Full text of Laws Relating to "Mothers' Pensions" in the United States, Denmark, and New Zealand, Legal Series No. 4, Bureau Publication No. 63

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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

CHILDREN’S BUREAU
JULIA a LATHROP. Chie!

LAWS RELATING TO

“MOTHERS’ PENSIONS”
IN

THE UNITED STATES, CANADA,
DENMARK, AND NEW ZEALAND

Compiled by

LAURA A. THOMPSON

L E G A L SE R IE S N o. 4
Bureau Publication N o. 63

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1919


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ADDITIONAL COPIES
OP THIS PUBLICATION MAT BE PROCURED FROM
THE SUPERINTENDENT O F DOCUMENTS
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D. C.
AT

25 CENTS PER COPY


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% LS

CONTENTS.
Page.

Letter of transmittal_________________________ ___________________ vi?.
5
Introduction________________________________________________ —___ 7-21
History of “ mothers’ pension ” legislation in the United States___
7
Summary of the laws of the various States—__________ ____________ 11-18
Persons to whom aid may be given_____________________;-----12
13
Conditions on which aid is given________________________ .
Administration_____ ________ ___________ ___ ___ —-------- ---16
Trend of the legislation in the United States---------------------------------18
Movement in Canada—_____ __________________ r._______________
19
The Danish and New Zealand widows’ pension laws_______ ______—
19
Laws relating to “ mothers’ pensions ” in United States—<.----- -- .1___ .— 23-45
Alaska--------------- -------- ------------------- ------------------ ------—--- --------23
Arizona______________________________________________ _______
25
Arkansas__________________________ ___________ i-------r_——~— —
29
California_______ ______________________ ______ —------------------- 31-45
Forms used by widows’ pension bureau, San Francisco___ ——__
34
Colorado_______________________ _— --------------- .__________ ——
47
Connecticut____ —__________ __________________________________ 51-58
Policies and rules of department of State agencies and institutions
in relation to State aid to widows with dependent children-----53
Application form for State aid to widows with dependent
. children----------- ------------------------------------ —— ----- ------------55
Delaware___________________________________________________ —
59
Florida_______________—--------------------------------— ------------------63
Hawaii_______________________ |___________________ —:—/.— <---- J.
67
Idaho______________^_______ ____ ________ __________ —________
69
Illinois______ ____________________________ i------ —— ____ £— — 71-80
Forms used in juvenile court of Cook County (Chicago)-----------75
Indiana------------------------ ----------------- --------------------------- "-----------81
Iowa___________________ .------------------ —,----------------------------——
83
Kansas___________________ — 1----- —----- i~-------------------- ----------<—
85
Maine---------------------------------- --------------------------------------- —r.---- £ 87-93
Forms used byState boardof mothers’ aid----------------------90
Maryland______________ - —--------------- )—----------------95
Massachusetts___________:------------------- ------------->-------------------— 99-115
Policies of State board of charity relating to mothers’ aid—----- — 101
Rules relative to notice and reimbursement by the Common­
wealth __________________________________________ _______
102
Forms used by Commonwealth of Massachusetts______________
103
Michigan______________________________________ ______________ -J 117
Minnesota______ .___________________________________________ 121-129
Forms prepared by State board of control_________________—
125
8


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CO NTENTS.

Laws relating to “ mothers’ pensions ” in United States—Continued.
Page.
Missouri!__________ :___ ________________ ___ .________________ ._£? 131-142
State-wide law of 1917_________________________________ 131
Law applicableto Jackson County (Kansas City)_____________ 133-135
Forms used in juvenile court of Jackson County____________
134
Ordinance in St. Louis creating board of children’s guardians-, 136-142
Forms used by St. Louis board of children’s guardians__ —_ 139
Montana___ ________________________________________________ 143-146
Forms used by district courts________________________________
145
147
Nebraska______________________________ __—--------------------------Nevada______ ______________________ — ______________________
151
New Hampshire_______________________ '_______________________
153
New Jersey_____________ ________________________ __________ 155-161
Forms adopted by State board of children’s guardians-------------- 157
New York___________________________________________________ 163-177
Forms prepared by State board of charities for use of county
boards___________________ __ _____________ _________ —
166
171
Forms used by board of child welfare of New York City-------------North Dakota-- ------ ------r__---------------------------------------- -----------— 179
Ohio________ 1--------- -------------------------------------------- ------------------- 181
Oklahoma__ ____
183
Oregon__________________
185
Pennsylvania___________________________ ________ _________ 189-202
Circular of information issued by State board of education-------192
Forms prepared by State supervisor of mothers’ pensions—_197
South Dakota -------------------- ---------------------------------- —----------- .— 203
Tennessee______________________________________________
207
Texas-----------------------------211
__ — —— —
213
Utah—
________ _— ________ ___ ________
Vermont— — _— _______ _— ----------------------------------------.----------2.' 217
Virginia-! _____ _— .------------------ --------------------- —— ----- g—~
219
Washington__ ____:__________________________________ ________ — 221
West Virginia
________________________________ ____________ . 223
Wisconsin________________________
227-233
Forms prepared by State board of control for use of juvenile and
county courts___________________________________________
229
Wyoming___________________________________ __________________ 235
Canadian mothers’ aid laws-------------------------237-247
Alberta______________________________________:------------------------237
Manitoba____________________________________________
241-245
Memoranda prepared by the commissioners for the guidance
of committees appointed by cities, towns, and rural munici­
palities to assist in the administration of the act-------------------------- 242
Memorandum for the guidance of applicants and beneficiaries'
under the act----------------243
Saskatchewan---------------------------------— ---------------------------------— 247
Regulations for administration-----------------------------------------—
247
Danish law regarding assistance to children of widows------— t— -----—
249
New Zealand’s pension act, 1913--------------------------------------------253-266
Regulations under the pensions act, 1913------------------- ----------265
List of references on “ mothers’ pensions ”------------ _--------------- --------- 267-316
United States and general--------- 1-------- -,------ ------------ -*-4^----£—267
By separate States-------------——A --------- ------ | | — -— t ------1----276
Other countries__________________________________________ — — 315

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L E T T E R OF T R A N S M IT T A L .

U . S. D epartment of L abor,
C hildren ’s B ureau ,

'Washington, November 8, 1919.
Sir : Herewith. X transmit a compilation of laws relating to
“ mothers’ pensions ” m this country, and in Canada, Denmark, and
New Zealand. This is a revision of the report on the same subject
submitted on March 20, 1914, with the addition of Canadian legis­
lation.
To meet the urgent demands at present existing for the material
presented in this publication it was hurried through the press without
the customary careful checking in manuscript which all bureau publi­
cations receive.
The preparation of this report is the work of Miss Laura A.
Thompson, librarian of the department.
Respectfully submitted.
J ulia C. L athrop, Chief.
Hon. W. B. W ilson ,

Secretary of Labor.
5


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
INTRO DU CTIO N.
HISTORY OF “ MOTHERS’ PENSION ” LEGISLATION IN THE UNITED
STATES.

The earliest of the laws providing for the care of dependent chil­
dren in their own homes out of public funds was that of Missouri,
approved April 7, 1911, which provided for an allowance to mothers
u whose husbands are dead or prisoners, when such mothers are
poor and have a child or children under the age of 14 years.” This
law went into effect in June, 1911. By a population limitation it
was made applicable only to Jackson County, in which Kansas City
is situated. In the same year, following upon the report of a
municipal commission on delinquent, dependent, and defective chil­
dren in St. Louis, a law was passed whereby St. Louis was given
power to establish by city ordinance a board of children’s guardians,
with authority to board out children to their own mothers. Such an
ordinance was passed by St. Louis in July, 1912.
In Illinois, in the same year, a similar but more comprehensive
“ funds to parents act” was passed on June 5,1911. This law, which
went into operation on July 1, 1911, provided that—
If the parent or parents of such dependent or neglected child are poor and
unable to properly care for the said child, but are otherwise proper guardians
and it is for the welfare of such child to remain at home, the court may enter
an order finding such facts and fixing the amount of money necessary to enable
the parent or parents to properly care for such child, and thereupon it shall
be the duty of the county board, through its county agent or otherwise, to pay
to such parent or parents at such times as said order may designate the amount
so specified for the care of such dependent or neglected child until the further
order of the court.

The next State to legislate on the subject was Colorado, which
adopted by popular vote the “ mothers’ compensation act,” submitted
by petition at the November election in 1912. This law, which fol­
lowed in general the provisions of the Illinois funds to parents act,
became effective, upon proclamation of the governor, on January
22, 1913.
For many years the State of California, under section 22 of article
4 of the constitution, had allowed to institutions $100 per year for
the care of dependent orphans, and for dependent half orphans and
abandoned children the sum of $75 per year. Prior to 1913, in the
absence of any law specifically authorizing grants from public funds

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

for the maintenance of dependent children in their own homes, such
aid was being given in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and elsewhere
under a liberal interpretation of section 21 of the juvenile* court act,
which permitted the court, in the order providing for the care of a de­
pendent or delinquent child, when the parent was unable to pay for
the maintenance of such child, to direct that an amount not exceeding
$111 a month be paid out of the county treasury. Wherever it seemed
desirable, the private charitable organizations which accepted the
commitment of the children permitted them to remain in their own
homes, giving to the mother the amounts ordered by the court. Semiannually the counties then made demand on the State for the amounts
expended in behalf of half orphans within the limits prescribed by
section 22 of the constitution.
In Wisconsin, also without definite State enactment, the practice
of granting public aid to needy mothers for the care of children in
their own homes had been started in Milwaukee County under a reso­
lution of the county board of March 26, 1912, which set aside a
special fund of $5,000 to be used under the supervision of the juvenile
court of Milwaukee in giving financial assistance to the families of
dependent and neglected children, instead of committing the children
to the Milwaukee County Home for Dependent Children.
In several of the States compulsory education laws had made
provision for furnishing books and clothing to needy children to
enable them to attend school. The laws of two of these States,
Michigan and Oklahoma, went further in providing, in addition,
for the payment of money for the support of the children. The
Michigan law, passed April 29, 1911, authorized the payment from
school funds of a sum not exceeding $3 a week per child (with a
limit of $6 a week for any one family) to enable children of indigent
parents to attend school. The Oklahoma law, first enacted April
10, 1908, provided for a “ school scholarship ” equivalent to the
earnings of the child to be paid by the county, upon recommenda­
tion of the school authorities, to children of widowed mothers when
the earnings of such children were regarded as necessary to the
support of the mother.
Interest in the matter of aiding mothers with dependent children
in some better Way than by the older forms of poor relief or the
uncertainty of private charity, which had been steadily growing
since the White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Chil­
dren in 1909, was greatly stimulated by the publicity given these
new, so-called “mothers’ pension” laws, and agitation for their
adoption in other States spread rapidly. In 1913, out of 42 State
legislatures in session, 27 had before them bills providing for the
support of dependent children in their own homes out of public
1 Increased to $20 in 1919.


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INTRODUCTION.

9

funds. Illinois completely revised its law of 1911, incorporating
into the new act the regulations found necessary in the administra­
tion of the, law during the first year and a half of operation, while
Missouri extended the provisions of its law to include women whose
husbands were in insane asylums or in the State colony for the feeble­
minded. California authorized the payment af the State subsidy
for the maintenance of half orphans in their own homes, together
with a like amount out of local funds; Wisconsin provided for aid
to mothers of dependent children in all the counties of the State and
made a State appropriation to meet half of the expense ; Oklahoma
reenacted the “ school-scholarship ” provision in its revised school
law; in Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts,1 Michigan, Minnesota, Ne­
braska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington new laws were
passed and commissions to study the question of mothers’ pensions
provided in California and New York. In six other States—Ari­
zona, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas. North Dakota, and Tennes­
see—bills were under consideration but failed of passage.
In Arizona, at the November election of the following year, an oldage and mothers’ pension law was adopted by popular vote* The
law was, however, very loosely drafted and made the pension system
hinge on the abolishment of all the almshouses of the State. I t was
held to be invalid by the State supreme court in 1916. In its de­
cision the court touched upon mothers’ pensions only to the extent
of stating that it could not sustain an act requiring the support by
pensions of mothers with dependent children, regardless of their
financial condition. A new law was passed in 1917.
In 1915 the subject of aid to mothers was again very prominently
before State legislatures. Seven States—Kansas, Montana, New
York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wyoming—enacted
laws for the first time. Existing laws were completely revised in
Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Washington, and Wisconsin,
while amendments of varying degrees of importance were made in
Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
South Dakota, and Utah. Nebraska, in its revised law, simplified
the procedure for granting aid by permitting the parent to make
application directly to the court (the old law of 1913 had required
the child to have been first declared “ dependent”). New Hamp­
shire placed the administration of the aid entirely upon the school
authorities, whereas previously it had been administered by the
county commissioners upon the recommendation of the school board
of the district, a divided responsibility which was found in practice
to be unsatisfactory. Washington, in its revised law, excluded de1 Massachusetts had in 1912 appointed a commission on the support of dependent chil­
dren of widowed mothers, which made its report in 1913.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

serted wives from the benefits of the act and increased the residential
requirements from one to three years. The amendment adopted in
Pennsylvania provided for State supervision of the work of the
county boards of trustees through a State supervisor of mothers’
pensions in the State board of education. Other changes made bene­
fited additional groups of mothers in Idaho and Michigan and in­
creased the amount of aid possible for the families in Illinois and
Wisconsin. In two States, Florida and Indiana,1 provision was made
for commissions to investigate the subject of mothers’ pensions.
Only one State, Maryland, adopted a mothers’ aid law in 1916.
Much dissatisfaction wTas felt by the friends of this measure because
the provision for a special board of mothers’ relief for Baltimore
was amended in the Senate to permit the mayor and city council of
Baltimore to devolve the duties of such board upon the supervisor
of city charities. Action to this end was taken in November. In
the meanwhile, the omission of the words “ on the dollar” in the tax
provision, as well as other ambiguities, led the city solicitor of
Baltimore to give an opinion to the city that the law was not valid.
Suit was brought against the city to test its validity but has not
been pressed. In New York, in the same year, the child welfare law
of 1915 was so amended as to eliminate the commissioner of public
charities from the Board of Child Welfare in New York City, in
order; as it was declared, to remove “ the taint of poverty ” from the
administration of the aid to mothers.
In 1917, governors’ messages brought mothers’ pensions to the
attention of the State legislatures of Colorado, Kansas, Maine, and
Washington. The legislative activity of the same year added Alaska,
Arizona,2 Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, Texas, and Vermont to the
list of States which had provided in some form for the care of de­
pendent children in their own homes. In addition, the State-wide
law for Missouri drafted by the children’s code commission of that
State was passed without change. This act did not disturb the ex­
isting arrangements already described for granting aid in Jackson
County and in the city of St. Louis. Revisions of existing laws were
made in Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, and
West Virginia. The revised law of Minnesota, drafted by the
Minnesota Child-Welfare Commission, provided for supervision by
the State board of control, for State aid to the extent of one-third the
amount expended by the counties, and for assistance in admin­
istering the aid from the county boards of child welfare created by
another act. In Wisconsin, also, provision was made for county
boards of child welfare to assist the juvenile court judges in ad­
ministering the law. Amendments raising the age limits of the
1 Commission never appointed in) Indiana.
*New law to take place of act declared unconstitutional in 1916.


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INTRODUCTION.

11

children who might be aided were made in California, Iowa, Minne­
sota, and Montana, while other amendments increased the maximum
allowance per child in Minnesota, Montana, and Nevada.
I n .1918; .only one new law was adopted, that of Virginia, but in
1919 mothers’ pension laws were again under consideration in a
number of States. Laws were adopted for the first time in Connects
cut, Florida, and Hawaii, while in Indiana an amendment was made
to the board of children’s guardians law definitely authorizing the
county boards to board with their own mothers the dependent
children committed to the care of the board by. the juvenile courts.
Agitation in Indiana for a mothers’ pension law, similar to those
of other States, had been met with the claim that the boards of
children’s guardians already had the necessary power to aid mothers
to care for their own children. Complete revision of existing laws
were made in Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Utah, and amendments
adopted in a number of other States. The new Pennsylvania law
provided more liberal grants for the children, including now unborn
children, and made the residence requirements less rigid; that of
Utah transferred the authority to grant aid from the juvenile court
in Salt Lake City to the county commissioners. Amendments in
Illinois and Ohio increased the amount of the special taxes which
might be levied to provide funds for paying allowances, while in
Colorado a supplementary act passed which had the same purpose.
The amount of State aid was increased from $75 to $120 a year in
California, and additional powers of supervision were given to the
State board of control. Increased allowances were made also in
Delaware, and the age limit of the children was raised in Maine,
South Dakota, and Utah. In Washington any mother with depend­
ent children was made eligible for aid.
By the close of the legislative sessions of 1919 •“ mothers’ pension ’’
laws had been adopted in 39 States and in the territories of Alaska
and Hawaii. In the remaining nine States—all of which, with the
exception of Rhode Island, lie in the South—bills have been under
consideration in at least five. In North Carolina a law adopted
in 1919 provides for aid not exceeding $10 a month to enable indigent
children to attend school. I t is limited, however, to children of
school age, and since it applies to these only during the compulsory
school term it can not, therefore, be properly regarded as a Mmothers’
pension ” law.
’
*

SUMMARY OF THE LAWS OF THE VARIOUS STATES.

’
■ '
•'
| ' -i
The purpose underlying all these laws is that of preventing the
breaking-up of the home when, on account of death or disability, the
support of the natural breadwinner of the family is removed. But

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'

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

the methods adopted to secure this end vary widely in the different
States, as will be seen in the following summary of the laws:
PERSONS TO WHOM AID MAY BE GIVEN.

The law applies to any parent who on account of poverty is un­
able to care properly for a dependent or neglected child in Colorado;
to a mother or a female relative who is guardian of the child in
Florida; to a mother, stepmother, or grandmother in Minnesota; to
a mother, grandparent, or person having custody of the child in
Wisconsin. In other States the law applies only to mothers. In a
few of the States—Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
North Dakota, and Washington—any mother with dependent chil­
dren may be given aid. In Arizona, California, Connecticut, Mary­
land, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Utah, and Virginia the mother
must be a widow in order to receive the benefits of the act. In the
remaining States not only widows but the following other classes of
mothers with dependent children are included : Mothers whose hus­
bands are prisoners in Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa,
Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee (in counties
covered by 1919 law), West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming;
mothers whose husbands are in State asylums for insane or feeble­
minded in Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn­
sylvania, Tennessee, and West Virginia; mothers whose husbands
are totally incapacitated, physically or mentally, in Alaska, Arkan­
sas, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Ne­
braska, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee (in counties
covered by 1915 law), West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming;
deserted wives in Arkansas (if permanently deserted), Delaware,
Florida (if husband has been prosecuted for desertion and adjudi­
cated unable to support family), Hawaii, Kansas (if deserted for
three months), Maine (if deserted for one year, and proceedings
instituted), Michigan, Minnesota (if deserted for one year, and pro­
ceedings instituted), Missouri (except Jackson County and St.
Louis), Nebraska, Nevada (if deserted for one year), Ohio (if de­
serted for three years), Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin (if de­
serted for six months), and Wyoming (if deserted for one y e ar);
divorced wives in Alaska, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri (except Jackson County and St. Louis), Nebraska, and South Dakota (after one
year if divorce is granted in State). In Hawaii, Michigan, and Ne­
braska, unmarried mothers are specifically included, but aid may also
be given this group of mothers in the States providing aid for “ any ”

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INTRO DUCTIO N.

13

mother, if the administrative agency so determines.1 In Colorado,
Missouri (except Jackson County and St. Louis), and Pennsylvania
aid may be given expectant mothers, but this is limited in Missouri
to three weeks before and three weeks after childbirth, and in Penn­
sylvania to expectant mothers eligible for aid on account of one or
more living children.
CONDITIONS ON W H ICH AID IS GIVEN.

Degree of 'poverty.—The condition of receiving aid under these
laws is uniformly that of poverty, with certain definitions added in
some of the laws. In Washington the mother must, by reason of
destitution, insufficient property' or income, or lack of earning
capacity, be unable to support her children; in Alaska, Florida,
Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Utah she must be dependent
upon her own efforts for support, with the added provision in Oregon
that she must prove that she was not in indigent circumstances when
she came into the State, and in Utah that she had not received sup­
port from public funds within one year before taking up residence
in the county in which application is made; in Delaware she must
be unable, without aid, to support, maintain, and educate her chil­
dren. In Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming the aid must be necessary to
save the child from neglect or prevent the breaking up of the home;
in Kansas, New Jersey, and Virginia, to prevent the child from be­
coming a public charge; in New York, from having to be cared for
in an institutional home: In Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, and West
Virginia, the mother may not own real property or personal property
other than household goods, except that in Illinois she may be the
holder o f a homestead under the exemption laws of the State or be
entitled to dower rights in real estate of which the market value
does not exceed $1,000. In Minnesota and Wisconsin she may own
a homestead if the rental does not exceed the amount which the
family would have to pay for living quarters; in Oregon, if it does
not exceed $500 in value. In Minnesota the mother may be allowed
also personal property under $100 in value in addition to appropriate
clothing and household goods, and such tools, implements, and
domestic animals, as in the judgment of the court it is expedient
to retain for the purpose of reducing the expense or increasing the
income of the family.
Home conditions.—In most of the laws the requirement is made
that the mother is a fit person, morally and physically, to bring up
her children and that it is for the welfare of the child to remain at
1 For statement of policy of Massachusetts State Board of Charity* regarding allow­
ances for children born out of wedlock, see page 101 of text.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

home. In Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and
Wyoming it is made conditional that the child or children be living
with the mother and that she shall not work regularly away from
home. In South Dakota she may not be absent for work more than
one day a week; in Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Ne­
braska, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wyoming the amount of time is
left to the discretion of the administrative agency.
Residence and citizenship.—In South Dakota and Wisconsin (in
counties under 300,000 population, six months’ residence in the
county and one year in the State i§ required. In Arizona, Arkansas,
Hawaii, Missouri (except Jackson County and St. Louis), Montana,
Nevada, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming (in counties of
300,000 or over population) one year’s residence in the county is re­
quired, combined in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee (in
counties covered by 1915 law) with two years’ residence in the State;
in Oregon and Washington, with three years’ residence in the State,
and in Florida with four years’ residence in the State. In Cali­
fornia (unless the child is born in State), Idaho, Kansas, Missouri
(Jackson County), Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennes­
see (in counties covered by 1919 law), and Utah two years’ residence
in the county is required, combined in Virginia with three years’
residence in the State and in Texas with five years’ residence in the
State. In Illinois and Maryland three years’ residence in the county
is required, combined in West Virginia with five years’ residence in
the State.
New Jersey requires a residence of five years in the county. A
few of the States require only State residence—two years in New
Hampshire; three years in Delaware and Massachusetts; residence
with no legal settlement elsewhere in Connecticut; legal settlement
or five years’ residence in Maine. In Arizona, Illinois, New York,
and Wyoming the husband must have been a resident of the State
at the time of his death or when he became incapacitated. In Ari­
zona, Arkansas, Montana, New York, Oregon, Tennessee (in coun­
ties covered by 1919 act), and West Virginia the applicant must
be a citizen of the United States ; in Minnesota she must be a
citizen, or she or her husband must have made declaration of in­
tention to become a citizen; in Illinois, though not a citizen, the
mother may be given aid for her American-born children if she has
made application for citizenship papers or declared her intention
to become a citizen.
Other conditions.—Several of the States have made other special
conditions. Oregon, Utah, apd Wisconsin require the mother to
make monthly reports to the court or commissioners. Oregon does

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INTRODUCTION,

15

not allow aid to be continued during any term of absence from
the county, unless such absence is with the consent of the court.
When aid is: granted to a mother whose husband is permanently in­
capacitated by reason of physical or mental infirmity, Illinois, Ne­
braska, and Oregon give discretion to the court to order his removal
from the home when his presence there is a menace to the physical
or moral welfare of the family. Oregon and Utah do not permit
aid to be given if older children in the family or persons not of the
immediate family of the applicant, living with her, are not contribut­
ing their proportionate share of the household expenditure. West
Virginia does not permit the mother to have any adult person, not
a member of her family, living with her.
Age of child.—The maximum age up to which an allowance may
be made for a child is 13 years in West Virginia (may be extended
to 16 years if child is ill or incapacitated for w ork); 14 years in
Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri (Jackson
County and St. Louis), Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wis­
consin, and Wyoming (may be extended to 16 years if child is ill
or incapacitated for work, in Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, and
Wisconsin); 15 years in Arkansas, California, Idaho, Nevada, Ten­
nessee (in counties covered by 1919 law), and Washington; 16
years in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana (for
boys), Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri (except Jackson
County and St. Louis), Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee (in counties
covered by 1915 law), Texas, Utah, and Virginia; and 17 years in
Alaska, Michigan, and Indiana (for girls).
Amount of allowance.—In Colorado, Hawaii,. Maine, Massachu­
setts, and New York no maximum is set, but the amount must be
sufficient to care properly for the child, with the restriction in New
York that it may not exceed what it would cost to care for the child
in an institutional home. The maximum allowance per child is $2
a week in Iowa and Vermont, $3 a week in Michigan, and $3.50 a
week in St. Louis (may be increased temporarily on account of
exceptional conditions). I t is $9 a month for one child, $14 for two
children, and $4 for each additional child in New Jersey; $9 a
month for one child and $5 for each additional child in Delaware
(may be temporarily increased in case of sickness); $10 a month for
each child in Nebraska; $10 a month for one child and $5 for each
additional child in Arkansas, Idaho, Missouri (Jackson county),
New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Tennessee; $10 a month for one
child and $7.50 for each additional child in Oregon; $12 a month for
one child, $18 for two children, and $4 for each additional child in
Texas and Virginia; $12 a month for the oldest child, $10 for next
oldest, and $6 for each additional child in M aryland; $15 a month

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16

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS' PENSIONS.

for each child in North Dakota; $15 a month for one child and $5 for
each additional child in Washington and West Virginia; $15 a month
for one child and $7 for each additional child in Ohio and South
Dakota; $15 a month for one child and $10 for each additional child
in Alaska, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; $15 a month for first
child, $10 for second, and $5 for each additional child in Montana
($20 if only one child); ,$16 a month for one child and $8 for each
additional child in Missouri (except Jackson County and St. Louis) ;
$20 a month for one child and $10 for each additional child in
Pennsylvania and Wyoming; $20 a month for first child, $15 for
second, and $10 for each additional child in Arizona; $25 a month
for first child and $8 for each additional child in Florida; and $25
a month for one child and $15 for each additional child in Nevada.
In California, the State grant is $10 a month for each child with a
grant of equal amount possible from the city or county. In Con­
necticut no maximum per child is set, but the maximum amounts
which may be allowed for food, clothing, and fuel for children of
different ages in determining the family budget is fixed in the law.
In Indiana the maximum legal allowance for a dependent child is
60 cents a day for a.child under five years and 50 cents for a child
over five. In several of the States a limit is set to the aid that may
be given any one family. This limit is fixed at $25 in Kansas and
West Virginia; at $40 in Maryland, Missouri (except Jackson
County and St. Louis), Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin (in counties
under 300,000 population); at $50 in Montana, Nebraska, and Wis­
consin (in counties of 300,000 population or over); at $55 in Nevada;
and at $60 in Arizona and Illinois.
ADMINISTRATION.

- Agency granting aid.—The law is administered by the juvenile
court or some other county court with similar functions in Arkansas,
Colorado, Idaho (probate court), Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minne­
sota (may be assisted by county boards of child welfare), Missouri
(Jackson County), Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey (common pleas),
North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (may be assisted by
county boards of child w elfare); by the county commissioners in
Florida (upon advice of school board), Kansas, Maryland (except in
Baltimore), Missouri (except Jackson County and St. Louis, and
only until county boards of public welfare are established), Nevada,
Texas, Utah, Virginia (board of supervisors in counties, councils in
cities), and Wyoming; by county supervisors in California (widows’
pension bureau in San Francisco) ; by boards of children’s guardians
in Alaska, Indiana, and the city of St. Louis.; by local boards of child
welfare in Arizona, Hawaii, and New York; by municipal boards of

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INTRODUCTION.

17

mothers’ aid under supervision of a State board of mothers’ aid in
Maine; by city or town overseers of the poor in Massachusetts; by an
unpaid board of women trustees, appointed by the governor in each
county, in Pennsylvania. In Connecticut the aid is granted by a
State agent in the office of the State treasurer, upon recommendation
of “ executive officers ” of the municipalities and the county commis­
sioners; in Delaware, by a State mothers’ pension commission; in
New Hampshire, by the State board of education; in Vermont, by the
State board of charities and probation.
State supervision.—In California supervisory powers are given to
the State board of control, which can appoint a State children’s agent
and assistants with an unpaid advisory committee of three persons in
each county; in Maine all applications must be passed upon by the
State board of mothers’ aid; in New Jersey, all cases granted aid are
under the supervision of the State board of children’s guardians,
which also makes the original investigation; in Pennsylvania, a State
supervisor of mothers’ pensions in the State board of education has
supervision of the work of the county boards of trustees. In Massa­
chusetts certain supervisory powers are given to the State board of
charity; in Minnesota and Wisconsin, to the State board of control.
In New York, the work of the local boards of child welfare is subject
to the general supervision of the State board of charities though
no State grant is made. In Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire,
and Vermont the aid is given through State authorities.
Source of funds.—In a little over one-fourth of the States, part
of the funds for carrying out the provisions of these laws are pro­
vided by the State. In California reimbursement to the extent of
$120 a year for each half orphan is made to local authorities by
the State; in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wiscon­
sin one-third of the cost is borne by the State, while in Delaware,
Maine, Pennsylvania, and Vermont the proportion is one-half. In
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the amount reimbursed by the State
must come within the limits of the appropriation, which is appor­
tioned to the counties according to their population. In Maryland,
New Hampshire, and New Jersey State appropriations are made to
cover cost of administration. In Alaska the allowances are paid
by the territorial treasurer from the appropriation for the care of
dependent children. In eight of the States, where the funds are
provided entirely by the county, special taxes are levied to create
funds for the purpose. In Colorado this tax may not exceed oneeighth of a mill on the dollar of taxable property; in Florida, onehalf of a m ill; in Illinois, 1 mill on the dollar in counties of 300,000
or less population and four-tenths of a mill in counties over 300,000;
in Maryland, one-tenth of a mill; in Nebraska, three-tenths of a
mill; in Ohio, one-fifth of a mill; in South Dakota, one-sixth of a
143973°—19---- 2


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

mill; in Tennessee (in counties covered by 1919 law), 2 mills on
the dollar. In the other States the allowances are paid from the
general funds of the county, except that in Oklahoma, Tennessee,
and Utah a definite limit is placed on the amount to be appropriated
by the county authorities.
Penalty for fraud.—In more than half the States penalties are
provided for procuring or attempting to procure an allowance fraud­
ulently. In a few States it is made a misdemeanor subject to the
usual penalties; in a number of other States a specific fine is men­
tioned, varying from $5 to $500, or imprisonment from one month
to a year, or both fine and imprisonment.
TREND OF THE LEGISLATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

I t is apparent from the wide variations in these laws and the fre­
quent changes which have been made in them that they are still in
the experimental stage. The rapid growth of the movement in so
brief a period of years is indicative of a widely held and deeply
rooted conviction that home life and a mother’s care are of such
great value to the proper rearing of children that no child should
be deprived of their benefits on account of poverty alone. But the
method by which these are to be assured for all children has not yet
been fully worked out. Some of the most ardent supporters of the
“ mothers’ pension” laws do not regard them as an ultimate attain­
ment but rather as an intermediate development which will in time,
in large measure at least, give place to some more democratic scheme
of social insurance.
Early discussions of the subject of “ mothers’ pensions” were
lafgely concerned with the question as to whether public or private
agencies could best do the work of aiding the mother with dependent
children. At the present time, so rapidly has general opinion crys­
tallized in favor of public provision by the adoption of laws in over
three-fourths of the States, interest is almost entirely centered in
problems of administration. Two of the problems which are particu­
larly pressing are the inequality of the operation of the laws, not only
between States but within the boundaries of the same State, and the
inadequacy of the machinery for supervision and investigation. A
distinct tendency may be noted in the laws in the direction of State
supervision, and with this a measure of State aid, in order to secure
uniformity in standards of administration. In about a fourth of the
States some form of State supervision or control is now provided,
though in a few of these it is still only perfunctory. Efforts to
secure amendments providing State supervision were made by Illi­
nois and Ohio in 1919 but did not meet with success.
In general it may be said that the newer laws and more recent
amendments, with a few exceptions, are in the direction of making

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INTRQ DU CTI OS'.

19

more liberal allowances and of raising the age limits of the children
who may be aided, to keep pace with advances made in child-labor
and compulsory-education laws. But in many of the States the
grants are still utterly inadequate to maintain a decent standard of
family life, particularly in view of the greatly increased cost of liv­
ing. Perhaps no problem connected with the mothers’ aid laws is
more pressing at present than that of providing more adequate
grants—if the end sought by the laws is to be attained. In some of
the States the difficulty lies not so much with the legal limit as with
the local appropriations and with the administration. The grants
actually made in the majority of the States fall far below the
amounts possible under the laws, as will be seen in the reports noted
in the bibliography appended. In a few of the States, efforts to pro­
vide increased appropriations by increasing the tax levy or to provide
by law for a special tax have been successful.
MOVEMENT IN CANADA.

The first legislative step for mothers’ pensions in Canada was
taken in 1916, when the Manitoba Legislature passed the mothers’
allowances act (the term which seems to be most favored in Canada).
Saskatchewan followed suit in 1917 and Alberta in 1919. Similar
legislation is under consideration in British Columbia^ Nova Scotia,
and Ontario. Resolutions favoring mothers’ pensions in all the
provinces have been passed by the Trades and Labor Congress, by
the Social Service Council of Canada, and by various provincial
social welfare organizations.
In all three Provinces the aid is granted by the provincial author­
ity, which in Manitoba is a special commission; in Alberta and Sas­
katchewan, the superintendent of neglected and dependent children.
The allowances are paid from the funds of the Province, which then
makes a levy on the municipalities for part of the cost. The maxi­
mum amount of aid is fixed by law at $3 per week for each child in
Saskatchewan, but in Alberta and Manitoba the amount given is left
to be determined by the family’s needs. The greater flexibility of
the general provision to meet advancing cost of living is shown by
the grants made by the Manitoba commission in May 1919, when the
average city allowance paid per family was $61 a month and the
average country allowance $49.16 a month,1 averages which much
exceed the amounts paid in communities of the same size and general
conditions in the United States.
THE DANISH AND NEW ZEALAND WIDOWS’ PENSION LAWS.

¡The laws of both Denmark and New Zealand, while having the
same general purpose as the laws of the various American States,
illustrate somewhat different methods of dealing with the problem.
‘ Labour Gazette (Canada), June, 1919, p. 715.


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20

LAW S RELATING TO M OTHERS

P E N SIO N S.

Under the Danish law, which became effective January 1, 1914,
every widow who is the mother of a child or children under 14, whose
property and income is less than a certain amount, proportionate to
the size of her family, is entitled to a public grant toward the sup­
port of such children. The amount of the allowance is graduated
by the age of the children, the highest rate being paid for children
under 2 years of age. In exceptional circumstances, the aid may be
extended until the child is 18 years old. Certain requirements are
made as to the fitness of the mother and the home conditions. The
aid is expressly stated to be nonpauperizing and its continuance is
made conditional upon the mother’s keeping off the poor relief. Half
the expense of the aid is borne by the State, the remainder by the
commune in which the widow has permanent residence. To meet
the high cost of living the grants were increased, by an amendment
adopted March 4, 1918, by the addition of 50 per cent of the former
amount, effective during the calendar years 1918 and 1919.1 Under
the amendment of 1918, also, the aid may now be continued after
the mother’s death to the guardian of the child and may be given
for the support of children of widows who were not receiving aid
at the time of death but who were eligible for it. This provision is
extended also to the children of wjdowers who at the time of their
death met the same conditions.
The New Zealand law, which went into operation January 1, 1912,
provides a pension for any widow of good moral character with
dependent children under 14 years of age. (Extended in 1912 to
include also wives of inmates of insane hospitals.) The law, while
general in terms, is made to apply only to those whQ need assistance
by providing for the deduction from the pension of £1 for every
pound by which the widow’s income exceeds a certain amount. The
aim, as in the Danish law, is to prevent destitution instead of mak­
ing this condition a requirement for the granting of assistance.
In 1918 the administration of old-age, widows’, and military pen­
sions was brought under one department, and a law consolidating
all existing pension legislation, together with amendments, was
adopted as the pensions’ act 1913. As in the case of other pensions,
applications are made to the registrars of pensions and are granted
or refused upon hearing before a magistrate. Each grant is for a
period of 12 months, at the end of which time the circumstances of
the pensioner are again reviewed. The whole expense of the pen­
sions is borne by the state and payments are made monthly through
the post office. Upon the death of the widow, application may be
made for continuance of the pension to the guardian of the children.
* Met in earlier years of the war by cost of living bonuses from the communal
authorities.


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INTRO DUCTIO N.

21

As in Denmark, special provision was made to meet the increased
cost of living in the finance act 1917, which doubled the amount of
the pensions granted for each child, to be in effect during the war
and 12 months afterwards. In the old-age section of the pensions
act an additional pension is granted to an old-age pensioner who
has children under 14 years of age dependent upon him or her for
support. The national provident fund of New Zealand, passed in
1910, a year before the widows’ pension act, also makes special pro­
vision for the support of dependent children by providing for the
payment, on the death of a contributor, of a weekly allowance to
the widow so long as any child is under 14 years of age, due after
contributing for five years.


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LAW S RELATING TO “ M OTHERS’ PE N SIO N S ” IN
T H E U N IT E D STATES.
ALASKA.
[Laws 1917, ch. 16]
AN ACT to amend chapter 32 of Alaska session laws for the year 1918, entitled “ An'
act to establish juvenile courts, to provide for the care of dependent children, to
create children’s guardians in Alaska, and for other purposes.”
S ec. 6. That the said board of children’s guardians shall be the legal guardi­
ans of all children con^mitted by the juvenile courts as hereinbefore provided,
and shall have full power to board them in private families, oi in institutions
willing to receive them; to bind them out or apprentice them; or to give them
in adoption to foster parents.
Whenever a white child is brought before a juvenile court and it appears
upon the examination that the mother thereof is a widow, or that her husband
is either divorced, an inmate of some penitentiary or insane asylum, or crip­
pled to such an extent as to be unable to work for a living, and it further ap­
pears that the mother has no other means of supporting the child except by her
earnings and is unable to properly support such child, and that she is a fit and
proper person to have the custody of such child, the judge of said court shall
report the facts of the case to the board of children’s guardians, who shall pro­
ceed to further examine into the matter, and shall have the power and authority
to award to the mother of such child a monthly allowance of not more than
fifteen dollars ($15) for a single child and ten dollars ($10) additional for each
additional child, which shall be paid by the treasurer of Alaska out of the
funds appropriated for the care of dependent children on warrants drawn by
the board of children’s guardians and approved by the governor.
The allowance herein provided shall not continue for more than one year,
unless the same is renewed after reexamination into the circumstances of the
beneficiaries by the judge of the juvenile court in conjunction with the board of
chiltjren’s guardians.
Approved April 30, 1917.
The juvenile court act of 1918, of which this is an amendment, provides for
the creation in each of the three, judicial divisions of Alaska of a board to be
known as the board of children’s guardians, composed of the judge of the dis­
trict court and United States marshal of the division and one woman citizen,
to be appointed by the governor and to serve without compensation. (Laws
1913, chap. 32 §5) Section 2 of the act, as amended 1917, gives the court juris­
diction of children under 17 years.
23


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ARIZONA.
[Laws 1917, ch. 70 *J
AN ACT To provide for the establishment of local boards of child welfare empowered
to grant relief to children of widowed mothers.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
S ection 1. County boards of child welfare.—Provision is Iiereby made for
the appointment of local boards of child welfare, which, subject to the provisions
of this act and through the vote of public moneys by local authorities for
such purpose, shall be empowered to grant allowances to widowed mother»
with one or more children under the age of sixteen years in order that such
children may be suitably cared for in their own homes by such mothers r
Provided always, That such allowances shall be made only when the mothers
are suitable persons mentally and morally to bring up their children properly
and require aid to enable them to do so.
S ec . 2. Appointment.—Within sixty days after the passage of this act the
judge of the superior court of each county shall appoint a board of child
welfare for such county, and the clerk of the board of supervisors shall be
secretary ex officio of such board.
S ec . 3. Membership.— Where the appointment of the board of child welfare
is to be made by the judge of the superior court as herein provided, such judge
of the superior court shall appoint a board of child welfare composed of
seven members, with the county superintendent of the poor ef the county or
other officer exercising the duties of county superintendent of the poor, a
member ex officio of such board. The said judge of the superior court shall
also appoint as members of such board, a representative each of the public
schools, and the public health authorities and of the juvenile court, or in
case there be no juvenile court, of the superior court, in such county. He
shall also appoint three additional members of said local board of child wel­
fare, two at least of whom shall be women. The judge of the superior court
shall appoint the members of the said board of child welfare, with the ex­
ception of the county superintendent of the poor or other officer exercising
like powers in the county who shall continue to serve during his entire term
of office, for definite terms of six years each: Provided, however, That the places
occupied by the representatives of the public school and the public health
authorities as well as the representatives of the juvenile court or the superior
court, shall become vacant upon their retirement from such public school,
public health or court work, whereupon the vacancy so created shall be filled
1 The initiated old-age and mothers’ pension act adopted in 1914 was declared un­
constitutional by the Arizona Supreme Court in 1916.
(State board of control v.
Buckstegge, 158 Pacific Reporter, 837.)
The law which was loosely drafted made
the pension system hinge on the abolishment of all almshouses. The court in its
decision touched upon mothers’ pensions only to the extent of stating that it could not
sustain an act requiring the support by pensions of mothers of dependent children re­
gardless of their financial condition.

25

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LAW S RELATING ; TO M OTHERS* P E N SIO N S.

for the balance of the term by some other representative of -such authorities:
And further provided, That the judge of the superior court shall appoint the
original members of the board of child welfare, except the county superintend­
ent of the poor or other officer exercising like powers in the county, for one,
two, three, four, five, and six years, respectively, and shall thereafter when
their terms expire appoint them or their successors for terms of six years
each. In the event of a vacancy occurring before the expiration of a term of a
member, the appointment to fill such vacancy shall be for the balance of the
term.
S ec. 4. Expenses.—The members of the board of child welfare, as herein
provided, shall receive no compensation for their services as members of such
board, but shall be allowed the necessary expenses incurred by them in the
discharge of their official duties.
S ec. 5. Allowance to widowed mothers—Conditions.—The said boards of
child welfare shall in their discretion have authority and be empowered to grant
an allowance to any dependent widow resident in the county wherein she
applies for an allowance, provided such allowance be approved by the board of
supervisors of said county, who is of good habits and character, and is at the
time of such application for an allowance the mother of one or more children
under the age of sixteen years, living with and dependent upon her, provided
such widow is a citizen of the United States and has been a resident of the
county where the application for an allowance is made for a period of one year
immediately preceding such application, and whose husband was a citizen of the
United States, and a resident of the State of Arizona at the time of his death,
such allowance may by a majority vote of all its members, duly entered upon
the minutes of any regular or special meeting of such board, be granted, di­
rectly by the Said board of child welfare, subject to the approval of the board
of supervisors of the county, through its duly appointed visitors, agents, or
other representatives. Before aiding any mother to care for her children at
home, the board of child welfare shall determine that the mother is a suitable
person to bring up her own children and that aid is necessary to enable her to
do so.
Sec. 6. Amount of alloioance—Application. T h e allowance made to such
widowed mother shall not exceed $20 per month when such mother has but one
child under the age of sixteen years, and if she has more than one child under
the age of sixteen, the allowance shall not exceed $15 per month additional for
the second child, and $10 per month additional for each such other child. It is
further provided, That in no event shall the allowance granted to any one
mother and her children exceed the sum of $60 per month. The allowance
granted by the said board shall be paid out of any moneys appropriated by the
local authorities empowered by law to appropriate moneys for such purposes,
or as provided by law for meeting prospective deficiencies in the expenses of
any county. Applications for allowances may be made directly to any member
of the board, or through the public school which the children of the applicants
for allowances are attending. A full and complete record shall be kept in every
case coming either directly or indirectly within the jurisdiction of the said
department.
S ec. 7. Duties of hoards of child w elfare—E ach o f said boards o f child w el­
fare s h a ll:

1. Meet and organize within ten days after appointment, and fix the dates
for its meetings, which shall be held at least monthly.
2. Elect a chairman who shall hold office subject to the pleasure of the board.
3. Establish an office.

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LAW S RELATING TO M OTHERS* . P E N SIO N S.

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4. Establish rules and regulations for the conduct of its business, which rules
shall provide for the careful investigation of all applicants for allowances and
the adequate supervision of all persons in receipt of allowances. Such rules
shall further provide that no grant of an allowance shall be made by the board
for a longer period than six months without renewal by the said board and that
reports shall be filed at least quarterly by the agents, visitors, or representatives
of the board with respect to the families in receipt of allowances granted by the
said board.
5. Report annually in detail, to the board of supervisors, the result of their
transactions for the preceding fiscal year, with such conclusions and recom­
mendations as may be deemed wise and expedient.
6. Submit annually to the proper fiscal authorities an estimate of funds
required to carry out the purposes and intent of this act.
S ec . 8. County supervisors to provide funds.—The boards of supervisors of
the several counties affected by this act shall appropriate in each year such sum
or sums as, in their judgment, may be necessary to carry out the provisions of
this act. In the case of the counties affected by this act all the expenses for
administration and relief shall be paid by the respective county.
S ec . 9. When act takes effect.—This act shall take effect October first, nine­
teen hundred seventeen.
Approved March 19, 1917.


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ARKANSAS.
[Laws 1917, ch. 326.]
AN ACT To provide partial support for needy mothers of children under fifteen years of
age, dependent upon such mothers.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas: S ection 1.
Jurisdiction.—That the juvenile court, or where there is no juvenile court, the
county court in the several counties in the" State, shall have original jurisdiction
in all cases coming within the terms of this act.
Sec. 2. Application for relief.—A woman whose husband is dead, permanently
deserted, or incapacitated for work by reason of physical or mental infirmities, or
whose husband is a prisoner, confined in the Arkansas Penitentiary, may file an
application for relief under this a c t: Provided, Such woman is a citizen of the
United States of America and has resided for one year previously in the county
where such application is made and is the mother of a child or children.
S ec. 3. Investigation and report.—Whenever an application for relief is filed,
the home of the applicant shall be visited by an officer of the court having juris­
diction of the matter, and the facts set forth in such application shall be investi­
gated by such officer, under the direction of the court, and a report and recom­
mendation of the approval or disapproval of such application shall be made in
writing by such officer to the court without any unnecessary delay.
. Sec. 4. Petition—Hearing.— After the investigation of such application for
relief by an officer of the court and the filing of the report and recommendation
thereon of such officer, such officer of court, or any reputable and responsible
person who has a residence in the county, may file with the clerk of the court
having jurisdiction of the matter a petition in writing, duly verified by affidavit,
setting forth such facts as are necessary under this act to give the court juris­
diction of the parties and of the subject matter, and setting forth such other
facts, which when found by the court to be true shall be the basis upon which
the order of relief is entered: Provided, After hearing-the petition and the
proof in each case it shall be in the sound discretion of the court in granting the
petition. It shall be sufficient that the affidavit is upon knowledge, information,
and belief. A separate petition shall be filed for each child.
S ec. 5. Amount of allowance.—The allowance to each woman shall not exceed
ten dollars per month when such mother has but one child under the age of
fifteen; if she has more than one child under the age of fifteen, it shall not
exceed the sum of ten dollars a month for the first child and five dollars per
month for each of the other children under fifteen years of age.
S ec. 6. Conditions of allowance.—Such allowance shall be made by the county
or juvenile court only upon the following conditions: The child or children, for
whose benefit the allowance is made, must be living with the mother of such
child or children; 2, the allowance shall be made only when, in the absence of
such allowance, the mother would be required to work regularly away from
home and children, and when, by means of such allowance, she will be able to
remain at home with her children; 3, the mother must, in the judgment of the
court, be a proper person, physically, morally, and, mentally, for the bringing up
of her children; 4, such allowance shall be, in the judgment of the court,
necessary to save the child or children from neglect.

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LAW S RELATING TO M OTHERS* P E N SIO N S.

