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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, Secretary

CHILDREN’S BUREAU
GRACE ABBOTT. Chief

HANDBOOK
FOR THE USE OF BOARDS OF DIRECTORS,
SUPERINTENDENTS, AND STAFFS OF
INSTITUTIONS FOR DEPENDENT
CHILDREN

Bureau Publication N o. 170

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1927

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ADDITIONAL COPIES
OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D. C.
AT

20 CENTS PER COPY

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LL5*9 c_
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CONTENTS
Page

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^ r ir lN C O

Letter of transmittal___________________________
C h a p t er I. T h e in s t it u t io n a s a n agency fob social w ork
The development of child-caring work_________________
The field of the institution_____ ________________ ~
Forms of institutions for dependent children__________
need for the institution and the service to be

Buildings_______________ ___ _______
- Sanitation____________ ________
Lighting_______________ £_____~______
Heating____________
Ventilation______________ ______ ! _ _ _ _ ! ! ! ! !
Chapter IV.— T he buildings_____________
Types of building_______________ ;____"_L_ ~___
The cottage type______________
The congregate type_______!____________
The group system in large buildings__ ! ______
The semicottage and semiconeregate type
The pavilion type_________________ i __
Receiving homes______________ I_ I!H _ !_
Auxiliary buildings and rooms______________
Furnishings and equipment__________________
C hapter V.—A dmissions_______________
Policies governing admissions_____! ! _ ! ! _ ! I !
Importance o f investigation by trained workers!
Court commitments and voluntary surrenders__
The financial responsibility of relatives____
Chapter VI.—P hysical care______________ ___
Safeguarding health______________
Health habits____________________ ~
_ ! ____I
Exposure to sunlight___________ _______
The nutrition program_______I _____ I ____~____ "
Chapter VII.— F ood and clothing___ _________ I _
The institution dietary___________ ______
The foods needed by children____!! _ _ !
Menus______________
Clothing.

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't * l f i l £ 5 ì C 5 © t - * O ì C 5 C ì

Redefining of institutional programs___________
Conserving the child’s right to a normal h o m e !!..!___
Central clearing bureaus___________
Relating the institution to other f o r i s of a ssistan ce !I""T
The measure of the institution’s value_____________ _ !!_ "* !_
_
. “
5
C h a p t er I I .— A d m in is t r a t io n ___________ __
Incorporation__________________ ________ !T!!_T__
_~
Governing board___
~ ~
The staff______________________1 ! ______L\_JI~~!I------------------------------C h a p t er I I I .— T h e p l a n t ________________
Character of the institution__I_I___~I - I I I ! ! ! ! ! !
Location___________________________ ___~
~
Plot plan____________________~_________
C l , ““
”
’
~
~--------------Grounds___________ __ f______________“__ “
Farm_______________
~
|
*— -

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CONTEXTS
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Chapter VIII.— Mental h ea lth ______________________________________
General principles of mental health________________________________
Some essentials for mental health_________________________________
Chapter IX .— H abit formation___________________ ____________________
Habits and their development_____________________________________
Jealousy____________________ ______________________ _______________
Fear_________ *___________ _____________________ _________ __________
Anger___________________ ________________________________________
Sex education and sex problems____________________________________
Enuresis (bed wetting)________________________________IS*__ ______
Chapter X.— Spiritual and moral training___________________________
Religious instruction____________________________________ _____ ,___
Moral training___________ ___________§H___ fsf____________________
Discipline______________________ ____________________|_____ ________
Individual responsibility____________y_H __________ jj__ Wmt____■_____
Self-government____________ __________________________ ________ §£
Chapter X I.—Education__________________ L_______________ .1____ ______
The educational program___________________ ________________ *___ __
Opportunities for education beyond the high school________1______ ._
Vocational training.._____ :__ *______________________________________
Chapter X II.—R ecreation_____________________________________________
The necessity of play_______;____!JJM______________________________
Suggestions for the recreation leader_______________________________
Play for children under 10 years of age______________________97
Play for children over 10 years of age___________ __________________
The playground_______________________________ jipii.__________ 100
The indoor playroom_________________________________________
C hapter X III.— D ischarge and aftercare____________________ ________
Policies governing discharge______________________ __L_____________
Technicalities of discharge__________________________________
Return of children to their own families______________ __,___________
Placement in family homes________________________________
Discharge of children committed for long-time care________________
Methods of aftercare_______________________________:_______________
Chapter XIV.—R ecords and statistics__________________________________
The purpose o f records and statistics_____ i______________ *____ _____
Case records______________________________________ fjpiilp_____ ____
Administrative records__________
Financial reports___________________________
Social statistics_s_._______________ __________•___________ ___ _____
Chapter XV.—L ist of references___________________________________._
General____________ -_______.__L___________________ _____ _______ ,____
Administration_______»____________ __________________________ ______
The plant__________________ _________________ ___________ ___® _____
Buildings____________ ________ _________________ :_____ ______ ______
Admissions_________________________,______________________ !_______^
Physical care________________ ________ ?__ _______ ___:_______________
Food and clothing___________________ _________________ _______l___
Mental health and habit formation__________________
Spiritual and moral training__ ________ __________ __________ _
Education_____________ i_____________ \
_____ -S t ____________________
Recreation_______________________ __________ !__________________ ______
Discharge and aftercare__________________________________ f ________
Records and statistics__ _________ __________ i!_________ ____________

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

U. S.

of L abor,
C h il d r e n ’s B u r e a u ,

epartm ent

W ashington, October 22, 1926.
There is transmitted herewith a handbook for the use of
boards of directors, superintendents, and members of the staff of
institutions for dependent children. It was prepared at the sugges
tion of the Georgia State Department of Public Welfare, and a
manuscript written by Iihoda Kaufman and Mary McLeod, of that
department, was used as the preliminary draft for this report.
The following were appointed to serve as an advisory committee
to the bureau in the preparation of the handbook: Dr. Ellen C.
Potter, secretary, Pennsylvania Department o f W elfare; Rhoda
Kaufman, secretary, Georgia Department of Public W elfare; Charles
H. Johnson, secretary, New York State Board of Charities; Amy
Steinhart Braden, executive secretary, California Department of
Public W elfare; Mary Irene Atkinson, formerly chief, institutioninspection bureau, division o f charities, Ohio Department o f Public
Welfare; A. T. Jamison, D. D., superintendent, Connie Maxwell
Orphanage, Greenwood, S. C .; Franklin Thomas, superintendent,
Orphan Asylum Society in the City of New York, Hastings-onIludson, N. Y .; Hastings H. Hart, LL. D., consultant in delinquency
and penology, Russell Sage Foundation; and C. C. Carstens, execu
tive director, Child Welfare League of America. To this committee
was submitted the preliminary draft for suggestions and criticism.
In addition to the help received from members of this committee,
the whole handbook or sections of it have been read and criticized
at various stages by many persons, officials of State departments of
public welfare, and superintendents of child-caring agencies and
institutions for dependent children. For assistance of this sort the
bureau is especially indebted to Rev. Bryan J. McEntegart, director,
division of children, the Catholic Charities o f the Archdiocese of
New York, and Leon W. Goldrich, Ph. D., executive director, Hebrew
Sheltering Guardian Society o f New York Orphan Asylum, Pleasantville, N. Y.
Help in the preparation of the manuscript was given by Dr. Ellen
C. Potter, secretary, department of welfare, Harrisburg, Pa.; Dr.
Rudolph R. Reeder, director, the Marsh Foundation School, Van
Wert, Ohio; Dr. Helen T. Woolley, professor of education and,
director of the institute of juvenile research, Columbia University;
and Henry C. Wright, director, hospital and institutional bureau
of consultation, New York, N. Y.
v
Sir :

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LETTER OP TRANSMITTAL

Many of the experts on the staff of the Children’s Bureau have
assisted in preparing the different sections o f the report, but it is
especially the work o f A. Ethel Barger, who assembled and incor
porated the suggestions made by the committee and other experts,
and Emma O. Lundberg, then director of the social-service division,
who was in general charge of the preparation of the handbook.
Respectfully submitted.
G race A

Hon.

J ames J . D

a v is ,

Secretary of Labor,

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bbott,

Chief.

HANDBOOK FOR THE USE OF

BOARDS OF DIRECTORS, SUPERINTENDENTS, AND STAFFS
OF INSTITUTIONS FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN
Chapter I.— THE INSTITUTION AS AN AGENCY FOR SOCIAL
WELFARE
T H E D E V E L O P M E N T O F C H IL D -C A R IN G W O R K

Insfcituti°ns for dependent and neglected children developed early
m the history o f this country in response to definite local needs for
the care o f groups o f destitute children. The first institution of
kind in the United States was established in 1729 in connection
with the Ursulme Convent in New Orleans, in order to shelter chil
dren orphaned through the Indian massacres. In 1740 Rev
George Whitefield founded the Bethesda Orphan House at Savannah, Oa., as a school for needy hoys. Institutions later grew up
rapidly, many o f them in order to provide religious training and
educational opportunities not then available to the masses o f the
population and particularly inaccessible to the children of the very
? ° ? r S i e.evils o f caring for children in almshouses became mani
fest, the almshouse children were transferred to private institutions,
lne^ influx of large numbers of destitute immigrants during the
amine period before 1850 and the Civil TVar’s aftermath of
orphaned and needy children increased the amount of child
dependency.
In the last half o f the nineteenth century many other agencies con
cerned with social welfare developed, and their interests graduallv
became linked with those o f the child-caring institutions. The place
ment o f dependent children in family homes on an extensive scale
was begun by the New York Children’s Aid Society in 1853, and
the organization o f similar societies followed throughout the counThirty years later a special impetus was given to this movement
by the Children s Home Society, the forerunner o f 35 home-finding
societies. There was no organized work for child protection until
the establishment in 1875 of the New York Society for the Preven
tion o f Cruelty to Children. The charity-organization movement
with its important results in the field of family relief and welfare
began at about the same time;
Since 1875 there has been rapid increase in children’s aid activities
and m the development o f the placing-out system for the care o f
dependent children. The work o f family-welfare societies has multiphed. The so-called mothers’ pension system—the maintenance of
their OWn homes
means o f Public funds—began in
ly il. this movement, which began almost simultaneously in Mis-

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HANDBOOK FOB IN ST ITU T IO N S

souri and Illinois, has extended until at the beginning o f 1926 there
were laws authorizing such aid in 42 States.
In the early years the institution method was almost the only
means provided for the care o f dependent’ children. With the de
velopment of social work for the prevention o f dependency, the relief
o f destitute families, and the protection and care of dependent and
neglected children, institutional care has become one o f several forms
o f child-welfare work. The institutions themselves have steadily
changed in character, as they have adjusted their organization to
meet the different needs that have developed. The prevention of
child dependency through family-relief work and public aid for
dependent children in their own homes, and changes in the social
and economic life of the country have definitely lessened the need
for institutional care. Institutions, thus relieved o f some of the
stress of caring for large numbers of children, should become able
to devote themselves to specialized activities.
T H E F IE L D O F T H E IN S T IT U T IO N

Three distinct types of assistance for dependent children—aid to
dependent families, placement in foster homes, and institutional
care—have developed in the United States. The form of aid pro
vided has been largely a question o f the preference o f the person
or group organizing the particular activity, and the kind o f care a
child has received has depended largely upon the method employed
by the agency to which application happened to be made. The
service expense of good institutional care and of good placing work
seems to be practically the same, but the capital outlay for buildings
and expenses of maintaining the plant of institutional care are
much greater.
A few years ago the popular slogan was: “ Normal children
should be placed in family homes” ; it was held that “ institutions
will aways be needed for the subnormal and the handicapped.”
To-day opinion has changed considerably, and some agencies main
tain that the subnormal or handicapped child and the child showing
tendencies toward abnormal conduct are in greatest need o f indi
vidualized care in a family home. Certain agencies have met with
considerable success in providing good family-home care for such
children. Scientific study of the child before placement and careful
selection and supervision of the homes are necessarily the founda
tion of their work:
On thfe other hand, it is admitted that there are cases in which
an institution may be better for the child who has little or no train
ing in proper social and health habits or one who requires special
care because o f disease or physical handicaps. This may be true of
the so-called normal child as well as of the subnormal or “ problem ”
child. It is recognized by every one that the child who is seriously
defective mentally or who requires the discipline of an institution
equipped for training delinquent children should not be in an insti
tution for dependent children nor under the care of a child-placing
agency. More and more juvenile-court judges are distinguishing
between the “ delinquent ” child whose mental traits or character
defects make it necessary to commit him to a correctional institu
tion and the child who has got into trouble chiefly because he lacked

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THE INSTITUTION AS AN AGENCY FOE SOCIAL WELFARE

proper home influences. The complexity of types and the impossi
bility o f classifying into definite groups prove the futility o f
attempting to make categories o f the kinds of care required. Each
child must be dealt with on the basis o f his individual needs.
Broadly speaking, the purpose of an institution for dependent
children should be the care of children who can not be provided
for properly in their own homes or with relatives and for whose
care a particular institution is better adapted than any other avail
able agency. Sometimes the care provided by the institution is
temporary, pending arrangement for care in a foster home or
during a time o f emergency, after which the child is returned to his
own relatives. In other cases the institution provides for children
for more or less prolonged periods. Just what types of service need
to be developed by institutions and what changes must be made
in existing methods are matters for study. The present is pre
eminently a time o f honest effort on the part o f many institutions
to discover the field in which they can be of greatest service and
to carry out that work in cooperation with other agencies.
The institution for children that is meeting its problems in accord
ance with modern ideals of social service recognizes its part in the
whole program o f social-welfare work. It should be closely linked
up with all other social-welfare agencies. Its interest can not be dis
sociated from the interests of all other organizations doing local
or state-wide work in the field o f family relief or child care and
protection. ^In social policy the day is past for the isolated institu
tion ; that is, the institution, large or small, which receives under
care any child brought to it in presumable need, with no sense of
responsibility for finding out what are the conditions that led to
the application for aid and what action will best solve the child’s
problem.
A ll the agencies that have a part in the program o f care o f de
pendent children and in the treatment of family and community
conditions that tend to cause dependency are vitally concerned with
the factors determining the standards o f health, decency, and com
fort that normally may be attained. The institution, no less than
the social agencies coming in contact more directly with community
conditions and the causes of poverty, disease, and degeneracy, has
an obligation to inform itself regarding the nature o f the problems
with which it deals. It should work not only to develop fully the
individual lives intrusted to its care but also to remove the underlying causes of dependency. Far more important than the rescue
and rehabilitation o f unfortunate children is the prevention o f the
need for the sheltering care o f the institution or agency. *
F O R M S O F IN S T IT U T IO N S FO R D E P E N D E N T C H IL D R E N

There are four main types of institutions for dependent children.
Each o f these forms has variations which relate to the character of
the specific problems dealt with and to the types of training or
special treatment provided. According to the kind of service which
the institutions render, they may be classified as follow s:
1.
Receiving or detention homes 'providing facilities fo r diagnosis
or emergency and short-tinte care.— These include small institutions

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS

used as “ clearing bureaus ” for groups o f institutions and agencies,
temporary shelters used by agencies pending placement in family
homes, and detention homes of court or protective agencies.
2. Institutions combining the features o f receiving homes and
clinics fo r the study and special treatment o f children.— Sometimes
such institutions also provide convalescent care for cardiac, ortho
pedic, or other cases.
3. Institutions fo r general care.—These include institutions making
no limitations in regard to the type o f children received other than
those based on such broad classifications as age, sex, race, or religious,
fraternal, or group affiliation.
4. Institutions providing specialized care or training.—These are
for special types of dependent children, such as those physically
handicapped or convalescent, or “ problem children ” who need par
ticular attention because of mental condition or moral traits.
The auspices under which the institution is conducted—public or
private, for instance—and the particular denominational, fraternal,
racial, or other group which it aims to serve will determine the field
and to some extent the methods o f work. There are, however, cer
tain fundamental principles that should apply to all types o f insti
tutions ; and these are discussed in the following section.
D E T E R M IN IN G T H E N E E D FO R T H E IN S T IT U T IO N A N D T H E
S E R V IC E T O B E R E N D E R E D

Persons who are contemplating the building of a children’s insti
tution should first make a careful study to determine whether such
an institution as they are considering is really needed or whether
they might perform a better service by undertaking some other
activity for children. In most States the State board of public wel
fare, board of charities, or board of control is equipped to give advice
as to the needs for further institutional provision and can suggest
the development of work that would be of constructive service to
the children of a given community. As their work develops along the
lines of prevention of dependency, these boards are the more able
to offer valuable suggestions.
Inquiry into the need of a proposed institution for dependent
children may disclose that family-relief work should be done and
that family rehabilitation may be possible through the correction
o f bad housing and of other degrading conditions that may exist. In
the States that have provided by law for public aid to children in
their own homes it becomes the duty o f persons interested in child
welfare to see to it that such aid be rendered available for the pur
pose for which it was intended, namely, to give adequate assistance
to mothers who, because of the death o f the breadwinner or for some
other reason covered by the law, can not otherwise maintain their
homes and give to their children the necessary attention.
Institutions caring for dependent children and agencies providing
for their care in family homes have an equal responsibility to make
sure that they are not depriving the children o f natural homes, or
relieving the children’s own families o f their obligation for the care
and support that they can provide or that they could provide if
aided. Institutions in their contact with social problems have an

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THE INSTITUTION AS AN AGENCY FOR SOCIAL WELFARE

opportunity and an obligation to work together with the other social
forces in the community for the prevention of child dependency and
for the full application of such child-protective measures as are
included in the laws o f the State.
In recent years a great deal has been said and written about “ the
dead hand 5 in charity—those bequests and foundations so circum
scribed by their donors that they can not serve the changing needs
o f social progress but must forever be administered in accordance
with outworn methods. Institutions for dependent children espe
cially have been the victims o f this sort o f handicapping benevolence.
Well-intentioned and supremely generous, the testators have left
their millions to found and endow in perpetuity institutions for some
special class o f children. The real community loss in these endow
ments based on conditions o f a generation gone by or on needs that
were fancied by the donor but never really existed, lies in the service
that could be supplied by the funds if their use were not restricted.
R E D E F IN IN G O F IN S T IT U T IO N A L P R O G R AM S

Authorities on institutions agree that mothers’ aid legislation, the
restriction o f immigration as affecting certain racial groups, pro
hibition, and improved economic conditions have definitely lessened
the need for institutional or foster-home care o f dependent children.
Improved health conditions, better maternity care, workmen’s com
pensation laws, and other forms o f social-insurance measures are
undoubtedly important factors that will increasingly operate to
prevent child dependency. As a result, some institutions are finding
it practicable to reduce the number of children cared for and in con
sequence to change their methods and equipment to conform better
to the new standards. Others are undertaking the care of new types
of cases, frequently accepting children who, though not seriously
delinquent, require because o f home conditions a period of care and
retraining under wholesome surroundings. In former years such
children would have been committed by courts to institutions receiv
ing delinquent children. Still other institutions are undertaking the
care o f convalescent children or o f orthopedic or cardiac cases, or of
those requiring a special service for a limited period of time; or they
offer to other agencies of the community a place for temporary care
o f children during family emergencies or pending placement in
foster homes.
Persons or agencies planning new institutions or considering the
reorganization of old ones should give due consideration to the whole
program o f child-welfare work of the community and the State, and
should consult with the other agencies concerned before they decide
what field of service they wish to develop.
C O N S E R V IN G T H E C H IL D ’S R IG H T TO A

NORM AL HOME

The conference on child welfare held under the auspices o f the
United States Children’s Bureau in 1919 enunciated the following
statement o f principles:
The fundamental rights of childhood are normal home life, opportunities for
education, recreation, vocational preparation for life, and moral, religious, and

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HANDBOOK FOR IN ST ITU T IO N S

physical development in harmony with American ideals, and the educational
and spiritual agencies by which these rights of the child are normally safe
guarded.1

The conference recognized as fundamental principles of institu
tional administration (1) thorough investigation before receiving a
child, (2) cooperation with other agencies that are or should be
interested, (3) maintenance o f the child’s community contacts and
his relationships with his own family, and (4) continual effort
toward the reestablishment in the child’s own family home or place
ment in a foster home under healthful conditions. It was further
agreed that “ unless unusual conditions exist the child’s welfare is
best promoted by keeping him in his own home. No child should
be permanently removed from his home unless it is impossible so to
reconstruct family conditions or build and supplement family re
sources as to make the home safe for the child or so to supervise the
child as to make his continuance in the home safe for the community.
In case of removal, separation should not continue beyond the period
o f reconstruction.” 2
Although it is recognized as a fundamental aim of child care and
protection that the family home shall be kept intact and be aided to
function for the proper care of the children, the working out of the
methods by which primary emphasis may be placed on family case
work has been very slow.
C E N T R A L C L E A R IN G B U R E A U S

One of the most significant developments in social service, with
important bearings on the institutional care of dependent children,
is* the central clearing bureau for the investigation of applications
to institutions and agencies. Such bureaus include those conducted
by the charitable organizations o f religious groups or federations
of social agencies as wTell as cooperative arrangements between cer
tain agencies »and institutions. They stress thorough investigation
as a basis of intake and try to have the children remain in their own
homes whenever possible. The type of service given is illustrated
by the Children’s Bureau of Cleveland, which was organized in 1921
as a cooperative undertaking of the child-caring agencies and insti
tutions of that city (exclusive of the Jewish agencies). This office
investigates all applications for care of children by the agencies and
institutions affiliated, and on the basis of its findings it makes recom
mendations in regard to the care needed.
Mention should also be made o f the very important interchange of
information rendered available to institutions and agencies in many
cities through a confidential exchange, or social-service exchange, to
which applications are reported for clearing.
R E L A T IN G T H E IN S T IT U T IO N TO O T H E R F O R M S O F A S S IS T A N C E

The way in which the institution may carry out its obligation to
protect the rights of the children who come to its attention is de
termined largely by the character o f the community and the re1 Minimum Standards for Child Welfare, adopted by the Washington and regional con
ferences on child welfare, 1919, p. 11. U. S. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 62.
Washington, 1920.
3 Ibid., p. 12.

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THE INSTITUTION AS AN AGENCY FOR SOCIAL WELFARE

sources that exist for the various forms o f service to families and
children. There are exigencies in which it apparently becomes neces
sary for the institution to expand its own activities in order that the
varied types o f service may be provided; but sometimes institutions,
as well as other organizations, unnecessarily or unwisely undertake
work that they are not properly equipped to do and that might be
done better by other existing agencies or by organizations to be
created for some special type o f service. Whether an institution
is to be praised or blamed for undertaking extra-institutional activ
ities can not be determined without due regard to the situation in
each community.
Not only in connection with receiving children under care but
throughout the stay o f the children the institution must work in co
operation with the agencies dealing with family and environmental
conditions and likewise with those equipped to give special types of
service to the child. Many practical forms o f cooperation have been
worked out between family-relief and child-caring agencies and in
stitutions which are not equipped to do such work or which prefer to
devote their attention more particularly to training and care within
the institution.
T H E M E A S U R E O F T H E IN S T IT U T IO N ’S V A L U E

The measure of the worth of an institution is to be found not in
its buildings, grounds, and equipment but in the degree to which it
fulfills a real need in the child-caring program and gives to the child
such care and training as will most nearly compensate him for the
loss o f the spiritual, educational, and emotional values of a normal
home. Buildings and equipment are only important means to an
end. The personalities and ideals of the board members* superin
tendent, matrons,_teachers, and all the institution workers create the
spirit of the institution, and upon that spirit the vital interests of
the child depend.
New ideals of the physical aspects o f child-caring institutions have
led to the development of a type o f construction very different from
the original congregate form. The small cottage or adaptation of
a family dwelling is now generally held to be the most desirable type
o f building, and in new institutions a group of cottages and other
necessary buildings usually replaces the former congregate struc
ture. But the really vital progress is not in the changed character of
the buildings; it appears in the changed method of dealing with the
children which such a change in construction facilitates.
The moral and spiritual training o f the children, the development
of good habits, and the exertion o f right influences on their daily
lives are the matters of greatest importance. To accomplish these
ends the institution must make a consistent effort to supply the ele
ments of home life in as great a measure as is possible outside of a
normal family group. Some institutions with the finest equipment
may lack the influences that are really vital for the childrens happi
ness and well-being. Other institutions, large and small, which have
not the approved physical equipment may yet give to the children in
good measure the essentials for their development and future useful
ness. There is always danger that overemphasis of the physical

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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

features of institutional life may result in the substitution o f mate
rial values for the spiritual. This danger is especially great if super
vision is delegated through too many channels and if the people
who come in direct contact with the daily life o f the children lack
experience and understanding of child psychology and are there
fore unable to give sympathetic direction. Attractiveness and con
venience o f buildings are undeniably great assets in making pos
sible a good type of service, but the quality of an institution depends
far less upon the size o f the buildings and upon the equipment than
upon the personnel and the understanding care that each child
receives.
The institutional situation at the present time is constantly chang
ing. Old institutions are becoming out o f date in their physical
equipment and even more so in their methods o f work, and many
of them are honestly facing the problem and are undertaking re
construction.
Because o f the decreasing need for institutional care in communi
ties with a well-developed child-caring program it is not probable
that any large number of new institutions will be organized. In
stitutions that can not change their physical aspects very consider
ably are, nevertheless, giving heed to experiments that have been
found practicable in arrangements modifying the building, so that the
children may be grouped in accordance with the modern ideal of
the small units, permitting more individual supervision than was
possible under the old congregate plan.
It is for existing institutions especially that this handbook has
been prepared, with the purpose o f suggesting to them methods by
which the child-caring institution may become a vital factor in social
welfare and not an organization that is satisfied to live in its own
past. The standards herein set forth can cover only in outline the
more important details of institution construction and management.
The purpose and value o f an institution may be tested by some
such criteria as the follow ing:
{a) What is the institution’s value in relation to the community?
What real need does the institution fill, in view o f other existing
agencies and the resources that might be made available ?
(b ) What is the institution^ value in relation to the child? Will
the child whom the institution serves be cared for better by this insti
tution than by some other agency, or even better than through aid in
his own home?
(c) What is the institution’s value in relation to the service given?
What kind o f help does it give to the child physically, intellectually,
and morally? Is it developing right habits of body and mind with
the object of adjusting the child to his future life in the community?

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Chapter II.— ADMINISTRATION
IN C O R P O R A T IO N

1. Private organizations whose purpose is to care fo r dependent
children should be incorporated.
Incorporation should take place only upon approval by the State
supervising board such as the board o f control, department o f public
welfare, or board of charities and corrections. In many States the
laws require incorporation; but whether or not it is compulsory it is
desirable.
The public institution is not incorporated, since the scope of its
work is defined by statute.
To engage in the work of caring for needy children is to assume a most
serious responsibility and should therefore be permitted only to those who are
definitely organized for the purpose, who are o f suitable character, and possess,
or have reasonable assurance of securing, the funds needed for their support.1
G O V E R N IN G B O A R D
Membership and organization.

2. The board should be elected by a vote o f the supporting membership directly or by a representative body.
At present governing boards originate in three ways:
(a) Election by membership group.
(&) Appointment by governing body such as a church confer
ence or a lodge council.
(c) Selection o f new members by the board, which thus be
comes self-perpetuating.
The first two methods are in accord with democratic principles*
but the third method is not, and it should be abandoned when pos
sible. In an endowed institution the board usually is selfperpetuating.
v 3. Ttie. members o f managing boards o f institutions should be rep
resentative o f the supporting membership and o f the territory in
which the organization functions.
The point o f view o f the physician, lawyer, business man, house
keeper, teacher, and others with special training is needed in the
conduct o f the institution. There should be both men and women
on the board.
1>. The governing board is the responsible governing body. I f its
membership is large, an executive committee may be elected, with
the officers o f the board as officers ex officio o f the executive com
mittee.
m M <,Di eren<? 1 on the Care of Dependent Children, Washington, D. C., January 25, 20
IPO», Proceedings, p. 11. Sixtieth Congress, second session, Senate Document No. 7 2 l’
Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. (Out of print; available in libraries.)
The conclusions of the conference were reprinted as Appendix A of Foster-Home Care for
Dependent Children (Children’s Bureau Publication No. 136 (revised), Washington 19261
For the paragraph quoted, see p. 210 of that publication.
’

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When the governing board is larger than 9 to 12 members, thus
becoming an unwieldy body for discussion and working out of busi
ness details, an executive committee is essential.
The board should be divided into several active committees such
as finance, building, purchasing, admissions, and aftercare. The
chairmen o f these committees should be on the executive committee.
Duties.

6.
Each member of the board should attend all board meetings^
visit the institution frequently, and make such studies as will aid
Mm in making decisions wisely.
)
Board members should study the methods by which similar insti
tutions are conducted and also the relation of their work to the wel
fare of the community, the county, and the State. They should
attend conferences dealing with institutional and other child-wel
fare problems. They should put the development of the children
ahead of financial and other considerations in the affairs of the
institution.
6. The board is responsible to the public for the general policies
o f the institution.
The board employs without term the superintendent or executive
director and is responsible to the public for the conduct of the insti
tution. The board is directly charged with matters relating to the
purchase of the plant, erection of buildings, and securing o f equip
ment, and with the collection and supervision of the disbursement of
funds (including provision for an annual audit of accounts). The
legal and moral obligations of the board may be summarized as
follows :
In general, the legal obligations of the board include the faithful and eco
nomical handling of funds, the careful conservation of the health, morals,
and education of the children under their care, and the conscientious execu
tion as far as possible, of the benevolent intention of the founders.
The moral obligation of the trustees is broader than the legal obligation.
It demands that the trustees shall qualify for their responsibility by careful
individual study of the institution and by observation of the organization
and administration of other* similar institutions. It demands that, they shall
not only take thought for the health of the children and for their proper
clothing feeding, and housing, but that they shall have regard also to the
happiness of the children and their development into wholesome and normal

boinffs ^ ^

•

The moral obligation of a board of trustees is not restricted to the children
only
It extends * * * to the homes and relatives from whom they
come
It extends also to the employees of the institution. It is a part of
their duty not only to select faithful and conscientious people, but to see
to it that they receive such compensation and have provided for them such
opportunities and such living conditions as to enable them to discharge
properly the duties for which they are employed.2

7. The board or executive committee should work out policies and
plans in meetings with the superintendent. They should delegate
to the superintendent the full responsibility fo r the execution o f the
plans and details o f administration (except raising funds and equip
ping the plant).
The superintendent is directly responsible to the board or execu
tive committee, not to individual members of the board nor to other
8 Hart, Hastings H .: The Job of Being a Trustee, pp. 4, 5.
Monograph No. 1. New York, 1915.

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ADMINISTRATION

committees. After his plans have been approved by the board
he should be allowed to carry them out as Ions' as he is found’
competent.
Any criticisms o f the superintendent or suggestions for changes
m.
policies should be brought before the executive committee
with the superintendent present. When a decision has been reached
the superintendent should be required to put the will o f the board
into effect. I f he is unwilling to do so, he must be replaced by
another superintendent. The morale o f an institution may be des royed and a competent superintendent forced to resign because
board members, officers, or committees usurp the powers o f the
executive and are guilty of unwarranted meddling. Through the
superintendent’s reports to the board, frequent visits o f board
members to the institution, and the cooperation o f members and
special committees with the superintendent, the quality and com
petency of the superintendent may be ascertained, and needed
W
* 111 We administration may then be brought to the attention
o f the executive committee.
Committees o f the board may assist the superintendent to carry
out constructive plans by cooperating with him in the accomplish
ment o f plans and by making helpful suggestions.
THE STAFF

The personnel of the staff of an institution necessarily depends
upon the size of the institution and the kind o f work which it at¡£ 2 2 ? 5?
The ™ °ike?s alonS sPecial lines> such as physicians,
nurses, dentists, psychologist or psychiatrist, teachers, and recreation
supervisor, are suggested m other chapters of this handbook. The
most usual and immediately necessary members o f the staff and
their duties are discussed in the following paragraphs.
Executive head (superintendent).

8\ 4 . superintendent needs to have training and experience that
w ith ch ild re** ^ duties and to be temperamentally adapted to work
The man or woman chosen to direct an institution for children
should be well educated, preferably having college training Ex
perience m general social work is very desirable. He should possess
executive ability and be energetic and resourceful, and his character
must be above reproach. He needs to be alive to the progress being
made m child-caring work and able to select and adopt those measures
which will be of most value to the children cared for by the institution He must have the educational approach and the vision to plan
for the development o f children as individuals.
The superintendent should give nine-tenths of his time to the children and
v -ii16
, ^ ls ^ reci contact with the human side and problems of the
cmldien in the institution is very valuable. He must be freed from as much
office routine as possible.

9.
The superintendent should plan and direct, with the coopera
tion o f the board, all affairs o f the institution except the raising o f
its funds. His duties include especially the follow ing :
L 8 Statement made by Leon Goldrich, M. D., superintendent of the Hebrew Sheltering
Guardian Society, Pleasantville, N. Y.
w oueiienng

2204°—27----- 2

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS

(a) Responsibility for buying all supplies. (In the larger insti
tutions this work should be done by a business manager responsible
to the superintendent.)
(b) Attending meetings o f the board and submitting regular writ
ten reports o f his work. This report should be followed by a dis
cussion of the details of his policies so that there may be a complete
understanding and agreement on the plans and purposes of the ad
ministration by the board and the superintendent.
(c) Assisting the board to understand the social problems involved
in the admission, discharge, and training o f children.
(d) Employing the other members o f the staff and assuming
responsibility for their work.
(e ) Studying the needs of the children in the institution and learn
ing through conferences, visits, and study the most progressive
method o f caring for them.
( f ) . Conducting weekly staff meetings for explanation and dis
cussion o f -such methods and for hearing outside speakers discuss
social and institutional problems.
(g ) Providing for frequent personal conferences with members
o f his staff and with the children ; seeking to create a spirit o f cheer
fulness and good fellowship and mutual trust.
(A) Providing educational and recreational facilities for the staff,
such as specialized library, at least one full day a week of relief
from duty, and at least two weeks’ annual vacation with pay.
The supervisory staff.

10.
The selection o f persons o f adequate training amd desirable
personality to be placed m immediate charge o f the children is the
most important single factor in providing fo r their character devel
opment (see pp. 64-65).
This is probably the point at which children’s institutions are
most likely to fail. The idea that any able-bodied man or woman
who is willing to undertake the task can be trusted to take charge
o f children has been tragically widespread. The general scale of
salaries paid has been too low to attract people with the degree of
culture and education needed. No investment which institutions
can make for the welfare o f their wards is more important than
that necessary to obtain persons of the right kind o f personality and
training.
J
A ll workers with children should have enough academic training
to furnish an intelligent background for their special work. Teach
ers should have normal-school training or its equivalent. Expe
rience in general social work, such as family case work and special
ized social work for children, is o f value to the supervisory staff, as
is also experience in teaching.
Women are needed to supervise the activities o f girls and small
bojre, but a man should be employed to direct at least part o f the
activities o f older boys, since they especially need the association and
example o f men.
The following minimum requirements for members of the super
visory staff have been suggested:
Good health.
Training and experience which give an understanding of the needs of child
hood and a sympathy with modern social-work policies.

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UDMaliiSTE.ATM)]sr

ijcl3L£J& h

A background which gives an appreciation of culture.
A youthful point of view.
Stability of character and ethical principles. Children are very keen to
detect the weakness of a vacillating person.
An innate sense of humor.4

11. The necessary attention to the care and training o f the chil
dren can not be given unless the supervisory staff is adequate.
When the group is larger than 12 children the cottage mother
should have an assistant. I f the institution includes a “ baby
cottage,” a nurse and two assistants are needed for every group of 25
children under 3 years of age.
When one person has entire charge of a cottage one relief cottage
mother may be needed for every three cottages, depending on the
number of days off duty given to the regular house mother. I f a
cottage mother and an assistant are assigned to each group of 25,
the proportionate number o f relief workers need not be so high, since
one of the regular workers can relieve the other during brief absences
from the cottage.
One or more adults should be employed to do the heavy cleaning
in a group of cottages.
12. It is the duty o f the board and superintendent to make ample
provision fo r the com fort and relaxation o f the staff.
Suitable living and recreation rooms, toilets, and baths should be
provided. Such provisions benefit both the staff and the children.
Among desirable working conditions for the supervisors
dom from the fatigue of too long hours, sufficient relief
of institutional care, sufficient diversity of experience both
in the general community life so as to maintain mental,
flexibility and buoyancy and health.5

there must be free
from the monotony
inside the home and
social, and physical

Field agent or social worker.

13. A person who has had special training in social investigation
and case work is needed to make the inquiry into conditions govern
ing admission, to keep in touch with families o f children admitted,
and 'to supervise children who have been placed out or returned to
their homes.
Training and experience in social work, a knowledge o f the funda
mental principles of child care, and good judgment and tact are
essential for this position.
Business division.

Ilf. There should be a business division or department, or at least
a committee o f the governing boards to deal with all matters affecting
the physical care o f buildings, equipment, plant, purchases, and
general office work.
Good organization demands that those who are appointed by the
board and the superintendent to take care of the growth ana de
velopment o f the children shall not be submerged by a number of
details which can easily be delegated to others. O f course, the super* Child Welfare League of America Bulletin [New York], vol. 3, no. S (Mar. 15, 1924),
p. 2.
* A Study in Institutional Child Care; a survey of the Marks Nathan Jewish Orphan
Home, made by the research bureau of the Jewish Philanthropies of Chicago, p. 69. Chi
cago, 1921. See also Institutional Household Administration, by Lydia Southard, p. 39
(J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1923),

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intendent should know all about the institution and be held respon
sible for the proper working of every department.
The record keeping and clerical work of an institution are very
important, and only people who are qualified to do the work in the
best way should be employed. The standard o f training and experi
ence required for an institution clerical worker must be at least as
high as the standard for a similar worker in a business office.
Housekeeping staff and farm workers.

15.
Household and farm workers should he persons o f desirable
character' as well as expert in their lines o f work.
A large institution should have a head matron or general house
keeper to oversee all housekeeping arrangements. I f much farm
work is done there should be a head farmer responsible directly to the
superintendent for the management of farm, garden, dairy, and
transportation.
The people who are engaged in the routine household or farm
duties not only should be able to do their work well but must be of
normal mentality and free from tuberculosis or venereal disease (see
p. 45). Workers must be of good character, because the children
learn from the example set by these helpers as well as from super
visors. It is best to have the institution so situated that general
workers may live outside the institution if this is possible. Other
wise their association with the children during the leisure time may
present serious problems.
For list o f references on administration see Chapter X V , page 122.

