards o f administration o f this aid. New York, Pennsylvania,
Massachusetts, and North Carolina are doing especially noteworthy
work in this field. The organization o f local child-welfare or socialwelfare activities develops local responsibility for. the prevention o f
dependency and means valuable help in local case work. Among the
States that have led the way in developing county welfare boards are
North Carolina, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and
Virginia.
The work that is done by a State agency can not be divorced from
+v!e QC
/ lv l^ieTs °.^ social agencies and institutions in different parts o f
the State. It is impossible to segregate a section o f the problems o f
dependency, delinquency, or defect for which it shall be the special
duty o f the State to make provision. Some time in the history o f
each case the community is usually in a position to control the situa■ ? ' •i ¡arg? proportion o f dependent, delinquent, and defective
individuals who boconiB wards o f the Stato do not remain under
its control permanently but return to the communities from which
they came only to become again the concern o f the local authorities
and agencies. Because o f this interdependence o f public and private,
^tate and local agencies in handling social problems State boards
dealing with problems o f public welfare are recognizing the responsibility for developing means o f cooperation.
In the care o f its dependent wards a State has an opportunity to
develop standards in the scientific treatment o f dependency and ne
glect, calling to its aid all the resources o f medicine, psychiatry
orthopedic treatment, habit training, education, and training for
future occupations. With this program o f treatment must be asso
ciated a program o f community organization for child care and pro
tection and leadership in the eradication o f conditions that breed
dependency, crime, and mental and physical incapacity.
THE WISCONSIN SYSTEM OF PLACEMENT OF ITS DEPENDENT
WARDS
PREVENTION OF DEPENDENCY
The study o f the Wisconsin system o f care for the dependent wards
o f the State showed little evidence o f a program o f work for the
prevention o f dependency. Many children were committed to the
btate school because their parents were poor or were unwilling to
support them. Social work with the families was needed in these
and m other cases, but the local agencies to do this work were lack
ing or there was slight cooperation between them and the agencies
concerned in the child’s commitment—the court and the State school.
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CONCLUSION
111
INADEQUATE STAFF OF THE STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL
The staff o f the school has been inadequate for the placement work
that has been necessary. The school has only two field agents, and it
is utterly impossible for two persons, however efficient, to give to 500
children in all parts o f the State, many o f them in very inaccessible
localities, the amount o f individual attention that is indispensable.
This fundamental difficulty must be borne in mind in connection
with all the other limitations that may be mentioned.
PLACEMENT WITHOUT ADEQUATE INFORMATION
Many instances were found o f placement without regard to the
histories o f the children. Frequently information which could be
secured and which was necessary for scientific social treatment was
not known either to the court or to the State school. Examinations
of the children were inadequate, so that many were placed as normal
who were below par physically or mentally, or both. In these cir
cumstances the foster mothers could not be given the full information
that they should have with regard to the children, but there were also
cases in which they were not given such information as was available
in the institution records.
LACK OF HOME-FINDING SERVICE
The State school has no service by means o f which it can find the
kind o f home suited to the individual child. Instead o f being able to
utilize free homes, adoption homes, boarding homes, and wage
homes according to the needs o f the children, the institution has had
only one kind o f foster home available—the one from which an ap
plication for a child was received. Most o f these were on farms. A
large proportion o f the children came from urban homes, and many
had no liking for farm life and left for the town as soon as they were
released from the school’s jurisdiction. Many physically or mentally
handicapped children were placed on indenture who should have been
placed in an institution for treatment or in boarding homes under
arrangement for special care. The Children’s Bureau agents found
that conditions in almost half the 540 indenture homes for which
there was an apparently adequate basis of information were not
such as to be o f benefit to the children placed in them.
AMOUNT OF SUPERVISION INADEQUATE
Visits to the indenture homes could not be made by the school
agents oftener than twice a year. Inadequate preliminary investiga
tion and study o f the individual child and the long intervals between
visits after placement furnished no basis for preventing some serious
maladjustments. The children placed by the school have been taken
from unfavorable environments, and thorough study of each of
them is necessary not only before placement but at frequent intervals
while the child is under care to see that he is surrounded by influ
ences that will offset his early disadvantages.
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112
CHILDREN" INDENTURED B Y W ISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
SCHOOL ATTENDANCE
The indenture contract , usually required that the children attend
school at least 120 days each year until they were 16 years o f age.
A ll the public schools in the communities in which indenture homes
were visited had school terms longer than the period required by;
the contract. Consequently when the foster parents fulfilled the
letter of the contract the child was deprived o f 8 to 12 weeks o f
school each year. Seventy-one per cent o f the 570 school records
available showed an annual attendance o f 120 days or more and
19 per cent showed attendance o f as much as 160 days, the usual
school session. A s a result of irregular attendance many o f the
children fell below grade, grew to dislike school, and were glad o f
any excuse to remain out. Some children were indentured into
homes 3 or 4 miles from the nearest school. The families were sup
posed to make general reports to the State school concerning the
children’s school attendance; but the State school agents did not
visit the schools, nor was any arrangement made for receiving
regular reports from the teachers as to attendance and progress
made.
It was also found that the practice o f placing the children in farm
homes, to most of which high schools were inaccessible, made school
ing beyond the grades impossible for most of the children, and for
those children who completed the grades before they were 16, the
contract requirement that children should attend school until they
were 16 was in effect nullified. A few families had arranged for a
foster child to attend high school in a neighboring town; but since
most o f the families in taking a child on indenture had in mind the
value o f his work, they were not generally interested in making it
possible for the children to receive schooling beyond the minimum
nor in providing opportunities to develop special abilities and to
meet special needs.
It could not be said that these wards o f the State were being given
the special advantages needed to overcome the handicaps o f earlier
training or lack o f i t ; a large percentage were not receiving educa
tional opportunities equal to those which the public was providing
for other children.
TRAININGS FOR WORK
It was expected that in the farm homes the girls would receive
training in household duties and the boys in farm work, which they
would apply after their release from the school’s jurisdiction. It
was found, however, that a considerable proportion o f the children
left the farm homes and went to the towns as soon as they were free
to do so, and while the farm work was educational, many o f the chil
dren were peculiarly in need o f definite trade training.
The Wisconsin Industrial Commission has a division o f apprentice
ship, with a staff consisting of a supervisor and two deputies, and
the necessary clerical assistance. In contrast with the limited voca
tional experience of the dependent wards o f the State, children in
68 different trades have received supervision from the apprenticeship
division o f the industrial commission.4
4 T h e A p p ren tic esh ip L a w w ith E x p la n a tio n s .
W isc o n sin , issu ed J u ly 1, 1 9 2 2 .
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B u lle tin o f In d u s tria l C om m ission o f
■CONCLUSION"
113
It is not intended to imply that this apprenticeship for children in
industry might be generally used in connection with children inden
tured by the State school for dependent children. There is a funda
mental difference, of course, between the two types o f cases in that
a majority o f the State school children are under working age and
the State is concerned with much more than teaching them trades.
A consideration o f the apprenticeship law becomes apt, however, in
connection with State wards who are in the higher age groups and in
relation to the help that might be given the children when they are
released from the jurisdiction o f the school.
LACK OF ASSISTANCE TO CHILDREN UPON RELEASE
There has been no provision for any form o f vocational guidance
or even advice and assistance in securing work for the benefit o f
those who were released from the school’s jurisdiction at the age o f
18. This is especially regrettable in view o f their meager educa
tion, the lack o f vocational preparation other than farm work, the
unfavorable conditions that many o f them had met in their foster
homes, and the general lack o f helpful connections which these chil
dren had.
ARE THE EXISTING SHORTCOMINGS INHERENT IN THE INDEN
TURE SYSTEM?