S ec . 7. To whom law does not apply.—The provisions of this act shall not
apply to any child having property of its own sufficient for its support.
S ec. 8 Allowance paid out of county funds.—When the county or juvenile
court shall determine that an allowance under this act shall be made, the court
shall make an order to that effect, which order, among other things, shall set
out in full the name of the mother, her place of residence, the name and resi­
dence of each of the children and the amount allowed for each child, the allow­
ance to be paid out of the general revenue fund of the county. Said allowance
to be paid monthly or quarterly as the .court may deem best.
S ec . 9. When allowance shall cease.—When any child shall reach the age of
fifteen years, any allowance made to the mother of such child for the benefit
of such child, shall cease. The court may, in its discretion, at any time before
the child reaches the age of fifteen years, discontinue or modify the allowance
to any mother for any child. If such husband shall have been confined in the
penitentiary, such allowance shall cease upon his discharge or parole, and
whenever any woman on whose account any allowance shall have been made
under the provisions of this act, shall marry, such allowance shall cease.
S ec . 10. Appointment of probation officers.—The court having jurisdiction
in proceedings coming within the provisions of this act, shall have the power to
appoint one or more qualified persons of good character, who shall serve and
be known as probation officers, during the pleasure of the court and who may
be paid a suitable compensation by the county for their services, as provided for
in the juvenile court law of this State.
S ec . 11. Duty of probation officers.—It shall be the duty of such officer to
investigate all applications for relief and make a written report of such investi­
gation with their recommendations. After granting of relief to any mother for
the support of her children, it shall be the further duty of such officers to visit
and supervise, under the direction of the court, the families to which such relie'f
has been granted and to advise with the court and to perform §uch other duties
as the court may direct, in order to maintain the integrity of the family and
guard the welfare of the children.
S ec . 12. Penalty for fraud—Counties exempt.—Any person procuring or at­
tempting to procure any allowance for a person not entitled thereto shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be fined in any
sum not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than five hundred, or by im­
prisonment in the county jail for a period of not less than thirty days nor more
than a year, or by both such fine and imprisonment: Provided, The following
counties be exempted from the provisions of the b ill: Lincoln, Izard, Nevada,
Mississippi, Randolph, Hempstead, Olay, Boone, Perry, Drew, Sharp, Bradley,
LaFayette, Baxter, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Jefferson, Carroll, Washington,
Howard, Logan, Lee, Monroe, Fulton, Hot Spring, Miller, Stone, Independence,
St. Francis, Crittenden, White, Union, Desha, and Arkansas.
S ec . 13. Repeal—All laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby
repealed, and this act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, and safety, shall take effect and be in force from and after
its passage.
Approved March 24, 1917.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

CALIFORNIA.
[Constitution, Article IV.]
S ec. 22. The legislature shall have the power to grant aid to the institutions
conducted for the supportand maintenance of minor orphans, or half orphans,
or abandoned children * * * such aid to be granted by a uniform rule,
* * * Provided, further, That whenever any county, or city and county, or
city, or town, shall provide for
the supportofminor orphans,or
halforphans,
or abandoned children, * * * such county, city and county, city, or town
shall be entitled to receive the same pro rata appropriations aS may be granted
to such institutions under church or other control. An accurate statement of
the receipts and expenditures of public moneys shall be attached to and pub­
lished with the laws at every regular session of the legislature. * * *
For many years under this provision the State had been paying institutions
for the care of orphans and half orphans and abandoned children. Such pay­
ments are authorized also to any city, town, or county provided for such de­
pendents.
[Laws 1913, chap. 323,1 as' amended by Laws 1917, chap. 472 ;2 Laws 1919,
chap. 292.3]
'
.
S ec . 2283. Appropriation for care of dependent children—Aid to mothers.—
There is hereby appropriated out of any money in the State treasury not
1 Prior to the passage of this act, aid had been given mothers for the support of de­
pendent minor children in their own homes by the juvenile courts of Los Angeles and San
Francisco Counties and to a small extent elsewhere under a liberal interpretation of sec­
tion 21 of the juvenile court act of 1909, amended 1911, which provides th a t:
“ Any order providing for the custody of a dependent or delinquent person may provide
that the expense of maintaining such person shall be paid by the parent or parents or
guardian of such person, and in such case shall state the amount to be so* paid. * * *
If it be found, however, that the parent or parents or guardian of a dependent or de­
linquent person is unable to pay the whole expense of maintaining such person, the
court may, in the order providing for the custody of such person, direct such additional
amount as may be necessary to support such person to be paid from the county treasury
of the county for the support of such person, the amount so ordered to be paid from the
treasury of said county not to exceed, in case of any one person, the sum of eleven
dollars [Increased to $20 by Laws 1919, chap. 293] per month : Provided, further, That
no order for the payment of all or part of the expense of support and maintenance of a
dependent or delinquent person from the county treasury shall be effective for more than
six months, unless a new order is secured at the expiration of that period. The court
may thereafter set aside, change or modify any order herein provided for.” [Laws 1911,
p. 671.]
As the new law was limited to the children, of widows, a number of children have con­
tinued to be cared for in their own homes by the juvenile court under this provision,
through the medium of the child-placing agencies which, while accepting commitment
and responsibility for the children, left them in their own homes.
2 Amendment of 1917 changed the age limit of children who might be aided from 14 to
15 years; reduced the residential requirement from three to two years; and added a chief
children’s agent to the staff of the State board of control.
5 Amendment of 1919 increased the amount of State aid for half-orphans from $75 to
$120 a year, and for orphans and abandoned childqpn from $100 to $120 a y ea r; removed
the limitation, on the number of children’s agents to be appointed by the State board of
control; and authorized the board to inquire into the management by any county, city
and county, city or town, of aid to orphans, half-orphans, or abandoned children.

31

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

32

LAW S RELATING TO M O T H E R S1 P E N SIO N S.

otherwise appropriated,1 to each and every institution in this State con­
ducted for the support and maintenance of needy minor orphans, half
orphans, or abandoned children, and to each and every county, city and county,
city, or town maintaining such orphans, half orphans, or abandoned chil­
dren, or any or all of such classes of persons, aid not in excess of the sum
of one hundred twenty dollars per annum for each such orphan, half orphan,
or abandoned child supported and maintained in such institution or by such
county, city and county, city, or town; but each abandoned child maintained
by an institution must have been an inmate thereof for one year prior to such
institution receiving aid therefor, as provided in this chapter : Provided, how­
ever, That upon receiving such aid such institution shall also be entitled to
reimbursement from the State for said year in a sum not in excess of one
hundred twenty dollars per annum for each such abandoned child where proof
of abandonment sufficient to demonstrate the genuineness of the claim is pre­
sented to the State board of control: Provided further, That, in addition to
the amount paid by the State for each half orphan mainained at home by its
mother, the county, city and countycity, or town may pay for the support of
such half orphan an amount equal to the sum paid by the State: And provided
further, That in any case where any such half orphan is denied aid by the
county, upon a petition setting forth the facts in full as to the necessity of aid,
verified by five reputable citizens of the county, city and county, city, or town,
the mother of such child shall have the right of appeal direct to the State
board of control for aid for her child, and should her appeal be sustained by
said board, payment must be made for the child as above proyided.
S ec . 2285. Books to he kept by institutions, cities, and counties.—Every insti­
tution, county, city and county, city, or town entitled to aid under this chapter
must keep the following records, which at all times must be open to the State
board of control or to any person appointed by them to examine the same, or
to any committee of the legislature, or to any clerk or officer thereof duly
authorized to make such examination:
1. A record in which must be entered the date of admission, name, age, sex,
and place of birth of each and every orphan, half orphan, and abandoned child,
who is or may hereafter be received or admitted into such institution, or to
county aid, and the date of discharge of any such child, when such discharge is
made, the parentage, if known; the estate, if any, to which the child is heir,
and the insurance, if any, on the father’s or mother’s life ; so far as can be
ascertained, the place where either parent or both died, the nativity of the
parents, where married, the marriage certificate, where recorded, when they
came to California, place of residence in California, and habits of sobriety.
2. A book entitled “ Monthly accounts.” In it must be entered on the debtor
side all the moneys received from any and all sources segregated under the
proper heads; on the credit side must be entered all disbursements made,
specifying for what purposes made, and the amount entered in detail so dis­
bursed, segregated under their proper heads.
3. A pay roll of the employees, and the amounts disbursed to each.
4. A book in which must be entered in detail the amounts paid for the specific
support of every orphan, half orphan, or abandoned child and the date of such
payments.
5. A transcript of the books and pay roll, verified under oath by the manager
or person in charge of such institution entitled to or claiming State aid under
1 Appropriation for the two years ending June 30, 1921: “ For support of orphans,
half orphans, and abandoned children, two million one hundred thirty thousand dollars.
For salaries and support of children’s department, and expenses of children’s agents,
forty-two thousand dollars.” (Laws 1919, chap. 645, p. 17.)


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

33

this chapter, must when demanded by the State board of control, be made and
forwarded to the said board at the time of presenting claim for State aid.
6.
A list of all the inmates other than employees or orphans supported wholly
or in part by any institution presenting a claim for State aid under this
chapter must also be forwarded with such claim for aid.
S ec. 2286. Supervision by board of control—Childrens agents.—The State
board of control is authorized, in behalf of the State, at any time to inquire,
either in person or by authorized agent, into the management of any such
institution or into the management by any county, city and county, city, or
town, of aid to orphans, half orphans, and abandoned children ; and any insti­
tution or county, city and county, city, or town refusing, upon due demand, to
permit such inquiry or to comply with regulations established by said board for
the proper maintenance and care of children receiving State aid must not
thereafter receive any aid under this chapter until it has complied with all
requirements. To carry out the provision of this act, the State board of
control may appoint a chief children’s agent and such other agents as may be
needed, who shall, under the rules of said board, visit the homes and the insti­
tutions in which are children to whom State aid is being given or for whom aid
is being asked, to obtain such information as the board may need in carrying
out the provisions of this chapter. Such chief agent shall receive necessary
traveling expenses and a salary of two hundred and twenty-five dollars per
month. Such other agents shall receive their necessary traveling expenses
and a salary to be fixed by the board of control, which salary shall be paid in
the same manner and at the same time as the salaries of other State officers.
All expenses incurred in visiting said asylums and homes, when there are not
other available funds, may be audited and allowed by the State board of con­
trol out of the appropriation for support of orphans, half orphans, and
abandoned children. The board of control may also pay out of these funds
the expense of transporting children for whom proper homes are offered outside
the State: Provided, That the county from which the children are removed
shall pay one-half of the total expense necessarily incurred by the State. In
addition, an advisory committee of three persons serving without pay or ex­
pense to the State may be appointed by the board of control, to act in any
county in conjunction with the children’s agents.
S ec. 2287. Regulations governing claims for State aid.—Every claim for aid
under this chapter must be presented to and audited and allowed by the State
board of control. Such claim must contain :
1. The name and location of the institution making the claim, or the name
of the county.
2. The name of the person or persons having charge or control of the insti­
tution or of the child.
3. The number of orphans, half orphans, or abandoned children therein, in
the case of an institution.
£. The date of admission and age of each child.
5.
The amount, if any, that the institution is receiving for the specific sup­
port of any orphan, half orphan* or abandoned child therein. Such claim, and
the statements therein contained, must be verified by the person or persons, or
some of them, in charge of such institution, or in the case of counties, by the
county officers in charge of the distribution of aid, and the State board of
control may, in its discretion, require the production of the books of such insti­
tution or county in support of such claim.
143973°—19----- 3


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

34

RELATING TO M OTHERS

P E N SIO N S.

Sec. 2289. Age of children—Residence.—Iu order that the provisions of this
chapter shall not be abused, it is hereby declared:
1. That no institution which has less than twenty inmates of either or all
of the classes mentioned in section two thousand two hundred eighty-three,
must be deemed an institution for the support and maintenance of minor or­
phans, half orphans, or abandoned children, within the intent and meaning of
this chapter.
2. That no child over the age of fifteen years shall be deemed a minor orphan,
half orphan, or abandoned child, within the intent and meaning of this chapter.
3. That no child for whose specific support there is paid to any such insti­
tution the sum of twenty dollars or more per month shall be deemed a minor
orphan, half-orphan, or abandoned child within the intent and meaning of this
chapter.
4. That no child maintained in an institution for whom a bona fide offer of a
proper home has been made shall be considered eligible for further State a id :
It is further provided, however, That no institution shall be required to sur­
render a child to* any person of religious faith different from that of the child
or the parents of the child.
That a child who has not resided in this State for a period of at least two
years prior to the application for aid shall not be eligible to receive State aid
unless such child is born in this State.
Approved May 26, 1913.
Amendments approved May 15, 1917, and May 16, 1919*
To carry out the provisions of the above act in the city and county of San
Francisco a widows’ pension bureau was opened in the city hall in September,
1913.1 The following forms in use in that bureau show the procedure adopted
for the granting of pensions.
[Forms Used by Widows’ Pension. Bureau, San Praneiseo.]
A PPLICATIO N CARD.

(All applications are made In person.)
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO.
WIDOW’ S A PPLIC A TIO N FOR a i d .

SUPPORT OF H A L F ORPHAN.

Date________ _ Case No. ______
Name__________________ - ___ -____ _ Address___________________________
Maiden name ___ ..________________ _ Telephone !_________________— -----------Number of children for whom aid is asked______ Where are they now____________ _
Names of children____.____________________________________________________
Date and place of marriage_________________________ ___________________ .S&_
Date and place of death of father______________ ____ ___________ ___ _________
Residence during last two years and citizenship____________________ 1----------------Evidence of need_______ ,_____ ___________________ I,_____ i__ i________ 1_____

1


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Miss Margaret C. Nesfield, director.

35

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS.’ PENSIONS.
n o t if ic a t io n

to

w id o w

of

v is it

by

o f f ic e

r e p r e s e n t a t iv e .

CITY AND COUNTY OP SAN FRANCISCO.
WIDOWS* PENSION BUREAU,

Room 462, City Hall,
Telephone Park 8500, Local 403.
Refer to N o .______ _
D e a r M a d a m : A r e p r e s e n t a t iv e fr o m t h is o ffic e w i l l c a ll a t y o u r h o m e on.

It is imperative that you be at your home at this time.
In case of emergency, kindly telephone this office immediately so that consideration of
your application may not be delayed.
Kindly have ready at this time the following evidence:
Marriage certificate.
Husband’s death certificate from board of health [if bis death occurred outside of Sail
Francisco].
, .
, _
Insurance: Life insurance, insurance from fraternal organization, lodge, or labor
union.
Bank books or other assets.
Receipted bills showing expenditure of insurance or other assets.
Property [tax receipts, mortgage evidence, if any].
Kindly also fill out following data concerning four references [not related] including
landlord.
Name.
Address.
- Telephone.
Occupation.

Very sincerely, yours,
Director Widows’ Pension Bureau.
[case r e c o r d .]

,

APPLICATION FOR SUPPORT OF HALF ORPHANS BY WIDOWED MOTHER.
No...........
San Francisco,. . . . . . . . . . 19..
................................................ ......... Maiden name...................................
Applicant’s name
Address........................ ;..................... Telephone............... Name of landlord........... ...................
How long at present address?.......... ..... ................................ Address of landlord............... .
II. All children under 15.
(Family name.) (Given.)

III. Children over 15.
(Family name.) (Given.)

Sex.

Place and date of birth.

Monthly
wage.

Occupation.

Age.

School and grade.

Address.

Health.

Married and
number of
children.

5...................
1

.

1

Father’s name.................. .............When bom................... Where....... ........... Length of illness.
Died, when. ............. Where................... Cause of death...
Arrived Calif___ ____ Co. .1........................................................................... ...............................
Last employer............... Occupation............... Monthly wage..
Address at time.......................................................................................................................... ..........
Fraternal order

Undertaker,!......... Grave,!......... Services,!.

Cost of illness, $

By whom paid........................................................
By whom paid.......................................................


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

86

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

Mother’s name..................... ,.................. ......... When bom......... Where......... Present-health
(Family.) (Maiden.) (Given.)
Employer............... Occupation............... Monthly wage..
Arrived Calif............... Co.......................... ... .. .. .........................
Address at time................................................ Fraternal order........... ....................... f !
Place and date of marriage.............................. . . . . ......................... Where recorded..
Religion....... .................................................................................... Habits sobriety__. . . . . . . . . . .
Property, location...................................................... Assessed value, $............... Taxes, $.......
Income, $.............. Mortgaged, amount,
.......... To whom............... Monthly payment, $.
Insurance—How much received, $ ........................................... On hand
How much do you carry now? $..... ......... In whose behalf?................................ Company!!!!!
Do children carry insurance?...................... Company..,................................. . .. Howmuch"$!
Money in bank or other assets.....................................................

APPLICATION FOR SUPPORT OF HALF ORPHANS BY WIDOWED MOTHER.
D ebts : Amount, $___________

To whom_______________________

What for______________________________________________ £__
House owned or rented?------- :------- - Assessed value, $___________
No. of rooms------------ —-----—

Sun______ _______ ____

Rental,

Plumbing,___ ___ ____

Upkeep______________ _________ I _________________________
Others in hom e__________________________________________
What do they pay________________________________________
Has aid been given before?__________ _

By whom?_______________

Widow’s relatives [check any that can assist] :
Name.

How related.

Address.

Occupation.

How related.

Address.

Occupation.

Husband’s relatives :
Name.

Three references [not relatives] :
Name.

Address.

Occupation.

F in a n c ia l s t a t e m e n t :

Number in family-------------P e n s io n r e c o m m e n d e d

Approximate need, $__________ _

: State,

I n c o m e w i t h p e n s i o n : $ __ ,________ _


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

_______

Net income, $.

County, $_______ __

Total, $.

law s

RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

87

-

[REFERENCE LETTER.]

CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO.
W IDOW S' PENSION BUREAU,

Room 462, City Hall.
Dear_______________________________ _
Mrs------------1------------------------------------- has given your name as reference in her applica­
tion for aid under the widows’ pension act. Will you kindly call at this office on________
-------------------- ? If it should be impossible for you to come at this time, would you kindly
telephone Park 8500, Local 403, in order that some time convenient to you may be
arranged for?
Very sincerely, yours,
A ssistant Director Widows’ Pension Bureau.
WORKING STATEMENT.

(Sent to employer of widow or of older children.)
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO.
Sa n F r a n c is c o ,

To

Date............... .

W id o w s ’ P e n s io n B u r e a u ,

Room 462, City Hall, San Francisco:
This is to certify that.........................................................................................'..................has been in our
employ from.........r*................................................ s.............to................................... ...............................
The following is statement of employee’s earnings for the last six months:

By.
CARD TO WIDOW TO CALL A T OFFICE.

(Applicant fills out and swears to original State application and brings reference to swear '
to residence.)
Telephone : Market 1176.
ROOM 462, C IT Y H A L L .

San Francisco, Cal.
: Kindly call at this office o n _________________and bring with you a
registered voter who can swear to your residence in this State for two years and in the
city and county for one year.
Very sincerely, yours,
D ear M adam

N O TIFIC A TIO N OF PENSIO N GRANT.

CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO.
W id o w s ’ P e n s io n B u r e a u ,

Room 462, City Hall.
: You are hereby notified that under the provisions of the Widows’ Pen­
sion Act the amount of
------------ per month has been granted to you to be used toward
the proper maintenance and support of your children. This amount is subject at all times
to changes that may be deemed necessary by this office, and is payable at the end of
each month.
T h e ------------------------------------------------- has been authorized to collect said
_______
each month from the office of the Auditor of the City and County of San Francisco, and to
pay this amount to you, said payments to commence w ith the first day o f _________________,
19------, payable at the end of each month by check.
Yours, sincerely,
D ear M adam

Director Widows’ Pension Bureau.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

38

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS,
CURRENT REPORT SHEET.
W id o w s ’ P e n s io n B u r e a u .

(Reports of visits to widow’s home and o f widow’s ' recommitment statement made in
December of each year.)

Case No,______

Name___________________

Address.
(A t each visit note housing, health, school report, occupations, gross and net incomes,
financial statements, including number in family, approximate need, total net income
and recommendation concerning pension.)

NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE IN

PENSION

GRANT OR OF CANCELLATION

OF PENSION.

CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO.
W id o w s ’ P e n s io n B u r e a u .

Room 462, City Hall.
Telephone Park, 8500, Local 403.
Refer to No______
You are hereby notified that in accordance with the rulings of the State Board of
Control and the Widows’ Pension Bureau of San Francisco, your pension will be reduced
to $----------------, canceled beginning_______________•_________________ because of___ .__ Very sincerely yours,
Director W idows’ Pension Burean.

C LIN IC CARDS.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.
Second and Parnassus Avenues.
(Take Hayes Street car No. 6 on Market Street and get off at Second Avenue.)
Referred to__ ._.__________________________ ___________________________________ Clinic
Especially referred to_______________ _______________ _____________________________ _
To report (date)----------------!--------&_,____________ _____________ ________________ _____
Remarks________________________________ ________________ _____________A ,___________ _

STANFORD U NIVERSITY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.

Sacramento and Webster Streets.
(Use Fillmore, Sacramento or California cars.)
Referred to----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- —— .------- Clinic
Especially referred to------------ --------------,---1—---------------------------------- ------------------------------To report (d ate)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------—"-------Remarks_______,------------— .--- <--------- .—.-------------- ---------------------- - - — ------ —
-----------

CERTIFICATES REQUIRED BY STATS,

[Evidence o f marriage.]
W id o w s ’ P e n s io n B u r e a u

Room 345, City Hall.
To the State Board of Control, Sacramento, Calif.
Gentlemen : This is to certify that_______________________ _________ has presented to
this office conclusive evidence of her marriage to________________________________ which
took place at________________________________ on the-------------•— day of----------- , 19_—
Subscribed and sworn to before me this.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Director Widows’ Pension Bureau.
___ __day of__ _________ - ____, 19—

/
J

39

LAW S RELATING TO M O T H E R S’ PEXSÏÔÎTS.

[Evidence of death.]
CITY AND COUNTY OP SAN FRANCISCO.
D ep a r t m e n t

op

P u b lic H ea l th ,

.

Central Office.
_
, , 1 •.
.
This is to certify that there is now on file with this department, record showing that
___________ f_____ _____ husband of________________ ~i----------------- died on
the________ !_____day of___________________ 19_, the cause of death being
recorded as------------- --------------Dated this________ day of--------------------- , T9—.
City and county of San Francisco, Calif.
- [Evidence of residence.]
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO.
W id o w s ’ P e n s io n B u r e a u ,

Room 345, City Hall.

To the S ta te Board of Control, Sacramento, Calif.

G e n t l e m e n : This is to certify that I------------------- ---------------- - - - a registered
voter living at__________ __________•_____in the city and county of San Francisco,
State of California, have known------------------------------- , living at_____-_-_—
_______ _ for________ years and can testify that she has been
a resident of the city and county of San Francisco for over one year and of the State of
California for over three years..
.......
.Subscribed and sworn to before me this--------------------- day of--------------------- >19—

[Evidence of citizenship.]
Office of

D e p a r t m e n t o p E l e c t io n s ,
a n d C o u n t y o p S a n F r a n c is c o ,
St a t e o p Ca l if o r n ia .

R e g is t r a r o p V o t e r s .

City

CERTIFICATE OP REGISTRATION.

No_____________ Precinct_______
Assembly District.
Name_____
Residence Occupation

Nativity

a. Decree of court.
b. Marriage to a
citizen.
Became citizen by
c. Naturalization of
husband.

(when) —
Father’s I Name_______ -,-------------Husband’s
Can------- _____read Constitution ; can.
name. Physical disability—none.
Date of Registration---------------St a t e o p C a l if o r n ia ,

Feet __________ Inches

Height.

\

d. Father’s naturali­
zation.
e. Citizenship of
father.
f. Act of Congress.
g. Treaty.

(where)
.mark ballot ; can.

.write

„

City and County of San Francisco. J
- I, J H. Z e m a n s k y , registrar of voters of the city and county of San Francisco, hereby
certify the foregoing to be a full, true, and correct transcript of entries on the register of
said county for the precinct and assembly district above indicated.
Witness my hand and seal this------------- day of--------------------------- - 191—•
J. H . Z e m a n s k y ,

Registrar of Voters.

By__________________________ Deputy.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

40

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.
Board of Control No................... ............ ,Ax
New....................... Transfer...........-.........

APPLICATION FOR STATE ORPHAN AID
I. County.

o£
® pj

Address of parent..............

Half orphan........! 0 3
Foundling.. . . . .* î.S g .
Abandoned......... I

Name and address Of guardian.
II. All children un­ Sex.
der 15.

Place and date of
birth.

Name school and
Grade.

Health.

Weight.

Height.

(Family name)
(Given)

III. Children over 15.

Age.

Occupation.

(Family name.) (Given.)

IV. Father’s name.
(Family name.)
(Given.)
Arrived Calif............. Co.............
Fraternal order..........................

Monthly
wage.

When bom___
Died when.......
Occupation___
Cost last illness.
Cost funeral__

V. Mother’s name.

When bom................
Died when..... ...........
(Family.) (Maiden.) (Given.) Occupation (present).
Arrived Calif.............Co....... .
Fraternal order............................ Cost last illness........
Cost funeral.......... .

Address.

Married and
number of
children.

Where...... ......... Present health...
Where................ Cause of death. . .
Monthly wage... Length of illness.
By whom paid..
By whom paid..
Where................ Present health..........
Where............... Cause of death.....................
Monthly wage... Occupation before marriage.
Wage.............................. .
By whom paid..
By whom paid..

Via. Place and date of marriage_____!_____________ Where recorded________ ___
b. Religion------------ --------------------------------------------- Habits sobriety_____ ____ —
VII. Property— Location----------------------Assessed value $___________Taxes $

Income $-----------------Mortgaged— Amount $____________ To whom?
Monthly payment_________ ^________________________ ;_____________
Name of landlord_____________________________~~ ~
R e n ta lllZ I III I"
VIII. Insurance— How much received $___________________ On hand $
I I I ___~
How much do you carry now $-------------In whose behalf?_______ ICompanyl
Do children carry insurance?---------------- Company__________ How much?__
IX. Money in bank------- --------------------- ..-------- Name o f bank— _______
Debts— Amount $---------------------To whom?______________What for?
Xa.
Others in home---- --------------------------------,--------- What do they pay?_______
b. Other income $----.—s------------------------ From what source?________________
XI. What is your relationship to child_________ Occupation_________ Income—
(If other than parent.)
XII. Address of child if not with you______ ________________________
XIII. Has aid been given before?__________ ______ By whom?_____ ,-ZZZZJZZ-ZZ.
XIV. Relatives (put mark next to any one of those that could assist) :
Name.
How related.
Address.
Occupation.
Teacher’s name__________________________________
XV.

Three references (not relatives) :
Name.
Address.

St a t e o p C a l i f o r n i a ,

Addr<
Occupation.

1 „

County of_________ _________________________;__f s s I herewith make application for State aid to the amount of $_____________________ and
for county aid to the amount of $ ------------------------ .------_and solemnly swear or affirm that
there is need for same, and that the answers written after the questions above set forth
are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this______________ day of_
Deputy Clerk.

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Applicant.
___ 19_____
Clerk.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

41

[Reverse side.]
Income.
State aid. . . __ . . . . . . . . .
County aid........ .
Wage parent. .. . ............
Wage children................
Contribution, relatives..
Property__ ...................
Compensation................
Insurance.......................
Fraternal orders.............
Other sources.................

Outgo.
Pending No....................... Transfer..
Board of Control N o......... New..........
County number................... .....................
Monthly amount asked for family, State
8 ...............
Co......................... „ .........
Date 1 st payment aid, State................;
County.....................................................
Whole Half Foundling Abandoned
County.

Milk......................

Application of—

Shoes...........................

Amount
child Fifteenth
Children. forper
birthday. ' Out.
month.
1 .............
2 . . . . .......

Total.....................

3.............
4........
5........
When State aid is increased what amount do you recom­ 6 .............
mend?
7.............
8 .............
Nam e o f Agent.

Recom m endation.

Aid to begin.............. to .. ; ...........
State $............... County $...........

Chief Children’s A gent:

Reserve this space for Board of Control.

Health.

'

County R epoet.

Moral standard.
Housing.

.

-

Relatives consulted and their advice and ability to assist.
References consulted and their recommendations.
Have you visited in home, and your recommendations?
1. This application may be used for more than one child of one family but not for children of different
families.
2. Only parent, guardianj or officer knowing the facts should sign this application.
3. Send two copies of this application to Board of Control, Sacramento. One will be returned with
action of board noted.
4. Fill out front of application to space reserved for Board of Control. Amt. is amount per child per
month. Age limit is fifteenth birthday.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

42

PENSIONS.

Renewal application for State orphan aid for period beginning...........................
(Filled out and sworn to in July of each year by widow.)
County No.

Roard of Control No.

Whole orphan.
Half orphan...
Foundling___
Abandoned. . .

Address of parent.

1. County.

Name and address of guardian.
2. All children under 15.
(Family name.) (Given.)

3. Children over 15.
(Family name.) (Given.

Age.

Health.

School and grade.

Occupation.

Monthly
' wage.

Address.

Teeth—Mark good or
bad (Make cross if
under treatment).

Married and num­
ber children.
10

4. Father’s name.
(Family.)
(Given.)

Health.
Wage..

5. Mother’s name.
Health.
(Family.) (Maiden.) (Given.)
Wage..
6.

7.
8.

9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

Sobriety.................... Occupation.
, Name last employer................
Sobriety.................... Occupation.
Name last employer— ............... .

Property— Location________Assessed value $ .____—Taxes $________ Ins.
Income $ :_____Mortgaged— Amt. $_______ To whom?________ Mo. payment
If not owned, state rental------------------- Name of landlord________ ,_____________
Life insurance— How much on hand $_________ How much do you carry $-----Do children carry insurance"?_________ Company_________ 1_______ How much $.
Money in bank___________________ Name o f bank__________________ __________
Debts $_________ To whom?________ _______________What for?__ ;__________
What other income do you have? $_______________________________________ _
What is your relation to the child?_________:________________________________
What change in circumstances has there been since last application?_________
What will State pay per month for each child? $____________ County
__I----Others ¡¡1_________ i________Who are they?_____ ______ ,_______ _______ j._____
Relatives (cross next to any who could assist) —
Name.

How related.

14. Names of three friends—

Address.

Address.

Occupation.

Occupation.

15. How long will need continue?_________________________________
16. How often have you visited child since last application was made?.
Date of last v isit_____________________ .*------------------------------------17. How often have you had child out of institution?------------------------When last?___ .____________ ____;______________________________


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS,
St a t e

op

Ca l if o r n ia ,

County of-------------- ----------

43

■ss.

I hereby make renewal application for State aid to the amount of $----------------------------- and solemnly swear (or affirm) that there is need for same, and that the answers written
after the questions above set forth are true and correct to the best of my knowledge,
information, and belief.
Applicant.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this------------------- day of__^-----T--------19__.
Clerk or Auditor.

[R e v e r s e s i d e . ]
F i n a n c i a l St a t e m e n t .

Outgo.

Income.

Light.....................................................
Vegetables............................ r ..............
Milk.......................................................
Shoes.....................................................
Carfare.......... ......................................
Insurance on children.................. .......
Insurance on parent..............................
Insurance on home..............................
Medicine..............................................
Amusement..........................................
Sundries................................................

When State aid is increased what amount do you recommend?

Co u n t y R e p o r t .

Health.
Housing.
Moral standard.
Relatives consulted and their advice and ability to assist.
References consulted and their recommendations.
Have you visited in home, and your recommendations?
(File two copies with Board of Control on July 1st of each year.)


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CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO.
■WIDOWS’ PENSION BUREAU,

Room 462 City Hall.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Name.......* ....... ................................................................................... ..................................................................Date of recommendation...............................No.
Address.. . ............................................................. ........................... ......................................... .............................Date of approval.................... .............................................................

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS7 PENSION'S,


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LAWS -RELATING TO MOTHERS9 PENSl6$& ‘

~

45

REPOR T TO BOARD O P SU PE R V IS O R S .
W id o w s '

P e n s io n

B ureau.

San Francisco, C a lifo rn ia ,_____________ _________ 1 9 1

.
To the Honorable, the B o a r d o p S u p e r v is o r s :
In the matter of applications for aid under the widows’ pension act, your approval
of the following recommendations is respectfully requested:

Case
No.

Name.

Address.

No. in
family.

Children Present
under income.
14.

Pension recommended— In­
come
with
By
pen­
By
Total.
State. county.
sion.

Respectfully submitted.
Widows’ Pension Bureau.
Respectfully submitted,
Finance Committee Board of Supervisors.


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COLORADO.
[Law» 1913, pp. 694—696.

Passed by popular vote, November 5, 1912.]

«

An Act To amend an act entitled “An act concerning dependent and neglected children, approved April 2, 1907.r>1

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Colorado: S ection 1. That section 7
of an act entitled “An act concerning dependent and neglected children, approved
April 2, 1907,” be and the same is hereby amended so as to read as follows:
S ection 7. Any dependent child committed to the State Home for Dependent
and Neglected Children shall, as to its care and disposition by said home, be
subject to any special order of the court making such commitment, provided
such order be made at the time of such commitment. If the parent or parents
of such dependent or neglected child are poor and unable to properly care for
such child, but otherwise are proper guardians, and it I s for the welfare of
such child to remain at home, the court may enter an order finding such facts
and fixing the amount of money necessary to enable the parent or parents to
properly care for such child, and thereupon it shall be the duty of the board of
county commissioners, and in those cities and counties operating under Article
XX of the constitution it shall be the duty of the department and authority
performing that part of the functions of a board of county commissioners, or
vested with power for the relief of the poor, to pay such parent or parents, or, if
it seems for the best interest of the child, to some other person designated by
the court for that purpose, at such times as said order may designate, the
amount so specified, or when so ordered by the court, its equivalent in supplies
and assistance, for the care of such dependent or neglected child until the
further order of the court. The juvenile court in counties of over 100,000
population, and the county court in all other counties, shall appoint proper
persons for the purpose of investigation, visitation, the keeping of records and
the making of reports in eases requiring relief under this act. The details as
to the number of such investigators, their rights, duties and powers in addi­
tion to that of investigators of such cases, their compensation, the limitations
thereon and the authority of the county or city and county required to provide
for such compensation shall be as provided by law for the employment of
probation officers in such juvenile and county courts. It shall be the duty of
the clerk of such juvenile or county courts, on or before December 1, 1912, and
on or before the first day of July of each year thereafter, to submit to such
county board or other proper authority a report of all eases receiving relief
under this act, and an estimate of the sum necessary to be placed at its disposal
for complying with the provisions of this act. A copy of such report shall be
filed with the State board of charities and corrections. If the State home is
unable to provide any child with a family home through voluntary adoption
within six months from the time of its commitment, then as far as possible and
if for the best interest of the child it shall be its duty to provide for the
boarding out of said child in a suitable family home until such time as it
1 For a discussion of the provisions of this act see article hy Judge Lindsey in the
Survey, Feb. 15, 1913.

47

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48

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

may be adopted or shall have reached the age of sixteen years. Petitions and
commitments under this act shall state the religious belief of -parents, if
known, and if not known the court shall endeavor to ascertain such fact, and
family homes to which children are committed shall, as far as practicable,
conform to such religious belief. On or before December 1, 1912, and on each
July 1st next thereafter, before the convening of the succeeding general
assembly, it shall be the duty of the superintendent of said home to submit to
the governor and the State board of charities and corrections a detailed report
pf such boarding out of said children in family homes and an estimate as
near as may be of the annual sum necessary for the maintenance of said
boarding-out system and visitation officers employed by said State home in
connection therewith. The governor shall transmit such estimate to such
succeeding general assembly, which is hereby directed by the people of this
State to appropriate from the State treasury a sum sufficient for the boarding
out and visitation of said children, and otherwise carrying into effect the
provisions of this act. Any of said courts enforcing the provisions hereof
shall have the right to proceed as for contempt of court against officials who
wilfully refusé to comply with its orders directing their compliance with the
provisions hereof ; provided the sums paid out under this act shall not exceedin any year the amount appropriated for such purpose by the county, city and
county, or State authorities, respectively. In counties having a population of
over 20,000, the' boards of county commissioners, and in cities and counties
operating under Article XX of the constitution, the authority performing like
dutiés to those of county commissioners, shall establish and maintain workhouses or proper facilities for the detention and employment of men convicted
of nonsupport of women and children. Any sums of money earned by them or
collected for their labor by the authorities in charge of such workhouses or
facilities shall be used for the maintenance of the fund necessary to be expended
by the county or city and county in-carrying out the provisions of this act. The
board of commissioners of the State penitentiary and reformatory shall make
such similar provision as to said board seems most practicable to profitably
employ all persons committed to such prisons for nonsupport of women or
children, and any sums received for such labor shall be used for the maintenance
of the fund provided, by the State for compliance with the provisions of this
act. This act shall be liberally construed for the protection of the child, the
home and the State, and in the interest of public morals and for the prevention
o f poverty and crime.
Effective January 22, 1913.
[Laws 1919, ch. 160.]

.

An Act To establish a fund to provide money to carry out the provisions of laws enacted
for the benefit of mothers of children.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
S ection 1. Mothers’ compensation funds created.—That in every county of
this State there shall be created a “ mother’s compensation fund,” the purpose
of which is to provide sufficient money to carry out the provisions of the
mother’s compensation act, page 694 of the 1913 Session Law of Colorado for
the assistance and protection of women who are unable to properly care for
their children, or who are unable to provide the ordinary and proper care for
themselves and infant child or children during'thè certain periods before and
after childbirth.
S ec . 2. Duties of county officials.—The county commissioners or persons per­
forming the functions of the county commissioners of each county are hereby

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

49

directed to establish in each of their respective counties a “ mother’s com­
pensation fund ” for the purposes set forth in section one (1) of this act.
S ec . 3. Levy of tax—Limitation.—The moneys for the use of said “ mother’s
compensation fund ” shall be secured by a special levy which shall be made by
the tax levying authorities annually upon taxable, real and personal property
within the several counties of the State, suçh special levy, however, not to
exceed one-eighth of one mill, and from any gifts, appropriations, or other
funds which may be added to said “ mother’s compensation fund.”
S ec . 4. Repeal.—All acts or parts? of acts in conflict herewith are hereby re­
pealed.
Approved April 4, 1919.
143973°—19----- 4


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CONNECTICUT.
[Laws 1919, Ch. 3231.]
An Act Providing aid to mothers h avin g, dependent children.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in general
assembly convened: S ection 1. Aid to widowed mothers—Application.—Widows
having dependent children under 16 years of age who are unable to furnish
suitable support for such children in their own homes may be granted financial
aid as hereinafter provided. Any such widow or other person in her behalf inay
apply in writing for such aid to the executive officer of the municipality wherein
she resides or to any other person whom such officer may appoint for the
purpose of representing such municipality in carrying out the provisions of
this act. The name and address of any such appointee shall be recorded in the
office of the agent of the State treasurer to be appointed as hereinafter required.
Such application shall contain the name, post-office address, street and number,
if any, or shall state definitely where she resides, the name, place, and date of
birth of each such dependent and such other information as may be required
by the agent of the treasurer. Upon receipt of such application and an affidavit
of such widow as to the truth of the statements therein contained, the executive
officer or his local agent, as the case may be, shall immediately transmit a copy
thereof with his recommendations in reference thereto to the county commis­
sioners of the county wherein such widow resides. The commissioners shall
make such copy or record of the same as may be necessary for their information
and records and shall transmit the same forthwith to the agent of the treasurer.
Within 15 days after forwarding such application, the commissioners shall
approve or disapprove, in writing, the application for aid so made and shall
transmit a copy with their recommendations thereon endorsed to said agent.
S ec . 2. Duties of State agent—Investigation—Supervision.—The agent, before
extending aid hereinafter provided, may require such additional information
concerning the applicant or any dependent mentioned in said application as may
be necessary to safeguard any public funds or as may be advantageous to the
administration of the provisions of this act. Upon ascertaining that the relief
hereby authorized should be furnished to such applicant or any such dependent
or both, he may approve or accept the recommendation of the commissioners,
the executive officer or such appointee, but shall notify such officer or appointee
and the county commissioners of the county wherein the applicant resides, as
to the amount of aid, if any, to be extended on said application and the date
or dates when payment of the same shall commence. Said agent shall make
such payments so designated and the same shall continue until he shall revoke,
suspend or change the amoujnt of or the time or manner of paying the same.
The executive officer or the appointee of the municipality wherein such widow
resides shall visit at least once in every month at the home or place where she
may be living and after each such visit shall make a record containing a detailed
1 Another bill before the 1919 legislature which had the support of the social workers of
the State differed materially from the law adopted, in that it provided for the creation of
unpaid boards of child welfare with a paid executive secretary for each county to consider
all cases of dependent widows with two or more children, the work of the eight boards to
be supervised by the State board of charities. (Survey, June 14, 1919, pp. 436, 437.)

51

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52

ifcAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

statement of the condition of such home and of any dependent therein and
such other detailed statement in reference to such widow or dependent as may
be required by said agent and as may be necessary to determine whether said
aid should continue to be provided. A copy of each such detailed statement
shall be sent to the State agent and to the county commissioners.
S ec . 3. Amount of aid.— The manner and time of extending such aid, whether
the same shall be in cash or by furnishing necessary merchandise as may be
of advantage in any case, shall be determined by said agent. The amount
to be granted weekly shall not exceed the following: Food for such widow, two
dollars; food for each child over fourteen years of age, one dollar and seventyfive cents; food for each child between five and fourteen years of age, one dol­
lar and twenty-five cents; food for each child - under five years of age, one
dollar; fuel, one dollar; clothing for each member of such family, fifty cents
and a reasonable allowance may be made for a suitable tenement adequate in
size and so located as to protect the occupants thereof in their health and
from improper environment. In case of sickness or burial expenses in case
of death of such widow or of any such dependent, the reasonable expenses
thereof, to be determined by the executive officer of the municipality wherein
she resides or his appointee and the county commissioners, shall be borne onethird by the State, one-third by the county, and one-third by such munici­
pality. In event such officer or appointee and commissioners shall be unable
to agree upon the amount of aid to be. paid for medical attendance or for
funeral expenses, the same shall be determined by the agent of the treasurer.
S ec. 4. Reimbursement to State.—One-third of the amount expended in the
aid of any widow or her dependents or both, in any municipality shall be
charged by the State agent to such municipality and one-third to the county
wherein she resides. The amount due to the State on the first days of Oc­
tober, January, April, and July, in each year shall be paid on or before the
fifteenth day of each of said months, and a statement thereof shall be mailed
by the State agent as of the first days of said months to the executive officer,
or his appointee, .of each such municipality and the county commissioners of
each county wherein any widow shall have received such aid during the three
months next preceding the first day of each of said months. Upon failure of
any municipality or county to reimburse the State for any money expended
in its behalf by the State agent, by authority of the provisions of this act,
within thirty days from the date of the mailing of notice of the amount due,
the same may be collected, with interest thereon at ten per centum per annum,
in a civil action brought against such municipality or county by the attorneygeneral in the name of the State in any court in Hartford County having
jurisdiction of said amount.
Sec. 5. State agent.—Within ten days from the date of the passage of this
act the treasurer shall appoint a State agent who shall serve from the date of
such appointment for a term of two shears. He shall receive annually as com­
pensation for his services three thousand dollars and his traveling expenses
while engaged jn the performance of his duties shajl be paid by the State. He
shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duties in the administration
of the provisions of this act. He shall furnish at the expense of the State
such blank forms as may be necessary and shall cooperate with the county com­
missioners and such municipal officials and may formulate such administrative
rules as may be necessary or convenient to carry out the provisions hereof. He
may employ necessary stenographic assistance and may appoint such sub­
ordinates, if any shall be found by the treasurer to be necessary, and fix their
compensations, subject to the approval of the board of control, as may be neces­
sary to perform the duties of his office.

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PENSIONS.

53

Sec. 6. Appropriation.—The sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars,
or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the two fiscal years
ending June 30, 1921, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this
act. The agent of the treasurer shall report monthly to the treasurer the
amount expended by him under the provisions of this act.
Sec. 7. Residence.—-No aid shall be given by authority of the provisions of this
act to any widow or her dependent who shall have a legal settlement outside
of this State nor to such widow or dependent receiving aid from any other
State. The removal of any widow from one municipality or county shall not
be construed to relieve the municipality or "county from which she shall have
removed, from furnishing the aid herein authorized to be paid, except and on
condition that the selectmen of the municipality to which she shall have removed
shall consent and assume the payment of the aid previously authorized or as
may be required by the agent of the treasurer, provided any order for such
aid may be changed or any payment suspended in the event of such removal
after notice and consent in writing of the agent of the treasurer. The pro­
visions of this act shall not be construed to require the furnishing of aid for
any widow or for such dependents after she shall have removed from this State.
Sec. 8. Executive officer defined.—The words “ executive officer ” as used in
this act shall be construed to mean the first selectman of any town which is
under town government and which raises money by taxation to be expended
by the selectmen, the warden of any borough or mayor of any city.
Sec. 9. This act shall take effect from its passage.
Approved May 13, 1919.
POLICIES AND RULES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS IN
RELATION TO STATE AID TO WIDOWS W ITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN.

The purpose of the act providing for State aid for widows and dependent
children is to enable widowed mothers with children under sixteen years of age
to bring up such children in their own homes, with the idea that by such a course
children could be better cared for than in public institutions.
The investigations made in each case should, therefore, be for the purpose of
determining whether the widow is of good character and in good, physical health,
not suffering from any infectious disease which would menace the health of
her children, and that she is a person who will see that her children receive
proper scholastic and religious training.
Widows receiving allowances under the law will be expected to observe
carefully, and be governed by, the rules established by the board. It is also
further expected that the children of working age will contribute adequately
toward the support of the home. Persons receiving aid are also required to
notify this board promptly of changes in their family conditions, and especially
of remarriage.
For the better carrying out of the purpose of the act, the department deems it
wise to establish the following rules :
Allowances shall not be granted or continued—
(1) 'To families in which the mother is not shown to be mentally, morally, and
physically able to care for her children.
(2) To families in which there is a record of intemperance, wastefulness, or
of misconduct on the part of the widow.
(3) To families where the presence and behavior of lodgers are such as to
bring the widow into disrepute.
(4) To families where the home and the children are not kept clean and
orderly, or are otherwise neglected, or where the children are unnecessarily
kept from school or from work.
(5) To families where the children are not regularly kept under the care of
the widow in her own home, except as may temporarily be otherwise allowed
by the State agent.
(6) To families where the possession o f money or of property is denied or
concealed in order to obtain the allowance.
(7) To families justly entitled to adequate assistance from other sources
of relief.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSION'S.

(8)
To families with but one child not of working age, except where the
conditions are unusual.
Attention is particularly called to the following provisions of the child wel­
fare law:
'
“ A person who shall procure or attempt to procure, directly or indirectly,
any allowance for relief under this article, for or on account of a person not
entitled thereto, or shall knowingly or wilfully pay or permit to be paid any
allowance to a person not entitled thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Any widow who desires to receive State aid, or any person applying in behalf
of such widow, should apply to the first selectman of the town or to the mayor,
or his agent, of the city or warden of the borough in which such widow resides.
The selectman shall require all applicants for State aid to widows with
dependent children to fill out and swear to the application blanks which will be
forwarded in duplicate under separate cover. All applications must be filled
out in ink.
The selectman or his representative shall make such investigation as he may
deem necessary to verify the statement of the applicant and shall submit the
application to the county commissioners within ten days after receipt of same
with a brief summary of his findings and a recommendation as to the allow­
ance to be made in each case.
The selectman or his representative shall verify the marriage of the appli­
cant, the births of the children, and the death of the husband. Transcripts of
records of birth, marriage, and death, furnished by town clerks or health officers
shall be accepted as proof of such birth, marriage, or death, and must accom­
pany the application. Where a record of the birth or marriage is not filed in
the office of the town clerk or health department, the church record of the
birth or marriage will be accepted. Where such a record is not available, the
affidavit of the physician who attended wife at birth of child will be accepted,
and must accompany the application.
Where there, is .no record of marriage to be produced the affidavit of the
clergyman who performed the ceremony, or the affidavit of two persons who
witnessed the marriage ceremony will be accepted and must accompany the
application. Where no record of the death of husband is on file, the records
of the cemetery in which the husband is buried, or the affidavit of the physician
who attended the husband during his .last illness, will be accepted, and must
accompany the application.
Residence.—Any widow living in Connecticut is eligible for State aid pro­
vided she has no legal settlement in any other State. As the settlement laws
vary in different States, the selectman or his agent shall therefore be careful
to ascertain the places of residence of the woman during the past five years
and the time during which she lived in each place. If the information thus
obtained shows that the woman has resided in any other State prior to her
arrival in Connecticut, he shall communicate with the poor officials of the town
in which she so resided and ascertain if she has a legal settlement in that town.
Support by relatives.—It is expected that children of working age will con­
tribute adequately to the support of the home. For this reason the_ selectman
or his representative shall ascertain name of employer of such children and
shall verify earnings of said children.
The circumstances of the relatives legally bound to support the widow or her
. children should be investigated, and if they are found able to contribute to
the support of the widow or her children should be compelled to do so, even if
necessary to resort to court action.
Rents.—The law provides that a reasonable allowance shall be granted to
the widow for a suitable tenement adequate in size and located in proper
environment: The investigation should cover the condition of the home, num­
ber of rooms, light and ventilation, sanitary arrangements, etc., as well as a
character of neighborhood.
Illness and burial.—An allowance will always be made to cover the cost of
medical attendance during the illness of any member of a family receiving State
aid, and where there is no insurance an allowance will be made to cover burial
expenses.
. ,
Special application blanks will be provided for these allowances and will be
furnished upon request.
Publicity.—To avoid publicity it is suggested by this department that the
names of widows receiving aid will not be printed in public reports.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PEHSIOHS.

55

[F o rm s used b y State o f Conn ecticu t.]

APPLICATION FOR

s t a t e a id to w id o w s w it h d e p e n d e n t c h il d r e n ,

(I ) Nam e______ ______ _____________________ -____ _____I__

Address___________ •_______ ______ ____ ______ __ A-.Town or City.

no.

Date.

I’. 0-

(2) Present conditions : (First Selectman, Mayor, etc., will give brief summary of
conditions)
(3 )

IN C O J I B

OS' F A M I L Y .

Mother’s earnings
Children’s earnings
[Names and ages)

[1]......................
[2]'- - --........'........

[3]
[4]
[5]

. . . .......
- - - .................................
............

[6]

........................................................................

ffl.-.v..........
-.......
From relatives........

]
1
]
]
]
]'
]

Other sources.........

Total income of family
To the County Commissioners, .
______________ ______County, Conn.
D ear S irs : After due investigation I recommend that the above named applicant be
granted the following weekly allow ance:

Fuel.....................................
Food.................................. .
t

Total ............... ......... ....

First selectman

Town of

Dated.

To the State Agent,
State Treasurer’s Office, Hartford, Conn, >
Dear S ir :
\
The recommendation o f _______________________ _________________ First Selectman of
__ ::__ ___ __ __________ __________________ _ that the above named applicant be granted a
weekly allowance o f ________ :___________is hereby approved, disapproved.

County Commissioners.
Dated_______ s______ ^_____
The recommendation of the County Commissioners that the above named applicant
be granted a weekly allowance o f ________ _____ ____ is hereby approved, disapproved.
The allowance is to be paid weekly beginn in g______------------------ :— ,------and continue
until further notice.
S tate Agent.
Dated at Hartford, Conn.,
---------------------;_______ 19
.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

56

A p p l ic a t io n *

(4) 'Woman's name in full................................................................ Date of Application.....
Woman’s maiden name.................................................... .........
(5) Man’s name........................... Occupation.......................................Earnings per week, $.
How long
there.

Address.

(6 ) Date.

Num­
ber
rooms.

Location

Light Toilet
and
or dark. bath.

Rent.

1 .............
2 ........ .

3.............
(7) CHILDREN LIVING AT HOME.

Date of Place of birth.
birth.

ITame.

Occupation or
Mental, '
school
Wage per week or Pay to physical,,
or
(employers
school grade.
mother. moral defects.
and work).

i .........................

!..

2 . ........ ...............

3 ............................
4..........................
5..........................