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Chapter III.— THE PLANT
»

C H A R A C T E R O F T H E IN S T IT U T IO N

1. Two entirely different problems need to be considered in dis
cussion of the plant. The first is the budding o f new institutions
or rebuilding o f old ones in accordance with modern ideas/ the
second is the remodeling and adapting o f buildings now in use so
that better conditions and more individual care may be provided for
the children.
Many large congregate buildings ' are in use to-day, much as the
boards of some o f these institutions housed in them would like to
replace them with cottages. Since the capital invested in some of
these buildings is very large, abandonment may not be practicable
for years to come. Conditions approximating those found in a cot
tage institution may be provided if the buildings are remodeled so
that small groups of children similar to those living in cottages may
have separate quarters and more individualized supervision than is
otherwise possible. This is called the group system of care.
2. The basic policy o f the institution should be determined before
grounds or plant are decided upon. The follow ing points especially
affect the decisions to be made in regard to the character o f the budd
ings:
(a) Is the institution to be used primarily for a home for children
for an extended time or primarily as a receiving station from which
children will be placed out in private homes ?
(b) What are the proportions of children o f the two sexes and of
different ages likely to be cared for ? This should be estimated as
closely as possible.
(c) Are the children to be taught in the institution or at near-by
public schools? (See Ch. X I, p. 88.)
(d) Are the cottages to be operated on the basis o f mixed ages
or o f classified ages? Must negro children be housed and educated
separately from white children?
(e) Are special types o f need to be met, such as the need for care
of cardiac and orthopedic cases?
( / ) Are babies to be received and cared for in numbers warrant
ing a babies’ building? (See Ch. V, p. 37.)
(g ) Is the institution to meet the temporary boarding require
ments of the community?
(h) A re children to be received from other placing societies to be
diagnosed mentally and physically and to be built up pending place
ment?
L O C A T IO N

3. The new institution {or one rebudding) should seek fo r the best
possible combination of community conditions and physical condi
tions.
15

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS

Just as the neighborhood and community are to be considered in
choosing a family home, so must they be considered when selecting a
location for an institution. The main points in connection with
location are:
(a) Good schools (see Ch. X I , pp. 87-94).
(b ) Churches (see Ch. X , p. 79).
(c) Recreational facilities for the children and the staff (see
Ch. X I I , pp. 95-101).
(d ) Transportation facilities.
(e) Desirability from the point of view o f the staff worker
as well as from that o f the children.
The site should be selected by people who are acquainted with the
needs o f an institution for dependent children. Ground given or
bequeathed is often badly located or for some reason is not well
adapted for the purpose for which it has been offered.
. ^ The location which meets the requirements fo r the averaqe
institution is one■in the suburbs o f a city or town where sufficient
land pan be^ obtained accessible to schools, churches, and other com
munity activities, and close enough to connect with the water and
sewerage systems.
With such a location the institution is accessible, the services
o f physicians and hospitals are available, and recreation facilities
are within easy reach; yet at the same time enough ground can be
procured at a reasonable price to permit gardens and large plavgrounds.
•
^ J
A location in a good residence district o f a city enables the very
small institution to have less o f the institutional atmosphere: the
children attend public schools and take part in the activities of
the community.
, h •The location o f the 'plant should be determined by the follow ing
% v£ / fY ls& 0

(a)
Community ¿¿/¿.—Opportunity to mingle naturally with chiloxen from homes in the city or village and to become part o f
the community life. This is greatly affected by the location and
should be a primary consideration.
(&) Educational facilities.—Access to primary, secondary and
technical educational facilities (unless the institution is to provide
all these degrees o f education). (See Ch. X I , pp. 87-94.)
(c) Water. Assurance o f an abundant and constant supplv of
pure water.
cq J
(d) /Sewage. Assurance that sewage disposal can be provided
efficiently and at a reasonable cost.
(e) Accessibility.— Easy access to a trolley or bus line, so that
the institution can bo reached easily by relatives and friends and
be within a reasonable distance o f recreation and entertainment for
the staff.
a
\.iTe VroteG^on. Proximity to a city equipped with ample
hi e-fighting apparatus. The institution will thus have protection
m addition to that afforded by its own fire-fighting facilities
J&). Drainage. Assurance that all surface water can be carried
oft quickly.
(h) Supplies.- A location where railroad switching facilities can
be provided (if the institution is large).

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TH E PLANT

(i) Playgrounds.—Assurance o f abundant and level playgrounds.
Not less than one-twentieth o f an acre per child is desirable for
this purpose alone.
(j ) Garden.— Space for garden plot for each cottage or small
group o f children (see p. 99).
(k ) Soil fertility.—This is a minor matter if only garden plots
are to be provided, but it is an important consideration if farming
is contemplated.
PLO T P L A N

6. A fter the general policy has been adopted and the location
chosen in accordance with the basic policy, a plot plan should be
worked out which will show the location o f all buildings to be built
at present and in the future.
The plot plan must await a decision on the type of buildings,
character o f heating, and sewage disposal. The location of each
building should conform to the operating policy, and each building
should occupy a sightly place if possible. Changing conditions in
the care of dependent children make it unwise to plan on the theory
of what the population may be years in advance.
A competent architect should be selected and decisions on tech
nical matters left to him. There is a possibility that the architect
in his interest in the technical side o f construction, in his efforts to
build attractive buildings, and in ignorance o f the special needs of
an institution, may plan unsuitable buildings. Therefore a person
who knows o f the needs of institutions should consult with the archi
tect frequently when the plans are being drawn. Buildings can be
both attractive and convenient if sufficient study is given to the
problem. Local and State building inspectors should be consulted
so that conformity to legal requirements will be insured. Assistance
in this line can be secured from the State department of public
welfare or board of charities.
GROUNDS

7. Shade trees, lawns, and flowers are essential fo r the com fort
and the esthetic education o f the children.
Fruit trees, berry bushes, and vines are desirable when space will
permit.
8. Playgrounds should be large, level, and well laid out, with
room fo r equipment suited to children o f different ages (see p. 100).
There should be some play apparatus and equipment for games,
also free space for active play for both younger and older children
where neither group will interfere with the other. Swimming pools
or at least wading pools should be provided if possible. These may
be made by damming natural streams or by constructing cement
pools.
9. Some place should be provided where the children can keep
pet animals (see p. 99).
FARM

10. Country or suburban institutions o f certain types provide
ground enough so that all the children may be taught gardening and

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'poultry raising and the boys adapted to farming may receive prevocational training in that subject (see p. 93).
The attempt to operate a farm by means o f the labor o f the chil
dren is never successful if sufficient time is devoted to education.
Only a small number of boys and girls in institutions for dependents
are old enough to do effective farm work. As a general rule the
education o f the boys in farm work can be accomplished with a com
paratively small acreage. A farm is advisable only if it is con
sidered an economic asset to be operated with hired labor rather
than regarded as a means o f vocational training.
It must be kept in mind that the agriculture taught by a children’s
institution is designed to convey to all the children chiefly three
things: Knowledge ©f the earth and its relation to the life of man
to whom it gives subsistence; appreciation and respect for those
who till the soil; and a general knowledge of gardening and the
care and use o f domestic animals.
Opportunity for prevocational training is also to be given to the
boy whose ability and tastes lead him to become a farmer. Such a
boy would need to spend his years previous to high school in learn
ing only the simple lessons o f farm work, spending most o f his
time in school with the other children, developing his intelligence
and laying such a foundation o f general knowledge as a modern
farmer should have. After finishing the grade' school he should
be sent to an agricultural high school. He can then make his plans
to attend an agricultural college if he so desires.
It must be realized that agricultural as well as any other specialized
training given below high school is in no real 'sense vocational but
only preparatory to specialized training.
11. Sufficient grou/nd fo r raising the fruit and vegetables to be
used in the institution and fo r raising feed fo r stock is desirable.
This insures at a relatively small cost the adequate amount of
fresh and staple vegetables and fruits which are necessary for chil
dren. It also enables the institution to keep cows in order that the
children may have the necessary quantities of fresh milk.
12. A competent farm superintendent is necessary fo r every institu
tion conducting a farm.
Careful check o f the cost o f the maintenance and operation of the
farm should be kept. Unless carefully managed, an institution’s farm
may easily become an expense out of proportion to its use. Only a
competent superintendent can manage the farm to the best advantage.
13. In addition to the farm superintendent a sufficient number o f
farm laborers should be employed so that the education and training
o f the children need not be subordinated to the cultivation o f the
land,.
A number of institutions have considered it profitable not only to
do farming sufficient for their own needs but also to raise products
for sale. There is then a danger o f exploiting the children by keep
ing them out of school half the day or compelling growing boys to
work in the early morning hours or for such long hours that they
are too tired to apply themselves to their school work when they
attend. This can be safeguarded by restricting the work of the
children to the gardening or sometimes to the milking.

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THE PLANT

Play is a necessity to childhood (see p. 93). Since a children’s
institution is established primarily to raise children, not farm
products, no great help in farm work should be expected from the
children.
Ill.. Buildings and equipment should be adequate fo r practical use
by the farm superintendent and helpers.
The number and type of buildings and kind of equipment needed
will vary in accordance with the agricultural conditions, which
differ greatly throughout the United States. A special set o f plans
will be required, since the kind of crops and the method o f raising
them, the type and size of the farm, and the kinds of materials to
be used for the necessary buildings must all be taken into considera
tion.
For specific and detailed information concerning these needs the
United States Department o f Agriculture should be consulted.
Guidance concerning local conditions can always be obtained from
State departments or colleges o f agriculture and county farm agents.
15. The dairy should be built and equipped according to the needs
o f the institution and in accordance with standards set by the State
department of agi'iculture in the respective States.
Eegistered stock should be bought at the beginning. In the long
run this proves economical as well as advantageous in providing a
good grade o f milk for the children.
B U IL D IN G S

Buildings have been planned in accordance with two general
schemes—cottages and congregate, with adaptations (see p. 26).
Whatever type of building is used, it is inadvisable to have children
sleep or attend school in buildings more than two stories high.
Construction and materials.

16. Sim plicity, safety, and durability are the chief factors to be
considered in outside construction. Cottages should be planned to
have a variety of exteriors, as in the case o f private homes, but they
should be made to harmonize so that an artistic effect will be pro
duced.
{a) Facility in maintaining sanitary conditions should be one of
the guiding principles in the construction of buildings.
(b ) Exterior wall surfaces should conform to general local prac
tice in dwelling-house construction, except that in two-story build
ings the walls should invariably be so constructed as to prevent
rapid spread o f fire (this applies also to all partitions).
(c) Outside construction and surfaces should be simple and dur
able so that upkeep costs may be kept as low as possible.
(d) The old-fashioned guillotine double-hung windows are most
reliable and satisfactory.
(e) No baseboards should be used unless they can be so constructed
as to obviate crevices in which vermin may hide.
( / ) Floors in living rooms, dining rooms, and dormitories should
be o f hard wood—maple, oak, or long-leaf yellow pine—ripsawed.
I f concrete construction has been used, a linoleum covering isudvisKable. Tile, terrazzo, cement, mastic, or linoleum will be serviceable
for floors o f kitchens, pantries, hand laundries, and back entrances.

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS

Since bathrooms, wash rooms, and toilets need to be cleaned daily,
and the dining room and kitchen need to be cleaned at least three
times a week, their floors should be o f a material which can be
scrubbed or cleaned easily. Battleship linoleum or composite floors
are especially recommended for these.2
(g )
On walls and ceilings a hard plaster should be used. It is
advisable to use cement plaster to a height of 4 feet on the walls.
The ceilings o f basements should be made fireproof.
Fire protection.

17. The location o f heating plants, the number, kind, and location
o f fire escapes, the assurance o f sufficient water pressure, and the
matter o f electric wiring must be considered.
{a) When a separate heating plant is used in each cottage it
should be placed in a fireproof room.
(b ) Fire escapes are needed on all buildings higher than two
stories; and there should be at least two exits from all second stories.
These must be so arranged that the children can escape from any
part o f the building and from any room. Unless there are several
exits, fire escapes must be placed on all buildings higher than one
story. They should not be placed against the side o f the building
but should be so arranged that the children need not pass by windows
on the way down. Fire escapes should be o f a type to comply with
the State building code.
(c) Smoke-proof fire escapes o f the tower type are necessary for
large assembly rooms above the first floor. Other fire escapes may
be o f the ordinary stair type. Fire chutes should be provided from
dormitory windows (first floor) to the ground for cottages in which
children under 5 years o f age are cared for.
(d ) Chemical fire extinguishers should be placed in all halls.’
(e ) A ll doors should open outward, and all outside doors should
be equipped with automatic fire locks.
( / ) There should be regular inspection o f electric wiring by city
fire departments when available, and strict conformity to local fire
ordinances.
(g ) I f water pressure is not sufficient for fire protection it should
be supplemented by an elevated tank or by a pressure tank.
(h) Fire drills should be practiced once in two weeks.
(i) Trash must not be allowed to accumulate in the basement or
elsewhere in the building.
S A N IT A T IO N

18. City water supply should be used when it is available and,
declared by authorities to be safe. The institution which can not
connect with a city system should ha/oe the services o f a sanitary
engineer and construct an adequate plant under expert direction.
It is almost impossible to obtain city water for institutions situ
ated outside o f cities. This necessitates the establishment of a
private supply, the sources depending on the location o f the insti
tution.
2 Southard, Lydia : Institutional Household Administration, pp. 67-69.
cott Co., Philadelphia, 1923.

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J. B. Lippin

THE PLANT

Country institutions can have retaining or pressure tanks supplied
from deep wells or springs, if unpolluted, and the water can be piped
to the buildings.
19. Institutions having private water supplies should have the
water atnalyzed by the State department o f health once in six months.
Frequent analysis is the only method o f determining the purity of
a water supply. A surface supply should be analyzed once a day,
but less, frequent analyses are required when the source is deeper.
20. A connection with the city sewage system furnishes the most
convenient method o f sewage disposal. I f the institution must build
and maintain its own disposal plant, the services o f an expert are
needed.
Methods o f sewage disposal are such that only experts can deter
mine in any particular case which type o f purification process should
be installed. In certain cases sewage may be disposed o f by dilu
tion in streams, but it takes an expert to tell whether any stream is of
suitable size and whether conditions permit sewage thus taken from
any institution to be disposed of so that a nuisance will not arise.
I f this method is not feasible some other must be employed, depend
ing in every case on the extent to which the final affluent must be
purified before finally being disposed o f and allowed to run into
streams or creeks.
In the installing and maintaining of sewage plants care should be
taken to conform closely to local sanitary regulations. Regular in
spections should be made by health authorities.
21. Flush toilets should be provided in the various buildings}
they should be accessible to dormitories, playrooms, and play
grounds.
Country institutions which can not avail themselves of adequate
city water and sewage disposal should install such plants as are
indicated in the preceding discussion, with indoor flush-toilet con
nections. Until such plants can be installed in some of the poorer
country institutions at least septic tanks should be provided. Plans
for these usually can be obtained from State bureaus o f sanitary
engineering. On no account are open-pit privies permissible.
22. Lavatory, bath, and toilet facilities must be adequate and
sanitary. These rooms should be so placed as to receive direct
sunlight' at some period o f the day because o f the value of sunlight
as a disinfectant.
Plumbing and fixtures.— Cheap plumbing should be avoided. It
is expensive in the end and usually causes insanitary conditions.
Lavatory facilities.— One bowl with running hot and cold water
to four children, and in a separate room from bath, toilet, and
dressing room (unless the institution can afford to equip its dressing
alcoves so that each has a separate lavatory).
Bathtubs.— One tub or shower to six or eight children, each in a
separate compartment. Showers are replacing bathtubs in many
institutions, because this method o f bathing is considered more sani
tary ; but it is essential to have one or more tubs for use when chil
dren are admitted and for emergencies that may arise. Elevated
tubs should be provided for children too small to bathe themselves.
Stationary foot baths are needed when showers are used in place
o f bathtubs.

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H ANDBOOK FOB IN ST ITU T IO N S

Toilets.— One toilet to eight or ten children. Many institutions
which formerly had urinals in boys’ cottages have discarded them
as insanitary. Each toilet should be in a separate compartment, not
only to inculcate modesty but also to avoid any moral hazard.
Toilets to be used by small children should be of proper height and
size.
23. Screens are needed on all windows, doors, and ventilators.
A 16-mesh wire screen protects against mosquitoes as well as flies.
Copper screen is best. I f wire screens are used, they should be
painted yearly. In very damp climates banana paint is effective
in protecting the wire against rust.
24-. Garbage containers should be ample in size and kept tightly
closed, so that no flies, rats, cats, or dogs can have access to the gar
bage while it is awaiting disposal.
25. The dining room, kitchen, pantries, laundries, and all toilet
rooms should be cleaned frequently.
The floors of dining rooms, kitchens, pantries, laundries, and all
toilet rooms should be scrubbed often., The dining room and kitchen
should be mopped at least three times a week. Bathrooms, wash
rooms, and toilets must have a thorough cleansing every day. Bath
tubs should be cleaned after every bath.
Hardwood floors should be cleaned with oil mops and treated
frequently with oil and wax.
26. Bedding should be disinfected by sunning frequently fo r sev
eral hours. It should be aired one or more hours daily.
Bed springs and frames should be washed monthly with hot water
and soap and sunned. When a disinfectant solution is used the dan
ger from vermin is minimized.3
L IG H T IN G

27. The minimum window area allowed should equal at least onefifth o f the floor area.
In climates in which there are many cloudy or foggy days the
minimum window area should be at least one-fourth or even one-third
of the floor area. It is much easier to shut out surplus light on very
bright days than to obtain enough light on the dull days. A large
amount of natural light will obviate the too frequent need o f using
artificial light during the day time in school rooms and libraries.
28. Buildings in which children study or work (as schoolhouses
or shops) should be so arranged that the greatest number o f rooms
can receive direct sunlight during the day.
This would necessitate that such buildings face southeast or south
west when possible. All the buildings should be planned to have as
many rooms receive some direct sunlight as can be arranged. This
is not only for the sake of adequate lighting but also because of the
salutary effect of the sunlight itself (see p. 51).
29. Electricity furnishes the most desirable artificial light, and it
is the most convenient and the safest.
Institutions which can not connect with established power plants
usually find it practicable to install plants of their own.
4 Ibid., p. 193.

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THE PLAN T

Reading lamps are needed for study rooms. The number, type, and
strength of lights required throughout a building should be deter
mined b y an expert on lighting.
SO. The seats in study rooms and class rooms should be so arranged
that the light will come from the left. Window shades are needed to
regulate the amount o f light admitted and also to insure privacy.
H E A T IN G

31. H ot-w ater or steam or hot-air heating systems may be fu r
nished by a central heating 'plant or by furnaces in the individual
cottages.
When a hot-water or steam heating system is installed a central
heating plant in a separate building is possible. Having a central
plant minimizes the danger from fire and keeps the temperature
of all the buildings approximately the same. Many authorities con
sider a separate heating system in each building preferable because
it does not require the services of a skilled engineer as does a
central plant and more freedom is possible in the location o f the
cottages— whereas having a central heating plant is likely to neces
sitate their being closer together.
Individual heating plants should be placed in fireproof basement
rooms.
I f stoves are used to heat rooms, they should be inclosed in castiron or other metal casings to prevent accidents. The heat of
stoves is very uneven, and a more modern method should be adopted
if possible.
32. Open fireplaces or grates are desirable additions to any heating
system, especially fo r cottage living rooms.
Fires in grates or open fireplaces take the chill from the air on
cool days; and during the winter they are excellent aids to good
ventilation. They should have screens to prevent accidents.
When it is necessary to use gas the grate must have a flue to
carry off the products o f combustion.
Electricity as a heating agent is coming into use in some localities.
I f cheap power is available, the use o f electricity is desirable.
33. The temperature should be maintained at 65 to 70° in all
rooms except sleeping rooms.
In some climates the sleeping rooms may be unheated, provided
the walls are not allowed to become damp. A heating system pre
vents dampness, as floors and walls are kept dry by the pipes o f the
heating plant. In cold climates, if children sleep on porches or
if the dormitories are very cold in winter, sleeping bags or hotwater bottles should be provided. I f the sleeping room is unheated,
separate dressing rooms with heat are necessary. Recreational
rooms may have a temperature o f 60° or even less at times, depend
ing upon whether the recreation consists o f active games like basket
ball or quiet games like checkers.
A wet-bulb thermometer (hygrometer) hung in each room where
children sit, removed from sources o f heat and open windows, is
the only safe guide. For obvious reasons the supervisors should
not be allowed to regulate temperature for children according to

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H AN DBOOK FOR IN ST ITU T IO N S

their own feelings. The hygrometer indicates not only the tempera
ture (Fahrenheit), but* also the moisture in the atmosphere of
the room. A thermostat in every room will prevent tampering
with temperatures if supervisors are properly instructed.
V E N T IL A T IO N

3Ip. Ventilation is necessary to preserve the right temperature, the
proper amount o f humidity, and the desirable movement o f the air.
Badly ventilated rooms produce discomfort and injure the health
chiefly because their temperature is too high and the air is not
sufficiently in motion.4 The windows of rooms where children sit
should be opened wide several times a day. Even though this tem
porarily reduces the temperature the complete change o f air is
beneficial.
36. A ir should be admitted to rooms in such ma/nner that it will
be clean and warm but not hot. I t must be moist and kept moving.
Too great dryness irritates the eyes, nose, and throat, and spreads
coughs and colds. A saturation o f 50 to 80 per cent is considered
normal. The body suffers in air above or below this normal
saturation.
Special steam valves are necessary in a steam-heating apparatus in
order to keep the air moist. The steam valves may be purchased
almost anywhere, but in their absence moisture may be furnished in
a steam-heated room by hanging a very damp cloth behind the
radiators or placing a pan o f water on a radiator. Air-heating appa
ratus can be equipped with an automatic regulator, but this type of
heating plant is not well adapted to an institution.
It is now recognized that a room is not properly ventilated unless
there are currents o f air. Even the standard amount of ventilation
is inadequate unless some means of cross ventilation is provided.
Cross ventilation in schoolrooms or libraries can be obtained by
means of “ breeze windows ” placed near the ceiling at the back or
right side o f the room. These windows should be hinged on the
lowTer side, adjustable, and covered with opaque shades.
Window boards made o f wood, glass, or burlap should be placed
in wintertime at the bottom of open windows in schoolrooms or other
rooms where children sit, to prevent direct breezes from striking the
children.
36. I f the window space equals at least one-fifth o f the floor area,
it is adequate fo r ventilation as well as fo r lighting. Arrangement
should be made for cross currents o f air in all rooms.
Large dormitories should have windows on three sides. Cross
ventilation can be accomplished by placing windows and other venti
lators on opposite sides of rooms. Ventilator doors or wall ventila
tors can be used if it is impracticable to have windows on more than
one side. Care should be taken to provide cross ventilation for
kitchens to get rid o f the odor of food and for laundries to get
rid of steam and to keep the room cool. In all buildings not so
arranged a ventilating fan should be installed.
* Ventilation.
Report of the New York State Commission on Ventilation, pp. 219, 519.
E. P. Dutton & Co., New York City, 1923.

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TH E PLANT

37. In sleeping rooms 500 cubic feet o f air space should be allowed
fo r each child, and beds should be at least 3 feet apart at the sides.
F or an infirmary 1,000 cubic feet o f air space are required per
patient (see p. 48).
In sleeping rooms not less than 10 feet high a floor space of 50
square feet is required for every child. With beds 3 feet apart at
sides this requires an aisle space of about 4 feet at the ends. It
does not permit the placing of beds end to end (as is sometimes done
in crowded institutions).
F or list o f references on the plant see Chapter X V , page 122.

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Chapter IV.— THE BUILDINGS
T Y P E S O F B U IL D IN G

1.
There are several types o f building used for institutions for
dependent children:
The cottage type.—A cottage institution has the children cared for
in separate buildings housing from 12 to 20 children each.
The congregate type.—A congregate institution cares for children
in buildings housing more than a small family group. Congregate
institutions may be remodeled to provide for separate living quar
ters for small groups of children within one large building in a
so-called “ group system.”
The semicottage, or semicongregate type.—These include many
variations of the cottage and congregate plant, usually housing
groups of 25 to 40 children.
The pavilion type.—The pavilion type of building consists of two
or more buildings connected by corridors. Each unit may house a
group similar to those found in the individual cottages.
Receiving homes.—The building usually resembles one of the cot
tages in a cottage institution or it may consist of a group of cottages
or be a small semicongregate building. It is used for very tempo
rary care of children, often pending placement in family homes.
TH E COTTAGE T YP E

A system in which 12 to 20 children—preferably not more
than 12—form a fam ily group and live in a separate cottage, thus
receiving individual attention and careful training, is recommended.
The cottage system enables the children to take part in all activ
ities of the household much as in a normal family, with a near
approach to home life and individual care.
In a small group an opportunity is given for informality and
individual freedom of action. This must be replaced by much more
formal discipline and group behavior in the large group.
By helping in the cottage the children can learn how a family home
is managed.
A housemother, with an assistant if needed, presides over the
family and tries to make the approach to normal home life as close as
possible for each child. Children who have not grown up in normal
homes find it difficult to adjust themselves later to family life. The
every-day customs of family life and the necessary social adjust
ments can best be made a part of the children’s training and ex
perience under the cottage system. Such individual attention as is
necessary for the inculcation of good health habits (see p. 49) can
usually be given better in a cottage than in larger residence units.
3.
Cottage groups in which there are children o f various ages are
desirable fo r the following reasons,'
26

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THE BUILDINGS

(a)
Families can be better kept together, brothers living with
brothers and sisters with sisters.
(5) The older and younger children assume more readily the rela
tionship of brothers and sisters.
(c) A child hard to adjust may be changed from one cottage to
another until one is found which best suits his needs. (When care
ful thought is given to the original placement the changes will be less
frequent.)
(d ) A child once adjusted with the house mother and cottage
group which seem best suited to him may remain in that particular
cottage as long as -he is in the institution. Thus the conditions in a
normal family are more nearly approached.
. 4- Several types o f cottage institutions are in use at the present
time.
(a)
In one type of cottage institution everything related to an
individual home, as peeping rooms, living rooms, dining room, and
kitchen is included in the cottage, so that each cottage is a complete
housekeeping unit.
(h)
In another type o f cottage institution all the food is prepared
in a central kitchen but is served in the dining rooms o f the cottages.
The food may be transported in thermos containers or is carried to
the cottage and there reheated in a kitchenette provided for that
purpose. Breakfasts are sometimes prepared in the cottage kitchen
ette by the children. In favor o f this plan may be cited the diffi
culty o f finding cottage matrons who are qualified and willing to
direct the cooking or who can do so without neglecting other essen
tials in the care o f the children. The desirability o f having the
cooking done in the cottage depends largely on the question of
whether this will mean training for the children or drudgery for
both children and housemother. In cottages for older girls there
is a special advantage in having a complete housekeeping unit if the
group is small enough for the kitchen work to resemble that o f an
ordinary family; otherwise it may be better to provide classes for
training in cooking.
(c)
Some cottage institutions have a central dining room as well
as a central kitchen. These should install dishwashing machines
and other labor-saving deAuces; and most of the .work should be
performed by adults, since this work done on a large scale is merely
drudgery and lacks educational value.
5.
There are certain advantages in the one-story type o f cottage
and others in the two-story type.
The r e l a t e cost of the two types o f cottage has not been deter
mined absolutely. The claim has been made that one-story cottages
are more expensiA*e. But lighter foundations and framing may bo
used in a one-story structure; and no space is lost in adjusting a
lower floor to an upper one. The saving in these two items, together
Avith the lack o f necessity for stair space, offsets much o f the greater
expense o f roofing and foundations for a one-story building.
The fact that a two-story cottage requires less ground space may
be an important consideration for institutions situated in cities,
where land values are high. This type of building is likely to be
better adapted to the need of small dormitories or single bedrooms
2204°—27----- 3

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS

for the older children. Some of the disadvantages of the two-story
house are less serious when the older boys and girls can relieve the
housemother o f some o f the housework, especially by taking care of
their_own rooms.
6. The one-story cottage is administered more advantageously to
children and housemother than is the two-story cottage, a/nd its lire
danger is less.
The advocates of the one-story cottage in preference to the twostory house favor this type of building not only because o f its
greater safety from fire hazards but also because unless the children
are very young (see p. 13) one housemother can care for the group
if some o f the cleaning and other heavy work is done by day
employees.
The one-story cottage has the following advantages: First, it simplifies the
problem of cottage administration, having the children on one floor, where
they can be readily supervised by the cottage m atron; second, it removes the
fire risk, and this obviates the necessity of fireproof construction; third, it
facilitates the outdoor life of the little children, who can go in and out re.adily;
fourth, it diminishes labor and fatigue of the housemother, enabling her to
give her entire strength to her proper work. It is surprising to discover how
much of the strength of the housemother may be consumed in simply climbing
up and down stairs between the first floor and the second floor and the first
floor and the basement.1

7. The following recommendations are offered fo r the remodeling
o f buildmgs and the planning of new cottages (see also pp. 19-20) :
(a) Be sure that a convenient arrangement of rooms is adopted.
\b) Provide suitable and comfortable living accommodations for
the staff as well as for the children.
(c) Make possible some degree o f privacy for both the children
and the staff.
(d) Make provision for study, for both active and quiet play, and
for the different interests of both younger and older children.
(e ) Arrange for folding doors between living room and dining
room so that the dining room may be used for an evening study
room.
(f) Plan buildings and rooms so that they may be well ventilated,
well heated, and easily cleaned.
(g ) Do not plan to use the basement for anything except heating
plant and storage of vegetables.
(h) Have a rear or side entrance on the main floor with provision
near it for wraps and overshoes.
(i ) Have some lavatories, toilets, and drinking water accessible
from the playroom and from the rear or side entrance.
(j) Provide abundant storage and closet facilities.
(&) Allow floor space in accordance with the following figures:
Dinings room, 15 square feet per chair; living room, 30 square feet
per child; dormitories, 50 square feet per bed (see p. 2 5); single
bedrooms, 70 square feet per bed.
(?) In a two-story cottage have the dormitories, toilets, and super
visor’s bedroom on the same floor, and so arranged that the
supervisors’ or matrons’ rooms are near the sleeping quarters o f the
children.
1 Hastings H. Hart, in letter in The Organization and Construction o f a Child-Caring In
stitution (a report on construction plans for the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum Appen
dix, p. 63). San Francisco, Calif., 1919.

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THE BUILDINGS

(m) Provide plenty of porch space. At least one porch should
face southwest (see p. 51).
The following statements are o f interest in regard to the building
o f cottages to accommodate groups o f 20 children :
Experience has shown that in certain details architects need explicit instruc
tion which must be given precedence over all technical and esthetic considera
tions which do not affect safety. The cottage must be easy of access, both front
and back, for children and for vehicles. There must be quick and convenient
passage from the sitting room or playroom to and from the open. The arrange
ment must be such that much tramping in and out, even in wet weather, shall
not upset or track up the whole house. There must be good contrivances
for holding children’s individual supplies of books and school materials,
separate provision for safe-keeping individual toys and treasures, and space
for the safe bestowal and easy use of bulky possessions like bicycles, coasters,
or big dolls and doll houses. Wardrobes and toilet articles make yet another
demand for individual accommodations. Again, the living-room floor must be
so planned as to allow 20 children to read, write, and study together in
comfort, without getting in each other’s way. It should also give facilities
for open continuity of the rooms, so that the whole floor space may be available
for entertainment and dancing.
Sleeping quarters should give the privacy
and groupings of life in a large family— no dormitories, but rooms for single
occupants or small groups. Good cross ventilation, especially of kitchens and
bedrooms, must be given special care.
* * * There should be a single room connected with the housemother’s
bedroom, which can be used to isolate a suspect or observe an ailing child
of either sex. ^ Bathing and sanitary facilities must receive most anxious care
as regards size of fittings, accessibility for use and observation, privacy,
adequacy, safety, and ease of repair. Storage space for dishes, linens, clothing
stocks, household goods, cleaning utensils, and raw, cooked, or preserved food
stuffs, must be ample, well ventilated, and dry.2

8. Small dormitories accommodating six or eight single beds ore
satisfactory fo r the younger children, but single rooms or rooms
large enough fo r three beds are more desirable fo r children of
adolescent age.
Cubicles with 6 -foot partitions may be used instead o f single
rooms, but they should be large enough not to be stuffy, and the par
titions should not be dust-catching-curtains. This permits privacy
and requires less space and expense in construction.
Sleeping porches are desirable for summer use; in some climates
they may be used throughout the year. Separate - dressing rooms,
preferably with alcoves for the sake of greater privacy in dressing,
should adjoin large dormitories.
9. Lavatories, bathrooms, and toilets should be adjacent to the
sleeping rooms or easily accessible from them (see also Sanitation,
p . 2 0 ).

’

These rooms should be well ventilated and if possible placed so
that the sun strikes them during some part of the day. The size
of each room will depend upon the equipment in it and the number
o f children using it.
Arrangements making it possible to have privacy in the bath and
toilet tooms are essential. Between the bath tubs and the toilets
there should be 6 -foot partitions with swinging doors in front. This,
or some similar method of insuring privacy, is desirable even for
2 Langer, Samuel: The Organization and Construction of a Child-Caring Institution • a
report on reconstruction plans for the Pacific Hebrew Orphan Asylum, San Francisco,
iy iy , pp. —o, ¿ 7 .

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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

young children in order to encourage modesty and to preserve
morals.
10. Clothes closets are as essential fo r children in institutions as
for people living in normal homes.
When sufficient care is given to planning the buildings satisfactory closets can be included. One closet may be allowed for two
or even three children. There should be closets for wraps m the
entrance halls, and closets or wall hooks should be provided at the
rear or side entrance.
11. The rooms for the daytime activities should he large enough to
accommodate com fortably the group fo r whom they are intended.
Not all institutions need separate living rooms, libraries, and play
rooms. Under some conditions a combination of a living room and
playroom, living room and library, or even living room and dining
room is satisfactory. Whatever the arrangement of the rooms suf
ficient space is needed so that active play, quiet games, study, read
in g and conversation may be carried on by different groups without
too oreat conflict. When the library and dining room adjoin the
living room, with double doors between, a large space is available
for use on special occasions.
12. Playrooms should he comfortable and attractive. They ^must
never he in the basement. They should he sunny and well ventilated.
Since the play o f children is important for their development
(see p. 9 5 ) a suitable room should be available for it. The livingroom arrangement should lend itself to the placing o f toy lockers m
the room. Basement playrooms are difficult to supervise and are
generally unsatisfactory.
13. The number o f rooms needed for educational purposes will
depend upon the use made of community resources fo r education.
When children attend schools and churches in the neighborhood
the institution does not need formal classrooms or a chapel. I f good
manual training and gymnasium work are obtained in the community
schools, the institution’s equipment for these two purposes also may
be limited. Otherwise a suitable gymnasium and some proper
manual-training equipment should be provided, and an arrangement
should be made for the children to have this work.
A comfortable room where the children can study in quiet is essen
tial (see p. 90).
Ilf.. A convenient arrangement o f the dining room, kitchen, and
pantry is o f great importance.
Much time and effort will be saved if the rooms used for the
preparation and serving of food are well arranged. The pantry
should be accessible from both the dining room and the kitchen, and
the refrigerator should be reached easily from the kitchen.
15.
The cottage kitchen should he similar to the kitchen of a pri
vate home. A central kitchen equipped with up-to-date labor-saving
devices is economical hut does not carry out the home idea.
There should be a good sink and refrigerator, a porcelain or zinc
covered table, a good stove, and built-in cupboards. This is the mini
mum equipment. Cooking utensils should be fully adequate for the
number of persons for whom the food is to be prepared.

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THE BUILDINGS

J6. Generous ^provision should he made fo r storing food supplies
disposing o f dishes¡, cooking utensils, and cleaning apparatus con
veniently , and keeping household linen in proper shape?
Storeroom arrangements will depend upon the type of building,
but they must be large enough so that supplies may be sorted in lots
and be easy of access. I f there is a central kitchen, the storeroom
must allow for economical storage of large quantities of food and
nave adequate refrigeration for supplies which must be kept cold.
Sometimes a general storeroom is used and distribution made from
tins to the cottages which have individual kitchens. The storeroom
should have plenty of shelf space, bins properly lined with zinc or
cereals and other dry foods, and dark closets for jellies and
canned fruits and vegetables. Ventilated racks should be supplied
tor keeping vegetables.
,
A good refrigerator with separate compartments for ice, for the
milk and butter, and for other perishable foods is necessary.
Pantries should be properly lighted and ventilated; and there must
be adequate shelving, both inclosed and uninclosed, and also drawer
space tor linen.
There should be a closet for brooms and other cleaning apparatus.
-^^’.^toreroom s fo r hedding and fo r clothing not in use mau he
provided either m a central place or m the separate cottages.
Storerooms should be large enough to allow clothes to be hung so
that light and air will reach them. There should be plenty of shelf
or drawer space for undergarments, shoes, and other articles. There
must be room for storing winter clothes properly during the summer
and for storing summer clothes during the winter, so that thev will
remain m good condition.
18. The cottage laundry should he on the first floor, not in the
basement.
i
laundries in cottages are desirable in order that the
older girls may learn to launder personal clothing and small
articles. The heavy house linen should always be sent to a public
laundry or to the institution laundry (see p. 3 5 ).
The equipment needed in a cottage laundry should be like that
found in the average home (stationary tubs, electric iron, ironing
boards, hot plate, boiler, wringer, and washboard).
TH E CONGREGATE TYPE

19. The congregate institution is characterized generally hy larqe
bmldmgs fo r the care o f children en masse, with little approach to
fam ily h f e.
In spite of the evils o f the congregate system, which have been
discussed for the past 50 years, many substantial congregate build
ings have been constructed for institutions in recent years. Thousands o f dependent children are in institutions o f this sort, m
which obviously they can not receive the degree of individual
care which they should have.
It is held by some that a congregate institution can be built at less
cost than accommodation for the same number o f children dis8 Southard, Lydia : Institutional Household Administration dd 15ft—
pincott Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 1923.
’ pp'

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J. B. Lip-

HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

tributed in cottages. This has not been proved where equal safety
is provided. A congregate institution must be fireproof. The cost
of fireproofing probably offsets the extra costs of separate cottages,
which may be built o f slow-burning material and need not be
fireproof.
T H E G ROU P S Y S T E M IN L A R G E B U IL D IN G S

20. Adaptation o f a congregate plant is possible as a temporary
measure so that the children may receive more individual care.
The group arrangement may be effected by remodeling the congre
gate building, the addition o f new wings being necessary in some
cases.
Plans for remodeling institutions to make possible the small-group
method of care should be developed after much consideration of the
existing buildings and their possibilities. Competent advice is
needed on the technical problems. By reducing the number of
children cared for some institutions can remodel the buildings to
give satisfactory separate living quarters. Others will find it advis
able both to remodel and to add especially fitted wings. Local con
ditions must determine the course of action to be followed.
21. The aim under the group system, as under the cottage system.,
is to provide physical conditions which will make possible the indi
vidual care and treatment of each child.
The children should be divided into groups of not more than 25.
A smaller number is preferable. A supervisor should be assigned to
each group, and separate quarters should be provided for each. A
separate playroom or living room is also necessary. Two dormi
tories are desirable (one for the older and one for the younger
children), with adjoining rooms for the group mother, so that care
ful supervision may be maintained night and day. Separate wash
rooms, bathrooms, toilet rooms, and clothes rooms are needed.
Small dining rooms are preferable and have been provided in some
institutions, the food being distributed from a central kitchen.
Other institutions use the central dining room.
The molding of a child’s character demands intimate personal contact be
tween each child and those who take the place of his parents. Such contact
can hardly be present where children are handled in large masses, as under
the old congregate system. W ith the passage of years there has come into
existence a third type of care known as the group system. It is adaptable
to buildings built on the congregate plan. Its aim is to bring the children those
advantages that are to be had only when they are cared for and educated in
small groups. Experience has shown that almost every child-caring home
can adopt this method of caring for its children without assuming an intoler
able burden. Very often rearrangement of rooms with a slight decrease in the
population and a few extensions is sufficient to provide the facilities needed.
T H E SE M IC O T T A G E A N D S E M IC O N G R E G A T E T Y P E

22. The terms “ semicottage ” and “ semicongregate ” are applied
to many variations o f the cottage and congregate plant.
Probably the most important variation in which features of both
the cottage and congregate type o f institution are embodied is that
* a Program for Catholic Child-Caring Homes (report of the committee on standards,
Sisters’ Conference. National Conference of Catholic Charities, 1923, Proceedings), pp.
9-10. Obtainable from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C.