In most o f the States, including Wisconsin, where the law still
permits binding out or indenture o f children, the earlier form o f
apprenticeship has been greatly modified, so that the public official
responsible for the placement can withdraw a child from the home
into which he has been indentured, i f conditions make it desirable,
and a family is free to return a child if the arrangement is not satis
factory. Under such a system, with an adequate apropriation for a
larger staff it would be possible to* place more emphasis upon the
preventive side through greater cooperation with other agencies.
It would also be possible with an adequate staff to make a careful
study o f the child and his history and to inform the foster mothers
o f the results, and to make thorough investigations and arrange for
adequate supervision o f foster homes. Without the abandonment o f
the indenture system parents can be made to bear part o f the State’s
financial burden for the support o f their children, a higher educa
tional standard can be set up and enforced, and additional facilities
can be provided for treatment of physically handicapped children
in the institution. But even under the best system o f administration
indenture would make possible only free-home or wage-home place
ment. It does not give sufficient range o f choice in treatment.
The main difficulties inherent in the indenture system are that
it is too apt to supply the home with a child rather than the child
with a home and that the variety of methods o f care which the
best modern child-caring work demands is not available. Only
children mentally and physically suitable for placement were sup
posed to be committed to the school when the Wisconsin indenture
system went into effect, and the idea o f the system was and is pri
marily placement for work. When the family expects a child to
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114
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
earn his “ keep ” it is likely to be thinking of what it gets out o f the
child, whereas the modern point o f view in dealing with children has
come to be the welfare o f the child. Even for the normal children
who were originally supposed to be committed, therefore, the inden
ture system was wrong in its approach to the problem and at its
best was too rigid, too unvarying to meet individual needs.
This drawback to the indenture system has been intensified in
recent years by the change in the types of children committed to
the State school. Even in the early days it was not found practica
ble to limit the intake strictly to normal children; but then the care
o f the mentally or physically handicapped child was not a part of
the regular program o f the school. Now the school is authorized
by law to receive any child in need of care—even temporary care—
and the children received as State wards present many complex
problems o f mental disorders, physical handicaps, conduct diffic.nlties, etc.— a group very different from that anticipated when the
State school was established. With this change in the problem it
is still more evident that greater variety in methods o f care is re
quired for these State wards—homes in which the children’s board
is paid in return for special care, wage homes where arrangements
could be made to fit special cases, homes in both urban and rural
communities, homes where vocational training o f definite types
would be available, etc. Child-caring agencies with high standards
are protecting the interests o f their wards after they go to work,
in a much more definite way than is done in the application o f the
indenture method.
Moreover, indenture, even in its modified form, is a direct in
heritance from the old form of binding out. The stigma attached
to binding out remains as a psychological factor of some import
ance, even though the terms o f the indenture arrangement may have
been greatly improved. This psychological factor is o f importance
in connection with the attitude o f mind o f the general public, o f the
families receiving children undef this arrangement, and of the chil
dren who know that they have been placed under contract. The
whole relationship o f the State, the foster parents, and the child
rests on a false basis.
The interests o f the children would seem, from this study, to re
quire not only increased resources for better administration o f the
present system but a fundamental change in the system and the
development o f a comprehensive child-welfare program which to
be properly coordinated requires centralization in the State board.
CHANGES REPORTED AS ALREADY IN PROGRESS
The Children’s Bureau agents have not revisited Wisconsin since
this study was completed in 1923, but the director of the juvenile
department o f the State board o f control reports that some changes
have been made since that time and others are contemplated which
will give better care to the dependent children of the State. Some
o f these have been noted in footnotes in this report. The following
statement received from the director will be o f interest to both the
general reader and the citizens of Wisconsin:
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CONCLUSION
115
This survey and the report of its findings by the Federal Children’s Bureau
as well as other studies made in the State, convinced those interested in thé
welfare of children that more appropriate care should be provided for children
directly under the guardianship of the board o f control and for those coming
to the attention of private or public agencies. In order to develop a state
wide program the juvenile department was therefore reestablished in July
1924, by the board of control. Since that time efforts have been made to create
an intelligent^ sympathetic interest on the part o f the public as to the care
dependent, delinquent, and neglected children should receive. One o f the first
matters to be given consideration was child placing— in boarding homes, homes
for adoption, or in homes on indenture by the State public school at Sparta
and by the private agencies licensed by the board o f control. The board of
control desires that through the juvenile department standards for child
placing be developed. The same standards are to be. carried out at the State
public school at Sparta as are being used by the best private child-placing
agencies in Wisconsin. Although these standards have not yet been accepted
in detail by all the agencies, the underlying principles have been agreed to.
It is understood that the child and his fam ily must be studied before place
m ent; that the proposed foster home must be carefully investigated before
placement; and that there must be adequate supervision after placement. At
present the ultimate responsibility rests upon the juvenile department for see
ing that all the placements made by the State school, as well as by the private
agencies, are wise ones, as each placement is reported to the juvenile depart
ment and reinvestigated by its field worker before the placement is approved
by the juvenile department.
The present members of the board of control, the staff o f the juvenile de
partment, and the superintendent of the State public school at Sparta have
all been appointed since the Children’s Bureau study was made. This means
that those who are now responsible for the placements at Sparta were not in
office at the time the children included in this survey were placed, nor were
they in oflice at the time the study was made. It is true they have not had
time to put into operation their entire program. The carrying out of this
program is also delayed by the fact that sufficient appropriations have not been
made to employ an adequate staff. It is hoped that the present legislature will
correct this situation so that at least one well-trained social worker will be
added to the staff o f field workers at the State school.
Much has been accomplished within the last two years. Every child in an
indenture home has been visited several times, and those who were in the
most unsatisfactory homes have been replaced. A trained physician is em
ployed on full time at the institution. Thus each child is given careful physi
cal attention ; mental tests are given each child before placement and no
feeble-minded child is placed. Adoptions are not approved until the child
has been in the foster home for at least six months. I t is expected that
much more will be accomplished in the next few months. The hope is that
if funds are available a case worker, well trained in child welfare, may be
added to the staff, whose special duty will be to make a careful social inves
tigation of the child upon his admission to Sparta. This will include a study
o f his home, his fam ily and his relatives, and the community, to ascertain
whether it is possible to return the child to his fam ily, or relatives, after the
conditions necessitating his commitment have been readjusted either through
the efforts of this worker or through the social agencies in the community.
In the meantime the child will be studied by the resident physician, by the
school principal and teachers, by the house mother, and by the superintendent.
This same social worker will make a careful survey of the State" for good
foster homes. Then with her knowledge of the child’s background, and physi
cal, mental, and social traits, she with the superintendent will try to place
him in a home suited to his needs. The other field workers will then be held
responsible for the continued supervision of the child in the home. Again
the social workers in the communities will be asked to help with this super
vision.
Because Wisconsin is a rural State there are few social agencies in most
of the counties to_ assist the field agents in readjusting the social problems
found in the families these children come from. The juvenile department
and the State conference of social work are making an effort to arouse the
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116
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL.
social consciousness of the people throughout the State with the hope that more
social agencies will develop, having as their purposes the conservation of the
fam ily, the enforcement of laws, and close attention to recreation.
But there is much more to be done. The public must be aroused; better
community social work will have to be developed; laws will have to be more
strictly enforced if the child is to be kept from being permanently committed
to the State school and if there is to be social readjustment of his fam ily so
that he can be returned by the school to his home. The board of control
recognizes that the greatest need is a revision of the laws pertaining to
child welfare and is therefore making plans to have appointed a commission
to draw up a children’s code, with the expectation that much o f the present
legislation which is harmful to real social work for children will be repealed
and that Wisconsin can take its place with the other States having a modern
children’s code.