I

■

1

6 . . . .......................

7..........................
8 ..........................
9..........................
1 0 ..........................

•1
•

1

■\

(
U :.

(8) BOARDERS OR LODGERS IN HOUSEHOLD.

Name.
1

Relationship, if any.

Amount paid per
week or month.

....... ..........................................................

2 . . . . . . . . . . ............................ : ....................

3 ...: ..........................................................
(9) UNMARRIED CHILDREN NOT LIVING AT HOME.

Name.

Date of
birth.

Proof.

Residence.

Grade or
Mental,
Occupation or wage
per physical, or
school.
week.
moral defects.

1 ..................................
2 ...................................

3............. ..................

(10) MARRIED CHILDREN NOT LIVING AT HOME.

Name. ,
1 .................................................
2 .....................................
3................................................
4 ...............................................
5....................... .........................


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Residence.

Occupation.

Mental,
Wage per physical,
or
week.
moral defects.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

57

(11) CHILDREN OF HUSBAND BY FORMER MARRIAGE.

Name.

1

Residence.

N

Occupation.

Mental,
Wage per physical,
or
week.
moral defects.

........................................

(1 2 )

M ARRIAGE.

(1 4 )

Date_;_________ _______ __ ______Place
_
__
Name and address of person who per­
formed cerem on y_
Proof
Were you married before?
Was your husband married before?
Proof of such previous marriage
(Ì3 )

MAN.

When and where born __________
How long in U. S
How long in State previous to death
Voting addresses-.___
Proof_______ ___ ____
Did he serve in Army or Navy
If so, when and whereWas he honorably discharged _
Proof of citizenship of previous husband

D E A TH .

D a t e _______ _____:___
Cause_
_ __
Length of illness
_
__
Place of death
Legal residence time of death

(15) LEGAL R E SID E N C E .

Addresses for five consecutive years previ-

Where buried
Name and address of undertaker
Proof
Proof of death or divorce of previous hus­
band or wife _______

(16) WOMAN'S RELATIVES.

Name.

Address.

Married.

Occupation.

Where employed.

Relation.

Where employed.

Relation.

(17) MAN’S RELATIVES.

Name.

(1 8 )
(2 0 )

Address.

Married.

Occupation.

D a t e a n d p l a c e o f w o m a n ’ s b i r t h ___________________________________
H m y J o n g i n U . S -------------------- P h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n ____________ I I
Z_~Z~
W h a t i s y o u r o c c u p a t i o n ? _________________
,
W ages
_____ .
__ ___________ _

( 2 t h e r Y h a t h 0 U I 'S d 0 y 0 U w o r k ? --------------------------------------------------------------- Z Z Z _ _ Z
(2 2 )
(¿ 3 )
(2 4 )

H ow

lo n g e m p lo y e d

N a m e a n d a d d r e s s e s o f p r e s e n t and” p r e v io u s " e m p lo y e r s !!
Z~ZZZZZZ
ZZZ
W h a t w a s y ° u r o c c u p a t i o n p r e v i o u s t o y o u r m a r r i a g e ? ______Z _ Z _
D i d y o u r h u s b a n d l e a v e a n y p r o p e r t y ? _______________ ____ ______________________________

L oca ~

,o
k\0a^— ------------------------------ V a l u e — --------------------------------------------- M o r t g a g e s _________________ ’______
( 2 5 ) D o y o u o w n a n y p r o p e r t y ? ---------------------------------------------- L o c a t i o n _______________________
V a l u e -------------------------------------------------M o r t g a g e s __________ _______________________
( 2 b ) D o y o u r p a r e n t s o r y o u r h u s b a n d ’ s p a r e n t s o w n a n y p r o p e r t y ? ______
L o c a t i o n ---------------------------------------------------V a l u e ___________________________
M urte-A P -A s
"
( 2 7 ) A m o u n t o f m a n ’ s i n s u r a n c e a n d n a m e o f c o m p a n y _________ ____ 1 _________ ___________
( 2 8 ) W a s h e a m e m b e r o f a n y f r a t e r n a l o r d e r ? ___________
( 2 9 ) H a v e y o u a n y m o n e y ? ____ ._________________ a ______________
A m ount
”
B a n k __________ , ____________________________________________________________________. ____ " Z Z Z " “ -------------------------( 3 0 ) H a v e y o u r c h i l d r e n a n y m o n e v ? ______________________ Z Z _ Z
.
A ln o n u t
’
B a n k __ ____ ____________________
~
~—

_

( 3 .1 ) aa° ?you authorize us to inquire of the insurance company, fraternal order, or bank,
(32) Of what lodge are you a member?___________ ____ __ ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
ZZZ
(33) Name and address of officer of lodge?_______________________________ ZZZ______ .


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58

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

(34) In what company are you insured?;--------------Payments____________ =.-------------------- ■
—- —
-(33) In what company are your children insured ?_
Payments-^--_------------------------------------------------(36) What church do-you attend?---- -------------------(37) Are you a member?------------------------- :------.. Name and address of minister or
priest.
(38) Are you receiving assistance from any organization, church, or other source?------ ( 3 9 ) Name and address of such organization, church, Or other source--------------------(40) To what extent are they assisting you?-------------------------------------- — -------------- .---(41) Are any of your relatives or friends assisting you?-------------------- -----------To
what extent------------ ------------------------------ -— ----- ------------------------- -------------- ——-------(42) Give their names and addresses--------- --------------- _J-------------■-------------------------------- r
(43) Have vou any claim arising from the death of your husband?---------------- -------------(44) Give names and addresses of two responsible persons other than relatives, to
whom we may refer:
(45) Name___________ ____________________ Name------------------------------- ■
---------------------(46) Address____________________________- Addre'ss------------------------------------------------(47) Nature o f acquaintance___________ _— Nature of acquaintance—
--------- .---- -— •
(Signature of applicant.)
(4 8 )

St a t e o f C o n n e c t ic u t ,

County of
i 88“
.
,
.
__________ >______ _______________being duly sworn deposes and says that she is the
person described in and who' signed as applicant the foregoing application ; that she
has* read the said application, or has heard it read, and knows the contents thereof ;
and that each and all of the statements therein contained are true to her own knowledge',
except only such statements as are therein stated to be made upon information and,
belief, and these statements she believes to be true.
Sworn to before me a t--------------;_,this------------ —day Of-------------------------- ------- , 19—.
(Notary Public.)
(Justice of the Peace.)


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DELAWARE.
[Laws 1917, eh. 227, as amended by Laws 1919, eh. 198.1]
AN ACT To amend chapter 88, of the Revised Statutes of the State of Delaware by
making provision for aid in the maintenance, support, and education of children in
certain cases.

Be it enacted, etc.: S ection 1. That chapter 88, of the Revised Statutes of
the State of Delaware, is hereby amended by inserting after section eleven of
said chapter, being code section three thousand and seventy-one, the following
new section, namely:
S ec. 3071A. S ec . 11A. Mothers’ pension commission.—The administration of
this section shall lie in the hands of a mothers’ pension commission. Said |
commission shall' consist of nine women, three from each county, who shall
serve without pay, except for traveling and administrative expenses. During
the month of June, nineteen hundred and seventeen, the governor shall appoint
said commission as follows: One from each county for a term of one year, one
from each county for a term of two years, and one from each county for a term !
of three years. The term of office, after the first appointments made hereunder,!
shall be for three years, and annually, during the month of June, the governor
shall appoint successors to fill the vacancies caused by the expirations o f ,
the terms of office. In case of vacancy caused by death, resignation, refusal to
serve, or otherwise, the governor shall make appointments to fill such vacancy
or vacancies for the balance of the unexpired term: Provided, however, That
nor'[not] more than three commissioners shall reside in any one county.2
On petition by any trustee of the poor, by a member of the municipal council
of any incorporated city or town in this State, or by a friend or relative of th e '
mother falling within the class hereinafter specified, the Mothers* Pension Com-'
mission of Delaware may make an order for aid in the maintenance, support, i
and education of the child or children of said mother as hereinafter provided.
Any widowed or abandoned mother of a child or children under fourteen
years of age, who is unable, without aid, to support, maintain, and educate her
child or children, or any mother whose husband is permanently, either physi­
cally or mentally, unable, without aid, to support, maintain, and educate such
child or children, shall be deemed to be within the class described in this sec­
tion.
I
Upon the filing of any petition as aforesaid, stating the facts and circum­
stances relative to the financial condition of any such mother, and praying the
said Mothers’ Pension Commission t6 make an order as aforesaid, the said
Mothers’ Pension Commission shall report the case to the members of the com­
mission of the county wherein the mother resides; and, within thirty days of

1Amendment of 1919 increased the amount of aid from eight to nine dollars per
month for one child and from four to five dollars per month for each additional child.
The annual appropriation by the State was increased from $7,500 to $18,000.
2Members of Mothers’ Pension Commission (Aug. 1, 1919): Newcastle county— Mrs.
M. W. Ferguson, Wilmington (chairm an); Miss M. T. Lockwood, Middletown; (one
vacancy). Kent county— Mrs. R. L. Holliday, Dover; Miss C. C. Tschudy, Smyrna;
Miss L. Woodruff, Milford. Sussex county— Miss J. Burton, Georgetown; Mrs. J. M.
Lank, M ilton; Mrs. I. L. Long, Selbyville. Executive secretary, Miss M. Elma Dame.
Headquarters of commission, Public Buildings, Wilmington.
59

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60

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

the receipt of such notice, the members of the commission of the county shall
make or cause to be made, by a trained woman investigator, an investigation as
to the following points :
(a) That the applicant for aid is a widowed or abandoned mother of a child
or children under fourteen years of age, who is unable without aid to support,
maintain, and educate such child or children, or a mother whose husband is
physically or mentally unable without aid- to maintain, support, and educate
such child or children.
( b ) That the mother is fit to bring up her child or children.
(c) That aid is necessary to enable her to bring pp her child or children and
to maintain a suitable home for them.
(d ) That the child, or children, if physically and mentally able, attend school
and have a satisfactory record from the teacher.
(e) That the mother has been a continuous resident, for a period of three
years, of the State.
If the Mothers’ Pension Commission, upon receipt of the written report of
the investigation, shall deem it for the best interests of the family that the
mother receive aid, the said Mothers’ Pension Commission shall pay to the
mother, or to such person as the Mothers’ Pension Commission may designate,
such sum a g the said Mothers’ Pension Commission shall deem proper to be
used in aid of the maintenance, support, and education of such child or children,
such payments to continue during such time as the said Mothers’ Pension Com­
mission shall specify: Provided, That no payment shall be made for the sup­
port of any child beyond the time when the law will permit such child to secure
a general employment certificate. Such payments shall, in no case, exceed nine
dollars ($9) a month for a single.child and five dollars ($5) for each additional
child in the same family, except for a limited period in case of sickness, or of
some unusual condition requiring an increase thereof. The said Mothers’ Pen­
sion Commission mqy, at the recommendation o f the members of the commisr
sion of the county, vary the terms of such payments by directing the furnish­
ing of food, clothing, or supplies, instead of the payment of money to the per­
son aforesaid for the use and benefit of such child or children.
After the award of aid, the members of the commission of the county shall
cause the family to be visited at least once in two months to see that the mother
is properly caring for the child or children ; that they are sufficiently clothed
and fed, that they attend school regularly, and that they are receiving religious
instruction.
The members of the commission of the county shall make a report each three
months to the Mothers’ Pension Commission which shall show :
(a) The number of families receiving aid.
( b ) The number of visits made to each family, together with the number of
children in each family, the number receiving aid, the amount paid for each
child, and, in each case, a recommendation with regard to the continuance of
aid, and any other information the said commission may desire.
It shall be the duty of the Mothers’ Pension Commission to make a report
each three months to the levy court of each county of all warrants drawn
under this section on said county treasurer during the preceding three months.
The amount paid to a beneficiary under this section shall be on a warrant
drawn by the Mothers’ Pension Commission, or authorized agent thereof, on
the county treasurer of the county in which such beneficiary resides. And the
said county treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to pay the said war­
rants on the approval of the comptroller of said county out of any moneys he
may have belonging to said county not otherwise appropriated.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
The traveling and administrative expenses of the Mothers’ Pension Commis­
sion shall be paid on warrants drawn by the Mothers’ Pension Commission, or
authorized agent thereof, on the State treasurer, and the said State treasurer
is hereby authorized and directed to pay said warrants on the approval of the
State auditor, from any moneys he may have belonging to the State and not
otherwise appropriated : Provided, however, That the total amount of the
traveling and administrative expenses of the said Mothers’ Pension Commis­
sion shall not exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000) in any one year.
On the first day of .January of each year, the county treasurer shall, certify,
under oath, in duplicate, to the secretary of the State and to the State treas­
urer the amount paid out by such county during the preceding year under this
section, and the State treasurer thereupon shall pay to the county treasurer of
the said county, a sum equal to one-half of the amount paid out by such
county; Provided, however, That the amount paid by the State to any county
in any one year shall not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
That for the purpose of this section the sum of eighteen thousand dollars
($18,000) shall be deemed and taken to be appropriated annually, beginning
with the year nineteen hundred and nineteen, out of any moneys in the State
treasury, not otherwise appropriated.
Approved, April 2, 1917 ; amendment approved, March 10, 1919.


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FLORIDA.
[Laws 1919.]

*

An Act To provide for the assistance of poor mothers or other poor women having
children dependent upon them for support and care under the age of 16 years and to
provide the necessary means of carrying this law into effect.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: S ection 1. County
aid for poor mothers.—The county commissioners of the several counties of the
State of Florida are empowered and authorized to provide in the annual budget
of the general revenue fund an appropriation sufficient to meet the purposes of
this law for the support of women who have dependent upon them for food,
raiment, and education, an orphan or orphans, or half orphan children under
16 years of age, including any woman whose husband is dead or an inmate
of some State institution, or whose husband has been prosecuted for desertion
or nonsupport and has been adjudicated by the court where prosecuted to be
wholly unable to support his wife and children, whose support and the support
of the children depend wholly or partially upon her labor, shall be entitled to
the assistance as provided for in this act, for the support of herself and for her
children.
S ec . 2. Amount of allowance.—The allowance for the aid of such women shall
not exceed twenty-five dollars a month when she has but one child under 16
years of age. If she has more than one child under the age of 16 years it
shall not exceed twenty-five dollars for the first child, and eight dollars a month
for each of the other children.
S ec . 3. Levy of tax Conditions of allowance.—That the county commissioners
of their respective counties shall levy a tax of not more than one-half of one
mill on all taxable property of their respective counties for the purpose of
supplying funds to carry this bill into effect, and provide means for the sa^ie,
provided the condition of allowance of said allotment shall be made by the
county commissioners upon the recommendation of the school board in the
county in which such mothers reside, and only upon the following conditions:
1. The child or children for whose benefit the allowance is made must be
living with the mother of such child or children.
2. The mother must, in the judgment of the county commissioners of such
county, which body shall finally pass upon all applications for aid under this
act, be a proper person morally, physically and mentally, for the bringing up
of her children.
3. Said allowance shall in the judgment of the county commissioners be
necessary to save the child or children from neglect.
4. No person shall receive the benefit of this' act who shall not have been a
resident of the State for at least four years ancl a resident of the county in
which the allowance is given, for at least one year next before the making of
the application for aid in such county.
S ec . 4. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach the
age of sixteen years, or the mother shall remarry, the allowance to the mother
or the children shall cease: Provided, however, That if it is made to appear
63

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64

LAW S RELATING TO M OTHERS

P E N SIO N S.

to the board of county commissioners, after an investigation and recommenda­
tion by the county school board, that there exists some special reason that it
is for the best interest of any child, as well as for society, to continue said
allowance for a longer period of time such allowance may be continued for such
time as the justice of the case may demand. In all cases, however, when the
mother remarries all allowances shall cease.
S ec. 5. Aid to guardians of orphan children.—The provisions of this act
shall also be extended, for the benefit of orphan children who are dependent on
some female relative unable to support them, or to any such child or children
under guardianship who are dependents or paupers and have no means of
support.
S ec . 6. Duties of county and State officials.—In order to carry the provisions
of this act into effect, it shall be the duty of the county school attendance
officer, or like officer by whatever name called, to have direct supervision of
the investigation of all cases, and he shall have the assistance of the bureau
of education and child welfare of the State board of health to cooperate with
the board of public instruction or social workers of each county in the State
in investigating all persons entitled to the provisions of this act in the gather­
ing of data and the history, and making a report on each case, and to this end
the necessary blanks will be provided, and it shall be the duty of the board
of child welfare and education of the State board of health to provide uniform
blanks to be printed and paid for by the counties to be used in gathering and
recording the history of each case.
S ec. 7. Records to he kepi.—The history of each case when investigatéd by
the board of public instruction, school attendance officer, or the nurse or social
worker, of the county, or a committee hereinafter provided to be appointed,
shall be made up in triplicate, the original to be filed with the board of county
commissioners of the county, which shall include the recommendation of the
board of public instruction of the county, and one copy shall be retained by
the board of public instruction, and one copy forwarded to and filed with the
bureau of child welfare and education of the State board of health.
S ec . 8. Investigation and report—Final action with county commissioners.—
It shall be the duty of the board of public instruction of each county to require
each nurse or social worker employed by said county board of public instruc­
ting or school attendance officer to carefully and speedily investigate the con­
dition of any and all poor mothers’ children, orphan and half orphan children,
whose needs may be brought to their attention, and after having gathered the
history of each case and recorded such history upon the blanks as hereinbefore
required to be provided, to immediately place such report of such case before
the board of public instruction of such-county for its immediate action, and
said board of public instruction shall examine such report and immediately
transmit such application together with its recommendations to the board of
county commissioners of the county for final action. The board of county
commissioners shall immediately take up such application and grant or reject
such application as that board in its judgment shall find the applicant entitled
in this act.
S ec . 9. Assistance from voluntary workers.—In absence of a social worker or
nurse, as provided for in section eight, in any county of the State, it shall become
the duty of the board of public instruction, upon this act becoming a law, to
immediately recommend for appointment three capable women, residents of
such county, who will be willing to accept such appointment and serve without
compensation, to investigate and report the cases of poor mothers, orphans and
half orphan children entitled to the provisions of this act, and who shall serve
until a nurse or social worker or school attendance officer is employed, and such
A
m


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSION'S.

65

persons so appointed shall individually or collectively make their investigation
of poor mothers, orphans and half orphans, in the same manner as nurses and
social workers, as is provided for in section eight of this act. S ec . 10. Where child may reside.—The child or children to whom the allow­
ance is made under this act must be living with the mother, or other female
guardian of such child or children unless special privilege of separation is
authorized by the board of county commissioners, upon the recommendation
of the board of'public instruction for the sake of the child’s education.
S ec . 11. Act to he construed liberally.—The provisions of this act shall be
construed liberally to the ends that the best interest of all dependent children
shall be conserved.
S ec . 12. School attendance.—All children receiving aid under the provisions
of this act shall be required to attend the schools of the county during the whole
term or terms of such schools, and upon failure of such children to attend
schools for the whole term or terms thereof, the aid herein provided for such
mothers and child or children shall cease without notice.
S ec . 13. Penalty for fraud.—Any person procuring an allowance under the
provisions of this act, for a person or persons not entitled thereto shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than
one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment for a period of not more than
six- months, or by both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the
trial judge.
S ec . 14. Repeal.—All laws or parts of laws in conflict with the provision of
this act are hereby repealed.
S ec. 15. This law shall become effective upon its becoming a law.
Approved, May 31, 1919.
i43973°—19---- -5


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HAWAII.
{Laws 1919, act 129.]
An act to provide for the support of children of indigent, widowed, or abandoned
mothers, and providing for local boards to adminster such support.

Be it enacted by the legislature of the Territory of Hawaii: S ection 1.
County boards of child ivelfare created.—In each county or city and county of
the Territory of Hawaii there is hereby established and created a board to be
known as the Hoard of Child Welfare,
S ec . 2. Membership.—The said board shall be composed of five members,
three of whom shall be men and two shall be women, who shall be appointed
by the governor, in the manner prescribed in section 80 of the Organic Aht.
The judge or judges of the juvenile court or courts in each county and in
the city and county shall be ex officio members of the representative boards of
each county and of the city and county.
S ec. 3. Term of office.—The members of said board shall hold office for the
period of four years; Provided, hoivever, That on the first appointment of said
board, the governor shall appoint two of the members of said board for four
years, and the remaining members of the board for two years; and that there­
after all appointments shall be for four years.
S ec. 4. Expenses.—The members of the Board of Child Welfare, as herein
provided, shall receive no compensation for their services as members of such
board, but they shall be entitled to the actual and necessary expenses incurred
by them in properly discharging their official duties either while making in­
vestigations or otherwise, which shall be paid out of the funds of the respective
counties or cities and counties'available therefor.“
S ec . 5. Organization and duties.—The said board as herein provided, shall
as soon as is convenient after this act becomes effective, organize and elect
a chairman and appoint a clerk of the said board, who shall hold office sub­
ject to the pleasure of the said board. The said board may employ such offi­
cers and employees as may be provided for by the boards of supervisors of the
respective counties or cities and counties. It may establish rules and regula­
tions for the conduct of its business which shall provide for the careful in­
vestigation of all applications for allowances or the adequate supervision of all
persons receiving allowances, and may provide for the making of reports by
the officers, employees, and representatives of the board with respect to per­
sons receiving allowances granted by the board. The said child welfare board
shall report annually in detail to the board of supervisors of the respective
counties or cities and counties the transactions of the board for the preceding
fiscal year and if required by the boards of supervisors of the respective
counties or cities and counties, more frequent reports must be given covering
fractional parts of a year.
S ec . 6. Board to submit estimates.—The said child welfare board shall pre­
pare and submit to the boards of supervisors of the respective counties or
cities and counties an estimate of the funds required to carry out the purposes
of this act, which said estimate shall be furnished to the said boards of super­
visors at the semiannual or annual meeting of said board when the semiannual
"or annual budget or estimate of expenditures is prepared.
67

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68

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

Sec. 7. Allowances to mothers.—A board of child welfare may in its dis­
cretion grant an allowance to any mother of one or more children who is a
widow, or unmarried, or deserted by her husband, or whose husband is an
inmate or patient of a territorial or other institution, providing the said
mother is a resident of the county or city and county wherein the application
is made and has been a resident of said county or city and county for a period
of one year immediately preceding the application. Such allowance shall be
made by a majority of votes of the boai'd and may be increased, diminished, or
totally withdrawn in the discretion of said board. Before granting an allow­
ance under the provisions hereof, the said board shall determine that the
mother is a suitable person to bring up her said children, and that the granting
of such allowance is necessary to enable her to properly do so.
Allowances granted by the said boards shall be paid out of any moneys ap­
propriated by the boards of supervisors of the respective counties or cities
and counties for such purpose and the boards of supervisors of the respective
counties or cities and counties shall appropriate and make available for the
said board of child welfare and shall include in the semiannual or annual
budget or estimate of expenditures such sum or sums as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions of this act.
Applications for allowances under the provisions hereof may be made di­
rectly to the local board of child welfare by the mother applying for such
allowance or by some suitable person acting on her behalf.
Allowances made by the board shall be for a period of not more than six
months, but may be renewed from time to time at the same or different
amounts for similar periods or less, either successively or intermittently, and
may be revoked in the discretion of the said board.
The county attorneys or the city and county attorneys of the respective
counties or cities and counties shall act as the legal advisors of the board in
the respective counties, and whenever requested so to do by said boards in
the case of any wife where husband has deserted her, prosecute all legal meth­
ods to obtain the return of such husband, and shall also whenever so re­
quested by said boards represent such wife and in her behalf prosecute any and
all civil actions or proceedings to compel such husband to support his wife and
children, and provided that in any civil action or proceeding so instituted the
.county or city and county attorney shall file his certificate setting forth that
he represents such wife upon request of said board, in which case no costs of
court shall be required to be paid by such wife.
S ec . 8. County boards of supervisors' to appropriate funds.—The boards of
supervisors of the respective counties or cities and counties are hereby author­
ized and empowered to appropriate from time to time such sum or sums as
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act, including expenses for
administration and relief, and no board of child welfare shall expend or con­
tract to expend, under the provisions of this act or otherwise, any public
moneys not specifically appropriated therefor as herein provided.
S ec . 9. Penalty for fraud.—Any person who shall procure, directly or in­
directly, any allowance for relief under the provisions of this act, for or on
account of a person not entitled thereto, or shall knowingly or wilfully pay or
permit to be paid any allowance to a person not entitled thereto, shall be
deemed guilt/jof a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof may be punished
by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment for a period of not more
than six months.
S ec . 10. This act shall become effective from and after the date of its
approval.
Approved, April 25, 1919.

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IDAHO.
[Laws 1913, chap. 73, as amended by Laws 1915, chap. 135.1]
An Act To provide for the assistance and support of poor women whose husbands
are dead or are inmates of the Idaho State penitentiary .and who have a child or
children dependent for support wholly or partly upon their labor and conferring juris­
diction thereof upon probate courts.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: S ection 1. Aid to
needy mothers.—The probate judge of each county shall have authority as here­
inafter provided to make provision for the partial support of women whose
husbands are dead, or whose husbands are prisoners, confined in the Idaho
State penitentiary, or whose husbands are confined in a State insane asylum or
the State Home for the Feeble-minded, when such women are poor and ate the
mothers of children under the age of fifteen (15) years, and such mothers and
children reside in such counties.
S ec . 2. Amount of allowance.—The allowance of each of such women shall
not exceed ten dollars ($10.00) a month when she has but one child under the
age of fifteen (15) years, and if she has more than on child under the age of
fifteen (15), it shall not exceed the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) a month for
the first child and five dollars ($5.00) a month for each of the other children
under the age of fifteen years.
S ec . 3. Conditions of allowance.—Such allowance shall be made by the pro­
bate court and only upon the following conditions: (1) The child or children,
for whose benefit the allowance is made, must be living with the mother of such
child or children; (2) the allowance shall be made only when in the absence
of such allowance, the mother would be required to work regularly away from
her home and children, and when by means of such allowance, she will be able
to remain at home with her children; (3) the mother must, in the judgment of
the probate court, be a proper person, physically and mentally, for the bringing
up of her children; (4) such allowance shall, be in the judgment of the court,
be necessary to save the child or children from neglect; (5) no person shallreceive the benefit of this act who shall not have been a resident of the county
in which such application is made for at least two years next before the making
of such application for such allowance: Provided, That the provisions of this
act shall not apply to any child which has property of its own sufficient for its
support.
S ec . 4. Alloioance paid out of county funds.—Whenever the probate court
shall determine that an allowance under this act shall be made, it shall make
an order to that effect wrhich order, among other things, shall set out in full the
name of the mother, her place of residence, the names and ages of each of the
children, and the amount allowed to each child. The court may, in its dis­
cretion, order the allowance paid to the mother or to an individual or organiza­
tion approved by the court as trustee for her benefit. Upon presentation of such
1
The amendment of 1915 extended the provisions of the law to women whose husbands
were in State institutions for the insane- or feeble minded. It also allowed the court to
order payment to an approved individual or organization for the benefit of the mother
as well as to the mother directly.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

order, the county commissioners shall direct monthly warrants to be drawn
therefor, which warrants shall be paid from the general funds of the county. '
S ec . 5. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach the
age of fifteen (15) years, any allowance made to the mother of such child for
the benefit of such child shall cease. The probate court may, in its discretion,
at any time .before such child reaches the age of fifteen (15) years, discontinue
or modify the allowance to any mother and for any child. If such husband
shall have been confined in the Idaho State penitentiary, such allowance shall
cease on his discharge or parole and whenever any woman on whose account
any allowance shall have been made under the provisions of this act, shall
marry, such allowance Shall cease.
S ec. 6. To whom law does not apply.—The provisions of this law shall not
apply to any woman who is not eligible under the provisions of section 1 hereof.
S ec . 7. Penalty for fraud.—Any person procuring, or attempting to procure,
any allowance for a person not entitled thereto, shall be deemed-guilty of a
misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less
than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500),
or bjr imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than one year,
or by both fine and imprisonment.
S ec . 8. Motion to set aside allowance.—In each case where an allowance Is
made to any woman under the provisioiis of this act a judgment entry to that
effect'shall be entered upon the records of the probate court making such allow­
ance and it shall be the right of any tax-paying citizen at any time .to file a
motion to set aside such judgment, and on such motion the probate judge shall
hear evidence without a jury and his decision shall be final.
S ec . 9. Repeal.—All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are, in
so far as they conflict, hereby repealed.
S ec . 10. Reports.—Between the first and thirtieth days of October of each
year the probate judge shall submit to the governor a report iii writing, upon
blanks to be furnished by the State, showing the number of applications for
allowances under this a ct; the number of pensions allowed; the number of
children benefited by each allowance; the amount and duration of each allow­
ance, and such other useful information'regarding such applications as may be
reasonably obtained at the hearing thereof; Provided, That the name or identity
of any applicant or beneficiary shall not be disclosed in such report, and that
such report shall not be published at State expense.
Approved- March 5, 1913. Amendment approved March 15, 1915.


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ILLINOIS.
[Laws 1913, pp. 127-130,1 as amended by Laws 1915, pp. 243—2452 ; Laws 1917, pp.
£
220-222«; Laws 1919, p. 780.4]
An Act To provide for the partial support of mothers whose husbands are dead or have
become permanently incapacitated for work by reason of physical or mental infirmity,
when such mothers have children under fourteen years of age, and are residents of
the county in which application for relief is made ; and, also', to provide for the proba­
tionary visitation, care, and supervision of the family for whose benefit such support
is provided.

4
it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, vepvesented in the general
assembly: S ection 1. Jurisdiction.—The juvenile court, or where there is no
juvenile court, the county court in the several counties in the State, shall have
original jurisdiction in all cases coming within the terms of this act.
S ec. 2. Application for relief.—A woman whose husband is dead and was a
resident of the State of Illinois at the time of his death, or whose husband
has become permanently incapacitated for work by reason of physical or mental
infirmity, and [has] become so incapacitated while a resident of this State may
file an application for relief under, this act, provided such woman has a pre­
vious residence for three years in the county where such application is made
and is the mother of a child or children.
S ec. 3. Official investigation'and report.—Whenever an application for relief
is filed the home of the applicant shall be-visited by an officer of the court
having jurisdiction of the matter, and the facts set forth in such application
shall be investigated by such officer under the direction of the court, and a
report and recommendation of the approval or disapproval of such application
shall be made in writing by such officer to the court without any unnecessary
delay.
S ec. 4. Petition, form o f—A fter the investigation o f such application for
relief by an officer o f court and the filing o f the report and recommendation
thereon o f such officer, such officer o f court or any reputable and responsible
person w ho has a residence in the county may file w ith the clerk o f the court
•^Superseded the “ Funds to parents’ act ” of June 5, 1911, which provided that :
If the parent or parents of such dependent or neglected child are poor and unable to
properly care for the said child, but are otherwise proper guardians and it is for the
welfare of such child to remain at home, the court may enter an order finding such facts
and fixing the amount of money necessary to enable the parent or parents to properly
care for such child, and thereupon it shall be the duty of the county board, through its
county agent pr otherwise, to pay to such parent or parents, at such times as said order
may designate, the amount so specified for the care of such dependent or neglected child
until the further order of the court.” (Laws 1911, pp. 126-127.)
2 Law as passed in 1913 limited the aid to mothers who were citizens.
The amendment
of 1915 permits aid to alien mothers who have declared their intention to become citizens
but only for their American-born children under 14. The limit of $50 for any family
was raised to $60.
3 The amendments of 1917 require the husband to have been a resident of the State at
the time of his death or when he became incapacitated. Aid may be granted a mother
who is a holder of or entitled to a homestead under the exemption laws of the State or
has dower rights in real estate of which the value is not more than $1,000. The act as
passed in 1913 had prohibited aid to a mother owning any real property.
4 The amendment of 1919 increased the tax to be levied to provide funds for mothers’
pensions from three-tenths of a mill to one mill on the dollar in counties of 300,000
population or less and not exceeding four-tenths of a mill in other counties.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

having jurisdiction of the matter a petition in writing duly verified by affidavit
setting forth such facts as are necessary under this act to give the" court juris­
diction of the parties and of the subject matter, and setting forth such other
facts, which, when found by the court to be true, shall be the basis itpon which
the order of relief is entered. It shall be sufficient that the affidavit is upon
knowledge, information, and belief* A separate petition shall be filed for each
child. The mother of such child and the county board «of the county in which
the petition is filed shall be made parties respondent to such petition.
S ec. 5. Summons.—Upon th e filing o f such petition a summons returnable not
less than three days nor more than ten days after the date thereof sh all issue
to the respondents named in such petition requiring the m other w ith such child
and all the respondents to appear at a place and tim e stated in the summons,
Which tim e shall be on the return day o f such summons.
S ec. 6. Service.—Service of summons shall be made in the same manner as is

provided for in the service of a summons in an act entitled “An act to regulate
practice in courts of chancery,” approved March 15, 1872, in force July 1, 1872.
S ec. 7. New process.—Whenever process shall not be returned executed on or
before the return day thereof, the court may direct the clerk to issue an alias,
pluries, or other process, returnable at a time ordered by the court.
S ec. 8. Appearance—Hearing.—The filing of a written appearance by a re­
spondent shall render the service of summons on such respondent unnecessary.
The court shall proceed to hear the cause upon the return day of the summons
or upon a day thereafter to be fixed by the court without ’the formality of the
respondents filing answers: P ro v id e d ,All the respondents have either been
served with summons or have theijr written appearance in said cause.
S ec. 9. Hearing—Order of payment—Duty of county board.—Upon the hear­
ing in court of a petition under this act, the court, being fully advised in the
premises finding the facts alleged.in the petition to be true, may make an order
upon the county board of the county to pay to the mother of the child or children
in whose behalf the petition or petitions are filed an amount of money necessary
to enable such mother to properly care for such child or children. It thereupon
shall be the duty of the county board, through its county agent or otherwise, to
pay to such mother at such times as said order may designate the amount so
specified for the care of such child or children until the further order of the
court.
S ec. 10. Amount of allowance.—The allowance made to such mother shall not
exceed fifteen dollars per month when such mother has but one child under the
age of fourteen years; and if she has more than one child under such age, the
allowance to such mother ifiay be such an amount as the court shftll deem
sufficient under the particular circumstances of the case: Provided, That in no
event shall the relief granted to any one mother and children exceed the sum
of ten dollars per month for each additional child: Provided further, That in
no case shall the allowance made to any mother exceed the sum of sixty dollars
per month.
Sec. 11. Conditions upon which relief is granted.—Such relief shall be granted
by the court only upon the following conditions:
(1) The child or children for whose benefit the relief is granted must be
living with the mother of such child or children; (2) the court must find that
it is for the welfare of such child or children to remain at home with the mother;
(3) the relief shall be granted only when in the absence of such relief the
mother would be required to work regularly away from her home and children,
or when in the absence of such relief it would be necessary to commit such
child or children to a dependent institution, and when by means of such relief

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

73

she will be able to remain at home with her children, except that she may be
absent for work a definite number of days each week to be specified in the court’s
order, when such work can be done by her without the sacrifice of health or the
neglect of home and children; (4) such mother must, in the judgment of the
court, be a proper person, physically, mentally, and morally fit, to have the care
and custody of her children; (5) the relief granted shall, in the judgment of
the court, be necessary to save the child or children from neglect; (6) a mother
shall not receive such relief who is the owner of real property or personal
property other than the household,goods, but no mother who shall be the holder
of, or entitled to, a homestead under the exemption laws of this State, or who
is the holder of, or entitled to a dower right in real estate, provided the fair cash
market value of said real estate is not more than one thousand ($1,000) dollars,
shall be denied relief under the provisions of this act; (7) a mother shall not
receive such relief who has not resided in the county where the application is
made at least three years next before making such application; (8) a mother
shall not receive such relief if her child or children has or have relatives of
sufficient ability, and who shall be obligated by the finding and judgment of a
court of competent jurisdiction, to support them.
S ec . 12. Relief for child between l'f and 16 years.—Whenever any child shall
arrive at the age of fourteen years any relief granted to the mother for such
child shall ceqse: Provided, If a child of fourteen years of age be ill or is
incapacitated for work, the mother shall receive funds for his care during such
illness or incapacity for work until such child is sixteen years of age. The
court may, in its discretion, at any time before such child reaches the age of
fourteen years, modify or vacate the order granting relief to any mother and
for any- child.
S ec . 12a. Residence.—No mother who is not a citizen of the United States
can receive relief under the provisions of this act unless such mother has filed
application for citizenship papers or has made her declaration of intentiori to
become a citizen of the United States, when in such case or cases such mother
may be granted relief under the provisions of this act for each of her children
as were born in the United States of America and are under the age of fourteen
years.
S ec. 13. Presence of husband.—Whenever relief is granted or is about to be
granted to a mother whose husband is permanently incapacitated for work by
reason of physical or mental infirmity and the presence of such husband in the
family is a menace to the physical and moral welfare of the mother or children,
then the court may require that such husband be removed from the home and
provision for his care made elsewhere, or failing to remove such husband or
upon his refusal to be separated from his family, the court may, in its dis­
cretion, vacate the order granting relief, or refuse the relief asked for.
S ec . 14. Probation officers.—The court having jurisdiction in proceedings
coming within the provisions of this act shall have the power to appoint one
or more qualified persons of good character, who shall serve and be known as
probation officers, during the pleasure of the court, and who shall be paid a
suitable compensation by the county for their services, the amount thereof to
be determined by the county board.
S ec . 15. Duty of probation officers.—It shall be the duty of such officers to
investigate all applications for relief and make a written report of such investi­
gation with their recommendations.
After granting of relief to any mother for the support of her children it
shall be the further duty of such officers to visit and supervise, under the
direction of the court, the families to which such relief has been granted and

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/

74

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PEKSIOSTS.

to advise with thé court and to perform such other duties as the court may
direct in order to maintain the integrity of the family and the welfare of the
children.
S ec. 16. Levy of tax—Limitation.—The county board in each county shall levy
a tax not to exceed one mill on the dollar annually on all taxable property in
thé county, in counties having a population of not more than 300,000 inhabitants,
and not to exceed four-tenths of a mill annually on all taxable property in the
county, in counties having a population of over 300,000 inhabitants, such tax to
be levied and collected in like manner with the general taxes of such county,
and to be known as a mothers’ pension fund ; which said tax shall be in addi­
tion to all other taxes which such county is now, or hereafter may be authorized
to levy on the aggregate valuation of all property within such county, and the
county clerk, in reducing tax levies under the provisions of section 2 of an act
entitled, “An act concerning the levy and extension of taxes,” approved May
9, 1901, in force July 1, 1901, as subsequently amended, shall not consider the
tax for said mothers’ pension fund, authorized by this act, as a part of the gen­
eral tax levy for county purposes, and shall not include the same in the limita­
tion of three (3) per cent of the assessed valuation upon which taxes are re­
quired to be extended. The provisions of this section relating to the power to
levy taxes, however, shall extend only for a period of three years beginning
•with the year A. D. 1919.
S ec 17. Partial relief.—-Should the fund herein authorized be sufficient to
permit an allowance to only a part of the mothers coming within the provisions
.of this act, the court shall select, in its discretion, those in most urgent need of
such allowance.
Sec. 18. Penalty for fraud.—Any person or persons fraudulently attempting
to obtain or fraudulently obtaining any allowance for relief under this act shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished
by a fine of not less than five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, or
imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not to exceed six months, or both.
S e c . 19. Repeal.—All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby
repealed.
Approved June 30, 1913. Amendments approved June 28, 1915 ; June 11 and
26, 1917 ;'June 21, 1919.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS,

75

[F o rm s used in J u v en ile Court o f Cook C ou nty (C h i c a g o ).]
APPLICATION CARD.

Saniamo.

Date of application.

•

Alias.

Other names needed for identification.

Social state.

Cross references.

t

Date. Res.
No.

How Sanitary
Rooms. Floor. F.R.or Rent. long.
condition.

Street.

First names.

Date Birth­
of
birth. place.

Landlord
or agent.
Address.

Dist.

Occupa­
Left
Mental or
tion or
sch. Amt.
Cause Date physical Docket
school Wages. at
of Prem
of
of
defects num­
with
age ins.
death. death.
and
ber.
grade.
of.
illiteracy.

Man.
WOman’s maid­
en name.
Children.
Others in fam­
ily.

Union.

Kir*. To.
ship.

Lodge.

Benefit society.

Contributes
to family.

Other sources Amt. Pawns. Install­
of income.
ments.

Debts to.

Amt. For.

Weekly benefit.

Length of time in-

Marriage.

Race.
County. State.

U. S.

Date.

By
Place. whom.

Previous
marriage.

Man......

Do you own any?.......
What, if any, did your
husband leave?'___

Woman.
Relatives.

Property.

Address.

Kinship. To.

References.

Address.

Connection. Of,

Church or Sunday school.
Original religion.
Man.-........................;...............................
Woman.............................................................
Children..................................... ~ .......1........
- State of Illinois, County of Cook, ss:
«„v ___• ~
duly sworn, on oath doth depose and say that the written statements unde1*
w* various printed headings on the opposite side of this application card were voluntarily made by this
amant and written thereon by direction of this affiant and that the statements thereon, both written and
printed, are true in substance and in fact.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this-----day of ■


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•A. D. 19—.

-, Notary P u b lic .

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’- PENSIONS.

76

RE PO R T OP

Rent. When.

Previous addresses.

IN V ESTIG A TO R .

How
long.

Previous addresses.

Rent. When.

How
long.

Date.
Address.

Employer.

Agencies and per­
sons interested.

R .,I.
Of
No. Wages. or S.

Address.

Capacity.

Position.
From— To—

Depart­
ment.

Of
No.

Disabilities.

Date.

Foreman.

Date.

Accident............................
Chronic physical disability
Epilepsy..............
Insanity.___ ___
Subnormal mind.
Industrial accident...
Occupational disease.
Institutional care of.

Of No.

Date.

Tuberculosis.
Venereal disease.
Maternity..........
Imprisonment.
Death.............

IDENTIFICATION CARD.

[Used for purpose of registration with other departments of the court.]
Surname-----------. Date of first report-----.
Address.

First names.
1. F
2. M
■3.
4.
5.

Dept.

Officer.

Dept.

Officer.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10 .

O T H E R R E PO R TS.

Dates.

Name of child com­
plained of..


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Address.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

77

[R e p o rt b la n k .]
PARTIAL REPORT CF INVESTIGATION ON COMPLAINT NO. -------- .

Nam e-------

Action taken

Bate,-------—, 191—.
---- . Address----------. Parties consulted and information received-----------------

-----------------, P rob a tion

Officer.

REPORT OF WORK DONE IN THE CASE OF PAROLED WARD.

Date,

. ..

Name.

Docket number.

Address.

-, Probation

Officer.

[P e t it io n fo r fu n d s.]

State of Illinois, county of Cook, ss.

In the circuit (juvenile) court of Cook County.
----------, Term 19— .
To the honorable the judges of the circuit court of Cook County, in chancery sittin g:
1 . Your p etition er,--------------------- , respectfully represents unto your honors that your

petitioner is a reputable au<J responsible person and a resident of said county. Your
petitioner further represents that-------- ------- is a male*6 child under- fourteen years
of age and of the age of ---------- years on the ------ day of --------- , A. D. 19— , now
within the said county, and is a dependent child in this, that — he has not sufficient
means of subsistence.
2. Your petitioner further represents that said child is living with its mother, --------------- ; that her residence is ---------- ; that the father of said child is (a) dead (b)
permanently incapacitated for work by reason of physical or mental infirmity.
3. Your petitioner further shows t h a t --------------------- , the mother of said child, is a
citizen of the United States of America and a resident of said county for three years
next before the date of application for relief upon which this petition is based;
that she is a proper person, physically, mentally, and morally fit to bring up said child
and that she does not own any real or personal property other than the household
goods; that she is poor and unable without financial aid and assistance to properly
care for the said child, but is otherwise a proper guardian of said child, and the relief
prayed for herein is necessary to save said child from neglect.
4. Your petitioner further represents that said child has no relatives of sufficient
ability to support it.
5. Your petitioner further represents that it is for the welfare of said child and for
the best interests of the people of the State of Illinois that said child should remain at
home with its mother.
6 . Your petitioner prays that the s a i d --------------------- and the board of commissioners
of Cook County, Illinois, and each of them who are hereby made parties defendant
hereto, be required to personally be and appear before this honorable court on the —«—
day of --------- , 19— , at the hour of ------ m., and then and there have said "child in
open court and answer this petition forthwith, and show, if they or either of them
can, why the said child should not be and remain a ward of this honorable court, and
that upon the hearing of this cause this honorable court will order and direct the board
of commissioners of Cook County, Illinois, through the county agent, or otherwise, to
provide and furnish to the mother of said child such necessary financial aid and assist­
ance as will enable her to properly care for the said child at home, and that this
honorable court will make such other orders in regard to the visitation and supervision
of said child as may be necessary to maintain .the integrity of the family home and the
welfare of the said child, and make such other and further orders in this cause as to
your honors shall seem meet and according to equity and good conscience and according
to the statute in such case made and provided.
May it please your honors to grant unto your petitioner 8 the writ of summons out
of chancery, directed to the sheriff or any probation officer of said county therein, and
thereby commanding him to summon the said defendant,,--------------------- , and the board
of commissioners of Cook County, Illinois, to personally be and appear before this hon­
orable court on the ------ day o f ----------, A. D. 19— , at the hour o f ------ , and that they
then and there have s a id --------------------- in open court.
-------------------- , Attorney for Petitioner:

State of Illinois, county of Cook, ss.
--------- — ----- , being first duly sworn,., deposes and says that affiant has read the
above and foregoing petition by affiant subscribed and knows the contents thereof, and
that the samé is true to the best of affiant’s knowledge, information, and belief.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this


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day of

A. D. 19—.

-, Clerk.

78

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

H IST O R Y S H E E T .

Name of child.. . . ..... ......................
Name of child.......... :......... ......:.........
Name of child........................................
Name of child........................................
Name of child............................ ..........
Father’s name, nationality, and creed.
Mother’s name, nationality, and creed

Age.
Age.
Age.

Age.
Age.

Address.
Address.

Mother’s earning capacity.
Probation Officer.
SU M M O N S.

State of Illinois, Cook County, ss.

In the circuit court of Cook County (juvenile court).

The people of the S ta te of Illinois, to the sheriff or any probation officer of Cook County,
greeting :

We command that you summon --------- --------- and all whom it may concern, if
-h e - shall be found in your county, personally to be and appear before the circuit
court of Cook County before the honorable--------------------, one o f the judges thereof,
designated to hold and holding juvenile court thereof, in the juvenile court room at the
courthouse, in room 1 0 0 7 , in Chicago, in said county of Cook, on the -7- —- day of —------A. D. 1 9 1 —, at — o’clock — m. to answer unto the petition of
--------- :— hereto­
fore filed in the office of the clerk of said court, alleging that ——------------- , now in the
custody and control of the said ——>— —-------, is a
cMld and that —
hethen and there have the said child in open court.
And have you then and there this writ, with an endorsement thereon in what manner
you shall have executed the same.
Witness, -------- ----------- , clerk of the said court, and the seal thereof, this -—— day
o f ---------, 191—„
-----—

- -------;, Clerk.

Served this writ on thè within named -—------ --------- by reading the same to' — ---- and at the same time delivering a copy thereof t o ------t h is -------day of <
—---- —, 1 9 3 .—..
Served this writ on the within named--------------------by leaving a copy thereof at —----usual place of abode, with ----- -------------- , a member of ----- - family of the age of ten
years and upwards, at the same time informing------of the contents thereof.
The other within-named defendants not found in my county.
A P P E A R A N C E ' O F P R E S ID E N T

OF

COUNTY

BOARD.

State of Illinois, county of Cook, ss. In the eireuit court of Cook County.
In the matter of ----------. ^ — .(alleged dependent), juvenile No. ------- , I, --------- --------- , president of the county board," do hereby enter ihy appearance herein waiving
service of notice.
O r d e r o n C o u n t y B o a r d t o G r a n t R e j .i e f .
D ECREE, D E PE N D E N T ---- --------- ON PR O BA TIO N .

Chicago , ---------, ¿91— .
In the matter o f --------------------- , juvenile (No.------ .
This cause now eoming on to be heard upon the petition for relief filed herein and the
appearance of the defendants, the board of commissioners of Cook County, Illinois,
and —-------------------, and the c h ild --------------------- , being now here in open eourt in f a own proper person, and the defendants, the board of commissioners of Cook County,
Illinois, and --------- ---------- being also here in open court, and the court having heard
all the evidence adduced and being fully advised in the premises, finds:
That it has jurisdiction of all the parties to this cause and the subject matter hereof;
that the petitioner is a reputable person and a resident in the County of Cook and State
of Illinois, and that :------------- -------is a
person under the age of fourteen years
and of the age o f ------ years on the ------ day of ----------, A. D. 19— , now within said
county and living with its mother, and is a dependent ehild in this that it has not' suffi­
cient means of subsistence as alleged in the petition herein.
The court further finds that the father of said child is (a) dead; (b) permanently
incapacitated for work by reason of physical or mental infirm ity; that -------— .........—,
mother of said child, is a citizen of the United States of America and is and has been
a resident of said county for three years next before the date of the application for relief
herein and that she is a proper person physically, mentally, and morally fit to bring up
said ch ild ; that she does not «w n any rdal or personal property other, than the household
goods; that she is poor and unable without financial aid and assistance to properly care
for said child, but is otherwise a proper guardian of said child, and that the relief
prayed for herein necessary to save said child from neglect.
The court further finds that- all the material allegations in the petition herein are
true and proven as therein alleged.
The court further finds that it is for the welfare of said child and for the best interest
of the people of the State of Illinois that said child should remain at home with its
mother.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

79

And the court further finds upon testimony heard in open court that the sum of -----dollars per month is the amount of money necessary to enable the mother to properly
care for said child a t home.
It is, therefore, ordered that the s a id ---------------- >— be and remain a ward o f this court,
and that said ward go henhe and be and remain with —------------------- , mother ©f said
child, subject to the friendly visitation and supervision of the chief probation officer of
this court or such assistant probation officer of this court as may from time to time be
designated by him.
It is further ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the sum of ------ dollars per month
be, and hereby is, fixed by the eourt as the amount of money necessary to enable the mother
to properly care for said child at home, and that the board of commissioners of Cook
County, Illinois, through its county agent, or otherwise, be, and hereby is, directed and
ordered to pay t o --------------------- , mother of said child, the sum of —,------ dollars. per
month, beginning----------, until further order o f court.
And the court hereby retains jurisdiction of this cause for the purpose of making such
further or other orders herein for the welfare of said child»as may from time to time be
found to be in accordance with equity find in accordance with the statute in such case
made and provided.
E n te r --------------------------------- ,
Judge of the Circuit (Juvenile) Court o f Cook County, Illinois.
id e n t if ic a t io n

card.