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THE BUILDINGS

whtn the P°Pulati(>n is divided
1°chlldren’ eaoh group being

mmriteiS l d W J ?

Droviskms T h if m ^ w “ y ° r -may not contain a11 housekeeping
provisions. This method is an improvement over the congregate
institution, but it is not so desirable an arrangement as that obtained
when small groups o f children are cared for in a cottage.
° DtameCl
oome institutions have the large residence including d i n i n g -

tZ m
dLbi n g t r S r a i

haTC b° th the ^

T H E P A V IL IO N T Y P E

TU s ty pe com ists o f two or more connected by corndors, each housing a group o f 12 to 20 children.
V
dinilit ;i l mg arraii?ements
provide for separate kitchens and
d ^ i ^Li <pmS’ ° r thieiS® may be central- The pavilion type may be
desirable for a small institution such as a receiving home if it is

S ^ X l t i bUt 14 " n0t Wdl adapted
R E C E IV IN G H O M E S

H . The building fo r a receiving home usually resembles one o f
g le la te aty p e m °
96
institution,o r it may be o f
The size o f the building will depend upon local conditions and
its equipment will be similar to that o f the types o f institutions
described m the foregoing pages. Since a receiving home is designed
to give very temporary care, often pending family placemen! I t
should have the best features that characterize the^other types o f
institution. The children should be made to benefit as much as posht \ dT ngi
brief stay. A receiving home should have— P
\f{ c mPii facilities for reception and isolation.
(o) Small dormitories and some single bedrooms which permit
segregation of the children who may be cared for at any one time as
boys and girls or older and young children, and children w £ be
others ° f P° SSlble moral or PhJslcal condition might contaminate

generalEn° Ugh bath ^
entire y s n s ^ 1

t0llet rooms’ and g°od sanitary conditions in
^

in the r° ° ms ^oughout^ the

(e) An arrangement o f the supervisors’ rooms permitting close
supervision o f the children.
g C10se
J f ) A supply o f books, toys, games, and handicraft equipment
which will interest the children quickly and keep them interested.
A U X I L I A R Y B U IL D IN G S A N D R O O M S

25.

A n administration building o f the cottage type is preferable

\ V n b u S i g ^ mMCh

mormmental tyPe ° f central administra-

Office rooms should include at least a private office for the super
intendent and a general office in which are found the necessary desks

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS

files and typewriters. A reception room should be near the general
offices. In the cottage institution some of the central storerooms
may be located in the administration building.
°26. An assembly room should be provided in the large institu
tions, also suitable rooms fo r religious services if the children do not
attend church outside.
This may be a regular auditorium or a large room with a movable
stao-e in which the children can gather for parties, theatricals, and
other entertainments, and should be sufficiently large to seat all the
children.
Provision should be made for a proper place for religions services,
preferably separate from the assembly hall.
27. Convenient and attractive living quarters should be furnished
fo r the staff if people o f the desired intelligence and culture are to
be obtained to care for the children (see p., 1 2 )..
,
The superintendent’s home or apartment should be large enough
for comfortable living. A reasonable proportion of space and ex
pense must be devoted to living quarters for the staff. W ork with
children is tiring, and the people who do this work deserve com
fortable accommodations. Each supervisor should have a living
room and bedroom (with private bath) adjacent to the doimitories,
so that nio-ht supervision may be maintained. Quarters should be
provided for relief matrons as well as for the regular supervisors,
and some provision should also be made for guests. »
When the institution is so located that the teaching stall, gen
eral houseworker, or other employees can come in by the day, rooms
which can be used in an emergency will suffice. I f all the workers
must live in the institution, each appropriate group of them needs
comfortable single bedrooms, with a bathroom and living room m
common.
28. Isolation rooms should be in a separate cottage or entirely
isolated from the rest o f the house.
The isolation cottage should be some distance troin other cot
tages. Every device is needed to keep the children comfoi table and
happy during the period of isolation. Single rooms and rooms
accommodating three children in the isolation or reception cottage
will perrpit such segregating as may be desirable. I f both boys and
girls are received by the institution, suitable plans should be de
veloped for their supervision and care while in the isolation cottage.
The nurses or matrons in charge o f the isolation cottage should
have rooms similar to those for the supervisors in other cottages.
The treatment room or dispensary (see pi 48) should not be
attached to the isolation department.
y
‘
'
29. Rooms fo r the sick should be similarly isolated. W hether one
or more rooms which can be isolated from the others are used or
a separate building provided will depend upon the type o f building
adopted and the number o f children to be cared for by the institu^When a separate building is used for infirmary purposes it may
be one story high and of inexpensive construction. The amount
of space and of equipment desirable for an infirmary* also for
laboratory, dispensary, and treatment room (see pp. 25, 48-49),
will depend upon the outside "hospital service available.

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Ï H È BUILDINGS

SO. The central laundry should be well ventilated and should have
modern machinery. It should be in a separate one-story budding if
possible but may be combined with the heating plant.
In case a separate building* can not be provided there should be
rooms placed so that the steam and odor will not reach other parts
of the house and the ironing room should be separate from the wash
room. Adult employees should do the work in the general laundry.
It is likely to be too heavy for children and has little vocational
interest or value. Moreover, many of the operations required in a
steam laundry are forbidden to children under most State factory
laws.
Adequate labor-saving machinery makes for economy and should
be supplied whether the work is done by paid employees or by the
larger children in the institution.
31. W hether a tool house and garage or still other auxiliary build
ings are needed will depend upon the size o f the institution and its
requirements.
F U R N IS H IN G S A N D E Q U IP M E N T

32; The rooms in an institution should not differ greatly from
similar rooms in a comfortable private residence. A. homelihe effect
must be sought.5
The choice of colors for walls should be made carefully. Cheerful
colors rarely cost any more than depressing ones, and the atmos
phere of a room depends largely upon the background furnished
by its walls. Pretty window draperies should be used. Materials
of good quality are cheaper in the end than those which cost little
at the start but need to be replaced soon.
33. W ith a little study and forethought, the living room may be
made an attractive room that will especially appeal to the chil
dren.
There should be comfortable straight chairs and rocking chairs,
small tables, a piano, and a phonograph, if possible, and a radio set.
Built-in seats are a pleasing addition. There should be some good
pictures of subjects which interest children. Pictures and mirrors
should be hung rather low on the walls. A fireplace (with screen
always in place when the fire is burning) is desirable.
Durability and suitability must be considered in the selection
o f furniture.6
Furniture should be of simple lines and strong construction.
Steel furniture may well be considered because of its strength and
its durable finish. In general a paint finish should be avoided
except in the form of baked enamel. Well-constructed furniture
does not break or wear out so quickly as cheap pieces; therefore it
is more economical in the long run. In addition to tables and chairs
o f ordinary sizes for the larger children, there should be some
small chairs and low tables for the small children. Bookcases and
cupboards to which the children have free access should be
low enough to permit all the shelves to be reached easily.
5 Sanders, Mrs. Charles Bradley : How to Furnish the Small Home ; a handbook for
furnishing and decorating the inexpensive house. Better Homes in America, Washington,
D. C., 1924.
6 Southard, Lydia : Institutional Household Administration, pp. 70-99. J. B. Lippin
cott Co., Philadelphia, 1923.

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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

35. The library and study room should be so arranged that the
children may study com fortably and quietly, in good light.
There should be low shelves for the books which the children may
have at will and closed cases for books to be used only with per
mission. A number of comfortable chairs of different sizes should
be provided, and enough tables to obviate any need o f crowding.
The walls, window draperies, and pictures should receive as much
consideration as those of the living room.
36. The playroom should have accommodation fo r both quiet and
active games (see pp. 95, 100).
There should be sufficient closet or cupboard room for games and
toys, individual lockers for the children’s private possessions, and
enough tables and chairs o f different sizes. A piano or phonograph
is a desirable addition. Proper protection for lighting fixtures and
windows will permit a greater latitude in the kinds of play allowed.
37. The dining room should have small tables (each seating six
or eight children). It should be attractive and convenient.
The chairs should be accommodated to the sizes of the children
so that each child may be comfortable and have opportunity to
eat properly. Linen should be white.7 Doilies, mats, or runners
may be used on polished or painted tables. There should be indi
vidual holders for napkins. The dishes should be of reasonably
light porcelain or earthenware, and the glassware in keeping with
it. Knives, forks, and spoons should be of plated silver or a metal
resembling it.
F or list o f references on buildings see Chapter X V , page 123.
7 Ibid.,

pp. 113-114.

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Chapter V.-—ADMISSIONS
PO LIC IE S G O V E R N IN G A D M IS S IO N S

The admission 'policy should be determined by three main fac
tors: 1 he needs o f the group to be served, the resources o f the com
munity, and the type o f work to be undertaken.
The needs ° f the group which the institution is endeavoring to
serve should be considered carefully. Note should be taken o f all the
resources m the community which are available for meeting some of
i - nee(*s- Then the type of work which the institution, by virtue
ot its plant, staff, and financial support, is best qualified to undertake
can be chosen most intelligently.
In communities where the social work is well organized an insti
tution may find it advisable to specialize in a certain type of care or in
,[or a certain group. In other places it may be necessary to ex
tend the activities of the institution to include work ordinarily per
formed by other social agencies. Policies must of necessity differ
since needs vary, the resources of communities differ, and the plant,
staff, and financial backing of institutions are not alike.
Denning the intake policy should cover the following points :
(a) Designation of the person or group responsible for pass
ing upon admissions.
& Type o f investigation required.
w Person or agency responsible for investigation.
(d) Restrictions upon admissions.
(e)
Form o f transfer o f custody or control required.
(/) Length o f time during which the children received will
remain in the institution.
Ih e admission policy should be reconsidered at intervals and
revised when it appears that the institution can thus render a more
valuable service.
The admission policy should be definite, but it must not be allowed to
crystallize. Periodic revision is desirable in order that account may
be taken o f changing conditions.
J
.
Admission should be limited to the children fo r whom the
institution is qualified by staff and equipment to give adequate care.
Diverse activities for varied groups are successfully conducted by
some institutions, but the average institution must confine itself to
providing for the needs o f a rather limited group. Only those chil
dren should be received whose needs can be met by the institution
and they should be kept only so long as they benefit more from the5
care given in that institution than from other available care. , Delin1
K T Ï S

“

ttaeimttationerS Si0UW b“ ronslderea

tlh e Sa.im"e
of vfcw of

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HANDBOOK FOE INSTITUTIONS

quent children and those having any decided mental defect
should not be accepted for care with dependent children (see p. 63).
Jf. Responsibility fo r admissions should be definitely fixed. The
superintendent, acting alone or in conjunction with a case committee
o f the board, should control all admissions.
The superintendent should be empowered to make final decision on
all emergency cases. The case committee should meet at least weekly
when there are any applications to consider. 5. E very child should be regarded as a member o f a fam ily group
whose integrity is of importance both to the child and to society.
No child should regarded as an isolated unit. Facts relating to
the social, economic, physical, and mental condition o f the child’s
family as well as of the child himself all should be procured. When
sufficient data have been obtained a decision should be reached on the
following questions:
.
.
.
(a ) Is there any possible way o f caring for the child properly m
his own home? "
.
(b) What resources does the community offer for care in a foster
home?
.
.
.
.
(c ) Is the institution equipped to give the kind o f care which this
child needs ?
(d) Does institutional care meet the needs o f this child better than
any other kind o f care which can be provided for him ?
IM P O R T A N C E O F IN V E S T IG A T IO N B Y T R A IN E D W O R K E R S

6. A thorough investigation o f applications for admission is es
sential to any well-conducted institution. The inform ation needed
os a basis fo r intelligent admission is the same fo r a small institution
as fo r a large one.
An institution should feel itself obligated, no matter what its
size, to find out the facts about the children it admits. Careful in
vestigation should be made for every child admitted, regardless of
the probable length o f his stay.
7. Some methods o f accomplishing thorough investigation are as
follow s (see also Ch. X IV , especially pp. 109, 111, 114) : _
(a) The institution may employ one or more trained social workers
to make the investigations for admission. It is important that these
people do their work in close cooperation with other social agencies
in the community.
(b ) Two or more small institutions may cooperate in procuring
the services of a competent person. Such combinations are advisable
only when the number of applications is so limited that one person
can handle the joint work in an adequate manner.
(c) A private agency, such as a children’s aid society or a family
agency, may make investigations for an institution.
(d) A central admission agency or bureau may be maintained
by a group of institutions. The group may be united by a common
religious faith, or all may receive support from a common fund, or
there may be a loose organization o f voluntary members. Although
the methods of operation in such agencies differ, time is generally
saved by them for both relatives and institutional workers, duplica
tion o f work is avoided, better understanding of the children who

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ADMISSIONS

need help is acquired, and a more satisfactory adjustment is likely
to be made.
These agencies find it desirable to work very closely with the
family case-work agency, for the child’s problem must be considered
as a family problem and the plans made for him should include his
family. When the family agency is enlisted the possibilities of ad
justments in the child’s own home are greater.
8. Trained social workers are needed fo r investigations, the num
ber to be employed defending upon the size o f the institution.
The superintendent should not be expected to make the investiga
tions. The experience and training which qualify a person for the
work o f superintending an institution are quite different from those
required for. a social case worker. Moreover, the superintendent has
enough to do managing the institution, and he could not devote time
to investigation without neglecting his other duties.
Volunteer workers seldom have the experience necessary to make
adequate investigations or the time to devote to it. This work de
mands the best type of experienced social worker, just as a physician
o f recognized standing should be called upon for a diagnosis of
the child’s physical condition.
9. Persons who are in charge o f admissions should be inform ed as
to the help which the State is prepared to give and should familiarize
themselves with all types o f social work being done in the community
and with the assistance available from the various agencies.
Through the preliminary investigation the type o f care required
is determined, and constructive plans can then be made. Conditions
may point to the desirability of hospital care or the need of training
in a special school or in a State institution rather than in a private
one. Sometimes care must be provided for a child who if placed
in the institution would be detrimental to the other children (see
p. 63). A carefully selected boarding home may meet such a child’s
need. Every child has a right to the kind o f care best suited to
his needs.
10. No child should be considered fo r admission until something is
known of his relatives'1 ability and willingness to care fo r him.
Personal visits should be made to relatives who live fairly near.
Contact with relatives living at a distance should be made by re
questing agencies there to make visits. The cooperation o f relatives
should be sought at the start, not after the child has been in the
institution for months. Relatives can be very helpful in giving
facts concerning family history and an insight into the character of
different members of the family, and also by active cooperation in
carrying out a plan for the child’s future.
11. A detemnined effort should be made to adfust the child with
his own fam ily satisfactorily. P overty alone is not a sufficient reason
for removal.
Financial aid may be the chief thing required to keep the family
intact. Aid from public funds for dependent children or assistance
from a family case-work agency may solve the family problem. In
communities where such funds are not available some institutions are
maintaining children in their own homes with institution funds.
An investigation frequently discloses the fact that no real reason
exists for the removal of children from their own homes. Institu
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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

tional care may be the line of least resistance, but when it is denied
many families are capable of making their own adjustments.
A mother with one child sometimes attempts to place the child in
an institution so that she may work. Assistance may be given by
finding for such a mother a suitable place to live where the child
may be well cared for while she works. Such help is especially
needed by the widow and deserted woman and by the unmarried
mother who with some help can maintain herself and her child. In
many cases this may be much better than providing institutional
care for the child.
Children o f widowers require very careful consideration. I f they
are accepted for care in the institution, as close a relationship should
be maintained between the father and children as is possible and
advisable under existing conditions. The father should be required
to pay for their care according to his ability, and every effort should.
be made to foster in him a feeling o f responsibility for his children.
Children whose parents are separated should be accepted only
after careful investigation o f conditions. Easy disposition of these
children is not in the best interests o f the family or o f society.
12. I f applicants fo r admission are not eligible in accorda/nce with
the policies o f the institution, the institution should be able to refer
them to other agencies or to help them in some way to obtain the
kind o f assistance needed.
13. A social investigation should be made before admission except
when emergency care must be given and when the investigation mustin consequence follow immediately upon the reception o f the child.
The first purpose o f an investigation is to determine whether the
child should be received by the institution. The importance to the
child, to the family, and to the institution o f admitting only those
children who are in real need of care has not been sufficiently appre
ciated by many organizations which are doing good work in other
respects. The information obtained in the earlier investigation (see
p. 38) should be preserved and used as the basis for the later and
more thorough study.
. A social investigation should include visits to the childis home
and interviews with relatives and other sources o f inform ation con
cerning the character o f the home and the needs o f the child.
A careful questioning of the immediate family and relatives is nec
essary ; and many statements—such as those concerning wages, prop
erty, and cash holdings—must be verified. The following sources
may be o f help in learning the facts which make it possible to under
stand the background of the family and to discover present needs:
The confidential exchange and social agencies which have known the
case; near and distant relatives; employers; members o f fraternal
orders; the minister; the physician; and teachers. The information
which the teacher and the school authorities can give is especially
important.
15. The facts collected rrmst be considered carefully and a plan
made fo r the child and his fam ily as soon as the child has been ad
mitted.
.
Care in the institution may be a part o f the plan, but the imme
diate need for care should not be allowed to obscure the larger need
for adjustment in a family home—the child’s own when possible,

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ADMISSIONS

otherwise a foster home. A t the time o f admission of the child to
the institution a plan should be made for his early adjustment into
his own home if this is possible. I f there is no suitable home a plan
should be made, based on a careful study o f the child as an indi
vidual and in relation to his family group. Individualization re
sulting from thorough study should be the basis of any plan. It
should be a part o f the social worker’s duty to keep in touch with
the child’s family, keeping alive the contact between child and
parent.
16. E very child admitted to the institution should have cl thorough
physical examination, without delay (see Ch. Y I, Physical Care
p. 46).
The preliminary investigation deals with the child in his relation
to his family and to the community. When the need for institu
tional care has been demonstrated, the child’s individual possibili
ties and needs must be studied. Children admitted to institutions
are much more likely to need especial attention in regard to both
physical and mental needs than are the children living in normal
homes (see p. 44).
17. Inform ation should he procured which will tell something o f
the child’s mental and moral development and his general behavior
(see p. 69).
The best sources for this information are: The child himself*
members o f the child’s immediate family and other relatives ; teach
ers and school records ; and mental examination by a skilled psychol
ogist (see p. 65). For some cases a study of the child’s personality
and behavior by a psychiatrist specializing in work with children is
desirable (see p. 65).
116. There are some children who should not he received in institu
tions fo r dependent children, either fo r their own good or fo r that o f
the other children.
'
(a) Some children, chiefly among those over 12 years o f age, have
become so firmly established in delinquency and are at the same time
so dominating with younger children that they should not be ad
mitted to institutions for the dependent. It should be left to the
psychologist and the physician o f the institution staff to decide
however, whether a given child is a real menace to the others, and
therefore to be excluded, or whether his delinquent tendencies can
be corrected by wise treatment without danger that the other chil
dren may be subjected to corrupting influences (see Ch. V I I I Mental
Health, p. 65). i
(h) Children very much below the general average o f the com
munity are not able to adapt themselves to conditions set for the
average. They suffer from a sense of inferiority and are a handicap
to the other children. They should be placed in institutions for the
defective or in individual family homes.
(c)
Children who are quite normal but who have the type o f per
sonality that does not adapt itself easily to group life suffer in spirit
when placed in a group and they react badly. I f it proves impossible to make a child, happy in an institution and he continues resentful and uncooperative in spite o f an earnest effort to understand his
troubles and to help him, the psychiatrist or psychologist should be
consulted as to the provision that should be made for him (see p. 63).

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C O U R T C O M M IT M E N T S A N D V O L U N T A R Y

SURRENDERS

19. Court commitments are always desirable when permanent cus- '
tody is assumed and when children are removed from their own
homes, either temporarily or permanently, because o f im proper
guardianship, neglect, or cruelty.
When a permanent commitment is made or surrender is given legal
custody o f the child is assumed during the period of minority. A
temporary commitment gives control for the period specified or until
such time as the committing court changes the court order.
20. Transfer o f legal custody should be made only through court
action.
,
The permanent transfer of legal custody is a serious matter.
Hasty and ill-considered action should not be allowed. By court
procedure the rights of both the parents and the institution can be
safeguarded more readily. Parents should not be permitted to
release children for adoption without court action.
Surrenders by parent to institutions in States which do not have
laws covering the transfer of legal custody of children 2 should be
made subject to the condition that the institution promises to return
the child to the parent when thorough investigation by the institution
shows that the parent is able and fit to care for the child satisfac
torily. This puts the burden of proof on the parents, but also places
on the institution the responsibility for investigation.
When a child is placed in an institution because he is improperly
cared for in his own home it should be possible to keep him under
jurisdiction until the unfavorable conditions are remedied. This
can be done with certainty only when the court orders the child com
mitted to the institution, thus necessitating an order from the court
to remove him. This need not mean that the child must be kept in
the institution; he may be placed in a family home, though remain
ing under the jurisdiction o f the institution.
21. When careful investigation has been made and follow-up work
done the cases ( other than those o f im proper guardianship and
neglect) which appear to require temporary care may be accepted
without recourse to the courts.
Very careful investigations are needed in all cases, whether the
children need only temporary care or whether permanent custody is
required. Ill-considered and hasty action in accepting children for
temporary care frequently separates families unnecessarily for pro
tracted periods and sometimes breaks up the family. It is advisable
to make careful investigations, for every child admitted, regardless
o f the probable length o f his stay.
22. In case children have been received for temporary care only,
and after they have been admitted the necessity for a permanent
transfer of custody arises, the court should be asked to make the
order.
T H E F IN A N C IA L R E S P O N S IB IL IT Y O F R E L A T IV E S

23. I f children who are placed in institutions have relatives who
are able to pay in full or in part for the children's care, these rela
tives should be compelled to pay.
2 Adoption Laws in the United States, by Emelyn Foster Peck.
Bureau Publication No. 148. Washington, 1925.

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When there are relatives who can pay for the children in the
institution, they should be held responsible for their support, accord
ing to their ability to pay. In order to gauge their ability to pay a
study of the income and necessary expenses o f the family should be
made a part of the investigation and an order to support made to
fit each case. When a temporary commitment is made by the court,
an order for support should be made by the court.
2Jf.. I f the child is received direct from the fam ily, a contract to
support should he signed by the person responsible.
An order or agreement to support should be enforced, like any
other order or agreement. Relatives should not be allowed to go
for months without paying. I f conditions are such that the money
can not be paid without causing hardship, the order or agreement
should be modified to fit new conditions.
Many children must be kept without any financial assistance from
relatives. When a careful study has shown that there are no rela
tives who can pay, even in part, for the support of the child in the
institution, then the responsibility for the child must be assumed by
public or private charity.
F or list o f references on admissions see Chapter X V , page 123.
2204°—27----- 4

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Chapter VI.— PHYSICAL CARE 1
S A F E G U A R D IN G H E A L T H

1. The medical work in an institution fo r children should he organ
ized from the standpoint o f maintaining health.
Everything possible must be done to prevent illness and to build
up strong, healthy bodies able to resist disease rather than to pro
vide elaborately for treatment of the disease after it has been con
tracted. Most o f the children who are accepted for care are re
ceived from dependent or semidependent families. For this reason
they have a larger percentage of physical defects (15 to 20 per cent
greater in some instances) than are to be found among similar groups
o f children who come from well-to-do homes. Hence they are in
especial need o f preventive work.
This fact places upon the trustees and staff of an institution an
obligation to compensate for the earlier years of neglect which have
left the child malnourished, susceptible to infection, and handi
capped by physical defects and behavior problems. Their obligation
can be met only by—
{a) Thorough physical and mental examinations preliminary to
the child’s admission.
(b) Carrying out o f the recommendations based upon examina
tions made (including all corrective work the need of which is re
ported to be immediate).
(c) An organized régime for the physical and mental life of each
child calculated to maintain health after any gross effects o f past
neglect have been corrected.
The medical and nursing staff.

2. The staff fo r health service depends upon the size o f the institu
tion. Usually it should include a physician, nurse, and dentist/ con
sultation and clinic or private-office service should be had when
needed.
(a) A supervising physician, preferably one trained in the dis
eases of children, should be employed regularly. He may be either
a full-time resident physician or a part-time visiting physician, but
in any case he should be a regular member o f the staff, responsible
to the superintendent and submitting regular reports. This will
relate the health work to the supervisory and administrative work
o f the institution. In matters o f health the physician’s authority
should be superior to that of the superintendent, who otherwise
might not carry out the spirit or letter o f the instructions. Many
institutions are able to secure volunteer medical service but can not
1 It is the consensus of opinion that institutional care for babies should be avoided,
care in individual boarding homes being preferable. Since some babies are being cared
for in institutions at the present time, however, this chapter has been prepared to include
standards o f care for infants as well as for older children.
44

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pay a supervisory physician. It should be recognized that the
volunteer service is not a satisfactory substitute for paid service
and is used only until the institution can meet this necessary item
in its budget.
(b)
A trained registered nurse or a practical nurse should be in
residence. A visiting nurse may serve, the nurse or her organization
being compensated for her service, but few institutions are so small
that they do not need the full-time services of a nurse.
(<?) A dentist on full-time service should be in residence or give
part-time visiting service; or service may be given in the dentist’s
office and compensated.
(d) Consultation or clinic or private-office services of oculist, and
nose, throat, and ear specialist must be sought whenever needed and
should be compensated i f possible.
(e) A psychologist should be in residence or should visit for men
tal measurements and consultation on behavior problems.1“
( / ) . The services of an orthopedic surgeon should be available.
This is necessary for the examination of certain children and for
the supervision of posture work for the whole group of children.
3.
The health of the staff arnd employees should be under the super
vision o f the medical staff of the institution.
The members of the staff and the employees should be examined
to insure the absence o f tuberculosis and venereal disease (see p. 14).
The isolation period.

4- I f the children _have no outside contacts, such as attendance
at public school, social functions, and public theaters, an isolation
period o f at least three or four days follow ing admission is desirable.
There is a difference of opinion as to the length o f isolation neces
sary. Some physicians hold that a two weeks’ period is required,
since this is the minimum time for quarantining against infectious
diseases. I f the period is shorter than two weeks, certain diseases
will be avoided, but others will not be.
When life in the institution permits outside contacts a period of
isolation is useless so far as the common contagious diseases are concerned. However, if such an isolation period is adopted it should be
absolute during both waking and sleeping hours for each child in
the receiving home or isolation ward, since each new admission is a
potential source of infection for all children. This period of
quarantine may be used for a careful study of each child’s physical
and mental state and behavior and the administration o f such treat
ment as may be prescribed by the physician—as vaccination, toxinantitoxin, or treatment for pediculosis or for scabies. Training
can also be started for the correction of any bad habits.
The loneliness suffered by children in isolation must be guarded
against as far as possible.
In actual practice the isolation period is very likely to become ob
solete since most progressive institutions tend to increase outside con
tacts for all their children, and a careful preadmission history of
exposure with close observation o f the preliminary symptoms and
physical signs of contagious disease will serve to reduce to a minimum
10 Some State departments provide sucli service» or it may be secured by cooperative
agreement with some private organization.

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the dangers o f an epidemic. But in institutions for infants or in in
stitutions where young children are housed separately from older
children, isolation should be made the regular practice.
Physical examination.

5. A thorough 'physical examination o f each child should he made
by a competent physician before the child is admitted or immediately
thereafter. I solation should continue until the examination.
Examination by a physician who is a member of the staff is prefer
able. The following items should be considered and the findings
made a matter o f record : 2
Age, height, weight.
General appearance :
Facial expression.
Color of skin and mucous mem
brane. '
Body temperature.
State of nutrition.
Muscular development.
Subcutaneous fat.
J oints.
Skeletal development :
T ype: Thin, intermediate, stocky.
Posture.
Spine : Lordosis, scoliosis, kypho
sis.
Evidence of rickets.
In head, chest, extremities.
Skin:
Dry.
Rash (describe).
Scalp.
Lymph nodes :
Enlarged.
Cervical, epitrochlear, axillary,
inguinal.
Eyes :
Strabismus.
Other defects.
Vision.
Ears :
Discharge.
Hearing.
Drums.
Nose :
Obstruction.
Discharge (describe).
Adenoids.
Turbinates enlarged.
Septum deviated.
Throat :
Tonsils enlarged.
Tonsils diseased.

T ee th :
Clean.
Number.
Carious.
Abscessed.
Filled. •
Out.
Occlusion.
Tongue tie.
Palate defect (specify).
G u m s:
Bleeding.
Inflammation.
Heart :
Specify details if abnormal.
L u n gs:
Specify details if abnormal.
Abdom en:
Muscles.
Liver enlarged.
Spleen enlarged.
Umbilicus infected.
H ern ia:
Umbilical.
Inguinal.
Femoral.
G enitals:
Testes descended.
Phimosis.
Circumcised.
Hydrocele.
Vaginal discharge.
Nervous system :
Chvostek’s sign.
Knee jerks.
Spasticity.
Paralyses (describe).
M entality:
Normal.
Retarded.

6. Certain laboratory examinations should be made as a matter
o f routine. Additional examinations should be made when recom
mended by the physician.
3 Standards for Physicians Conducting Conferences in Child-Health Centers. U. S. Children s Bureau Publication No. 154. Washington, 1926. The physical-examination record
forms shown in this publication may be obtained in quantities from the Superintendent of
Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. For children over 6 years of
age, see the Baldwin-Wood weight-height-age tables (American Child Health Association,
New lo r k ). Nearly all State departments of public health or welfare furnish the blanks
that institutions need for examinations.

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P H Y SIC A L CARE

( a) Wassermann test, tuberculin test, Schick test, vaginal smear,
urine examination, and throat culture should be made for every
child on admission,
(b) All children not already vaccinated against smallpox should
be vaccinated on admission, and all children having positive Schick
tests should be given toxin-antitoxin.
( c ) Other examinations, such as blood, sputum, stool, and X ray,
should be made as indicated.
(d) Certain tests, such as the tuberculin, urine, and blood test,
should be repeated as indicated from time to time.
(e ) Prophylaxis against typhoid fever, scarlet fever, and measles
should be undertaken in case o f exposure .o f any children to these
diseases. Satisfactory arrangements usually can be made with hos
pital clinics for examinations, when there is no staff physician, and
also for laboratory tests.
7. H eight and weight should be recorded at regular intervals.
The weight of infants under 1 year of age and that of under
weight children of any age should be recorded weekly ; that of chil
dren over 1 year should be recorded monthly; and that of children
6 years of age and over, once in three months.
8. A ll medical records should be kept in the institution (see Ch.
X IV , p. 1 1 2 ).
Records must be kept for each infant or child. These should
include the history o f previous illnesses, accidents, and operations,
all physical examinations, notes on the feeding or diet recommended
by the physician, and notes on conditions observed by the nurse or
nutrition worker. The notes made by the physician and nurse
should be made on the same sheet, the order being chronological.
Notes made by the nurse may be in red ink and those made by the
physician in black ink so that they may be quickly differentiated.
Medical and health-supervision records should be in the control of
the institution physician. Definite medical-history blanks should be
supplied having printed on them each item on which information is
desired.3
9. A routine dental examination should be made every six months.
Having the teeth in good condition promotes general good health.
Frequent examination will insure the immediate correction o f defects
that might otherwise pass unnoticed until they become aggravated
Regular cleaning by the dentist is also essential.
10. A routine health examination by the staff physician every six
months is necessary if the children are to be kept in the best physical
condition, and also routine eye, ear, nose, and throat examinations
once a year by specialists.
In addition to the regular examinations and the calls made when
ever any special need arises, the physician should visit the institu
tion at regular intervals in accordance with the following minimum :
He should see any babies in the institution once a week; the chil
dren under 6 years o f age once in two weeks; and the children over
6 years of age once a month. Since the medical work o f an institu
tion for children should be essentially preventive, the physician must
work from the standpoint of health and not of disease. This neces
sitates constant supervision.
2 See footnote 2, p. 112.

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11. A report o f the physical condition o f the children should he
made by the nurse or superintendent to the physician onee each
week.
Deviations from the normal on the part of any child should be
made a matter of record on the child’s continuous history sheet
(see p. 1 1 2 ).
Correction o f defects.

12. Special surgical, medical, and dental services should he ob
tained when necessary.
Cases o f diseased tonsils, adenoids, and nasal obstructions require
surgical treatment by a specialist. Infected tonsils must be treated
or removed, and adenoids or nasal obstructions should be removed.
I f general hospital facilities are not available, it is possible to ar
range for periodic clinics to be held at the institution as occasion
requires.
An oculist should be called in consultation for all cases presenting
symptoms o f eye strain; and glasses should be furnished to children
whose need o f them has been determined.
Posture classes should be organized for children in need of cor
rective work in relation to posture. Such classes should be organ
ized under the direction of an orthopedic surgeon and the exercises
performed daily thereafter under the supervision of the staff nurse.4
Nutrition classes should be organized and systematic nutrition
work planned unless such unusual facilities for the care o f under
nourished children are available that individual care may be given
(see p. 51). Measures should also be taken to care for children who
are abnormally overweight.
Decayed teeth must be treated and filled promptly, or they must be
removed if the dentist so advises; and all other needed dental care
must be given without delay.
The infirmary and dispensary.

. I 3- A treatment room fo r the dressing o f minor surgical cases and
injuries is needed. This room may also serve as a dispensary.
Depending upon the physician in charge and the size o f the insti
tution, there may be in addition to the dispensary a room and equip
ment for minor operations, a laboratory for use in making urinary
analyses and simple bacteriological smears, a sterilizer, and a dental
chair.
The equipment needed will also depend upon the hospital facilities
available in the neighborhood.
Ilf.. The infirmary should he eguipped fo r the- control o f coniaaion
(seep. 45).
When a regular hospital is available for the care o f children suf
fering from eruptive diseases and fevers it should be used. Chil
dren suffering from colds and respiratory diseases, as well as other
illnesses, should be cared for in the infirmary o f the institution.
15.
One bed in the infirmary to every 25 children in the institution
is a minimum provision, and 100 square feet o f floor space per bed,
with good cross ventilation.
. ‘ -Posture Clinics; organization and exercises, by Armin Klein, M. D. U. S. ChilS f l l S Ure8U Publication No. 164. Washington, 1926. A set of six charts on posture
standards may be purchased from the Government Printing Office, Washington D C
(See description obtainable from the U. S. Children’s Bureau, Washngton, DV C )

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The number o f infirmary beds is determined by the relation o f the
institution to outside hospitals. When no outside hospital facilities
are available the institution will require more beds than the mini
mum provision.
I f a ward is used cubicles should be provided to minimize the
danger o f cross infection. Muslin curtains or screens may be used,
or beds may be arranged alternately head to foot. I f funds permit,
the partitions may be of glass in order to reduce the loneliness of the
children and to facilitate nursing supervision.
H E A L T H H A B IT S
Eating.

16. M eals, should be served at regular hours. Eating between
meals or shortly before a meal should be discouraged.
I f children are in school a hot lunch should be provided at noon
and the evening meal made the substantial meal o f the day. Suf
ficient time should be .allowed at each meal for the thorough mastica
tion o f food (25 to 30 minutes).
17. A start should be made in training the children in good habits
just as soon as they enter the institution.
Children must be taught early to eat simple nourishing foods and
not to refuse any variety of food served to them. Some bad food
habits commonly found in children which need correction are eating
between meals, refusal to eat certain foods such as cereals and green
vegetables, the desire to eat only sweet or starchy foods, eating too
fast and not chewing the food properly, washing down food with
liquids, and not sitting down at a table for meals.
To Teach children good food habits requires patience and much
individual attention; but even children of normal weight may suffer
in later years if they do not learn to eat properly.
Elimination.

18. A n attempt should be made to secure a bowel movement at a
■fixed time, such as immediately after breakfast or supper.
Health depends to a great extent on the elimination o f waste prod
ucts. Calls to the toilet should be obeyed promptly. For that reason
it is essential that an institution be equipped with sufficient toilets.
Satisfactory elimination is prompted by eating fruits, green veg
etables, and whole-grain cereals, and by drinking plenty o f water.
19. The^ bladder should be emptied immediately on rising and be
fore retiring, with at least one or two additional evacuations during
the day.
Children’s eliminative processes are more active than those o f adults.
This fact should be kept in mind by persons who undertake the chil
dren’s training. Kegular and fixed times for going to the toilet
should be established.
W ashing and bathing.