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Appendix A.—-MOVEMENT OF THE WISCONSIN STATE
PUBLIC SCHOOL POPULATION
Children admitted to the Wisconsin State Public School, children in the insti
tution at the end o f the fiscal year, children placed on indenture, children in
indenture homes, and children adopted, from -1887 to 1 9 2 4 1
Fiscal years3
1887.........................................................
1888_____ ______ _____ ________
1889____________________
1890....................... .................
1891________ _____
1892._............................... .................
1893_______ ______ _______
1894_____________________
1895___________________________
1896______ _______ ________ _________
1897-_____ ____________________
1898_________________ _
1899______ ________ __________
1900_______________
. .
1902........... .................
1 9 0 3 --....................................
1904_______ _______ __________
1905______________
1906________________
1907_______________________
1908_______________
1909________________
1910__________
1911_____________
1912..........................
1913_________
1914____________
1915_______________
1916.......... .......................
1 9 1 7 ..___________
1918_________________
1919________ _____
1920................ ................ ..............
1921.....................................
1922......... ...................................
1923__________ _______ ________
1924................................. ................
Children
Children
in in
in insti
Children tution at Children denture Children
placed
on
homes
at
admitted
end of
adopted3
indenture end of
fiscal
fiscal
year
year
137
164
137
128
100
185
155
222
217
159
204
113
170
130
114
85
94
127
120
160
145
195
201
122
153
163
164
188
213
257
237
176
153
136
124
148
209
199
97
184
232
289
278
210
213
266
283
225
159
141
156
147
156
140
144
146
146
147
150
180
168
176
163
144
123
167
159
172
212
215
252
256
281
332
375
393
17
66
48
56
96
108
177
221
262
321
249
211
(4)
(<)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
185
245
253
233
294
289
243
208
113
111
78
61
60
106
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
367
617
764
950
1,199
1,340
(4)
1,038
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(<)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(4)
« 484
(4)
(4)
(4)
i
1
3
4
4
11
16
10
5
24
16
1
j
1
I
1
J
l
/
133
}
106
l
/
TA
|
107
71
48
W
|
130
>
103
l>
TT
77
>
49
6
8
1 Figures from printed reports of the State school, from data obtained by Children’s Bureau agents in the
course of the study, and from correspondence.
2 Until 1900 the fiscal year ended September 30; since then it has ended June 30.
* Available only for periods for which figures are given.
4 Not available.
« M ay 1,1923.
119
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Appendix B.— LAWS AND LEGAL DECISIONS
LAWS RELATING TO WISCONSIN STATE BOARD OF CONTROL
[W iscon sin . S ta tu te s , 1 9 2 3 , ch. 4 6 ]
46 01. Organisation.— { ! ) To secure the just, humane, and economical
administration of the laws concerning the charitable, curative, reformatory,
and penal institutions of this State there is her^ ^
three members, one of whom shall be a woman, which shall be known as th
‘‘ State Board o f Control of Wisconsin.” The board shall be a body corporate
and in addition to the functions expressly authorized by law, shall have all
powers necessary to the full and complete performance thereof. Such board
s S l have a seal, with the words “ State Board of Control of Wisconsin,”
and such other design as the board may prescribe, engraved thereon by which
it shall authenticate its proceedings, and o f which the courts shall take judicial
n° ( 2 ) Immediately after the passage and publication o f this act' the governor
shall, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint such members
but ¿o member so appointed shall be qualified to act until so confirmed. The
term of the first appointee shall terminate on the first Monday of February,
1921 * the term of second such appointee shall terminate on the first Monday
of February, 1928 ; and the term of the third such appointee shall terminate
on the first' Monday in February, 1925. In January, 1921, and biennially
thereafter there shall be appointed and confirmed in the same manner one
member for the term of six years from the first Monday in February of jsuch
year. Such member so appointed shall hold his office until his successor is
appointed and qualified. Any vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the
governor for the unexpired term, subject to confirmation by the senate, but
fn y such appointment' shall be in full force until acted w o n by the senate.
Each member shall receive an annual salary o f five thousand dollars and his
actual and necessary .traveling expenses incurred in the discharge of his oflicial
duties, ^ c h
person who accepts such appointment shall take and file the
offieia
member of said board shall devote his entire time and attention
(5) The governor may at any time remove any member for inefficiency,
neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. Before such removal he shall give
such member a copy of the charges against him, and shall fix a time and place
when he can be heard in his own defense, which shall be not less than ten
days thereafter, and such hearing shall be open to the Public. I f be shall
be removed, the governor shall file in the office of the secretary of state a
complete statement of all charges made against him, with a record of all
proceedings, and his findings thereon.
.,, .
_rc(
C6 ) The members first appointed under this section shall, within ten days
after their appointment and confirmation, meet at the capitol and organize
bv electing one o f their members president, who shall serve until the second
Mondav in February, 1921. On the second Monday of February m each oddnumbered year the members shall meet at the office of the board and elect one
of their members president, who shaH serve for two years and until his suc
cessor is elected. A majority of said members shall constitute a quorum to
transact business, and any vacancy shall not' impair the right of the remaining
members to exercise all the powers- o f the board.
(7)
The board shall at their first meeting and at each biennial meetm&
thereafter appoint a secretary, fix his compensation, and prescribe his duties.
[Stat. 1917, secs. 561, 561a, sub. 1 - 3 ; 1919, ch. 328, secs. 4, 5 ; 1919, ch. 403,
secs. 1 -3 .]
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APPENDIXES
121
46.02. Board meetings and supplies.— Said board shall be provided with a
room or rooms in the capitol as its office. The board shall be supplied with
all necessary furniture blanks, blank books, and printing. I t may subscribe
tor not more than two hundred copies, in any one year, of the proceedings of
til© national conterence of charities and corrections, and may purchase books
or periodicals for its library at a cost not to exceed one hundred dollars Der
annum. [Stat. 1917, sec. 561b; 1919, ch. 328, sec. 6 ; 1919, ch 403 sec 2 ]
46.03. General functions of the hoard.— The said board sh all: (1) Maintain
and govern the Wisconsin State Hospital for the Insane, the Wisconsin
Psychiatric Institute for the Treatment of Insane Persons, the Northern H os
pital for the Insane, the Central State Hospital for the Insane, the State
piison, and the State prison farms, the Wisconsin State Reformatory the
Wisconsin Industrial Home for Women, the Wisconsin Industrial School for
Roys, the Wisconsin Industrial School for Girls, the Wisconsin School for
the Blind, the Wisconsin Institute for Blind Artisans, the Wisconsin School
.for the Deaf, the State public school, the Wisconsin Home for the Feeble
minded, the Southern Wisconsin Home for the Feeble-minded, the Wisconsin
Í tate_ Tuberc,ulosis s.aiiatorium, the Northern State Tuberculosis Sanatorium
the State tuberculosis camp, and all other charitable, curative, reformatory
and penal institutions that may be established or maintained by the State.
Supervise and direct the management and affairs and preserve and care
for the buildings, grounds, and all other property pertaining to said institu
tions, and promote the objects for which they are established.
.. (3) „T ak-e and hold in trust, whenever the board may deem the acceptance
thereof advantageous, all property, real or personal, transferred in any
manner to the State to be applied to any specified purpose, use, or benefit per
taining to any of said institutions or the inmates thereof, and apply the same
in accordance with the trust.
(4) On or before July first in each year, make full and complete in
ventories and appraisals of all the property o f each such institution, which
snail be recorded and so classified as to show separately the amount kind and
value o f such property.
(5 ) Make and cause to be printed regulations for its own government the
management of said institutions, and the accomplishment of the purposes for
which they are established.
. (6) v is it and inspect each o f said institutions at least once in each month
either as a body or by some member or members, and ascertain whether the
officers, teachers,, and employees therein are competent and faithful in the
discharge of their duties, all inmates properly cared for and governed all
accounts, books, and vouchers properly kept, and all the business affairs
properly conducted.