[Made out in triplicate in 3 colors ; red one given to woman, yellow to county agent,
white filed in funds department.]
Present this- card at office of Cook County agent, 213 So. Peoria Street, on the 5th day of
each month.
ID E N T IFIC A T IO N ,

In the matter o f —:------, juvenile No. —•— .
(Signature of parent.")

(Reverse side.)

C h i c a g o , ------------- .

County Agent of Cook County, Illinois.
D e a r S i r : I hereby certify that the foregoing is the signature of M rs.------- -----— —■
,
who by order of the juvenile court entered on the — — day of ----------, A. D. 19— , is
entitled to relief under the “ funds to parents act ” for h— above-named children,
Chief Probation Officer of the Juvenile Court.

SCHOOL STANDING AND ATTENDANCE BLANK, ---------- SCHOOL.

Chicago , I I I . , ---------- , is — .

In the matter of--------------- . Address------- .

T h e r e c o r d s o f t h i s s c h o o l f o r t h e m o n t h e n d i n g —--------- , 19— , i n t h e c a s e o f t h e a b o v e - n a m e d c h i l d s h o w

the following:

—.
Remarks-------------- l—■

'
•
. ,._, __.„(Absencesexcused--------- .
AttendancejAbsences unexcused-------Scholarship----------.
Deportment----------.
Grade----------.
( S i g n e d ) -------------— — ,'Principal.

re po r t of w o r k done in t h e case of paroled w ard .

,

*•
• Docket number.

Name.

Date,
Address.

f-

-,
order

in c r e a s in g

or

d e c r e a s in g

grant

p r e v io u s l y

—■.."

Probation Officer.

allow ed

.

State of Illinois, county of Cook, ss. In the circuit (juvenile) court of Cook County.
In the mattdt o f --------- ------------, a dependent. Juvenile No. ------ .
This cause duly coming on for a hearing and it appearing to the court that it has
jurisdiction of all the parties to this cause and the subject matter hereof;
And it further appearing to the court from the evidence that the sum of ------ dollars
per month heretofore fixed by the court as the amount of money necessary to enable
the defendant parent herein to properly care for the above-named child at home is -----sufficient for that purpose:
It is therefore ordered that the order of payment (under the funds to parents act)
heretofore on t h e ------ day of ----------, 19— , entered herein, be, and the same is hereby,
amended so that from and after the ------ day of ----------, 19— , the same shall read as
follows, to w i t :


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80

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

It is therefore ordered, adjudged, and decreed that the sum o f ------ dollars per month
be, and hereby is, fixed by the court as the amount of money necessary to enable the
parent to properly care for said child at home and'' that the board of commissioners of
Cook County, Illinois, through its county agent or otherwise, is hereby directed and
ordered to pay t o --------------------- , parent, the sum of ------ dollars per month, beginning
----------, until further order of court.
_ „
Enter — ------, --------------------- , Judge.
N O TIC E OF M OTIO N TO STAY PA Y M EN T .

State of Illinois, county of Cook. In the circuit (juvenile) court of Cook County,
Illinois.
In the matter o f --------------------- . Juvenile No. ------ .
T o --------------------- a n d ------------- --------- , defendants in the above entitled cause:
Please take notice that on<------ the ----- - day of -------;—, A. D. 19— , at the hour of
------- m., or as soon thereafter as I can be heard before his honor, J u d g e -------------------- -,
at his court room at the courthouse in room 1007, in Chicago, in said - county, I shall
move the court to . stay further payment under the “ funds to parents act ” under the
order heretofore on the ------- day of ----------, A. D. 19— , entered herein at which time
and place you may appear, if you see fit.
______________
Served the within notice on the n am ed --------------------- , --------------------- > defendants, by
reading the game t o ------ , a t the same time delivering a copy thereof to ------ , this — —
______________
day o f ----------, 19— .
[The above notice is also used for the increasing or decreasing of funds after first
grant and for continuing funds after child is 14 years old, if incapacitated.]
OEDEB STA Y IN G PA Y M EN T .

State of Illinois, county of Cook, ss. In the circuit (juvenile) court of Cook County.
In the matter o f --------------------- . Juvenile No. - —
This day c o m es--------------------- and enters herein his motion to stay further payment
under the funds to parents act under the order heretofore on the ----- day of --------—,
__.* entered herein.
>
And thereupon this cause coming on to be heard on said motion and it appearing to
the court that due service of said motion has been had on the defendan ts-------------- ———,
--------------------------------, and said defendants--------------------- , --------------;---- . being
now here in open c o u r t----- --------------- ..
. ,
,
, , .
. ,,
The court after hearing all the evidence adduced and being fully advised m the
premises hereby sustains said motion.
:
. . . . .
.
.„ ,
It is therefore ordered that further payment under the funds to parents act by
order of court heretofore on the ------ day of ---------- entered herein be, and the same
is hereby stayed until further order of court and this cause hereby stands continued.
J
E n te r ----------, --------------------- , Judge.


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INDIANA.
[Laws 1919, ch. 95.]
An Act To amend section 5 of an act -entitled “ An act t o . establish
dren’s guardians in each county, etc.”

a board of chil­

S ec. 5. Care of wards—May be boarded w ith* own ntother.—The board of
county commissioners may provide and maintain a house of suitable size and
convenience for the accommodation of the children placed under the custody
and control of such board; said house to be approved by-said board of chil­
dren’s guardiansshall pay such agents and assistants as may be deemed neces­
sary by said board of children’s guardians and the circuit court of such county,
and appointed by said board of children’s guardians, with the approval of the
circuit court of such county, and shall pay all other expenses of said board
and all expenses incident to the maintenance of said home except those for food
and clothing, which shall be paid by said board from an allowance which
shall be made for it by the board of county commissioners, to the amount of
not more than the legal per diem for each child under the care of such board
of children’s guardians, kept in said house or maintained outside of said house.
And said board shall have authority, when it deems it best for any child
or children, to keep them outside of such house, so long as the best interests
of such child or children shall require, and said board shall have full power
to contract for such outside care. In all cases where the said board deems it
advisable and for the best interest of such child or children, it may provide
that such child or children may be placed under the care of their mother and
that she shall be allowed such compensation therefor as the board may fix, not
exceeding the legal per diem for each child allowed for the care of the wards
of such board.
The county council shall appropriate, and the county commissioners shall
allow the funds necessary to carry into effect the provisions and purposes of
this' act.
,
Approved March 13, 1919.
The board of children’s guardians act as revised 1901 (secs. 3657-3664, Burns’
Annotated Indiana Statutes, 1914) provides “ That in each bounty of this State
there may be created a board composed of six persons, three of whom shall be
women, and every member of which shall be a parent, which board shall be a
body politic and corporate, known as the board of children’s guardians of
--------------county, and in such name may sue and be sued. The members of
Such board shall be appointed by the circuit court of such county, and shall
serve without compensation.” The law gives to such board the “ care and
supervision of neglected and dependent children under fifteen years of age
domiciled in the county for which it is created,” with power to take under
its control, after commitment by the circuit court, “ any children abandoned,
neglected, or cruelly treated by their parents, children begging on the streets,
children of habitually drunken or vicious and unfit parents, children kept in
vicious or immoral association, children known by their language and life to
be vicious or incorrigible, juvenile delinquents, and truants.” Such children
143973°—19-----6
81

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82

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

may, by leave of tlie circuit court of the county, be committed to orphan asy­
lums, indentured as apprentices, or “ may be in any manner disposed of by said
board as the circuit court, upon written petition, may direct.”
The juvenile court act (sec. 1642, 1644, Burns’ Annotated Indiana Statutes,
1914) defines a dependent child as “ any boy under the age of 16 years or any
girl under the age of 17 years, who is dependent upon the public for support,
or who is destitute, homeless, or abandoned.” Upon petition to the juvenile
court, or the circuit court sitting as such, such dependent children may be made
wards of the county boards of children’s guardians. By chap. 76 of the Laws
of 1919, the maximum compensation allowed for the care of dependent and
neglected children made wards by order of the juvenile court is increased from
thirty cents per day to fifty cents per day for children over five years of age
and sixty cents per day for children under five years of age.


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IOWA.
[Supplement to Code 1913, Supplemental Supplement 1915, as'amended by Laws 1917,
•
ch. 150,1]
•
v
S ection 254-al8. Jurisdiction.—The district court and superior courts are .
hereby clothed with original and full jurisdiction to hear and determine all
cases coming within the purview of this act, and the proceedings, orders, find­
ings, and decisions of said courts shall be entered in a book or books to be kept
for the purpose and known as the juvenile court record. Said courts shall
always be open for the transaction of business coming under the purview of
this act, but the hearing of any matter requiring notice shall be had only in
term time or at such time and place as the judge may appoint.
S ec. 254-al4. Terms defined. * * * For the purpose of this act, the words
“ dependent children ” or “ neglected children ” shall mean any child who for
any reason is destitute or homeless or abandoned; or dependent upon the public
for support; or who has not the proper parental care or guardianship; or who
habitually begs or receives alms; or who is found living in any house of ill fame
or with any vicious or disreputable person; or whose home, by reason of neglect,
cruelty, or depravity on the part of its parents or guardian or other person in
whose care it may be, is an unfit place for such child. * * *
S ec . 254-al5. Petition.—Any reputable person being a resident of the county,
having knowledge of a child in his county who appears to be either dependent,
neglected or delinquent, may file with the clerk of the court having jurisdiction
of the matter a petition in writing, setting forth the facts, verified by affidavit;
it shall be sufficient if the affidavit is upon information and belief.
S ec . 254—
al6. Summons.—Upon the filing of the petition the court may. cause
a.summons to issue requiring the person having custody or control of the child
or with whom the child may be, to appear with the child at a time and place
stated in the summons. The parents of the child, if living, and their residence
if known, or its legal guardian, if one there be, or if there is neither parent nor
guardian or if his or her residence is not known, then some relative, if there
be one and his residence is knowh, shall be notified of the proceedings, and in
any case the judge may appoint some suitable person to act in behalf of the
child. * * * On the return of the summons or other process, or as soon
thereafter as may be, the court shall enter an order fixing the time and place
for the hearing of said,petition, and at least ten days’ notice of such hearing
shall be served in writing upon the parents, guardian, or other person having
custody of the said child. * * *
S ec . 254—al8. Probation officers.—The court shall have authority to appoint
or designate one or more discreet persons of good character to serve as proba­
tion officers ** * *. In case a probation officer shall be appointed by any
court, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the court, if practicable, to notify the
said probation officer in advance when any child is to be brought before the
said court; it shall be the duty of said probation officer to make such investi­
gation as may be required by the court; to be present in court in order to repiAmendment to See. 254—a20 which provided aid to "widows was approved April 19,
1913 (Laws 1913, ch. 31). The amendment of 1917 raised the age limit of the children
who might be aided from 14 to 16 years.

88


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84

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

resent the interests of the child when the case is heard; to furnish to the court
such information and assistance as the judge may require * * *.
S ec. 254-a20. Dependent children—Aid to widowed mothers.—When any
child of the age stated in section two (2), hereof, [Sec. 254-al4] shall be
found to be dependent or neglected, within the meaning of this act, the court
may make an order committing the child to the care of sortfe suitable State insti­
tution, or to the care of some reputable citizen of good moral character, or to
the care of some industrial school, as provided by law, or to the care of some
association willing to receive'it, embracing in its objects the purpose of car­
ing for and obtaining homes for dependent and neglected children, which asso­
ciation shall have been accredited as hereinafter provided.
If the court finds that the mother of such dependent or neglected child is a
widow,1 and if the court further finds that such mother is poor and unable to
properly care for said child, but is otherwise a proper guardian, and that it is
for the welfare of such child to remain at home, the court may enter an order
finding such fact and fixing an amount of jtnoney necessary to enable such mother
to properly care for such child; and thereupon it shall be the duty of the county
board of supervisors, through its overseer of the poor or otherwise, to pay to
such mother, at such times as said order may designate, the amount so speci­
fied for the care of such dependent or neglected child until further order of
the court: Providing, however, That the amount to be paid for the care of any
such child shall not exceed the sum of two dollars per week i And provided,
further, That such payment shall cease upon any such child attaining the age
of sixteen years. The court may, when the health or condition of the child
may require it, cause the child to be placed in a public hospital or institution
for treatment or special care, or in a private hospital or institution which will
receive it for like purposes without charge. Any mother whose husband is an
inmate of any institution under the care of the board of control, shall, for the
purposes of thjs act, be considered a widow, but only while such husband is so
confined.
1 In the case of De Brot v. Marion County, 145 N. W. 167, the Supreme Court of Iowa
held that a divorced woman, whose husband is alive, is not a widow within the mean­
ing of this section.


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KANSAS.
[Laws 1917, ch. 138.]
An Act to amend chapter 261 of the Session Laws of 1915, the same being an act to
amend section 6624 of the General Statutes of 1915 relating to the poor, for the relief
of widowed and dependent children, and repealing said original section.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas: S ection 1. County
commissioners to aid poor mothers.—That section 6624 of the General Statutes
of 1915 be amended so as to read as follows: Sec. 6624. That the board of
county commissioners may, in their discretion, allow and pay to poor persons
who may become chargeable as paupers, and who are of mature years and
sound mind, and who from their general character will probably be benefited
thereby, and also the parents of idiots, and of children otherwise helpless re­
quiring the attention of their parents and who are unable to provide for said
children themselves, such annual allowances as will not exceed the charge of
their maintenance in the ordinary mode, the said board taking the usual
amount of charges in like cases as the rule for making such allowance: Pro­
vided, That in any case where the mother of any child or children under the
age of sixteen (16) years shall have the sole care and custody of such child
or children by reason, of such mother being a widow, divorced, or by reason
of the husband of such mother being physically o"r mentally unable to earn a
living for himself and family, or by reason of his being lawfully confined in
any penal or other State institution, or by reason of the husband of such
mother having at all times for three months last past abandoned or deserted
such mother without just cause or collusion, and where such mother has been
an actual bona fide resident of the county for two years1 next preceding her
application, and where such mother is a provident woman of good moral
character and a fit person to have the care and custody of such child or chil­
dren, and is financially unable to support such child or children, and where
such child or children have not sufficient property or income to support such
child or children, such mother shall be entitled to a “ mother’s aid ” in caring
for and supporting such child or children from the county in .which she is a
resident at the time she makes application; and in all such cases it shall be
the duty of the county commissioners to pay to such mother, by way of allow­
ance or pension, such sum, monthly, as may be reasonably necessary to sup­
port such mother and child or children, not to exceed the charge of maintenance
in the ordinary mode, which may be increased or diminished from time to time
as may be necessary, just and reasonable: Provided, That the total sum al­
lowed to any oiie mother coming under the provisions of this act shall riot ex­
ceed the sum of twenty-five ($25) dollars per month: And provided further,
That before any such allowance or pension shall be granted as set forth in the
foregoing proviso, it shall be the duty of such mother to file in the office of
the county clerk of the county in which she is an actual and bona fide resident
at the time as hereinbefore provided, an application for a mother’s aid for
caring for and supporting such child or children and setting forth in such
application that she is an actual and bona fide resident of such county, and that
she has been at all times for two years last past, and that she is the mother of
such child or children, and setting out a list of her property and that of such
1

The earlier law of 1915 had required only one year’s residence in the county.

85

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86

LAWS, RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

child or children, together with the amount of income therefrom, and stating
that she is financially unable to support and educate such child or children, and
stating that she is a widow, or that her husband has abandoned her, and stating
the date of abandonment, or that the husband is mentally or physically unable
to earn a living for himself and family, or that the husband is confined in one
of the State institutions, naming it, which application shall be duly verified by
the applicant and supported by the affidavit of two disinterested householders of
the township in which such mother is a resident, setting forth the same facts
and that the mother is a woman of good moral character and a fit person to
have the care and custody of such child or children, and thereupon and before
granting any such allowance or pension provided for in this act, the board of
county commissioners shall name and designate three reputable women, in no
way related to such applicant, residing in the township or city where sueh
applicant resides, who shall, without compensation,' investigate such applicant
and report in writing to said board of county commissioners under such rules
and regulations as the court may prescribe or require. And after a full in­
vestigation, if said board of county commissioners shall find that unless relief
is granted the mother will be unable to properly support and educate her child
or children, or that they may become a public charge, and that the statements
alleged in the application are true, it shall make an order finding and determin­
ing such facts and thereby and therein fixing and determining the amount of
money which it deems necessary for the county to contribute toward the sup­
port of such mother, child or children, and that sueh sums of money or so
much thereof as the board of county commissioners shall deem necessary and
proper shall be paid to such' mother for said child or children as directed and
prescribed by the board of county commissioners: Provided, That any such
payments of money may be increased temporarily by the board of county com­
missioners in case of sickness or unusual condition, and decreased in like man­
ner when deemed unnecessary : And provided further, That the court may, in its
discretion, order the amount of aid to be given in supplies instead of money.
Sec. 2. Payment out of county funds.—A certified copy of such findings and
order of the board of county commissioners shall be filed with the county clerk
of the county where such proceedings are had, and thereupon and thereafter,
and so long as such order remains in force, it shall be thé duty of the County
clerk each month to draw his warrant on the general fund of the county in
favor of the person and for the amount specified in such findings and order.
Such warrants shall be delivered to the person designated in said findings and
order upon the executing of a duplicate receipt therefor, one to be filed with the
juvenile court, and one to be filed with the county clerk. It shall be the duty
of the county treasurer to pay such warrants out of the funds in the general
revenue fund of the county when properly presented. But nothing in this act
shall be construed as repealing any laws now in force giving the county commis­
sioners powers to grant aid to the poor in their respective counties : Provided,
That it shall be unlawful for any attorney to receive any fee for bringing the
proceedings in the juvenile court provided herein.
S ec. 3. Jurisdiction.—The board of county commissioners in each of the several
counties of the State shall have jurisdiction of all cases coming under the pro­
visions of this act.
S ec. 4. Repeal.—That section 1 of chapter 261 of the Session Laws of 1915 as
amending section 6624 of the General Statutes of 1915 be and the same hereby
is repealed.
S ec. 5. When act takes effect.-—T hat th is a c t sh all take effect and be in force
from and a fter its publication in th e sta tu te book.

Approved March 13, 1917.

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M A IN E .
[Laws 1917, ch. 222 as amended by Laws 1919, ch. 17.]

1

An Act to provide for mothers with dependent children.

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Maine: S ection 1. Aid to poor
mothers.—Every city and town shall, subject to the provisions hereinafter con­
tained, render suitable and needful aid to any mother residing therein^ with a
dependent child or children under the age of sixteen years, who needs and
desires such aid to enable her to maintain herself and children in her home and
who is fit and capable, mentally, morally, and physically to bring up her
children.
S ec. 2. Residence—This act shall apply to all mothers and their dependent
children who may have a settlement in this State, or who shall have resided in
the State for not less than five consecutive years next prior to making applicationfor aid. No mother, nor any of her children shall acquire a settlement or be
in process of acquiring a settlement while receiving aid nor be deemed a pauper
by reason Of receiving such âid.
Sec. 3. Amount of aid.—The aid to be furnished héreunder may be furnished
either in money or supplies or both.
S ec. 4. State board of mother3s* aid—Municipal boards.—A State board of
mother’s aid hereinafter referred to as the “ State board” is hereby created
to serve without compensation, and to consist of the members of the State board
of charities and corrections, ex officio. The secretary of said State board of
charities and corrections shall be ex officio secretary of the State board of
mother’s aid, and serve without additional compensation as such.
In each city, town, and plantation there shall be, and hereby is, created a
-municipal board of mother’s aid, hereinafter referred to as the “ municipal
board ” to consist of the overseers or board of overseers of the poor ex officio,
unless the city by ordinance or the town or plantation by vote upon warrant
shall provide for a special board of not fewer than three persons, one. of whom
at least shall be a woman, appointed or elected for three-year terms, one term
expiring each year, to serve as such “ municipal board.” The members of such
municipal board shall serve without compensation as such.
The municipal board shall keep a record of all applicants investigated, visit
regularly or cause to be visited "by some agent in their behalf the home of "each
mother aided hereunder ; see that her children are actually living with her in
her home, observe the conditions of the home and of the family, and make and
keep a record of such visits and any fact observed which bears upon the neces­
sity or advisability of continuance of aid under this act and report the same to
the State board.
S ec. 5. Application—Penalty for fraud.—Any mother entitled thereto needing
and desiring aid herein provided for may apply therefor personally or by letter
i The amendment of 1919 raised the age of the children who might be aided from 14 to
16 years and extended the provisions of the act to include mothers who could prove settle­
ment in the State though not five years’ residence prior to filing application. The law
was further amended by striking put the limit of $10 per month for one child and $4 for
each additional child and leaving the amount of aid to be determined by the State and
municipal boards after a study of the family’s needs and Resources.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

to said municipal Jboard. The board shall thereupon cause the applicant to fill out
and sign an application blank or shall fill out the same from information fur nished by the applicant who shall sign it, in which shall be stated : First, name
of the applicant and that of her husband, the time and place of her marriage,
and whether her husband is living or deceased; second, the names and ages of
her children, whether those under compulsory school attendance are attending
and what school, and if not, the reason of such nonattendance ; third, her pres­
ent residence and address, the length of time she has been a resident of this
State and where she has resided therein; fourth, the nature and amount of any
property possessed by herself or her husband, if living, and her children, and
the extent and source of their income and hers ; fifth, the names and addresses
of her near relatives and those of her husband, and of one or more persons to
whom reference may be made for information ; sixth, a statement that the
applicant will agree to employ all aid received by her under this act solely
for the support of herself and her children under the age of sixteen years, and
for their proper upbringing in her home. The board may, if it deems proper,
require any such application and the statements made therein to be substan­
tiated by the oath or affirmation of the applicant.
Any person who shall knowingly, wilfully, and with intent to deceive, make
any false statement in said application blank shall be punished by a fine of
not more than five hundred dollars-or by imprisonment not exceeding one*
year, or both.
S ec. 6 . Investigation.—When such application has been made to the muncipal board, it shall forthwith make careful investigation by personally inter­
viewing the mother in her home, looking up her references, and pursuing such
other sources of information as are available, for the purpose of determining,
first, the truth of the statements contained in her application; second, whether
she is a fit and capable person to bring up her children, and whether the inmates
and surroundings of her household are such as to render it suitable for her
children to reside at home; third, w7hether the child or children of the appli­
cant a r e . attending school, and if not, why; fourth, whether, under all the
circumstances, considering her own resources and the ability of any member
of her family to contribute to her support, the possibility of receiving aid from
other relatives, individuals, agencies, or child-welfare organizations, and the
possibility of compelling contributions by any person under legal obligations
so to do, such mother is in need of aid under the provisions of this act, and if
so, in what amount.
S ec. 7. Report to State hoard—Payment.—The municipal board shall there­
upon file with the State board a copy of said application and a written report
embodying the results of their investigation and their recommendations thereon,
and the State board shall determine all matters in question, and communicate
in writing its decision to the municipal board. If the applicant is. held entitled
to aid, thé State board shall determine its character and amount, which may be
less than, but shall not exceed, the amount recommended by the municipal
board. The town shall thereupon, pursuant to such decision, pay the same in
money or its value to the applicant, or to some person designated by the State
board upon the recommendation of the municipal board, who shall expend it for
the purposes and in the manner set forth in the decision. The State board may
revise its decision whenever it deems it necessary or equitable so to do, but shall
not increase the amount of aid previously awarded except with the consent of
the municipal board, nor decrease it without giving said board opportunity to
be heard.
S ec. 8. Appeal to State hoard.—I f the said m unicipal board shall fa il for thirty
days to act upon and report upon said application, th e said m other m ay make

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

89

application for aid to the State board who shall communicate with the municipal
board, and if the municipal board shall thereafter neglect or fail to act for a
period of ten additional ’days the State board itself shall proceed to investigate
the merits of said application and to determine what, if any, aid shall be
awarded the applicant, and the decision of said State board shall be of the same
effect and validity as if the municipal board had in the first instance proceeded
according to sections five, six, and seven of this act. The expenses incurred by
the State board by reason of the default of the municipal board shall be audited
by the State auditor and paid by the State treasurer, who shall collect said
amount of the town in which the municipal board so failing to act as aforesaid
is located, by an action at law in the name of the State. ~
S ec. 9. Action in cases of desertion.— In any case when application for aid
hereunder is made by a mother who has a husband living, who is able by means
of his property or labor to contribute to her support and that of her children, but
Who wilfully neglects or refuses so to do, or who has deserted her or her children,
it shall be the duty of the municipal board of the town where the applicant
resides to advise the mother in making complaint to compel such husband to
contribute to the- support of his said wife and children, under the provisions of
sections thirty-eight to forty-one inclusive of chapter one hundred twenty of the
revised statutes, or in filing a petition under the provisions of section nine of
chapter sixty-six of the revised statutes; and until such proceedings have been
begun, and are being prosecuted in good faith to the satisfaction of the municipal
and State boards, and until, in cases of desertion, at least one year has elapsed
from date of commencement of such desertion, no aid shall be given under the
provisions of this act.
- S ec . 10. Supervision by State board.—The State board shall have general
supervision over the administration of the provisions of this act, and shall pre­
scribe appropriate forms for application, reports, and other proceedings required
by the a c t; said board shall keep a record of all cases reported to it hereunder
and action taken by it in relation to the same; and shall keep on file all reports
made to it by municipal boards; it shall see that families aided hereunder are
visited as herein required and shall have access to any records of the municipal
boards or of the overseers of the poor relating to any proceedings hereunder.
In order to aid the State board in determining any questions presented to it
for decision by any municipal boards under the provisions of this act, it may,
in addition to their reports, make further investigation in such manner as-it
may deem best. It shall embody a statement concerning the work done here­
under iu the annual report of the State bohrd of charities and corrections.
S ec . 11. Reimbursement by State.—Any city, town, or plantation rendering
aid under the provisions of this act, shall be reimbursed by the State for onehalf of the amount expended after approval by the State board and State
auditor of its bills. If the mother so aided has no settlement the city or town
shall be reimbursed for the total amount of the aid given after approval of the
bill as aforesaid. If the mother so aided has a lawful settlement in another
city or town, the amount of such aid rendered may be recovered by the city or
town giving it in an action against the city or town liable therefor, provided the
city or town so liable was notified in accordance with the requirements of sec­
tion thirty-three of chapter twenty-nine of the revised statutes, or against the
kindred of the mother and children so aided in the manner provided by section
thirty-three.
S ec. 12. Appropriation.—For the purpose of reimbursing, the cities or towns
as provided in this act there is hereby appropriated from the State treasury, the
sum of thirty-five thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars for nineteen hundred
and seventeen and twenty-five thousand dollars for nineteen hundred and

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90

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS, t

eighteen, provided that any unexpended balances of the amount appropriated for
nineteen hundred seventeen may be expended for the purposes of this act in
nineteen hundred and eighteen.
S ec . 13. Repeal.— All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby
repealed.
'
v
Approved, April 7, 1917. Amendment approved, February 27, 1919.

[F o r m s in U s e b y State B o a rd o f M o th ers’ A id .]

APPLICATION FOR AID BY MOTHER WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN.

Name of applicant_______________________ _____ Date______________
Residence---------------------------- 1_________ P. O. address_____________
Date of birth______ a_____________________ Birthplace_____________ .«!
Full name of husband__ .*__ 1___ Whereabouts if living__ _________
Date of his birth______________ ____________.___ Birthplace—______
Date of marriage_____ ___________________,____ Where married^___
By whom___ ±___________________ ______________titiij___ _______ i____
If husband is deceased, date of death________________, place of death.
Cause of death_______ _________________W___ p*_____ ____________
If living what incapacitates h im ____ ._____________ S____________
If divorced, by what court________ __________ when_________________
If deserted on what date______________________ —________________
What court action for nonsupport has been taken and w h e n ________
D E PE N D E N T C H IL D R E N (U N D E R 16 T E A R S OF A G E ).

Name.

Date of birth.

Birthplace.

School grade.

Attending what school.

C H IL D R E N 16 Y EA RS O F AGE AND OLDER.

Date.

Date of birth.

Birthplace.

Residence.

Wages.

Where employed.

R E L A T IV E S O F A P PLIC A N T;

*
Size of family.

«

Name.

Residence.

Aiding
Applicant?

Able
to aid ?

Aiding
Applicant?

Able
to aid?

Father__________________^_
Mother______ -,_____________
Sisters_______ _______ ____
Brothere__ _________ !__ ___
Others—_________ _____ J___
(State Relationship)

R E LA TIV E S OF H U SB A N D .

Name.

Size of family.

Residence.

F ath er.__ ___________________

_______________

______ _—

M o t h e r ________,_____

____________________

______ j------

M ______________

j

j

-------s i ------------------- .

----- ---- -

Sisters__________________ l___ _____ ______ ___
______ ___
. -----------------------Brothers!
_________i —i__________ _________— ,— -K ÌI------------------------ ---------------- «----.1
Others------- --------- £ —S—|---- --------(State Relationship.)
L I S T ALL A B SEN C ES FROM T H E STA TE IN L A S T F IV E T EA R S.

Date o f departure.


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Place visited or resided in. .

Reason.

Date of return.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

91

PENSIONS,

Give Address in Maine for P ast Five Years.
Number of rooms in bouse of applicant____________ Rental per month
Name of owner-------------- ---- —______-----—Address of owner_____ ____
M EM B ER S O F H O U SE H O L D O T H E R T H A N A P P L IC A N T ’S C H IL D R E N .

Name.

Age.

Pay how
much

Relationship.

or

Why not paying.

REAL E ST A TE OW NED BY A P P L IC A N T , OR H E R H U SB A N D , OR H E R C H IL D R E N .

(Underscore the owner.)
Location-------------- —------------------------- -------- - .Acreage_________ !_,_, _______ ____
Estimateli v a lu e -,----- .--------- ---------- ;-----------Assessed value____._____1________
Taxes per year------------------------------------------- Amount abated___________________
Amount of mortgage-------------- ------- -------------Held by whom_______________
Rate of interest— -------------.—Water rates_______________ Fire insurance_____
State of repair----------------- ------------------------ Equity in property______________,__
bank books .

In name of;
Amount.
Name of bank.
Applicant______________________________________________________ ;__ _____
Husband__________:_____________________________________________________
Children (give names) :__ :____ — ___ __________ ___________________________
What money is otherwise invested?-,_______ ___ ______________ ± ___ lip _____ _
Are there any trust funds?________________________How much?.
Is there any paid up insurance?__________________ How much?.
Is any compensation, pension, or bene"flt received?________________W hat?.
-------------------------- ---------------- ------------------ -------------How much ?------_— —
IN SU R A N C E P A ID BY F A M IL Y .

Paid by whom?

Total sum
insured for.

Name of company,

Amount of
On whose
weekly payments.
life?

To whom
payable?

Amount of insurance received at death of husband, $_____;__________________
Amount now on hand, $_____________ _____ _,__Jj_________ i ___________________
For what was the balance expended?.!__ _!__________ ._____!_____ _'—________ .___
Debts of applicant^ Rent, $ , _____________ ________
Doctor $_________ ____
Undertaker, $---------- Grocers, $________
Miscellaneous, $_______ Total, $.
Church attended__ _____ __________ ._______ £.___ Pastor___1____ __— ________ _
Name and address of physician— ____________ —________________________ ______
Health of applicant________ •_________________________________ j_______ ^ ____
Health of children_____r________________________________ .__._____ ________ _____
How rquch aid is the town now giving?___ __________________________ _____
How much aid are the churches or charitable societies giving?-_________ S ______
How much aid are relatives giving?_________________________ ______________S__
Name one or more references who live near by :___________ e_—_____________ _.
(Signature of applicant)
Mrs_____________ _________ ________
by the muni­
cipal board of mother’s aid of (name town or c ity )-__ ___ _____ ________ ! the place
in which she resides.
Has a member or employee of the municipal board visited her home?—______________
------------------- •—---------------- When?_______ *______________ ________ ______ _________
Are the statements made in her application true?__________ I____________ ;________7!____
Are the children of compulsory school age attending school?_________________________ _
Is she a moral woman?_________________________________ ,____________________ ,________
Has her reputation always been good?_____!_________________ .__ .-____________________
Has she tuberculosis, syphilis, or any dangerous disease?_____, _ ___________ __________
Is she normal mentally?____1_______ ¿.___________________ _________ .______ *__________ _
Does she need aid?_______ ___!_____________________ '____________ ______ _________ 1“__
Is she worthy of mother’s aid?______________________________________________ I.___ ~__
Does she promise to keep a correct record of all the money she receives and all she
spends ?___________________________________________________________________________
Can she handle the money wisely if given to her?____________ l_______________ ____ __Z
If not, but if she is worthy, recommend a woman of standing in the community (prefer­
ably a member of the municipal board of mother’s aid) who will act as a friendly
visitor and handle thè money.
Name------------------- ;___ ;________
Address.
R eport

on

the

A p p l ic a t io n


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

92

In your judgment what are the necessary expenses of the fam ily per week?
For food---------------------- —-r---- ------------------------------------- -— ■—~
For rent----------- ---------------------------------------- —-------------- "■----- -----For fuel__--------------------------------------------------------- •----------------For clothing:--------------- , - - - --------------- :--------------------------- ---------Other purposes------------------------------- *--------------— --------------------Total weekly expenses------- __— ----------—----------—------ -— —'----How much per week is the applicant able to earn--------- ---------Her children----------------------------------------------------------------------What are the other sources of income, and how much from each.
(Itemize rentals, pensions, farm produce, gifts of relatives, etc.)
Total weekly income------------------------------------------------------------ -------■ $----------------------------In what city or town is her legal settlement-------------- :------------------------------------------ ------W e _____________ »_________ ____recommend aid amounting to $------;-----------per month,
to be paid to—{friendly visitor} ----------------

,

~

"

M u n i c i p a l B o a r d o f M o t h e r ’s A i d .

■ B y -----------a c t io n

of

state

------— ----------- —------------(Signature and title.)

board.

Recommendation.

[Quuarterly report of municipal boards of mother’s aid.]

QUARTERLY REPORT.
M u n i c i p a l B o a r d o f M o t h e r ’ s A i d --------------------------------------------------------------------- 191—

(Place and date.)
To the State Board of Mother’s Aid for the quarter ending--------- -------------------------- 191—
(Mar. 31. June 30. Sept. 30. Dec. 31.) REPOR T

TO

B E F IL L E D

O U T BY

M O TH ER .

Claim N o .___x_______ ,

(Name of applicant.)
(Address of mother.)y
Her civil condition-------------- ---------- — ------------------------- — ------------------------ ----------(Married, single, widowed, divorced, deserted.)
Names of dependent children under 14.
Age.
School grade.
Physical condition.
Children from 14 to 16.

Age.

School grade or where working and wages.

Children over 16.

E X P E N S E S AND IN C O M E .

The expenses and income of the family for the quarter just ended w ere:
Income.

Expenses.

Applicant earned___________
Husband, if living, provided—
Children earned___________ _
Mother’s aid---- ------- '-----Pensions ___ ______ _______
Workingmen’s compensation.
Fraternal benefits_________
G ifts ._____________________
Farm produce._____________
Other sources______________

Food____________________
Rent-----------------------F u el— ,—.<----------------------Clothing--------------------------Physician and medicine;—
Farm ______________ ____
Repairs, furniture, etc——
Miscellaneous______ I-------Do________ _____ ____

I
I

S.
$.

I

Total income

Total expenses__________ ____ $

SU M M A RY .

Amount in bank at end of quarter_________________ _____________
$Cash on hand at end of quarter------------------------^---- _____ ______
_________ $Amount of debts----------------- .---------- — ^
-------Report any real estate bought or sold, mortgages foreclosed or canceled, etc.
QUARTERLY L E T TER FROM

M O TH ER OR C H IL D R E N .

Tell us what you and the children are doing to earn money, how you are getting on,
and about your plans, health and general welfare.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

93

QUARTERLY RE PO R T TO B E F IL L E D IN BY M U N IC IP A L . BOARD O F M O T H E R ’S AID .

Dates when you visited the home of this applicant-__________________________ _
(Regular visits to the home are required by law)
Dates when the mother called on you._____________________- ______ __ _____ ___ _
How often is mother’s aid paid?_______________________ How?___
Z I _Z ~
Is the family satisfactory to you as a mother’s aid family, as to morals_____f____ZI_~7
industry--------------------------, control and obedience of children_________________ , cleanli­
ness--------------------------, standard of living-;________________?
Discuss any changed conditions :_!________________________ ___________ ___ j_____J_Spg__
Do you recommend that aid be continued ? I I I I I I I I l t w hatTatëTpër “month? $Z7lZZZZZ.Z
M u n i c i p a l B o a r d o f M o t h e r ’s A i d o f t h e

city of----------------------------- I_________I__
town
By------------------------------------------------(Signature and title.)

(To be filled in by the State Board.)
It is recommended that mother’s aid be continued at the' rate of $___
per month,, the present rate being
___________________ per month.
Secretary
[R e c e ip t f o r P a y m e n t.]

Claim No. A---------------------No. of children_____ •_________ Rate per month.
city
Received from the town of.
on account of aid for the_.

(Place and date.)

19

------------ — ----------------$ -------------

week
.month ending__ _____________

19.

(Signature of mother.)
It is hereby certified that no part of the above amount has been paid by the State
to the city or town of------------------------------------------------- ; that no previous claims for the
same or any part thereof are now pending for allowance or have previously been dis­
allowed ; that the aid furnished was for the amount recommended by the Municipal
Board and approved by the State Board of Mothers’ Aid ; and that reimbursement is

claimed from the State on account of this payment to the extent of the* whole am°unting to $_____________________
City
Town of_____________________________________ by_______________________________ _
(Signature and title.) ~~
[ R ev erse s id e .]
IN S T R U C T IO N S .

1. This receipt must be signed by the mother and certified by the municipal officer
having knowledge of the facts, and his title must be affixed after his signature.
2 . Bills must be rendered to and including the last days of March, June, September
and December of each year. Bills for any part of one calendar year must not be made
a part of bills for another calendar year.
3. Bills for Mothers’ Aid must not be allowed to'accumulate for a longer period than
three months, and should be presented promptly at the end of each quarter year
4. Bills may be presented during the quarter, if the account is closed, or no further
expenses are likely to ensue.
C L A IM S FOR R E IM B U R S E M E N T IN F U L L .

5. Every city or town furnishing aid to mothers and claiming reimbursement in full
must furnish satisfactory affirmative evidence that such mothers have no legal settle­
ment in any town in the State.


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M ARYLAND.
[Laws 1916, ch. 670.1]
An act to provide for the partial support of mothers whose husbands are dead, when
such mothers have children under fourteen (14) years of age, and are residents of the
city of Baltimore and State of Maryland, and of the county in which application for
relief is made. And, also to provide for visitation, care, and supervision of the family
within the State of Maryland for whose benefits such support is provided, and to promote
home life for dependent children under the guidance and protection of the. mother. And,
also as to the administration of this act, amount of payment, eligibility, investigation,
penalties, and reports. And, also providing for the appointment of a board of three
members in Baltimore City,-to be known as the Board of Mothers’ Belief for Baltimore
City, or for carrying out the provisions of this act by the. Board of Supervisors of City
Charities of Baltimore City, and authorizing the county commissioners of the counties
of this State to carry out the provisions of this act in their respective counties, and
providing for the levying of a rax for carrying out the provisons of this act.

Be it enacted by the 'General Assembly of Maryland:
S ection 1. Board of Mothers' Relief for Baltimore.—There is hereby created
a board to be known as the Board for Mothers’ Relief for Baltimore City, to
consist of three members, not more than two of whom shall be of the same
sex, to be appointed by the mayor of Baltimore City for a term of four years,
as hereinafter provided, and until their successors have been appointed and
qualified. The board for mothers’ relief shall sit at such times and a^ often
as the business before it justifies, and if any member shall absent himself or
herself from five (5) consecutive meetings without giving a satisfactory excuse
to the board, his or her office shall become vacant, and the mayor shall make
an appointment to fill such vacancy. The salary of the members of the board
shall be five dollars ($5) per day for each member, for each and every day the
board shall sit, and in addition, the necessary expenses incurred in the dis­
charge of his or her duties,
Within thirty days after the passage of this act the mayor of Baltimore City
shall appoint one member for a period of two years, one for a period of three
years, and one for a period of four years, and thereafter as these terms expire,
the mayor shall make such appointment for a term of four years. The board
shall choose from among its members a chairman, a vice chairman, and a
treasurer.
The board shall have the power to employ a secretary and a stenographer.
The salary of the secretary shall be twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) per year,
and that of the stenographer one thousand dollars ($1,000) per year.
The duties of the secretary and stenographer shall be to conduct the cor­
respondence of the board, keep a record of its business, assist in investigations
of applications, and keep on file applications and such other business as the
board may direct. The Board for Mothers’ Relief for Baltimore City shall have
an office allotted it in the city hall of Baltimore City, in the courthouse of
Baltimore City, or in such other municipal building as may be obtained.
It shall be the duty of the Board for Mothers’ Relief for Baltimore City to
investigate every application for relief, to hear all witnesses for applicants,
and to carry out the provisions of this act as embodied in all its sections, and
see to the administration of this act in all its particulars as relating to Balti­
more City.
1 Practically inoperative because of defect in the tax clause.
(See footnote to sec. 5.)
An attempt was made to get a revised law through the legislature in 191S, but the bill
failed of passage in the senate. For an account of the efforts to secure mothers’ pension
legislation in Maryland and the present status of the law, see article by W. E. Beveridge,
in Maryland Suffrage News, for April 20, 1918.

95

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-

Each member of the board shall for the purpose contemplated by this act
have power to issue subpoenas, compel the attendance of witnesses, administer
oaths, certify to official acts, take depositions within or without the State of
Maryland as now provided by law, compel the productions of pertinent books,
pay rolls, papers, records, documents and testimony: Provided, however, That
instead of appointing the Board for Mothers’ Relief of Baltimore City, as pro­
vided in this section, the mayor and city council of Baltimore may, in its dis­
cretion, devolve the duties imposed by this act upon said board for mothers’
relief upon the supervisor of city charities of Baltimore City.1
S ec. 2. Application for relief—Conditions.—Nothing in this act shall be con­
strued to affect or interfere with the provisions of the laws of Maryland as now
existing relating to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore City,
the Circuit Courts of the State of Maryland, or the Juvenile Court of Baltimore
City in regard to the custody and control of infants.
Any mother of a child or children under the age of fourteen (14) years whose
husband is dead, and who is unable to support it or them and maintain her
home, may present a written application or petition for relief to the county
commissioners of the county wherein she resides or to the Board for Mothers’
Relief for Baltimore City, if she resides in Baltimore City.
Such application or petition shall be verified by three witnesses and shall set
forth the following:
Her name, the name of her husband, the date of the death of her husband,
the name or names of her children, the dates and places of their birth, and the
time and place of her marriage.
Her residence and the length of time she has been a resident and the address,
or addresses of her place of abode for the previous five years, and the date, as
near as possible, when she moved in and when she left said place or places of
residence.
A statement of all the property belonging to her and each of her children,
which statement shall include any future or contingent interest she or any of
them may have. '
A statement of the efforts made by her to support her children.
- The name, relationships, and addresses of such of her and her husband’s
relatives that may be known to her.
The child or children for whose benefit the relief is granted must be living
with the mother of such child or children.
The relief shall be granted only when, in the absence of such relief, the
A statement of all the property belonging to her and to each of her children,
and when, by means of such relief she will be able to remain at home with her
children, except, that she may be absent for work a definite number of days each
week, to be specified in the order giving relief, when such work can be done by
her without the sacrifice of health or the neglect of home and children.
Such a mother must be a proper person, worthy and fit, to bring up her
children.
.
.
A mother shall not receive such relief who is the owner of real property or
personal property other than the household goods.
A mother shall not receive such relief who has not resided in the county where
the application is made, or in the city of Baltimore, at least three years before
making such application.
Whenever any child shall arrive at the age of fourteen years (14), the relief
granted to the mother for such child shall cease: Provided, That if a child of
fourteen years of age be ill or is incapacitated for work, the mother shall receive
1

The city council, with the approval of the mayor, so voted in November, 1916.


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the funds for its care, during such illness or incapacity for work, until such
child is sixteen years of age.
S ec. 3. County commissioners to receive copy of application.—A copy of the
application or petition provided for in section 2 hereof, and a notice of the'
place where and time when it will be presented, must be served on, or mailed
to, the county commissioners in the county wherein the applicant or petitioner
resides or to the Board for Mothers’ Relief for Baltimore City, if applicant or
petitioner resides in Baltimore City.
S ec. 4. Investigation and hearing.—Upon the receipt of the application or
petition and notice, the county commissioners, or the Board of Mothers’ Relief
for Baltimore City, shall set a time and examine under oath all who desire
to be heard: Provided, however, That the county commissioners of the county
wherein applicant or petitioner resides or if the applicant resides in Baltimore
City, the said board shall, of themselves or through their agents, before said
hearing, examine into the truth of the facts set forth in the above-mentioned
application or petition, and shall file a report of its findings with the juvenile
court of the county wherein applicant or petitioner resides or with the circuit
court if no juvenile court exists in said county, or with the juvenile court of
Baltimore City, if the applicant or petitioner resides in Baltimore City, for
review and disposition, setting forth, in full, the results of their investigations.
The county commissioners in the counties or the Board for Mothers’ Relief in
Baltimore City may in their discretion issue subpoenas for the attendance of
witnesses and adjourn the hearings from day to day and shall hear such wit­
nesses as shall be produced by the applicant or petitioner or others.
S ec. 5. Amount of relief—Levy of tax.—If, upon the completion of the ex­
amination, provided for under section 4 hereof, the juvenile or circuit court in
the counties or the Juvenile Court for Baltimore City, concludes that unless
relief is granted, the mother will be unable to support and educate her children,
and that they may become a public charge, it shall make an order directing
that there shall be paid to the mother monthly, upon the first day of each
month, out of the county funds, by the county treasurer or out of the funds
of Baltimore City, by the city comptroller, as the case may be, the following
amounts for the maintenance and support of the children under fourteen (14)
years of age:
Twelve dollars ($12) per month for the oldest child, ten dollars ($10) per
month for the next oldest child, and six dollars ($6) per month for each addi­
tional child, not at any time, however, exceeding forty dollars ($40) per month
for any one family. And the board of estimates and the mayor and city council
of Baltimore, and the county commissioners of the respective counties of this
State are authorized and directed to levy such tax, not exceeding one-tenth
of a mill,1 as may be necessary and sufficient to carry out the provisions of
this act, or to provide for the same out of the proceeds of the general tax levy.
S ec. 6. Duty of county commissioners.—It shall be the duty of the county
commissioners in the several counties wherein applicant or petitioner resides,
or the Board for Mothers’ Relief for Baltimore City, wherein applicant or;
petitioner resides, to see that any widow mother thus committed to their care,
pursuant to the provisions of this act, is properly caring for her children; that
they are sufficiently clothed and fed ; that they attend school regularly and that
said family shall be visited at least once every two months.

1The words “ on the dollar ” were omitted
of this defect and other ambiguities the City
was not valid. Suit was brought against the
never pressed. (Letter from S. S. Field, City
143973°—19----- 7

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during the passage of the act. Because
Solicitor of Baltimore held ■that the law
city to test its validity, but the suit was
Solicitor of Baltimore, Mar. 1, 1918.)

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The county commissioners, in the county in'which applicant or petitioner
resides or the Board for Mothers’ Relief for Baltimore City shall report to the
juvenile court, or, if none exists, to the Circuit Court in such county or to the
Juvenile Court for Baltimore City, in the case of any widow mother who does
not properly care for and. educate her child or children, or when they find that
she no longer needs such support. The Circuit Court or the juvenile court shall
thereupon revoke any order made pursuant to this act, at any time, with or
without notice, and in lieu thereof make any order that in the judgment of
the court may protect the welfare of the child or children.
S ec. 7. Partial relief.—Should the fund or funds available be insufficient to
permit of an allowance to only a part of the mothers coming within the pro­
visions of this act, the county commissioners in the several counties or the
board for mothers’ relief for Baltimore City, shall select in their discretion
those in most urgent need of such allowance, and submit such selections, after
full investigation, to the circuit or juvenile eourt of such counties or to the
juvenile court for Baltimore City for approval, which shall accept the same
or make a different selection on its own account, which shall then be conclusive.
S ec. 8.. Employment of investigators_—The board for mothers’ relief for Bal­
timore City shall have the power to- employ assistant investigators, not at any
time to- exceed three, at a salary of nine hundred dollars ($900) per year for
each investigator, at such time that the board finds itself physically unable to
conduct investigations, by reason of the burden of work, whose duties shall be
to thoroughly investigate all applications or petitions and to make stated visits
to the homes of the. applicants or petitioners and for such other work as the
board may prescribe. The board for mothers’ relief for Baltimore City may also
call for the assistance of the probation officers of the juvenile court to assist
it in making like investigations and reports.
Sec. 9. Penalty for fraud—Any person knowingly and willfully procuring, or
attempting to procure any allowance or relief, by false testimony or representa­
tion, for herself or for a person not entitled thereto, shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less
than fifty dollars ($50) and not more than two hundred and fifty dollars ($250)
or by imprisonment in the county jail of the county wherein the offense occurs
or the city jail of Baltimore City for a period of not more than six months or
by fine and imprisonment.
S ec. 10. Appropriation for administration.—In order to administer this act
an annual appropriation of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) is hereby made for
the establishment and maintenance of the board for mothers’ relief for Balti­
more City,‘and five thousand dollars'($5,000) for administrative purposes, to
be divided among the various counties of Maryland in proportion to the popula­
tion of these counties, to be paid to the county commissioners in the several
counties to assist them in making investigations and for the work of supervision.
S ec. 11. Reports.—A detailed report of the number of beneficiaries, the amount
expended, the advantages of the system, improvements and recommendations,
shall be made by the board of [for] mothers’ relief for Baltimore City and by
the county commissioners in the several counties of the State to the members
of the General Assembly of Maryland at the beginning of the session of one
thousand,, nine hundred and eighteen (1918) .
S ec. 12. Repeal.—And be it further enacted, That all laws or parts of laws
inconsistent with the provisions of this act be and they are hereby repealed.
Sec. 1$. Validity of act.—In the event that this act should be held to be
invalid as to the counties other than Baltimore City, or as to any of them, it
shall nevertheless remain in full [force] and effect as to Baltimore City.
Approved April 18, 1916.