20. A daily bath is desirable/ two warm baths ( tub or shower)
each week should be the minimum.
Cold plunges or showers may be taken in the morning, but they
must be followed by a vigorous rubbing to stimulate the general cir
culation. Warm baths should be given at night at least twice a week
even i f cold baths are given daily. Cold baths are not intended to be

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cleansing. Their temperature should be between 50° and 60°.
Warm baths should have a temperature between 98° and 105°.
The hair should be washed not less often than every two weeks.
21. A daily routine should ■be established. The follow ing items
(in addition to the bath) are recommended:
(a) Wash the hands and face on rising and before retiring.
(b ) Brush the teeth on rising and before retiring.
(c ) Wash the ears regularly (as before retiring).
(d) Wash the hands and brush the hair before each meal.
(e) Wash the hands after going to the toilet.
( / ) Clean the finger nails daily (they should be trimmed weekly).
Each child should be taught as soon as possible to perform these
services for himself. There should be sufficiently close inspection to
insure the carrying out o f the routine. Personal cleanliness pro
motes self-respect and training the children in habits of cleanliness
will result incidentally in economy in the laundering of towels.
22. Individual toilet articles are needed.
(a) The comb and hairbrush belonging to each child should be
labeled and kept in a separate sanitary place so that they do not
come in contact with articles belonging to other children. They
should be kept clean by washing in borax water once a week.
(b ) Toothbrushes should be labeled and should hang where air
and light can reach them.
(c) Soap o f good quality and tooth paste (or powder) should
be provided for each child.
23. Individual towels and wash cloths should be provided.
(a) The wash cloth for each child should be hung so that it
will not come in contact with articles belonging to other children.
Wash cloths should be changed three times a week. They should be
boiled and sunned weekly.
(b ) Face towels should be changed at least three times a
week. Each child’s towel should be hung "where it does not come
in contact with other children’s towels and where it will be well
aired.
(c) Bath towels should be changed weekly. The hangers must
be arranged to provide for airing and to prevent any child’s towel
from coming in contact with those of any other child. The ordinary
bent-wire clothing hook, with a little adjustment, provides a hanger
for the towel and a rack for the toothbrush.
Sleeping.

2Jf. The habit o f going to bed at a fixed hour a/nd ¡promptly going
to sleep should be form ed early.
Health, both mental and physical, depends upon properly regu
lated hours o f work, recreation, and sleep. No hilarious play should
be permitted immediately before the hour o f going to bed, since the
excitement is very likely to delay sleep.
25.
Ghild/ren under 6 years o f age require 12 hours o f sleep at
might (7 p. m. to 7 a. m .) and a nap o f at least an hour during the
day. Ghild/ren between 6 and 11 years o f age require at least 10
hours o f sleep at night (8 or 9 p. m. to 7 a. m .).
Many children over 6 years o f age need a daytime nap or at least
a period of rest during the day as much as the younger children

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need it. This is especially true of the nervous, high-strung, or
undernourished child (see p. 5 3 ).
E X P O S U R E TO S U N L IG H T

26. A ll children should be exposed to direct sunlight during a part
o f every sunny day in both winter and summer.
The baby or young child who has been kept out of doors and
tanned by the sun is strikingly healthy and vigorous in contrast to
the pale, flabby child who has been kept indoors. Sunlight has
undeniably beneficial effects.5 Children under 2 years of age should
have their sun baths on southwest porches or at least in front
of a sunny open window even in the wintertime; and older children
may play in sunny yards. The rays of the sun must reach the child’s
skin directly. Window glass, as well as clothing, obstructs the
passing o f the ultra-violet rays that have been found to exert the
preventive and healing influence especially observed in the case of
rickets.
T H E N U T R IT IO N P R O G R AM

27.
^The purpose o f a nutrition program is to maintain the normal
nutrition o f all the children in the institution 6 by giving especial
attention to the nutritional needs o f those who are undernourished.
The services of an expert nutrition worker and of a physician ex
perienced in this field should be obtained if possible when the nutri
tion program is to be initiated. Institutions fortunate enough to be
situated in cities having nutrition clinics usually can receive service
from them. I f the permanent services of a nutrition worker can not
be afforded and no clinic is accessible, an expert should be employed
for a time to cooperate with the staff physician; and the latter should
familiarize himself with this type of work so that he can continue
it with the help of the staff nurse and the cottage mothers.
28. E very institution should develop a system whereby the children
are examined regularly^ to ascertain their nutritional state, and those
found to be undernourished are selected for special care.
The value of a nutrition program in institutions has been demon
strated repeatedly by improvement in the health of undernourished
children. The superintendent of an institution which has conducted
a nutrition program for a number of years says : 7
I f it were merely a matter of pounds it might not be worth the effort it costs
to put on weight, but so many ills disappear as the normal weight is reached
that we can not doubt the benefit to the Children. They are less irritable,
better behaved, happier, and more alert— in short, more nearly normal in every
way.
6 There has been definite proof of the power of sunlight in the prevention and control
of rickets, one of the commonest diseases of infancy. See Sunlight for Babies (U. S.
Children s Bureau Folder No. 5, Washington, 1926) and A Demonstration of the Com
munity Control of Rickets, by Martha M. Eliot, M. D. (reprinted by the U. S. Children’s
Bureau from the Proceedings of the Third Annual Conference of State Directors in Charge
of the Local Administration of the Maternity and Infancy Act 1926)
«That children’s physical condition has a direct effect upon their conduct has been
observed frequently. A study of 300 “ problem children ” made in 1924 showed that 108
of these children (36 per cent) were poorly nourished. See “ Physical findings in nroblem children,” by William E. Carter, M. D., in Mental Hygiene [New York], Vol X No 1
(January, 1926), p. 76.
'
7 Annual Report, 1922, Cleveland Protestant Orphan Asylum, p. 6. Cleveland, Ohio,

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS

29. The way to select the children in need o f special attention is
to compare^ their heights, weights, and ages with figures showing the
height, weight, and age o f the average child, and to give to each child
a careful physical examination (see p. 46).
The state of a child’s nutrition can be determined only by an exam
ination o f the child stripped and by comparison o f the child’s height
and weight with the average standards set forth on height-weight-age
tables. Use o f these tables alone, without observation of the amount
o f subcutaneous fat, the tone of the tissues and muscles, and the gen
eral appearance o f the child, may give false impressions of the child’s
nutrition. Height-weight-age tables give standards for average boys
and girls .8 Having been based on average children, the tables are
somewhat low for normal children. Any child falling 10 per cent
below the average here given should probably be considered under
nourished. Any child 20 per cent above the average may be too
fat. Examination of children without their clothes will bring addi
tional evidence to bear on the individual cases.
30. Nutrition is promoted by having the body free from physical
defects and by follow ing good health habits.
The physical-growth examination discloses with remarkable regularity the
following defects in underweight children: Fatigue posture, including round
shoulders, ptosis, protruding abdomen, and flat fe e t; spinal curvature (in 20 per
cent of the cases), pallor, lines under eyes, and anxious expression; mouth
breathing, enlarged anterior cervical glands, and other signs of nasopharyngeal
obstruction (60 per cent of the cases) ; flabby muscles (tested by feeling the
upper arm ), and mental apathy or overstimulation.8

These defects are o f two types. Nasopharyngeal obstruction,
diseased condition o f the tonsils, and decay in teeth are defects that
may interfere with improvement in a child’s nutrition even when
his health habits are good. Correction o f such defects is therefore
one o f the first requirements o f the nutrition program. Poor posture,
pallor, and flabbiness o f muscles are, strictly speaking, indications
o f a poor nutritional state rather than defects in themselves. They
should therefore diminish and finally disappear as a result of
efficient nutrition work and posture training.10
31. The first requirement o f the undernourished child, after pre
liminary correction o f the more obvious type o f physical defects, is
the right hind o f food in sufficient amounts.
The kind of food needed by each child and the amount he should
eat will be prescribed bv the nutrition expert. The amount varies
with the age o f the child. A ll children require a greater amount of
food and water in proportion to their size than is necessary for
adults; and undernourished children need extra quantities until they
have attained normal growth.
An extra meal consisting o f a glass o f milk and one or two graham
or oatmeal crackers will be needed in the middle o f the morning and
the middle o f the afternoon in addition to the regular meals. I f this
seems to diminish the child’s appetite for the regular meals an orange
may be substituted for the milk 5 it contains valuable food elements
See Average Heights and Weights of Children under 6 Years of Age (U S Children’s
Bureau Publication No. 84, Washington, 1921) and Weight-Height-Age Tables for Bovs
and Giris (American Child Health Association, New York 1923)
S
y
K1^v.S1? í^^ST>n,
“ Nutrition and growth in children.” Boston Medical and
8ulgi cal /ournai, yol. 188, No. 1 (January, 1923), pp. 8-10.
ana
10 See footnote 4, p. 48.

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PHYSICAL CARE

and may stimulate the appetite rather than reduce it. The extra
lunch in the afternoon should be given as soon as. the child returns
from the school or just before the afternoon nap. (Some schools
provide lunches o f this character for all the children or for those
who have been determined to be undernourished.)
32. Undernourished children need midmorning and m idaftem oon
rest^periods in addition to the fu ll amount o f sleep at night (see
Since undernourished children require more sleep and repose than
the normal child, they should have naps or at least rest periods in
the middle of both morning and afternoon. I f they are kept in
school where no rest period in the morning is feasible they should
go to bed immediately after they return from school in the after
noon, having had the midafternoon lunch as promptly as possible.
To be most effective the rest periods should be supervised; it must
be certain the child is really resting even if he has not fallen asleep.
Couches or cots on a sunny porch or blankets on the lawn should
be used in summer; and in winter the porches or at least -rooms
permitting wide opening o f the windows should be used.
33.
' Strenuous play and work, both mental and physical, must be
restricted fo r underweight children and quiet occupations sub
stituted.
Although the normal child with plenty o f reserve energy thrives
under strenuous play adapted to his age, nutrition programs con
ducted in large institutions have demonstrated that the underweight
child has not the vigor necessary for such physical exercise. Keplacing vigorous exercise or work by quiet outdoor occupations may help
an undernourished child to begin to gain weight. But he needs fresh
air and sunlight even more than the normal child, and he should not
be kept indoors because of inability to join in the strenuous games
o f the other children. Too great mental activity may likewise inter
fere with the ability o f a child to gain weight. Extra tasks such as
music lessons and practice, elocution lessons, or religious studies may
be too exacting for undernourished children, some of whom can not
stand even the strain of the full school session.
31f.. Nutrition classes are helpful in winning the interest and coop
eration o f each child in the whole nutrition program.
Health habits and especially, the eating of adequate foods often
may be taught best in nutrition classes. There should not be more
than 2 0 children in a class. This permits giving enough individual
attention to insure the establishment o f correct habits and the detec
tion and discouragement of undesirable ones. The interest of the
group may be enlisted by various methods and a wholesome spirit
of competition developed. Every child in the class should be
weighed weekly to ascertain the gain made. The child’s own effort
is increased when he can see recorded on charts or elsewhere the
progress he is making.11 Devices for recording and recognizing im
provement in habits and in health, such as individual charts plainly
displayed, also praise judiciously given, will serve to stimulate in
terest and effort and thus to aid in accomplishing the results desired.
fo-r « ecoroing Pr0&ress in nutrition can be obtained from the American Child
Health Association, 370 Seventh Avenue, New York

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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

Any suggestion of command or of punishment must be avoided, as
this would hinder the success of the work.
35. Cottage mothers should attend the nutrition classes. Their
intelligent cooperation is essential.
Great care should be taken to explain to the cottage mothers the
purpose o f the program, the reason for undertaking it, the means by
which the desired ends can be gained, afid the importance of their
part in its successful accomplishment. It is quite as important for
the cottage mothers to attend the nutrition classes as for the children
to go. The recommendations o f the physician and nutrition worker
must be carried out with sympathetic interest and an understanding
of the child’s deficiencies. The cottage mothers should be responsi
ble in large part for carrying out the nutrition program and for
maintaining the children’s interest in it.
F or list o f references on physical' care see Chapter X V , page 123.

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Chapter VIL— FOOD AND CLOTHING
T H E IN S T IT U T IO N D IE T A R Y

1. The institution dietary should be planned by some one loho
understands food values in order that the right proportions as well
as the right hinds o f food may be served.
The well-being and future development of all children are vitally
affected by the quality and quantity of their food. This fact has
been learned from study of children in both institutions and private
homes. Many persons think that if children do not seem hungry
they have been given sufficient food to satisfy their needs. Indiffer
ence to food and lack of appetite are characteristic of the malnour
ished child. Eating inadequate food may give a feeling of satisfac
tion; therefore a child may be really hungry and his body suffering
from lack o f foods of the right kind while he seems satisfied. An
adequate diet is one which contains the right kinds of food in suffi
cient quantities to insure good appetite and maximum growth and
development.
Every person responsible for providing the food for children in
institutions should have some understanding of the food needs of a
growing child and should see that these needs are met as adequately
as possible in the dietary. Skillful planning of menus is necessary
in order to include the right amounts o f desirable foods. A study
of what the children actually eat must also be made. Even when
adequate food is provided, a child may have an inadequate diet,
because he may have a habit of rejecting certain foods. A few days’
carefully recorded observation of the food habits o f each child at
table will give much valuable information which should be thor
oughly studied by the person planning the menus. It is difficult to
overcome dislikes of foods; and a sympathetic interest shown by new
methods o f preparing or of flavoring a disliked food will greatly
assist the children in overcoming any dislikes which have become
established.
2. Providing an adequate diet requires careful planning o f menus
based on the needs o f the children, skillful and pleasing preparation
o f the food , and gradual education o f the children so that they will
really enjoy the right fo o d l
Having the food prepared and served for small groups of children
may be advantageous if the person responsible for providing food for
each small unit has been trained to do such work. That the food be
cooked in small quantities is not essential, however. Food cooked in
large quantities should be equally palatable if the persons who pre
pare it are resourceful in planning and genuinely interested in good
flavoring, and have a real understanding o f their work.
1
Child Management, by D. A. Thom, M. D., pp. 6-9.
No. 143. Washington, 1925.

U. S. Children’s Bureau Publication

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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

Help in planning a dietary for an institution and suggestions as
to how to develop good food habits in the children may be obtained
from nutrition clinics, when they are accessible; from State and
Federal departments; from national organizations interested in nu
trition problems; and from departments o f home economics in col
leges.2
3.
The adequacy o f a diet should be measured by the 'physical con
dition o f the children.
The amount o f food needed by growing boys and girls depends
entirely upon their activity, their rate o f growth, and their size.
Each o f these items should be recorded for every child no less fre
quently than every six months. The diet should be sufficiently liberal
to maintain a high standard of physical development for each child.
When any child’s weight falls below the standard for his height
and age this should be reported to the physician. Special provision
should be made for extra food if this is advised by the examining
physician.
T H E FO O D S N E E D E D B Y C H IL D R E N

Certain foods are essential fo r children, and they should be pro
vided in the requisite quantities.
Within the last few years there has been much practical demon
stration of the immense importance o f several different kinds o f food
in maintaining adequate growth and development in children. Milk,
eggs, fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain cereals are called essential
foods because each of these serves a particular function in the diet,
and none o f them should be omitted.8
A limited amount of substitution is possible, but expert advice
should be sought before the substitution is made with any fre
quency. Milk is so necessary for children that when it is impossible
to include all the recommended foods in the desirable amounts in the
dietary the children’s diet should be safeguarded by using not less
than 1 quart o f whole milk per day for each child instead o f the 1 y2
pints mentioned in paragraph 5 .
There are some differences in the food needs of children o f different
ages. The children under 6 years of age are especially in need o f all
the essential foods. They are less able to tolerate substitution than
the older children are.
5. The minimum quantity o f whole milk recommended for each
child each day is a pint and a half, though a quart is desirable. I f
it has not come from tuberculin-tested cows it should have been
pasteurized.
Cocoa made with milk may be substituted for milk two or three
times a week. Some of the milk may be used in custards, puddings,
and other cooked foods.
6. Eggs should be served three or four times a week or oftener.
Eggs are particularly valuable for children under 6 years of age.
When because o f cost the supply is limited they should be given to
them more often than to the older boys and girls.
2Organizations that may be mentioned are the Children’s Bureau, U. S. Department of
Labor ; Bureau of Home Economics, U. S. Department of Agriculture ; Bureau of Educa
tion, U. S. Department of the Interior ; American Red Cross, Washington, D. C. ; Ameri
can Child Health Association, 370 Seventh Avenue, New York.
3A diet containing liberal amounts of the essential foods (milk, eggs, vegetables, and
fruits) is a safeguard against tooth deterioration.

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FOOD AND CLOTHING

7. Vegetables should be provided liberally. They must be cooked
in a variety o f ways and carefully flavored in order that the chil
dren may really enjoy these important foods.
Some vegetable other than potatoes should be served at least once
daily, preferably twice daily. Leafy vegetables (those from which
the leaves and stalks are eaten rather than the fruits, roots, or tubers)
are especially valuable.. They should be served three or four times a
weeks. Some uncooked vegetable (as in a salad) should be included
i f possible. Fresh vegetables should be given the preference. Dur
ing the winter the dried and canned vegetables are a valuable sup
plement to those that can be stored. Potatoes should not be given
m place o f other vegetables, as they are primarily a starchy food;
but they may be served daily.
8. Fruits should be served at least once a day.
Although dried and canned fruits are an important part o f the
institution dietary, it is desirable to use some uncooked fruit or
vegetable several times a week. Raw tomatoes (as in salads) may
take the place o f fruit.
9. A t least part o f the bread served should be whole wheat,
graham, rye, or corn bread. Breakfast cereals should be chiefly the
whole-grain ones.
Such cereals as include the whole grain o f wheat, corn, and oats
are particularly valuable.
10. Meats, fats, sugars, and sta/rches are necessary foods. A cer
tain amount o f each must be given, but none o f them should be
overused.
Meat served four times a week is adequate if fish, eggs, cheese,
dried beans, or dried peas are substituted for it on other days so that
the children may get the protein which they need. A good weekly
plan for the main protein dish o f the day would include meat four
times, fish once, eggs and cheese once, and dried beans or peas once.
Fats in the diet are valuable and add greatly to its flavor. Butter
is a fat which is an especially useful growth food. TVhen every
child is given 1 % pints of whole milk daily the children are probably
receiving an adequate amount o f butterfat; and margarin may be
served with the bread if necessary. I f part o f the milk is skimmed,
then an allowance o f butter should always be given. Fats should
not be used excessively in cooking foods; and fat-rich foods such as
pastry are to be avoided.
Starchy and sweet foods are, together with fats, the main sources
o f energy in the diet; and active children need them. But such
foods as bread, potatoes, rice, hominy, macaroni, and other cereals
are often given in excess because o f their cheapness and substituted
for a proportion o f the essential foods (meats, fats, green vegetables,
and raw fruits). No menu should contain more than two starchy
foods as main dishes. Sweet potatoes and yams may take the place
o f white potatoes, although they are not so nearly equivalent in
starch content as cereals. Sweet dishes in the form o f dried or
fresh fruits, a prepared milk dessert, or a simple cake such as
gingerbread or cookies add to the pleasure of the noon and evening
meals and are at the same time nourishing foods. Some wholesome
candy may be given (preferably at a time when it is not likely to
diminish the appetite for the next meal).

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS
MENUS

Planning the menus.4

11. The menus should he planned at least a week in advance,
preferably several weeks/ and certain general principles must be
kept in mind.
(a) Menus should be arranged with the idea of including in each
day’s food plan adequate amounts of the right foods. It is essen
tial to use the week as the unit in making out menus because certain
foods (such as eggs) are not always used daily.
( b) Variety is so itaportant an element in making food attractive
that great care should be taken not to serve the same dishes on a
certain day o f the week. A file should be kept of all the daily
menus served. Repetition can be avoided by a careful study o f this
file. It should be augmented constantly as new methods of preparing
foods are adopted and changes made in flavorings, and as the food
materials vary from season to season.
(c ) The food must be properly distributed among the meals of
the day. Supper or lunch must not be too light and dinner too
heavy, nor the reverse. It is not desirable to concentrate in one meal
the greater part of the required food. Children who have been active
all day long need a fairly substantial supper even if dinner was
served in the middle of the day.
(d) Soft and soupy foods should not be served in excessive quan
tities. Soups and thin porridges or cereals contain too little nutri
ment in proportion to the liquid content. Foods which are solid
enough to require the use o f knife and fork should predominate in
each day’s menu. Ease of preparation must not be the determining
factor in selecting the dishes to be served. Attractive and wholesome
meals providing all the elements needed for growth can be served as
cheaply as inadequate, unattractive meals.
(e ) Although skillful flavoring is an important element in the
preparation of the food, very high seasoning should be avoided.
( / ) No tea or coffee should be given to children. I f the habit of
drinking tea or coffee has been established before a child has entered
the institution, this habit should be broken if possible.
Menus for children from 2 to 6 years o f age.

12. In the follow ing menus cocoa may be substituted fo r milk two
or three times a week. The bread should be a day old. Cereals
should be cooked and should be served hot/ the uncooked cereals
may be served occasionally fo r the older children. P lenty o f water
should be drunk between meals rather than at the meals.
B r e a k f a s t (7 to 8 a . m .) :
Fruit (if none is served at dinner).
Whole milk (1 to 2 cupfuls).
Bread (2 or 3 slices) with butter.
Cereal (3 to 4 tablespoonfuls).
D in n e r (12 m . to i p. m .) :
An egg (never fried) four or five days of the week.
broiled, or roasted) on the other days.
Potato (plain boiled, mashed, baked; never fried ).

Meat or fish (boiled,

* In regard to the food needs of undernourished children, see p. 52. All the menus in
this section have been adapted from hood for the Family (New York Association for Im
proving the Condition of the Poor Publication No. 120 (revised). New York, 1922).

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FOOD AND CLO TH IN G

D in n er — Continued.
One other vegetable (mashed fine or in a purée) (1 to 3 tablespoonfuls or
more) such as—
Spinach or other greens.
Carrots.
Lettuce.
Cauliflower.
String beans.
Squash.
Green peas.
Celery.
Asparagus.
Onions.
Tomatoes.
Turnips.
Cabbage.
Dried beans, peas, or lentils.
Bread (1 to 2 slices or more) with butter.
Whole milk (1 cupful).
Simple milk desserts or fruit (if none is served at breakfast), such as—
Juice of an orange.
Banana (fully ripe).
Prunes.
Peach or
plum (fully ripe).
Apple (baked, in sauce, or raw ).
Cooked pear.
M idafternoon l u n c h (3 p. m .) :
Crackers and milk, bread and butter, or bread and milk.
S upper (5 to 6 p , m .) :
Cereal (3 to 4 tablespoonfuls).
Whole milk (1 to 2 cupfuls).
Bread and butter.
Vegetable or fruit (see lists suggested for dinner).
Menus for children over 6 years o f age.

13.
In the follow ing menus cocoa may be substituted fo r müh two
or three times a week. Prepared cereals are more expensive but
may be served occasionally fo r a change when another hot food is
served at the breakfast. Plenty o f water should be drunk between
meals rather than at the meals.
B r e a k f a s t (7 to 8 a . m .) :
Fruit.
Whole milk (1 cupful).
Bread and butter.
Cereal.
L u n c h or supper (12 m . to i p . m . or 5 to 6 p. m .) :
Whole milk (1 to 2 cupfuls).
One or two of the following three groups :
1. Bread or toast.
2. Macaroni or hominy, rice, or other cereal with milk, butter, molasses
cheese, or peanut butter.
’
3. Cookies, gingerbread, or other simple cakes.
One of the following three groups :
1. Green vegetable (mashed, boiled, baked, escalloped, in purée, soup
chowder, or salad ; never fried ).
2. An egg (poached, scrambled, boiled, in custard, and the like)
3. Fruit.
D in n e r (12 to i p . m . or 5 to 6 p . m .) : ®
Bread and butter.
Potato, rice, hominy, or macaroni.
Meat, fish, eggs and cheese, dried beans, dried peas, or lentils.
Gieen vegetable. This should be a leafy vegetable three or four times a
week.
,
Milk (if the full allowance of 1 % pints of whole milk has not been used
in the other meals of the day).
Fruit, custard, or cereal pudding, or simple cakes.
is no,t
the children who are in school to eat their main meal at noon
‘ he evening meal should be made proportionately more hearty. Children who carrv a
lunch to school should have a full dinner menu served for the evening meal.
y a
2204°— 27----- 5

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H ANDBOOK FOB IN ST ITU T IO N S
C LO TH IN G

I l f , . The standard o f dress fo r the child in the institution should
be as high as that for the average child with whom he associates in
the community.
With such a standard the child in the institution is made a part o f
the general community life. Uniforms or special costumes set the
child apart from the ordinary life o f the community. They become
the badge of misfortune and should never be used. A child’s cloth
ing ought to help him maintain his self-respect instead o f destroy
ing it.
15. Each child should have clothes that fit, that are becoming, and
that are as different from the clothes worn by the other children m
the institution as is compatible with a reasonable standard o f
economy.
Clothes must be adapted to the individual’s taste and style if they
are to give satisfaction to the wearer. Differences in color and varia
tions in style will prevent the atmosphere of monotony that would
arise if all the children were dressed exactly alike- or practically
alike. Clothes that are pleasing will receive better care than those
disliked by the children and will help to develop their self-respect.
The style and type of clothing must be accommodated to the
seasons. Wraps, also gloves, mittens, and overshoes, must be ade
quate for the climate.
Dress clothes for Sundays and social occasions are needed in addi
tion to school and working clothes. Special play clothes sometimes
prove to be an economy.
Accessories such as ribbons, ties, and handkerchiefs should be
regarded as personal possessions.
Sufficient underwear and sleeping garments should be provided so
that each child can change to a clean suit at least once a week.
16. No child should be compelled to wear garments that are out
o f date, outgrown, or in bad repair.
Articles that are out of date should be remodeled or discarded.
Those which have been outgrown should be modified for some
younger child or otherwise disposed of. Those which are in bad
repair should be discarded if they can not be satisfactorily mended.
Routine mending should regularly follow laundering. (Most of the
mending should be done by paid help.)6
17. Garments should be marked. A record of the clothing given
to each child is desirable.
Having garments plainly marked makes it easy to return to each
child the same clothes after laundering and mending.6 The sense of
ownership which this gives is an important element in the develop
ment and maintenance o f self-respect and personal pride. Personal
responsibility for clothes will also be more readily accepted.
18. Children should be taught to mend their clothes.
The older girls can mend their own things and boys can learn to
sew on buttons. Responsibility for at least the simpler processes of
repair will help to emphasize taking care of clothes and being respon
sible for their condition.

8 Southard, Lydia : Institutional Household Administration, pp. 110, 111,
pincott Co,, Philadelphia, 1923,

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J, B. Lip

FÓOD AND CLÓÌHlNd

19.
N ot more than two or three children should be expected to
keep their clothes in one closet or wardrobe.
Ventilated lockers should be provided if there are not enough
built-in wardrobes. Some drawer space also is necessary for each
child if the clothing is to be cared for conveniently and a proper
pride in possession developed. The children’s arrangement o f their
clothes in wardrobes or lockers and drawers should be supervised for
hygienic disposal o f garments which have been worn once or oftener
as well as for orderly placing o f freshly laundered articles and o f
accessories.
F or list o f references on food and clothing see Chanter X V .
page 12^.

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Chapter VIII.— MENTAL HEALTH
G E N E R A L P R IN C IP L E S O F M E N T A L H E A L T H

1. E very child has a 'personality which grows and which can he
guided}
When we are dealing with children, whether average, superior, subnormal,
or abnormal, we may always appraise their mental-health status in terms o f :
1. Intelligence. 2. Sense of values. 3. Emotional control. 4. Morale.2

The term “ intelligence ” here expresses a general capacity for mak
ing mental adaptations. A sense o f values enables the child to
recognize the application o f such abstract ideas as justice, truth,
frankness, courage, and the appreciation o f other persons’ rights and
the value o f their good opinion. Control of the emotions is ob
viously an extremely important factor.
There are thousands of individuals who have only a limited degree of use
fulness, owing to the fact that their intellectual capacities are handicapped
by their emotional conflicts.3

Morale is a general expression for the degree of self-reliance and
confidence in meeting every-day issues as well as extraordinary ones
which is to be found in every human being.
2. Emotional stability and good physical health stimulate intel
lectual processes}
The physical, intellectual, and emotional aspects o f the child’s life
should not be considered independently of one another. They are
closely interrelated. As intellectual processes are stimulated by
good physical health and emotional stability, so also the emotional
side o f the child’s life is profoundly altered if his physical body is
out o f adjustment. Hence it has come to be realized that just as there
is need o f physical-hygiene measures there may frequently be a need
for mental-hygiene measures as well.
3. Mental health and wholesome emotional life are most easily
secured in a normal home.
Because of the importance for the mental health o f children of the
normal emotional relationship between parent and child, in which
the child centers his life o f affection in the protective love o f a parent,
it is exceedingly desirable that children be kept with parents and
not placed in institutions, if it is possible to accomplish it.
Children who have mothers competent to care for them should be
kept in their own homes. No institution no matter how good can
1 Gesell, Arnold, M. D .: “ Mental-hygiene service for children.” Social Aspects of Men
tal Hygiene, p. 90. Yale University Press and Oxford University Press. New Haven,
Conn., and London, England, 1925.
» Thom,PD. A., M. D .: The Practical Application of Mental Hygiene to the Welfare of
the Child, p. 130. Reprinted by the U. S. Children’ s Bureau from the Proceedings of the
Third Annual Conference of State Directors in Charge of the Local Administration of the
Maternity and Infancy Act, 1926.
4 Ibid., p. 131.
62

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M ENTAL H EALTH

take the place o f a mother’s care. Through the loss o f the family
background the child may suffer from a sense o f inadequacy and
social inferiority; hence the importance o f preserving the home ties
i f possible.
Some children who are admitted to institutions prove to have the
type o f personality which does not adapt itself to group life I f
a child seems unhappy in the institution and if he continues to be
resentful and uncooperative in spite o f an earnest attempt to under
stand his troubles and to help him, a special effort should be made
to try him m a family home even i f his own home is out o f the
question (Final exclusion from the institution should rest with
the psychiatrist or psychologist. See Ch. V, Admissions, pp. 37—38.)
T te principles o f mental health fo r children should be con
sidered in the treatment o f children in institutions.
The laws and principles o f mental health and mental develop
ment are less well understood than those for physical health and
physical development. In view o f this fact, it seems worth while
to state the most general of them and then see how they apply to
the care o f children in institutions :
J
(a) An affectionate and intelligent interest in the child on the
part o f some adult whom the child recognizes as standing in the
place o f a parent and in whom his affections are centered.
(b) Individual treatment, based upon an understanding o f the
physical, mental, and social make-up o f the child. Such an under
standing can be reached only as the result of adequate scientific
examinations A child whose treatment is based upon an under
standing of his nature and his capacities will not have demands
made on him which are either too far above or too far below his
possibilities o f accomplishment.
. (p)
relationship with adults which involves friendly coopéra
i t 11 an<* mutual helpfulness rather than that o f mere domination on
the part o f the adults or a battle for supremacy on the part of
the child.
1
(d)
A daily regime which is well planned, regular, and suited to
the age of the child. A daily regime which is correct in its alter
nation of sleep, work, study, and play helps to lay the foundations
of a well-ordered personality.
(?)
environment so planned that it furnishes a full oppor
tunity for self-initiated activity on the part o f the child. A legiti
mately busy and interested child is a good child and has a better
chance to be a healthy one.
. ( / ) Normal association with other children under enough super
vision, but not too much.
. .($). Normal contacts with the larger community in which the
child is ultimately to live.
^*7
children who have suffered from am, inferior envirormient
are likely to display minor conduct disorders.
Most o f these can be corrected by wise treatment without danger
that the other children will be subjected to corrupting influences*
and it should be one o f the functions o f an institution to correct
W » ™ problems. Institutions should be very slow to class young
children as actually delinquent or as displaying delinquent tend
encies and therefore properly to be excluded from their walls. (See
Ch. V, Admissions, pp. 37-38.)

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6.
The more nearly the institution can reproduce the conditions of
normal home life, the better fo r the child's mental health.
In a home environment the child finds his natural background and
prepares himself for future adjustments. Children brought up with
out home life find it very hard as adults to become members of homes.
Not only the social and emotional adjustments to family conditions,
but the technique of family life should be part o f the training and
experience o f every child. For this reason the cottage plan, m
accordance with which a group o f not more than 20 children form a
family, with a housemother in charge of them (see p. 26, is by far
the most desirable. The inclusion in each cottage of children ot
various ages, rather than segregation by age groups, also has its
advantages. Most o f the children who are in institutions will live in
homes ultimately, and they should learn early the mental adjustment
necessary in normal home conditions so far as the institution can
approximate them.
SO M E E S S E N T IA L S FO R M E N T A L H E A L T H

7. The child needs successful experience.
Successful experience has been urged as the second of the funda
mental needs after the first great need o f a child—a home:
W e all know children who are silent and day dreaming, or who are embit
tered, or fearful, or sneaky, or bullying. They are all children who do not
know success. They have not experienced the glow of self-respect which comes
from accomplishment recognized by their peers. Success may come in the
classroom, or the kitchen, or the swimming pool, or the dance floor, or the
office, or the garden, but it is a teaching problem to see to it that every child
finds something which he or she can do that has worth in his own eyes as well
as in the estimation of his fellows.®

8. A child needs fam iliarity with the outside world.
#
Children in institutions need to know schools, churches, neighbors,
parks, banks, factories, stores—all the life of the outside com
munity—not as outsiders but as children from normal homes know
them. They need to learn the value o f money by spending real
money. This is important not only from an educational standpoint
but in promoting healthy emotional life.
9. Emotional instability is a serious problem in institutional life.
The social handicap o f the dependent child must be recognized, fo r
in the process o f the breakdown o f the fam ily many unfavorable
influences ha/ve been brought to bear upon the children.
In addition to poverty, ill health, neglect, immorality, desertion,
or whatever the immediate cause for removal o f the child from his
own home, there have been in the majority o f homes bad environment
and emotional instability. The hereditary and social forces which
have brought the child to the institution have had a decided ellect
upon his character and personality. Those factors which tend to
bring about mental ill health and maladjustment must be corrected
or compensated so far as this is possible.
10. The chief factor in providing an environment which is favor
able to the development o f the best in the child's nature is a high
type o f personnel.
5Ueland, Elsa: A réévaluation of methods of child care— t ^ c a r e of children in in
stitutions. National Conference of Social Work, Proceedings, 1924, pp. 128 ldO.

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The most important influence in the life o f a child is that exerted
by the people with whom he comes in contact. The essential element
for successful living in institutions is wise direction.
The time has come to shift the emphasis from houses and lands to the more
vital center of educative force in the life of the child, namely, to the per
sonality of teacher, foster parents, or companion. * * * O f all the work
ing forces which make or mar the child’s future well-being, the personality
o f those in close touch with him far outranks every other influence. * * *
I f the institution is managed so that the children come into intimate relations
with adult characters who are strong, sympathetic, intellectually alert, and
socially, morally, and spiritually uplifting, it ceases to be a mere abiding place
where the creature comforts only are provided and becomes a cultural school
home from which the children go forth better prepared to make their own way
in the world.®

11.
The selection o f persons o f adequate training and desirable
type o f personality to 'place in immediate charge o f the children is
the most important single factor in providing fo r their mental
health.
This is probably the point at which children’s institutions are most
apt to fail. The idea that any able-bodied woman who is willing
to undertake the task can be trusted to take charge o f children has
been tragically widespread. The general scale of salaries paid has
been too small to attract women o f the degree of culture, education,
and personality needed. No single investment that institutions can
make for the welfare o f their wards is more important than that
necessary to have women o f superior training and personality in
charge o f the children. The staff should consist of—
(а) A pediatrician. (See Ch. Y I, Physical Care, p. 44.)
(б) A consulting psychiatrist, to whom may be referred children
whose behavior borders on the pathological (see p. 63). The plan
o f individual treatment o f the child, both social and educational,
should be based upon the analysis made by the psychiatrist or psy
chologist.
(c) A psychological examiner, capable of determining the child’s
mental level and making an analysis o f his personality. The psy
chological examiner should be a clinical psychologist who knows
not merely how to give mental tests but also how to interpret them in
the light o f the child’s physical condition, his social history and
home conditions, and his educational history (see p. 45).
(d ) An educational adviser, who can help to establish an educa
tional regime for children o f preschool age and who can show the
staff how to use for educational ends the opportunities afforded by
the institution (see p. 90). Such matters as the care o f animals,
care o f the lawn, gardening, housework, sewing, and the care o f
younger children may be made useful educational activities or harm
ful and oppressive pieces o f drudgery, depending upon how they are
organized and how the children are employed in them.
(e) A recreational adviser, who knows how to organize and direct
music, games, dramatics, and expeditions, and how to secure for chil
dren in the institution a share o f the recreational life o f the com
munity. In a small institution the educational and recreational ad
vising might be done by one person (see p. 96).
XT uiRef äxTrV ? ucl?lpl1, ? - H°^'-.Two Hundred Children Live and Learn, pp, 192, 194, 195.
Noble Sc Noble, New York, 1911.
r
’
v

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( / ) Cottage mothers who have at least high-school education and
who, if possible, have some specific training in the care and manage
ment o f children (see p. 12). They should be selected carefully with
reference to personality—even-tempered, self-controlled, cheerful,
wise women, with a keen interest in children and liking for them.
Nothing affects the personality of a little child more vitally than the
atmosphere created for him by the persons in charge. I f he must
be separated from his mother, then he has a right to affectionate
understanding and sympathetic treatment from the person who takes
her place.
12. The most vital years in laying the foundations of character
and personality are the first five years o f life.
A child learns more in the first five years of life, before the school
comes in contact with him, than in any other equal period of time.
I f children under 5 years o f age are to do their learning to good
advantage they need to have the stage carefully set for it. They
need teaching, though not the formal teaching o f the schools. Chil
dren learn by trying things, exploring, experimenting. They need
to be furnished with a great variety o f things to do from babyhood
on. Many children’s institutions fail completely to provide for the
normal activities o f very young children. Such institutions lose
their greatest opportunity for service to the children. To keep little
children just sitting still with nothing to do, or just running around
a bare room, constitutes a serious form of neglect o f their real needs.
13. The most fundamental social attitudes become established in
the preschool period.
The kind o f training and management which a child receives at
this time has a permanent effect on his character and personality.
Attitudes formed then are hard to modify later.
11.
The child’s attitude toward love and affection is form ed in
early years.
Children in institutions are apt to suffer most in lack of personal
affection. A child in an institution should be helped and stimulated
to maintain an affectionate relationship with members of his family
from whom he is separated. There are relatively few children with
out some ties o f relationship, which are vital to their development
and which should be preserved. Family affection should be kept
alive by frequent letters and by occasional visits of the child to his
relatives and o f relatives to the institution. It should be one of the
duties of the trained workers o f the institution to try to keep the
child and the home in touch with each other.
15.
A child should have real affection from his housemother in
the institution.
Children may suffer from too much coddling and too violent ex
pressions of love on the part o f adults, but very few children in
institutions are likely to suffer from this kind o f spoiling. They
are much more apt to have too little of the feeling of being loved
and petted, and they become hard and resentful from lack o f it.
They should learn to give and receive wholesome affection. I f thé
cottage mother can win the child’s affection and confidence she can
safeguard him in many ways. The best kind of sex instruction
(see p. 75) is that given in response to questions asked by the

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M ENTAL H EALTH

child o f an adult whom he loves and trusts. To maintain such an
atmosphere o f confidence requires individual treatment for each
child.
16. A manifestation o f interest in each child’s personal projects
helps to maintain the right spirit.
. . Birthday celebrations are o f value, for example. I f each child’s
u-r
Can
ce^e^rated individually, all the children whose
birthdays are in the same month may celebrate together. Then
these children prepare the “ party” for those whose birthdays come
m the following month, and they act as hosts for it. The actual
outlay of effort when the cottage mother arranges for a child to
be an “ honor guest,” with perhaps a cake and candles at dinner,
is slight in proportion to the children’s enjoyment o f the celebration
(see p. 100).
17. Children must learn early to obey, yet they must also learn to
control cund direct themseVoes and to be independent.
To some extent children must yield to authority and be directed.
Too much demand for obedience and too much domination on the
part of adults is bad for children. I f they try to resist, as the best
o f them do, they become stubborn and set themselves off in opposition
to adults. I f they yield they lose initiative and the power of selfdirection. Children may also be harmed by too little demand for
obedience; but children in institutions are more apt to suffer from
too much “ bossing ” than from too little. The ideal to be sought
is that o f self-direction and self-control on the part o f the child.
18. Children should be guarded against all unnecessary fears.
Serious effort should be made to understand children’s fears and to
overcome them.
A profound effect may be exerted on the child by fears, often
intense, which seem absurd to adults (see pp. 70-72). Much o f the
behavior o f young children which seems erratic or naughty can be
traced to fears, most o f them foolish but none the less real to the
child. Under no circumstances must children be threatened as
a means of punishment, with things of which they are afraid (see
pp. 72, 81).
v
19. A regard fo r property rights may be taught to very younq
children.
Children should have possessions o f their own when they are very
young. Other people should respect these objects and not take them
without permission. The children in turn must learn to respect the
property o f others and never take what belongs to another person
without asking permission. Children should, o f course, learn to
share and to be generous, but they can- not learn the joy o f giving
unless they possess. Many institutions fail to provide for training
about property. One essential is that each child have at least a
drawer or locker in which to keep his own possessions (see pp.
20.
The young child’s attitude toward truth teTling and reality
depends chiefly upon the persons with whom he comes in daily con
tact.
*
The most effective method o f establishing a habit of truth telling
and a respect for the truth is by telling the truth to children. They

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are naturally truthful. Children, if they learn to lie, usually learn
through the example set by adults. It is very essential to select as
caretakers for children people who are themselves strictly truthful.
Punishments which are too severe may lead to untruthfulness. Tuttle
children must be helped to distinguish between dreams and reality—or between imaginings and reality. They should never be punished
for telling imaginary tales, nor should the tale be accepted as true.
They should be taught the difference between stories and plays for
fun and therefore legitimate as games, and that which is real.
21.
The attitude o f young children toward their companions must
be observed. Desirable attitudes should be encouraged and unde
sirable ones must be discouraged.
Children only 3 or 4 years old often display marked social reactions;
older ones usually do. Some o f them are excessively shy; some are
domineering; some are self-conscious; many o f them are selfish;
occasionally one is cruel to his companions or dishonest; some of
them are too yielding and lacking in initiative; and some are very
responsible and full o f executive ability. The group situation af
fords an excellent background for the correction of excessive tenden
cies and for the cultivation of the desirable types o f reaction. Chil
dren are sensitive to the judgments o f their own group. It rests with
the person in charge whether the group association is made the means
o f valuable social training or whether it is made a situation which
oppresses, subdues, or even perverts the children.
F or list o f references on mental health see Chapter X.V, page 125.