(7) Establish and maintain a system and prescribe forms for keeping the
books, accounts, and records, and for rendering reports o f all said institutions
which shall be as nearly uniform as is practicable.
( 8 ) A t the close of each fiscal year, cause all the financial transactions and
accounts o f or relating to said several institutions to be thoroughly examined
by an accountant, pursuant to the provisions of chapter 15 of the statutes - and
said accountant shall submit a full and detailed report o f such examination to
the governor as soon as practicable.
(9) A ll persons committed to any reform school, prison, parental school
industrial school, home for dependent children, or other place of confinement
or commitment, shall be allowed spiritual advice and ministration from any
recognized clergyman o f the denomination or church to which they may
respectively belong or did belong prior to their commitment or confinement
which advice and ministration shall be given within the place of confinement
in such manner as will secure to such persons the free exercise of their
religious belief and under such reasonable rules and regulations as the officers
In charge of such place shall prescribe.
(10) The State board of control may give such instruction i n ‘ occupational
therapy at such institutions under its control as it shall deem wise ; such
instruction shall consist of vocational advice and technical training necessary
for the proper qualifications of the inmates of such institutions for present
and future usefulness.
[Stat, 1917, sec. 561 j, sub. (1) to (7) 1131
r341
1919’ ch’ 78’ sec- 10 !
eh. 328, sec. 7 ; 1919, ch. 332, sec 1 ;
1919, ch. 671, secs. 13a, 15a ; 1919, ch. 703, sec. 35 ; 921, ch. 150.]
46.04.
Officers and employes of the hoard.— { 1 ) The board shall appoint a
secretary, who shall be a competent and experienced bookkeeper, and shall
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122
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
keep its books, records, and accounts under such regulations as it may prescribe.
He shall keep a separate book account with each department of the several
institutions, including all items purchased or sold on account thereof, and
the products thereof, with an estimate of their value, in such manner as to
show the relative cost and expenditure on account of each department, and
the income thereof; and in case the income or profits o f any department shall
be made to contribute to the income or support o f any other department of
any such institution the books shall show the fact.
(2 ) The board may appoint and fix the compensation o f such agents and
inspectors as may be necessary to inspect and investigate all institutions
subject to its inspection and investigation, such agents and inspectors to
make a report of such inspection and investigation to the board. Such agents
and inspectors shall be exempt from the provisions o f chapter 16 o f the
statutes.
(3) The board shall appoint and employ one or more officers to be known
as field officers who shall carefully look after the welfare o f all persons,
paroled from any state penal institution or from the house o f correction of
Milwaukee county, or placed on probation pursuant to section 57.01 and sub
ject to its control as provided in section 57.02.
(4) The State board o f control shall establish a department o f that board,
which shall be known and designated as the “ Juvenile department,” which
department shall exercise such of the powers and duties delegated by law
to the State board of control as such board shall prescribe for the proper
care, education, protection or reformation of dependent, neglected, mentally
defective or delinquent children. The State board of control shall appoint
a director and such assistants as m ay be needed to perform properly the
work of such department. The State board of control shall fix the compensa
tion of such director and o f such assistants, who shall be paid for their
services in the samé manner as other employes o f said board are paid, and
shall be reimbursed their necessary traveling expenses. [Stat. 1917, sec. 561k,
564 sub. ( 9 ) , 4 7 3 4 f; 1919, ch. 328, sec. 8 ; 1921, ch. 531.]
46.05.
Officers and employes of institutions; police p ow ers; complaints.— (1)
The board shall annually appoint for each hospital for the insane a superin
tendent, one assistant physician, a matron, and a stew ard; for the State re
formatory a superintendent, an assistant superintendent, and a stew ard; for
the central State hospital, the school for the blind, the school for the deaf, and
the industrial school for boys, each a superintendent and a steward; for the
industrial home for women a superintendent and a steward, who shall be
w om en; for the institute for blind artisans, the industrial school for girls, the
State tuberculosis sanatoriums, and the State tuberculosis camp, each a super
intendent; for the State public school, and the homes for the feeble-minded,
each a superintendent, a steward, and a m atron ; and for the State prison a
warden, a steward, a deputy warden, a chaplain, and a matron. The duties o f
said officers shall be fixed by said board, except as otherwise provided by la w ;
but the board may combine the functions and duties o f superintendent or war
den and steward in one person at any o f said institutions except the State hos
pital for the insane.
(2) The salaries o f the officers o f said institutions, i f not otherwise fixed by
law, shall be fixed by the board of control; but no salary shall exceed twentyfive hundred dollars per annum, except the salaries of the superintendents o f
the Northern Hospital for the Insane and the Wisconsin State Hospital for the
Insane, which shall not exceed thirty-five hundred dollars per annum. The
steward o f each institution shall execute and file an official bond in such sum
and with such sureties as said board may prescribe. Said board shall also re
quire any other officer or other person having the possession or custody of any
money or property belonging to the State or any institution under its control
or supervision to give an official bond, and from time to time to renew the
same.
'
^
(3) Except as otherwise provided by law, the board shall fix the number
and prescribe the duties and compensation o f subordinate officers, teachers,
and employes in each such institution,' who shall be appointed by the officer
in charge subject to approval by the b oard; and may remove or discharge any
officer, teacher, or employe who shall be guilty o f any malfeasance or misbe
havior in his office or employment or o f neglect or improper discharge of duty.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
( 6 ) Said board shall investigate all complaints against any of the institutions
hereinbefore designated by name, or against the officers or employes thereof;
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A P P E N D IX E S
123
m ay summon, compel the attendance of and swear witnesses, and compel the
production of books and papers ; and may at any time, on its own initiative,
investigate the affairs of any such institution in such manner as may seem
best. Any written communication or complaint addressed to such board or
either of its members by any inmate, employe, or subordinate o f any such insti
tution shall be forthwith forwarded as addressed without the breaking of the
seal or the reading thereof or other interference by any officer or employe o f
the institution from which it shall be sent. [Stat. 1917, secs. 561g, 5611 sub.
( 8 ), ( 9 ), (1 0 ), 5611, 564, sub. (1 0 ), 609; 1919, ch. 328, sec. 9.]
46.11.
Transfer Oif inmates.— (1) Whenever any inmate lawfully com
mitted to any State or county penal, reformatory, curative, or charitable in
stitution shall be removed in a case authorized by law from any one o f these
institutions to any other o f them by the State board of control the superin
tendent o f the institution from which any such removal is made shall notify
the court or judge who committed such inmate of the fact of such removal.
(2 )
The board may designate in the order o f removal, the superintendent
of the institution from which or to which such removal is made or any other
discreet citizen, to make such removal. The person so designated shall re
ceive no mileage, or per diem for making such removal, but shall be paid his
actual and necessary traveling expenses and those of the person removed and
of any necessary assistant, to be adjusted by the board and charged to the
current expense fund of the institution’ from which such removal is made ;
but if some county is chargeable with any portion o f the expense of main
taining the person so removed such county shall be charged therewith, and
such charge shall be adjusted in the same manner that charges for the main
tenance o f such inmates are adjusted. [Stat. 1917, sec. 561jj ; 1919, ch 328
sec. 17.]