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MASSACHUSETTS.
[Laws 1913, ch. T63.]

An Act To provide for suitably aiding mothers with dependent children,

i

Be it enacted, etc,, as follows: S ection 1. Aid to mothers with dependent chil­
dren.—In every city ancl town the overseers of the poor shall, subject to the
provisions of the subsequent sections of this act, aid all mothers with dependent
children under fourteen years of age, if such mothers are fit to bring up
their children. The aid furnished shall be sufficient to enable the mothers to
bring up their children properly in their own homes; and such mothers and
their, children shall not be deemed to be paupers by reason of receiving aid as
aforesaid.
S ec. 2. Duties of overseers of the poor.—Before aiding any mother under the
foregoing section, except as hereinafter provided, the overseers of the poor
shall determine that the mother is fit to bring up her children and that the
other members of the household and the surroundings of the home are such as
to make for good character, and that aid from the overseers is necessary to
enable her to bring up her children properly, by making an immediate and
careful inquiry including the resources of the family and the ability of its
other members, if any, to work or otherwise contribute to its support, the exist­
ence of relatives able to assist the family, and of individuals, societies, or
agencies who may be interested therein ; shall take all lawful means to compel
all persons bound to support the mother and children to support them, and to
enforce any other legal rights for their benefit; shall press all members of.the
family who are able to work, other than the mother and her dependent chil­
dren, to secure work; shall try to secure work for them; and shall secure all
necessary aid for the mother and children which can be secured from relatives,
organizations, or individuals. Nothing herein contained shall be construed
to prevent the overseers from giving prompt and suitable temporary aid here­
under, pending compliance with the requirements of this section, when in their
opinion such aid is necessary and can not be obtained from other sources. A
detailed statement of expenses incurred under'this section shall be rendered to
the State board of charity, together with such certificates or other guaranties
as the said board may require^
S ec. 3. The said overseers, either by one of their own number or by their
duly appointed agent, shall visit at least once in every three months at their
homes or other place or places where they may be living, each mother and her
dependent children who are being aided financially or otherwise; by said over­
seers, and after each visit shall make and keep on file as a part of their official
records a detailed statement of the condition of the home and family and all
other data which may assist in determining the wisdom of the measures taken
and the advisability of their continuance; and said overseers shall at least
onee in eaeb year reconsider the case of each mother with dependent children
with whom they are dealing, and enter their determination with the reason
therefor on their official records.
S ec. 4. To 'whom act shall apply.—This act shall apply to all mothers and
their dependent children, whether or not they or any of them may have a settle99

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ment within the Commonwealth, who shall have resided in the Commonwealth
not less than three years. No person shall acquire a settlement or be in process
of acquiring a settlement while receiving aid hereunder.
Sec. 5. State hoard of charity to have supervision.—The State board of charity
shall hereafter supervise the work done and measures taken by the overseers
of the poor of the several cities and towns in respect to families in which there
is one child or more under the age of fourteen, whether or not such family or
any member thereof has a settlement within the Commonwealth; and for this
purpose may establish such rules relative to notice as they Ìlèem necessary and '
may visit and inspect any or all families aided under this act, and shall have
access to any records and otheb data kept by the overseers of the poor or their
representatives relating to such aid ; and said board shall, in its annual report
to the legislature, report upon the work done by its own agents and by the
overseers of thè poor in respect to such families any of whose members are
without legal settlement in the Commonwealth ; and shall make a separate
report on the work done by the overseers of the poor in respect to such families
in which all the members have a legal settlement in the Commonwealth.
S ec. 6. Reimbursement 6y the Commonwealth.—In respect to all mothers in
receipt of aid hereunder the city, or town rendering the aid shall be reimbursed
by the Commonwealth, after approval of the bills by the State board of charity,
for one-third of the amount of the aid given. If the mother so aided has no
settlement, the city or town shall be reimbursed for the total amount of the
aid given, after approval of the bills by the State board of charity as aforesaid.
If the mother so aided has, a lawful settlement in another city or town twothirds of the amount of such aid given may be recovered in an action of con­
tract against the city or town liable therefor in accordance with the provisions
of chapter eighty-one of the Revised Laws and acts in amendment thereof and
in addition thereto.
S ec. 7. Appropriation.—R oy the purpose of reimbursing the cities and towns,
as provided in the foregoing section, there shall be appropriated from the
treasury of the Commonwealth the sum of fifty thousand dollars1 for the opera­
tions of the first year.
S ec. 8. Repeal.—A ll acts and parts of acts inconsistent herew ith are hereby
repealed.
S ec. 9. Time of taking effect.—T his act sh all take effect on the first day of
September, nineteen hundred and thirteen.

Approved June 12, 1913.
Prior to the passage of this act a commission to study the question of the
support of dependent minor children of widowed mothers had been created by
Resolves 82, Laws of 1912, and had made its report to the legislature. (Printed
as H. Doc. 2075, 1913.) Included in the report (p. 37) is a draft of the bill
recommended by the commission which differs from that enacted by the gen­
eral court in that it provided for a State commission of five persons with
authority to order payments, to be called subsidies, to be made by the overseers
of the poor to indigent widowed mothers with dependent children. The law
enacted gives the power of initiating aid to the overseers of the poor alone, as
an extension of the system of local relief, with no limitations on the amount
to be granted. The State board of charity has, however, general supervision of
the work, and upon its approval of the bills thereby incurred the Common­
wealth reimburses one-third on settled cases and the total amount on unsettled.
The board is carrying out the mother’s aid law through a woman supervisor and
Appropriation for fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 1918, $475,000 (special acts 1918, ch.
106, p. 102),

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woman visitors under the superintendent of the adult poor division of the
board, which has issued the following statement as to the policies which should
govern the granting of the aid :
■ ;
POLICIES OF STATE BOARD OF CHARITY RELATING TO MOTHERS’ AID.

(Revised Mar. 17, 1916.)
1. Money on hand.—Aid should not be granted to a mother who has funds
in excess of $200. The applicant should be required to show her bank book
to the overseers when she applies for Mothers’ aid.
2. Equity in property.—'The State Board of Charity is willing to approve aid
to an applicant who has an equity not exceeding $500 in real estate, upon
which the family resides, the assessed value of which does not exceed $2,000,
provided that in the case of a widow, the property has not been acquired
since her husband’s death, and further provided that no payments are made
on the mortgage other than a reasonable rate of interest; taxes to be abated
whenever possible. All other cases involving ownership of property should be
referred to the board for approval before aid is granted. [As revised by sup­
plementary notice.]
3. Temporary need.—Aid should not be granted to a mother unless if seems
probable that need of aid under this law will exist for more than one year.
4. Desertion.—Aid should not be granted to a mother whose husband has
deserted his family, unless a warrant for non-support has been issued under
the provisions of chapter 456, Acts of 1911; until one year has elapsed since
the desertion occurred ; and until every effort has been made to apprehend the
deserting husband.
5. Insurance.—Considering for allowance for burial expenses, aid should not
be granted to a mother who is paying insurance upon the lives of her children
or upon the lives of other relatives.
Also: Aid should not be granted to a mother who is paying insurance upon
her own life or upon the life of her totally incapacitated husband if such
policies can be converted into paid-up policies, or i f they have a reasonable
cash surrender value.
6. Burial.—It is the desire of the State Board of Charity that the allowance
for burial shall be wholly suitable. When the overseers are in doubt the State
Board of Charity will be glad to advise.
7. Medieal aid.—Medical aid required by the mother or dependent children
under 14 years of age, either in the home or in the hospital should be granted
under the provisions of this act. Medical aid for other members of the family
should be granted under the provisions of regular relief statutes. Reimburse­
ment by the Commonwealth for medical aid in the home will be made in ac­
cordance with the provisions of chapter 292, Acts of 1909. Reimbursement
by the Commonwealth for hospital aid will be made at a flat rate not exceed­
ing $10.50 per week.
8. Tuberculosis.—Aid should not be granted to a mother if a member of the
family has tuberculosis in a communicable stage unless such person shall
apply for admission to a sanatorium, and shall agree, pending admission to
the sanatorium, to conduct himself in a manner prescribed by the local health
authorities^iand also unless the other members of the family have been ex­
amined for tuberculosis.
9. Male lodgers.—Aid should not be granted to à mother if she has male
lodgers or boarders other than the father or brother of applicant.
10. Illegitimate children.—Aid should not be granted to a mother with illegi­
timate children unless with the approval of the State Board qf Charity.
11. Woman with one child.—Aid should not be granted to a mother whose
only child is under fourteen years of age, unless the mother, by reason of
illness of either mother or child is unable to provide proper support.
' 12. Part-time work for mother.—Only such part-time work as the mother
can do without detriment to her health and without neglecting her home and
her children should be encouraged. If a member of a family of working age
claims to be unable to work because of illness a physician should examine the
person to determine his ability to work and to prescribe for his medical needs.
13.
Work for children over H years of age.—Every dependent child upon
reaching the age of fourteen years should go to work for the time allowed by

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the school attendance laws, provided that be is physically able to work,, and
also, provided that suitable employment can be obtained for him.
14. Kind of aid {method of disbursement).—Gash aid should be granted in
every case if the mother is found to be competent to manage cash. All allow­
ances should be granted weekly. A card catalogue system rather than a pay
roll is recommended. Checks on the city or town treasurer, post-office money
orders, or registered letters are approved methods 'of disbursement.
15. Amount of aid—Family budget.—In determining the amount of aid neces­
sary for a given family, not only the number of persons in an applicant’s
family, but also the health, the age, and the capabilities of each member of
the family should be considered. The former income and the former, standards
of living of the family, as well as the standards of self-supporting citizens in
the neighborhood, should also be considered.
The amount of weekly aid should vary with the changing needs of the family.
For instance, aid should be increased in time of sickness; and it should be
decreased proportionately as the earning capacity or the income of the family
from any other source increases. Aid should be discontinued as soon as the
family becomes self-supporting.
Weekly expenses.—The following items of expense are suggested for the
careful consideration of the overseers when estimating the amount of aid neces­
sary for a given family:
Food.—Extra food allowance should he made for members of the family
wrho are predisposed to- tuberculosis or who are convalescing from illness, In
large families the per capita food allowance may be somewhat reduced.
Rent.—A reasonable amount for a suitable tenement of proper size in a
desirable location.
Fuel.—
Clothing.—
Weekly income*—The following sources of weekly income should be carefully
considered by the overseers in estimating the weekly income of a given family:
Income from funds, pensions, rentals, etc.
Aid from- relatives and societies.
Net wages of mother for part-time work.
Net wages of children of working age.
The amount of aid needed by a given family may be estimated by finding
the difference between the total weekly expenses of the family and its net
weekly income.
RULES RELATIVE TO NOTICE AND REIMBURSEMENT BY THE COMMONWEALTH,

1. An applicant for Mothers’ Aid should apply in person to the overseers of
the poor of the city or town where she resides, and she should file a statement
as to her resources and her needs on form 1479.
2. Aid should be rendered directly to the applicant, or in case of illness, to
her authorized adult representative. Minor children should not be allowed to
call at the overseer’s office for Mothers’ Aid.
3. Overseers of the poor should notify the State Board of Charity on form
1477 or 1478 when they begin to aid under the provisions of chapter 763, Acts
of 1913, and such original notice shall remain in force until the case is closed.
A When a recipient of Mothers5 Aid moves out of a city or town the case
should be closed. A new application for Mothers’ Aid should be made to: the
overseers of the poor of the town to which the family has removed.
5. Whenever a case is closed by the overseers of the poor, the overseers should
notify the State Board of Charity of the elate when the last aid was rendered
and state their reasons for closing the- case on form 1475,
6. Whenever an applicant changes her address the overseers of the poor
should notify the State Board of Charity.
7. If a case that has been closed is reopened the overseers should state upon
the new notice their reasons for reopening the ease.
8. If the overseers of the poor and the State Board of Charity consider it is
for the welfare of the family, reimbursement will be approved by the Common­
wealth during the absence on vacation of the mother or any of her dependent ■
children. During the temporary absence from the State of a recipient of
Mothers’ Aid, the weekly payments under the Mothers’ Aid Law should be
suspended unless otherwise authorized by the State Board of Charity. [As
revised by supplementary notice.}

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9. After each quarterly visit (as required by see. 3, chap. 763), the overseers
of the poor should report to the State Board of Charity .on form 1475 as to con­
ditions in the home and as to the continuance or discontinuance of aid. These
quarterly reports serve as renewal notices and as reports of the result of the
yearly reconsideration of the case.
10. Reimbursement by the Commonwealth, in accordance with the provisions
of section 6, chapter 763, will not be allowed for more than ten days prior to the
date of mailing of the original notice."
11. Application for burial expenses should be made upon form 1480 and this
statement should be filed with the bill claiming reimbursement from the Com­
monwealth.
12. In all cases the overseers of the poor shall furnish satisfactory proof that
the applicant has resided in Massachusetts for three years next prior to the
date of her application for Mothers’ Aid.
13. In cases where the overseers of the poor claim that the mother aided has
no legal settlement, the overseers of the poor shall furnish satisfactory proof
that there is no settlement in any city or town in Massachusetts.
14. In cases where the mother aided has a lawful settlement in another city
or town of the Commonwealth, the overseers shall notify such city or town
when they begin to aid on Form 1470. Denial of settlement must be made by
the overseers of the poor thus notified within thirty days.
15. Bills should be rendered to the Commonwealth semiannually, for the
periods ending April 80, and October 31.

[Form s listed by Commonwealth yof M assachusetts.]
APPLICATION FOR MOTHERS’ AID.
(To be kept on file at local office of overseers of poor.)
Com m o nw ea lth

of

M a ssa c h u setts,

C ity or Totvn of--------- L____ — ---- .—____.iJ.

Name of applicant_____ __________ ?-----------.— i ---------------------------------¡¡,.,»,ipj—
Residence of applicant______ --------------------------- <¿5».---------- -—S -------- ------L—Sj
Date of application------------- ------------------ ---------------- 1------------— —- ——- —
Full name of applicant.

Date of birth.

Birthplace,

Full name of husband.

Date of birth.

Birthplace.

Married.

Date of marriage.

Where married.

By whom married.

Date.

Court action.

Residence of husband.

Applicant now—

Separated by court—__
Deserted. _ .
Husband of applicant.

Date committed,

Institution.

Insane________________I__ _

P ------- '---------

---------------

In jail-----------— —

—k--------

---------— 4—

------ ----------

---- ---------------

---.— r —-— -

t-------------—

Totally incapacitated_________

____________

_______ —-

Tubercular.


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At home.

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Dependent children
(under 14 years of age),
Names.
Birthplace^

Other children
(over 14 years of age),
Names.
Birthplace.

Relatives of applicant.
Names.

TO

M O T H E R S

P E N S IO N S ,

Date of birth.

Date of
Birth.

Birthplace.

School.

Residence.

Residence.

Grade.

Employed where or
why not employed.

Wages.

Aiding applicant.'

Able to aid.

Father— :________ :

— ------------- -

/ -------------

----------------------

------------—

Mother__________t----

-------------------

----------- <—

— -------------------

----- ¿¿s— ._

Sister__ — -------------

—:---------------

-------------

---------------------_

--------- —

Brother.
Others.
Relatives of husband.
Names.

Birthplace.

Residence.

Aiding applicant.

Able to aid.

Father_____________

____________

—----------

----------------------

---------------

Mother___ _________

___________-

* -------------

----------------------

---------- -—

Sister. ' — i___ _

__ 1

-------- -—

—

-------'

---------------------------

Brother.

Others.

How long has applicant lived continuously in Massachusetts?----------------------------Give addresses in Massachusetts for past three consecutive years.
City or town.

Street and number.

How long there.

State amount of relief applicant is now receiving from public or private sources.

Present home of
Applicant.

Own it.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Amount
of rent,

Number
of rooms.

Owner’s name.

S tre e t a n d n u m b er.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS 1 PENSIONS.

105

Members of household other than
applicant’s children.
Barnes.

'

Ages.

■
Relationship.

Pay how
much.

Why not paying.

Give description, location, and value of any property owned wholly or in part by
applicant or by her husband or children :
Real estate owned by
(Mark with X .)
Applicant---------------------------------------

Assessed value________ _________________________

Husband----------------------------------------

Mortgages____________ ._________ ________________

Children (Give name of child owner)

Held by whom_________________________________ _

----------------------------------- ------------------

Rate of interest____________ _______________ ___

-----------------------------------------------------

Other payments on the mortgage________________

----------------------------------------------------

Taxes per year $--------------Amount abated $______
Water rates---------------------Fire insurance-._______
Income from rentals____ Equity in property_____
State of repair_________________________ ________

Cash on hand or in bank. Savings, insurance. In trust. Invested. Total amount.
Applicant_____________________________________________________________________,
Husband____ ________________,_‘______________________________ ______________
Children (Give name of child owner.)_______________ ________________ ___ _____

Soldiers’
Workmen’s
Legal right.
relief.
compensation.
Applicant_____________________________

Death benefit
from societies.

Pensions.

Other legal
claims. •

Husband____ __________________________
Children_________________i __________
Amount of insurance received at death of husband and date when claim was paid and
amount now on hand :
Amount of claim.

Date received.

Amount now on hand.

Give itemized statement of way money was expended:
Amounts paid out.

I n s u r a n c e p a id b y T o t a l su m
a p p lic a n t.
in s u r e d fo r .

To whom p&id.

K in d ..

N am e o f
com p a n y .

For what paid.

W e e k ly
p a y m en ts.

O n w h ose
life .

T o w hom
p a y a b le .

Applicant _____________________________________ I________ ____ ____ ___»____ ________ _____
H u s b a n d ____________________________ __________________________- ______________ _______________________________ _ _______
C h i l d r e n _________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ____ ’______________
O t h e r r e l a t i v e s . ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 1______________

Can any of these policies be converted into paid-up policies ?.
Has any of these policies a cash-surrender value?______ _

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

106

L A W S

Rent.
D eb ts o f

j

applicant. j~

R E L A T IN G

Doctor.

T O

M O T H E R S

P E N S IO N S .

Undertaker.

Miscellaneous.

_------- ----------------- ---------- .—'---------- :---- :— ;

Total.

----- ^ — —----— -

; (_-----i .

On what.

To whom paid.

Amount paid.

Amount due.

Adjustment possible*

Installment
payments
of applicant.
Religion of applicant.
Health.

Church attended.

• Present condition.

Pastor.

Is church helping.

Doctor attending.

Medical needs.

Applicant---------- ------------- -------------------------------------------------------------——
Husband---- --------- ----- -------- .----;—

-----—-------- 2— ------------ --—-O—

Children _---- ------- .-¿-„L--—- ---- -— — —-—

_— ._T.—

- pi — ----- T—— —:—p —

----------—

Number of hours per day applicant works away from home.
How are children cared for at such times----- ------------------FA M IL Y

F A M IL Y E X P E N S E S PE R W E E K .

(Estimated.)

IN C O M E P E R W E E K .

(Estimated.)
Source.

Earnings of mother—

Amount
per week,

Amount
paid
applicant.

_______

Earnings o f children^;'______ _
___ __do__________ __|
~_1__ do____________

____ J_
_______

Food________

Income from funds__ __s_____

Rent________
Fuel__ ______

Income from pensions-

-----------

Income from rentals-

-----------

Clothing_____

Income from relatives J A

-

Insurance___ _

Income from societies-

_1_____ 3

Income

from

_

other

sources___ _______

IS _____

Total weekly ineome- ----------Total weekly expenses-- —
y l hereby certify that the statements herein made by me are complete and true to the
best of my knowledge and -belief.
(Signed)
Applicant.

Notice under chapter 763 Acts of 1913.
MOTHERS WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN.
(City'or town case.)
(For use in.cases where there is a legal settlement in any city or town in Massachusetts.)
State

B oard

of

C h a r it y ,

D iv is io n o f S t a t e A d u l t P o o r , S t a t e H o u s e , B o s t o n ,

______ _______- ______ —
________________________________ j:___ ___ a mother with
dependent children under fourteen years of age applied on­
to this board for aid under chapter 763 of the Acts of 1913.

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

,____i 9 i —.

----------------------- .—

L A W S

R E F L A T IN G

TO

M O T H E R S '

107

P E N S IO N S -

After careful inquiry and investigation we find that she is a fit person to bring up
her children, that the other members of the household and the home and its surround­
ings are such as make for good character, that aid is necessary to enable her to bring
up her children properly, that she has been a resident of Massachusetts not less than
three years, and that she has a legal settlement in— *---------- ------------------- 1----------We commenced furnishing her with suitable and sufficient aid on----------— ---------—
and notified the city or town of___ __________________-----------on— ---- -.——--.A —
as the law directs, and hereby claim reimbursement from the Commonwealth as pro­
vided for under chapter 763 of the Acts of J913.
F o r O v e r s e e r s o f th e P o o r o f

Name of applicant____ ___ __________ _____ ____ — —

-------:--------- ---- — -----------— _r

Residence of applicant—,______ --------------------- -------------- ,-------- i--- —------------------- (Describe location of house so that State visitor can readily find the person.)
Date of application------ x — --------,-------------- _— ---- ---- ------ ------------- -—,--- •

—

Amount an denature of relief------ :_________-_A------- ------- ---- - - — ----- — -------- — ----— Full name of applicant.

Date of birth.

Birthplace.

Full name of husband.

Date of birth.

Birthplace:

Married.

Date of marriage.

Where married. -

^
Date.

Applicant now.

By whom married.

Court action.

Residence of
husband.

Widowed--------------- :------- .

---- ---------- .---- —

Divorced---------------------

------------------- —

Separated by court—------

----------------- —•—

----------- ------------

----- -----—

Deserted.____ !___ ______

_____— ------------

--------------------------

— .---- ^-#s| | jl l
_ At home.

-------------———

---------- -------- ,— --- -

Husband of applicant.

Date committed.

Institution.

Insane-.----- --------------- —

---- —---- .---- --------

---- — ---- —----- :

In jail--------------- ---------

---------------- --------

Tubercular------ ---------- -

' ---------:—--------

Totally incapacitated— -

-

—

------------- .—

—----------- ----- —

------- —-

.--—

— ---- -------------------------------

Character and competency of parents------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- Dependent chil­
dren (under 14
years of age).
Names.

Other chil­
dren (over
14 years of
age).
Names.

Birthplace.

Birthplace.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Date of birth.

Date of
birth.

Residence.

School,

Wages.

Grade.

Employed
where or
why not
employed.

108

L A W S

Relatives of applicant.
Names.

R E L A T IN G

TO

Birthplace.

M O T H E R S

Residence.

P E N S IO N S .

Aiding applicant.

Able to aid.

Father----------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- —
Mother ____ _____________________________________________—.-------------------- a-I-a.
Sister______________________________ .________ :----------------------------------------- h..-------Brother.
Others.
Relatives of husband.
Names.
■

Birthplace.

Residence.

Aiding applicant.

Able to. aid.

Father____________________________________ _______________________ f,------M other_____________________— .—------------- .— : :__________________ _______ _________

Sister________________ ___________________ ___ __________ .L__________
Brother.
Others.
How long has applicant lived continuously in Massachusetts?_____ f __ _____
Give addresses in Massachusetts for past three consecutive years—
City or town.
Street and number.
'
How long there.

Settlement history :

State amount of relief applicant is now receiving from public or private sources.

Present home of
applicant.

Own it.

Amount
of rent.

Number
of rooms.

Owner’s name.

Street
and number.

Appearance or home :

Members of household
other than applicant’s
children.
Names.

Ages.

Relationship.

Pay how
much.

Why not
paying.

Give description, location, and value of any property owned wholly or in part by applicant or by her husband or children :
Real estate owned by
(mark with X)
Applicant____________________________
Husband____________________________
Children (give name of child owner)


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Assessed value.
Mortgages____
Held by whom
Rate of interest____ - ____________ :______
Other payments on the mortgage__________
Taxes per year $____ Amount abated $____
Water rates___ _____Fire insurance___i____
Income from rentals__ Equity in property__
State or repair--------------------- ---------- --------

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS,
...
.•
Cash on hand or in bank. Savings.
Applicant_________
_______
Husband__________
________
Children___ ^______
________
(Give name of child
owner)
Legal right.
Applicant___
Husband____
Children___

Soldiers’
relief.

Paid-up
Insurance.
______ _
_______
___ .___

109

In trust.

Invested. Total amount.

_______

___ ~
"

'I- - - ------- ’—”

Workmen’s Death benefit
Other legal
compensation, from societies. Pensions.
claims.

Amount of insurance received at death of husband and date when claim was paid and
amount now on hand;
.
Amount of claim.

Date received.

Amount now on hand.

Give itemized statement of way money -was expended :
Amounts paid out.
To whom paid.
Insurance paid by Total sum
applicant.
insured for.
Applicant_________ ______ ___
Husband__________
________
Children_____
Other relatives

Name of Weekly
company payments.

Kind.

Can any of these policies be converted into
lias any of these policies a cash surrender
Rent*
Doctor.
Debts of 1----- *'----- —
---------------applicant/I-------------- . -----------------------------

On whose To whom
life.
payable.

paid-up policies___________
value_______ ___________ I I I ____ Il___
Undertaker.
Miscellaneous. -■ Total.
—-----—-----—-------- -----------------------------------------------------------?----------

On what. To whom paid.
Installment <_________
____
payments
A
___ II_
I I _I
of applicant l ________
______ I I
Religion of applicant. Church attended.
Health.
Applicant-.____ _______
Husband______________
Children_______ ______

For what paid.

Amount paid^

II_ I
I _I _Z Z Z Z

Amount due.

I~__

Pastor.

~

ZZiZ

Adjustment
possible.