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Chapter IX.— HABIT FORMATION 1
H A B IT S A N D T H E IR D E V E L O P M E N T

1. The health, happiness, and efficiency o f the adult man and
woman depend to a very large extent upon the type o f habits they
acquire from their training and experience during early life.
“ Habit ” is such a common, everyday sort o f term, with which
everyone is more or less familiar, that it hardly seems necessary to
discuss it at all. However, it is in this very fact—that habits are so
commonplace and ordinary in the minds of the great mass o f indi
viduals—that the danger lies. A ll too frequently the fundamental
importance o f forming right habits in early life is minimized or over
looked altogether.
2.
'N ot only habits o f acting hut habits o f thinking and feeling,
habits in regard to the care o f the hody— eating, sleeping, eliminating,
hathing— are easily form ed and vitally affect health.
The morals o f most of us are, to a large extent, the result o f habits
of thinking formed in early life— our attitude toward the drinking
o f alcoholic liquors or the taking o f others’ property, or the problem
o f sex, as well as our attitude toward other people, whether sincere
or deceitful, friendly, or antagonistic. Most of our prejudices are
the outcome o f habits of thinking formed in childhood.
3.
' A ll these tendencies toward thinking and acting in certain ways,
which are called habitual, are the outgrowth o f training and expe
rience. They are not inherited.
We begin to form habits at birth and continue to do so throughout
life, forming them quickly and easily in youth and more slowly and
with difficulty as the years advance. The oftener the act is repeated
or the thought is indulged in the more lasting the habit becomes.
Since habit formation begins early and is more or less constant
throughout life, it is of great importance that emphasis be placed
upon establishment o f desirable habits.
1.
A child has a mental life far more delicate and complex than
his physical body, far more difficult to keep in order, and far more
easily put out o f adjustment.
A child lives a real mental life, full o f hopes, ambitions, doubts,
misgivings, joys, sorrows, and strivings that are being gratified or
thwarted much the same at 3 years of age as they will be at 30.
5. Study o f the child is the first step in an individualized program.
Study the child. Find out why he behaves as he does. Is he
aggressive, belligerent, and defiant? Is he sullen and resentful, or
does he explode in outbursts o f temper which clear the atmosphere?
It may be that he is shy, quiet, and always a model o f good behavior,
1 The material In this chapter is largely a summary and adaptation of sections of Child
Management and o f Habit Clinics by Dr. D. A. Thom (Ü. S. Children’s Bureau Publica
tions Nos. 143 and 135, Washington, 1925 and 1924).

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letting life slip past him without taking an active part. Think the
thing over; try to see his reasoning. Remember that the attitude he
is showing may be the very opposite of what he really feels. A g
gressiveness and defiance may be a mask for feelings of failure and
discouragement; passive indifference may cover deeply wounded
feelings. On the other hand, the child’s conduct may be only the
result o f imitation and may be patterned after an admired “ grown
up ” or child with whom he comes in contact.
6.
The attitude o f concern regarding what other people think in a
force which may be used in developing right conduct.
Rarely is a child found who does not care for the approval of some
one, and training should make a child realize that it is to his advan
tage to win approbation for desirable acts. Praise for unselfishness,
kindness, and general consideration for others tends to perpetuate
that type o f conduct.
Real sympathy for others, which is one of the finest qualities of
ersonality, may be developed by training and form the basis o f a
abit o f kindness and understanding which will last throughout life.

JEALO U SY

7.
Few emotions are experienced by man which, from a social
point o f view, are more important than jealousy.
Anger and frequently hatred toward the object of jealousy are
aroused by this emotion. It causes the jealous individual- to feel
disregarded and inferior to his friends and neighbors, it damages
pride, and it lowers self-respect. This may- produce a desire for
revenge and retaliation or may cause him to withdraw and hide his
true feelings under a mask of indifference. The jealous child is
likely to be one who in early life has not had the opportunity of
developing interests outside himself.
8. Jealousy results in a tremendous handicap.
It is the jealous child who becomes the jealous man or woman, and
as a child he encounters innumerable difficulties in getting on with
his playmates. Because o f this he develops a sense of failure and
shame which is a serious handicap. He feels wronged and neglected;
he has missed a “ square deal.” His self-centeredness becomes more
marked, and he draws away from his playmates and the activities
o f life thoroughly discouraged; or he may become domineering and
pugnacious in an effort to gain attention for himself. Later in life
this emotion causes an inability to share in the joys of others and
makes it impossible to see others succeed without manifesting open
resentment. The jealous person becomes an object of dislike. Often
he develops the idea that he is unjustly treated or persecuted, and too
frequently this idea causes uncontrolled resentment and disastrous
results.
FEAR

9.
Fear is perhaps the most common emotion which human beings
experience, yet it is extrem ely doubtful whether the child has any
inherent fears at birth. Most fejirs are produced by some experience
through which the individual has had to pass in early life.

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In dealing with children we are very prone to speak of their
foolish fears, yet they are foolish and unreasonable to us as adults
simply because of our inability to understand how certain experiences
have left upon the mind of the child impressions and feelings which
govern conduct for a long time.
10. There appear to he two distinct types o f fear, which may he
called objective and subjective fears.
Objective fears, aroused usually by things seen or heard, are recog
nized easily in most cases and are comparatively easy to overcome.
Subjective fears are often so vague that the causes are very hard
to find.
11. Fears o f things which can he seen or heard, like animals, police
men., doctors, lightning, guns, and high places, are objective.
Sometimes the child has forgotten the experience with which the
fear was associated in the first place, but if it can be recalled the
fear can be taken out o f it by a straightforward explanation. Some
fears due to unpleasant experiences may even extend to objects which
are merely associated with that experience. For instance, a child
who has been hurt in a physician’s office may be afraid to enter any
place which looks like such an office. A book agent, with his black
bag, may be a terrifying figure to such a child. This kind o f fear
may be overcome by gradually associating pleasant things with the
same situation or by appealing to the child’s courage and urging him
to face his fears bravely.
Some children are afraid o f anything new or strange, but they
soon become accustomed to it if they are allowed to do so gradually.
It is a mistaken notion that a child should be pushed into a situation
where he is afraid in an effort to “ train him.” A little child who
cries at his first experience o f bathing in the ocean is not helped by
being thrown in, but, on the contrary, often gets an experience o f
dread and a fear of water which can not be overcome easily.
Fear o f animals may occur at a very early age but usually passes
off as soon as the child becomes accustomed to the sight o f them,
unless he has some especially unfortunate experience in being fright
ened either by the animal itself or by threats that the animal will
get him if he is not a good boy.
12. Children quickly adopt the attitude o f persons around them,
he it o f bravery or o f fear.
Imitation plays an important part in the development and control
o f fear. Adults who have shown fear when they thought the chil
dren were not noticing should not wonder "where the children got
their fear o f lightning or o f animals. Adults who are terrified by
such things and whose fear is seen by the child can be o f no assistance
to him. I f they are apprehensive o f lurking marauders or if they
have talked o f ghost stories in the presence o f a child, they are help
ing to develop fear in him rather than teaching him an intelligent
control o f fear.
13. Subjective fea/rs are more intangible than objective fears.
They are very hard to trace back to their causes and to overcome.
They are based on the feelings and attitudes o f the child toward
something which he has heard and upon which he has brooded
without daring to express his fear. They are often so vague that

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FOR INSTITUTIONS

an adult would not dream that a child could be thinking o f such
things. As Victor Hugo says in his Kecollections o f Childhood:
But a thing once said sinks in the m ind; that which has struck the brain
often from time to time comes back again, and in the breast of simple infancy
lives unexplained full many a mystery.

For example, vague and poorly formulated ideas about death are
the basis o f more mental anxiety in children than is generally sup
posed. To one child death meant being buried in a hole; another
child had a fear o f being buried alive; and many children are
disturbed by the line in the evening prayer which is familiar to .
most children, “ I f I should die before I wake.” It would be im
possible to state all the vague fantasies o f childhood about this
ever-present problem of death, but it should not be difficult to give
the average child a conception o f death and the hereafter which
will do much to allay the common fears surrounding this mystery.
H . Fear is a driving force i/n human conduct. I t is useless to
talk about eradicating fear, but in training the child every effort
should be made to see that fear does not become a curse instead of
a means o f 'protection.
A child should fear punishment, danger, loss o f the approval of
those he cares for, and, when he becomes old enough to appreciate
it, loss of the approval of his own conscience. He should not have
to spend his early years weighed down by fears which make him
nervous and sleepless at times, afraid to play happily or work
with enthusiasm, all because some one found it convenient to get
him to obey through fear or failed to help him by wise under
standing and explanation at the right time to get rid o f the scars
o f unpleasant experiences.
Fear makes us do things; it keeps us from doing them. It pro
tects from danger, and without a reasonable amount o f fear man
kind could not live.
ANGER

15. A nger is an intense emotion which almost every one experiences
from time to time and which often leads to undesirable conduct.
Because their training and experience are limited and because they
have not developed adequate self-control, children often show a
vicious attitude toward any object which has aroused their anger.
How often the little child is seen to turn in wrath on the blocks that
will not stay in place or the train o f cars that will not go. He
strives to break and destroy them because he can not construct or
operate them as he wishes.
Anger is frequently stimulated when any o f the instinctive tenden
cies are thwarted or obstructed. The child, and the adult, too, mani
fest anger when personal wants are obstructed or when pride and selfimportance are injured. Fear with no outlet for flight or escape may
arouse anger, as in the animal at bay. It is produced by innumerable
causes that may operate in the environment in which the individual
is living, and it may express itself in many different ways.
16. The reason fo r the anger is particularly important in dealing
with the temper problems o f children. The vital thing is not the
anger; this is only a danger signal which warns us to probe deeper fo r
the fundamental cause from which it arises.

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In dealing with anger in children it is necessary not only to be
sure that a certain act was an expression of anger but also to deter
mine so far as possible how the anger was aroused. I f a child for two
weeks has been breaking window glass, an investigation may show,
among other things, that he was always angry when he broke the
glass. The next step in solving the problem is to find out the circum
stances and conditions o f the environment which produced this emo
tion o f anger. In one case o f this kind the cause was jealousy;
but it might well have been stimulated by many other feelings, such as
resentment at receiving punishment which the child felt was unde
served, or failure in school or at games.
The anger shown by most children is not out of proportion to the
stimulation, is of short duration, and is a normal, healthy reaction.
In fact it might be said that there is something wrong with the child
who never becomes angry.
17. The so-called temper tantrum, an uncontrolled outburst o f
kicking and screaming, is a common dramatic 'physical demonstra
tion o f anger and resentment and is freguently used by the child to
get his own way.
A temper tantrum may result in undesirable conduct for the mo
ment, and then the atmosphere may clear until the next occasion for
anger arises. Almost invariably the temper tantrums manifested by
children work out, either directly or indirectly, to their advantage
for the moment at least. The child may be determined to have his
own way; or craves attention, no matter how it is gained; or feels
that he can obtain a bribe if he holds out long enough. The demon
stration the youngster makes of his anger is so spectacular and im
pressive to those who have denied him his desires that they sur
render and agree to his demands in order to avoid further unpleasant
scenes. It is quite amazing to see the acuteness with which a child
can choose the time and place where giving in to him will seem
almost a necessity. In this way the child quickly learns that he
can partly control his surroundings. Soon the tantrums originally
due to situations arousing intense emotion are produced to dodge any
situation requiring submission to the will o f others. The temper
has become out o f all proportion to the demands of the occasion,
and the child will stage a violent tantrum as readily over a trifle as
over some real grievance.
18. The child who meets all difficult situations in life with chronic
irritability or a temper tantrum is in grave damger o f developing
other personality defects later which w ill make o f him an unhappy,
inadequate adult.
In the first place, the child who has these explosions o f temper is
likely to be emotionally unstable by nature, the type o f child who
is not capable of withstanding the average amount o f stress and
strain without undue fatigue. Temper tantrums are only one of the
many symptoms o f nervous fatigue in childhood. They are often
preceded by restless sleep, capricious habits regarding food, fault
finding, and complaints of being “ picked upon ” by playmates and
unjustly treated by associates and teachers. This may indicate that
the child is in need o f more rest and sleep, as well in need o f more
energetic play during his waking hours. He should not be confined
to the house and cut off from playmates— a situation which in itself

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makes him self-centered, cross, and hard to please and keeps him in
a chronic state of tension, ready to explode at any moment.
19.
I f temper tantrums, when considered in relation to the exciting
cause and the personality o f the child, represent his unconscious
protest against the thwarting o f some fundamental desire, every
effort should he made to determine the cause and remove it or to
alter the child’s attitude toward it.
Suppose the boy in his play is quietly following out a line o f action
he has planned and is eager to finish. A t a word from an unin
terested fi grown-up ” all his plans and efforts must be stopped or
tossed aside, whether he can see any reason for this or not. Is there
any cause for surprise that he should show his resentment in the
most emphatic way possible for him ?
On the other hand, if tantrums have become habitual—that is, a
crude method o f gaining an end, as described in paragraph 17,
then it must be made clear that they will no longer work out to the
child’s advantage. Once a definite stand is adopted, it will not take
the child long to see that his former methods o f gaining his ends
are no longer tolerated ; that he is making no material gain and is
losing approbation by his conduct. When once he senses this the
temper tantrums will be discarded.
‘20. A nger is not always expressed by explosive reactions.
Some children become sullen and moody when angered. This
may harm the child more than the temper tantrum does. It fre
quently leads to brooding and unhealthy fantasy formation of a
revengeful nature, which gradually may cause the child’s interests
to “ turn in ” and his energy to be wasted in living a “ dream life ”
o f things as he would have them and not as they really are.
There is a group o f cases in which the individual is so overcome
by anger that temporarily action is quite impossible. Common ex
pressions, such as “ being paralyzed by rage ” and “ so mad I could
not speak,” convey well the idea. This type of reaction is not so
common in children, yet it does exist. Frequently the emotion is
pent up and repressed from day to day until it reaches the breaking
point. Then suddenly and without apparent reason, or perhaps for
some trivial cause, the explosion takes place, and those with whom the
child comes in daily contact can not understand how this hitherto
quiet, reserved youngster could have produced such an outburst.
21. The control o f anger depends upon the development o f certain
inhibitions or restraints.
I f the child is to become a self-controlled and useful adult it
is essential that certain inhibitions be established early in life.
The important thing for the child to learn is that the natural tend
ency to react to this emotion by retaliation does not work out at all
times to his advantage.
22. Many periodic and apparently u/nexplaindble outbursts of
anger might be avoided if the child’s general condition were con
sidered from time to time.
Are there any evidences of nervous fatigue, such as twitching or
jerking o f the larger muscles or blinking o f the eyes? Is he eating
and sleeping well, and is his elimination good? Is he getting on
well in school? Does he mix well with other children, or do they
tease him; and if so, why? Does he play with older or younger

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HABIT FORMATION

children? Is he inclined to be a bully? Does he take his part in
games? What are his duties outside the school? Has he enough
exercise out o f doors? What is he thinking about? What are his
problems, hopes, and disappointments ? I f he seems unhappy, what
is the cause of his discontent? He may be jealous or troubled by
some ill-defined fear, or worried by the problem o f sex. He may
feel inferior to others, and needs to be helped to see things clearly
and in their true light.
The big task is to see that the child is happy and that he is learn
ing how to meet the problems of everyday life successfully.
S E X E D U C A T IO N A N D S E X P R O B L E M S

23.
A large 'percentage o f all mental conflicts and abnormalities
in adults and children are directly caused by unfortunate attitudes
or experiences with the ever-present force which sex creates in all
mental life, or they are colored by them.
The very fact that discussion of sex is refrained from in the pres
ence o f the child accounts for the intense curiosity which many
children develop at an early age regarding the subject. A ll too
frequently the child’s natural desire to be enlightened on this subject
just as freely as on any other is met by cold reserve, a sharp rebuff, or
a dishonest answer from one who in all other ways is a considerate
and wise guide. Therefore it is not surprising that the child soon
learns to keep to himself the knowledge he has gained from his
own investigations or has gathered from some more sophisticated
playmate, and soon becomes self-conscious about his sex life.
The housemother should be the friend and confidant o f the child,
encouraging him to bring to her his daily experiences, remembering
that she stands in place of the child’s own mother. The evening hour
around the fire can be made a time of great influence in the life of the
child.
The housemother should realize the obligation to teach the child
the sacredness of the body and to interpret rightly to the child the
vital facts of his existence in answer to his questions. I f such ques
tions are answered in the right time and way by the right person,
much suffering as the result of violation of physical and moral law
may be avoided. la
A. child should never be told that his questions are “ bad ” or
“ d irty ” or “ shameful.” I f he asks them at an embarrassing mo
ment he need only be quietly informed—with no show of emotion—
that he will be told all about that later when there is more time
to talk with him. He must be led to appreciate that such subjects
are private, like many other matters which are not made subjects
of general conversation. Care must be taken, however, that the
child does not as a consequence associate all matters o f sex with
those o f elimination.
Children may early develop a sensitiveness in regard to their
bodies and a curiosity to see themselves and others nude. On the
other hand, they may become overmodest and prudish. Try never to
\

la Helpful pamphlets for instruction on sex hygiene can be obtained from the American
Social Hygiene Association, 870 Seventh Ave., New York.

2204°—27-----6

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arouse special interest or attract the child’s attention to his body.
This early period of what may be called awareness is transitory,
unless emphasized by unwise treatment on the part o f the adults; and
it should play no more important part in the life o f the child than
does the early habit of bed wetting.
2Jf. L ittle children have no thought o f wrongdoing when first 'prac
ticing masturbation, and care should be taken that they are not
shamed and severely punished, as this may injure their pride, cause
them to become self-conscious, focus their interest, and make them
cling tenaciously to the habit.
In every case where a child is found to indulge in the practice of
masturbation a careful examination should be made to determine
whether there is any physical cause such as irritation, constipation,
intestinal-worms, local adhesions, or other abnormalities. The urine
should be examined for hyperacidity and for bacteria which might
indicate an inflammatory condition. The genitals must be kept
free from accumulation o f any foreign matter. The child’s trousers
and underwear should be well fitting. Too tight or irritating cloth
ing is a source of much annoyance to children and draws their atten
tion to their bodies.
25. W ith some children masturbation is only a symptom o f an
unhappy state o f mind. The habit then comes to afford a retreat
when life, with its m anifold problems, becomes too complicated and
lacking in satisfaction.
The practice under these circumstances may be compared to the
situation o f the adult who turns to drink for momentary relief. The
child who is moody or lonely or who has been punished may resort
to the practice for consolation and comfort. I f this is the case the
problem is quite different and far more difficult. The personality of
the individual needs careful investigation, and no generalization will
be o f value. Those in charge o f the child must know him well and
must understand his moods and the causes. They should learn his
interests, plans, and hopes, and what brings happiness and satis
faction to him.
26. Those in charge o f children should not allow fear and anxiety
to sway them and to make them give the habit o f masturbation more
weight than it should have.
'the big thing to remember is that the dangers to the physical and
mental well-being o f the child are more apt to come from the adult’s
own attitude and unwise treatment than from the habit itself.
E N U R E S IS (B E D W E T T IN G )

27. B efore treating enuresis as an undesirable habit it is necessary
to eliminate, so far as possible, every organic cause.
Enuresis may occur both day and night. It occurs in both sexes
with about the same frequency. It may begin in infancy and last
until the sixth or seventh year or even longer, or it may cease at the
end of the first year with the condition returning at indefinite periods
and lasting from a few days to a few months at a time.
Conditions affecting the bladder, acute inflammations, and calculi;
are the most common physical causes of enuresis. Local irritations,

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H A B IT FO RM ATION

an adherent prepuce, phimosis, or a narrow meatus should also be
considered. Rectal irritations due to worms or fissures may exist.
Incontinence of urine is frequently associated with a high concen
tration and acidity o f urine due to insufficient fluid intake. Much
more commonly the enuresis may be brought about by too great an
intake o f fluids, which naturally increases the amount o f fluid to be
excreted. The more general conditions— anemia, malnutrition, and
an unstable nervous system (of which enuresis is only a symptom)—
should receive proper consideration.
28. The cause and persistence o f enuresis depend upon faulty habit
form ation in many eases where no organic cause can be found.
In most cases the condition is purely habit, often associated with other
habits which indicate an unstable or highly nervous system.2
The most common failures in developing correct habits about the use of
the toilet have to do with the age at which training is undertaken and with
the emotional atmosphere that surrounds the training. * * * The child
whose training is begun as late as 2 years of age or more has already reached a
stage of greater independence of personality and of fondness for the negative
reaction. He is apt to resent and to resist training as a younger baby does
not.3

There are a few generalizations that may be made about every
case. Any demand for excessive mental strain should be avoided so
far as possible. The child should have definite hours o f sleep. His
diet should be a simple one free from spices and sweets. Routine
measures should be instituted to prevent constipation.
29. One o f the first and most important steps in the treatment of
enuresis is to interest the child in making an effort to overcome 'the
habit.
The changes that should be induced in the attitude o f the child
have been noted as follow s: Eliminate fear. Build a faith that suc
cess can be attained. Stimulate interest in success. Develop a sense
o f responsibility on the part o f the child for his own behavior.
* * * Getting the child to adopt the idea that he can learn to
waken himself at night when he needs the toilet is a long step
toward success.” 4
■
30. The chart system has been utilized with gratifying success in
cases o f enuresis. The child keeps his own chart and makes a mark
for each day and night o f success. Over each mark is placed a star.
The best policy is to mark successful days only and leave the unsuccessful
days blank. * * * Fully as important as developing a strong interest and
motive is the development of a sense of responsibility on the part of the child.
It is absolutely essential that the child be made to feel that attending to his
own toilet needs is distinctly his job and that he can not depend upon any
outsider to do it for him. * * * In many instances the child whose sense
of responsibility about bed wetting must be aroused is also in need of it in
other directions.5

31. The habit is rarely overcome through punishment hut is fre
quently conquered by appealing to the child's love o f approbation.
2 Holt, Emmett L., and John H owland: The Diseases of Infancy and Childhood, p. 665.
D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1919.
3 Woolley, Helen T . : “ Enuresis as a psychological problem.’* Mental Hygiene
[New York], Vol. X, No. 1 (January, 1926), pp. 41-42.
* T h ir l

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Persons in charge of children should not blame or punish them for
bed wetting. It has been well stated that—Bed wetting is not a conscious and willful performance save in a few in
stances whep revenge or fear are motivating factors. Rare, indeed, is the child
who enjoys enuresis, and few are there who reveal its existence as part of a
pleasurable or frightful dream. There are those who fear to get up in the
darkness of the night or who dislike exposure to cold, and therefore do not
exert great resistance to urination. There are others who in deep sleep fail to
be aroused or who manage to awaken just in the act of urination. In almost
all cases the bed wetting causes a sense of shame and a sensitiveness to criti
cism. The terms of disparagement visited upon the victim only tend to increase
his fears and to weaken his confidence in the possibility of self-control.
Mentally defective children are lacking in their higher cerebral processes,
and the formation of useful social habits is attended with difficulty. Hence
there is a higher freauency of enuresis among the mentally deficient than
among average children. But enuresis itself is not an index of weak mental
powers. It is exceedingly frequent among highly intelligent children, and even
more-prevalent among children with that highly nervous organization which,
for lack of better understanding, we term neurotic. The very bright, alert,
impulsive, quick-actioned type, or the dreamy, self-conscious, sensitive, shy,
capable type provide a large proportion of the children whose enuresis disturbs
the home.
Whether stupid, dull, average, bright, or precocious, the habits of conscious
control over the bladder may be developed or strengthened by particular
appeals,8

32. The feelings o f inferiority and shame that are associated with
enuresis may color the child’s entire mental life.
• I f the methods used in training for the toilet are repressive and the child
is sensitive, he may develop a fear of not being able to control himself and
thereby actually prevent control. Intense social disapproval is an even
more common source of this type of fear than is severe physical punishment.7

33. Suggestion just as the child is going to sleep at night has
worked well in a certain group o f cases.
When the child is just about to fall asleep he is asked to repeat
over and over again, “ I am not going to wet the bed.” Some im
portant general suggestions that should be kept in mind by persons
in charge o f children afflicted with the habit o f enuresis are: f- Stop
all punishments. Stop all arguing and rowing. Stop all displays
o f intense emotional concern and substitute for them a matter-offact attitude. Cultivate an optimistic spirit. * * * Very fre
quently some outside source o f stimulation and inspiration is neces
sary. * * * Often a new social situation furnishes a most vital
kind of interest and motive for controlling enuresis.” 8
F or list o f references on habit form ation see Chapter X V , page
125.
8 Wile, Ira S .: The Challenge of Childhood, pp. 2f\ 30. Thomas Seltzer, New York, 1925.
7 Woolley, Helen T . : “ Enuresis as a psychological problem.” Mental Hygiene [New
York], Vol. X (1926), No. 1 (January), p. 46.
8 Ibid., pp. 50-52.

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Chapter X.— SPIRITUAL AND MORAL TRAINING
R E L IG IO U S IN S T R U C T IO N

1. Instruction in accord with the faith o f their 'parents should be
provided fo r all children. I t should be definite and positive.
It is a principle o f good social work to provide for the training
o f children in the religion o f their parents. The type o f religious
training to be given will necessarily be determined by the individual
institution. Expression is given to the need for religious training
in the following quotations from authorities on institutional care
for dependent children:
The natural starting point and the surest foundation for moral instruction
is the religious instinct. Early in childhood nearly all children learn of a
Supreme Being called God, and that in some way or other He is concerned in
their conduct and welfare. Whether their relation to God is chiefly that of
fear or of love depends upon the child’s early religious training. To many
children, God is a being to be feared rather than loved. It has been said
that man is a religious animal. A t least, religious instincts seem to be basic
in his nature. To permit the child to grow up, therefore, without religious
training fails to develop these fundamental instincts. Early impressions per
sist, and it is extremely important that the child begin his religious life with
impressions that draw him toward God as father, teacher, and friend whom
he would like to please.1
The staff must remember that upon them devolve the duties of parents as
well as school-teachers. In many cases children look to them for all the
religious training they will ever receive * * *. Religious instruction should
not be confined to the classroom but should be correlated with the child’s daily
life. Numerous opportunities are afforded the group mother during the day
in the associations of the group to bring home the lessons of religion and the
stories of the Bible.1
.
It is our endeavor to make the religious life of our children harmonize with
their social life, so that they may look upon it with spiritual joy and »satis
faction, the remembrance of which will linger in their minds long after they
have left their alma mater and have become independent members of society.8

2. Instruction in great religious experiences as taught in the Bible
should be given understanding^.
Mechanical or rote memorizing o f songs, psalms, or chapters, with
out understanding, had better be avoided. The constant repetition
often begets indifference. But fine classical expressions o f the virtue
o f obedience (Samuel’s rebuke to S a u l); o f patriotic devotion (the
Jew’s lament for Jerusalem when in captivity); o f humility (prayers
o f the Pharisee and the publican); o f dependence on God (Solomon’s
prayer when taking over the kingdom ); o f personal attachment
(Ruth’s words to N aom i); o f neighborly kindness (story of the
Good Samaritan); o f God’s universal requirement o f all men (He
hath showed thee, O man, what is good and what doth the Lord
1 Reeder, Rudolph R . : Statement in personal communication.
2 A Program for Catholic Child-Caring Homes (report of the committee on standards,
Sisters’ Conference, National Conference of Catholic Charities, 1923, Proceedings), p. 16.
Obtainable from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C.
3 Report o f board of directors of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society, p. 19. Pleasantville, N. Y., 1924.

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require o f thee but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with
thy G od ), and many more like them should be taught and memorized
understanding^, together with other religious classics.
M O R A L T R A IN IN G

3.
Moral training in an institution depends upon the atmosphere
and tone o f the institution and the relation between staff and children
rather than upon form al moral instruction.
Play associates, example, and imitation are the great factors in
moral training. Rules, regulations, and instruction in moral train
ing without experience and contact with strong personalities are
empty and ineffective. Moral convictions must be developed through
experience. Character-developing experience is a part of the daily
life o f the child as it is o f the adult.
In order that children may have the moral training that comes
through experience, an environment rich and varied in interests and
activities is necessary.
Without many-sided interests, richness of content, and range of
child experiences little can be done in moral training. Play life with
plenty o f play material and personal possessions, competition, and
team work ; work life in which the child makes and builds and buys
and sells; social life in which he is conscious of his obligation to
contribute to the pleasure o f others; school life in which he learns
his own powers ; religious instruction with story and biography— all
these are pregnant with moral content. Much o f this content, how
ever, may not appear in the consciousness of the child unless his
attention is directed to it through interpretation and instruction.
5. Children should have as much moral freedom as they can stand
or as much as they will not seriously abuse.
I f their environment is so restricted that they can never make
wrong choices there is little opportunity for development o f selfcontrol and moral decision. Hence freedom to choose, with wise
guidance, and range o f environment in play, work, and school, offer
moral options indispensable to sound moral training. Substantial
character building is impossible where children are hedged iri on
every side by walls, rules, and regulations, or by programs o f play,
work, and study that run in deep grooves. Moral training o f chil
dren must lead to-—but not compel— right choices. Forced choosing
is a contradiction of terms. The most important factor in child
training is the conscious cooperation of the child.
6. Self-respect must be developed in the children.
The best defense an individual can have against many temptations
is his own self-respect. Conditions in the lives o f many dependent
children have tended to destroy self-respect; the experience in the
institution must be such that it will rebuild this. Suitable clothes
are a help. The ability to succeed in something is essential if one is
to believe in himself. Something at which even the dullest can excel
and make a contribution to the group life must be discovered and
receive favorable comment.
7. More than the usual emphasis should be given to the moral train
ing o f the dependent child.

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The dependent child is deprived of the close ties of the family
home which are a source o f strength. Hence he must learn to rely
upon himself earlier in life than is necessary for the child whose
situation is normal.
D ISC IP L IN E

8. Obedience to authority is one o f the fundamental lessons which
must be learned in childhood.
Obedience to rightly constituted authority is a basic principle o f
society. Without it no program o f child training is adequate or
safe. But external control should gradually pass over into selfcontrol, the child thereby achieving moral freedom. That person is
free who does as he pleases but pleases to do right. Hence the ability
to direct and to become independent must be encouraged.
9. Too Touch demand for obedience from children and too much
domination o f them on the part o f adults has a demoralizing effect.
The ideal o f conduct should not be so high that attainment o f it is
nearly impossible nor the goal o f achievement so far distant that* it
makes effort seem futile. The children must be made to feel, how
ever, that obedience is expected. Commands should be few, well
thought out, definitely enforced, and positive rather than negative
in form. I f directions have not been given plainly and simply and
the child’s attention has not been fully obtained, a child may disobey
quite unintentionally. Before children are charged with disobedi
ence their motives for their actions should be fully ascertained.4
10. Discipline based upon fear is bad, no matter how perfect the
order may be. I t weakens rather than strengthens self-control in
the child.
It may be put down as generally true that wherever punishment is made a
prominent feature in the lives of children self-control and moral standards are
at low ebb. Efficient moral character, the goal toward which we work in all
our educative endeavors, is an inner structure, not an outward form. Where
punishment functions largely there is certain to be a lack of wholesome
incentive to self-mastery and constructive moral effort.
In order that punishment shall not have a large place in the training of
children it is, first of all, necessary to provide abundantly for their occupation.
A child left to his own devices is a danger signal. To require a child to
behave and yet give him nothing to do is cruel. Under such conditions au
thority is maintained by fear of punishment only. It is entirely external and
has but little or no educative worth. To attempt to make punishment take the
place of occupation and wholesome incentives in the training of the child is
blundering tyranny.5

11. A well-managed Institution fo r children should put very lit
tle stress on mere punishment.
I f the children are kept busy and happy and are taught over a
period o f time to direct themselves, there will be little need for
punishment. Encouraging mutual helpfulness and a kindly in
terest in others is the best stimulus to good behavior.
12. No corporal punishment should be perm itted in institutions.
Corporal punishment is not the best method o f correction. It
frequently produces resentment and misunderstanding and makes the
* For discussion of obedience see Child Management, pp. 22-25 (U. S. Children’s Bureau
Publication No. 143, Washington, 1925).
'
< ), >
5 Reeder, Rudolph R .: How Two Hundred Children Live and Learn, pp. 145, 146.
Noble & Noble, New York, 1911.