'
*
46.115. Board, of control, patients, applications.— The board of control of
the State of Wisconsin shall make application to the board o f regents of the
university, for the admission to the State of Wisconsin General Hospital of
any inmate o f any State institution under the board of control, or of any
person committed to or applying for admission thereto, who is afflicted with
any disease, malady, deformity or ailment, which can probably be remedied,
or which can be advantageously treated by proper medical or surgical carej
at the State of Wisconsin General Hospital, in all cases where such person
cannot receive proper care at the institution to which he has been committed
or to which he has made application for admission. Said application shall
be accompanied by the report of the physician of said institution or by a
physician appointed by the board of control, in the same form as reports o f
other physicians for admission of patients to said hospital. The board of
control shall pay to the regents of the university for the treatment of such
patients at the same rates charged the county for county patients, and the
expense of such treatment and of transporting' such patient to and from the
hospital shall be paid out of the appropriation for operation of the institution
from which said patient is sent. Said board may, when necessary, send an
attendant with such patient and pay his traveling expenses in like manner
[Spl. S. 1920, ch. 17.]
46.12.
Sterilisation o f defectives.— (1 ) The State board o f control is hereby
authorized to appoint, from time to time, one surgeon and one alienist, of
recognized ability, whose duty it shall be, in conjunction with the superin
tendents of the State and county institutions who have charge of criminal,
insane, feeble-minded, and epileptic persons, to examine into the mental and
physical condition of such persons legally confined in such institutions.
(2 ) Said board of control shall at such times as it deems advisable submit
to such experts and to the superintendent of any of said institutions the
names of such inmates of said institution whose mental and physical condition
they desire examined, and said experts and the superintendent of said insti
tution^ shall meet, take evidence and examine into the mental and physical
condition o f such inmates and report said mental and physical condition to
the said State board of control.
(3 ) I f such experts and superintendent unanimously find that procreation
is inadvisable it shall be lawful to perform such operation for the prevention
of procreation as shall be decided safest and most effective ; provided, however,
that the operation shall not be performed except in such cases as are author
ized by the said board of control.
52021°— 25------9
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124
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
46.13. Wassermann tests and other chemical examinations.— The board o f
control is hereby authorized to make necessary arrangements with the labora
tory of the psychiatric institute of Mendota for the giving o f the Wassermann
test to any person confined in any State or county institution, and o f making
such test for any practicing physician o f this State who makes application
therefor in behalf of any resident o f this State, free o f charge. Arrangements
shall also be made with said institute for the making o f chemical examina
tions of the cerebrospinal fluid for any practicing physician o f this State free
o f charge. [Stat. 1917, sec. 561 jn ; 1919, ch. 328, sec. 20.]
46.14. Reports from State institutions.— (1 ) The officer in charge of each
State institution under the control of said board shall make a monthly report
to the board, comprising an itemized statement o f all receipts and disburse
ments, and of the daily number o f inmates, officers, teachers, and employes,
and the wages paid to each.
(2 ) On the first day of July in each even-numbered year the officer in
charge of each such institution shall make a report to said board, covering
the preceding biennial fiscal term, comprising a summarized statement o f the
management o f every department of the institution and o f all receipts and
disbursements, and such other information as may be required by the board.
[Stat. 1917, sec. 56 2 ; 1919, ch. 328, sec. 21.]
46.16. General supervision and inspection.— (1 ) The State board o f control
sh all: (a ) Investigate and supervise all the charitable, curative, reformatory,
and penal institutions of every county and other municipality, and all indus
trial schools, hospitals, and asylums, organized or existing or which shall be
oi^anized under chapter 86 of these statutes, and familiarize itself with all
the circumstances affecting their management and usefulness.
(b) Visit the poorhouses in the State, and ascertain how many persons o f
each sex, how many insane, idiotic, deaf and dumb, or blind persons, and
how many children are supported in each, a t what cost, and under what cir
cumstances affecting their health, comfort, morals, and education; collect
statistics of the number and cost of support, and other important facts, o f the
poor relieved at public expense outside of poorhouses; and collect such other
information as may throw light on the adequacy and efficiency o f existing
laws for the support and relief of the poor, and the causes operating to
increase or diminish pauperism in the State.
(c) Visit the jails, municipal prisons, houses of correction, workhouses,
and all other places in which persons convicted or suspected o f crime or
insane persons are confined, and ascertain their sanitary condition and
arrangement for the separation o f the hardened criminals from juvenile
offenders and persons suspected of crime or detained as witnesses; collect
important statistics concerning the- inmates, their treatment, employment, and
reform ation; and collect information o f all other important facts and con
siderations affecting the increase or diminution o f crime and insanity.
(d) Visit each o f the institutions hereinbefore referred to and inquire into
their methods o f treatment, instruction, government, and management o f
their inmates ; the official conduct of their trustees, managers, directors, super
intendents, and other officers and employes; the condition o f the buildings',
grounds, and all other property pertaining to said institutions, and a ll other
matters and things pertaining to their usefulness and management; and rec
ommend to the officers in charge such changes and additional provisions as it
shall deem proper.
(e) Inspect each such institution annually, or oftener i f necessary; and,
whenever directed by the governor, make special investigation into their past
or present management, or anything connected therewith, and report to him
the testimony taken, the facts found, and conclusions thereon.
( f ) Inform the governor, and the district attorney of the county in which
the institution is located, o f any violation of law disclosed in any investiga
tion of any such institution.
(2 ) A ll trustees, managers, directors, superintendents, and other officers or
employes of the institutions aforesaid shall at all times afford to every member
o f said board, or its agents, unrestrained facility for inspection o f and free
access to all parts o f the buildings and grounds and to all books and papers o f
such institutions, and shall give, either verbally or in writing, such informaton as the board may require ; and if any such person shall offend against this
requirement he shall forfeit not less than ten nor more than one hundred
dollars. Each member of the board is authorized to administer oaths and to
take testimony, and may cause depositions to be taken pursuant to law. A ll
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125
A P P E N D IX E S
expenses o f such investigations, including fees of officers and witnesses, shall
be charged to the appropriation for the State board of control. [Stat 1917
sec. 564, sub. ( 1 ), ( 2 ), (4) to ( 8 ), 56 5 ; 1919, ch. 328, sec. 23.]
'
’
LAW RELATING TO WISCONSIN STATE PUBLIC SCHOOL
[Wisconsin Statutes, 1923, ch. 48]
48.19. Object.— The object of the State Public School shall be to care for and
educate physically, intellectually, vocationally, and morally such dependent or
neglected children as may be placed therein until such times as temporary or
permanent homes can be procured in good families for those who are eligible
£ ia-7^ng'
sec- 573 > 1919, ch. 614, sec. 2 9 ; 1921, ch. 540 ]
,i
entitled to admission; retu rn ; h om es; fees and expenses.—
( ) The board of control shall admit to said school such children under 16
a£ e wh0 sha11 he found dependent upon the public for support
(2) Chddren received into the school, unless sent therefrom as hereinafter
provided, may, in the discretion of the board, be retained until they are 18
years of age and may, in the discretion of t|ie board, be retained after they
thZ™ reAnhwedV M t age antl1, a home or other suitable place is provided for
them. Any child may be returned to the county from which it was sent to
said school on its attaining the age of 18 years, or be returned to the custody
lts Pareats’ 9r he declared competent to make its own contracts, or at anv
time after its admission be transferred by the board to some other more appro
priate institution. On the return of any child to the county pursuant to law
the guardmnship of the board of control shall cease and the child so retu rn S
shall become a charge on the county from which it was sent. Said board shall
forreturnffirsSchnchild0f
P° ° r ° f ^
Pr°Per C0Unty itS reasons in writin^
(3 ) Every three months the superintendent of said State Public School shall
reiiort m writing to the board of control the names o f the inmates remaining
m the school, together with such data as will acquaint the board with th f
reason why each child has not been placed in a home as well as such addi
tional information as the board m ay desire regarding the changes occurring
during the preceding three months.