—
---- -----------

~~~ ~~~Is_ church hefping"

Present condition.

Doctor attending.

_______________
_____ '__ ___

__ ___

Medical needs

;■,

Number of hours per day applicant works away from home
How are children cared for at such times_,________ _
FA M IL Y E X PA N SE S P E R W E E K .

FA M IL Y

(estimated).

in c o m e

.

Food_______________$____
Rent____________________
Fuel_____________________
Clothing________________ >.
Insurance,_______________ t
Total weekly expenses_$II_I


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

per

w eek

.

(estimated).
'
E a rn in g s
of
m o t h e r __ ________
E a r n i n g s o f c h i l d r e n ___________
D o ________________________________
D o_
I n c o m e f r o m f u n d s ____ ____ _____
I n c o m e fr o m
p e n s i o n s _________
I n c o m e f r o m r e n t a l s _______ :____
I n c o m e f r o m r e l a t i v e s . ______ . 1.
I n c o m e fr o m
s o c i e t i e s _________
I n c o m e f r o m o t h e r s o u r c e s ____ '
T o t a l w e e k l y i n c o m e _________

__________

S ou rce.
___________
___________
___________

A m ount
A m ount per
p a id t o
w e e k , a p p lic a n t.
$_
«
II

—

—

—

___ __mu i *

__ _ I I I I
III I I II
I I __________ ;• _________I
I ___
___________
_________ I
I ___I ~
__ :__ ___ _
_____ . 1 __ J : _____ I
__________
____ I ____
_
II
________ _
___________
__ I
___________
___________
$ ____ I I -

110

LAWS RELATING TO' MOTHERS * PENSIONS.
D iv is io n

of

S tate B oard of C h a r it y ,
S tate A d u lt P oor, S tate H o u se , R o stov ,

__;_________ ____________la i
'The total expense for aid rendered t o ___________ :------- ----------_---- ------ and family,
under the provisions of chapter 763, acts of 1913, who have a legal settlement in
----- a----- --------- -------- .-from --------------------------- to__________________ has been $____ _——
Date of notice_
Rent from......................................to ......................................rate................................. $__
Supplies from.......„................. .................. ......... „ to ....................... ...............................
Clothing.

Dates furnished.

Articles.

Amount.

Fuel.

Dates furnished.

Quantity.

Amount.

Cashfrom........................................................... to .....................................
Medicalattendaaa.ee (number of visits,_______ _____ __ ) rate................ ..............
Dates of doctor’s visits................................... ........... .................................
Medieine. (Give dates!urnjshed and amount)............................................................
Miscellaneous.......................... .1................................................... ..................
Total expense____ ___ __________________ 1___ _________ T
___ -..... ............... $.........
Claim againStthe Commonwealth (one-third)............................... ................................ $.....................
We hereby certify that the above statement is correct, that the amount charged has
been paid from our treasury, and all the requirements of chapter 763, acts o f 1913, have
been complied with.
N ote : It is important to give dates the aid was actually rendered and not the dates
on which the bills were paid.
Chapter 6 , section 29, R. L.—No account against the Commonwealth shall be allowed
or paid unless authority to contract the same was given by the general court or by
either branch thereof, nor unless the items thereof are specified.
For overseers of the poor of

Notice under chapter 763 aqts of 1913.
MOTHERS WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN.
(State case,)
(For use in eases where there is no legal settlement in any city or town in Mass.)
D iv is io n

of

S tate B oard of C h a r it y ,
S tate A dult P oor, State H ouse , B oston ,

--------------------------------------- ---------, 191—
------------------------------------------ ——, a mother with _____________________ dependent
children under fourteen years of age applied on________________________________ to this
board for aid under chapter 763 of the acts o f 1913.
After careful inquiry and investigation we find that she is a fit person to bring up
her children, that the other members o f the household and the home and its surroundings
are such as make for good character, that aid is necessary to enable her to bring up her
children properly, that she has been a resident of'M assachusetts not less than three
years, and that she has no legal settlement in any city or town of the commonwealth.
We are furnishing her w ith suitable and sufficient aid as the law directs, and for
which we hereby claim reimbursement from the commonwealth under chapter 763 of
the acts of 1913.
For overseers of the poor of
Name of applicant-:_______ __________ I____ ;___ ____________________ __________________
Residence of applicant_.______ j_____________________ *._________ 2___ i i _ _____ — ______
(Describe location of house so that State visitor can readily find the person)
Date of application____________________________________________ _____________________
Amount and nature of relief______________ :_____:________ ‘¡Si---_______ ______________ .1


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

LA W S RELATING TO MOTHERS-

111

PENSIONS*

Full name of applicant.

Date of birth.

Birthplace.

Full name of husband.

Date of birth.

Birthplace.

Married.

Date of marriage.

Applicant now.
Widowed

_

Divorced

Where married.

Date.

_

__

Residence o f hubsand.

_

_____ _____ ____

Separated by court

Court action.

By whom married.

____

___

?___

Deserted
___________ _____ ___
__
_____
Husband of applicant.
Date committed.
insane

Institution.

At home.

_ _

In jail —

— _____ _________

Tubercular
Totally incapacitated
Character and competency of parents

_

_

Dependent children- (under 14 years of age).
Names.

Birthplace.

Date o f birth.

School.

Grade.

•
Other children (over 14 years of age).
.T
Names.

_. ,
Birthplace.

Date of birth.

Relatives of applicant.
Names.
Birthplace.
Father

_

_ _

> ___

Residence.'

Residence.

Wages.

Employed where or why
not employed.

Aiding applicant.

Able to aid.

_ _

Mother
Sister
Brother

________A_________ _

Others
Relatives of husband.
Names.
Father _

Birthplace.

Residence:

Aiding applicant.

Able to aid-.

Mother
Sister
Brother _
Others. _

_
_

'

___
_

_
_

How long has applicant lived continuously in Massachusetts ?
Give addresses in Massachusetts for past three consecutive years :
City or town.

Street and number.

How long there.

Settlement history
State amount of relief applicant is now receiving from public or private sources


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

112

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

Present home of
applicant.

Own it.

Amount
of rent.

Number
of rooms.

Owner’s name.

Street and number.

Appearance of home_______ ______________- ____________ _____________________________
Members of household other than
applicant’s children.
Names.
Ages.

Relationship.

Pay how
much.

Why not paying.

Give description, location, and value of any property owned wholly or in part by appli­
cant or by her husband or children :
Real estate owned by
(Mark with X)
Assessed value___________ _ _
Applicant________________
Mortgages__;________ _________ ___ Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z .Z Z Z Z Z
Husband___________ ______
Held by w hom ______ __________ ______3 __Z Z Z Z _ Z Z Z _ ZZ"
Children:
(Give name of child owner.)
--------------- ------------------------

Rate of interest______________________________________
Other payments on the mortgage_________ ____________ Z
Taxes per year $------- :------ Amount abated $________
Water r a t e s _____________ _ Fire in su ra n ce __________
Income from r e n ta ls_______ Equity in property_______
State of repair________________________________________

Paid-up
Cash on hand or in bank.
Savings, insurance.
In trust.
Invested.
Total amount.
Applicant________ ______ I________________ _________ _____________________ ____
Husband________ ____ _______ ._____________ Z _ZZ ZZ ZZ_Z Z _____Z____ Z ___ZZ
Children (Give name of child owner)__________________ ______________________________ Z
Soldiers’
Workmen’s
Death benefit
Other legal
Legal right.
relief.
compensation.
from societies.
Pensions.
claims.
Applicant________________ _______________ _______ -______ i,__
H usband ____ ________ ____________ _____ _____ ____ _____ Z_Z_ \ Z Z —Z_Z_ZZ
Children_______ __________ _________________________________ _____ ______ Z_I
Amount of insurance received at death of husband and date when claim was paid and
amount now on hand :
Amount of claim.
Date received.
Amount now on hand.
Give itemized statement of way money was expended :
Amounts paid out.
To whom paid.
Insurance paid by Total sum
insured for.
Applicant.
Applicant
Husband
___
Children
Other relatives .

Kind.

Name of
company.

For what paid.

Weekly
payments.

On whose
life.

To whom
payable.

Can any of these policies be converted into paid-up policies?___________ ____I_ ___
Has any of these policies a cash surrender value?_____________ ,____ _
Rent.
Doctor.
Undertaker.
Miscellaneous.
Total.
Debt's of
applicant.

------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------- -----------•------ --------------------- ~----- ----------------------------------

Installment
payments
of applicant.

On what. To whom paid. Amount paid. Amount due. Adjustment pgssible.
__________ _____ _____,__________;_;________________
____ _
_________________________ ______ _______ Z_Z_Z ZZZZ__Z_ZZZZZ ___
________ ____ :______ __________ __________ Z __ Z ___ ZZ_Z___ _

Religion of applicant.
Health.
Applicant________
H usband.__ _____
Children_____ ,__

Church attended.

Pastor.

Present condition.
Doctor attending.
____l _ ________
_,__ ,___________
____________ ___
_Z _ _ _ ._______ _
____________ __________ _________ ___

Number of hours per day applicant works away from home,
llow are children cared for at such times__________ _______


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Is church helping?
Medical needs.
1

Z ___

Jj ___

ZZZZZZ __Z

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS
F A M IL Y E X P E N S E S P E R W E E K .

PENSIONS.

113

FA M IL Y IN C O M E P E R W E E K .

(Estimated.)

(Estimated.)

Food___________ $
Rent_______________
Fuel______________
Clothing__ ;________
Insurance__________
Total weekly expenses $____

Amount Amount paid
Source, per week, to applicant.
Earnings of mother
_____ $„_______ _ $______ ____
Earnings of children
______ ________ __________
do
____ ____________ __________
do
_______ _________ __________
Income from funds
______ _______ _ _____
Income from pensions
______ _______ _
___.___
Income from rentals
______ ___ _____ _____
Income from relatives
______ ______ __ ________ __
Income from societies
______ ________ _______ 3
Income from other sources______ ____ i __ ..______________
______ ______ __$___.______~~
Total weekly income

D iv is io n

of

S ta te B oard of C h a r it y ,
S tate A d u lt P oor, S tate H o use , B oston ,

-------------------------------------------------------- , 19___
The total expense for aid rendered to __________________________ ;_____and family,
under 'the provisions of chapter 763, acts of 1913, who have no settlement in Massa­
chusetts, fr o m ______________ ___________________ to______ _____________________________
has been $________,__
Date of notice-------------------------------------------------Rent from....................................... to........................................rate.................................... $
Supplies from.............................................................to ...................................................
Clothing.
Fuel.

Dates furnished.
Dates furnished.

_

Articles.

Amount.

Quantity.

Amount.

Cashfrom......................................... ...................to ..............................................................
Medical at t endance (number of visits,.................. ) rate...................
Dates of doctor’s visits..............................................................................................
Medicine (give dates furnished and amount)........................................................................
Miscellaneous........... ......................................................................................................... .
$................
•We hereby certify that the above statement is correct, that the amount charged has
been paid from our treasury, and all the requirements of chapter 763, acts of 1913, have
been complied with.
For Overseers of the Poor of ___________ I____ _
N ote : It is important to give dates the aid was actually rendered and not the dates
on which the bills were paid.

(Notice from town of residence to town of legal settlem ent if aid under chapter 763,
acts of 1913, has been begun.)
Of f ic e

of th e

Over seer s

of t h e

P oor ,

----------------------------- M a s s .------------ ------------------------ 191
To the Overseers of the Poor of the__________ o f ________________________ ________ ____
Gentlemen : ------------------------------------------------- whose legal settlement is in your
—------------ , but now residing in this ------------- ---being in needy circumstances, ha
applied to this board for relief; which we have granted in accordance with the pro­
visions of Chapter 763, of the Acts of 1913 and charged to y o u r ______________ ______ _
and shall continue ' to do so until you remove or otherwise provide for_________ _
adequate support.
For and in behalf of the Overseers of the Poor of t h e __ ________ o f __________________
One of said overseers.

Facts upon which the claim of settlement is based are as follows:

143978°—19---- 8

https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

114

LAW S RELATING TO M OTHERS

EBBTSKBSSi

(Report of quarterly visit; also result of yearly consideration qu arterly statement..) *
E» vtsion

of

Sta te B oard of Ch a r it y ,
S ta te A dult P oor, S t a t eh o u se , B oston ,

____________ __________ ________ 191
The quarterly visit to fft« Rome o f
.----- ------ ------------—————»—a—* required by th e
provisions of Section 3, Chapter 763, Acts o f 1913, was made—---------------------- — -----*•—
Original date o f notice— — ---------------------- --------------------—------ — 1------— -------- -------—
Bate of last previous visit:------- ------- --------------- ------------— ------ ------ -------— -— ---------------Present address— :-------------------------------- --------- -— ------ —~ - - — ---- ----------------- —-------—
Amount and nature of relief---------- —— -------------------------------- -— ---- — ---------------- --Civil condition:—------------ ——- -------------------------------------~ ■
--------- - - —
- - - —-¿.--7 -- - • —
(•State change in conditions—m case o f death of husband state amount of insurance
received.)
Dependent children.

Other children.

Ages..

Schooling.

Physical condition.

Ages.

Schooling or
employment.

Physical condition.
-

Physical condition of- parents.

Have family conditions improved?,
f State any changes in detail.)

Total__________________ __________ _
Income, exclusive oi aid furnished by overseers
of the poor.

State names of societies, agencies, and indi­
viduals assisting,' including amount or
nature of relief.

Week. Month.
Wages ofr
.
Man___........... .......
Woman.......................
CMfdren..................

Promt

Lodgers—
Male......................
Female..................
Relatives.....................
Friends___________
Societies and agencies.
Pension............r.........
Total.

RemarfcsAid closed.
The Board of Overseer^ of the Poor re­
considered this c a s e __ ____v - in accord­
ance w ith the provisions of Section S,

C h a p ter 763,. A& ts o f 1013.

___1____________________________
Chairman.


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For ~Overseers of the Poor of

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

115

PENSIONS.

APPLICATION TO OVERSEERS OP TH E POOR FOR BURIAL EXPENSES OP A MOTHER OR DEPENDENT
CHILD UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE.

A ided u n d er th e p r o v isio n s o f ch a p te r 7 6 3 , a c ts of 1913.
(T o file w ith b ill ren d ered fo r b u ria l ex p e n se s.)
F u ll- nam e o f th e d e c e a s e d -.------------------- — --------- - - ---------------------------------------------------------------L a s t ad d ress o f th e d e c e a s e d ------------------------------ -------- * -------------- -------------------------- --------------- D a te o f b irth (d a y , m o n th and y e a r ) ---------------------------------------------- -----------------------------:—.— D a te o f d e a th (d a y , m on th and y e a r ) ---------------------- ------- -------- — ------ --------- --------- ------- ----------A m ou nt o f in s u ia n c e and to w h om p a y a b le------------ --------------- ,— — ---------------— ----------------M oney in t h e bank, on h an d , or in v e s t e d - -------------—:------------- ;------;---------- ------- -— -— — ----V alu e o f eq u ity in p r o p e r ty ----------------- ------- -— ---------- ------ — -—
— ;------O ther fu n d s or r eso u rces n o t in clu d ed a b o v e - -------------- — ------- ------ .-------- --------- —;— -------S ignature” o f ap”p ile a n tl ~ W H ~ d M U S T 1b Ê ~ Ï H Ê ~p Wr 8 Ô N H E L D "r F s 'p Ô n W b L E ” ¥ 6 R T H É
P A Y M E N T O F T H E B U R I A L E X P E N S E S ____ ^ — — :------- — ------- — ¿A---------------------A d d ress o f a p p lic a n t---------------------------------- ------------- ------- ----------------- ------------------ ■— ------------R e la tio n sh ip to th e d e c e a se d
------------ -----------------------1----------------------------------- ----------— '—
A m ou n t o f b u ria l e x p e n se s (in d e t a il) ------ ------------------- ^
-----------------— ? — — — - — - -

Total amount of burial expenses

Co m m o n w e alth

of

$

Massachusetts.

________ __________ '__ss^.,
------------------- ----------------'-------------19
Then personally appeared the above-named applicant---.•—------ 1----------- ~ ----------------—
and made oath that the foregoing statement, b y --------- subscribed, is true and that there
are no burial expenses not included above.
Before me,
---------- i-------—'m------At— in ­
ju stic e of the Peace.


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MICHIGAN.
[C o m p iled L a w s 191 5 , p. 8 9 0 .1]

(2017) S ection 7. Dependent children—Assistance to needy mothers.—When
any child under the age of seventeen years shall be found to be a dependent
or neglected child within the meaning of this act, the court may make an order
committing the child to the care of some suitable State institution, subject to
the law and regulations governing such institution, or to the care of some
reputable citizen of good moral character, or to the care of some training school,
or industrial school, as such provided by law, or to the care of some duly in­
corporated and licensed association willing to receive it, embracing in its
objects the purpose of caring for or obtaining”homes for dependent or neglected
children, which association shall have been approved by the State Board of
Corrections and Charities: Provided, That if the mother of such dependent or
neglected child is unmarried or divorced, or is a widow, or has been deserted by
her husband, or if her husband has been declared insane or is feeble minded,
epileptic or blind and is confined in a State hospital or other State institution,
or is the wife of an inmate of some State penal institution serving sentence
therein for crime, or of an inmate of a hospital for the treatment of insane
persons who is confined therein for the purpose of being treated for insanity
or other diseased mental condition and such mother is poor and unable to
properly care and provide for said child, but is otherwise a proper guardian,
and it is for the welfare of, such child to remain in-the custody of its mother,
the court after investigation and report by the probation officer of the county,
may enter an order finding such facts and fixing the amount of money necessary
to enable the mother to properly care for such child, such amount not to exceed
three dollars a week for each child. Thereupon it shall be the duty of the
county treasurer of the county of which such child is a resident, to pay from the
general fund of such county, to such mother at such times as such order may
designate, the amount so specified for the care of such dependent or neglected
child until the further order of the court. Such order shall not require the
approval of the board of supervisors or county auditor or auditors. The court
shall, when the health or condition of the child shall require, cause the. child
to be placed in a public hospital or in an institution for treatment or special
care, or in a private hospital or institution for special care or treatment, the
expense to be paid from the general fund of the county of which the child is a
resident. [Laws 1913, No. 228, as amended by Laws 1915, No. 308.1]
The provisions of the Compiled Statutes which relate to the courts having
jurisdiction and the method by which cases of dependent children are brought
into courLare as follows:
[C om p iled S ta tu te s 1 9 1 5 , p p. 8 8 5 - 8 8 7 .]

(2012) Sec. 2. Jurisdiction.—The probate court shall have original jurisdic­
tion in all cases coming within the terms of this act, and while proceeding
under this act shall be termed juvenile division of the probate court. * * *
1 T h e a m en d m en t o f 1 9 1 5 e x ten d ed .th e p r o v isio n s o f th e la w to w om en w h o se h u sb a n d s
a r e in S ta te h o s p ita ls fo r th e in sa n e , feeb le-m in d ed , e p ile p tic or b lin d or a r e in m a te s o f
S ta te p e n a l in s titu tio n s .
F or r u lin g s o f th e S ta te a tto r n e y g en e r a l r e la tiv e to t h is a c t se e M ich igan S ta te B oard
o f C orrectio n s a n d C h a rities, 2 4 th b ie n n ia l rep o rt, 1 9 1 7 —1 9 1 8, p. 159.

117

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PENSIONS.

Provided, That in case the judge of probate in any county is so occupied with
the duty devolving upon him in the probate court as not to have time to
attend to the cases arising under this act and shall so certify to the circuit
court, the circuit judge or one of them in districts where there is more than
one circuit judge, to be designated by the judges of said court, shall hear the
cases under this act provided to be heard by the judge of probate, but said
circuit judge shall not exercise the powers of the probate court in such cases
for a longer period than, two months, unless a new certificate and designation
be made, which shall, in like manner, be effective for a like period. * * *
(2014) S ec . 4. County agents.—The governor shall appoint in each county of
this State, upon the recommendations of the State board of corrections and
charities, an agent of such board for the care and protectionof dependents,, neg­
lected and delinquent children, who shall hold his office during the pleasure of
the governor, and shall he known as the county agent for the county for which
he is appointed. * * *
(201b) S ec. 5. Petition—Summons—Hearings.—Upon the filing with the court
of a sworn petition setting' forth upon knowledge or upon information ana
belief; the facts showing that any child resident in said county is a delinquent,
dependent or neglected child within the meaning of section one of tftfp act, the
court shall, before any further proceeding is had in the matter, give notice
thereof to said county agent or to a duly appointed probation officer, who shall
have opportunity allowed him to investigate the facts and circumstances sur­
rounding the case, and upon receiving such notice the said officer shall imme­
diately proceed to inquire into and make a full examination of the parentage
and surroundings of the child and all the facts and circumstances of the case,
and report the same to the said court in writing. If, after a full Investigation,
it shall appear to the court that public interest and the interest of the child
will be best subserved thereby, a summons shall issue reciting the substance of
the petition and requiring the person having the custody or control of the child,
or with whom the child may be, to appear with the child at a place and time
which shall be stated in the summons, and if such person is other than the
parent or guardian of sueh child, then said parent or guardian shall he notified
of the pendency of the ease. The court shall notify the county agent or pro­
bation officer making the preliminary investigation to- attend said trial and act
as custodian o f said child. * * * On return of the summons or writ, or as
soon thereafter as may be; the court shall proceed to- hear and dispose of the
ease upon such testimony as may be produced, and if the allegations against
the child are proved the eourt may adjudge said child a delinquent, dependent,
©r neglected child as the ease may b e; and if it shall appear to- the- eourt that
the public interests and the interest of sueh child will be best subserved thereby,
he- may make an order for the return of such child t© Ms or her parents or
guardian or friends. * * *
An earlier law, passed in 1911, providing fur relief out ©f school funds to
children of indigent parents to enable them to attend school was not super­
seded by the law enacted in 1913, which provides for the payment of relief out
of the county funds. The text of this law is here given-, as it differs from the
usual form- of school-aid law in that it provides for the payment of money for
support in addition to books- and clothing.
[Laws 1911, No. 198 ; Compiled Statutes 19965, p. 2964.]

An Act To- provide means whereby children of indigent parents within: school age, may
attend- school.

The people of the State of Michigan enact: (5989)• S ection 1. Schooling of
children of indigent parents.—Any truant officer of this State .when authorized

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LAWS RELATING-TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

119

by the board of education to investigate, and when satisfied that any child
within his jurisdiction, required by law to attend school, is unable so to do by
reason of the fact that the services of such child are absolutely required for the
support of himself or herself, or to assist in the support or care .of others
legally entitled to his or her services, such person or persons being unable to
support or care for themselves, such truant officer shall report the case to the
board of education of the school district in which such child may reside, and
such board of education shall be authorized to, and may in their discretion,
grant such relief as will enable the child to attend school during the entire
school year. In all cases where such relief is necessary the said board of
education shall be authorized to, and may in their discretion, furnish to such
child the necessary textbooks free of charge, in addition to such other necessary
assistance or support.
(5990) S e c . 2 . Payment to family.— For the purposes in this a'ct provided
such board of education shall pay, during the school year, to the family of such
child a sum not to exceed three dollars a week, nor more than six dollars a
week for the children of any one family. Said money shall be paid in the
same manner and out of the same fund as are the current expenses for the
maintenance of public schools.
(5991) S ec. 3. Duty of truant officer.—It shall be the duty of the truant
officer or treasurer of the school board in any district where a child is receiv­
ing aid under the provisions of this act to disburse the funds herein provided
for, and to investigate the environment of the child, and to make an itemized
report monthly to the school board or some officer appointed by the board, of
the manner in which such funds were expended: Provided, That in cities hav­
ing a juvenile court such investigations shall be made by such court.
(5992") S e c . 4. Teacher to report.—The truant officer shall notify-the teacher
to whom any child receiving aid under the provisions of this act may t>e as­
signed, and ;t shall be the duty of the teacher having charge of such child
to report monthly to tlie school board through the superintendent of schools,
the progress such child is making in his or her school work, and the record of
attendance together with such'other information as may be deemed necessary.
Said truant officer shall receive the same compensation for the time so en~
gaged under the provisions of this act as he receives for similar services per­
formed b37 him and shall be paid in the same manner.
Approved April 29, 1911.


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MINNESOTA.
[L a w s 191 7 , eh. 2 2 3 ,1 a s am ended by L a w s 1919,, eh. 328 an d 3 3 3 .2]
A n A c t T o p ro v id e fo r a llo w a n c e s o u t o f c o u n ty and S ta te fu n d s, in c e rta in ca se s
fo r th e su p p o rt o f d ep en d en t ch ild ren in th e ir ow n h om es, an d fo r in v e stig a tio n and
su p erv isio n o f su ch c a se s, and to rep ea l se c tio n s 7 1 97, 7 1 9 8 , and 7 1 99, G en eral
S ta tu te s , 191 3 .

-Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota: S ection 1.
Alloxmnces to mothers—When made—Amount.—Whenever any child under the
age of sixteen years who is not lawfully entitled to apply for and receive an
employment certificate is found by juvenile court to be dependent the court
shall, when requested so to do, and in the same proceeding, make its findings
upon the following points :
(a) Whether the mother of the child is a widow;
(b) If her husband is living, whether he is an inmate of a penal institution
under a sentence which will not terminate within three months after the date
of such finding ; or is an inmate of a State insane asylum or hospital, or of a
State hospital for inebriates ; or is unable to labor for the support of his family
by reason of physical disabilities ; or is and for one year has been under indict­
ment for the crime of abandoning such child ;
(c) Whether the dependency of the child is due to the poverty of the mother
without neglect, improvidence or other fault on her part ;
(d) Whether the mother is otherwise a proper person to have the custody
of the child ;
(e) Whether the welfare of the child will be subserved by permitting him
to remain in the custody of the mother, if adequate means of support shall be
provided ;
(f) Whether the mother is a citizen of the United States or whether she or
her husband has made declaration of intention to become a.citizen and has
resided two years in the State and one year in the county.
Upon the making and filing of findings that the mother is a widow or that
support is not obtainable from her husband by reason of one of the alternatives
specified in subdivision (&), together with findings in the affirmative upon the
points specified in subdi'visons (c), (d), (e), (/), the courts shall further-find,
and order the payment of the sum of money which it deems necessary for the
county to allow the mother in order to enable her to bring up the child properly
in her own home, not exceeding fifteen dollars per month for one child and not
1 B ill w a s d ra fted by M in n eso ta C hild W e lfa r e C o m m issio n an d ad op ted w ith o u t change.
S u p ersed es e a r lie r la w o f 1 9 1 3 (la w s 1 9 1 3 , chap. 1 3 0 ). T h e rev ised la w p ro v id es for
su p erv isio n by th e S ta te B oard Of C ontrol a n d for S ta te aid to e x te n t o f o n e-th ird th e
a m o u n t exp en d ed by th e c o u n tie s ; fo r a s s is ta n c e in a d m in is tr a tio n by th e co u n ty boards
o f ch ild w e lfa r e crea ted by a n o th e r a c t ; and fo r a n in c r e a s e in th e m axim u m a llo w a n c e
o f $10 to $ 1 5 fo r th e first ch ild an d $ 1 0 for ea ch a d d itio n a l ch ild . T h e a g e lim it o f
th e ch ild ren w h o m ig h t be aid ed w a s ra ised fro m fo u r tee n to six te e n y e a r s an d t h e cou rt
w a s g iv e n a u th o r ity to m ake th e a llo w a n c e to a g ra n d m o th e r i f in th e b e st in te r e s ts
o f t h e child.
2 A m en d m en ts o f 1 9 1 9 req u ire n o tific a tio n o f an d in v e s tig a tio n by th e c o u n ty a t to r ­
n ey in c o u n tie s o f n o t m ore th a n 3 3 ,0 0 0 and in c r e a se s th e s a la r ie s w h ich m ay be p aid
official in v e s tig a to r s in c o u n tie s o f 2 0 0 ,0 0 0 or m o re p o p u la tio n .

121

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

exceeding ten dollars per month for each additional child: Provided, however,
That no allowance shall be made when the husband is under indictment for
abandonment unless the court is satisfied that he is a fugitive from justice and
that the mother has in good faith assisted and will continue to assist in all
reasonable efforts to apprehend him.
Before making the findings above specified the court, in counties having a
population of not more than 33,000, shall notify the county attorney, of the
county that an application has been made for the payment of an allowance.
Such notice shall specify the name of the child and the name and address of
the mother of such child and also specify the time and place when and where
the court will hear the evidence relevant to the matters upon which the making
of such findings depends. It shall be the duty of the county attorney to in­
vestigate the financial condition and status of such child or children and that
of the mother and to appear at the time and place specified for such hearing
and participate therein and present to the court such evidence or information
as may be within his knowledge relevant to the matters, on which the making
of such findings depend.
S e c . 2. Manner of payment—Subsequent order.—A certified copy of such order
shall be filed with the county auditor and thereafter, so long as such order
remains in force and unmodified, it shall be the duty of the county auditor
each month to draw his warrant on the general revenue fund of the county
in favor of the mother for the amount specified in such order. The warrant
shall be delivered to the clerk of the court making the order and shall by the
latter be delivered to the mother upon her executing a receipt therefor, to be
retained by the clerk with the other records in the proceedings relating to the
child. It shall be the duty of the county treasurer to pay the warrant out of
the general revenue fund of the county when properly presented. No such
allowance shall be paid toward the support of any child who has become law­
fully entitled to apply for and receive an employment certificate or who has
ceased to be under the immediate care of the mother. The court may for cause
duly shown revoke or modify any order previously made. A certified copy of
any such subsequent order shall forthwith be filed with the county auditor
and thereafter warrants shall be drawn and payments made only in accordance
with such subsequent order.
'' S e c . 3. Court may impose conditions.—The court may require any mother
to whom an allowance is made under this act to make a reasonable effort to
learn the English language and customarily use the same in her family. The
court may also require the mother to do such remunerative work outside her
own home as she can do without detriment to her health or neglect of her
family and may limit the number of days per week when she may be so em­
ployed.
S e c . 4. County child welfare board—Duty to assist court.—In counties where
there is a county child welfare board as provided by law such board, when so
requested by the court, shall consider applications for allowance under this act
and shall advise the court concerning their merit,, the sum, if any, which ought
to be allowed, and the special conditions, if any, upon which the same ought to
be granted.
S e c . 5 . Investigation and supervision—Official reports as basis for findings.—
Before making any order or allowance under this act it shall be the duty of the
court, either through the judge in person or through the county child welfare
board and its agents or a probation officer designated for that purpose or an
official investigator appointed as provided in section 6 of this act, to make in­
quiry as to all the points necessary to establish the right to such allowance;
and particularly to inquire whether the surroundings of the household, includ
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123

ing its other members,, are sack as- to make for the good character of children
growing .up- tkerein-; to ascertain all the financial resources of the family,, in­
cluding the ability of its members of working age to contribute to its support
and if need be to urge upon such members their proper contribution, to take all
lawful means to secure support for the family from relatives under legal obliga­
tion to render such support; to- ascertain the ability of other relatives to assist
the family and to interview individuals* societies* and other agencies which
may be deemed appropriate sources of such assistance. Every family to which
an allowance has been made' shall be visited at its- home by a representative
of the court at least once in three months* and; after each visit the person
making the same shall make and keep on file as a part of the- official record of
the case a detailed statement of the condition of the home and; family* and all
other data which may assist in determining the wisdom of the allowance
granted; and the advisability of its continuance; and the court shall at least
once in each year reconsider every case in which an allowance has been made,
and take sufla action as the facts then existing shall warrant. All findings and
orders provided for herein may be made upon the written reports of official
investigators- with like effect as if based upon competent testimony given in open
court.
Sec. 6. Official investigators*—In counties having over 330*0.00 population
the judge of the juvenile court may appoint one or more persons for the in­
vestigation of applications for allowances under this act, whose duty it shall
be- to visit the homes of the applicants and ascertain all the relevant facts and
circumstances* including the facts specified in the preceding action, and; make
report in such form as the court may require.. Each person so appointed shall
receive such salary not exceeding $1,200' per annum as shall be recommended
by the judge in charge of the juvenile division of the district court and ap­
proved by the county board. Such salary shall be paid in semimonthly in­
stallments 'out of the county treasury together with all expenses certified by
the judge to have been necessarily incurred by them in the performance of their
duties.
In counties having over 20O;0O0 and not to exceed 330,000 population the
judge of the juvenile court may appoint one or more persons for the investiga­
tion of application for allowances under this act* whose duty it shall be t© visit
the homes of the applicants and ascertain all the relevant, facts and circum­
stances including the facts specified in the preceding section and make- report
in such form as the court may require. Each person so appointed shall receive
a salary of $1,200 per annum, to be paid in monthly installments out of the
county treasury, together with all actual expenses certified by the judge to have
been necessarily incurred by them in the performance of their duties: Prxwictedr
however, That the judge may designate by order one investigator to have general
charge of the work of ail persons so appointed, -which person shall receive a
salary'of $l,;>00i per annum, together with necessary expenses* to be paid as
aforesaid.
Seg. 7. Reconsideration' upon complaint—Appeal—Upon complaint being
made to the county attorney by a taxpayer of the county that any person is
unlawfully receiving an allowance out of the county funds on account of an
alleged dependent child it shall be the duty of the county attorney to; investi­
gate such complaint and if he finds it to have probable cause to bring it to the
attention of the court by appropriate proceedings. The court shall hear such
evidence and argument as shad be offered and shall thereupon make its order
confirming, modifying, or setting aside the. order complained of* from, which
decision an appeal may be taken as in a civil action.

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4

LAWS RELATING T 0 MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

Sec. 8. What property a bar.—The ownership by a mother of personal
property of the value of one hundred dollars, exclusive of appropriate clothing
and household furniture and of such tools, implements, and domestic animals
as in the opinion of the court it is expedient to retain for the purpose of re­
ducing the expense or increasing the income of the family or of real estate
not used as a home; or of real estate, when used as a home, of a value dispro­
portionate to the actual needs of the family, shall be a bar to any allowance
under this act.
Sec. 9. Terms defined—The word “ husband ” in this act may denote either
the father of a dependent child or a stepfather of whose family the child is
or has been a member. The word “ mother ” may denote either the mother or a
stepmother of whose family the child is a member.
Sec. 10. Allowance to grandmother.—Whenever the court shall be of the
opinion that the welfare of a dependent child will be best served by permitting
him to live in the family of his grandmother, all the provisions of this act shall
be so construed as to apply to such grandmother and her husband in like man­
ner as to the mother and her husband.
Sec. 11. Fraud.—Any person fraudulently procuring or attempting to procure
an allowance under this act for a person not entitled'thereto, by any act which
does not constitute a felony, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec. 12. Duties of board of control.—It shall be the duty of the State Board
of Control to promote efficiency and uniformity in the administration of this
act. To that end it shall advise and cooperate with courts and shall supervise
and direct county child welfare boards with respect to methods of investiga­
tion, oversight and record keeping; shall devise, recommend, and distribute
blank forms; shall by its agents visit and inspect families to which allowances
have been made; shall have access to all records and other data kept by courts
and other agencies concerning such allowances; and may require such reports
from clerks of the courts, child welfare boards, probation officers, and other
official investigators as it shall deem necessary.
Sec. 13. Payments reported to State officers—State to allow one-third.—
During the month of January in each year the county auditor shall certify
under oath, in duplicate, to the State auditor and the State Board of Control
the amount paid out by the county during the preceding calendar year for
allowances under this a ct; and if the board of control shall approve the same
it shall cause its .approval to be indorsed by its chairman on the certificate
received by the State auditor; whereupon the State auditor shall draw his
warrant to the county treasurer for one-third of the amount so certified to have
been paid out byjthe county, and the State treasurer shall pay the same and
the county treasurer shall credit the sum so paid to the general revenue fund
of the county.
Sec. 14. Improper administration—Duty of board of control.—If in any
county this act shall be unlawfully or improvidently administered, or if any
of the agencies administering it shall wrongfully refuse to cooperate with the
State Board "of Control as provided in section 12, the board may refuse to
approve and indorse the certificate of disbursements provided for in section 13.
Buch refusal shall be subject to judicial review upon appropriate proceedings.
Sec. 15. Purpose of act to be liberally construed.—This act shall be liberally
construed with a view to accomplishing its purpose, which is hereby declared
to be to enable the State and its several counties to cooperate with responsible
mothers in rearing „fhture citizens, when such cooperation is necessary on
account of relatively permanent conditions, in order to keep -the mother and
children together in the same household, reasonably safeguard the health of

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the mother and secure to the children during their tender years her personal
care and training.
S ec . 16. Action against relative preserved.—Nothing herein shall be deemed
to be inconsistent with any right of action against a relative of a-poor person
conferred by sections 3067 and 3068, General Statutes, 1913.
S ec. 17. Orders made under former law.—All orders of court granting county
aid to mothers of dependent children under the provision of chapter 130, laws
of 1913 (being sections 7197, 7198, and 7199, General Statutes, 1913), in force
where this act takes effect, shall continue in force until confirmed, modified or
set aside pursuant to the provisions of this act.
S ec . 18. Sections 7197, 7198, and 7199, General Statutes, 1913, are hereby
repealed.
S ec . 19. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first
day of January, 1918.
Approved April 14, 1917. Amendments approved April 21, 1919.
[F o r m s P r e p a r e d b y S ta te B o a r d o f C o n tr o l ( a s r e q u ir e d b y S e c tio n 1 2 o f a c t ) . ]
(P e titio n in m a tte r o f d ep en d en cy an d a p p lic a tio n fo r c o u n ty a llo w a n c e .)
C ourt N o ..______
S t a t e o p M in n e s o t a ,

\

T

T

___

C ou n ty o f _______
f
J u v e n il e C o u r t ,
In th e m a tte r o f ----------------- -----------------------------1 P e titio n in M a tte r o f D ep en d en cy
------------ -------------------------------------------------------------- >
and
a s (a ) d ep en d en t c h ild -------J A p p lica tio n fo r C ou n ty A llo w a n ce.

To the above named court:

'

,

•

Your p e t i t i o n e r ,-------------------------------------------------------- , a rep u ta b le p erson an d re sid e n t of
sa id cou n ty , r e sp e c tfu lly rep resen ts th a t ___________________________ __in fa n t s
u n d er th e a g es o f 16 y ea rs, t o - w i t : o f th e a g e o f ____________________ ____ y ea rs, resp ec­
tiv e ly , a n d r e s id e n ts o f ----------------------------------- -_____,_______ C o u n t y _________ __ a re de­
p en d en t ch ild ren , in t h is : t h a t sa id ch ild ren ------------ _----------------------- __________ I __are
u n ab le to m a in ta in th e m s e lv e s -------------- ---------------------- by la w fu l e m p lo y m e n t; t h a t
t h e ------------------ fa th e r o f sa id ch ild ren i s _________ _______'______________________ ; th a t th e ir
------------------m o th er is u n a b le to a d eq u a tely p ro v id e fo r th e su p p o rt, tr a in in g , a n d ed u ca­
tio n o f sa id ch ild ren w ith o u t a s s is ta n c e fro m p erso n s n o t le g a lly bound to c o n tr ib u te to
th e ir — ------------ s u p p o r t ; th a t — _------------ --- — i_l---------------------------- - w h o se r esid en ce is
------------------------------------------------ .-------, is th e ----------- ■.------ m o th er o f sa id children-; th a t
— ---------------------------------------------------- w h o se resid en ce i s ___ ____ ________________ _____________
is t h e ------ :-----------fa th e r o f sa id ch ild r e n ___________________ ____________________

W hereforei, y o u r p e titio n e r p r a y s t h a t said children be b ro u g h t before sa id co u rt,
t h a t t h e i r ------------------- alleged dependency m ay be in q u ired in to p u rs u a n t to l a w ; a n d

that if said children shall be found to be dependent, evidence be received and findings
made by the court as provided in section 1, chapter 223, General Laws of Minnesota,

St a t e o f M in n e s o t a ,

1

County of_____________________ /
---------------------- '------------------------ being duly sworn, deposes and says that __he has read
the above petition and knows the contents thereof and that the same is true to the best
of h____information and belief.
Subscribed and sworn to before me t h is ____I I I I I I
----------------day o f ---------------------------------- 1 9 ______
Deputy Clerk of
(Statement of applicant and certificate of investigation.)
Court No______
St a t e o f M in n e s o t a ,

County

\ o0

jS8»

Tt

J uvenile Court.

In the matter of __y.
as dependent child V___

l Statement of Applicant for
County Allowance.

Name in full_________________________ j._____.________ _______ ■
____ Age__
Address— ------------------------------------- How long at present address?________
In-------------------- city or village? In______ _______ County? In Minnesota?.
Is applicant a U. S. citizen or declarant? (State in detail)____L____ _
Does applicant own home?____________________ How many rooms?__ .___
Any other property, real or personal?_________________________________


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Court.

126

LAW S’ RELATING TO- M O TH ERS

PENSfOiNS-.

Property held iu trust for children.?-__________ —_______ ___________ ___________________
Has applicant any money in bank?--------------------------- What amount?’—__ — ;___________
What bank?--------------- -- ------------------------ 1______________________ -__ .____________ ____Does applicant authorize official investigator to inquire of bank?___________ ______
Monthly rental?:__________ How many rooms?:__________ Outstanding debts?__,__L_____
Where was applicant born?_____:------------------------- ..:__ __________ ________ _________ __•_aMarital history___ :_______________ _____________________________________ i
i -41 - ____
Pull name o f father o f children___________ ___________ „___________ _______ ___________ _
State cause and place of his death__________________________________ - ____________
If husband^ living, state particulars.__________ ______ j__._______ ___ __- __ ______ ______
If husband dead, what property did he leave, including life insurance and, benefits from
fraternal orders?__ _______________ __________ _____ ____________________ ______ ______
Haw has insurance' money been spent?__________________________________ ________ ___ i
Life and. health insurance now carried by husband?___________________________________ _
CHILDREN UN DER SIXTEEN.

Name.

Date of birth.

..............................

.....................

■

Place of birth.
■ ,
- .

School.

Grade.

Physical condition.

;

'

1

1

CHILDREN OVER SIXTEEN.

Address.

Name,

Married.

Occupation.

Income.

Contribution.

R E L A T IV E S.

Name.

Address.

Relation.

Occupation.

Encorne-

Famity. Contribution,.

*
_

i

:d : v
What relief has- applicant received from public or private sourees, with particulars?__ __
Present employment w ith earnings-___________________ .___________ _____________ ___;____
Name and address of employer_______________________________ ______________ ,___ _______
If allowance Is made applicant, what work can she procure and do at home, and what
can she earn ?____________ __________________ 1______________________________________
If allowance is refused, would applicant be required to work regularly away from home
and child______for______ support?_________________________________________________
Can applicant support child--------- without contributions from public sources or persons
not legally bound to contribute?______________________ 1 _________________ ______„____'
What is the least amount that would enable applicant to stay a t home w ith child --____,
and properly care for______ ? ___1 _________ — ______ ____— _____ ___ _____________
Husband’s occupation, and annual income?'______ _______________________________________
Name and address o f applicant’s physician?-___________ ,__.___________________________
Church affiliation____;_____________________ ________ -■
■ -__________________ Z_______
Will applicant promptly notify official, investigator of any change of address or cir­
cumstances-?-___________
Give- names and addresses^ of three- persons who have known applicant for last two
- years___-______________ ___________________________~____________ ________:_____ ____ __
S t a t e o f M in n e s o t a ,

. \

County of_________________2.___/
— .-------:------ - -----I— 1------i-------- , being first duly sworn, states that each of her answers
to the foregoing questions is true, to the best of her knowledge and belief.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this__________ day of_________ _________ , 19.
Notary Public,—_____________ — County, MinnMy commission expires_____________________________
c eu ttfeca tel

of

o f f ic ia l

. i n v e s 'jpi a a t o a .

I certify that except as is hereinafter noted I have- by careful investigation verified, the
foregoing affidavit or the applicant, and believe the same to be true as to every fact
therein, stated.
Further particulars as to* property owned by applicant are as follows :________________


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

127

I further certify that iu my opinion—
( 1 ) The child______, on whose aeeount application is made is (are) dependent in that
adequate support, training, and education can not be secured for them without the con­
tributions of th e county or of persons not legally bound to so contribute.
(■2) Such dependency is due to the poverty o f the:_____________________ mother without
neglect, improvidence; or other fault on her part.
(3) The_________________mother is a proper person to have the custody of said
child____ „ , and______ welfare will be subserved by permitting them to remain in her
custody if adequate means of support can be provided.
(•4> The surroundings o f the household, including its other’ members, are such as to
make for the good character of children growing up therein.
(5‘)- The sum of-_____________________ dollars ($-:---------------- ) per month ought to be
allowed the applicant pursuant to the provision of chapter 223, Laws 1917, based on the
following estimate of monthly expense and income :
>
Expense.

Expense.

Total.
Tata!......................................
( 6 ) No other financial assistance except a» stated in. the preceding schedule may rea­
sonably be expected from any relative, society or other source:
Official Investigator.
Dated-------------------------------, 19—— _
(Findings and order for county allowance;>
Court N o . ______ .
S t a t e o f M in n e s o t a ,

1

Ju v e n i l e € o c b t ,

County of___i______—
In the matter of-------------------- ------- ------- -f Findings and Order
---------------------------------,-------for County
Allowance.
_________________
_ a s dependent
children.
JJ
The above entitled- matter came regularly on for hearing on------------ — -----------------»
19______, before the- Honorable------ ---- ------- .------------- ----- ------------------- Judge of said
Court, upon the petition o f------------------------ ------------------------------------ , duly filed herein;
and said children having been duly adjudged to be d e p e n d e n ta n d i t appearing that
all of said children are under the age o f sixteen years; and that none of said children .
is lawfully entitled 5 to receive an employment certificate, the court, after hearing all
the evidence adduced at said hearing and- being fully advised in the premises, finds: _
That said________________- ____was born on the — .----day off—.---------------------- - 19—
That said______;______________ w as bom on t h e ------ --d ay off----------- — ----------, 19;—
That said_______ - __________ «-was born on the --------- day of— --------------------- - 19—
7a) That the__________________mother of said children is ------,---------------------------------- whose residence is_____________________ _ Minnesota ; and that she is-------------a w idow :
(ft)- That____________________ her husband; the ----------------------------------- - father of
said children-, is-------------- ------ -----------...... ...
,
1. That he is an inmate of_____________________ , a penal institution- under a sen­
tence which will not terminate within three months from the date o f this finding.
2. That he is an inmate e£___________________ _ a State insane asylum ok hospital
or State hospital for inebriates,
*1{ 3. That he is unable to labor for the support of Ms family by reason of physical
disabilities,
.
_ „
..
, t
,,
4 That he is, and for one year has been, under indictment for the crime of abandon­
ing such child-_____and by jjeasOu of the foregoing, support on^account of sard
v
child-______is not obtainable from said husband.
(c l That the dependency of said- child____is-due to- the poverty off the-----------------------mother without neglect, improvidence, or other fault on her p a r t;
(d) That the________________- ____mother off said child—------ is otherwise a proper
person to- have the custody of said ehild---------- ,
... ...
,.
fed That the welfare of said ehild----------will be subserved- by permitting them----------to remain in the custody of their-------------------------------- mother, if adequate means of
support shall be provided;
.
„ ., , „.. .
,.
(f) That said___________________________ :___ is a citizen o f the United States and
_____________________ has resided in said State continuously during two years last past,
and in said county continuously during one year last past.

*2

g. Findings pn the following facts must be made- in ease any child is over fourteen
and under sixteen years of age :
„
,
1. That the child_______ ______ !___________ is more than fourteen years of age and
is under the age of sixteen years, to-wftr-------------- -years and— — - ------months.
2. That said ¿Mid:_______________ _____ j ___ iis not of the normal development of a
child of h__age__ , not of sound health; and' not physically able to perform work
which will- produce substantially enough for b— own support. _ .
3 . That said child_____ , though off normal development and physically able to
perform work which will produce substantially enough for----------- -—own- suj£
port, ha.______not completed the studies taught in the common schools of the
district in which such child--------- resides.


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128

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

And th e, court further finds that the sum of._________________________ dollars per
month-------------------------------- is the amount of money necessary to be allowed by said
-------------------------------- County on account of said child______ to enable the__
mother to properly bring them---------- „— up in her own home;
It is therefore ordered, That said child--------- be permitted to remain in the custody
o r ------------ ------------------- > the--------------------------mother of said child______ , subject to
the friendly visitation of such person as may from time to time be designated by the
court;
That the Treasurer o f -------------------------------- County, Minnesota, be and he is hereby
directed to pay to s a i d -------------------------------- the sum o f _______ (_______________dollars
per month on account of said child______, b eg in n in g ___________________ __■ 1 9 ____ ,
until said child--------- respectively attain the age of sixteen years or until further order
of the court.

By the court :
Judge.

. -,

[Note.] *(1) If husband is living, strike out those of the paragraphs, or parts of
paragraphs, numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4 not appropriate to the case. If the husband is
dead, strike out the paragraphs numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4.'
[Note.] *(2) A child under fourteen years of age is not lawfully entitled to an employment certificate. But a child between the ages of fourteen and sixteen may be. The
findings in paragraph “ g ” show facts which would make the issuance of an employment
certificate to a child between fourteen and sixteen unlawful. Such findings must bemade for such a child. Strike out paragraph “ g ” if not appropriate.

(C o u n ty a llo w a n c e q u a rte rly rep ort.)
State
C o u n ty o f

M in n e s o t a .
T
~ __
____
J u v e n il e Co u r t .
In th e m a tte r o f
1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1C ou n ty A llo w a n c e
--------------------- .----------------------------------- ----------------- 1 Q u a rterly R ep ort.
A s d ep en d en t ch ild ren .
j
F u ll n a m e o f m o th er__________________________________ :___________________
P r e se n t a d d ress (in f u l l ) ______________________________________ __________Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z I ” I I I I
C on d itio n o f m o th er’s h e a lth _______________________ _________________ ___ Z Z Z Z Z - Z Z Z Z Z ____ I __
Is m o th er n e g le c tfu l o f c h ild r e n ? ___________________________ _________
II
III_
~~
Is m o th er im p r o v id en t or w a s te fu l in m a n a g e m en t o f h o u se h o ld ? — ! __I I - . __ I I - . ___ 1“
A re h er ex p e n d itu r e s w is e ? ________________________________________________________
W h a t is rep o rt o f tra d esm en w ith w h om sh e d e a ls ______■_____________ ]________
_
__
D o ch ild ren look h e a lth y — hap p y— if o f sc h o o l a g e w h a t is schoorrecord"” a"nd " r e p o r t ch u rch r e p o r t? _____________. __________________ __________ .________________ ______ __ __
I s h o m e n ea t, clea n , and w e ll k e p t? _____________________________ .1 1 1 1 __I I _ I I I I _ I __ ”
I
A re th e r e a n y c h a n g es in h o m e sin c e la s t r e p o r t? ______________ ___ I _ _ I ___ I I I I _ I _
IIIA re th ere a n y u n d esira b le in flu en ces or su r r o u n d in g s? _______________________ I _ __ - ____
Is E n g lis h la n g u a g e u sed by a ll in f a m ily ? __i___________ _______
_
___ ____ “ “ I _ A re a n y p erso n s b esid es m o th er an d ch ild ren liv in g in fa m ily ? I I I __I I I I
_ I I I ___
_
I f fa th e r o f ch ild ren is liv in g , s t a t e p r e se n t w h e rea b o u ts an d c o n d i t i o n . ! ______ '___
H a s fa m ily a n y to o ls or d o m e stic a n im a ls t h a t a id in it s su p p o rt? ____ _______ I ___ _______
------------ t -------------------------------------------------------------------------------V a lu e _______________________ I
V a lu e o f a n y m oney or c r e d its_____________________________
M on th ly ea r n in g s o f fa m ily — h o w an d w h ere em p lo y ed ___ I I I I __._ ~ I _ ;____
M o t h e r _________________________________________________________ _____
______I _______ I I I I
F a th e r ----------------------------- .-------- <___ . . . . _____________ ___ I _ I I I - I I
A n y h elp from o th e r p u b lic or p r iv a te so u r c e s_______I ___ - I ~
__I _ ~ T ___
_____
A re a ll m em bers o f h o u seh o ld c o n tr ib u tin g w h o s h o u l d _ I .~ I .~ I _
A re o th e r p erso n s, le g a lly or m o ra lly bound to h elp , a s s i s t i n g . __- I _
I s a llo w a n c e paid for a n y ch ild n ow 16 y e a r s o ld _________
_ I ~ _______ _____ I
P r e se n t t o ta l a m o u n t b ein g p aid m o th e r____________ __ _____“ I - I _ I I __ I I ___
C on tin u e p r e se n t a llo w a n c e -------------------- In c r e a se it ? _______ I I . “ D im in ish it ? — I ________
_ 1/1 ,,
....
(A m o u n t.)
(A m o u n t.)
(A m o u n t.)
sh o u ld a n y n ew c o n d itio n s be im p o sed on m o th er a s to m a n a g e m en t o f her h o u se or care
o f c h ild r e n _____________________________________________________
F u r th e r r e c o m m e n d a tio n s_____________________________ _________ Z Z Z ~ Z Z Z Z ___ I I I ______ I _ _ I I I
of

~I

I c e r tify t h a t th e ab ove fa c ts h a v e been a sc e r ta in e d a fte r c a refu l in v e s tig a tio n an d
a fte r p erso n a l v is it to th e hom e, a n d I b e lie v e th em to be tru e a s sta te d
D a te o f in v e s tig a tio n ________________________
D a te o f r e p o r t_ _ _ ._ _ _ ________________

^ ¿ m T n v e s U g & io r .

N ote .— T h is rep o rt sh o u ld be p repared w ith sp e c ia l - r e fe r e n c e to a n y ch a n g e s t h a t
m ay h a v e occurred sin ce th e la s t in v e s tig a tio n . C a refu lly n o te a n y im p r o v em en ts w h ich
m ay h a v e ta k e n p la ce. R ep o rt sh o u ld be m ade o n ly a fte r p erso n a l v is it to hom e o f fa m ily
an d upon th o r o u g h a n d a c c u r a te in sp e c tio n . C are sh ou ld h e u s e d to in v e s tig a te in a m anner w h ich w ill n o t u n n e c e ssa r ily offend th e m o th er or a ffe c t h er d ig n ity a s a m em ber o f
th e co m m u n ity . T h e m o th er sh o u ld regard t h e in v e s tig a to r a s a frien d w h o offers ad v ice
an d a ss ista n c e a n d n o t m erely a s a n in q u isito r .


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

129

(Notice of hearing— County allowance.)

fr™.

Co™TIn the matter of
_^Notice of Hearing.
----- as (a) dependent child.
TO T H E COUNTY ATTORNEY :

Please take notice that proceedings have been instituted by a petition of_____l______
______ __for the purpose of allowing aid out of the county treasury to____________ _______
whose address is--------- ------------------------------------- , mother of the above-named dependent
child--------- , pursuant to chapter 223, Laws of 1917, as amended by chapter 328, Laws
of 1919, and that said petition will be heard and disposed of by this court on the
as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard at the office o f ____________________ _ in
------- -------------------------- day o f ------------------- -— .----, 19-------, a t ______ o’c lo c k
M., dr
the-------------------------------- , city or village of---------------------------------, in said county.
By the Court:
Dated— -__________________19____
To__________ ____________________

143973°—19-----9


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iJudge or Clerk.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

MISSOURI.
[Laws 1917, pp. 151-153.1]
An Act To provide for the support of needy mothers with dependent children, and of
women about to become mothers.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri as follows:
S ection 1. County court to provide support.—The county court2 in every county
which now has or hereafter may have a population of less than two hundred and
fifty thousand shall appropriate out of the moneys in the county treasury not
otherwise appropriated, and place at the. disposal of the county board of welfare,
such sums as may be necessary to provide for the support of needy mothers
in accordance with the provisions of this act.
S ec. 2. Who entitled to suppdrt.—Any needy mother having the custody of a
dependent child or children under the age of sixteen years, and any needy
woman about to become a mother, who is a resident of a county and has resided
therein for at least one year shall be entitled as hereinafter provided, to the
benefits of this article: Provided, That the father of such child or children, or
expected child, is either dead, or in any hospital for the insane or for the feeble­
minded or epileptic, in prison, or is permanently incapacitated to earn a living,
or has deserted her or such child or children; or provided that she is divorcedfrom the father.
S ec. 3a. Conditions of allowance.—Monthly allowances to mothers of dependent
children shall be made by the county board of public welfare upon the following
conditions: (a ) the dependent child or children must be living with the mother
during the period in which support is provided; (&) the allowance shall be made
only when in the absence of such allowance the mother would be required to
work regularly away from her home and children, and when by means of such
allowance, she would be able to remain at home with her child or children;
(c) the mother must, in the judgment of the county board of public welfare, be
a person morally, mentally and physically fit and competent to rear her children;
(d ) such allowance shall, in the judgment of the county board of public welfare,
be necessary to save the child or children from neglect; (e) no allowance shall
be made in any case except when after investigation by the said county board,
it has been ascertained that there are no relatives able or willing to aid in the
support of the child or children.
1 Bill was drafted by the Missouri Children’s Code Commission. By population limitation
the mothers? ^pension law adopted in 1911 applied only to Jackson County, in which
Kansas City is located. Another act of the same year gave the City of St. Louis power
to create, by ordinance, a board of children’s guardians to care for delinquent, dependent,
and defective children. Such an ordinance was passed in 1912 and provided for the board­
ing out of dependent children with their own mothers. The present act, by population
limitation, leaves undisturbed the administration of mothers’ pensions by the juvenile
court in Jackson County and by the board of children’s guardians in St. Louis. An
earlier State-wide act passed ifi 1915 was vetoed by the governor because it failed to
make special provision for St. Louis.
2 Corresponds to the county commissioners in other States. The so-called “ court ” has
no judicial functions but is the general administrative body in the county. (Report of
Missouri Children’s Code Commission 1918, p. 32.)

131

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132

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS? PENSIONS.

S ec. 3b. Expectant mothers—Allowance.—Monthly allowances to expectant
mothers1 shall be made by the county board of public welfare upon the follow­
ing conditions: (a) The allowance shall not commence prior to three weeks
before child-birth and shall not continue longer than three weeks after child­
birth. (b) Such allowance shall in the judgment of the county board of public
welfare be necessary to save the mother and child from neglect; (c) no allow­
ance shall be made in any case except when after investigation by the said
county board it has been ascertained that there are no relatives able or willing
to aid in the support of the mother and child.
S ec. 4. Amount of allowance.—The amount of allowance to such needy
mothers as shall be adjudged entitled to the benefits of this act shall be suffir
cient and adequate to enable the mother where she has a dependent child or
children to rear such child or children properly. It shall not be more than
sixteen dollars ($16) per month when the mother has only one child under the
age of sixteen (16) years; and not less than eight dollars ($8) a month for each
additional child under the age of sixteen (16) years: Provided, That in no case
shall a larger allowance than forty dollars ($40) a month be made.
S ec. 5. Partial relief.—Should the fund herein authorized to be appropriated,
be sufficient to perm it an allow ance to only a part o f th e persons com ing w ithin
the provisions o f th is act, th e county board o f public w elfare sh a ll select th ose
cases in most urgent need o f such allowance.
S ec. 6. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child, in whose behalf

an allowance under the provisions of this act has been made, shall reach the
age of sixteen years (16) such allowance shall cease: Provided, That the
county board of .public welfare, in its discretion, at any time before such child
reaches such age of sixteen (16) years may discontinue or modify such allow­
ance within the restrictions as to the amount prescribed by section 4 of this
article. It shall be the duty of the county board of public welfare to investi­
gate at least semiannually, every case in which an allowance has been made,
and to determine whether such allowance should be discontinued or modified.1
S ec. 7. Penalty for fraud.—Any person procuring, or attempting to procure
any allowance for a person not entitled thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one huhdred dollars ($100) or more than five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprison­
ment in the county jail for a period of not more than one year, or both such
fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 8. Record of allowances to be kept.—In each case where allowance is
made to any woman under the provisions of this act, the board of county wel­
fare shall make and keep a record of such allowance and of all payments made
under it.