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children in their turn apt to use violence to gain their ends, thus
increasing rather than decreasing antisocial behavior.
Punishment should be regarded as medicine for moral illness, the
offending child being the patient. The object to be attained is res
toration to moral soundness and not merely the satisfaction o f law
or the payment o f a penalty.- Like medicine, it should be adminis
tered sparingly and with great care. There should be real under
standing o f what the results will be.
13. Punishments should be individual.
Group punishments are unjust except in cases in which the ma
jority o f the group have transgressed. They produce the atmos
phere o f mass treatment which is one of the worst features of
institutional life. Individual consideration is what children need.
Although group punishments are bad, group standards o f behavior
which the.group itself develops and enforces constitute one o f the
best means o f encouraging right behavior and o f punishing bad
behavior. Children are more sensitive to the judgments o f their
peers than to the judgments o f adults. Some measure of selfgovernment is possible even to very young children. With older
children a large measure o f self-government is both possible and
desirable.
14- Punishments inflicted by adults should be in the nature o f
allowing the child to suffer the natural consequences o f his u/ndesirable acts.
The child should be able to see why the punishment logically
follows the act. Deprivations are ineffective unless they are the
natural result o f the offense. Requiring a child to make good the
damage he has done and to make restitution in case of stealing have
a good effect. Love and approval of the good go much further than
displeasure and disapproval o f the bad in securing good conduct.
15. Punishments which humiliate or degrade should not be
inflicted.
Putting special clothing on offenders or inflicting other punish
ments which humiliate or degrade a child are relics o f barbarism
and have no place in any institution for children. A ll suggestions
of revenge or vindictiveness on the part o f the adult should be care
fully avoided.
Many dependent children suffer from marked feelings o f in
feriority. Instead o f having this condition aggravated by the kinds
of punishment given, the child should have his own sense o f fair
play appealed to. His character should be strengthened rather than
weakened by the punishment.
Isolation may be good punishment for the type o f offense in
which the child’s behavior has been annoying and disturbing to the
group, but isolation without occupation should be maintained for
very short periods only. It must be remembered that the mind is
busy—and not usually with wholesome thinking—when the body
is in duress. There is danger to the child if he is left too long alone
and unoccupied. A short period o f isolation may have a good effect;
a prolonged period may be very detrimental.
16. Rewards may take the form o f special privileges, the oppor
tunity to do or have some desired thing, symbols (such as those

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used in scout w ork). The satisfaction which results when work is
honestly done is to be held as an incentive before the children.
Kewards which express group approval of real effort at improve
ment or good conduct are helpful. Prizes for the best-behaved child
or for scholarship are not in accord with the best educational stand
ards. Care must be used therefore to give rewards for the right
things. Mere facility o f performance should not be rewarded above
honest effort The slower, less gifted individual should receive re
wards commensurate with those given the clever child who may net
better results with half the effort.
The granting of material rewards must not be overdone. When
they are given the point to be stressed is the accomplishment of the
object rather than the material reward received. Pride in accom
plishment can be stimulated by a judicious giving of rewards, or it
may be obliterated by an injudicious distribution of them.
IN D IV ID U A L R E S P O N S IB IL IT Y

17. The children must be trained to decide fo r themselves and
assume responsibility fo r the results o f their decisions.
The dependent child has been deprived of many of the advantages
which are considered fundamental to childhood, but he is expected
to go at an early age into the community and make his own way.
I f he is to do this successfully the institution must train his will
as well as his mind and his hands. He must be taught to think for
himself, to decide wisely, and to assume responsibility for his actions.
The ability to choose rightly is developed by exercising the right of
choice under wise direction; responsibility in small things trains for
the assumption o f responsibility in larger things. The daily life
must be planned and opportunities sought to give all the children
varied experiences and to develop initiative.
18. Some plan should^ be developed which will enable the children
in the institution to gain experience in handling money.
Earning, saving, and spending money involve moral responsibility
and open a large field for its development. Knowledge of the rel
ative value o f money is the right of every child. The dependent
child who must rely upon himself at an earlier age and more com
pletely than the average child is in special need of it. This can be
secured only from experience in handling real money—not token
money.
A system o f payment for certain duties has been worked out in
some institutions. The child who receives the money should be
taught to keep an accurate account of the amount received and the
purpose for which it is spent. This plan gives the child some money
which he is free to save or spend as he wishes, and it makes him
responsible for the purchase o f certain necessities. This practical
experience with money teaches many valuable lessons. Some mis
takes will be made, o f course, but if there is wise direction the child
will profit by his mistakes. His economic training should include
the earning, saving, spending, and giving o f money.

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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS
S E L F -G O V E R N M E N T

19. Real self-governm ent in an institution depends upon the spirit
o f its administration rather than upon some form o f organization,
but adult guidance without domination is necessary.
Every child is not only an individual but also a member o f a social
group. Beside rules governing individual conduct there are prin
ciples and laws governing the group—the family, school, class, and
neighborhood. The responsibility for the proper observance of
these social laws and ‘customs should rest largely upon the mem
bers o f the group as a political organization or community whole.
Teaching children, especially those 12 years of age and over, through
both instruction and practical experience their duties and respon
sibilities as members of a self-governing body is not a fad or an
experiment. It is o f equal importance with other subjects of the
home and school curriculum. Definite preparation for the respon
sibility o f citizenship should begin with 12-year-old children in all
group units of which they are a part.
20. The essential thing is that each child shall develop social con
sciousness and a sense o f group responsibility.
The important factors for obtaining a large degree o f self-gov
ernment in children’s institutions are the right spirit in the people
who initiate and oversee the plan and their ability to inspire the
children with right ideals. Under wise direction the meeting of
group units o f boys and girls to consider and pass judgment upon
matters relating to them all is fine training for them. The con
scious cooperation o f the child as an individual or as a member of
a group is the largest and most helpful factor in any program of
child training. It bridges the chasm between those in authority and
those under authority.
An annual report of an institution in which a self-government
system has been in operation for about 15 years contains the fol
lowing statement:
The older hoys and girls have assumed larger responsibility for the welfare
of all and have participated to a greater degree in the administration of
affairs than in any previous year. A self-government organization has been
effected consisting of a cottage council elected by the cottage group. Questions
of discipline, protection o f property, good manners, cooperation, cottage spirit,
etc., come before this council, sometimes sitting alone, oftener in a section of
the whole cottage. Once a month a general meeting of all the cottage councils
is held, at which time the standing of the cottage upon various administrative
objectives enumerated on the cottage chart are brought under review and dis
cussion. The meetings have proved very helpful in developing public spirit and
social responsibility among the boys and girls.6

The superintendent o f an orphanage says:
W ith some reservations as to recommendation that the method be given
general trial in all institutions it appears quite clear that the self-government
principle at least can quite frequently be introduced in a time of exigency.
Even though a formal organization may not be made with governor, mayor,
attorney general, chief of police, and the like, there will arise occasions when
a temporary organization may be effected to meet a special situation. When
a definite trouble arises three or five of the older and more trustworthy chil
dren may be brought together to consider the difficulty, and it is usually easy
9 Orphan Asylum Society in the City of New York, One Hundred and Eleventh Annual
Report, April I, 1917, p. 10. Hastings-on-the-Hudson, N. Y.

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SP IR ITU A L AND MORAL TR A IN IN G

to secure their cooperation by merely soliciting it. A t Connie Maxwell Orphan
age the children have frequently been organized informally at a time of stress
when misdemeanors were becoming marked. Testimony from this institution
indicates that there has never been difficulty in securing cooperation of a
group of children when they were selected by the superintendent and appealed
to for assistance in ferreting out a trouble and curing it. There has not been
an instance of failure or hypocrisy or untrustworthiness on the part of any of
the children organized in such a way. On the other hand, they have from time
to time been organized informally not to ferret out trouble, but to support
and help put through movements that were desirable and worthy. Children
selected at such times and for such purposes have usually taken it as quite a
high compliment and have in great sincerity and earnestness given their coop
eration. It looks as if any institution might, at least upon occasion and in
certain situations, use to high advantage the principle of self-government.

- 21. A self-governing body should have a simple plan o f organiza
tion.
The simpler the organization is the better, provided that the mem
bers o f the group actually participate in a responsible manner in
the government of the whole and that they deliberate and pass judg
ment upon matters o f group concern, such as proposed rules for
public welfare, the punishment of lawbreakers, fixing individual
and community responsibility, measures for betterment, and social
obligations.
22. In various attempts to promote self-governm ent among chil
dren several errors have been prominent.
First, the organization has been too elaborate and complex in its
operation for children to understand and administer it. It is not
necessary in a system of self-government maintained by children
that there should be formal court proceedings with judge, jury, and
lawyer, to try cases arising out o f the ordinary life of the school,
community, or social group. The main thing is that the members
o f the self-governing body shall feel and express responsibility for
the welfare arid good order of the group, that they shall deliberate
upon questions o f behavior and public policy, and that they shall
pass and execute judgments upon matters which concern the best
interests of the community life.
Second, self-governing projects among children have frequently
been made a show feature. They have been regarded as fads, or
experiments, and neither the children nor the teachers have looked
upon them seriously and as a necessary and important part of the
community relationship.
Third, it has been assumed that self-government in a group of
children necessarily means that absolute control and authority must
rest with the children. This should never be the case, for children
are not capable of assuming such responsibility. The object is to
teach self-government to those not yet wholly competent to exercise
it. Hence they should not be left entirely to themselves in render
ing important decisions, but larger responsibility and authority
should come with increasing success. The consideration of very
serious offenses should never be left to the children.
23. The degree of self-governm ent perm itted to any^ group or
unit o f children should be just as much as they can administer.
i

Jamison, A. T. : Statement in personal communication.

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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

In order to learn how to govern themselves, the children should
even be allowed to make mistakes that are not too serious. They
can learn in no other way.
Children and some adults often have difficulty in understanding
the difference between self-government and self-control. Self-gov
ernment is a social function; self-control is entirely individual.
F or references on spiritual and moral training see Chapter X V ,
page 126,

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Chapter X I.— EDUCATION
T H E E D U C A T IO N A L P R O G R A M

1.
A high-school education should he given to every child capable of
profiting by it, and technical or trade training should he provided fo r
children to whom it will be of advantage in obtaining the right kind
of work after schooling has been completed.
Dependent children need special educational opportunities because
o f the social and educational handicaps from which so many have
suffered, and because they must assume self-support and self-direc
tion at an early age.
In these days for a child capable of profiting by a high-school
education to stop short o f completing such a course means both
individual and social waste.
The program for children o f preschool age.

2. The foundation o f education should be laid during the preschool
period.
There is no period when th'e child learns so many things as during
the first five years o f his life. In this period his health and behavior
habits are formed. Therefore a definite educational program should
be planned. Education during this period is not o f the formal type.
It includes training in proper health habits, the use o f the hands,
the beginning of home-making, and right social relationships.
3. E very institution should provide a wide ra/nge o f activities, both
indoor and outdoor, fo r the preschool children.
The older children who attend schools outside the institution have
some of their normal interests provided for at school, but those
under school age are entirely dependent upon the institution.' Chil
dren of preschool age should spend several hours in out-of-door play
except in cold and stormy weather. (For equipment for outdoor
play see p. 100.)
i. Play is an important factor in the education o f children o f pre
school age as well as o f older children.
The following are suggested as indoor educational equipment for
the preschool child:
Building blocks (large size).
Toy animals.
Dolls and doll furniture.
Montessori apparatus:
Cylinders (3 sets).
Long stair.
Broad stair.
Insets.
!
Color matching box.

Plasticine or modeling clay.
Pictures to be cut out and scissors.
Paste.
Puzzle pictures.
Picture books.
Story books (to be read aloud to the
children).
Provisions for music
(piano and
phonograph).
87

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HANDBOOK DOB INSTITUTIONS

The use o f these materials requires skilled adult supervision.
5. Supervision, not domination, is especially important in the pre
school period.
Free activity, with skilled help and guidance as it is needed, is the
ideal.
The value o f such activities as those suggested above is not mere
amusement for the child, but mental growth and development. The
reflex effect on character and personality of training during this
period can not be overestimated.
6. The nursery school for the child o f preschool age is an im por
tant new educational development which the institution director will
wish to study.
The program for children o f school age.

7. Children of school age should be sent to the school of the neigh
borhood.
This is the surest way of giving children normal contacts with
other children and with the general life of the community as well
as securing for them accepted educational standards.
Educational leaders in the United States favor the day school
rather than the boarding school for children whose parents are free
to choose the very best for their children. This is because normal
home life and community relationship are preferred to the artificial
environment o f a boarding school from an educational as well as
from a social standpoint. But when home and school are com
bined in an institution the problems ‘o f each are increased.
8. A n institutional school may be advisable under some circum
stances.
Some institutions are so situated that attendance at the school in
the community is very difficult, if not impossible. The community
•school may be below the State educational standards and the man
agement unwilling to cooperate in working out the joint educational
problems o f the institution and the neighborhood.
Attendance at community high schools is frequently possible even
though elementary-school facilities are so limited that the institu
tion must maintain its own grade .school. As the high school re
quires more expensive equipment for laboratories and vocational
training and a specialized staff, it is a great advantage to be able
to use the community high schools.
9. The justification fo r the social and educational losses which
the children, suffer who are educationally and socially segregated
should be that the institutional school offers opportunities superior
to those o f the local schools.
I f the institution school is * * * enriching the life of the child in a
hundred ways that are possible and giving him an understanding of him
self, of the community, of commercial and social life, adapting its program
to the needs of retarded children and those who do not fit the common curricu
lum of the public school, it is thoroughly justified. If, on the other hand, it
is not meeting these various special adjustments, then, by all means, the
children should attend the public school. For the effect of the institution
school not so maintained will be to contract rather than expand and to insti
tutionalize, isolate, and make the child queer.

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EDUCATION

It Is probably true that not one institution school in ten is furnishing
the educational, tailor-made fit * * *. It would, therefore, be better for
the nine to send their children to the public school.1

10. I f an institution school is provided, the equipment and pro
gram o f the school maintained by the institution must be as high
in every respect as those maintained by the best local public schools.
The following standards should be met:
(a) The school building should be separate from other buildings.2
(b ) The rooms used for school purposes must be adequate in
size and number, well lighted, heated, and ventilated, and desirably
located. Basement rooms should not be used for classrooms.
(c) Overcrowding must be avoided.
(a ) The curriculum should be similar to that found in public
schools.
(e )
The school year should extend over a period o f nine months
at least.
( / ) The hours spent in actual school work each day should equal
the number spent in the public schools.
(g ) The qualifications for teachers must be at least as high as
for those employed in the public schools of the community. The
teachers should be o f pleasing personality, have satisfactory train
ing, and hold licenses to teach according to the laws o f the State.
Salaries must be high enough to attract competent people. Teach
ers should participate in the social life and civic and educational
activities o f the local community. In other words, they should not be
“ institution persons,” increasing the artificiality of the child’s en
vironment.
( h) Institution schools should be under the general supervision
o f the city or county and State board or department o f education.
(i) Adequate supplies o f books, properly adjusted desks (one
for each child), blackboards, maps, and material for handwork
should be provided.
11. Occasionally an institution which is not situated so as to be
able to send the children to a public school can make arrangements
to have the teaching done within its walls by public-school teachers,
the rooms and equipment being provided by the institution.
12. Individual work is more important in the institution school
than in the public school.3
Dependent children with their histories o f irregular attendance,
frequent changes in schools, and retardation need the best teaching
service possible in order to regain lost grounckeducationally as well
as physically and socially. The special needs of each child should
be met through a flexible curriculum and adaptation o f the program
to the needs o f the individual.
The experiences o f one o f the larger institutions in connection
with the inauguration of a new plan o f education is o f interest.
1 Reeder, Rudolph R . : How Two Hundred Children Liye and Learn, pp. 192, 194, 195.
Noble & Noble, New York, 1911.
2 Suggestions for plans, and specifications for buildings and equipment, can be obtained
from the Bureau of Education, U. S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C., and
also from State departments of education.
P 8 For brief descriptions of certain educational systems emphasizing individualized in4/struction see The Child: His Nature and His Needs; a survey of present-day knowledge
'concerning child nature and the promotion of the well-being and education of the young,
pp. 17, 18. The Children’s Foundation, Valparaiso. Ind., 1924,

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H AN DBOOK FOB IN ST ITU T IO N S

It undertook, in 1919, a detailed study of the individual capacities
of the children and of their educational achievements. The super
intendent stated that he considered it his imperative duty to classify
and individualize the children—
so that each child would receive the home care, the type of education, the
stimulus, the training in cooperation and in leadership, the special oppor
tunities for individual growth and development of initiative which each
child’s talents, aptitudes, or capacities would indicate. As the first step in
such a program it was necessary to develop complete individual records of
each child, giving his social history, his habits, his attitudes, his reactions,
his progress, his physical development and his mental intelligence.
* * * I f individualization means anything at all, it means classifying
our various groups into types such as superior, average, or normal, and
various subdivisions of subnormal, and then giving to each individual in each
group such intensive individual attention and opportunities for development
as will bring out the best latent possibilities that each child in the group
possesses. * * * No two individuals are alike in intellect, habits, emotions,
actions, or reactions. Then why do we not proceed deliberately to discover
these differences and to serve to the best of our ability the unique personality
of each child in the normal as in the typical group? The answers generally
given for not ministering to individual needs are either that the system
or organization is too large, or that the institution has definite limitations, or
that we are absorbed with too many routine details, or that we should be
satisfied if the general appearance, tone, or order of the organization is good.
So long as nothing very bad happens or becomes known, the public is gen
erally satisfied.
It is not, however, the negative aspect of control which
should satisfy us. The real criterion of our educational and social efforts
should be, what positive good are we accomplishing for each individual child
under bur care?4

13.
Teaching material is easily accessible in the daily life o f the
institution.
t
Food supplies, whether produced or purchased, barrels o f flour and
sugar, purchase of shoes and clothing, tons o f coal, garden patches
o f corn or o f potatoes, offer many problems of arithmetic, industrial
geography, transportation, and nature study for the classroom. The
quantitative factors and the relations involved in maintaining the
institution, if handled educationally, will provide a large part of
the arithmetic in the classroom. The record and story of the various
activities going on in the institution will furnish much of the mate
rial for instruction.
Teaching material o f this sort should, however, not be limited to
the institution. A much wider environment should be utilized, and
an identity with the life of the town, the county, and the State
should be assumed.
lit,. A suitable room should be set aside for home study and for
reference boohs.
Study outside o f regular school hours is necessary for many chil
dren, and adequate provision must be made for a comfortable, quiet
room for home study and reading. A dictionary, an encyclopedia,
an atlas, and books of history, travel, and literature should be
available.
4 Goldrich, Leon, in introduction, pp. 5—7, to Report on the Psychological Examination
of All the Children at the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society, by Mrs. Elizabeth T.
Wood. Pleasantville, N. Y., 1923.

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EDUCATION

15. A t least the larger institutions need an educational director
who can study the general educational needs o f each child, repre
sent the institution in its contacts with the schools which the children
attend, have general supervision over their home study, and he
responsible fo r their vocational guidance.
Such a staff member might supervise home study, help new chil
dren to make satisfactory adjustments, discover the cause of any
failures in grade and endeavor to correct the underlying conditions,
be responsible for the coaching o f any children who need it because
they are falling behind (or because they can go ahead with greater
rapidity because of unusual capabilities), work out plans for co
operation with the schools, and do any other pieces of work in con
nection with the educational program.
Home study should be made as much a matter of individual
responsibility as is compatible with good school work, but a certain
amount of supervision is required. The supervisor can be particu
larly helpful in the adjustment which is necessary when schools are
changed and in assisting a retarded child to make progress.
16. Training fo r the right use o f leisure time is quite as essential
as training fo r work.
Because under modern industrial conditions the working day has
become shorter, and because many jobs offer the worker little or no
opportunity for self-expression, it is important that children be
trained to use their leisure hours in wholesome and pleasurable avo
cations. One of the most valuable contributions which can be made
to the life of the child during his stay in the institution is a quick
ened interest in things about him. Every possible avenue o f ex
pression should be cultivated so that natural and wholesome emo
tional outlets may be found now and in the future. A varied pro
gram of activities is required in order that each child may find some
thing he will enjoy doing. Some people take great delight in mak
ing things with their hands, others express themselves best through
music or painting or drawing; sports appeal particularly to the
active child; cooking, sewing, and many other practical things when
rightly taught are sources of real pleasure to the person who does
them well. Needs and likes differ, but some mode of self-expression
is essential if a sane and healthy attitude toward life is to be de
veloped. A love and appreciation o f beauty, the arts, and nature,
and an interest in what people have done and are doing should be
cultivated in every child so far as is possible.
17. E very child should he exposed to as many cultural influences
as possible during his stay in the institution.
An important part of the educational program should be the
development of good taste in the children. The institution has a
serious responsibility for the creation of a taste for the best in music,
art, literature, and methods o f self-entertainment. During the de
velopmental years the habit can be inculcated of attending lec
tures, concerts, dramas, and moving pictures of good quality. This
will preclude the likelihood at a later date o f any great interest on
the part of the children in trifling or actually degrading amuse
ments.
2204°—27----- 7

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H ANDBOOK FOR IN ST ITU T IO N S

OPPORTUNITIES FOR EDUCATION BEYOND THE HIGH SCHOOL
18. Children capable o f 'profiting by education beyond the highschool training which they have completed should be aided in ob
taining this.
Whether the training desired be collegiate, normal school, voca
tional, or in some branch of the arts, an effort should be made to en
able the child to have it. Some children may be able to work
their way through the college or university or the specialized school
which they wish to enter. For such children encouragement and
wise counsel will suffice. Others may need financial assistance.
Scholarships and loan funds should be sought for these, and it may
be desirable to finance outright the higher education of certain
children. Some institutions have scholarship funds of their own,
usually administered by a committee of the governing board, who
make grants upon recommendation of the superintendent o f the
institution.
19. Plans should be made for the training o f any children found
to be especially gifted in music or any of the fine arts.
I f there is no fund available for this purpose, it is often possible
to interest well-to-do individuals in gifted children.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING
SO. The change in polxcy from long-time care to short-time care
now taking place in many institutions makes trade training or other
vocational training in these institutions impracticable.
When a child remains in an institution for only a few months,
real vocational training preparing directly for wage-earning is
impracticable. Under these circumstances the training given adol
escent boys and girls must be primarily of the type known as ‘ prevorational,” the object of which should be to provide sufficient range
o f experience in practical work for the young people to try them
selves out and thus discover their vocational capacities and pref
erences.
21.
Prevocational training should give the child a variety of
experiences in practical activities.
Good equipment for prevocational training is expensive, and when
it is possible for the children in an institution to benefit by the
equipment installed in many public junior and senior high schools
its duplication by the institution is not justified. However, in order
that the school work in practical as well as academic subjects should
be supplemented in every possible way, the institution might have
some workbenches and tools in order to give the children an oppor
tunity to put into practice at home the things which have been learned
in the classroom.

If public-school facilities for prevocational training are not avail
able, institutions caring for children of junior or senior high school
age should provide equipment and teachers for training in some of
the elements of business practice (the keeping of simple records, use
of business forms, filing, use of the telephone and of the typewriter),
and in a number of the processes fundamental to some of the common

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EDUCATION

trades, such as is given in a well-organized junior high school.5 Some
equipment for woodworking, metal working, electrical work, and
printing would be helpful.6
Training and experience in gardening, horticulture, and chicken
raising also offer desirable prevocational training for both boys and
girls i f organized for teaching purposes.
Prevocational training not only 'provides a basis fo r educa
tional and vocatioinal guidance but is valuable also as a part o f the
child's general training.
Doing oyer and over again things already learned is not educa
tional and is not vocational training. Any attempt to make practical
vocational work serve as a partial support of the institution or reduce
the necessary staff o f the institution is sure to destroy its training
value.
J
6
?&& In institutions where long-time |care is given, actual voca
tional training may be made a part o f the education o f the older
children.
The school facilities of the community should be used when avail
able for vocational training as well as for training of the prevoca
tional type. Older children may obtain special training, including
commercial or business training, in vocational schools of various
kinds if the institution is in or near a large city. Trade* training
should be available for all who desire it and have the ability to
profit by it .7
J
2jf. Farm work can not be called vocational training unless there
is a consistent effort to give educational content to the farm work
which the children perform .
. Hoeing, weeding, digging Vegetables, and picking fruit are merely
forms o f manual labor, and unless instruction is given to fit the boys
to carry on the varied activities o f a farm they are not receiving vo
cational training. When it is the purpose of the institution to give
real training in farming, a trained agriculturist who has ability to
teach as well as experience in managing a farm is needed. Instruc
tion is needed in soils, varieties o f plants, methods of planting and
cultivation, o f harvesting and marketing. Instruction in poultry
raising should involve a study o f every phase o f the work neces
sary to carry on the business profitably. More than tending the
garden or feeding the chickens is necessary if. the work is to be o f
vocational value. The experience at Mooseheart is interesting in
this connection.8
25. In institutions where the child remains long enough to receive
vocational' training, facilities fo r training girls as well as boys for
wage-earning occupations should be available. In addition every girl
should receive as much practical training and experience in the home
making arts as her age, abilities, and time in the institution permit.
thPBFr i J ^ 8 nf0rn r « ? ^ Zii“ ? i « ai? ing 111
Practi?al arts, as well as a discussion of
•1
a,rts 1 ° general education, see Vocational Education, by
David Snedden (The Macmillan Co., New York, 1920). pp. 455-511.
y
n
^xi?nai Guidance and Junior Placement (U. S. Children’s Bureau Publication
> - - - HR— - —
training in relation to modern occupations ana rneir
demands, see Vocational Education in a Democracy, by Charles A. Prosser and Charles
R. Allen (The Century Oo., New York and London, 1925)

espedlllyehreprortYfor 1 ^ 1 -2 2 ^ p S 100? S° Vernor’s annual reP°rt-

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Mooseheart, 111.

See

H AN DBOOK FOB IN ST ITU T IO N S

In providing vocational training for girls it should be borne in
mind that, although the majority of the girls will probably marry,
some will not.
Vocational education for women must then train women both for industry
and for-th e home. I f it does the former without the latter, it is preparing
the average woman for at most only 10 years of her future li f e ; if it does the
latter alone, it is shirking the needs of those who will continue in industry, and
is allowing the temporary workers to stay at ill-paid and unskilled jobs.

Training in the home-making arts is important for a girl not so
much because she may need to make her living by doing domestic
work, although this is to be considered, but because, in all prob
ability, she will have a home o f her own some day 5 and the success
of that home will depend in no small measure upon her ability as a
home maker. However, it must be remembered that drudgery is not
training, and great care should be taken lest the child be a victim of
the routine o f keeping the institution clean. Frequent change of
occupation is essential.
Training in cooking should include a study of food values and
desirable combinations o f foods, methods o f preparation, and attrac
tive ways o f serving. Each girl must have an opportunity to gain
experience in actually planning, preparing, and serving meals, under
normal cQnditions and with wise direction.
In regard to making training practical the school director for an
institution for girls says:
*
Rather than try to create within the school itself situations that are intended
to develop certain powers and qualities in the children, we find it better to
send the children out to deal with the real situations that already exist. In
this way they not only learn the special skills that are called for in that kind
of work, but .also develop a resourcefulness and a readiness to meet emergen
cies that would not be brought out under more artificial conditions. Thus,
cooking is not taught in the school, but the school programs certain girls during
each term for “ dinner work ” with different cottages, and these girls are
taught and trained by their housemother to cook the dinner for that family.
They do not prepare a meal for an ideal fam ily of four, but an actual, hungry
fam ily of 6 to 12 people.10

F or list o f references on education see Chapter X V , page 127.
9 American Apprenticeship and Industrial Education, by Paul H. Douglas, p. 137.

^ ^ E L & e * : “ Educational adventures in an institution.”
York], Vol. IV, No. 4 (June, 1923), pp. 95-98.

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Co-

The Family [New

Chapter XII.— RECREATION

THE NECESSITY OF PLAY
1. P lay is essential to the 'physical development o f children and to
their mental well-being.
To the child play is a serious occupation. Children at play rarely smile
They are very serious and deeply in earnest. I t is only when they commence
to have regular and routine tasks that play commences to appear as an escape,
in earliest childhood it is the all-engrossing occupation, and, further, it is the
mam avenue of education. Play is his form of gathering experience and later
Becomes his preparation for the serious activities of his adult life
* * *
Unless he is successful in the social life of childhood he will scarcely be suc
cessful in the social life of maturity, and play offers him the most important
introduction to this social life of childhood.1

2. Time should be allowed fo r both active play and quieter forms
o f recreation.
Play should consist not only of vigorous exercises and healthy fun
but also o f some kinds of recreation which are not primarily
physical.
n
Games, athletic sports, and folk dancing are diversions that pro
mote physical development and offer opportunity for incidental
moral training; stimulation o f intellectual alertness, and other de
sirable qualities. Reading, music, handicrafts, and dramatics fur
nish excellent mental recreation. Scouting, nature study, and simi
lar activities offer occasion for both physical exercise and mental
exercise.
3recreation program should make some provision fo r all
the children in the institution.
Shy or timid children need to take part in games and athletics
even more than children who are sufficiently assertive. They are
V
correspondingly less strong and active than the other
children ; and unless careful plans are made to include them in group
games they may miss the training opportunity which they espe
cially need. I f the recreational life o f the institution has taught
them an appreciation o f the most desirable kinds o f recreation and
a desire tor these kinds it has given them a valuable asset for their
future lives. Incidentally the influence o f happy memories o f child
hood can hardly be overestimated, and the method in which leisure
or tree time was spent is seldom forgotten. There is a certain
amount ot training for future citizenship in the experience o f being:
“ m the game.”
&
child should be out o f doors as much as possible.
Children need fresh air and sunshine (see p. 51), and out-of-door
play is better than indoor play except on days when the weather is
unusually inclement.
^ M ycrson , Abraham, M. D .: “ Mental hygiene and family lif e ” Social Asneot« n t
Haven!
&Dd ° xford University Press, New
95

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HANDBOOK FOR INSTITUTIONS

5. The children need 'playmates from outside the institution.
So far as it is possible the children in an institution should play
with the children o f the community. I f convenient o f access, the
community playground may be used so that the children will be
un<fer the supervision of the playground leader. Some institutions
encourage the children in the neighborhood to come in for play on
the institution’s playgrounds. This aids in providing the outside
contacts which teach children to adjust themselves to community
life.
6. E very child should have at least an hour o f supervised play
and one hour o f free play every day.
Games o f all kinds should be taught so that children will know
desirable ways o f amusing themselves in their free recreation periods.
A free period is one in which the children play on their own initia
tive and have entire control o f their activities. The recreation super
visor should not, however, be unaware of what the children are doing.
7. I f the institution is not large enough to have the services o f a
recreation expert, a member o f its staff should devote part time to
the recreational program o f the institution.
A member o f the staff who has adaptability or fitness for the work
or who has had some recreational training should be assigned to
take charge o f the children’s recreation. Some small institutions
have this work done by one of the educational staff. Help or advice
may sometimes be obtained from the playground leader o f a near-by
community playground even if it is not feasible to have the children
o f the institution play there.
SU G G E S T IO N S FO R T H E R E C R E A T IO N L E A D E R

8. The recreation leader should be responsible fo r the general
planning o f thè recreation program, the com petitions, expeditions,
entertainments, and special celebrations.

Exercises designed to correct physical defects should not be in
cluded in the recreation program. Such exercises as those for im
provement in posture are a part of the institution’s work to safe
guard health (see pp. 44-49). Although a regular time must be
allotted to them they should not be allowed to encroach upon the
recreation periods.
9. The recreation leader should be responsive fo r directing the
supervised play. Certain points should be kept especially in m ind:
(a) Know the game thoroughly; then put yourself into teaching
it, and the children will catch your spirit.
(b ) When explaining a new game have the children stand in a
circle. This m à e s it easy to maintain quiet and order.
(c) Choose clever children to start a new game. After the game
is comprehended choose the dull ones and let them take an active
part.
a
(d ) Be sure all the children understand the game. A certain
mental satisfaction should accompany the physical exercise.
(e) Make the game easy at first, then gradually make it more
difficult. Let the children discover the point of the game themselves.
( / ) Give every child a chance to be “ it.”

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. (&) Encourage each child to be alert. TJse the opportunity to
improve the children s quickness of action, o f seeing, and o f hearing.
(h) Urge the timid children to take some risks, but develop rea
son and judgment about risks and dares.
(*j E o not make any game too serious. Get laughter out o f it.
0 ) Have quiet play or folk dances alternate with the active games.
\k) Make rules and stick to them. Fair play is an important
matter.
(l) Remember that team play is very valuable, since it stimulates
loyalty and unselfish effort toward a common end.
(m) Minimize the importance o f winning. Good sportsmanship,
excellent technique, and above all a scrupulous honesty are of much
greater consequence.
(n) Permit the older boys and girls to serve frequently as assist
ants to the recreation leader by allowing them the responsibility of
supervising the younger children’s play and o f leading their games.2
P L A Y FO R C H IL D R E N U N D E R 10 Y E A R S O F A G E

10. Circle and singing games and folk dances are suitable for
little children during the supervised period. Children 6 or 7 years
o f age or older enjoy tag, hide and seek, and similar games.
The recreation leader should see that each child has opportunity
to be “ it ” , at least once, and that shy or backward children are en
couraged to do their part in each game.
11. In the free periods the smaller children should be given oppor
tunity to build make-believe houses and camps, as w ell as to play
running games.
1 J
Little girls can play with their dolls, making doll houses from
discarded boxes and crates, furniture from cardboard boxes, doll
clothes and doll-house furnshings from odd bits o f material. Paper
dolls can be cut from old fashion and other magazines; and cutting
out various pictures from magazines, old catalogues of seeds and
household and other goods will entertain little boys as well as little
girls. The children should learn neatness as well as skill.
I f a box o f old clothes can be furnished the smaller children will
enjoy dressing up in them. Most little girls like to play at being
grown up and keeping house, and the little boys have analogous
plays.
P L A Y FO R C H IL D R E N O V E R 10 Y E A R S O F A G E

12 Organized team play fo r older boys and girls should include
such games as baseball, basket ball, hockey, volley balk football
and tennis.
Rules 3 for these games can be obtained easily and should be available tor consultation by the players as well as by the director.
13. Field sports are excellent.
Competition between classes or cottages or between the institution
and other schools or other institutions is a good way to promote
& anu3 1 of Games for Organized Play Adapted from Ständen Sources, by
U. S. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 113. Washington,
“ Published by A. G. Spalding & Co., Fifth Avenue, New York City.

19235 lla Tray“ la Speakman.

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class or cottage loyalty. Pennants may be given to winning groups.
No money or individual prizes should be offered. The following
field sports are suggested: 100 -yard dash, 2 2 0 -yard dash (never
longer except for the older boys), broad jump, high jump, and
hurdle and relay races.
Ilf,. Swimming should he taught.
#
.
Concrete swimming pools are too expensive for most institutions
(see p. 17), but if the institution is near a city or town in which
there is a public or semipublic pool it may be possible for the
institution to make arrangements to use the pool on certain days.
Location near a small lake or river affords the best opportunity for
swimming. There should be adequate supervision so that the safety
o f all the children is assured.
15. Folk dances, can he. taught hy way o f variety from the more
strenuous nto/ys*
Folk dances express the life and spirit of the people in the old
countries, their industries, and their customs. The wholesomeness
and simplicity o f these dances are very appealing.4 Simple “ fancy ”
costumes will increase the children’s enjoyment of the folk dances.
16. Dramatics may extend from the make-helieve o f the smallest
children to the preparation o f plays which have educational value.
Little children enjoy dramatizing the stories which they hear or
read. Many institutions present an annual play which gives a great
deal o f pleasure and affords opportunities for varied training in
connection with its preparation. Charades are suitable for parties
and are especially enjoyed by the older children. Marionettes—tiny
toy characters made o f clothespins, small dolls, or by carving out of
soft wood—have great dramatic possibilities; the children manipu
late them by threads from in back of the miniature stage that may
be made from a hatbox.5
17. The children should have the opportunity •to hear good music.
They should he encouraged to sing, especially on Sunday evenings,
and also to learn to play some musical instrument
The phonograph and the radio put some acquaintance with good
music within the reach of everyone. Music memory contests can be
used to increase the children’s interest in the best music. Whenever
it is possible, the children should also be taken to hear good music
outside of the institution.
Many institutions have their own orchestras and bands. A piano
and other musical instruments should be a part o f the institution
equipment. The bands and orchestras should never be commercial
ized.
18. A taste fo r reading should he cultivated in all the children.
It is not advisable that any child be left out of the enjoyment de
rived from reading any more than that he be left out of games.
A well-selected library suitable for different ages and different tastes
* Suggestions may be found in Old English and American Games, by Florence Warren
Brown and Neva L. Boyd (Saul Bros., Chicago, 1915), in Folk Dances and Singing Games,
by Elizabeth Burchenal (G. L. Schirmer, New York, 1909), and in Listening Lessons in
Music, by Agnes Moore Fryberger (Silver, Burdett & Co., New York, 1924).
5 Lists o f plays may be obtained from the Playground and Recreation Association of
America (315 Fourth Avenue, New York). In regard to marionettes, see The Tony Sarg
Marionette Book, by F. J. Mclsaac (B. W. Huebsch, New York, 1921).

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is essential.8 Cast-off books and magazines from outside sources
should not be accepted unless they are suitable. Some supervision
is necessary to teach the children not to read by poor light nor to
read too steadily without resting their eyes. Beading may be varied
by table games such as checkers and dominoes, which are quiet
enough to be played in a library and may be kept on a shelf in this
room.
19. Handicrafts may be taught to both boys and girls.
In many institutions basketry, knitting, weaving, and woodcarving
are among the most popular handicrafts in addition to the more
usual household arts.5 Materials and directions for chair caning,
reed and raffia basketry, and simple weaving may be obtained from
some o f the large kindergarten supply houses.
Several o f the larger magazines for women issue bulletins on
basket making, knitting, crocheting, and simple gift making. The
boys and girls should be encouraged to make gifts for their friends
and to participate in such civic enterprises as sending scrapbooks
and toys to the hospitals or to community Christmas celebrations.
20% The making of' radio sets and simple electrical apparatus and
the use o f tools in simple carpentry give great pleasure to the boys
who like to create things.
I f a workbench and simple facilities for carpentry and other
work can be supplied, this will be found to have educative value as
well as to furnish entertainment. Wooden and cardboard boxes,
spools, cord, nails, wire, and similar materials should be available
for the manufacture o f radio sets, bird boxes, weather vanes, kites,
and similar projects. Jig-saw toymaking has great possibilities, is
inexpensive, and is easy to teach. Marionette theaters (see p. 98),
toy villages, and doll houses offer opportunity for cooperative effort
m the designing and manufacture of interior and exterior proper
ties that is extremely valuable social training. A project of this
sort develops without much supervision if simple materials and a few
suggestions are supplied.
21. A n effort should be made to give every child some real knowl
edge o f nature and natural history.
Walks in the field and woods with a teacher who knows and loves
trees, flowers, and birds will be both pleasurable and instructive.
22. Each child should have garden space a/nd seeds.
Gardening is one o f the very best kinds of recreation. When a
child’s gardening is not compulsory it can become a source of genuine
pleasure and continued interest. Seeds'should be o f his own choosing.
23. Some provision should be made fo r keeping pets.
Almost all children wish to have pet animals. Dogs, cats, rabbits,
and birds are suitable, and the children can take the major part o f
the care of such pets.
21f-. Membership in recreational organizations should be encouraged.
In many institutions scout troops and camp-fire groups have been
successful. The boys and girls not only enjoy all that scouting means
m itself but find it a link with other groups o f children. Informa«Suggestions for books to be obtained may be found in Graded List of Books for Chil
dren, prepared by the elementary-school iibrary committee of the National Education
Association of the United States (American Library Association, Chicago, 1922).

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H AN DBOOK FOB IN ST ITU T IO N S

tion about these organizations can be obtained from their headquar
ters.7 Leaders for scout troops can frequently be obtained among
outside friends of the institution.
25. The observance o f special days should be made a prominent
feature o f the children's recreational program.
Holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, St. Valentine’s,
St. Patrick’s, Halloween, and special anniversaries can be celebrated
by having appropriate parties. Celebration of the children’s birth
days and o f school anniversaries by the whole institution are o f great
value in promoting wholesome mental and emotional attitudes (see
p. 67.) To have special occasions to look forward to and to plan
for gives genuine pleasure. Making the preparations can be educa
tional in an indirect way as well as enjoyable in itself.8

THE PLAYGROUND
26. The playground should be level and large enough fo r several
groups to play without interfering with one another.
Grass makes the best surface for a playground. A pavilion or
some shelter against sudden showers is desirable. Trees, shrubs, and
flowers along the sides o f the playground or against its fence will
make it attractive. There should be plenty of open space for games.
27. There should be diversity in the playground equipment.
The following pieces o f apparatus are desirable: 9
Swings.
Seesaws.
Horizontal bars.
Horizontal ladders.