,
s
-o 11-
t0 any
cT ? 61i f ati0n paid
Person for taking any child to the State
Public School shall not exceed the sum of two dollars per day and the necessary expenses and no charge shall be made for more than one person escorting
each child ; and whenever practical a woman shall be employed as such escort
-mi'7iny clllJ^0Un(ier 3 years of age, and for all girls over 5 years of age
[Stat
430 444C]
’ 1919> Ch' 614, SC°- 3 0 ; 1921’ Ch- 4291 SMS 5
2 3^1921, c h i
. 4^ -21- G^P P le^ . chJ;l^ren-— W In addition to the classes of children received
at the State Public School pursuant to section 48.20, there shall also be received
any children under 21 years of age, residents of this State, who are crippled
or deformed m b ody; provided said crippled or deformed conditions are amenabie to cure or amelioration by surgical or other means. A ll existing provisions
o l law for the commitment, care, disposition, control, and discharge of the
inmates o f said school and all restrictions upon their admission, except as
cMldrerf6 provlded 111
section> shall apply to such crippled or deformed
(2) The board of control shall engage and fix the salaries of additional
physicians, surgeons, nurses, teachers, and other employees necessary to carry
out the provisions of this section, and shall equip such school with the neces
sary appliances, material, equipment, and facilities therefor.
(3 ) The board shall, whenever suitable and reasonable arrangements can
be made, transfer any child designated in subsection (1) of this section or
cause a.ny such child to be committed, to some other appropriate hospital in
this State wherein such treatment, surgical assistance, and care may be given
[Stat. 1917, secs. 573aa, 573ab ; 1919, ch. 614, sec. 3 1 ; 1921, ch. 429, sees. 1 3.]
. 48.22. Instruction; guardianship; binding o u t; adoption.— (1) The children
in the State Public School shall be educated in the branches usually taught in
the common schools and shall have proper physical, vocational, and moral
training.
(2) The State board of control is the legal guardian of all said children.
I t may place them in families and make written contracts with responsible
and suitable persons for keeping them during their minority, or, in the dis-
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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
1 2 6
C H IL D R E N
IN D E N T U R E D
BY
W IS C O N S IN
STATE
SCH OO L
cretion of the board, until they attain the age o f 18 y ears; provide therein for
their education in the public schools where they may reside, for teaching them
some useful occupation, for their kind and proper treatment as members of the
families in which they are placed, and for the payment, on the termination of
suSi contracts, to said board, to the use of the children, of such sum o f money
osrnnv have been stipulated in the contracts.
(3) The board may consent to the adoption of any such child by any person
or persons in the manner provided by la w ; and such consent given in writing
shall have the same force and effect as if given by the parent or Parents of
such child. Such consent shall be in duplicate, one copy to be filed with the
secretary of the board and the other delivered to the county couit in which
the proceedings for adoption are taken. On the consummation of such proceed
ings the guardianship of said board over the child shall cease.
...
(3a) No child who is feeble-minded, epileptic, or suffering from syphilis, o
any other disease that may later on cripple such child, or who has had a
feeble-minded parent, or one whose parent has suffered from any nervous o
mental disease that is likely to be repeated in the child, shall be placed m any
“ „m e1 ‘S n t u r f o r for adoption uSder any o f the
o i a 'e T r
except that this subsection shall not apply to any child 16 years of a6e or
cider who, in the opinion of the board, may safely be placed in a home on a
wnfrp rontract for a temporary period not to exceed one year.
(4 ) Said board may appoint, to serve during its pleasure, one or more
agents of the State Public School, who shall investigate all applications to
take any such children by adoption or otherwise and the persons who make
the same. As often and at such times as shall be directed by the board, each
such agent shall visit any or all children placed in charge of anly.]f rson
said board, inquire into and investigate the condition of such children, and
thereupon report to said board. Each such agent, while acting as such, shall
be p a T h iS necessary traveling expenses which shall be charged against the
appropriation for said school. [Stat. 1917, secs. o<3c, 5<3d, 5<3j, 5 7 3 h , 1919,
rh 614 sec 3 3 ; 1921, ch. 429, secs. 2, 3.]
’
.
.
48.23’. School records.— The board shall provide and keep in said school a
record in which shall be entered the names, residences, and ages of all children
received, the names, post-office addresses, business, habits, and character o
their parents if living and known, the date of the reception of the children,
of theP contract of indenture, and the names, occupations, and post-office ad
dresses of the persons with whom children are placed. Such h istory shall in
clude the results of a physical and laboratory examination and a test of the
mentality of such child, by a competent physician known to be well versed in
psychiatry and' mental diseases. A s complete a history as possible of each
child shaU also be kept and continued during the guardianship o f the board.
[Stat. 1917, sec. 573g ; 1919, ch. 614, sec. 3 4 ; 1921, ch. 392.]
TAW RFLATING TO COMMITMENT OF DEPENDENT, NEGLECTED,
AND HANDICAPPED CHILDREN BY THE JUVENILE COURTS
[W is c o n s in S ta tu te s ,
1923, ch. 48.]
48.05.
Crippled children.— (2) The juvenile court may commit any child de
formed or physically defective at the time of birth, or cause such child to be
committed, to the State Public School, or to such other appropriate hospital
as the court may determine, for surgical or other treatment and care whenever
in its judgment such child would be benefited thereby and such treatment has
not been or is not likely to be otherwise provided. [Stat. 1917, sec. 561 j, sub.
^ ^ ( n .^ D i s p o s i t io n of dependent and neglected children.— (l)W h e n any such
child shall be found to be dependent or neglected the court may make an order
committing the child to the care, custody, and guardianship o f some suitable
State or county institution as provided by law, or to the care, custody, and
guardianship of some incorporated association willing to receive it, embracing
in its objects the purpose of caring for or obtaining homes for dependent or
neglected children; if it shall appear from the evidence m any such case that
there has been an actual abandonment of the child by the parents» or by the
oarent, if there be but one, or such gross neglect or moral unlitness on the part
of such parents or parent as shall be deemed on [aw] abandonment of the
i
Italicized portions added by Laws of 1923, ch. 174.
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APPENDIXES
127
child, the court shall expressly so find; if it be found that the child has been
abandoned by the parents, or by the parent, if there be but one, the court
m ay order the commitment. The disposition of any child under the provisions
o f this section shall be deemed temporary unless otherwise specified in the
order of com m itm ent; or the court may make a temporary disposition of such
case by placing such child in the care and custody o f the probation officer
or of some suitable person or institution for such period of time as the court
shall see fit, not exceeding three months at one time, not exceeding, however, a
total period of one year, during which the parent or other person from whose
custody such child is taken may be put upon probation and required to report to
the court.
(2 ) I f it shall appear to the court, during such period of probation, that the
conditions have ceased to exist which caused such child to be dependent or
neglected, and that it will be for the best interests of the child to be returned
to the parent or person from whom he was taken, the court may release such
child to the care and custody o f such parent or other person and may dismiss
the proceeding or extend the period of probation pending final disposition of
the case.
(3 )
2 During such period of probation the county shall be liable for the rea
sonable expense of the maintenance o f such child, such expense to be at the rate
o f four dollars per u>eek, but the court may, as a part of the conditions of pro
bation, require any person who is before the court and who is legally liable
for such support to pay in the first instance or to refund to the county all or
any part of such cost of maintenance. The superintendent of the State Public
School shall charge to each of the several counties, in a book to be provided by
him for that purpose, the said sum of four dollars per w eek for the care and
maintenance of each such child in the State school for each of the said coun
tie s; and the cost of the original commitment of all persons to said school,
which shall not exceed the sum of two dollars per day and necessary ex-*
penses, and no charge shall be made for more than one person escorting each
child.