S ec. 9. Repeal.— A ll acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict w ith this
act, are hereby repealed.
S ec . 10. County court to carry out.—If for any reason the county does not
contain a “ board of county welfare ” * then the county court shall carry out the
provisions of this act.
Approved April 12, 1917.
1 An allowance for an unborn child may be made also in Colorado and Pennsylvania
by amendments Adopted in 1919.
2 The bill providing county boards of child welfare, recommended by the Children s
Code Commission, failed of passage in 1917.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

183

JACKSON COUNTY (KANSAS CITY).
[Laws 1911, pp. 120-122, as amended by Laws 1913, pp. 146-7.1]
An Act To provide for the partial support of poor women, whose husbands are dead or
convicts, when such women are mothers of children under the age of fourteen (14)
years and reside in counties now or hereafter having not less than two hundred and
fifty thousand (250,000) inhabitants and not more than five hundred thousand
(500,000) inhabitants, and now or hereafter having or holding a juvenile court, with
an emergency clause. '

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
S ec. 1. County courts to make appropriations.—In every county now con­

taining or that may hereafter contain two hundred and fifty thousand
(250,000) inhabitants and less than five hundred thousand (500,000) inhab­
itants and in which a juvenile court is now being held or may hereafter be held,
it shall be the duty of the county court to provide out of the moneys in the
county treasury, not already appropriated, an amount sufficient to meet the
purposes of this law, but not exceeding in any one year the sum of twelve thou­
sand dollars ($12,000) for the partial support of women whose husbands are
dead, or whose husbands are prisoners or whose husbands are in either one of
the four State hospitals for the insane or in the Missouri colony for the feeble­
minded and epileptic, when such women are poor and are the mothers of chil­
dren under the age of fourteen years, and such mothers and children reside in
such counties.
S ec. 2. Amount of allowance.—The allowance to each of such women shall
not exceed ten dollars ($10) a month when she has but one child under the age
of fourteen (14) years, and if she has more than one child under the age of
fourteen years, it shall not exceed the sum of ten dollars ($10) a month for the
first child and five dollars ($5) a month for each of the other children under
the age of fourteen years.
S ec. 3. Conditions of allowance.—Such allowance shall be made by the juvenile
court and only upon the following conditions: (1) The child or children for
whose benefit the allowance is made must be living with the mother of such
child or children; (2) the allowance shall be made only when in the absence of
such allowance the mother would be required to work regularly away from her
home and children, and when by means of such allowance she will be able to
remain at home with her children; (3) the mother must, in the judgment of the
juvenile court, be a proper person morally, physically, and mentally for the
bringing up of her children; (4) such allowance-shall in the judgment of the
court be necessary to save the child or children from neglect; (5) no person
shall receive the benefit of this act who shall not have been a resident of the
county in which such application is made for at least two years next before
the making of such application for such allowance.
S ec. 4. When allowance shall cease.— Whenever any child shall reach the age
of fourteen years any allowance made to the mother of such child for the benefit
of such child shall cease. The juvenile court may, in its discretion, at any time
before such child reaches the age of fourteen years discontinue or mo'dify the
allowance to any mother and for any child.
S ec. 5. Partial relief.—Should the fund herein authorized be sufficient to
permit an allowance to only a part of the persons coming within the provisions
of this law, the juvenile court shall select those cases in most urgent need of
such allowance.
1 The amendment of 1913 extended*the provisions of the law to women whose husbands
were in State hospitals for the insane or the Missouri colony for the feeble-minded and
epileptic.


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134

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

S ec . 6. To whom applicable.—The provision of this law shall not apply to
any woman whose husband is not dead or who is not confined in the Missouri
State Penitentiary or other prison in this State, and' in the latter case it shall
not apply unless such prisoner is the lawful husband of the woman seeking such
allowance.
S ec. 7. Penalty for fraud.—Any person procuring, or attempting to procure,
any allowance for a person not entitled thereto, shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less
than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), or
by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than one year, or
by both fine and imprisonment.
S ec. 8. Motion to set aside allowance.—In each case where an allowance is
made to any woman under the provisions of this act, a judgment entry to that
effect shall be entered upon the records of the juvenile court making such
allowance, and it shall be the right of any taxpaying citizen at any time to
file a motion to set aside such judgment, and on such motion the juvenile court,
or the court to whom such motion may be taken on a change of venue, shall
hear evidence either with or without a jury, as either side may demand, and
may make "a new order granting or refusing such allowance, and from such
order, so made, an appeal shall lie as in ordinary civil cases. If the judgment,
making such allowance, is not appealed from or is affirmed on appeal, the per­
son filing such motion shall pay all of the costs of such motion and proceedings
subsequent thereto. Such motion may be renewed from time to time, but not
oftener than once in any calendar year.
S ec . 9. Repeal.—All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are, in so
far as they so conflict, hereby repealed.
S ec . 10. Emergency clause.—There being no adequate provision of law cover­
ing the subject of partial support of poor women, an emergency within the
meaning of the constitution is hereby declared' to exist; therefore, this act shall
take effect and be in' force from and after its passage and approval.
Approved April 7, 1911. Amendment approved March 25, 1913.

[F o r m s used, in J u v e n ile C ourt o f J ack son County (K a n s a s C i t y . )]
A P P L IC A T IO N O F W ID O W FO B ALLOW A NCE.

.Give your name in fu ll: -------------------- . Give your address: ----------. Your a g e :
----------. How long have you lived at your present address? -------- Do you own
your own property? --------- . What- property have you, real or personal? State
fully; ----------. i f you rent, who is your landlord? — -----------------. What rent do
you pay ? — ------ . Amount of rent ow ing: ----------. Account of outstanding debts:
----------. Where were you born ? --------- . Nationality : ---------- . Where was your hus­
band b o r n ? ----------. N a tio n a lity :----------. Give his.name in fu ll: ----------. Give place.
cause, and date of his death : —-------. Place and date of his imprisonment: ----------.
If your husband is dead, state what property he left, including life insurance: ---------- .
Give the names of all your children; also date and place of b irth : -------------------- . How
many children are living with you? ------ —. Name them : -----------. If any of your
children are married, give their names and addresses: -------------------. How long have
you lived in Jackson County continuously last before the making of this application?
------ —~. Give dates : F rom ----------t o ------- — . State what your income is, including the
salary of any child or children that you may have employed: ----------. Have you any
money in' bank ? ------ -— . Am ount: ----------. What bank ? --------- . Do you authorize
me to inquire of the bank? ----------. Give date and place of your marriage: ——;— .
Have you your marriage certificate? ----------. How many times have you been married?
----------. Give the. name of^your fath er: -------------------- . Give his age and address, if
liv in g : ----------. Give the name of your m other: -------------------- . Give her age and
address, if liv in g : ----------. Give the names add addresses of your brothers: -------------------. Give the names and addresses of your siste r s: ---------------------. Give the name
of your husband’s fa th er: -------------------- . Give his age and address, if liv in g : --------- .
Give the name of your husband’s m other: ---------------------. Give her age and address,
if liv in g : ----------. Give the names and addresses of your husband’s brothers: ------ —
----------■. Give the names and addresses of your husband’s siste r s; --------- ---------- .
Statev what relief you have received from public * or private sources : ----------. Give
amounts, and the names and locations of in stitu tion s: -----------------—. Are you em­
ployed away from home? -------------=: If so, state where, giving name and address of
your employer, and what you earn : ----------. How long since your husband’s death
have you been employed away from home? ■■—..— . If an allowance is made you, what


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS. *

135

work can you procure and do at home, and what can you earn from it? ____ — If the
qourt refused you an allowance, would you be required to work regularly away from your
for their support? --------- What is the least amount that may be
allowed you that would enable you to stay at home with your children and take care of
‘ I£ ?n allowance is made will you agree to stay at home with your
children and properly rear them ? ----------. At any time during your married life were
you and your husband separated or divorced? ----------. Were you living with your
husband a t the time of his death ? — —— . Give name and address of your physician:
--------- “--------- • Will you notify the chief probation officer, in writing, of an ychan ge in
uq111 ?_<
^ ress promptly? —
Give the names and addresses of five (5) persons wh<y
have known you at least two (2) years : ------ --------------.
v ^ ^ ^
State of Missouri, county of Jackson, s s :
- “ 7:-------------- of lawfuhage, being duly sworn, on her oath states, that each and all the
foregoing answers to the foregoing questions are identically as she made them, and that
each and every statement in the above application is true.
„ j 3 bl Z ^ eä aDd1 sw0Jn t0 before me, a notary public in and for Jackson County, Misboun, inis —
-----clay o r -------- —, 19— .
-

REFEREN CE BLANK.

Of f ic e

of

JirvENiLB Court ,
C h i e f P robation O f f ic e r ,

Kansas City, M o .,--------- >.
or M adam-: Your name has been given us as reference b y ----------------- of
wo° ¿s applying for a widow’s allowance. Will you please answer the following
questions? Same will be treated strictly confidential:
8
How long have you known applicant?
How long has the applicant lived in
Jackson County continuously ? ----------. Is she, in your opinion, a good^moral ^Christian
woman? (yes or no.) Does she go to church----------; if so, w hich? ---------- . Would she,
in your opinion, give the.children a good education? —j-------. R
What is her reputation for
honesty? ----- -— . What is the applicant’s
general*v.J
reputation?
------- P^-JP—
C
,v.^.^v,n? ---------- . How does she
care for her home?*
she yiopeny
properly care ior
for ner
her cniiaren
children?t ----------. Would
s Does sue
you consider applicant competent morally, physically, and mentally to rear children?
----------. -Name-------------------- . Business or occupation ----------. City or town —
State
Dated this
day of
A. D . 191at
D e a r J3 ir

R E PO R T O F IN V ESTIG A TO R .

Name of applicant: — —
live in ---------- rooms. Flat

Address : -----Housing conditions : Family
Tenement : —
. Detached house I:
Conditions in the home regarding sanitation and
d S S S I» » 0?
C h l S it o oi- tie
ig h b S ra
M neighborhood,
n e l g i S S h ^ino regard
T t a ' t to
o ’ Ssaloons,
S
— ie
neighbors
and
pool halls, etc. :
Would you advise removal in case that allowance was granted?
Why?
„ Avry -, „
• School record : Names of children attending school, age, grade
(setting this information opposite each nam e): ----------, - - — --. R e lig io n -— ——
Denomination : ----------. Attendant : ----------. Name of pastor : —;------ ----------- . Address :
Do children go to any church services?
Name of Sunday-school
teacher
nnt
if
* ™ £ ress : — :----’ Physical condition of each of the children, setting
out if any^of the children are abnormal in any w a y : ----------. Literacy of the atmlicant:
^ ^ n t S d ^ d wi' i t * ? ™ a g e : ^ - ^ * _ Why did you leave? —
. P(?an the
Has the applicant any physical defects?
?y society benefit or otherwise? —— — . "Does” the applicant use any
5^.?,,M
<luors,? — :— r M Does the applicant use tobacco in any form? ----------. Has
the applicant ever been in jail or prison ? ----------. D a te ; ______ 191__
-, Investiyator.
RECORD OF CASE.

Name.

Age.

Address.....................
Address.......................
Address...............

W ages of children.....................
A m t. received by other sources.................
Allowance granted.....................
•
Allowance granted...........................
T otal........................................

Allowance set aside and cause.
Children’s first name.

Remarks:------.


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Date of
birth.

Age.

Occupation or
school grade.

Where employed or
school attended.

^
,
Date,

136

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS.

In St. Louis a municipal commission to study tlie question of the care of
delinquent, dependent, and defective children, which made its report in 1911,
recommended that every dependent child, not in need of hospital treatment,
be cared for in a family home, and that so far.as possible the child should be
kept with its own family or relatives. The commission recommended the
appointment for St. Louis of a board of children’s guardians. To permit this
a special act was passed by the Missouri Legislature April 3, 1911, empowering
cities of 500,000 inhabitants or more to create, by ordinance, a board of chil­
dren’s guardians, and authorizing such board to receive delinquent, dependent,
and defective children and to place them in public institutions or with families,
and permitting such city to provide for the payment of the care of any such
child in any public institution or with any family. (Laws 1911, p. 349.)
Thex ordinance passed by St. Louis under the authority of this act is as
follows:
[Ordinance 26565 approved July 8, 1912, as amended by Ordinance 28134 approved
July 14, 1915.]

Be it ordained 6y the city of St. Louis, as follows: S ection 1. Establishment
of board of children’s guardians.—Accepting the provisions of an act of the
General Assembly of the State of Missouri, approved the third day of April,
1911, entitled “An act to authorize and empower any city now or hereafter
having five hundred thousand inhabitants to create a board of children’s guard­
ians,” etc., and under the authority of subdivision B, section three, article four­
teen, of the charter of the city of St. Louis, relating to a board of children’s
guardians, there is hereby created a Board of Children’s Guardians of the City
of St. Louis, to consist of seven members, who shall be appointed by the mayor
for a term of four years each, but not more than two members shall be appointed
in any one year except to fill vacancies in unexpired terms.
The board shall choose from among its members a chairman, vice chairman
and secretary. The secretary shall keep a record of all proceedings of said
board. The board shall have an office in a municipal building, as may be de­
signated by the mayor.
The board shall meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month except that be a
legal holiday, add shall hold such special meetings as may be deemed necessary
by it. Absence from- three consecutive regular meetings without giving excuse
satisfactory to the board and so entered upon the records, shall vacate the office
of any member of the board.
The members of the board shall serve without compensation, provided that
necessary expenses by them incurred in the discharge of their duties, with the
approval of a majority of the board, shall be refunded to them.
S ec. 2. Appointment of agent, visitors, and other employees.—The board shall
appoint an agent who shall not be of their own number. Such agent shall re­
ceive a salary, payable in semimonthly installments, at the rate of twenty-dne
hundred dollars for the first year of service, with an increase of one hundred
dollars per annum for each year’s additional service of the incumbent until a
maximum of twenty-four hundred dollars shall be reached, when the maximum
so attained shall be the rate thereafter.
The board may appoint visitors each at a salary payable at the rate of
seventy-five dollars per month for the first year of service, with hn increase
of one hundred dollars per annum until a maximum of twelve hundred dollars
shall be reached, when the maximum so attained, shall be the rate thereafter.
The board may appoint a stenographer and also a record clerk who shall
be a qualified stenographer, at a salary payable at the rate of seventy-five
dollars per month each, provided that after two years of service the board may
increase the salary to a maximum of eighty-five dollars per month each, which
shall be the rate thereafter.

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LAWS RELATING TG MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

137

Actual disbursements for necessary expenses of employees in the performance
of their duties shall be allowed. All employees shall serve the pleasure of the
board. The appointment of all future empoyees of the board shall be made
oh merit only, after a public competitive oral and written examination con­
ducted by the board of efficiency under its rules, as directed by article eighteen
of the charter of the city of St. Louis.
S ec. 3. Duties of agent and visitors.—It shall be the duty of the agent to
investigate all cases presented to the board, to be present when necessary in
court as the board’s representative, and to conduct the correspondence and
general administrative work of the board, except in matters pertaining to the
administration of the industrial school. The agent shall have charge of all
cases of foundlings and abandoned children and of all applications and com­
mitments, and of the placing and supervision of children under the direction
of the board, it being the duty of the visitors herein provided for to make in­
vestigations and to visit such children under the supervision of the agent.
In the temporary absence or incapacity of the agent, the board may designate
one of its visitors as acting agent, and the said employee when so designated
shall perform the duties of the agent without any increase of salary. The
duties of the employees of the board may be further designated by the board.
The board’s agent shall have the power, in cases of emergency, except when
involving the placing of a child with its own mother, with the consent of the
chairman of the board, or, in the absence of the chairman, with the consent of
the vice chairman, or in the absence of both, with the consent of one member
of the board, in the name of the board to take charge of a child, as herein­
after defined in section four, and to place said child in the manner set
forth in section five, until the next regular meeting of the board and no longer.
In the case of foundlings and abandoned children, the agent of the board may
temporarily place such children in institutions in the same manner and. under
the same conditions as the board itself might do, as hereinafter set forth in
section five, until the next regular meeting of the board.
S ec. 4. Board given authority to take charge of children.—Said board shall
have the power and authority to receive and take charge of any child at its dis­
cretion upon commitment to it by any court of competent jurisdiction in the
city of St. Louis, and said board shall have the power and authority to receive
or take charge of any foundling or abandoned child whose parents are unknown,
and to declare the same dependent upon the public for support, and further,
upon application of its legal custodian, to receive and take charge of any de­
pendent child. All children so committed or received by said board shall be
given such care and treatment as said board may determine. Every application
shall allege dependency upon the public for support and shall request and tender
to said board its complete charge and control over such child, and upon the
assent of the board to said application, said charge and control shall vest abso­
lutely in said board. The board shall not receive or take charge of any child
who has not been, or whose parents or guardians have not been, a resident or
residents of the city of St. Louis for at least one year prior to the presentation
of the child to the board, except foundlings or abandoned children whose parents
or guardians are unknown.
Said board shall prepare from time to time such rules and regulations for the
reception by it of any child, which rules and regulations shall determine the
conditions under which any child shall be received by the board and which rules
and regulations shall be entered on the records of the board.
S ec. 5. Board’s authority in oaring for children.—Said board shall have the
power and authority to place any child in its charge for temporary custody in
the house of detention; to place defective children in any public institution

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138

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

within the State of Missouri for the care of defective children, and to place
neglected, dependent, or abandoned children in the St. Louis industrial school
or other municipal institution of the city of. St. Louis, but only in case no suit­
able family homes can be found for them, and only until such homes can be
found. Said board shall have the power and authority to place any child in its
charge or under its control with any family qualified and able in the. opinion of
the board to provide for the comfort and wants of such child, and to care for
its moral and physical welfare, provided that no child shall be placed with any
family when the head thereof is of different religious affiliation from that of the
child’s parents or guardian, if such affiliation can be ascertained ; or to place
such child with its own mother if she be a widow or if her husband be con­
fined in the St. Louis sanitarium or in any public institution of the United
States, or of thè States, Territories, or possessions ,of the United States,1"and
then only after the board through an investigation by its agent has determined
that such mother has been a resident of the city of St. Louis, for ajperiod of at
least two years immediately prior thereto, and is competent, morally, mentally, .
and physically to properly rear, supervise, and train such child, and that her
home is a suitable and fit place for such child. The board may make such
further rules and regulations to safeguard the placement, care and attention of
children boarded in foster homes or in their own homes as they may in their
judgment deem necessary. The board shall, so far as practicable, place children
within the city of St. Louis, and when not practicable, the children may be
placed in the State within a radius of fifty miles of St. Louis.
For the board and maintenance of every child placed with a family, or with
the mother of the child,' the city shall pay whatever sum may be determined by
said board, not in excess, however, of the sum of three dollars and fifty cents
per week : Provided, however, That with the consent of the comptroller first had
• and obtained, as evidenced by his certificate in each and every case, the said
board may. authorize and the city shall pay a greater amount, as fixed by the
comptroller’s certificate. In addition to said amount thus fixed the city, upon
the action of said board, may pay for clothing and for medical treatment not
exceeding the sum of twenty-five dollars per year' per child : Provided, however,
That a greater sum may be authorized by said board and shall be paid by the
city, upon the certificate of the comptroller having been first had and obtained
in each arid every case. All expenditures authorized by the board shall be
certified by the board’s agent and chairman, or in the absence of the chair­
man, the vice chairman, or in the absence of both, then by a member of the
board. The board shall not authorize any payment for the maintenance of
any child after such child has passed the age of fourteen years. * * *.2
Sec. 7. Report.—On the first day of April of each year the said board shall
render an annual report to the mayor, detailing in full the work of the board in
taking charge of and placing children and foundlings, together with the ex­
penses of the department, and embracing the supervision and control of the St.
Louis industrial school and Bellefontaine Farms, together with all other useful
information dealing with the care of delinquent, neglected, dependent, and
defective children of the city of St. Louis as the board may deem in its judg­
ment important. In addition thereto the board shall render such special reports
to the mayor and the board of aldermen as it may be requested to do under
authority of section ten of article eight of the charter of the city of St. Louis.
Copies of the reports of the board shall be filed in the municipal reference
library.
1 Limited a t first to widows. Amended ordinance of 1915 included the families of
men who are inmates of any institution except the city workhouse.
2 Rest of section relates*to the care of foundlings. Sec. 6 is on the administration of
the industrial school.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

139

[F o rm s U sed b y St. L o u is B o a rd o f C h ild ren ’s G u a rd ia n s .]

APPLICATION TO HAVE BOARD TAKE CHARGE OF CHILDREN.
Name in full________ :_______________ ________ ___________
No_____
What is your age-------------------------------------------------------- Nationality———— ——
How long have you lived in St. Louis_______ _________ ________
Address__________________________ s_________;________ ______________-__
What rent do you pay------------------- Is it paid up------------------- How many rooms______
How long have you lived there:__ ______ .__ ¿._____ _________________________
Name and address of landlord________________I __:__ __£_________________________
Your previous address--------- ------------------------How long did you live there-__ i _______
Name and address of landlord_________________ ,_________________ | ____
Name of husband—-------------------- ,--------------------------Occupation— _______ II _ _ I____
Religion----------------------------- When were you married____ .1_____Where____________
Date of husband’s death___________________._Cause__ _______ ______ ;____________I
Were you living with your husband at time of his death________ 1__________ I ______
Where did he die_:------------------------------ ------ Where buried_______ ________ _______
Name of attending physician_________ _____________ _ Address—J
If husband is not dead give his address__________ '___________- 1 ——______________
When did he leave you_____________ __________________ Why— ___________________
Have you heard from him since__________________ ________ When_____________
. Names of children.

Age.

School.

Employed at.

Occupation.

Wages.

1................................................
2.................................................

Names and addresses of married children_________
Names of children not married not living at liome.
Were you previously married-.
Name of previous husband___
Did he die or is he living_____
Do you know where he is now.
Have you any relatives living
Father
_
_
_ _ _ ___ Address _
Mother- _ ___
_ _
_ _ ____i
Address '
Brothers, sisters; names.

Address.

Married.

Occupation.

Employed at—

1 . . . ...................................

2...........................................
Has your husband any relatives living-------------------------------- Give names below
Names.

Address.

Married.

Occupation.

Employed at—

Relation.

1...................................
2...................................

. -*

What is your occupation--------------------------------------- ---------Where employed____ —
What wages do you receive-------------------------------_How long employed there_____-_______
Names amd addresses of previous employers_________ ____________________ ______ ______
—

<---------------------- —

— 1

---------- ¡a --------—

1--------- f g -------------—

1

Did husband leave any property_____________________ How much— —I I I I —I —I —I I I —
Insurance-__________________ _How much___________________________ _____ ..____ ___
Do you own any property--------- -------------- -J—Where, and how much_______ !I ____ I_ I_ I
Have you any money in the bank__________________;___Amount___________ 1
What bank___________ _________________ _______ __________________-_i__
Do you authorize us to inquire of the bank_____________________ Of what church are
you a member____________________ n___________ <£,_________ I.__ —__________
Name and address of minister______ _________ ____________ __________________________
Of what lodge are you a member__________________________________________ ’___ - I I
Name and address of officer of lodge__________ I ________________________________ ______
Have you been helped by other organizations___________ __________ When__.¿.III _____ I I I
What^tvas the nature of the assistance________ -______________________ :________»____
What is it you wish this board to do_________________________________ ________________ [
If this board assisted you what work could you procure and do at home, and what can
you earn from it___________________________________ »___________________
If this board refused to assist you, would you be required to work regularly away from
your home and children for their support____________________________ ___________ ______


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

140

What is the least amount that -would be necessary to enable you to stay at home with
your children and take care of them--------- -----e— _---------- ' - - - -------------------------- — .----------------------- ---Give names and addresses of five responsible persons to whom we can refer:
1.

_________________________________________—

----------------------

2. -------------------------------------------.----------------------------

3.
--------------------- __J_— ------------------4. ____:____________ __________ _________ .

--------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

■

--------------------------------------------------- ------------ --------

------------- *----------- —•----------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------•

Who sent you to this office-------- -— ,-------------- ----- ----- -----------------—
------------(Ñame of Applicant!)
______________ Date of
Applicants will be required
Board •'of Children’s Guardians
to the best of their knowledge

(Address of Applicant.)
application.
.„ .
■.
..
to appear before a notary public in the rooms of the
and make affidavit that the foregoing statements are true
and belief.

INVESTIGATOR’S REPORT OF APPLICATION TO HAVE CHILDREN
BOARDED WITH MOTHER.
Cross
reference.

Application
No.

Application
date.

Family name.

Investigated
by.

Case No.

1
Date of
birth.

Full names.

Veri­
fied?

Birth placei

Nation­
Occupation or
At
or physical ality or
home. school
race.
or mental defects.

Rei.

2. Mother(maidenname)

Age.

- Others in family.

Relation.

Remarks.

Contributes.

»
Address.

Relatives.

Kinship.

Time in
U. S.

Mo.

St. Louis.

Date of
death.

Cause.

Length of
illness.

Ability to contribute, and remarks.

Date of
marriage.

Place of
marriage.

Previous ,
marriage.

Died where— Living with Police or inst.
record. •
wife.
buriedwhere.

1. Father.
---------1 _ —


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

141

INVESTIGATOR’S REPORT OF APPLICATION TO HAVE CHILDREN
BOARDED WITH MOTHER—Continued.
Physician.

Address.

Minister.

Address.
1

How
long.

Employed at.
1. Father—Continued.

■ Previous
employment.

Wages.

How
long.

Wages.

1
Leave insurance.

Money or property.

Charity—church—organization record of family.
Church affiliation.

Individuals indorsing applicant.

Time known.

Application No.
Date..

Character—reputation.

Address.

Living conditions.

Case.

Number
rooms.

Landlord-agent. Address.

Type.

Rent.

A ........
B ............
C............
A. Sanitary conditions.........
A. Neighborhood conditions.
Family own any property...
Works.

Place.

Remarks......................
Remarks...................... .
Mother—Character, etc
Wages.

Hours.,

.Mother....................
}________________
Remarks,

1. Mother.............

2 . . . ...........................

Total income.......

Record.

1

Present family income and expenses per month.

3............................
4 ...: ......................
5.................
6....................... .
7............................

How long there.

Rent............
Food..................
Clothing................
Insurance..............
Car fare.................
Fuel, light............

Total exp.........................

Remarks.


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Estimated family income and expenses per month.
2
3..
4 .
5 .
6...

7..

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

142

PENSIONS,

INVESTIGATOR’S REPORT OF APPLICATION TO HAVE CHILDREN
BOARDED WITH MOTHER—Continued.
Recommendation of charities and individuals
interviewed and written to.

Investigator’s recommendation and remarks.

. .................... ............................... Date............................ Signed.................................

5

Agent’s action—Date
Board’s action—Date.
Names of children
committed. >

Date of
commitment.

Application No.


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,

Board agreed to pay.

Story sheet.

Subsequent
order.

.

Subsequent
order.

Subsequent
'order.

Case No.

MONTANA.
["Laws 1917, ch. 83,1 as amended by Laws 1919, ch. 198.2]
An Act Relating to a mother’s pension and for the care of dependent children in thdir
own home by their mother, the father of said children being dead or an inmate of
some Montana State institution or who has failed to provide for said children for a
period of one year or more, or who is physically or mentally incapacitated, and whose
mother is financially unable to support' such children; providing a penalty for the
violation thereof and repealing sections T, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of chapter 86 of the
session laws of the fourteenth legislative assembly.

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana:
1. Allowance for dependent children.—Each child under the age of
sixteen (16) years, whose father is dead or an inmate of some Montana State
institution, except the Montana State Prison, or who is physically or mentally
incapacitated, which said act of disability shall have occurred while he was a
resident of the State of Montana, and who has, for a period of one year or more
failed to provide for said child, or whose father is an inmate of the Montana
State Prison and has for a period of 90 days or more failed to provide for such
child, shall be entitled to such assistance which will help make it possible for
such child to be cared for in his or her own home without being sent to somepublic institution, said financial aid to be given to the mother of said child or
children as in this act provided.
S ec . 2. Amount of allowance.—Each child as provided for in section 1, whose
mother is financially or physically unable to support such child, shall be
allowed from the public moneys of the county in which the mother resides,
the sum of twenty ($20.00) dollars per month if there is one child in said
family only; if there be more than one .child, then the sum of fifteen ($15.00)'
dollars per month for the first child and ten ($10.00) dollars per month for
the second Child and five ($5.00) dollars per month for each additional child,
provided that the total amount paid to any one mother shall not exceed fifty
($50.00) dollars per month, said money to be paid to the mother of said child or
children.
S ec. 3. Conditions of allowance.—The allowance herein referred to shall be
made subject to the following conditions: (1)' The child or children for whose
benefit allowance is made must be living with the mother of such child or
children. (2) The'allowance shall be made only when in the absence of such
allowance the mother may be required to, work regularly away from her own
home and children, when by the means of such allowance she can remain at
home with her children, provided that the mother may at times be absent for
work by the consent of the judge of the district court, if he should deem it
necessary and if Shell work does not injure her health or cause neglect of
her children. (3) The mother must, in the judgment of the juvenile court
S ection

1 Repealed Laws 1915, chap. -86,. The revised law raised the age lim it of the children
who might be aided from 14 to 16 years and increased the maximum allowance
from $10 to $20 per month for one child, from $7.50 to $10 for the second child, and
from $2.50 to $5 for each additional child, with a lim it of $50 for any one family. It
lowered the residential requirement from two years to one year in the county and gave
discretion to the judge of the district court as to the amount of work the mother might
do away from her home. Section® 6 and 7 contain new provisions.
2 Amendment of 1919 excluded mothers who are not citizens from the provisions of
the law and added conditions numbered 7 and 8 in section 3.

143

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144

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

officer, if there be one, and if not, in the judgment of the court, be a proper
person physically, mentally, and morally for the-bringing up of her. children.
(4) Such allowance shall, in the judgment of the court, be necessary to save
the child or children from neglect. (5) No person shall receive the benefit
of this act who is not a citizen of the United States and who shall not have
been a resident of the county in which said application is made for at least
one year prior to the making of such application for such allowance. (6)
Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to any child who has
property of its own sufficient for its support. (7) Application-shall be made
by the mother to the county attorney whose duty it shall be to file a petition
with the district court or a judge thereof setting forth the facts above required.
The said court or the judge thereof shall designate the Bureau of Child and
Animal Protection of the State of Montana, or the county probation officer
of the county wherein the mother resides, to make a thorough investigation of
all the facts of the case and make such findings and report thereon under
oath, as the result of the investigation, and to appear at the hearing of said
application to testify in support of said findings and report, if required. And
it is hereby made the duty of the county attorney to appear at such hearing
and conduct such investigation. (8) Every person receiving an allowance
under this act shall, every six months, file with the county auditor in counties
having an auditor, and with the county clerk in counties not having an audi­
tor, a report in writing, verified under oath, showing whether or not she has
remarried; whether any of the children for whom she is receiving an allow­
ance for support have died, or not living with her, or are not being supported
by her; her present place of residence, and the present place of residence_
of the children for whom she is receiving an allowance; whether any of such
children have attained the age of sixteen years, or have acquired property suf­
ficient for their support.
S ec . 4. Allowance paid out of county funds.—Whenever the judge shall deter­
mine that the allowance under this act shall be made, he shall make an order
to that effect, which order, among other things, shall set out the full name of
the mother, her place of residence, the names and ages of the children and the
amount allowed to each child, and upon presentation of such order the county
commissioners shall direct monthly warrants to be drawn therefor, which war­
rant shall be paid from the general funds of the county.
S ec. 5. When allowance shall cease.—No allowance for any child shall con­
tinue after such child has reached the age of sixteen (16) years. Whenever
the mother of any child on whose account any allowance shall have been made
under the provisions of this act, shall marry, such allowance shall cease.
S ec . 6. Be it further provided,'That under the conditions of this act, when
the father of the child or children applying for assistance has been convicted of
a crime and ordered confined to the State prison, the county in which he was
convicted shall pay the allowance made for said child or children to the mother.
S ec 7. Penalty for fraud.—Any one who fraudulently makes an application
to receive the benefit of this act, or who misrepresents the'name of the appli­
cant, the place of residence or the names and ages of the children, in order to
receive the benefit of said act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and
shall be subject to a fine of not less than twenty-five ($25) dollars or more
than five hundred ($500) dollars, or imprisonment in the county jail for six
months, or subject to both such fine and imprisonment.
S ec . 8. Repeal.—All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby re­
pealed.
S ec . 9. This act shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage
and approval.
Approved March 1. 1917. Amendment approved March 11, 1919.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

145

[F o rm s u se d l»y d istrict courts. J
PETITION.
I n t h e D is t r ic t

C o u r t o f t h e _________J u d i c i a l D i s t r i c t o f t h e S t a t e o f M o n t a n a
IN AND FOR TH E CO U NTY O F ------------------ 1
------------------ -

In the matter of the application of----------P e t it io n .

to be provided with financial aid in the
care of her dependent children.

To the Honorable ________________________________ , Judge of the D istrict Court of
t h e _____________________ Judicial D istrict of the S ta te of Montana:
Your p etition er,-----------------------------------------------^ .re sid in g at —- - - - - ----------------—
________ County, Montana, respectfully represents and sh ow s:
That she is a mother w i t h _____________________ children under the age of sixteen
years, to -w if:
_______________ _______________________ Born _____________________ __________________
____________________ __________________ B o r n ____________ :--------------- ----------------------■_______________________ _______________B o r n ______ — .--------------—<----------- ----------------- ____________ ;________________________ B o r n --------------------------------- -----------------------(Give date of husband’s death or other""cause as provided in Section I. of Chapter 83,
Fifteenth Session Laws.)
That she is wholly dependent for the support of said children and herself upon her
labor; that if provided for according to the terms o f chapter 83 of the Session Laws
of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana, said children—- - - - - ______________________________will be able to remain at home under the care of said
That the s a i d _____________________________- __is a proper person physically, men­
tally, and morally for the upbringing of her said children.
_
,
„
That it will be necessary that an allowance shall be made according to the provisions
of the aforementioned act, in order to save the children from, n e g l e c t _
That in the absence of such allowance the mother will be required to work regu­
larly away from her home and chilrren, when by means of such allowance she will
be able to remain at home with her children;
.
That said petitioner, —U----------------- --------;---------- ------ > has been a resident of
__________________ _____ County for a period of more than one year, to w i t , ----------------^ That the said c h ild re n ,________________________________have no property of their
.
own sufficient for their support.
,
. „
___
Therefore, your petitioner prays that an order issue out of this court fixing the
date upon which this petition shall be heard, and that upon the hearing of said petition
and the establishment of the facts set forth therein, that the court make an order for
the payment of said financial aid to said petitioner, under the provisions of the above
named Act as prayed for.
Petitioner.
Dated t h i s ----------------day o f ------------- -------------------- , ---------------- •
Sta te of M ontana,

| gg

County o f ------------------------------------------------- /
,
_______being first duly sworn, upon oath deposes and sa y s;
That she is the petitioner herein, that she has read the foregoing petition and knows
the contents thereof, and that the matters, statements, and allegations thereini contained
are true of her own knowledge except as to those matters therein set forth upon infor­
mation and belief, and as to those she believes it to be true.
Subscribed and sworn to before me t h i s ---------—— day of

n o t ic e

In the

D is t r ic t

of

h e a r in g

.

C o u r t o f t h e ________ J u d i c i a l D i s t r i c t o f t h e S t a t e o f M o n t a n a
IN AND FO R T H E C O U N TY O F -------------------;-------------------------

In the matter of the application o f -------------]
- -------------- --------------- t o be p r o v i d e d w i t h f i n a n - l N o T IC E O F H e a r i n g .
cial aid in the care of her dependent chil- I
dren.
)
,. .
J .
It appearing t h a t __________ —_____________________has filed a verified petition to he
provided with financial aid in the care of her dependent children under the provisions of
chapter 83 of the session laws of the fifteenth legislative assembly of the State of
*It is Vereby ordered that a hearing be had upon said petition at the court room of
said district court a t --------------------------- - - - C o u n t y , Montana on the
„ —- day
cf _____________________ __________ j at the hour of ---------o clock, — m., at which
time all persons interested in said petition may offer evidence for or against granting
It is further ordered that a copy of this notice of hearing be served u p o n the clerk
of the board of county commissioners and that a copy thereof be given or mailed to tfie
p etitio n er,--------------------- -------------------------- Done in chambers t h i s ---------------- day o f ---------------------------------- -------------------Judge.

143973°—19-

-10


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146

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.
ORDER OF COURT.

In

this

D is t r ic t Court

of t h e ______

J udicial D is t r ic t

of t h e

S tate

of

M ontana

FOR THE COUNTY OF-------------------------------In the matter of the application of]
_________ _______________ to be Pr°™ ie<i l order
with financial aid in the care o f her de-j
pendent children.
J
This matter coming on to be heard this----- ---------1 ---- -—day of----------------------------- __________ _ upon the verified petition of------------------------------------- -—- —
, upon the
verified petition o f_______________________ ________ for financial aid in the care of her
dependent children, under the provisions of chapter 83 of the Session Laws of the F if­
teenth Legislative Assembly of the State of Montana, and the court having heard the
testimony of said petitioner and------------------- —-------------_and____------ -------------- —- —in her behalf, and it appearing to the court that said petitioner is a resident of
_____________ |________ _______________________ County, Montana ; that said petitioner is
the mother o f the^oliow ing named children under the age of sixteen years, to-wit:
_______________________________________ Born________________________ ________________
___I I I I I _______________________________ Born________________________________________ ,
Bom
’l l
_H I _________ 1_______________ Born________________________________________
That" said children are living with her and that she is wholly dependent upon her labor
for the support of said children and herself;
, . „
, „
That the said
_ _________________________ is a proper person physically, mentally,
and morally for the bringing up of her said children, and that otherwise she is entitled
to financial aid under the provisions of the above-named act ;
'
.
That as provided for according to the provisions of said act, said children w ill be
able to remain at home under the care of said petitioner;
_
It is therefore ordered that under the provisions of chapter 83 of the Session Laws of
the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly of the State o f Montana, there be and is hereby
allowed per month hereafter to aid in caring for the above-named children as follows:
IN AND

_mi____________

------------------------------

(Insert amount for each child as provided in Sec. f f of ch. 83 of the Fifteenth Session
antTthat said allowance shall continue until otherwise ordered by the court ;
;
Provided, That said allowance shall cease in case of the death of the beneficiary, or
when such child becomes sixteen years of age, or when said petitioner shall remarry,
or shall cease to reside in said county, or shall cease to be a proper person to be entrusted
with the bringing up of said children;
„ ...
g
. . . .
.
It is hereby further ordered that upon presentation of this order to the board of
county commissioners of said_____________________ County, Montana, that the said board
shall direct monthly warrants to be drawn for said allowance, payable out of the general
funds of said county to said petitioner, according to the provisions herein.
Done in open court this----------------day of-------------------------------- -----------------Judge.


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NEBRASKA.
[Laws 1919, ch. 221.*]
0

An Act To provide for a partial support of mothers who have children under fourteen
years of age who are liable to become dependent or neglected, and to define what
classes of mothers shall receive such support; also, to provide for the probationary
visitation, care and supervision of the families for whose benefit such support is pro­
vided ; to provide for the levying of a tax which, when collected, shall be known as a
mother’s pension fund; to provide a penalty for any person fraudulently attempting
to obtain, or fraudulently obtaining; any allowance for relief under this act; and to
repeal chapter 187 of the Laws of Nebraska, 1915, being entitled “An act to provide
pensions for mothers and guardians o f dependent and neglected children.”

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska: S ection 1—jurisdic­
tion.—The juvenile court shall have original jurisdiction in all cases coming
within the terms of this act. The findings of the court in all cases relating to
the support of mothers under this act shall be entered in a book, or books, to be
kept for that purpose and known as the “ mothers’ pension record.”
S ec . 2. Mothers eligible for relief—Petition.—A mother whose husband is
dead, or whose husband has become permanently incapacitated for work by
reason of physical or mental infirmity, or is confined in a penal institution,
and a mother who is unmarried, or has been married and is divorced, or has
been deserted by husband, may file a petition for relief under this act: Pro­
vided, Such mother has had a residence for two years in the county where such
petition is filed and is the mother of a child, or children: Provided further,
however, No mother shall receive any support whose husband, or whose di­
vorced husband, has means and can be legally made to assist in the support of
his children. Such petition shall be filed with the juvenile court of the county
where such mother resides, and may be verified on information and belief.
S ec . 3. Investigation and report.—Whenever a petition for relief is filed, the
home of the applicant shall be visited by an officer of the juvenile court, and
the facts set forth in such petition shall be investigated by such officer under
the direction of the court, and a report and recommendation of approval or
disapproval of the prayer of such petition shall be made in writing by such
officer to the court without any unnecessary delay.
S ec. 4. Hearing.—The juvenile court shall fix a day each week when such
petitions shall be heard, and such hearings, unless otherwise ordered by the
court, shall be held the second week after the filing of said petition. The clerk
of the court in which such petition is pending shall notify the county attorney
of any hearings of such petition, and it shall be the county attorney’s duty to
attend.all such-hearings and represent the county. Subpoenas may be issued
and served in the same manner as are now done in the juvenile court. Wit­
nesses in response to subpoenas shall appear and testify without receiving any
fee therefor. It shall be unnecessary to file any formal answer to the peti­
tion, and the entire hearing shall be informal.
S ec . 5. Order for payment.—Upon the hearing in court of the petition under
this act, the court, being fully advised in the premises, finding the facts alleged
1 Prior to the passage of this act aid to poor parents had been given under Laws 1915,
chap. 187, which in turn had superseded an earlier law passed in 1913. (Laws 1913,
chap. 38.)

14T

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148

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

in the petition to be true, may make an order upon the board of the county
commissioners to pay the mother of the child, or children, in whose behalf the
petition is filed or some person designated by the court who shall supervise the.
spending of such pension in the interest of the family, an amount of money neces­
sary to enable such mother to properly care for such child or children. It
thereupon shall be the duty of the board of county commissioners to pay such
mother, or the person designated by the court, at such times as said order may
indicate, the amount so* specified for the care of such child or children until the
further order of the court.
S ec . 6. Amount of allowance.—The allowance made to such mother shall not
exceed ten dollars per month when such mother has but one child under the age
of fourteen years, and when she has more than one child under such age, the
relief granted shall not exceed ten dollars per month for each of the other
children: Provided, That in no event shall the relief granted to any one mother
and children exceed the sum of fifty dollars per month: Provided further, No
such order shall be effective for more than six months, unless renewed by the
court at or after the expiration of that period.
S ec . 7. Conditions of allowance.—Such relief shall be granted by the court
only upon the following conditions: (1) The child or children for whose benefit
the relief is granted must be living with the mother of such child or children;
(2) The court must find that it is for the welfare of such child or children to
remain at home with the mother; (3) The relief shall be granted only when in
the absence of such relief the mother would be required to work regularly away
from her home and children and when by means of such relief she will be able
to remain at home with her children except that she may be absent for work a
definite number of days each week to be specified in the court’s order, when
such work can be done by her without the sacrifice of health or the neglect of
the home and children; (4) The relief granted shall, in the judgment of the
court be necessary to save the child or children from neglect and to furnish such
child with suitable education; (5) A mother shall not receive such relief who
is the owner of real property or personal property other than the household
goods of more than two thousand dollars in value; (6) A mother shall not receive
such relief who has not resided in the county where the application is made at
least two years next before making such application; (7) A> mother shall not
receive such relief if her child or children have relatives within the second
degrees of sufficient abilities to support them, said relationship to be computed
according to the method of determining intestate succession to property in
Nebraska.
S ec. 8. When allowance ceases.—Whenever any child shall arrive at the age
of fourteen years any relief granted to the mother for such child shall cease:
Provided, If a child of fourteen years of age be ill or is incapacitated for work,
the mother shall receive funds for his care during such illness or incapacity for
work until such child is sixteen years of age. The court may, in its discretion,
at any time before such child reaches the age of fourteen years, modify or
vacate the order granting relief to any mother and for any child.
S ec . 9. Presence of husband.—Whenever relief is granted or is about to be
granted to a mother whose husband is permanently incapacitated for work by
reason of physical or mental infirmity and the presence of such husband in the
family- is a menace to the physical and moral welfare of the mother or chidren,
then the court may require that such husband be removed from the home and
provision for his care made elsewhere, or failing to remove such husband or
upon his refusal to be separated from his family, the court may, in its discre­
tion, vacate the order granting relief, or refuse the relief asked for.


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DAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

149

S ec . 10. Appointment of probation officers.— Whenever the juvenile court, hav­
ing jurisdiction in the proceedings coming within the provisions of this act;
shall have no probation officer who has time aside from his other duties to make
the investigation and give the supervision required under this act, such court
shall have the power to appoint one or more competent persons of good char­
acter, who shall serve and be known as probation officers, during the pleasure of
the court, and who shall be paid as probation officers under the juvenile court
are now paid. In counties where such probation officers are not paid, it shall
be with the discretion of the board of county Commissioners to fix the compen­
sation to be paid any probation officers appointed under this act.
S ec. 11. Duties of probation officers.—It shall be the duty of, any probation
officer of the juvenile court such as are appointed under this act to investigate
all applications for relief and make a written report of such investigation
with their recommendations. After the granting of relief to any mother for the
support of her children, it shall be the further duty of such probation officer
to visit and supervise, under the direction of the court, the families to which
suCh relief has been granted and to advise with the court and perform such
other duties as the court may direct in order to maintain the integrity of the
families and the welfare of the children.
S ec . 12. Appointment of committees to assist.—The judge of any juvenile
court shall appoint an unpaid committee consisting of not less than five persons
whose duty it shall be to cooperate with the probation officers having to do with
mothers’ pension cases in the investigation of all applications for pensions. It
shall also be the duty of this unpaid committee to report to the court its opinion
as to advisability of granting the pension and its opinion as to the amount
needed in each case. The committee shall be as representative as possible of
the social agencies of the community.
S ec . 18. Levy of tax—Limitation.—The board of county commissioners in
each county shall levy a tax of not to exceed three-tenths of one mill on the
dollar annually on all taxable property in the county, such tax to be levied and
collected in like manner with the general taxes of the county, and shall be
known as a mothers’ pension fund: Provided, That in any county where the
maximum levy has been reached, said board of county commissioners shall
have the authority to make this special levy to provide for said fund.
S ec . 14. Partial relief.—Should the-fund herein authorized be sufficient to
permit an allowance to only a part of the mothers coming within the provisions
of this act, the court shall select, in its discretion, those in most evident need
of such allowance.
S ec . 15. Penalty for fraud.—Any person or persons fraudulently attempting
to obtain, or fraudulently obtaining any allowance for relief under this act
shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be
punished by a fine of not less than five dollars nor more than two hundred
dollars, or imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not to exceed six
months, or both.
S ec . 16. Repeal.—Chapter 187 of the Laws of Nebraska for 1915 being “ An
act to provide pensions for mothers and guardians of neglected children” is
hereby repealed.
Approved April 17, 1919.


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NEVADA.
[L a w s 1 9 1 5 , ch. 1 3 1 1, a s a m en ded by L a w s 1 9 17, eh . I I 2.]

An A c t T o p rovid e fo r th e p a r tia l su p p o rt o f m o th ers w ho a re d ep en d en t u p on th e ir oWn
effo r ts fo r th e m a in te n a n c e o f th e ir ch ild ren , a n d g iv in g c o u n ty co m m issio n e r s o f th e
S ta te o f N e v a d a ju r isd ic tio n in su ch m a tte r s , a n d p re sc r ib in g p e n a ltie s fo r th o s e w h o
fr a u d u le n tly o b ta in th e b en efit th e reo f.

The people of the State of Nevada, represented in Senate and Assembly, do
enact as follows: S ection 1. County aid to mothers.—It shall be the duty of the
county commissioners of each county in this State, and they are hereby em­
powered and authorized, to provide funds in an amount sufficient to meet the
purposes and requirements of this law, for the support of women whose husbands
are dead or are inmates of a penal institution or an insane asylum, or who are
abandoned by their húsbands, and such abandonment has continued for more
than one year, or because of the total disability of their husbands, and who áre
unable to support their children, when such women are destitute or are de­
pendent upon their own efforts for the maintenance of their children and are
mothers of children under the age of fifteen years, and such mothers and children
reside in such counties in the State.
S ec . 2. Amount of allowance.—The allowance to each of such mothers shall
not exceed the sum of twenty-five dollars per month when she has but one child
under the age of fifteen years, and if she has more than one child under the age
of fifteen years, it shall not exceed the sum of twenty-five dollars a month for the
first child and fifteen dollars a month for each of the other children under the
age of fifteen years, but in no case shall the entire állowance for mother and
children be more than fifty-five dollars per month.
S ec . 3. Conditions of allowance.—Such allowance shall be made and fixed by
the board of county commissioners for their respective counties upon the follow­
ing conditions:
First. The child or children for whose benefit the allowance is made must be
living with the mother of such child or children.
Second. When by means of such allowance the mother will be able to maintain
a home for her child or children.
Third. The mother must, in the judgment of the board of county commis­
sioners, be a proper person, morally, physically, and mentally, for the bringing
up of her children.
Fourth. No person shall receive the benefit of this act who shall not have been
a resident of the county in which such application is made for at least one year
next before the making of such application for such allowance.
S ec. 4. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach the age
of fifteen years, any allowance made to the mother of such child, for the benefit
of such child, shall cease. The board of county commissioners may, in their
1 S u p ersed es L a w s 193 3, chap. 1 3 3 w h ic h had p ro v id ed , by a n a m en d m en t to th e
g u a r d ia n sh ip se c tio n o f th e ju v e n ile co u rt a c t, fo r a id to p a r e n ts, g r a n d p a r e n ts, or blood
a u n t or blood u n c le o f d ep en d en t o r n eg le c te d ch ild ren , w h en su ch p e r s o n s w e r e t o o poor
to ca re p ro p erly fo r th e m b u t w e r e o th e r w ise p ro p er g u a rd ia n s.
2 A m en d m en t o f 1 9 1 7 in crea sed th e a m o u n t o f a llo w a n c e from $15 to $25 p er m o n th for
th e fir st ch ild an d fro m $5 to $ 1 5 per m o n th fo r ea ch a d d itio n a l c h ild , w ith a lim it o f $ 5 5
fo r a n y o n e fa m ily .

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

discretion, at any time before such child reaches the age of fifteen years, dis­
continue or modify the allowance to any mother or for any child.
S ec. 5. Penalty f o r fra A id . —Any person procuring fraudulently any allowances
for a person not entitled thereto shall be deemed guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
S ec. 6. Application.—In each case where an allowance is made to any woman
under the provisions of this act, an order to that effect shall be entered upon
the record of the board of county commissioners making such allowance. Pro­
ceedings to obtain the benefits of this act shall be instituted by the applicant
for allowance by filing an application before the board of county commissioners,
same being properly verified under oath.
S ec. 7. Appeal.—In each case where an allowance is made or refused to any
mother under the provisions of this act by the board of county commissioners,
an appeal may be taken to the district court from such decision, by the applicant
or by any tax-paying citizen, and such appeal shall be subject to the rules of
procedure as in the case of appeals from the justice court.
S ec. 8. Investigation—Payment of warrants.—The district attorney shall
render all necessary assistance to applicants under this act, and shall appear
in every such proceeding, and shall carefully investigate the merits of every
application, to the end that this act may be fairly administered and no person
granted relief hereunder except those justly entitled thereto; and no officer of
the court or county officer shall receive any fees for services rendered in carry­
ing out the provisions of this act. A certified copy of said order shall be filed
with the county auditor of the county in which such child’s mother is resident,
and thereupon, and thereafter, and so long as such order remains in force and
unmodified, it shall be the duty of the county auditor each month to draw on
the general fund of the county in favor of the mother for the amount specified
in such order, which warrant shall be by the auditor delivered to the mother
upon her executing duplicate receipts therefor, one to be retained by the audi­
tor, and the other to be filed by the clerk with the records in the proceeding
relating to such child or children. It shall be the duty of the county treasurer,
and he is hereby authorized and empowered, to pay such warrant out of the
general funds of the county.
S ec. 9. Repeal.—All acts or parts of acts is conflict with this act are hereby
repealed.
Approved March 15, 1915. Amendment approved February 12, 1917.


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NEW HAMPSHIRE.
[L a w s 1 9 1 5 , ch. 1 3 2 .1]
A n A ct to p ro v id e a id fo r d ep en d en t m oth ers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court
convened: Section 1.—It shall be the duty of the superintendent of public
instruction to recommend a special appropriation at each session of the legisla­
ture of an amount sufficient to meet the purposes of this act for the partial
support of mothers.
S ec. 2. Amount of allowance.—The allowance to each of such mothers shall
not exceed ten dollars a month when she has but one child under the age of
sixteen years; and if she has more than one child under the age of sixteen
years, it shall not exceed the sum of ten dollars a month for the first child and
five dollars a month for each of the other children under the age of sixteen
years.
S ec. 3. Petition.—A petition in writing, signed by the mother and verified
by affidavit, asking for an allowance under the provisions of this act and set­
ting forth in detail the facts of the case, shall be filed with the school board o f ;
the town wherein such mother is a resident, and it shall be the duty of the
school board to make immediate investigation of the facts. "The school board
shall then make an official written recommendation of the amount of support
that such mother should receive and shall file the same, together with a copy
of such mother’s petition, with the department of public instruction.*
S ec. 4. Investigation.—It shall be the duty of the department of public
instruction to make a further personal investigation of the case, when the facts
set forth in the original petition of such mother and recommendation of the
school board warrant any action being taken, and increase or decrease the
amount of the allowance recommended in the report of the school board on such
case in their discretion, and such investigation shall be made by them within
fourteen days of the date of the filing of the recommendation of the school
board. The department of public instruction may increase or decrease the
amount of such allowance at any time thereafter, to meet the varied needs of
such mother, but no change in the amount of such allowance shall be made
without an official recommendation in writing from the school board of the
town wherein such mother is a resident, or a personal investigation by the
department of public instruction at a period of not more than thirty days prior
to such change in the amount of such allowance.
S ec. 5. Conditions of allowance.—No aid shall be rendered to dependent
mothers under the preceding sections of this- act except under the following
conditions: (1) The child or children for whose benefit the allowance is made
must be living with the mother of such child or children; (2) the allowance
1 R ep ea led L a w s 1 9 1 3 , chap. 1 2 3 , w h ic h h a d p ro v id ed fo r th e g r a n tin g o f aid by th e
c o n n ty c o m m issio n ers upon reco m m en d a tio n o f th e sc h o o l board o f th e d is t r ic t in w h ich
th e m oth er resid ed , a d iv id ed r e s p o n s ib ility w h ic h w a s fo u n d in p r a c tic e to b e u n s a tis ­
fa c to r y .
( S e e N ew H a m p sh ire C h ild ren ’s C o m m issio n R ep o rt, J a n . 1 9 1 5 , p. 32.)
a D ep a rtm e n t o f p u b lic in str u c tio n ch a n g ed to S ta te B oard of E d u c a tio n by L a w s
1 9 1 9 , ch a p . 106.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

shall be made only when, in the absence of such allowance, the mother would
be required to work regularly away from home and children, and when by
means of such allowance she will be able to remain at home with her children;
(3) the mother must, in the judgment of the school board of the town, or
the department of public instruction, be a proper person, morally, physically,
and mentally, for the bringing up of her children; (4) no person shall receive
the benefit of this act who shall not have been a resident of the State for at
least two years next before the making of such application for an allowance
under this act.
S ec. 6. When allowance, shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach the
age of sixteen years, an allowance made to the mother of such child for his
benefit shall cease.
S ec. 7. To whom late does not apply.—The provisions of this law shall not
apply to any woman who is not dependent on her own efforts for the support of
herself and family and at the time of receiving such aid is not of good repute
and making an earnest effort for self-support.