Flying rings.
Slides.
Sand boxes.

The sand boxes for small children should be as far as possible from
the baseball diamond or other space where older children will play
with balls.
28. Baseballs, bats, basket balls, and footballs should be supplied
fo r each cottage or separate unit in the institution.
These articles should be in charge o f some responsible person who
will teach the children o f the cottage or other unit how to take care
o f them properly.
29. Material should be accessible fo r free play.
In some corner of the playground should be placed some boards
and any other discarded building material from which the children
can build forts, houses, or whatever they wish. Care must be taken
to have all nails drawn out o f old lumber.

THE INDOOR PLAYROOM
SO. A n indoor playroom {other than the gymnasium) is a
necessity.
The furnishings should be comfortable, attractive, and homelike.
There should be one game closet where table games, such as check7Boy Scouts, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City; Girl Scouts, 670 Lexington Avenue,
New Y ork; Camp-Fire Girls, 31 East Seventeenth Street, New York.
8 Suggestions for making inexpensive decorations for various occasions may be obtained
from paper specialty companies.
9 For suggestions in regard to simple equipment and its construction and placing, see
Background Playgrounds (U. S. Children’s Bureau Folder No. 2, Washington, 1923).

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101

ers, authors, and dominoes, are kept. A “ dress-up” box contain
ing articles for costumes for informal dramatics can also be in this
room.
31. E very child should have a separate place in which to keep his
toys or treasures.
It is difficult for a child to have any distinct idea as to the in
dividual rights and personal possessions o f others unless he has felt
the experience o f having personal belongings (see p. 67).
The children should be taught to keep shelves, toy lockers, and
drawers in reasonably good order, but they should not be compelled
to throw away things which they wish to keep. The apparently
valueless treasures that children collect are very precious to them,
and the “ collecting stage ” is a recognized period o f child life.
F or list o f references on recreation see Chapter X V , page 127.

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Chapter XIII.— DISCHARGE AND AFTERCARE

POLICIES GOVERNING DISCHARGE
1. “ The stay o f children in institutions fo r dependents should^ be
as brief as possible. -The condition o f all children in such institu
tions should be carefully studied at frequent intervals, in order to
determine whether they should be restored to their own homes,
placed in foster homes, or transferred to institutions better suited
to their needs.” 1
2. Depending upon the nature o f the commitment and the institu
tion’s policy, discharge may relieve the institution o f control over the
child or may leave with the institution the responsibility o f super
vision even though the child is returned to his own home or placed
in another home.

TECHNICALITIES OF DISCHARGE
3. Release can be only upon court order if a court has committed
a child temporarily to the institution. The institution should re
ceive notice o f the proposed action so that investigation o f home
conditions may be made.
I f it is agreed that the institution is to make the investigation o f
home conditions with a view to the discharge of the child the insti
tution should submit a full report o f the facts to the judge for him
to use as a basis for his action, this report to cover an account of
both the child’s condition and the situation in the home to which it
is proposed to return him. I f the probation officers of the court
are to make the investigation the institution should be notified o f the
intention to return the child to his own home and asked for a report
on the child’s condition. This should be submitted to the judge to
consider together with the facts concerning the home conditions.
If.. W hen a child has been committed permanently to the institu
tion and it has assumed legal guardianship during m inority, trans
fer o f legal guardianship is possible only through adoption proceed
ings or through transfer to the parents by court action.
When adoption is contemplated there must be thorough knowledge
o f the prospective foster home and its desirability for the particular
child .2 Return of legal guardianship to parents should be based on
careful study o f conditions in the home and assurance of their per
manency.
5. In case o f placement under an agreement between the institu
tion and the parents, unless permanent surrender has been given or
1 Minimum Standards for Child Welfare Adopted by the Washington and Regional Con
ferences on Child Welfare, 1919, p. 11. U. S. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 62.
Washington, 1920.
2 Adoption Laws in the United States, by Emelyn Foster Peck, pp. 17—18. U. S; Chil
dren’ s Bureau Publication No. 148. Washington, 1925.

102

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103

an agreement entered into that can be legally enforced, the parents
have the legal right to remove the child when they please; but fre
quently they can be persuaded to leave the child until they are able
to give proper care.
I f the parents insist on removal, regardless o f the care they can
give, it may be necessary to resort to court procedure to secure the
right to retain custody until such time as conditions are more favor
able.
6. The institutions responsibility usually ceases on discharge o f a
child to another institution or agency unless it has been granted the
legal guardianship and retains it.

RETURN OF CHILDREN TO THEIR OWN FAMILIES
7. A n institution should not be a permanent substitute fo r a fam ily
home.
A child must go out from the institution eventually. He must
make his adjustment to family and community life sooner or later.
It is important that this adjustment be made as expeditiously as
possible.
Social and emotional values are attached to the child’s relationship
with his own family, even if it be a poor one. These often outweigh
the superior physical and material benefits that can be supplied by
an institution or a foster home. Permanent breaking o f family ties
should be permitted only after a determined and intelligent effort
to conserve and rehabilitate the family has failed.
8. During the child's stay in the institution an effort should be
made to rehabilitate the; fam ily:
Contact with the family will disclose ways in which help can be
given. Sometimes the problems are moral, at other times they relate
to health or material resources. A social worker with a knowledge
o f family difficulties can make use of community resources to im
prove conditions. Thus while the child is being cared for in the
institution constructive influences may be brought to bear upon the
family so that the way is paved for quicker and more satisfactory
adjustment of the child in his own home. This should be done by a
local family agency in cooperation with the institution.
Desire for the return of the child will serve in many cases as an
incentive to the improvement of conditions. The plans for the child
and his family should be related; neither can rightfully be considered
independent of the other.
9. Reinvestigation o f conditions is necessary at intervals unless
constant supervision o f the fam ily is maintained.
Through investigation the institution will be able to determine
the best time for the return of the child to his own home or the need
for the permanent separation of the child from his family. In re
investigation it is necessary not merely to note conditions as they
are but to compare them with the original conditions. The family
which is trying to improve should be given every encouragement.
10. Hasty action in returning children to their fam ilies, or action
based upon superficial knowledge o f conditions may render useless
the work o f the institution fo r these children.

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When the child is allowed to return to conditions which will be
detrimental to his welfare, the time, money, and effort expended by
the institution in his behalf may be largely wasted. Children will
benefit by institutional care only if their discharge is delayed until
family conditions have been improved. Some can never safely be
returned to their own homes ; if they are to have any chance in life
they must be separated permanently from their families and some
other home found for them.
11. Supervision should Toetgiven children returned to their own
homes. The duration o f the supervisory period depends upon the
need in each particular case.
Follow-up is especially necessary when the separation has been of
long duration, for the child may find it difficult to adapt himself to
the unfamiliar conditions. I f the child is not guarded, the family
may grow careless and allow very unfavorable conditions to exist.
In assuming the care of children the institution acquires an oppor
tunity and obligation to see that they have a fair chance after
leaving.

PLACEMENT IN FAMILY HOMES

12. Institutions need to recognize the fact that placing children in
families is not so simple a process as it has sometimes been considered
but is a complex and difficult piece o f social work requiring special
training.3
Because of changes in ideals o f education and conditions of farm
labor and domestic service fewer children under 16 years of age
are placed for their economic value on farms or in homes than
was the case in the early years o f placement by institutions. It is now
recognized that a high degree o f care and skill is required for adjust
ing the child to a foster home and safeguarding his welfare.
13. Cooperation o f children's institutions with high-grade chiMplacing agencies, which are especially equipped to do this work, is the
most effective plan fo r providing care in family, homes.
Some institutions are doing child-placing work according to the
best standards o f child-caring agencies, providing for the investiga
tion necessary to safeguard the child and find for him a proper foster
home. It must be seriously considered whether it will be in the best
interests o f the child for the institution to undertake this work. It
is undoubtedly desirable that the work for a child shall be carried
through by the same agency if this can be done, in order to give him
a sense o f belonging somewhere and of having some one person or
agency to whom he can look for assistance and friendly interest.
But unity o f service must not be obtained at the expense of quality
and o f safety to the child, which can be had only through expert
work in home finding and supervision, and this as a rule institutions
are not prepared to give.
8 Placement of children in family homes is not discussed in this handbook. For child
placing standards, see Chapter XV.— List of References, p. 128. See especially FosterHome Care for Dependent Children (U. S. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 136
(revised), Washington, 1926).

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105

DISCHARGE OF CHILDREN COMMITTED FOR LONG-TIME CARE
I f. Children can not be expected to become self-supporting on be
ing discharged from the institution unless they have been given good
preliminary training and such experience as will fit them to take
their places in community and industrial life.
It is unfair to thrust a child abruptly from the sheltered environ
ment o f the institution in which limited opportunity is afforded for
self-direction and self-initiated activity into a world in which he
must assume entire responsibility for his own actions. I f the harden
ing process has been accomplished gradually, the training given in
the institution having been designed to encourage self-reliance and
to develop a spirit o f independence, the children may be discharged
when educationally prepared.
15. Children should not be discharged from the institution on the
basis o f physical age but according to their preparation to make
their way in the community and in the light o f their educational and
other individual needs. They should not be sent out without some
definite plan fo r their future.
Institutions are getting away from the earlier idea o f providing
for children until they reach a certain age. Rigid age limits are not
in accord with the individualization of children and the emphasis on
the equipment o f the child for home life in the community. When,
however, it has been found desirable to keep a child in the institution
until he reaches the age limit beyond which care can not be provided
plans should be made for him which will insure satisfactory condi
tions. In arrangements for the change the child’s own home should
be considered first.
No child should ever be turned out merely because he has reached
the age limit unless suitable provision has been made for him. I f
no suitable home can be provided by his relatives other steps must
be taken in accord with the age and need o f the child under con
sideration.

METHODS OF AFTERCARE
16. The institution should be responsible fo r fitting into com
munity life each child whom it discharges b y : (a) Returning the
child to his own home if suitable; (b) finding a suitable home if his
own is not the proper place; (c ) finding work to which he is adapted;
(d) providing fo r further education if desirable; (e) making a
church connection; ( /) finding wholesome recreation.
I f the child is not returned to the home o f parents or relatives
the institution should find a suitable home elsewhere. I f he is o f
proper age to begin work he should be guided to employment for
which he is adapted and in which he will have opportunity for ad
vancement.
The position o f dependent children should not be made different
from the position o f the average child in his own family in regard tq
assuming the responsibility for his own living.
W e expect orphan children to go out into the world at the early age o f 15
or 16 and make their own w a y ; but the child normally situated in his own
home is never cut loose entirely from those deeply interested in him, can
always count upon his parental roof as a haven to return to if he should fail
in his first ventures at self-support, and he returns to it again and again

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H AND BO O K FOB IN ST ITU T IO N S

for a new start whenever failure overtakes him. W hat proportion of men and
women succeed in their first ventures?
Certainly not a large percentage
* * *. Consider this in deploring the failures of orphan children.
Again, what an inestimable influence for success is the inspiration that the
normal home lends to the first endeavors of the child to earn his own support;
and how reluctant the whole family is to acknowledge that the child has
failed ; how quick to praise successful effort and to ascribe failure to condi
tions rather than to the personal equation, * * * But the orphan child
must fight his battles alone. He is not an endeared member of a fam ily group
and usually receives but little sympathy in his troubles. He is liable to hear
censure only if he fails and has few to rejoice with him if he succeeds. These
spiritual elements, born of kinship ties and so closely related to success or
failure, are so much weightier than material conditions, however favorable,
that they can not be estimated by the same standards.4

17.
The institution's responsibility does not end with return o f a
child to his own fam ily or 'placement o f a child in a home.
Many children who have been returned to their own families or
placed in foster homes still need the advice o f a person who has an
intelligent understanding of their needs and possibilities and knowl
edge of the opportunities for wholesome work and play.
, 18. A ftercare mazy be provided by (a) one or more trained work
ers on the institution staff or (b ) through cooperation with another
agency equipped to give such care.
The method of securing follow-up service will depend upon the in
dividual organization. Some large institutions have found it de
sirable to organize a separate department with a trained staff of
workers to supervise the children after they leave the institution;
Such a department should be directly responsible to the superin
tendent o f the institution. Smaller institutions may require the
services o f only one person. Children’s aid societies or family case
work agencies may be enlisted by others. Volunteer workers may
give valuable help, but they should work under expert direction.
A suggestive discussion of the work o f Fellowship House, which
has been developed for the aftercare o f children discharged from
the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society o f New York, is given in
a recent report:
The activities center largely around a program of adjustment for the
adolescent boy and girl temporarily removed from the community, to which he
later returns after a period of care in the institution or home bureau. Since
the larger percentage of our children return to the homes of their own people,
we work with the parents and relatives as well as the children * * *.
When we find no surviving relative, or none who is morally fit to receive the
child into her home, the home-finder secures a home. * * * Scholarships
cover the board and maintenance of some deserving boys who continue their
education.
After the home is arranged for Fellowship House finds employment. Through
a vocational-guidance program the best attempt is made to place our children
in the work or school to which they are best adapted.
In recreation as in employment we,utilize what the community has to offer
for other young people. * * *
The health work is based on the use of existing community clinics and
health organizations, except in special cases where we secure the volunteer
services of some physician or psychiatrist or dentist. * * *
In our educational work we plan to keep our children in school, academic,
commercial, or vocational, as the individual capacity of the child may demand.
This we do through moral suasion o f the relatives, through part-time work of
the child and through the aid of scholarships that we can secure.5
* Reeder, Rudolph R. : How Two Hundred Children Live and Learn, pp. 75-76.
Noble
& Noble, New York, 1911.
'R ep ort of the board of directors, the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society. Mav 25
1924, pp. 28, 29. New York.

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A leaflet issued by the Catholic Guardian Society of New York
giyes the following brief summary of the purpose o f this work,
which relates largely to children o f working age who are released
from institutions:
The aftercare of the boys and girls who are brought up in our asylums is
the work of the Catholic Guardian Society.
The boys and girls who have no relatives, when they become 16 years of age,
are placed in the hands of this society, which in turn places them in good
boarding homes, pays their board until they can pay it themselves, gives them
car fare and lunch money, provides them clothes when necessary, procures
employment for them, loans them money when they are out of work, encourages
them to save when they can, provides honest recreation for them in its clubs
and reunions, takes care of them when they are ill. * * *
The society visits the boys and girls frequently. It maintains two free
employment bureaus, it has a loan fund and a relief fund, and it has a savings
plan.
It would like to extend all these activities, and it would like to
inaugurate a scholarship fund.6

19.
The character o f the institution, its equipment fo r this type o f
social work, and the services that are available from other agencies
in the community will determine which o f the methods o f providing
supervision and assistance to children after they leave the institution
is to be used.
Under some conditions it is desirable that the institution itself
should remain a guiding influence. In other cases it may be more
desirable to transfer to other agencies responsibility for supervision,,
discontinuing institutional control and strengthening other com
munity influences. The method o f providing aftercare will be deter
mined largely on the basis o f the place the institution occupies in the
community program o f child-caring work—whether the institution is
an independent unit embracing a variety o f interests or is a part o f a
plan participated in by other child-caring and family agencies.
F or list o f references on discharge and aftercare see Chapter X V ,
page 128.
«Ludlow, Samuel: After the Orphan Asylum— What?
York, 1924.
2204°— 27------ 8

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Catholic Guardian Society, New

Chapter XIV.— RECORDS AND STATISTICS

THE PURPOSE OF RECORDS AND STATISTICS
1. The institution fo r dependent children must have a record system
by which may be known definitely the problems with which it deals,
the details o f its management, and its accomplishments.
Records should be written in concise and orderly form and filed so
that information regarding children is readily accessible and data
for periodic reports easily abstracted.
2. Good case records are so important that managing boards
should more generally recognize the necessity o f having the staff
devote a part o f their time to keeping the records complete and up
to date.
The board has a direct responsibility to provide for the work of
record keeping, since a high degree of efficiency can be maintained
only by having this work done well. In large institutions the
records o f financial transactions and o f administrative work are
generally kept by staff members whose whole time is devoted to
this work.
3. The primary purpose in keeping records is to collect such in
form ation concerning each child in the institution's charge as is
necessary to give prom pt and effective care, to safeguard the parent
and child from separation, and to serve as a guide in planning for
the future care o f the child.
To give individual care to a child, such as institutions are now
priding themselves upon giving, full knowledge of the child’s per
sonal and family history is necessary. The plan o f treatment for
the child— whether he shall be kept in the institution or placed in
a foster home—and the special care and training to be given him
depend upon comprehensive knowledge and understanding o f his
personality and background. The very fact that there, are now so
many more community resources than formerly upon which one
may draw in planning fot a child makes necessary more detailed
knowledge o f him in order that these resources may be used to his
best advantage.
4. A secondary purpose in keeping records is to collect information
to meet reguests fo r facts and figures.
These requests come both from without the institution—namely,
from the public, the State department o f public welfare, the board
o f trustees, and various social agencies ; and from within the institu
tion, as from the administrative officers and various departments o f
the institution.
5. The collection., o f inform ation fo r the purposes stated in para
graphs 3 and 4 calls fo r case records, administrative records, financial
records, and statistics.
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C A S E REC O RD S

6. The purposes fo r which case records are kept are:
(a) The more effective treatment of the child through a compre
hensive knowledge of his family background and the social prob
lems involved.
(b) The betterment of social conditions in general through an
increased understanding of the factors entering into child depen
dency.
(c) The promotion o f clear, critical thinking on the part of the
case worker through the process o f assembling record material.
7. Case records should include all major facts and any other facts
without which the worker is unable to plan and carry out effective
treatment.

Some facts which social workers generally agree upon as signifi
cant for treatment are pointed out in the following quotation:
A family-history record should show clearly certain facts about each mem
ber of the family, living and dead— the name, age, sex, the race, nationality,
and religion. Because of the close connection which often exists between ill
health and dependency, the physical and mental condition of each member
should be noted, and if any are dead, the cause of death. The card should
show how many children are in school, how many members of the family are
working, their occupation, income, and efficiency. The habits and reputation
of the parents and children should also be carefully determined and recorded.
In order to learn these facts it is usually necessary to consult several sources
of information, and the family-history record should include the names and
addresses of relatives, friends, and disinterested persons and organizations,
such as physicians, employers, unions, churches, and so on, who may be able
to cooperate or to give information which will*be helpful in developing a plan
for the child. * * * Records of membership in lodges or unions, previous
addresses, and previous employers * * * may be of immediate use when
more direct means fail.1

To this summary o f requirements for a family history it would be
well to add legal residence of the family and date and place of birth
of each child.

In the records of institutions for dependent children it is also
important to record the name and address of the person from whom
the child was received; whether or not the child was committed by
a court or other public officer and for what reason he was committed;
and whether or not payment is to be made for his care; and if so,
by whom it is to be paid and what is to be the amount. (For other
items necessary in the personal record of the child and in the record
of the foster-family home see pp. 111-113.)
8. W hatever information is recorded must be definite and accurate.
“ Date ” calls for day, month, and year; “ address55 for street and
number as well as city and State. The exact date o f birth o f a child
is involved in the operation o f school attendance and child labor
laws; in juvenile-court jurisdiction, legality o f marriage, ascertain
ing birth status; in choice of a guardian; and in the prosecution o f
crimes against children. The definite addresses o f parents, relatives,
references, or previous residences may play an important part in the
plan for a child’s future. Many a dependent child has relatives who
would be willing to help if consulted before the child is admitted to
the institution.
1 Ralph, Georgia G .: Elements of Record-Keeping for Child-Helping Organizations, pp.
22, 23. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1915.

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9. The case records should include a record o f the child’s fam ily,
a personal record o f the child, and a record o f the home into which
the child goes if the institution 'places him in a foster home.
The record o f the child’s fam ily.

10. Generally the fam ily history is recorded by means o f a face
card and a current record {sometimes called story sheet or running
record).
The face card— This is a printed sheet or card with blanks for
the entry o f certain facts which are frequently needed. Speedy ref
erence is thus possible, and hunting through the current record for
these items is rendered unnecessary.
The entries on the face card are o f two kinds:
(a) Permanent facts which serve to identify the family, such
as names, date and place of birth, nationality, and
previous addresses.
(b ) Facts which may change with further developments and
which give an outline o f th§ social situation, such as
wages, physical and mental condition, occupation, and
school grade.
The initial entries on the face card pertain to the social situation
existing at the opening of the case. With further developments
some of the items on the face card are no longer true. New entries
must be made to preserve its usefulness as a source o f reference and
to aid in rapid comprehension o f the situation at a given time. For
each o f these new entries indicating change in the family situation—
s
s ii6 w addresses, change in wages or in occupation—the date
o f the change should be entered in a date column. The birth of
children subsequent to the opening o f the record should be made
clear by entry o f the dates of their birth. The death of a member
o f the family is generally indicated by inclosing the name of the
person in parentheses and entering the date o f his death.
In addition to identifying the family and outlining the social
situation the face card serves as a source for filling out statistical
cards and as a spur to the worker to ascertain essential facts by
revealing clearly any gaps in the information.
When a new face card is being planned the following suggestions
should be borne in m ind:
(a) The card should be so simple that its contents may be
read rapidly and easily.’
(b) The arrangement of items, should be such that related
facts are brought together, as birthplace and nationality, addresses, and names of interested individuals
and agencies.
(c) O f facts subject to change, only the most important and
those essential to the outline o f the situation should be
included.
(d ) Only such facts should be included as may be stated accu
rately without qualifying statements requiring addi
tional space.
(e) Space may be provided in which check marks can be
made to indicate the verification of such items as date
o f birth, date o f death, court records, marriage, and
divorce.

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The current record.—This consists o f blank sheets on which are
entered reports o f investigations and interviews. It contains infor
mation as to the history o f the family, including the circumstances
leading to the application for the child’s admission to the institution
and the subsequent record o f the contact with the family while the
child is in the care o f the institution.
Either the chronological or the topical method may be used in
writing up the current record, but a combination of the two methods
has been found advisable, the first investigation being recorded topi
cally and the subsequent history chronologically.
In the chronological method the information is recorded in the
order in'which it has been obtained, the interviews and visits being
reported in the sequence in which they took place. The advantage
o f this method is that the process o f the investigation is shown step
by step, and the interview with its details and total impression is
preserved in its entirety.
In the topical method the information obtained as a result of
several interviews is arranged according to subject matter or topics
and not according to the dates at which the facts were ascertained.
Its advantage is that it organizes the information by placing details
in their right relation to one another so that the worker will see them
in proper perspective.
In a combination o f these methods all the information resulting
from the first investigation—that is, all the information assembled
as the basis for deciding whether the child shall be admitted and
for making a plan for him and his family—is arranged under such
headings as reason for application, marital status of parents, other
children, relatives, home life and surroundings; and the accounts
o f visits to parents and interviews with them after the child has
been admitted to the institution are recorded chronologically as units
instead of topically.
The personal record o f the child.

11.
The inform ation included in the child's history consists of
admission data, history of supervision while the child is in the insti
tution’s care, and disposition data.
Admission data.—These are such items as name, date and place o f
birth, date and place o f christening ; nationality ; religion ; legal resi
dence o f family ; from whom received, whether committed by court ;
reason for commitment; whether the institution is to be reimbursed
for care, and if so, by whom and to what extent ; name and address
o f parents, their marital status, and whether they are living. I f
commitment papers are received they should be filed with the case
record. Every effort should be made at the time o f admission to
learn from the committing officer or other person from whom the
child is received all the facts known to him about the child. For this
purpose a supply of blanks calling for facts which such an official
might be expected to know or to be able to find out is needed, these
to be supplied to court officers and directors o f the poor or other
applicants with the request that they fill out the forms and send
them with each child.
The report o f the medical examination made at the time o f admis
sion is really part o f the admission data; but i f a health record is

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HANDBOOK FOR IN ST ITU T IO N S

kept this report is best filed as a part o f the child’s history in the
institution. (See the following paragraphs.)
H istory white the child is in the institution's care.—This includes
the health, education, character and habits, and important happen
ings in the child’s life during the period of his stay in the institution.
The health record should include important facts in the health
history o f the other members o f the family, the child’s physical his
tory, report of the entrance examination and succeeding physical
examinations, results o f the laboratory tests made, a continuous
height-and-weight record, a diagnosis, recommendations, and record
o f treatment given. There should be also a record of dental exam
inations and the treatment given and o f mental examination» showing
the tests used, the diagnosis, and the recommendations.2
The educational record covers school attendance and reports, re
tardations or advancements, general tendencies in the child’s mental
life, and general vocational tendencies. Such records indicate to
superintendents or school principals the need for specialized educa
tional care, as by placement in retarded or advanced classes, and
reveal to the psychiatrist any legitimate reasons for retardation such
as illness or late start in school. The vocational record serves as a
guide in considering specialized higher training.
It is absolutely essential that there be a careful record of the child’s
character, traits, and habits as learned through the investigation of
his family history and from observation of him while in the institu
tion, and also a record of the special care and treatment given the
child in view of the knowledge so gained. The greater part of this
character study of the child will be included in the current record of
important happenings. The suggestions as to the method of keep
ing the current record (see p. I l l ) made in'the discussion of the
family record will apply here.
It is advisable that a periodic summary o f the child’s progress as
shown by the current record be made from time to time.
Disposition data.— These refer both to placement under supervision
and to complete discharge from care. They should include date of
and reason for placement or discharge and the name and address of
the person with whom placed or to whom discharged ; the nature of
the placement or discharge—whether to parents, relatives, or foster
family home (boarding, wage, free, or adoptive), or to another in
stitution; and whether the discharge is by court order. I f the dis
position data and the admission data are recorded on separate cards
or sheets it is advisable that certain items, such as date of birth and
name and address of parents, be repeated on the disposition card.
After the child has been placed his history while he is in the foster
2 The institution-inspection bureau of the State department of public welfare, division
of charities, has prepared health-record forms for the use of Ohio institutions. These
include separate forms for children under and over 6 years of age, with supplementary
health records covering personal and family history, entrance examinations, reprints of
the weight-height-age tables issued by the American Child Health Association, forms for
report by the superintendent o f the periodic examination of all children, and health leaf
lets. The department of finance, Bureau of Children’s Aid, Sacramento, Calif., has a
simple health-record form for institutions consisting of a single sheet which Rovers
report o f entrance examination and tests, health history of the child and his family,
report of periodic examinations, dental chart, and space for child’s picture. See also
Standards for Physicians Conducting Conferences in Child-Health Centers (U. S. Chil
dren’ s Bureau Publication No. 154, 1926). The physical-examination form from this
publication may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Print
ing Office, Washington, D. C., at 3 cents per copy, or $24 per 1,000 and $11 for each
additional 1,000 ordered at the same time.

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home, similar to the histories kept while children are in the insti
tution, should be filed with the rest of his personal records.
Although in general the content of the child’s history as outlined
is that covered in more or less detail by most institutions for de
pendent children the method of recording it varies somewhat. Some
have simply a face card containing blank spaces for recording ad
mission, disposition, and identifying data, a medical sheet, and a
running record. Others find it helpful to keep separate cards per
taining to different phases of the child’s life, such as admission card,
discharge card, medical sheet, monthly height-and.-weight sheet,
psychological-clinic card, dental-clinic card, eye-clinic card, school
record, daily schedule, character-analysis card, and clothing card.
Still others prefer four-page sheets divided into sections according
to topics.
The record o f the foster-fam ily home.8

12.
The inform ation included in the record o f the foster-fam ily
home consists o f application data, report o f the investigation, and
history o f supervision o f the home.
Application data.— These are generally recorded on the application
blank filled out by prospective foster parents. They should include
the composition of the household, the name, sex, age, religion, na
tionality, occupation, and relationship o f each member; the appli
cants’ statements as to health and financial standing; their reason
for desiring to take a child, the type o f child they desire, and their
plans for him ; directions for reaching the home; and names and ad
dresses o f references.
R eport of the investigation.—This consists o f the report that the
visitor o f the institution makes concerning the home and the family,
together with the written references.
The purpose o f this investigation is to determine the fitness o f the
applicants to care for a child and to gain such an insight into their
characteristics as will aid in deciding for what special type o f child
they are best suited to care. The investigation of the prospective
foster-family home is similar in principle to the investigation made
of the child’s own home and family, but its procedure is slightly
different.
The visitor’s report o f visits to the family and to the references is
generally made on a printed form topically arranged. It covers
family composition and history; moral character; habits and person
ality; education and evidence of culture and refinement; financial
circumstances; health; standing in the community; the neighborhood
with reference to associates, influences, and accessibility to school
and church; the home itself with reference to comfort, housekeeping,
and sleeping arrangements for the child; and the worker’s impression
o f the home and recommendation for its approval or disapproval. For
references many institutions use form letters containing questions as
to the applicants’ dispositions, habits, health, church attendance,
financial condition, fitness to care for children, and other matters,
8 For discussion o f investigations and extracts from case records, see The Selection of
Foster Homes for Children, by Mary S. Doran and Bertha C. Reynolds (New York School
of Social Work, New York, i919) ; and The Child in the Foster Home, by Sophie van
Senden Theis and Constance Goodrich (New York School of Social Work, New York,
1921).

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which are sent to people given as references by the family and to
others known to be acquainted with the family.
Historyr o f supervision o f the home.—This should consist o f a list
o f the children placed there and the reasons for their removal or
transfer, together with an account o f conditions found on visits to
the home that show changes in the social situation following the
investigation, and the degree of the foster parents’ success or failure
in dealing with children. The use o f a current or running record
form for the entry of such information seems preferable to visitation
blanks, but an outline o f points to be covered in recording conditions
in the home is helpful.
Special points in record making.

In record making there are some special points to be observed.
These apply not only to the fam ily record but also to the child’s per
sonal record and to the foster faTniZy home record.
(a ) The observations of an investigator and the statements of persons inter
viewed should be recorded as soon as possible after the visit or interview.
(&) Care should be taken to have, the proper names in records correctlv
spelled.
(c) A ll records should be carefully dated, and if a record is continuous each
new entry should be dated.
(d) In recording an interview always give the date, the full name and ad
dress of the person interviewed, his relationship or connection with the child
or family, important details of the interview, and the name of the visitor
(W h at the person actually said should be stated, never deductions based upon
what was said.)4
(e) Terms which express judgments, such as “ good,” “ bad,’ “ doing well,”
and which are indefinite, such as “ incorrigible,” “ immoral,” “ laborer,” should
be avoided.
(f )
information has not been secured on any point, state why the facts
are not given.
(ff) Under points relating to relatives, reference, membership in organiza
tions, and so on, the full name and address of the person o f organization should
be given.
(h) Points requiring special or expert knowledge to determine should be
answered in a way that will leave no doubt as to the source of information.
(i) A detailed account of investigations should be written up in addition to
answering the questions covered by the record form.
O') Records of all children in care should be reviewed periodically, and a
summary of important developments in each case should be made.
(fc) Records should be kept up to date.*
Case-record form s and methods of filing them.

14.' The number and detail o f the record form s will depend upon
the size o f the institution, the variety o f its activities, and the amount
o f time which the workers can devote to keeping records.
A set o f detailed case-record forms adapted to the use of child
placing agencies and institutions having adequate provision for
clerical work has been prepared by the Child Welfare League of
America; and a set o f brief forms adapted to an institution that,
wishes to record the essential facts but is limited in its facilities for
keeping records has been prepared by the National Conference of
4 Some additional points which might well be included about the person interviewed are
facts which make for or against his reliability as a witness, any interpretation of the
facts which he may offer, and any plans for treatment which he may suggest (see The
Sociai Case History, by Ada Eliot Sheffield, pp. 124-126, Russell Sage Foundation, New
xorK, lyzu ) .
Georgia G .: Elemental of Record Keeping for Child-Helping Organizations, pp.
112—124. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1915.

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Catholic Charities.6 Many State departments o f public welfare
supply record forms.
15. N ext in importance to the form in which records are kept is
the way in which they are filed. In order to be o f the greatest pos
sible value they must be readily accessible1
It will be found most practicable to use folders o f standard corre
spondence size and to have all record forms o f standard letter-head
size ( 8 y2 by 11 inches) so that all or nearly all the paper may be
inserted flat. These folders may then be filed in standard lettersize vertical files (preferably fireproof), with provision for locking.
When only one child is received from a family all records and
papers pertaining to the child, his family history, commitment
papers, school record, medical record, letters received and carbon
copies o f letters sent, and miscellaneous records may be filed in one
folder. I f two or more children are received the family-history
record may be filed in the folder o f the first child received, and a
reference made to it on the face card o f the personal record of each
o f the other children received from that family. The numbering of
cases may be on a family basis. Although each child may have his
own folder, all the folders should bear the same record number with
the child’s name or some other device clearly distinguishing the rec
ords. These folders may be filed together.
Records o f foster-family homes should be filed separately from
the children’s records. In addition to this file of foster-home records
it is advisable to have for ready reference a card file of all family
homes approved for use showing the name, address, and telephone
number ; the rate of board ; the number, age, and sex of the children
for whom the home is available; and the names of children placed
in each home with the dates o f placement and removal.
16. Records may be filed alphabetically according to name o f the
child or numerically according to record number. E xcept for small
institutions with very few records the numerical system is recom
mended.
Records filed numerically are made accessible by means of a card
index arranged alphabetically, from which the record number is
obtained. This card index should include a card for each child for
whose care application has ever been made to the institution. Such
a card needs to contain only the information necessary to identify
the child and show where his record may be found; that is, the
child’s name, sex, and date o f birth, the name and address o f each
parent, and his record number. A similar index should be kept for
all persons who have ever applied to take children. Cards 3 by 5
inches (a standard size) are suitable for such indexes.
17. F or the sake o f accuracy and uniform ity, the responsibility
fo r keeping and filing records should rest upon one worker.
This is advisable whether the institution is so small that only an
inconsiderable portion of one person’s time is thus occupied, leaving
him free to perform other duties, or whether it is so large that his
* Samples of these forms may be obtained from the Child Welfare League of America,
130 East Twenty-second Street, New York, and from the National Conference of Catholic
Charities, 700 Eleventh Street NW., Washington. D. C.
7 For detailed discussion of record filing see “ Methods and devices for making records
available,” in Elements of Record Keeping for Child-Helping Organizations, by Georgia
G. Ralph, pp. 132—155 (Russell Sage Foundation, New York; 1915).

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HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

full time and that of one or more assistants are required. The confi
dential nature of case records and the necessity of securing them
against loss or misplacement make it advisable that access to records
be had through this worker only. •
A D M IN IS T R A T IV E REC O R D S

18. Administrative records are those kept to facilitate administra
tion and supervision and will vary in form and number according to
the size and organization o f the institution.
(a) Daily reports from the house mother o f each cottage (or, in
the semicongregate system, of each group), showing the activities of
the cottage or group, its special needs and its problems.
(b) Daily reports from hospital and clinics.
(c ) Reports of the activities of the institution visitor, usually kept
by day sheets or day books showing number and nature of visits,
interviews, and letters written and received.
(d ) Register of children received, discharged, and placed, serving
as a chronological record and a check if records are misplaced or lost.
(e ) Personal records of each employee, consisting o f his applica
tion papers and his record while in the employ o f the institution.
It might be helpful to get information regarding the forms of
these records by writing to some institutions which have worked out
methods o f recording such activities,8 also to State departments of
public welfare.
F IN A N C IA L R EP O R TS

19. The purpose o f the financial report is to show all the financial
transactions o f the institution.
The sources o f income and nature o f expense should be analyzed
very carefully. The increase in the number of activities carried on
by the institutions calls for a careful allocation o f expenses in order
to compare costs o f different types o f service.
A considerable number of persons in the child-caring field have
been working for several years over schedules to be used by agencies
and institutions in making their financial reports. A t the National
Conference o f Social Work in 1921 in Milwaukee the subcommittee
on statistics of the children’s division approved the classification of
current expenses under three main divisions: (a) Administration:
(b) direct service to children; (c ) financing, publicity, and educa
tional work .9
8 For example, the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society of Pleasantville, N. Y., has
among its general report forms a daily hospital census and daily report from the dental
clin ic; a schedule of daily activities of the cottage group; stock record, bathing list,
laundry list, honor roll, inspection report, requisitions for goods and household supplies
for each cottage, and a time sheet for employees. The New England Home for Little
Wanderers, 161 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, Mass., has monthly report forms for
the various departments showing the activities of each ; for example, the number and
disposition of applications to the foster-home department; th.e number of children re
ferred to the department of advice and assistance, the type of care asked, and the dis
position of these applications; the number of children received by the department of
placing out, the number transferred, placed, and discharged, and special medical, mental,
and dental care given.
8 A committee of the Child Welfare League of America (130 East Twenty-second
Street, New York) has prepared financial and population schedules for the use of child
caring organizations. The financial schedules follow in the main the classification made
by this committee on statistics.

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20. To insure accuracy o f financial records and to facilitate the
making o f the annual financial statement it is advisable to—
(a) Have only one open bank account and have the treasurer or a
board member countersign all checks.
(b) Enter on the treasurer’s books all receipts from every source
and allow no withdrawal of expenses of solicitation of funds before
turning in receipts.
(C) Pay traveling expenses out of traveling advances. These
should be made by the treasurer and accounted for by monthly ex
pense accounts filed by each traveling representative.
(d) Keep careful record of each contributor, with name, address,
date, and amount given.
(e) Check invoices of goods purchased against the monthly state
ments before paying bills.
( / ) Attach all receipted bills and invoices to canceled checks and
keep them separate by months.
(g ) Keep a receipt and expense register on which all receipts and
expenditures are entered with date, check number, name o f account,
amount and classification of purchase for each expenditure, also date,
source, amount, and classification o f every receipt (including dona
tions). Such register may be balanced at any time and a classified
statement of receipts and expenditures easily drawn up for any given
period.
(h) Verify the bank balance at the end of each month and prepare
regularly a monthly statement o f receipts and expenditures, assets
%and liabilities, one copy to be submitted to the governing board and
one to be kept on file.
(i) Have the books audited semiannually or annually by a certified
accountant.