(4 )
8 The superintendent of the State Public School shall, on the first day of
July o f each year, report to the State board of control the names o f all chil
dren in such school during the preceding year, whose support is chargeable to
the county, with the date each was received and the date when each ceased
to be an inmate thereof, with such other information as may show the extent
to which the county is lia ble; and the said board o f control shall collect from
each o f the said counties the said sums chargeable to each county at the time
and in the manner provided for by law for the collection for the care o f the
insane. [Stat. 1917, secs. 573-5, sub. 3, 4, 5 ; Laws of 1919, ch. 614, sec. 1 3 ;
Laws of 1923, chs. 174, 195.]
48.09. Commitments; transfer of inmates.— (1) The juvenile court shall,
before committing children to industrial schools, asylums, or other institutions
for the care o f such children, upon application o f the parents or guardians
thereof, take into consideration, in selecting the institution to which the
commitment shall be made, the wishes of such parents or guardians; but if no
such application is made, the child, if o f proper age and condition, shall be
sent to the State Public School. [Stat. 1917, sec. 573b; 1919, ch. 614, sec. 15.]
SURRENDER OF PARENTAL RIGHTS THROUGH COMMITMENT TO
THE STATE SCHOOL
Under the law, the State board o f control is the legal guardian of children
committed to the State public school, and the board may consent to adoption,
such written consent having the same effect as if given by the parents of the
child. There appears in this respect to be a discrepancy between the law
relating to the State public school and the general adoption law, which latter
is specific in its requirement for the written consent of the parent or parents,
or, if their whereabouts were unknown, publication of notice of application
for adoption. The law relating specifically to the State public school does
not provide for temporary commitment and makes no exception to the state
ment that the State board of control acquires legal guardianship to all children
committed to the school.
2 O rig in a lly en a cted by L a w s o f 1 9 1 3 , ch. 4 8 1 ; ita licized p o rtion s added by L a w s o f
1 9 2 3 , ell. 1 9 5 .
3 A d d ed b y L a w s o f 1 9 2 3 , cb. 1 9 5 .
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128
CHILDREN INDENTURED BY WISCONSIN STATE SCHOOL
Under the provision o f the law which authorized the board as legal guardian
to consent to the adoption of a child committed to the State school the board
of control had been arranging for adoptions for many years. In 1921 the
legality o f this power was challenged, and a decision of vital importance w as
handed down by the Supreme Court of the State.4
The case involved the legality of the adoption through the State public
school of a 7-year-old girl who had been adjudged dependent and removed
from her parents. The eight children of this fam ily were first committed to
the State school at Sparta by the juvenile court of Milwaukee County because
o f the inability o f the parents to provide for them. Later they were returned
to the parents, and the fam ily moved to Madison. In November, 1917, pro
ceedings were had in the juvenile court o f Dane County, and six o f the chil
dren were again committed to the State school, the court order adjudging
them to be dependent children, the parents being unable to care for them.
The following year a man and w ife residing in Monroe County, in which the
school is located, petitioned the court of that county for an order o f adoption
for one of these children, then 4 years o f age and in the legal custody o f the
State school. The petition was indorsed by the superintendent o f the school
and by the members o f the State board o f control, who thus consented to the
entry of an order of adoption. It is interesting to note, in view o f recent
efforts to improve adoption laws for the better protection o f children, that the
petition was entered August 24, 1918, and the adoption was granted only four
days later.
In February, 1919, the county court of Dane County, following application
made by the parents of the children, made an order finding the father a fit
and suitable person to have the care and custody o f the six children and ap
pointed him guardian under bond o f $500, authorizing him and his wife to
take and receive the children from the State school. The court order required
the school and any person having custody of the. children to transfer and
release them to their father, including the girl who had been adopted. Four
or five months later the parents petitioned the county court of Monroe County
for an order requiring the adoptive parents o f the girl to show cause why the
adoption proceedings should not be set aside and vacated. Upon the hearing
the order of adoption was declared void and o f no effect, and custody and
control of the girl were directed to be given to her natural parents and her
name changed back to her original one. The adoptive parents appealed from
the order to the circuit court, and almost two years later judgment was en
tered reversing the order of the county court and directing that this court
confirm the prior order of adoption. From this judgment the parents appealed
to the supreme court, which reversed the decree of the circuit court.
In its decision the supreme court sets forth that no notice of the adoption
proceedings was served upon or given to the natural parents and that they did
not know of the proceedings for some time. Attention is also called to the fact
that although the statutes relating to the State public school contain the state
ment that the State board of control is authorized to consent to the adoption of
any child who is an inmate of the State school, and consent o f the board
given in writing shall have the same force and effect as if given by the parent
or parents of the child,5 the chapter of the Wisconsin law entitled “ Adoption of
children ” 6 provides that no adoption shall be made without the written con
sent of the living parents of such child unless the court shall find that one of
the parents has abandoned the child or gone to parts unknown, when such con
sent may be given by the parent, if any, having the care o f the child.7 Provi
sion is made for consent to be given by others where the parents are dead, un
known, or mentally incompetent, or have abandoned the child. It is further
provided that unless the living parent or parents of the minor consent to such
adoption, “ it shall be the duty of the court having jurisdiction of the proceed
ings, upon the filing of any petition for adoption, by order to appoint a time
and place for hearing such petition and cause notice o f such time and place to
be given to such parent or parents, by personal service of such notice on such
parent or parents, at least 10 days before the hearing or by publication thereof
in a newspaper at least three weeks successively prior to said hearing, and
4 F ra n ces H o u se L a ch er
V e n u s an d W a n d a V e n u s,
5 W isco n sin , S ta t. 1 9 2 3 ,
8 W isc o n sin , S ta t. 1 9 2 3 ,
7 W isc o n sin , S ta t. 1 9 2 3 ,
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an d A lb e rt J u liu s L a ch er, p e titio n ers an d a p p e lla n ts
d e fe n d a n ts an d resp o n d en ts, 1 8 8 N . W . 6 1 3 .
sec. 4 8 .2 2 ( 3 ) .
sec. 4 0 2 1 —4 0 2 4 a .
sec. 4 0 2 2 .
v .
Joh n C .
A P P E N D IX E S
129
when notice is duly given as herein provided the parent of any minor shall be
bound by the order of adoption as fully as though he had consented thereto.”
The brief states the question presented for decision, as fo llow s:
“ Can a county court acquire jurisdiction so as to make a valid order o f
adoption as to an infant under 14 years of age, then in the custody o f the State
board of control, where no written consent thereto has been given by the liv
ing natural parents of such child or due notice of such hearing served upon
them ? ”
The court held that—
“ The commitment of such child to the State school at Sparta having been
made by a juvenile court on findings that the child was dependent and the
parents unable then to care for the same, there being no finding to the effect
that there has been an abandonment of the child by the natural parents. W e
are constrained to answer this question as thus stated, not fully appreciating
the possible far-reaching effect of such ruling. * * * W e base our con
clusion in this case upon the following propositions:
“ First, the judicial proceedings for the commitment of dependent children
to the care of the State under chapter 48 and the judicial proceedings for
adoption under chapter 173 are entirely distinct, separate, and independent.,
“ Second, that except there be an abandonment by the natural parents of
the child and that such fact of abandonment be found, the written consent
of or actual notice to the living natural parents is an essential to jurisdiction
of the county court to make a lawful order of adoption for such child.
“ Third, that notice of and participation in the commitment proceedings
by the natural parents can not be substituted for their required written con
sent to or notice of subsequently proposed adoption proceedings.
“ Fourth, that the written consent of the State board of control, or any
guardian, can not be declared to be a legal and sufficient substitute fo r the
written consent of the living natural parents where required in such adoption
proceedings.”
The court held that in adoption cases the attempted construction doing1
away with the necessity o f consent or notice to parents of children who have
been committed from the juvenile court to the State institution would be
a violation of the constitutional rights secured to the individual in his fam ily
relationship. It was held that the appearance of the parents in the commit
ment proceedings could not be held to imply consent to adoption proceedings
that might be instituted at another time and place. The decision handed
down by the supreme court also contains the following statements in regard
to the necessity for protecting the rights of the parents:
“ That natural parenthood implies both substantial responsibilities and
gives substantial rights needs no discussion. That willful neglect to perform
the one may properly result in the forfeiture of the other is also not open
to debate and not here for consideration.
“ A natural affection between the parents and offspring though it may be
naught but a refined animal instinct and stronger from the parent down than
from the child up, has always been recognized as an inherent, natural right,
for the protection of which, just as much as for the protection of the rights
of the individual to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, our Government is.
formed. * * *.
“ Though these statements may perhaps seem trite yet they are of vital
importance to those who like the petitioners here humbly assert them as
against the seeming legislative declaration to the contrary, and even against
the good Samaritan, the State, who entered the home for the benign purpose
of relieving the then present want by necessary, immediate and temporary
separation o f the fam ily and as against the assertion by that same good
Samaritan o f its claim to have thereby acquired the right to thereafter say,
as though it were the parent, that the natural blood ties of the fam ily shall
be absolutely dissolved and new relationships established.
“ Undoubtedly many children would be belter cared for were the State to
shift them to other homes than those nature gave them, and to what extent
the State can lawfully go in that field we need not now and do not now
venture to suggest, but to transform a temporary separation of the fam ily
incurred by reason of misfortune into an absolute severance of these ties so
interwoven with human hearts should, and can be, done only under due process
of law.”
The court held that in the case at issue there had been a lack of due process
of law and that therefore the attempted adoption proceedings were void.
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Appendix C.— INDENTURE CONTRACT USED IN 1923
This agreement, by and between the State Board of Control of Wisconsin, by
the authority of an act entitled, “An act to establish a State public school
for dependent and neglected children,” approved April 9, 1885, and acts amenda
tory thereof, party of the first part, a n d -----------of the town of county
of ----------- State of Wisconsin, post-office address ----------- party o f the second
p a rt:
.
Witnesseth, that the said board, in consideration of the agreement herein made
by said second party, hereby places----------------------- one of the wards o f this board,
ip the fam ily of said second party to remain until t h e ----------- day of -----------,
19— , when said child will be 18 years of age, reserving the right to cancel
this coptract and require the child to be returned to this school whenever, in
the opinion o f said board, the conditions of this' agreement are not faithfully
executed or when otherwise the interest of said child requires it.
That said second party hereby reserves the right to cancel this agreement
a t any time by returning the child to this school1 free o f cost to the State.
Otherwise said agreement to remain in full force.
That said second party hereby receives said child and agrees to keep said
child as a member of his fam ily until the said ----------- day o f ----------- , 19— ,
maintaining, educating, and tre a tin g -----------properly and kindly as a member
o f his fam ily. That he will proyide the child with suitable and sufficient
clothing and with suitable food and other necessaries in health and sickness;
that he will assume the responsibility for the payment for all necessary medical
and surgical service required and for expense of burial in case of death. That
he will h a v e -----------taught the occupation o f -------------and the branches usually
taught in the common schools, causing ----------- to attend the public schools
w h e r e ----------- resides at l e a s t ----------- months in each year, until 16 years o f
age. That at the expiration of the indenture period he will furnish said child
with two new suits o f good clothes', and will pay said board or the superin
tendent of said State school, for the benefit of said child, the sum o f $50
or pro rata o f that amount for the time ----------- . remains in his fam ily after
h— ■ tenth birthday, if not for the full term o f -----------indenture.
That in case this contract shall be canceled, as provided by law, the said
second party agrees to return said child to this school at his own expense,
when requested by the agent or superintendent of this institution.
That whenever requested by said agent or superintendent the said second
party agrees to report to him in writing such facts in regard to said child as
he shall' request, and that he will furnish said child with materials and oppor
tunity to correspond with said superintendent or agpnt.
Child must not be removed from place where indentured without the con
sent of the superintendent.
In witness whereof, the said State Board of Control o f Wisconsin, by the
superintendent or agent o f this institution, and said second party, hereby set
their names and Seals t h i s -----------day o f ------------ A. D. 19— .
____________________________ [l. s.]
(S u p erin ten d en t or ag e n t o f th e S ta te
public sch o o l.)
130
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Appendix D.— ITEMS OF SCHEDULE USED IN THE CHIL
DREN’S BUREAU STUDY
Name of ch ild ; s e x ; ra c e ; date o f b irth ; age April 1, 1923; date committed
to school; age when committed; years under care; ward o f school April 1,
1923? terms of placement; released from jurisdiction— date; present occupa
tion; child’s present address; present address o f own fam ily, or any near
relative.
(a ) Whereabouts o f child when committed: Own home, with specified rela
tives, foster home, adoptive home, specified institution, etc. (6 ) Parental
statu s: Both parents dead, father dead, mother dead, specify if step-parental
home, unmarried mother, either parent deserted, divorced, separated, in hos
pital, imprisoned, etc. (c) Circumstances under which child was committed.
(d) Person or agency making application for commitment or responsible for
court action. (Use corresponding letters to designate entry.)
Present conditions o f child’s own fam ily— parents, brothers and sisters, or
other relatives who might have some responsibility for child’s care.
Summary of dependency or delinquency records or other social data con
cerning parents or other near relatives— secured from agencies, officials, etc.
Child’s history while under jurisdiction of State school (give chronological
outline of each disposition, beginning with date received by the school from the
committing court to April 1, 1923, or to date of release from jurisdiction).
Inclusive dates
1_
_
Type of disposition (with addresses of
each new home, etc.)
Reason for change
_____
2_____________
O
O ___________________________
4 ____________
5 ________ _______ ______
6 __________________
7 ______________________
8__________________ _
9 _ _ ____________________
10____________________
School history while under jurisdiction of State school: Age when committed;
grade when received under care; grade April 1, 1923— or on last day attending
(give date).
Give separately for each indenture home or other placement (using number
to identify)— (a) Distance from nearest public school; (6) number of days school
attendance during each school year (data from school records when possible;
specify if through interviews o n ly); (c) note items of interest in connection with
school attendance (employment interfering, backward pupil, e tc .).
History of child since released from jurisdiction of school: Chronological
record o f whereabouts, work history, any items concerning delinquency, etc.
Mental and physical condition o f ch ild: I f ascertained at commitment or
any later time. Give dates and diagnoses and examiners.
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132
C H IL D R E N IN D E N T U R E D B Y W IS C O N S IN STATE SCH OO L
HISTORY IN
INDENTURE HOMES
[Include only homes into which, child was indentured but do not exclude because
type changed to adoptive or other form of arrangement; carry each home through to
Apr. 1, 1923, or date child left it]
Follow the following outline for each home, using separate sheets where
needed:
.
Home I (change to II, III, IV , when additional sheets are required) : Age
when placed in hom e; length o f time in this hom e; type of placement and
terms (o f indenture).
.
Character of home.— Concise description of surroundings, composition o f
fam ily group and their traits, economic status, fam ily’s standing in community,
nature o f home life, etc.
Child's place m the fam ily.— Considered as a member with privileges equal
to own children, a farm hand, or household drudge, etc. Treatment given
child. Attendance at church and Sunday school; recreation provided or per
mitted.
Schooling.— (See special place for this, p. 3.)
W ork .— Careful statement o f work done by child, indicating dates or ages.
Did work interfere with schooling? Character of work and its advantages in
preparing for future self-support.
LIST OF ADDRESSES AND REFERENCES
[Check sources from which, information is secured]
Name of child; present address of child; place from which committed to
State school; present and past addresses o f parents (give date for each).
Committing cou rt; county poor commissioner; agencies or institutions know
ing case; other references.
, ^
Homes into which indentured (give name, address, and date for each).
o
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