SOCIAL STATISTICS
21. The purpose o f keeping social statistics is to shoio to the man
aging board, the public, and the State department o f public welfare
the nature and volume o f the institution's work and to facilitate
comparison with other institutions. The case records are the chief
source o f the population figures and other social statistics collected
fo r annual reports and special studies.
The material could be compiled directly from the case records,
but this would be a laborious process ; and unless case records are
filed chronologically their information regarding admissions and
dispositions of the current year is almost inaccessible. Since only
certain items are collected for statistical purposes—mainly those
previously classified under admission and disposition data—it is
better to enter on statistical cards o f standard size (4 by 6 inches
or 5 by 8 inches) the data required, and then make the tabulations
from these cards. Many State boards of public welfare require
reports o f admissions, placements, and discharges; therefore in those
States the items needed for such reports should be kept in mind
when a statistical card is being planned. It may be possible to use

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one card form for both the report to the State board and the mate
rial needed in compiling the annual report.10
22. Among the items contained on the statistical card should be
the follow ing : 11
(a) Child’s name, address, and record number.
(b) Date of admission and of admissions prior to this year. Space
should be left for additional admissions.
(c ) Date of birth, age at admission, sex, race.
(d) Source from which child was received.
(e) Reason for admission.
( /) Whereabouts of child at time of admission.
(g ) Diseases and physical defects of child.
(h) Birth status, marital status, and whereabouts o f parents at
time of the child’s admission.
(i) Country of birth and mother tongue of father and o f mother.
(/) Religion of father and of mother.
(k ) Occupation of father and of mother.
(l) Date o f child’s placement under supervision and name of
person with whom child is placed. Space should be left for addi
tional placements.
(m ) Date of discharge from care and age at discharge. Space
should be left for additional discharges.
(n) Nature of discharge.
23. I f the statistical cards o f dll children under care during the
year—that is, o f all children under care at the beginning of the year
plus those admitted during the year—are filed together dlphabeti- •
colly, tabulations may be made easily o f facts regarding dll children
under care during the year as well as o f admissions, placements,
and discharges during the year.
Tabulation at the end of the year will be made simple if metal
signals or flags o f different colors are used to indicate classifi
cations such as admissions, réadmissions, placements, replacements,
discharges, and redischarges. This method will be especially help
ful in making out the population report, for which it is desirable
to know how many o f the children admitted during the year had
never been under care before or had been under care in the current
year or in previous years, and in which the number o f children under
care o f the institution but placed out in foster-family homes must
be shown.
When all tabulations have been made and the annual report com
pleted the cards of the children discharged from care and custody
should be removed and placed in an inactive .file. The active statis10 A good example of the type of card suited to this purpose is that used by the depart
ment of public welfare in Georgia for reporting intake and discharge from institutions.
It is 5 by 8 inches in size, with its face arranged for the entry of admission data and
the reverse for the entry of discharge and placement data. When a child is admitted the
face of the card is filled out and the card is sent to the State department. When the
child is discharged or placed a blank which is a duplicate of the reverse of that card is
filled out and sent to the State department. The data on this duplicate are then trans
ferred by the State department to the reverse of the card containing the child’s admis
sion data. (Samples of these cards may be obtained from the State department of public
welfare, Atlanta, Ga.) Blanks which might be adapted to this purpose are used by the
State board of charities in New York for reporting admissions, placements, and dis
charges. (Samples may be obtained from the State board of charities, Albany, N. Y.)
11 Suggestions for tables based on the items of the statistical card and definitions of
these items may be obtained in mimeographed form from the Children’s Bureau, U. S.
Department of Labor, Washington, D. C.

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tical file will then contain only the cards o f the children under care
at the beginning o f the new year whether they are in the institution,
in family homes, or elsewhere under supervision.
The -file should include only one card fo r each child under care .
during the year.
I f a child is admitted and found by reference to the general card
index o f children (see p. 115) to have been under care before the
current year but not within it, his statistical card should not be
removed from the inactive file. A new card should be made out
with social data corresponding to the situation existing at the time
o f this readmission. But i f a child who has been under care during
the current year is discharged and then is readmitted, no new card
should be made out. The card already in the active statistical file
should be used, the date of the new admission being entered on it,
and any change in the social data (such as different parental status
or occupation of parents, or new reason for commitment) with the
date of the admission to which they apply .12
For list o f references on records and statistics see Chapter X V ,
page 129.
12
Children who are simply returned to the institution after placement under super
vision in a family home are not to be regarded as discharged and readmitted; hence this
paragraph does not apply in the case of such children.

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Chapter X V .— LIST OF REFERENCES

The following list contains the names of books, pamphlets, or
magazine articles recommended for reading by superintendents and
staffs of institutions for dependent children and by members of
boards o f directors. Some references are given also to agencies or
institutions that issue from time to time publications relating to this
field. These public or private organizations will on request send the
latest or most appropriate and useful publications that they have
available. There is given first a general list o f references which in
cludes publications that deal with more than one phase o f institution
management, and following this are special lists for the chapters of
this handbook. The arrangement is alphabetical.
GENERAL
1. A labam a State Child W elfa re Com m ission: Minimum Standards for
Child-Caring Agencies and Institutions. Montgomery, 1922.
(Mimeo
graphed.)
2. California State Board of Charities and Corrections: “ Standards for chil
dren’s institutions.” Ninth Biennial Report, 1918-1920, pp. 64-65. Sac
ramento, 1922.
3. The Child: H is nature and his needs. Prepared under the editorial
supervision of M. V. O’ Shea. The Children’s Foundation, Valparaiso,
Ind., 1924. 516 pp.
4. Children’ s Bureau, United States Department of Labor: Child Care—
The Preschool Age, by Mrs. M ax W est. Publication No. 3 0 .' W ash
ington, 1922. 82 pp.
5. ------- — : Child Management, by D. A. Thom, M. D. Publication No. 143.
Washington, 1925. 36 pp.
6. -----------: Foster-Home Care for Dependent Children. Publication No. 136
(revised). Washington, 1926. 289 pp.
7. ---------- : Habit Clinics for the Child of Preschool A g e ; their organization
and practical value, by D. A. Thom, M. D. Publication No. 135. W ash
ington, 1924. 71 pp.
8. -----------: Infant Care, by Mrs. Max West. Publication No. 8. Washing
ton, 1926. 118 pp.
9. --------— : Minimum Standards for Child W elfare Adopted by the W ash
ington and Regional Conferences on Child W elfare, 1919.
Publica
tion No. 62. Washington, 1920. 15 pp.
10. -----------: Standards of Child W elfa re; a report of the Children’s Bureau
Conferences, May and June, 1919. Publication No. 60. Washington,
1919. 459 pp.
11. Doherty, W illia m J., Ludw ig B. Bernstein, and R. R. Reeder: ChildCaring Institutions; a plan of inspection— questions, suggestions, and
standards. Department of Public Charities of the City of New York,
1915.
12. H art, H astin gs H .: Preventive Treatment of Neglected Children. New
York, 1910. 419 pp. (Out of print; available in libraries.)
13. Illinois Department of Public W e lfa re: “ Report of the children’s com
mittee, December, 1920.” Report of the subcommittee on standards for
licensing institutions, pp. 13A-155. Springfield, 1921.
14. Indiana Board of State Charities: Boarding Homes for Children. Rules
and regulations adopted November 19, 1912. 8 pp.
This refers also to institutions for children.

120

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15. Jamison, A . T .: The Institution for Children. Baptist Book Depository,
Columbia, S. C. [1925]. 207 pp.
16. Johnson, Charles H . : “ Standards of efficiency in institutions for chil
dren.” National Conference o f Social W ork (formerly National Con
ference of Charities and Correction), Proceedings, 1914, pp. 171-178.
17. Langer, Sa m u el: The Organization and Construction of a Child-Caring
Institution; a report on reconstruction plans for the Pacific Hebrew
Orphan Asylum, San Francisco, 1919. 64 pp.
18. M cEntegart, Bryan J. : “ Institutions for children— their relation to other
agencies.” National Conference o f Social Work, Proceedings, 1924, pp.
139-144.
19. -----------: “ Child-caring homes.”
The Catholic vCharities R eview [New
York], Yol. V I, No. 8 (October, 1922), pp. 263-266.
Treats o f the standards o f admission, care, and aftercare.
20. M ichigan State Board of Corrections and Charities: Rules and Regula
tions for the Government of Child-Caring or Placing Agencies, Novem
ber 18, 1913, amended May 27, 1920. Lansing. 1 p.
21. M innesota State Board o f Control, Children’s B u reau : Minimum Stand
ards for Boarding and Permanent Homes. September 2, 1924.
St.
Paul. 30 pp.
The appendix contains blanks, report forms, and resolutions.
22. M issouri State Board of Charities and Corrections: Rules and Regula
tions for the Government of Boarding Houses for Infants, Boarding
Homes for Children, and Child-Placing Agents and Agencies. Bimonthly
Bulletin [Jefferson City], vol. 24 (March-April, 1922).
Applies also to institutions for children.
23. M ooseheart Y e a r Book, bein g the governor’s n in th annual report.
1921-1922. Mooseheart, 111. 160 pp.
24. N ew Y o rk State Board o f C harities: Rules Governing the Reception and
Retention of Inmates and Reports of Institutions (Homes for Children),
as amended to May 17, 1916. Albany, 1920. 12 pp.
25. N orth Carolina State Board of Charities and Public W e lfa r e : The Care
of Children in Institutions. Special Bulletin No. 5. Raleigh, 1925.
26. O’ Grady, John: “ Child-welfare work and family responsibility.” Special
Conference of Religions, National Conference of Catholic Charities, Pro
ceedings, 1923, pp. 270-277.
Treats of the obligations of the family toward a child placed in an institu
tion and the attitude of the institution toward the family.
27. Ohio State Department of Public W elfa re, D ivision of Charities: ChildCaring Institutions ; suggested minimum standards for children’s homes
in Ohio. Columbus, 1925. 54 pp.
28. -----------: A Guide Book for Boarding Mothers. Columbus, 1925. 44 pp.
Applies also in part to institutions.
29. Oregon State Child W elfa re Com m ission: Standards for Child-Caring In
stitutions. Portland, 1921 (reissued). 10 pp.
30. P ennsylvania Department of Public W elfare, Bureau of Children: Child
Care in Institutions. Bulletin 16 (M ay, 1924). Harrisburg.
30 pp.
31. A Program for Catholic C hild-Caring H om es. Report of the committee
on standards, Sisters’ Conference, National Conference of Catholic
Charities, Proceedings, 1923. Obtainable from the Catholic University
of America, Washington, D. C. 39 pp.
32. Reeder, Rudolph R . : .How Two Hundred Children Live and Learn. Noble
& Noble, New York, 1911. 247 pp.
Treats of the dietary, training, education, and environmental conditions of the
children in a large orphanage.
33. Richmond, M ary E .: Social Diagnosis. Russell Sage Foundation, New
York, 1917. 511 pp.
Treats of the processes used in the collection of data in the social treatment
of individuals.
34. -----------: W hat is Social Case W ork? Russell Sage Foundation, New York,
1922. 268 pp.
Treats of the application of case-work methods to certain types of social work,
including institutional care.

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35. Standards of W o r k for Child-Caring Institutions, D ay Nurseries, and
Placing-O ut Societies. Council of Social Agencies of the W elfare Fed
eration of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, 1925. 12 pp.
36. A Study in In stitu tion al Child Care; a survey of the M arks N athan
Jewish Orphan H om e. Research Bureau of the Jewish Philanthropies
of Chicago. Chicago, 1921.
37. Trotzkey, E lias L .: A Program of Institutional Child C are; report of the
superintendent of the Marks Nathan Jewish Orphan Home. Chicago.
1923.
38. TJeland, E lsa : “A réévaluation of methods of child care— the care of
children in institutions.” National Conference o f Social Work, Pro
ceedings, 1924, pp. 128-130.
39. W h a t Dependent Children N eed; as stated b y men and women who
daily live and learn w ith them. Edited by C. V. Williams. Child
W elfare League of American Bulletin, No. 7. New York, 1922. 148 pp.
An outline of the standards of care for dependent children in relation to their
pnysical, mental, moral, and emotional needs.
A D M IN IS T R A T IO N
40. H art, H astin gs H . : The Job of Being a Trustee.
tion, Monograph No. 1, New York, 1916. 16 pp.

Russell Sage Founda

ofTthisClis tPaiiy tbe Round TaMe Plan for Trustees of Institutions.

See No. 43

41. Johnson, Charles H .: “ The efficient cottage mother.” New York State
Conference of Charities and Correction, Proceedings, 1911, pp. 241-249.
42. Modern Cottage Plan for Care of Dependent Children; a m anual for
cottage mothers and supervisors. Hebrew Sheltering Guardian So
ciety, Pleasantville, N. Y., 1925. 136 pp.
43. Richardson, C. Spencer: Round Table.Plan for Trustees of Institutions
for Dependent Children. Russell Sage Foundation. New York 1916
15 pp.
44. Southard, Lydia, B. A . : Institutional Household Administration
J B
Lippincott Co., Philadelphia, 1923. 214 pp.
Deals from the business point of view with the management of the instituof°the h o u S S p in | SPeCiaUy the general administration o f living quarters and
See also bulletins of the Child W elfare League of America on this
subject, and Nos. 11, 15, 16, and 36 of this list.
THE PLAN T
45. A yres, M ay, Jesse F. W illia m s, and Thomas D. W o od : Healthful
Schools; how to build, equip, and maintain them. Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston, 1918. 292 pp.
46. California State Board of Charities and Corrections: “ Requirements regarding fire protection.” Tenth Biennial Report (1920 to 1922) pp
78-80. Sacramento, 1923. (Also published separately.)
U,
47. Jackson, Edward, M . D . : “ Daylight in the schoolroom.” National Edu
cation Association, Addresses and Proceedings, 1921, pp. 308-315.
48. L igh tin g the Schoolroom. Published by permission by the National Com
mittee for the Prevention of Blindness, New York, 1924 4 pp

tgszjsrsL Sgs* ° f Architecte a” d

49. ^ P o r t of the Committee of Oculists and Electricians on Artificial
L igh tin g of School Buildings. School Document No. 14, Municipal
Printing Office, Boston, 1907. 20 pp.
municipal
60-

° f School Ventilation, by the Chicago Commission on
ra«o°A* A meri1m ? ]N£edlcal Association, sixty-second annual ses
sion, Los Angeles, 1911. 7 pp.

51. B iddle, H . S .: The Boiler H ouse; a treatise for the promotion of effiS S S J S ? e£?n(T
T11 the boiler
house0hio Board of Administration
Publication
No. 4. y Lancaster,
1915.
10 pp.

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L IS T OF REFERENCES

123

|52. Bosenau, M ilton J. : Preventive Medicine and Hygiene. D. Appleton &
Co., New York, 1921. 1567 pp.
Water, pp. 1015-1190 : sewage disposal, pp. 1191-1217; refuse disposal, pp,
1219-1224 ; ventilation, pp. 966—984; heating, pp. 984—989; school sanitation,
pp. 1325-1350.
53. V entilation ; report of the N ew Y o rk State Commission on Ventilation.
E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1923. 620 pp.
54. W in slow , Charles E. A .: Fresh Air and Ventilation. E. P. Dutton New
York, 1926. 182 pp.
55. W isconsin Industrial Com m ission: School Lighting Code. Madison 1921
34 pp.
See also publications of the United States Public Health Service
Washington, D. C., on this subject and No. 44 of this list.
B U IL D IN G S
56. A n Outline of the Plans for the Children's Com m unity Center of the
N ew H av en Orphan A sy lu m . Floor plans. New Haven, 1925.
57. Sanders, M rs. Charles B ra d ley : How to Furnish the Small H om e; a
handbook for furnishing and decorating the inexpensive house. Better
Homes in America (an educational organization with national head
quarters at 1653 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D. C .), Washing
ton, 1924. 32 pp.
and* decorating the pamphlet is a brief selected list of publications on furnishing
See also Nos. 12, 15, 17, and 44 of this list.
A D M IS S IO N S
58. Carstens, C. C. : “ W hat children should be received for care by an insti
tution or agency and what is the responsibility for those not accepted.”
National Conference of Social Work, Proceedings, 1925, pp. 83-88.
59. Cole, Lawrence C. : “ The plan of a general bureau of inquiry.” National
Conference of Social Work, Proceedings, 1922, pp. 150-154.
60. Doherty, Bev. John: “Agencies for determining whether care outside of
own home is necessary, and if so, what kind of care.” National Con
ference of Social Work, Proceedings, 1925, pp. 88-94.
61. Johnson, Charles H . : “ How many children are needlessly in institu
tions?” National Conference of Juvenile Agencies (formerly National
Conference on the Education of Truant, Backward, and Delinquent
Children), Proceedings, 1914, pp. 104-111. Discussion, pp. 112-115.
62. McCoy, Helen L .: “ The Philadelphia plan of a central bureau of inquiry
and specialized care.” National Conference of Social W ork Proceed
ings, 1922, pp. 145-150.
63. Oregon Child W elfa re Com m ission: Standards of Investigation for Ad
mission of Children to Institutions. Portland. T p.
64. Beynolds, W ilfre d S .: “Admission to child-caring institutions and socie
ties of neglected and dependent children.” National Conference of So
cial Work, Proceedings, 1921, pp. 93-95.
See also Nos. 6, 10, 15, 16, 18, 19, 26, 33, 34, and 39 of this list.
P H Y S IC A L C A R E
65. Baldwin, Bird T., Ph. D ., and Thom as D. W ood, M . D .: Weight-heightage tables for boys and girls. American Child Health Association New
York, 1923.
66. Bancroft, Jessie: The Posture of School Children.
New York, 1913. 327 pp.

The Macmillan Co

67. Carter, W illia m E ., M . D .: “ Physical findings in problem children”
Mental Hygiene [New York], Vol. X , No. 1 (January, 1926), pp. 75-84.
2204°— 27------9

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68. Children’ s Bureau, United States Department of Labor: Posture Clinicp;
organization and exercises, by Armin Klein, M. D. Publication No. 164.
69. -----------: Posture E xercises; a handbook for schools and for teachers of
physical education, by Armin Klein, M. D., and Leah 0 . Thomas. Publi
cation No. 165.1
70. -----------: Demonstration of the Community Control of Rickets, by Martha
M. Eliot, M. D. Reprinted by the Children’s Bureau from the Pro
ceedings of the Third Annual Conference of State Directors of the
Local Administration of the Maternity and Infancy Act, 1926. 5 pp.
71. -----------: Sunlight for Babies. Folder No. 5. Washington, 1926.
72. -----------: Standards for Physicians Conducting Conferences in ChildHealth Centers. Publication No. 154. Washington, 1926. 11 pp.
73. ---------- : Statures and Weights of Children under Six Years of Age, by Rob
ert M. Woodbury. Publication No. 87. Washington, 1921. 60 pp.
74. Cleveland Protestant Orphan A s y lu m : Annual Report. Cleveland, 1922.
20 pp.
75. Dublin, Louis I ., and John C. Gebhart: “ Do height-and-weight tables
identify undernourished children?” American Journal of Public Health
[New York], vol. 13, no. 11 (November, 1923), pp. 920-927. Reprint
issued by the New York Association for Improving the Condition of
the Poor.
76. Emerson, W illia m R . P ., M . D .: Nutrition and Growth in Children. D.
Appleton & Co., New York, 1922. 342 pp.
77. ---------- : “ Nutrition and growth in children.” Boston Medical and Surgical
Journal, vol. 188, No. 1 (January 4, 1923), pp. 8-10.
78. H olt, L. Em m ett, M. D .: Care and Feeding of Children. D. Appleton &
Co., New York, 1923. 252 pp.
79. ----------- and John H ow land, M . D . : The Diseases of Infancy and Child
hood. D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1919. 1180 pp.
80. Lucas, W illia m Palm er, M . D .: The Health of the Runabout Child. The
Macmillan Co., New York, 1923. . 229 pp.
81. M y L ittle Child’s H ea lth ; study outline of the preschool child. Ameri
can Child Health Association, New York, 1923. 48 pp.
82. Ohio Departm ent of Public W e lfa r e , D ivision of Charities: Child Health
in Institutions (Interpretation of Health Leaflet Series, Institution
Series No. 2 ) , by Joanne Ortelle, R. N. Columbus, 1925.
Deals with the responsibility of the institution, of the admitting physician,
and of the community, and with defective nutrition.
83. Term an, L. M ., M . D . : The Hygiene of the School Child. Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston, .1914. 417 pp.
84. Thomas, Leah C., and J. E. G old th w ait: Body Mechanics and Health.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1922. 112 pp.
85. W ood, Thom as D ., M . D ., and H u g h Grant Rowell, M . D .: Health
through Prevention and Control of Diseases. World Book Co., Chi
cago, 1925. 122 pp.
See also Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8 of this list.
FO O D A N D C L O T H IN G
JO F!

86. Bureau of Education, United States Department of the Interior: Diet
for the School Child. Health Education Series No. 2. Washington,
1922.. 14 pp.
87. Bureau of H om e Economics, U nited States Department of A gricu ltu re:
Food for Young Children, by Caroline L. Hunt. Farmers’ Bulletin No.
717 (revised). Washington, 1920. 26 pp.
88. -----------: Good Proportions in the Diet, by Caroline L. Hunt. Farmers’
Bulletin No. 1313. Washington, 1923. 24 pp.
89. -----------: How to Select Foods, by Caroline L. Hunt and Helen W . Atwater.
Farmers’ Bulletin No. 808 (revised). Washington, 1921. 15 pp.
1 The Children’s Bureau has a motion-picture film entitled “ Posture,” which may be
obtained on lean from the bureau.

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LIST OF REFERENCES

125

90. California State Board of Control, Department of Finance: “ Standard
dietary for an orphanage,” by Adele S. Jaffa, M. D. Report of the Bu
reau of Children’s Aid, 1920-1923, pp. 38-55. Sacramento.'
91. Children’ s Bureau, U nited States Department of Labor: Milk, the In
dispensable Food for Children, by Dorothy Reed Mendenhall, M. D.
Publication No. 163. Washington, 1926.
43 pp.
92. Food for the Fam ily. New York Association for Improving the Condi
tion of the Poor Publication No. 120 (revised),
ew York, 1922.
31 pp.
93. G illett. Lucy H . : Food for Health’s Sake. National Health Series. Funk
& Wagnalls, 1924. 47 pp.
*
94. H o lt, Em m ett L . : Food, Health, and G rowth; a discussion of the nutrition
of children. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1922. 273 pp.
95. M cCollum , E. V ., and N . Sim m onds: The Newer Knowledge of Nutrition
(revised). The Macmillan Co., New York, 1925. 675 pp.
96. -----------:
Food, Nutrition, and Health. East End Post Station, Box 25,
Baltimore, 1925. 143 pp.
97. Monroe, D., and Lenore Monroe Stratton: Buying and Our Markets. M.
Barrows & Co. Boston, 1925. 321 pp.
98. Receipts for In stitutions.
Chicago Dietetic Association. The Macmillan
Co., New York, 1923. 163 pp.
99. Rose, M a ry S w a r tz: Feeding the Family.
Revised edition. The Mac
millan Co., New York, 1924. 487 pp.
Gives instructions for the preparation of food and the planning of menus for
children of various ages.
100. -----------: “ Child nutrition and diet.” Journal of Home Economics [Balti
more], vol. 15, no. 3 (March, 1923), pp. 129-142.
101. Smedley, E m m a: Institution Receipts (fourth edition). E. Smedley,
Media, Pa., 1924. 342 pp.
See also Nos. 4, 5, 7, and 8 o f this list.
CLOTHING
102. Bigelow, Zella G .: “ The hygiene of clothing.” Journal of Home Eco
nomics [Baltimore], vol. 12 (June, 1920), pp. 253-258.
103. Bureau of H om e Economics, U nited States Department of Agriculture:
Selection and Care of Clothing, by Laura I. Naldt. Farmers’ Bulletin
1089. Washington, 1920. 32 pp.
104.. -----------: Home Laundering, by Lydia Ray Balderston. Farmers’ Bulletin
1099. Washington, 1920. 32 pp.
105. Cranor, Katharine T aylor: “ Clothing and health.” Journal of Home
Economics [Baltimore], vol. 15, no. 8 (August, 1923), pp. 426-430.
106. Glanton, Louise P .: “ The relation of clothing to health.” Journal of
Home Economics [Baltimore], vol. 16, no. 4 (April, 1924), pp. 185-191.
A bibliography.
107. Sherman, Florence A ., M . D .: “ The hygiene of clothing.” Journal of
H om e Economics [B a ltim o re ], vol. 17, no. 1 (January, 1 9 2 5 ), pp. 2 0 -2 6 .
See also N os. 4, 8, and 44 o f th is list.
M E N T A L H E A L T H A N D H A B IT F O R M A T I O N 2
108. Baldwin, Bird T ., and Lorle I. Stecher: The Psychology of the Preschool
Child. D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1924. 305 pp.
109. Burnham, W illia m H .: The Normal M ind; an introduction to mental
hygiene and the hygiene of school instruction. D. Appleton & Co.,
New York, 1924. 702 pp.
110. Cameron, Hector Charles, M . D .: The Nervous Child. Oxford Medical
Publication, Oxford University Press, New York, 1924. 233 pp.
* References on these two subjects have been combined because of the similarity of the
source material.

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126

HANDBOOK FOB INSTITUTIONS

111. Children’s Bureau, United States Department of Labor: The Practical
Application of Mental Hygiene to the W elfare of the Child, by D. A.
Thom, M. D. Reprinted by the Children’s Bureau from the Proceedings
of the Third Annual Conference of State Directors of the Local Admin
istration o f the Maternity and Infancy Act, 1926. 9 pp.
112. Cleveland, E lizabeth : Training the Toddler. J. B. Lippincott Co., Phila
delphia, 1925. 172 pp.
113. Gesell, A rnold, M . D .: The Mental Growth of the Preschool Child. The
Macmillan Co., New York, 1925. 447 pp.
114. Groves, Ernest R ., and Gladys H oagland Groves: Wholesome Childhood.
Houghton# Mifflin Co., Boston, 1924. 183 pp.
115. M iller, H . Crichton: The New Psychology and the Teacher. Thomas
Seltzer, New York, 1922. 225 pp.
116. M organ, John J. B .: The Psychology of the Unadjusted School Child.
The Macmillan Co., New York, 1924. 300 pp.
117. Pennsylvania Department of W elfare, Bureau of Children: Some Unde
sirable Habits and Suggestions as to Treatment, by Jessie Taft. Bul
letin No. 4. Harrisburg, 1922.
118. Richard, Esther Loring, M . D .: “ The elementary school and the indi
vidual child.” Mental H ygiene [New York], vol. 5 (October, 1921), pp.
707-719.
119. R ichm ond, W in ifr e d : The Adolescent G irl; a book for parents and teach
ers. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1925. 212 pp.
120. Scott, M iriam F in n : How to Know Your Child. Little, Brown & Co.,
Boston, 1915. 316 pp.
121. Social Aspects of M ental H ygiene. Addresses by Frankwood E. W il- liams, C. Macfie Campbell, Abraham Myerson, Arnold Gesell, W alter E.
Fernald, and Jessie Taft. Yale University Press, New Haven, and
Oxford University Press, London, 1925. 150 pp.
122. Taft, Jessie: “ Problems of normal adolescence.” Mental H ygiene [New
York], vol. 5 (October, 1921), pp. 741-751.
123. W h ite, W illia m A ., M . D .: The Mental Hygiene of Childhood. Little,
Brown & Co., Boston, 1919. 193 pp.
124. W ile , Ira S .: The Challenge of Childhood; studies in personality and
behavior. Thomas Seltzer, New York, 1925. 305 pp.
125. W oolley, Helen T .: “ Enuresis as a psychological problem.” Mental H y
giene [New York], Yol. X , No. 1 (January, 1926), pp. 38-53.
See also issues of Mental Hygiene, published quarterly by the Na
tional Committee for Mental Hygiene, 370 Seventh Avenue, New York,
and many excellent papers obtainable as reprints from it (especially
Nos. 44, 58, 80, 81, 83, and 85) ; pamphlets issued by the American Social
Hygiene Association, 370 Seventh Avenue, New Y ork ; and Nos. 3, 5, 7,
and 38 of this list.
S P IR IT U A L A N D M O R A L T R A IN IN G
126.

A n n u a l R e p o r t, O rp h an A s y lu m S o c ie ty in th e C ity
H astin gs-on -H u dson , N ew Y ork, 1917.

of N ew

Y ork

Contains an outline of the self-government system in operation in this asvlum
for 15 years.
*
■
127.

C abot, E lla L y m a n : E veryd ay Ethics.
439 pp.

128 ----------- : E th ics fo r Children.

H en ry H o lt & Co., N ew Y o rk 1906

H oughton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1910.

129. Cabot, R ic h a rd C la rk e : W h a t Men L ive B y.
ton Mifflin C o .), Boston, 1914. 341 pp.

262 pp.

H oughton Co. (now H ough

130. G ru e n b e rg , B e n ja m in C., e d ito r: O utlines o f Child S tu d y ; a m anual for
parents and teachers. T h e M acm illan Co., N ew Y ork , 1922. 260 pp.

Obedience, pp. 2 3 -2 5 ; truth and falsehood, pp. 34-37 ; fear, pp. 42-46- the
use of money, pp. 8 2 -8 4 ; children’s books and reading, pp. 135-140; arts in the
life of the child, pp. 141-150; religious training, pp. 196-198.

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LIST OF REFERENCES

127

131. H ealy, W illia m , M . D, : Honesty ; a study of the causes and treatment of
dishonesty among children. The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Indianapolis, 1915.
220 pp.
>
132. Patri, A n g elo : Child Training. D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1922.
434 pp.
A collection of short popular essays on various phases of child training.
133. Report of Board of Directors, H ebrew Sheltering Guardian Society,
1924. Pleasantville, N. Y.
See also Nos. 3 and 5 of this list.
.
E D U C A T IO N
134. A lln u t, Phoebe C .: “ Educational adventures in an institution.” T h e
Family [New York], Vol. IY , No. 4 (June, 1923), pp. 95-98.
135. Children’s Bureau and U nited States Em ploym ent Service, U n ited
States Departm ent of L a bo r: Vocational Guidance and Junior Place
ment. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 149 and Employment Service
Publication A. Washington, 1925. 440 pp.
136. D ouglas, Paul H .: American Apprenticeship and Industrial Education.
Columbia University, New York, 1921. 348 pp.
137. Fryberger, A g n es Moore: Listening Lessons in Music. Silver, Burdett
& Co., New York, 1925. 254 pp.
General instructions to teachers, graded for schools, with suggestions as to
songs and phonograph records. Can be used by persons who are not trained
teachers.
138. Graded L ist of Books for Children, prepared bv the elementary school
library committee of the National Education Association of the United
States. American Library Association, Chicago, 1922. 235 pp.
Contains annotated lists o f picture books and easy reading for children, by
school grades, with prices and publishers.
139. O’ Shea, M . V .: Mental Development and Education. The Macmillan Co.,
New York, 1921. 403 pp.
140. Prosser, Charles A ., and Charles It. A lle n : Vocational Education in a
Democracy. The Century Go., New York, 1925. 580 pp.
141. Snedden, D avid S .: Vocational Education. The Macmillan Co., New
York, 1920. 587 pp.
142. W ood, E lizabeth T .: Report on the Psychological Examination of All
Children at the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society. Pleasantville,
N. Y., 1923.
See also bulletins of the Bureau of Educational Experiments, 144
W est Thirteenth Street, New Y o r k ; numbers of Progressive Education,
a quarterly review of the newer tendencies in education, published by
the Progressive Education Association, Washington, D. C .; bulletins
of the Bureau of Education, United States Department of the Interior,
and of the Federal Board for Vocational Education; the yearbooks of
the National Society for the Study of Education, Public School Pub
lishing Co., Bloomington, 111.; and No. 3 of this list.
R E C R E A T IO N
143. A tkinson, Robert K . : Play for Children in Institutions. Russell Sage
Foundation, New York, 1923. 44 pp.
144. B ancroft, Jessie H . : Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gym
nasium. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1918. 456 pp.
145. Brown, Florence W arren, and N eva L. B oyd: Old English and American
Games. Saul Bros., Chicago, 1915. 55 pp.
146. Bryant, Sara C.: How to Tell Stories to Children. Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston, 1905. 260 pp.
147. Burchenal, E lizabeth: Folk Dances and Singing Games. G. L. Schirmer,
New York, 1909. 92 pp.

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128

HANDBOOK FOE INSTITUTIONS

148. Bureau of Education, U nited States Department of the Interior: Athletic
Badge Tests for Boys and Girls.
Physical Education Series No. 2.
Washington, 1923. 17 pp.
149. -----------: Preparation of School Grounds for Play Fields and Athletic
Events, by Dorothy Hutchinson.
Physical Education Series No. 1.
Washington, 1923. 17 pp.
150. Children’s Bureau, United States Department of Labor: A Brief Manual •
of Games for Organized Play, Adapted from Standard Sources, by
Martha Travilla Speakman. Publication No. 113. Washington, 1923.
39 pp.
15 1 . --------- : Backyard Playgrounds. Folder No. 2. Washington, 1923.
152. Cockran, M ary R udd: A Children’s Home Library. The Ohio Bulletin of
Charities and Correction [Columbus], vol. 22, no. 2 (April, 1916). Re
print obtainable. 14 pp.
153. Gulick, Luther H .: A Philosophy of Play. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New
York, 1920. 291 pp.
154. H azeltine, Alice I .: Plays for Children. American Library Association,
Chicago, 1921. 116 pp.
155. Lee, Joseph:. Play in Education. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1923.
500 pp.
156. M clsaac, F. J .: The Tony Sarg Marionette Book. W . B. Huebsch, New
York, 1921. 58 pp.
157. Moses, Montrose J .: Treasury of Plays for Children. Little, Brown &
Co., Boston, 1921. 550 pp.
Plays ‘suitable for older children.
158. O ne-Act P lays for ¿Young Folks. Edited by M. A. Jagendorf. Brentano’s,
New York, 1924. 220 pp.
159. Stories to Tell to Children; a selected list w ith stories and poems for
h oliday program s. Third edition. Carnegie Library, Pittsburgh, 1921.
76 pp.
160. Tw ice 55 Games w ith M usic. C. C. Burchard & Co., Boston, 1924. 48 pp.
See also publications of the American Child Health Association, 370 Seventh
Avenue, New Y o rk ; and Nos. 137 and 138 of this list. Pamphlets and charts
for nature study may be obtained from the United States Department of Agri
culture, Washington, D. C., and from the National Association of Audubon
Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York. Lists of playground equipment and of
manufacturers of equipment, lists of plays, pageants, suggestions for holiday
celebrations, and bulletins on various recreational activities may be had from
the Playground and Recreation Association of America, 315 Fourth Avenue,
New York. Suggestions and directions for certain handicrafts and for decora
tions for entertainments may be obtained from the larger kindergarten supply
companies and paper specialty companies.
D IS C H A R G E A N D A F T E R C A R E
161. Children’ s Bureau, United States Department of Labor: Adoption Laws
in the United States, by Emelyn Foster Peck. Publication No. 148.
Washington, 1925. 51 pp.
162. Evans, M rs. Glendower: “ W hat do you know of the children after they
leave your home or institution? Do you supervise th em ?” National
Conference of Charities and Correction, Proceedings, 1907, pp. 274-278.
163. Folks, H om er: “ Report of special committee on standards of placing out,
supervision, and aftercare of dependent children.” New York State
Conference of Charities and Correction, Proceedings, 1915, pp. 174-289.
164. H art, H astin gs H . : “ The responsibility and methods of the institution in
relation to the ‘ discharged child.’ ” National Conference of Juvenile
Agencies, Proceedings, 1922, pp. 18-23.
165. Ludlow, Sam uel: After the Orphan Asylum— W h at? Catholic Guardian
Society, New York, 1924.
166. Reynolds, W ilfre d S .: “ Standards of child-placing and supervision, a
committee report.” Annual Conference of the National Children’s Home
and Welfare Association, Proceedings, 1919, pp. 19-21.

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L IS T OP REFEREE CES

129

167. Slingerland, "W illiam H . : Child-placing in Fam ilies; a manual for stu
dents and social workers. Bussell Sage Foundation, New York, 1919.
168. Taft, Jessie: The Need for Psychological Interpretation in the Placement
of Dependent Children. Child W elfare League of America Bulletin
No. 6. New York, 1922.
169. -----------: “ Relation of personality study to child placing.”
ference of Social Work, Proceedings, 1919, pp. 63-67.
See also Nos. 6, 10, 15, 18, 25, and 37 of this list.

National Con

R E C O R D S A N f> S T A T I S T I C S

170. Aronovici, Carol: “ Wider use of case records.” National Conference of
Social Work, Proceedings, 1916, pp. 468-471.
171. B liss, George S., M . D .: “ Interinstitution records.” Conference on the
Education of Dependent, Truant, Backward, and Delinquent Children
Proceedings, 1915, pp. 110-112.
Records helpful to superintendent in administrative supervision.
172. Bruno, Frank J .: “ W hat a case record is for.” National Conference o f
. Social Work, Proceedings, 1916, pp. 452-460.
173. C alifornia State Board of Charities and Corrections: Institution Re
ports ; W hat They Are and W hat They Should Be, by Samuel Langer.
pp. 75-78. Sacramento, 1916. Reprinted in 1919.
A discussion of the form in which reports should be prepared to attract public
interest.
174. H ew ins, Katharine P .: “ Shaping the record to facilitate research.” N a
tional Conference of Social Work, Proceedings, 1916, pp. 460-468.
175. Johnson, Fred R . : “ Case records; discussion.” National Conference of
Social Work, Proceedings, 1916, pp. 471-472.
176. Ohio Board of State Charities, In stitutional Inspection D ivision, Chil
dren’s W elfa re D epartm ent: A Child’s H o m e; suggested minimum
standards for child-caring institutions, by Mary I. Atkinson and Joan
Ortelle, R. N. Columbus, 1920.
177. Pennsylvania Departm ent of Public W elfare, Bureau of Children: The
W hat, W hy, and How of Children’s Records.
Harrisburg, 1925.
(Mimeographed.) 1
178. Ralph, Georgia G .: .Elements of Record Keeping for Child-Helping Or
ganizations. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1915. 195 pp.
Contains a bibliography on the subject.
179. Sheffield, A d a E lio t: The Social Case H istory; its construction and con
tent. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1920. 227 pp.
See also record forms published by the Child W elfare League of America,
130 East Twenty-second Street, New York, and the Conference of Catholic
Charities, 700 Eleventh Street N W ., Washington, D. C., and several of the
State departments of public w elfare; and No. 33 of this list.

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Full text of Handbook for the Use of Boards of Directors, Superintendents, and Staffs of Institutions for Dependent Children, Bureau Publication No. 170

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