S ec. 8. Expenses paid from school fund.—All expenses incurred by school
boards under the provisions of this act shall be paid out of the school money
of the town or city where such case arises.
S ec. 9. Appropriation.—The sum of eight thousand dollars is hereby appropri­
ated to cover the provisions of this act for the year ending August 31, 1916,
and a like amount for the year ending August 31, 1917.1
S ec. 10. Repeal.—Chapter 123, Laws of 1913, is hereby repealed, and this act
shall take effect September 1, 1915.
Approved April 21, 1915.
1 $ 3 0 ,0 0 0 a p p ro p ria ted fo r th e fisc a l y e a r 1 9 2 0 (L a w s 1 9 1 9 , ch. 2, p. 7 ) .


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NEW JERSEY.
[L a w s 1 9 1 3 , ch. 2 8 1 , a s a m en ded by L a w s 1 9 1 5 , ch. 1 1 8 1 a n d 2 3 8 * ; L a w s 1 9 1 9 , ch. 179.*]
A n A c t to p ro m o te h om e lif e fo r d e p en d en t ch ild ren .

Be it enacted by the senate and general assembly of the State of New Jersey:
S ection 1. Widow may petition court.—Any widow who is the mother of a
child or children under the age of sixteen, and who is unable to support them
and to maintain her home, may present a petition for assistance to the court
of common pleas of the county wherein she has a legal settlement: Provided,
however, That in counties of the first class in this State the juvenile court shall
have concurrent, jurisdiction with the court of common pleas of such county
to hear and determine all matters pursuant to the provision^ of this act.
Sec. 2. What petition must contain.—Such petition shall be verified and shall
set forth the following:
(a)
Her name, the date of the death of her husband, the names of her
children, and the dates and places of their birth and the time and place of her
marriage.
(ib) Her residence and the length of time that she has, been a resident of the
State, the length of time she has lived at said residence, and the address or
addresses of her place or places of abode for the previous five years, and the
date, as near as possible, when she moved in and when she left said place or
places of residence.
(c) A statement of all the property belonging to her and to each of her
children, which statement shall include any future or contingent interests
which she or any of them may have.
(d) A statement of the efforts made by her to support her children.
(e) The names, relationships, and addresses of all her and her husband’s
relatives that may be known.
Sec. 3. Officials to be notified.—A copy of the petition provided for in section
two hereof, and a notice of the time and place when it will be presented to the
court, must be served on or mailed to the overseer of the poor having jurisdiction
over the district wherein the petitioner resides and the board of children’s
guardians at least twenty days before such time.
S ec. 4. Investigation and hearing.—Upon the return of the petition and notice
the court shall examine under oath all who desire to be heard: Provided,
however, That the New Jersey State Board of Children’s Guardians shall before
said hearing examine into the truth of the facts, set forth in the above-men­
tioned petition and shall file a report of its findings'with-the court, setting
forth in full the results of its investigation, and if such State board of chil­
dren’s guardians shall fail to make such report at or before said hearing, then
1 G ave th e ju v e n ile co u rt c o n c u r r e n t ju r isd ic tio n w it h th e co u r t o f com m on p le a s in
c o u n tie s o f fir st c l a s s ; defined resid e n c e a s five y e a r s in th e c o u n t y ; ad d ed th e w o rd s
“ n o t e x c e e d in g ” to t h e a m o u n t o f a id fixed by th e l a w ; a n d g a v e a u th o r ity to t h e
co u rt to order a m ed ica l e x a m in a tio n o f t h e p e titio n e r a n d o f a n y o f t h e ch ild ren .
2 C hanged th e req u irem en t r e g a r d in g n o tic e o f p e titio n from 5 to 4 0 d a y s an d g a v e
a u th o r ity to th e co u r t to a p p o in t so m e o th e r a g e n c y or p erson to m ake th e in v e s tig a tio n
i f th e S ta te board o f ch ild r e n ’s g u a r d ia n s fa ile d to m a k e r e p o rt on t h e p e titio n .
* A m en d m en t o f 1 9 1 9 ch a n g ed th e req u irem en t reg a r d in g n o tic e o f p e titio n from 4 0
to 20 d a y s.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

the court may, in its discretion, designate any proper society, or person or per­
sons, to make such investigation or examination and report the findings thereof
at Such time as shall be fixed by the court, and upon such report being made
the clerk of said court shall send a copy of the same to the State board of
children’s guardians. The court may, in its discretion, issue subpoenas for the 1
attendance of witnesses and adjourn the hearing from day to day : And pro-'
vided, however, The court may refer said matter to a commissioner to be ap­
pointed by the court to hear such witnesses as shall be produced by the
petitioner, or the State board of children’s guardians or others. Said com­
missioner shall make a report to the court setting forth the facts as proven
before him.
Sec. 5. Amount of allowance.—If, upon the completion of the examination
provided for under section four hereof, the court shall find that said petitioner
has been a resident of such county for a period of at least five years next pre­
ceding the filing of such application and that unless relief is granted the mother
will be unable properly to support and educate her children, and that they may
become a public charge, it shall make an order committing said' family to the
care of the State board of children’s guardians, and directing that there shall
be paid to the mother, through the State board of children’s guardians out of
the county funds for the maintenance and support of the children under six­
teen, the following amounts, to wit, not exceeding nine dollars per month for
one such child, not exceeding fourteen dollars per month for two such children,
and not exceeding four dollars per month for each additional child under
such age.
S ec. 6. D uty of State board of children’s guardians.—It shall be the duty of
the State board of children’s guardians to see that any widow committed to its
care, pursuant to the provisions of this act is properly caring for her children,
that they are sufficiently clothed and fed, that they attend school regularly, and
receive proper religious instruction ; and that said family shall be visited at
least six times a year. The State board of children’s guardians shall report
immediately to the court that had the original jurisdiction in the case of any
widow who does not properly care for and educate her child or children, or
when they find that she is an improper guardian for said child or children,
or when they find that she no longer needs such support. The court shall
thereupon revoke or cancel any order made pursuant to this act, at any time
with or without notice, and in lieu thereof make any order that in the judgment
of the court may protect the welfare of the child or children, or may make an
order committing said child or children to the care, custody, and control of
the New Jersey State board of children’s guardians, said child or children sôcommitted to their care to be held by said New Jersey State board of childrens
guardians pursuant to a statute entitled “An act for the creation of a State
board of children’s guardians, and for defining their duties and powers with
respect to the maintenance, care, and general supervision over indigent, helpless,
dependent, abandoned, friendless, and poor children now or hereafter to be­
come public charges of this State,” approved March twenty-fourth, one thousand
eight hundred and ninéty-nine, and the various supplements and-amendments
thereto.
Sec. 7. No fees allowed.—No fees or costs shall be paid or allowed by the
court for any proceedings held pursuant to this act, nor shall any counsel fee
be ordered or collected from any party applying to the court pursuant to the
provisions of this act and all proceedings pursuant to this act shall be in
forma pauperis: Provided, however, That the court may in its discretion direct
a medical examination of the petitioner and of any of the children, and design


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L A W S

R E L A T IN G

TO

M O T H E R S*

157

P E N S IO N S .

nate a physician of the county to make such examination, the cost of which
shall be paid out of the county funds appropriated under the provisions of this
act, upon bills approved by the judge ordering such medical examination ; And
provided, further, That all birth, death, and marriage certificates required under
the provisions of this act shall be issued free of charge, upon the order of the
county counsel, the probation officer, or the State board of children’s guardians.
Approved April 9, 1913. Amendments approved March 30, and April 8, 1915 ;;
April 15, 1919.
[F o r m s A d o p te d b y State B o a rd o f C h ild ren 's G u a rd ia n s .]
L E T TER IN C L O SE D W IT H A PPL IC A T IO N

B L A N K S.

N ew J ersey S tate B oard of C h il d r e n ' s G uardians ,
Jersey City, N. J., —------ , 19— .
D ear M adam : Y ou r letter asking for inform ation in regard to the mothers’ pension
bill has been received a t this office. U nder the la w your petition m ust be made direct
to the court of common pleas, which is held for your county a t ----------- .
U n d er the law , it w ill be necessary fo r you to fill out the three inclosed blanks, answ er­
in g fu lly every question thereon; otherwise you may cause serious delay in having your
petition acted upon by the court. A fte r you have answered these questions fully, and had
the blanks sworn to before a person authorized to take affidavits, you must then file a copy
w ith your County judge, also a copy w ith your local poormaster, and one w ith us.
I am also inclosing you a copy o f the law , which w ill show you that in order to be
eligible to receive this pension, 1st, you must be a w id o w ; 2d, you must be a mother of
children under sixteen years o f a g e ; 3d, you must have a legal residence in the county
wherein you reside. A legal settlement under the poor la w is five years’ residence in the
municipality. 4th, you must have no visible means of support and be liable to become a
public charge.
I f you have not resided in the county where you are livin g a t this time fo r five years
continuous, you w ill have to present your petition to the judge in the county w here you
have lived five years.
I f you do not understand about this, I w ill be glad to have you w rite me, and I w ill
advise you fu rth er in regard to this matter.
Yours, truly,

--------- ------------, General Agent.

notice and p e t it io n .

Court of common pleas of the county of ---------- . x In
-------------------------------- f o r

r e lie f u n d e r

ch a p te r

281

o f th e

the matter of the petition of
la w s

of

1913.

N o tic e .

To the overseer of the poor of t h e ----------in the county o f ------- -— and to the S tate hoard
of children’s guardians of the S ta te of New Jersey:
Take notice, that on t h e ------- day o f ------------ one thousand nine hundred and — , a t ten
o’clock in the forenoon, at the courthouse in ----------- , I shall present to the court o f
common pleas of the county o f ----------- a petition, a true copy o f w hich is hereunto
annexed.
Yours, respectfully,
---------------- ------- •
Dated ----------- .

To the court of common pleas of the county o f ---------in the county of
The humble petition o f -------------------------, w id ow of
in the State of N ew Jersey, respectfully shows the name o f your petitioner
is

o n e th o u s a n d n in e
day of
The husband o f your petitioner died on the
hundred and
The names o f the children o f your petitioner and the dates and places of their births
are as follow s : ----------- , ■
------- —, ----------- , ------------.
Y our petitioner w a s m arried to her husband on the — — day o f ----------- , one thousand
nine hundred and — , a t
Y o u r petitioner resides a t - —
, a n dI h a s. b e e n a r e s i d e n t o f t h e S t a t e o f N e w J e r s e yfo r —>
--------- years.
F ollow in g are the various places o f abode for the last five years,
w ith the dates, a s nearly as your petitioner can recollect the same, when she moved
in and when she le ft said respective places o f residence: ----------- , — ------ , ----------- ...
N either your petitioner or any o f the children above named have any property or
interests in property of any kind, future or contingent, except as fo llo w s : ----------- .
F ollow in g is a statement of all property belonging to your petitioner or to either of
the children above named, furth er or con tin gent: ----------- .
F ollow in g is a statement o f the efforts made by your petitioner to support herself and
her children : — ------ .
F ollow in g are the names, relationships, and addresses o f all the relatives o f h erself and
her deceased husband, so fa r a s they are known to your petitioner: --------- - .
Y ou r petitioner further states that unless relief is granted your petitioner w ill be
unable to properly support and educate h er children and that they may become a public
charge.
Y ou r petitioner therefore pra-ys~that this honorable cou rt-sh all make an order com­
m itting your petitioner and the children above named to the care of the State board of
children’s guardians, and directing payment to your petitioner through said board


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS1 PENSIONS.

monthly, out of the county funds, o f the sums o f money specified in the act entitled “ A n
act to promote home life for dependent children,” approved A p ril 9, 1913, being chapter
281 of the L a w s o f 1913.
And yoUr petitioner as in duty bound w ill ever pray, etc.

P etitio n er.

Dated a t

State o f N e w Jersey, county o f ----------- , ss:
------------------------ , of full age, being duly swor: according to law , on h er oath deposes and
says th at she is the petitioner above n am e d ; that the facts, matters, and things in said
petition set forth are true.
Sworn to and subscribed before me t h i s ------- day o f ------------ A . D. 19— a t
L E T T E R TO C H A R IT Y ORGANIZATION AND POOR M A ST ER S.

D ear S ir : W e h av e Teceived a no tice t h a t M r s . ___________ _____________ o f
has presented a petition to the court o f common pleas o f the county o f ’
fo r re lief under chapter 281, L a w s of 1913.
The la w requires us to make an investigation and verify the statements made in this
petition.
W ill you kindly cooperate w ith us in this case by answ ering the questions
asked on blank attached below and return to this office?
Thanking you, I am, yours, truly,
■
------ ------------ ------- ,-------- -— , General A gent.
1 . H o w l o n g h a v e y o u k n o w n M r s . _________ o f ____ _____________?
2 . T o t h e b e s t o f y o u r k n o w le d g e a n d b e li e f, h o w lo n g h a s s h e li v e d in
C o u n t y c o n t i n u o u s l y ? _______________
8 . H a s sh e e v e n b e e n g iv e n a s s is t a n c e b y y o u r o r g a n iz a t io n ?
I f s o , h o w m u c h ’ __
I n w h a t w a y ? -----------------------------A n d w h e n ? ____________________
4 . H a v e y o u e v e r s e c u r e d e m p l o y m e n t f o r h e r ? _______________
5. W a s sh e s a tis fa c to r y ?
-------------------- D i d s h e r e t a i n h e r p o s i t i o n ? _________________
6 . D o y o u f e e l t h a t t h i s f a m i l y h a s b e e n i m p r o v e d b y y o u r e f f o r t s ? _________
7 . W h a t m e a n s o f s u p p o r t o t h e r th a n w h a t sh e r e c e iv e d fr o m y o u h a s sh e h a d d u r in g
t h e t i m e s h e h a s b e e n u n d e r y o u r s u p e r v i s i o n ? _______________ 8 . T o y o u r k n o w l e d g e d o e s
s h e p o s s e s s p r o p e r t y ? _____________ - B u i l d i n g a n d L o a n s t o c k ? ________________ o r m o n e y i n ­
v e s t e d ? _______________ o r i n b a n k ? -----------------------9 . I s s h e i n y o u r o p i n i o n a g o o d m o r a l w o m a n ? _ ^ __ _________ 1 0 . W h a t i s h e r r e p u t a t i o n
f o r h o n e s t y ? ------------------------S o b r i e t y ? ------------------------ 1 1 . W h a t i s h e r g e n e r a l r e p u t a t i o n i n
t h e c o m m u n i t y ? ------------------------1 2 . H o w d o e s s h e c a r e f o r h e r h o m e ? ___________________
13 . D oes
s h e p r o p e r l y c a r e f o r a n d c o n t r o l h e r c h i l d r e n ? __ - ___________ 1 4 . W o u l d s h e , i n y o u r
o p i n i o n , e n c o u r a g e h e r c h i l d r e n t o g e t a l l t h e e d u c a t i o n p o s s i b l e ? _____ . ______:__ 1 5 .
H a v e y o u e v e r h a d a n y k n o w le d g e t h a t h e r c h ild r e n a r e m e n t a lly
o r m o r a l l y de^
f e c t i v e ? ------------------------1 6 . A r e a n y o f h e r c h i l d r e n n o w , o r h a v e t h e y e v e r b e e n i n a n y
p u b l i c o r p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n ? --------------------- ---------------- 1 7 . H a v e a n y o f h e r c h i l d r e n e v e r b e e n
b e f o r e t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t ? -------------------I f s o , o n w h a t c h a r g e ? ________________ 1 8 . H a v e a n y
o f h e r c h i l d r e n e v e r b e e n o n p r o b a t i o n ? --------------1 9 . H a v e a n y o f h e r c h i l d r e n e v e r b e e n
i n a c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n ? -----------------------------2 0 . W o u l d y o u c o n s i d e r t h i s w o m a n c o m p e ­
t e n t m o r a l l y , p h y s i c a l l y , a n d m e n t a l l y t o r e a r h e r c h i l d r e n ? ___________________ ___
21
W hat
s u g g e s t i o n s w o u l d y o b m a k e r e g a r d i n g t h i s f a m i l y ? : _______________
S i g n e d ___________________________ ’_________.____
T i t l e — — __ - _______ __________________
N a m e o f a s s o c i a t i o n ________________________________________________

L E T T E R TO COUNTY C O U N SEL.

D ear S ir : You are hereby notified th at the follow in g list o f petitions fo r re lief under

chapter 281, L a w s o f 1913, has been presented to the court o f common pleas.
W h ile the la w does not provide fo r notice to the board o f freeholders, yet, in view
o f the fact that such sums as may be allow ed are payable out o f the county treasury,
w e deem it proper that you should have such notice in order that the county may be
represented at the hearing.
The hearing w ill be h e l d _____________ a t ______________ b e f o r e _______________
W e w ill be very glad o f your cooperation and w ill furnish you w ith copies o f the re­
ports o f our investigations on these cases at the hearing.
Yours, truly.
---------- -------------, G eneral A gent.
R EPO R T O P ST A T E BOARD.

Court of common pleas o f the county o f ------------ ----In the m atter o f the petition
o f ------------------ -------------------- fo r relief under chapter 281 o f the L a w s o f 1913.
Re­
port o f State board.
The State board of children’s guardians hereby reports to the court its findings as
the result of its investigation into the petition filed in the above-entitled matter.
The facts stated in the said petition as to the name o f the petitioner, date o f death
o f her husband, names and ages o f her children and their places o f birth,, time and
place of her m arriage, her residences and places o f abode, a n a o f the property interests

b elonging to h e r a n d h e r c h ild ren a r e tru e , except t h a t ___________ _

Th is board has found the efforts o f the petitioner to support her children have been
as follow s : _________ :____
This board reports that as the result o f its investigation it finds th at the said peti­
tioner i s ------------------ able to support h er said children, and they a r e ______________ likely
to become public charges.
Respectfully submitted t h i s ------------------ day o f --------- -■
— , one thousand nine hun­
dred a n d ---------- -

T h e S ta t e B oard

op

C h il d r e n ’s G uardians ,

B y ---------- -------------, G eneral A gent.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

159

N a m e o f p e t i t i o n e r , ____________ __________________
P l a c e o f b i r t h , ------ -----------------N a tio n a lity ,
_______________ _
R e s i d e n c e , _________________
C h a r a c t e r o f r e s i d e n c e , ________________' H o w l o n g a
r e s i d e n t t h e r e , ________________
P r e v i o u s r e s i d e n c e , ------------------------H o w l o n g , ----------- :----------- ,
( P r o c u r e p r e v io u s r e s id e n c e a n d le n g t h o f e a c h , f o r fiv e y e a r s .
I n q u ir e
o f la n d lo r d s o r a g e n t s .)
D a t e o f m a r r i a g e , --------------------- -P la c e o f
N a m e o f h u s b a n d , ____________ ______ ______________ _
m a r r i a g e , _______________ _
B y w h o m m a r r i e d , ---------------------------------------------------D a te o f d ea th , o f
h u s b a n d , _______________ _
W h e r e h u s b a n d i s b u r i e d , ------------------------C h i l d r e n : N a m e , _______________ _________ ______D a t e o f b i r t h , -----------------------------------P la c e o f
b i r t h , ________________
I f b a p t i z e d , w h e r e ? --------- ;------------- .
N a m e o f p a s t o r , ---------------------— -----------------------C h u r c h a t t e n d e d b y p e t i t i o n e r , — ---------------------H u s b a n d ’ s r e l a t i v e s : N a m e , ____________________ _
R e l a t i o n s h i p , ------------- ; ----------- — .
A d d ress,
^ C i r c u m s t a n c e s ____ __________ _
P e t i t i o n e r ’ s r e l a t i v e s : N a m e , -----------------------------R e l a t i o n s h i p , -----------------------------A d d ress,
_______________ _
C i r c u m s t a n c e s , _________________
R e a l e s t a t e o w n e d b y p e t i t i o n e r , _____________ _
R e a l e s t a t e o w n e d b y c h i l d r e n , --------------------- P e r s o n a l p r o p e r t y o w n e d b y p e t it io n e r , m o n e y in b a n k , b u ild in g a n d lo a n s h a r e s , e t c .,

_____________ _ ^P erso n al p ro p e rty ow ned by children, m oney in ban k , b u ild in g a n d lo an
s h a r e s , e t c . , _______________ _

R e m a r k s , -------------------------

L E T T E R TO P E T IT IO N E R W H E N P E T IT IO N IS READY FO R COURT H E A R IN G .

D ear M adam : Your petition for relief under chapter 281, L a w s of 1913, known as the
w id ow ’s pension law, w ill be heard by J u d g e ----------- at courthouse, i n -------------, o n ----------- ,
a t ------- o’clock.
Please be at the courthouse at that time and brin g w ith you the fo llo w in g : M arriage
certificate; husband’s death certificate; birth certificates of all children under 16 years
o f age. You can obtain these, without any expense, by m ailing the inclosed blanks after
you have filled them out to the Bureau o f 'V it a l Statistics, Statehouse, Trenton, N. J.
A lso bring bill of your husband’s funeral expenses.
I f you are under the care of a physician, get a certificate from the physician stating
w hat he is treating you for and how long he has been treating you.
Also get certified letters from the landlords where you have resided £or the last five
years or bring your rent receipts covering the last five years.
B rin g two witnesses not relatives who know you and can vouch for your statements in
your petition.
Unless you can produce these certificates fo r the date set fo r the hearing o f your
petition, your case w ill not be heard on that day.
Yours, truly,
------------- ---------- , General A gent.
L E T T E R TO W ID OW W H E N G RAN T I S MADE.

On ------------- Judge ------------- committed to the care o f this board
under “ A n act to promote home life fo r dependent children ” ----------- and ----------- and
granted for the care of these children $----------- per month, payable to you as their mother.
U nder the law , this board is obliged to keep in very close touch w ith you and your chil­
dren, and fo r this reason we must ask th at you notify us immediately o f any change in
your address or manner o f living. I f any of the children should secure employment, at
any time, you must notify us, giving the employer’s name and address and the child’s
w a g e s ; also state if the child has secured working papers and the date w hen papers were
taken out.
The law definitely lays upon you the responsibility of caring fo r your children properly.
T h is " means that they be properly housed, clothed, and f e d ; th at they attend school
regu larly and receive proper religious instruction. W e w ill have reports from the school
and church regarding your children.
I f at any time the children are seriously ill, report
the fact to this office, giving the name and address of the physician attending them.
W e shall visit you frequently and shall expect to find your home clean and t id y ; the
children clean, and their clothing in good condition. W e wish you to be able to tell us
how you have expended the money received for the children. I t w ill be necessary for
us to inspect your entire home, to see all sleeping arrangements, condition o f the beds,
and learn how your home is managed.
W e trust you w ill work with us fo r the good of your children.
V ery truly, yours,
■
------------------------ , General A gent.
D ear

M r s . ------------- .

Im portant.— I f you should rem arry you are entitled to relief on ly up to the day of
your marriage.
You must notify us at once, givin g us the name of the m an you m arry,
and the date and place o f your marriage.
REPO R T FR O M T E A C H E R .

Date, ----------- . Nam e of c h ild ,------------------------ .
----------- . Record of church attendance, ----------- .
----------- . Remarks, ----------- .
Very truly, yours,
Nam e o f c h u rc h ,----------- .


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Address, ----------- .

Address, ----------- . L iv in g with, -----------Record of Sunday school attendance,
------------------------ , P astor.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS,

160

SCHOOL CARD.

Grade.

Name of school.......

ReaDe­ Schol- Times son
Times No..
ses­
Health. Clothport­
ab­ absent. sions.
tardy.
arship.
ing.
ment.
sence.
A. B.

Age.

Teacher...................
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.'
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
June
July
Aug.

Remarks:

REPORT ON CHURCH AND SUNDAY-SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
N e w J e r s e y S t a t e B o a r d o f C h i l d r e n ’s G u a r d i a n s .

Caroline B. Wittpenn, president; Benjamin F. Edsall, secretary; Robert L. Flemming, treasurer;
Joseph McCrystal, James A. Bums, Mrs. F. C. Jacobson, Charles J. Fisk. Frances Day, general agent.
Dear.........:
Will you kindly cooperate with us by taking a friendly interest in our ward,....... -................................... .
who, we understand, is attending your Sunday school and church.
,,
We shall be greatly indebted to you for a report each quarter of our ward s attendance, for which purpose we will inclose blank reports and return envelopes.
You will greatly aid us in our work by complying with this request.
If om- ward does not attend your Sunday school and church, kindly notify us.
N e w J e r s e y S t a t e B o a r d o f C h i l d r e n ’s G u a r d i a n s ,

Commercial Trust Building, Jersey City, N. J .

CHURCH CARD.

Name of child.

Name of pastor.

Name of church.

C.

s.

C.

Oct.

July.

Apr.

Jan.
Date.

S.

C.

s.

s.

c.

RECORD OF VISITORS TO HOME.

Name.

Nationality..................... Suspect feeble-minded-

Date relief granted.
Date issued............

Illiterate?........ ..............
Physically handicapped?
Others in the home.

Children under 16.
Defects.
Record
No.

Name.

Died.

Age.

Name.

Mental. Physical.

Address.

Relation­ Amount
paid into
ship.
home.

Rent?................................ No. of rooms
Property owned.

Name and address of relatives liable under law for
support.


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Value.

Mortgage.

Interest.

Taxes

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

161

Would agent recommend home for boarding our dependent children?__ __
Would mother be willing to take children to board from this department?.__
Remarks^___ ___________ _____________ ___ __________ _______ ‘____ ____ _
doctor’s card.

NEW JERSEY STATE BOARD OF CHILDREN’S GUARDIANS.

Room 629 Commercial Trust Building, Jersey City, N. J.
J ersey City , N. J.,_______________ ___
D ear D r. : We are anxious to learn the physical condition of the bearer
------------------------------------------- in whom we are interested. Would you be will­
ing to help us by filling out the blank on the reverse side of this card?
Yours, very truly,

(Reverse side.)

General Agent.

Date examined.
Name___ ;_________________ _______ .____________ ^____
Address______ _______________________________ _______
Nature of ailment_____ ________ ___ _____ _______ ______
Is patient able to work— ------------------ ----------------— .— .
Is special diet needed— ---------— ----------------------Dp you recommend any special treatment__________ ___
Signed,_________
Physician.

C ourt

of

ORDER MODIFYING OR REVOKING RELIEF.
C ommon P leas o f t h e County o f ______________ __________

In the matter of the petition of--------------------------1

0r<Jer Modifying

Por relief undeiTchapter 28 1- of “the laws of 191 3 . j

or R e v o k in g Relief-

It appearing to the court that the order for relief made in this matter on the__

day of_______________________ nineteen hundred and_______ ________________granting
___ ______ ___________ dollars per month to______________________________ ____________
for the support and maintenance of her_____________________ children, and that the said
is now no longer in need of______________ _______ this r elief:
It is on this__________ day o f---------------------------------, 1 9 1 ____ ,
Ordered that the order heretofore entered in this matter be and the same is hereby
revoked.

143973°—19----- 11


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis


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NEW YORK.
[Laws 1915, ch. 228,1 as amended by laws 1916, ch. 504 ;2 laws 1917, ch. 551.®]
•An Act To amend tbe general municipal law, in relation to the establishment, powers,
and duties of local boards of child welfare.

The people of the State of New York, represented in senate and assembly,
do enact as follows: Section 1, chapter 29, of the laws of 1909, entitled “ An
act relating to municipal corporations, constituting chapter 24 of the Con­
solidated Laws,” is hereby amended by inserting therein a new article, to be
article 7-a thereof, to read as follows:
A rticle 7-A .

Local boards of child welfare.
S ec. 148. Local boards of child welfare established.

149.
150.
151.
152.

Appointment of boards in counties.
Appointment of boards in cities.
Members to serve without compensation. Expenses only to be paid.
General powers and duties of board. State board of charities may
revoke allowances.
158. Regulations governing allowances.
154. Appropriations and limitations for purposes of article.
155. Penalties.
S ec. 148. Local boards of child welfare established.—There shall be a local
board of child welfare in each county4 of the State not wholly within a city,
and in each city wholly including one or more counties, which, pursuant to this
article, may grant allowances to widowed mothers with one or more children
under the age of sixteen years, in order that such children may be suitably
cared for in their homes by such mothers.
S ec. 149. Appointment of boards m counties.—The board of child welfare of a
county shall consist of seven members, of which the county superintendent of
' 1 Previous to the passage of this act a commission had been established " to inquire
into the subject of pensions or other relief for widowed mothers.” (Laws 1913, ch.
588.) The law enacted was more conservative than that recommended by the com­
mission in its report to the legislature in 1915 (See No. 424 in “ List of references”),
in that the allowance may “ not exceed the amount or amounts which it would he
necessary to pay to an institutional home,” and it must also appear that “ if such aid
is not granted the child or children must be cared for in an institutional home.”
2 Amendment of 1916 removed the commissioner of public charities from the Board
of Child Welfare of New York City. The avowed purpose of the amendment was to
remove the “ taint of charity ” from the administration of the aid to mothers, but the
amendment did not remove the superintendents of the poor from child-welfare boards
elsewhere in the State.
8 Amendment of 1917 added clause at end of section 154 requiring the auditing of
accounts of child-welfare boards.
i Laws 1917, ch. 354 authorized the establishment of a board of child welfare for
Dutchess County to care for all destitute, neglected, delinquent, q,nd defective children,
including in its powers the administration of aid in their own homes to competent
mothers or guardians with dependent children. In Westchester County allowances to
mothers are made by the commissioner of charities and corrections through a depart­
ment of child welfare.

168

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164

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS7 PENSIONS.

the poor shall be ex officio member. If any county have more than one superin­
tendent of the poor, the county judge shall designate; by writing, filed with the
county clerk, the superintendent who shall serve as a member of such board.
The other six members of the board shall be appointed by the county judge for
such terms that the term of one appointive member of the board shall expire
each year thereafter. Upon the expiration of the term of office of a member of
the board, his successor shall be appointed by the county judge for a full term
of six years* If a vacancy occur, otherwise than by expiration of term, in the
office of an appointive member of the board, it shall be filled for the unexpired
term. At least two members of the board shall be women.- Appointments shall
be made in writing and filed with the county clerk.
S ec. 150. Appointment of boards m cities.—The board of child welfare of a
city wholly including one or more counties shall consist of nine members. The
members of the board shall be appointed by the mayor for such terms that the
term of one member of the board shall expire each year thereafter. Upon the
expiration of the term of office of a member of the-board, his successor shall be
appointed by the mayor for a full term of nine years. If a vacancy occur,
otherwise than by expiration of term in the office of a member of the board, it
shall be filled for the unexpired term. At least three members of the board
shall be women. The members of such a board heretofore appointed by the
mayor are continued in office until the expiration of their terms, respectively.
The additional appointive member of such board shall be appointed by the
mayor, within ten days after this section as amended takes effect, for a full
term of nine years.
S ec. 151. Members to serve without compensation—Expenses, etc.—The mem­
bers of the board of child welfare, as herein provided, shall' receive no com­
pensation for their services as members of such board, but, after appropriations
have been duly made as herein provided, they shall be entitled to the actual
and necessary expenses incurred by them in properly discharging their official
duties, whether while making investigations or otherwise.
Sec. 152. General powers and duties of board—State board of charities map
revoke allowa/nces.—A board of child welfare shall:
1. Meet and organize within ten days after appointment, and fix the dates
for its meetings, which shall be held at least monthly.
2. Elect a chairman, and appoint a secretary of the board, who shall hold
office subject to the pleasure of the board.
3. Establish an office and, when specific appropriations have been made for
such purposes, employ such officers and employees as may be provided for by
the board of supervisors of a county or by the board of estimate and appor­
tionment and the board of aldermen of a city.
4. Establish rules and regulations for the conduct of its business, which shall
provide for the careful investigation of all applicants for allowances and the
adequate supervision of all persons receiving allowances; such investigationsand supervisions to be made by the board and without incurring any unneces­
sary expense. Reports must be filed at least quarterly by the agents, visitors,
or representatives of the board, with respect to the families receiving allow­
ances granted by the board.
5. Render to the board of supervisors, if in counties, and to the mayor, if in
cities, a verified account of all moneys received and expended by them, or under
their direction, and of all their proceedings in such manner and form as may be
required by the board or the mayor, as the case may be; if required by the
board of_ supervisors or mayor more frequent reports must be given covering
fractional parts of a year.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS' PENSIONS.

165

6. Submit annually to the proper fiscal authorities of the county or city
an estimate of the funds required to carry out the purposes of this article;
in a county such estimate shall be furnished before the annual meeting of the
board of supervisors for appropriating moneys and levying taxes; in a city,
it shall be submitted at the time provided by law for fhe submission of other
departmental estimates.
7. Be subject to the general supervision of the State board of charities, and
make such reports as the State board of charities may require. Any person
who has knowledge that relief is being:granted in violation of the require­
ments of this act, may file a verified complaint, in writing, with the State
board of charities, setting forth the particulars of such violation, and said
State board of charities shall have power, after proper investigation, to re­
voke allowances or to make such order as it may deem just and equitable and
such order shall be complied with by the local board of child welfare.
Sec. 153. Regulation governing allowances.—The following provisions shall
govern the granting of allowances pursuant to this article:
1. A board of child Welfare may, in its discretion, when funds have been
appropriated therefor, grant an allowance to any dependent widow residing in
the county or city wherein she applies for an allowance, and who is deemed by
the local board of child welfare to be a proper person mentally, morally, and
physically to care for and bring up such child or children, provided such
widow has been a resident of the county or of the city wherein the applica­
tion for an allowance is made for a period of two years immediately preceding
the application, and whose deceased husband was a citizen of the United
States and a resident of the State at the time of his death.
2. Such allowance shall be made by a majority vote of the board duly entered
upon the minutes of any regular or special meeting, and may be increased,
diminished, or totally withdrawn in the discretion of the local board of child
welfare.
3. Before granting an allowance the board shall not only determine that the
mother is a suitable person to bring up her own children and that aid is neces­
sary to enable her to do so, but further that if such aid is not granted the child
or children must be cared for in an institutional home.
4. Such an allowance or allowances shall not exceed the amount or amounts
which it would be necessary to pay to an institutional home for the care of
such widow’s child or children.
5. An allowance granted by the board shall be paid out of any moneys ap­
propriated by the local authorities for such purposes, or otherwise available
by the board for such purpose; such local authorities are authorized to appro­
priate and make available for the board of child welfare and to include in the
tax levy for such county or city, such sum or sums, as in their judgment, may
be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article; such moneys to be kept
in a separate fund and to be disbursed1by the proper county or city fiscal au­
thorities on orders of the local board of child welfare and upon proper vouchers
therefor.
6. An application for allowance may be rhade directly to the local board of
child welfare or to any member of the board.
' ^
and complete record shall be kept in every case« coming either
directly or indirectly within the jurisdiction of the board; such record to be
available to the proper authorities of county or city interested therein.
8.
An allowance made by the board shall not be for a longer continuous period
than six months without renewal, which allowance may be continued from time
to time at same or different amounts, for similar periods or less, either sue-


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166

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS7 PENSIONS.

cessiveiy or intermittently or may be revoked at the pleasure of the local board
of child welfare.
S ec. 154. Appropriations and limitations for purposes of article.—The board
of supervisors of a county, and the board of estimate and apportionment, and
the board of aldermen of a c ity 1 to which this article is applicable, are hereby
authorized and empowered annually to appropriate such a sum, if any, as, in
their discretion and judgment, may be needed to carry out the provisions of this
article, including expenses for administration and relief : It is further provided,
That no board of child welfare shall expend or contract to expend under the
provisions of this act, or otherwise, any public moneys not specifically appro­
priated as herein provided ; the board of supervisors of any county may deter­
mine, as provided in section 138 of the State poor law, the same being chapter
42 of the Consolidated Laws, whether or not the actual expense for the relief
of widowed mothers and their children under this article shall be a charge upon
the county or upon the respective towns thereof. Each such board of child wel­
fare shall, from time to time, audit and cause to be paid all expenses for admin­
istration and the wages and salaries of its employees.
S ec. 155. Penalties.—1. A person who shall procure or attempt to procure,
directly or indirectly, any allowance for relief under. this article, for or on
account of a person not entitled thereto, or shall knowingly or willfully pay or
permit to be paid any allowance to a person not entitled thereto, shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor.
2.
The members of a board of child welfare, established by this act, shall be
appointed within sixty days after this act takes effect.
S ec. 2. This act shall take effect July first, nineteen hundred and fifteen.
Approved April 7, 1915. Amendments approved May 10, 1916; May 18, 1917.

[F o r m s p rep ared b y the State B o a rd o f C h aritie s f o r u se o f cou nty b o a r d s .]
A P P L IC A T IO N .

N am e ----------------------------- -

A d d ress ______,_______________ _
.

D a te __________ ,__.

N o __________ __

STATE! O P N E W T O R E .

Board of Child Welfare o f _____________________ County.
Application blank to be filled out by mothers needing assistance in the care of their
children and the maintenance of their home, pursuant to the provisions of chapter 228
of the Laws of 1915.
Applicants will be required to appear before a notary public or other proper officer
and make affidavit that the statements herein made are true to the best of their
knowledge and belief.
XT
'
Date___________ „_________ _
Name of applicant in full_____________________________________________________
_
( Surname first. )
.
Where born?--------- 1-------------------------- - Date of birth______________________________
(Give town, State, and county.)
How long in U. S------------- ; in New York State--------------; in this city or county?___ *_
Present address____________________________________________ Floor___________ __
Number of rooms and amount of rent paid________ ________ \____________ ~_______ ”
How long there?---------- — *----- \------------ Do you owe back rent?_________________
Name and address of landlord.

Give each previous address, stating how long at each during past three years and names
of landlords.__________________________________ ______________ ___ _
Name of husband------------------------- His occupation______________Wages____ * _ _
~Z
Where was he born?_----T___------- -------------- —
Date of birth-_________________
How long in U . S.#-------- —; in New York State?______ ; in this city or county?__ ____
When were you married?_________ - _____________ Where?__
Name and address of person who performed marriage ceremony.

Appropriation for year 1918 for Board of Child Welfare of New York City, $1,756,450
(Third Annual Report of Board of Child Welfare of the City of New York, 1918, p. 19).


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LAWS KELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

167

Name and address of attending physician______________
Were you living with your husband* at time of death?______ I ____ I_ I . " T ~ _ _Z__
Was he a citizen ?_____________________________________________________
If foreign born, when and where naturalized?__—___________ _____.
__“__"
Where', did he die?----------------- __ a__________ Where buried?_____ ,_____~HZ_____ I ___JT
Name and address of undertaker_____________________________
_____
_
__“
Names of children liv­ Age. Name of school
If at work, where Occupa­
ing at home.
child is attending. Grade.
employed.
tion.

Wages. Hours.

1....... Ct".............
’N ames and residences o f unm arried children not living at home.

(Specify if in institutions.)
Name.

Residence,

Occupation.

If in institutions, specify where.

1.....................................................
Are you willing that all members of your family be examined by a physician?
_
Have you and your children usually had good health?_____ i_____________________________T_
Give names and addresses of three responsible persons other than relatives to whom ~we
may refer:
REFERENCES.

Name.
1_____ ______________
_ _ _
2 ____________________________________ _
3 _______________________________

Address.,

~~

_______

"

T

To what extent do you desire this board to assist you, and how do you plan to maintain
your home until your children are of working age with that assistance (state as fully
as you can)_______________________________ ____ _________ ______ __ _____ _____

Give your present monthly income here Give your present monthly expenditures
(specify sources) :
here :
----------------------------------------------- ?
Rent______________;__________ __$
•------------------------- ----------------- Food_________________________ _
--------------------------------------------Fuel_____ ___ __________________
----------------- -----------------------------Light_____ _____________________
----------------------------- ----------------Clothing_______________________
—- --------------------- ------------------- Insurance__ ___________________
—----- -------------------------- ------- ----Sundries__________ ______________
Total-------------------------------Total_____________________
State why, in your opinion, if you do not receive assistance through this board, you will
he obliged to place your child or children in an institutional home_____ '____ _______
S tate

of

N ew Y ork ,

County of_____________ _____|s s :
(Name of applicant.)
-------------- .------------- -------------------- - being duly sworn, deposes and says that she is the
person described in and who signed as applicant, the foregoing application ; that she has
read the said application, and knows the contents thereof, and that each and all of the
statements therein contained are true to her own knowledge, except only such statement’s
as are therein made upon information and belief, and those statements she believes to
be true.
Sworn to before me t h i s __________ dav o f ____
______
__
19

Names and residences of married children not living a t home.
Name.

Residence.

Occupation.

If in institutions, specify where.

1.............................................
Names of any hoarders or lodgers (state relationship, if any) and amounts they pay.
Name.
1...........................................................................


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Relationship.

Amount paid.

168

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS5 PENSIONS.

Were you previously married?________ ______ Name of previous husband-----------------(Give full name.)
If deceased, state when and where he died----------------------------------------------- ----------------If living, give present address---------------------- .--------------- '£-------------------- --------------------- 3_
Your father’s name----------------------------------------------Address------------------------------------ -------Your mother’s name_____________________________Address--------- ---------------- -----------------Brothers, sisters, or
other relatives.

Address.

Married. Occupa­
Where employed.
tion.

Relationship.

Husband’s relatives.

Address.

Married. Occupa­
Where employed.
tion.

Relationship.

1
If working, what is your occupation?-------------------------------------------------------What wages do you receive?--------------------------------------------------------------------- What hours do you work?_________________How long employed there?____i
Name and address of employer--------------------------- ------------- 1-----------------------Names and addresses of previous employers:
Name.
Address.
What church do you attend?--------------------------i__Are you a member?------------N a m e a n d a d d r e s s o f m i n i s t e r o r p r i e s t _______________________________________________________
D i d y o u r h u s b a n d l e a v e a n y p r o p e r t y ? ___________________________ H o w m u c h ? ___________
A n y i n s u r a n c e ? ________________________________;----------- --— _ _ _ _ _ ----------------------------------------- -----------(G i v e a m o u n t a n d n a m e o f c o m p a n y .)

Was he a member of any fraternal order?----------------- --------------------------------D o y o u o w n a n y p r o p e r t y ? ___________________________ W h e r e , a n d h o w m u c h ? ___________
H a v e y o u a n y m o n e y i n t h e b a n k ? ____________________ *_________ _______A m o u n t -----------------W h a t b a n k ? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ’--------- ------------------- ---------------D o y o u a u t h o r i z e u s t o i n q u i r e o f t h e b a n k ? __________________________________________________
O f w h a t o r d e r , i f a n y , a r e y o u a m e m b e r ? _________________________ _________________________
N a m e a n d a d d r e s s o f o f f i c e r o f o r d e r , i f a n y ________________________________________________
A r e y o u i n s u r e d ? _________________ N a m e o f c o m p a n y _________ ________ W h a t p a y m e n t s ? A r e y o u r e c e i v i n g a s s i s t a n c e n o w f r o m a n y o r g a n i z a t i o n o r c h u r c h ? ______________
N a m e a n d l o c a t i o n o f s u c h o r g a n i z a t i o n o r c h u r c h ______________________________________—

To what extent are they assisting you?___________________________________
A r e a n y o f y o u r r e la tiv e s a s s is tin g y o u ?

I f so, w h o a n d h o w

REPOR T O P IN V ESTIG A TO R .

Name_______________

Address______________

m u c h ? ______________

.

Date______ ________

No.____ ____:_____

STA TE O P N E W YORK.

Board of Child Welfare of_____________________ County.
Verification and report blank to be filled out by investigators with regard to mothers
applying for assistance in the care of their children and the maintenance of their home,
pursuant to the provisions of chapter 228 of the Laws of 1915:
Date__________________ —
Name of applicant in full____________________________ ______ -------------- ---------------------(Surname first)
Where born____________________________Date of birth—----------------------------------------------(Give town, State, and country)
How long in U. S .?______________________ ; in New York State?----------------------------------in this city or county?-------------------.-------------------------------------------------------------------------Present address_____________________________________ ____ Floor----------------------------------Number of rooms and amount of rent paid------------------------------------------------------------------How long there?_________________________ _ Back rent due----------------.-------------------------Name and address of landlord------------------- ----------.---------------------------— --------- —----------Give each previous address, state how long at each during past three years, and give
names of landlords__________________________ _____________________________________
Name of husband____ __________ His occupation_______________ 2 Wages----------------------Where was husband born?________________________ Date of birth_______ _:------------------- How long in U. S. ?___________________ ; in New York State ?____________________; in this
city or county?_______;____________________________________________________________
When married to applicant?______________________ __________________________________
Name and address of person who performed marriage ceremony____________________ _—
Date of husband’s death_____________ Cause______________ How long ill?.
Name and address of attending physician____________________ .___________
Was applicant living with husband at time of death?___________________
Was he a citizen?__________________________ _______________at_________
If foreign born, when and where naturalized________ :__________________
Where did he die?_________ _________________ Where buried?------------------Name and address of undertaker.,____________________ __________________
If working, what is applicant’s occupation?______ _—i ---------------------------


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

169

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS,

What does applicant receive?__________________________________ ________
What are her hours of work?___ ____________ How long employed?_____________ _
Name and address of employer____________________________________
___ _
Names and addresses of previous employers___________ I _I _____ '_~__;_H____
What church does applicant a tte n d ? _ IIIIIIIIIIIII" Is she a member ? I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
Name and address of minister or priest______________________________________
Did applicant’s husband leave any property ?________________
How much ?__
Any insurance?______________ -_______________________________________ __
(Give amount and name of company.)
Was he a member of any fraternal order?___________ ___________________
Does applicant own any property?____________ Where* and how much?______I I I __ ~
Has applicant any money in_the bank?______________ Amount___________ .____
What bank?______________ ______________ ___________________________ ___
Of what lodge is applicant a member______________ I _ H I _I I _____ I __
Name and address of officer of lodge_____________ _______' ________________ __
Is applicant insured ?------------------ *1____ Name of companyl__________ ____, ____
What payments ?_______________________________;______________ ;___ _
Is applicant receiving assistance now from any organization or church?____________ _
Name and location of such organization or church_____________________
To what extent are they assisting her?____________________ _______ I ____ I __ _
Are any of applicant’s relatives assisting her ?_____________________ _ If g0,- who
and how much?__________________________________ _____________________
Is the applicant willing that all members of her family be examined by a physician ?_I_ I
Have applicant and her children usually had .good health ?_______________________

Names of children
living at home.

Name of school Grade.
If at work
Age. Child
is attending.
where employed.

Occupa­
tion.

Wages. Hours.

Names and residences of unmarried children not living a t home.
(Specify if in institutions.)
Name.

Residence.

Occupation.

If in institutions, where.

Names and residences of married children not living a t home.
Name.

Residence.

Occupation.

If in institutions, where.

Names of any hoarders or lodgers (sta te relationship, if any) and amounts they pay.
Name.

Relationship.

Amount paid.

Was applicant previously married?---------------- Name of previous husband__— I _
.
.
(Give full name*)
If living, give present address_________________________ ____________ ____ _____
Applicant’s father’s name________________________
Address_______ ____________
Applicant’s mother’s name___>------------------------------- Address____________ ________
Brothers,sisters, or
other relatives.

Address.

Married. Occupa­
tion,

Where employed.

Relationship.

Married. Occupa­
Where employed.
tion.

Relationship^

/
Husband's relatives’
names.

Address.

Give names and addresses of three responsible persons other than relatives to Whom
applicant refers and state what was ascertained from them :


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

170

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS1 PENSIONS.
REFERENCES.

Name.

Address.

To what extent does applicant desire this board to assist her and how does she plan to
maintain her home until her children are of working age with that assistance (report
fully as to this) :
Give applicant’s present monthly income
(specify sources).

jiv e applicant’s monthly expendi­
tures :
Rent_______________________ ___$
Pood_________________________
Fuel__.________ ______ ________
Light__________________________
Clothing_______ ____ 1________ _
Insurance________ ____________
Sundries________ _____ ________

Total.

Total.
CO M M EN T ON BUDGET.

M other:
Character and influence with children________
Homekeeping ability____________________ _____
Earning power (possibilities as wage earner)__
Capacity as manager of income_______________
Children at hom e:
Mental capacity___ :___ ______________________
School attendance.________ ___'.____ „________ _
What promise in occupation of those working?.
Habits and character______________________ __
Physical condition of each member of family : <
Name.

Age.

Condition:

Examined by.

Standard of living (at best period)____________ >_______ ______ ,-----------__.
Opinion of others regarding the family— especially churches and relatives.
Wliat will relatives contribute ?_____________________ ._.— ---------- - $
What will church contribute?_____________________ _______________

per.
per.

Total_______________ 1._____:_____________
What is the plan you recommend for the family?.
Monthly allowance recommended,___________________________ ;-----------$-----------------------Additional comments on family____________________________________—------------ i--------------ggj
State reasons, if any, why applicant will be obliged to place her child or children in an
institutional home if assistance is not granted by this board------------------------------ ------Date____________ , _______ 191__.
(Signature of investigator.)
Amount granted by resolution of the board on_-------------------------------- 191
Chairman.
Attest :
Secretary.
S U P P IE M E N T A L

Name__ ________ ____

R E PO R T O F

IN V ESTIG A TO R

Address______________

ON

ALLOW ANCE

CA SES.

Date----------------------- No-----

ST A T E O F N E W YORK.
B oa rd

of

c h ild

-

w e l f a r e o f -------------- 4--------------------------------C o u n t y .

D a t e ______________________________ ^
N a m e ________________________________ A d d r e s s ________________________________________ _—
I n d e x ----------------------------D a t e a n d a m o u n t o f a l l o w a n c e — — :_______________________________________ ».—
------------------------------------- --------P la n
a d o p t e d ______________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________
S u c c e s s o f . p l a n --------------------- ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- -------------- — -------------- ------------------------- -------H e a l t h a n d c h a r a c t e r o f m o t h e r a n d c h i l d r e n -------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------A t t e n d a n c e a n d p r o g r e s s o f c h i l d r e n i n s c h o o l ----------------— . — ...------------------------------------------------------------— H o m e c o n d i t i o n s a n d c h a n g e s , i f a n y -------------------- . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A n y c h a n g e i n w o r k a n d i n c o m e f r o m s a m e — -------— -----------------------------------------------------------— ------------- —
C o o p e r a t i o n o f f a m i l y _______ ,---------_--------------------------------- ■---------------- ---------------------------------------------— --------------- -—
C o o p e r a t i o n o f c h u r c h a n d r e l a t i v e s ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- ------F u t u r e p l a n r e c o m m e n d e d — .------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------- --— ;-------------------------------

^

P r o p o s e d " a l l 0w a n ”c e ~ f o r n e x F 1 1 — _________ m o n t h s ( e x p l a i n a n y i n c r e a s e o r d e c r e a s e , a n d
a d d n e w b u d g e t ) ------------------------------------------- -------------- ---------- ------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

m

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSION'S,
M O N TH L Y IN C O M A AND E X PE N D IT U R E S.

Income (specify sources).

*

'

Expenditures.

------------------- -------------------- $
------------- ,------------ _
---------------------------*------------------- -----— ------------------------:
---------------—----------------»---------1---- ----

Rent____________ ___________ $
F ood _r.___
F u el______
L ight____ _
Clothing___
Insurance
Sundries

T otal------------------- --------------

T otal.,________________^

[Date----------------- , 191—

(Signature of investigator)___ __________________f__ _]

Amount granted by resolution of the board on.

1 9 1 ...
Chairman.

A tte st:
Secretary.

[F o r m s u sed b y B o a rd o f C h ild W e lf a r e o f N e w Y o r k C ity .]
APPLICATION AND RECORD OP FAMILY.
B o a r d o f C h il d W e l f a r e o f t h e C it y o f N e w Y o r k .
(1 ) N a m e ........................................................... . A d d r e s s ...........................................................F a m i l y N o .........................
( 2 ) P r e s e n t c o n d i t i o n s ...................................................................................................■............................ D a t e ......................
(3 ) MONTHLY BUDGET.

Income of family.

Children’s

e a~rn i n g s

Earn­
Re­
Total
ings Paid to tained income
moth­
of
by
of
chil- , er.
chil­
dren.
dren. family.

.$...... $...... $...... $......

(1)............... (.......)..
(2)......... ..... ( .......)..
(3)............... ( ...... )..
( 4 ) .„ ........... (......)..
(5)...............(.......)..

(6).---..........(.......)..

Expenditures of
family.

Total
expen­
di­
tures of
family.

Of
moth­
er.

Of
chil­
dren.

$......

$...... $......

Fuol.. ..................
I ight..... .........
Sundries__
Carfares__ 1......

.........

(4 ) R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s 'o f
e x e cu tiv e secreta ry .

........

Other items........

A c t io n o f b o a r d .

A p p roved b y —

D a te.

D a te.
1 ..............................

2 . f i ....................
3 ..............................
4 ..............................
5 ...............................
6 ............... ...............

B e g in n in g ................................ E x p i r i n g . . . .*...........................j ............................ ..1----------


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

172

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
a p p l ic a t io n

:

(5) Woman’s name in full____________________ _ Date of application--------------•
(6) Man’s name_____________ Occupation------------------ Earnings per week, $.
Finance
Depart­
ment
notified.

Address.

(7) Date.

Num­
ber
room.

Location.

Light
or
dark.

Toilet
and
bath.

Rent.

2
(8 ) CHILDREN LIVING AT HOME.

Pay Mental, physi­
Wage per
Occupation or
Proof and
to
cal, or moral
week or
identification school (employers
defects.
school grade. mother.
and work).
number.

Date
of
birth.

Name.

’ t
(9 ) BOARDERS OR LODGERS ÏN HOUSEHOLD.

Amount paid per week or month.

Relationship, if any.

Name.

(10) UNMARRIED CHILDREN NOT LIVING AT HOME.

Name.

Date of
birth.

Proof.

Occupa­ Grade or Mental, physi­
tion or wage per cal, or moral
school.
week.
defects.

Residence.

1

(11) MARRIED CHILDREN NOT LIVING AT HOME.

Residence.

Name.

Occupation.

Wage
per
week.

Mental, physi­
cal, or moral
defects.

Wage
per
week.

Mental, physi­
cal, or moral
defects.

. (12) CHILDREN OF HUSBAND BY FORMER MARRIAGE.

Name.

2


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Residence.

Occupation.

•

LAWS RELATO G TO MOTHERS7 PENSIONS.

173

- (14) D E A TH .

(13) MARRIAGE.

Date________________________
Place-________________________
Name and address of person who performed
ceremony________________________________
Proof________________________________ _______
Identification No--------------------------------Were you married before?-------- .------ — —
Was your husband married before?_______
Proof of such previous marriage__________ _

Date_______________________ v____________
Cause_____________________ _______ ______
Length of illness_____________ ________:_
Place of death___________________________
Legal residence tim e'of death____________
Where buried________________________ ___
Name and address of undertaker_________
Proof___________________________________
Identification No_________________ ________
Proof of death or divorce of previous hus­
band or wife__________________ ._______

(15) C IT IZ E N S H IP .

(16) LEGAL R E S ID E N C E .

When and where born-----------------;--------How long in United States-------------------How long in State previous to death____ ;_
Voting addresses------------------ --------------Proof__________________________________ ____
Identification No------------------ :--------- ;---Did he serve in Army or Navy?-------------I f so, when and where-------------------------Was he honorably discharged?-------- -----Proof of citizenship of previous husband__

Addresses for five consecutive years pre­
vious to application___________________

Proof.

(17) w o m a n ' s r e l a t i v e s .

Address.

Name.

Married.

Occupation.

Where employed.

Relation.

Where employed.

Relation.

'

(18) m a n ' s r e l a t i v e s .

Name.

Address.

Married.

Occupation.

.

(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)
(25)
(26)
(27)
(28)
(29)
(30)
(31)
(32)
(33)
(34)
(35)
(36)
(37)
(38)
(39)
(40)

Date and place of woman’s birth--------- ----- ------------- ------------------------------ ------------How long in United States__________________ _ Physical condition----------------------What is your occupation?_____________________________ Wages-------------------------What hours do you work?_______________ How long employed there____________
Name and addresses of present and previous employers-- -------------------------------------What was your occupation previous to your marriage?___________________________
Did your husband leave any property?_____ Location, value, and mortgages—.—
Do you own any property?___________ Location, value, and mortgages---------------Do your parents or your husband’s parents own any property?----------------------------Location, value and mortgages------------------------------------------------------- ----------------Amount of man’s insurance and name of company_____ _________________________
Was he a member of any fraternal order?_________________________________ :------Have you any money?____________ _ Amount---------- -------- - Bank----------------------Have your children any money?________ _ Amount_________ _ Bank____________
Do you authorize us to inquire of the insurance company, fraternal order, or bank,
i f any ? ----------------- ------------------------------------------------------Of what lodge are you a member?-------------- ------------------------Name and address of officer of lodge?____________________________
In what company are you insured?______ .-_____ ______ Payments.
In what company are your children insured?_________
Payments.
What church do you attend?____________________________________ ;
Áre you a member?______ _ Name and address of minister or priest-.-------Are you receiving assistance from any organization, church, or other source?.
Name and address of such organization, church, or other source----------------

(41) To what extent are they assisting you?______________________________________
(42) Are any of your relatives or friends assisting you? ----------- - To what extent.
(43) Give their names and addresses________________________________________ ______
(44) Have you any claim arising from the death of your husband?-------------------------(45) Give names and addresses of two responsible persons, other than relatives, to whom
we may refe r:
(46) Name___________________________________ _ Name--------------------------------------------(47) Address___________ ______________________
Address-------------- --------------------------(48) Nature o f acquaintance__________________ Nature of acquaintance---------------------

(Signature of applicant.)

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

174

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

(49) S tate o f N ew Y ork ,
g„
County of N ew Y ork .
‘
____________________ being duly sworn deposes and says_ that she is the
person described in and who signed as applicant, the foregoing application; that she ha^
read the said application, or has heard it read, and knows the contents thereof, and that
each and all of the statements therein contained are true to her own knowledge, except
only such statements as are therein stated to be made upon information and belief, and
these statements she believes to be true.
Sworn to before me t h is ----------- day o f --------------------------------- •
(Signature of applicant.)
CO NFIDENTIAL. R E PO R T FR OM

Cit y

of

SO CIA L AGENCY.

N ew Y ork .

Board of Child Welfare.
City Hall, Room 2.
A ll communications should be addressed to the board.
No_______________________
I f you have a record of the widow hereinafter named, we shall be glad of any infor­
mation which you can give us which may be of assistance in determining this board’s
action on her application for an allowance. We should like to have, if possible, the
specific information called for on the reverse side of this sheet, which will be considered
confidential by this board.
Respectfully, yours,

Executive Secretary.
Surname_____________________________________Woman’s given name.------------------------------Man’s given name_________________________ „.Woman’s maiden name----------------- ----------Address_____________ 1_______________________ Previous address____________________________
Children’s names and ages__l--------------------------- ----------------------------------------------(Reverse side.)
Woman’s name_____________ ______________ _____
Address--------------------------------- ------When and by whom was the family first brought to your notice ?—<.----------------------------Have you any special knowledge about any individual member of this family, particu­
larly as to employment, earning capacity, or character?--------------------------------------Does your record show the existence of any relatives, and if so, who they are?-------------- Woman’s relatives__________—;_______________
Man’s relatives----- ----- -—.!------:-----------Have you any knowledge of any relatives, or others, who may be willing or able to
help ?___________________________________ :——:-------------- -------------------- r - - ------------ Have you ever found it necessary to assist or to secure assistance for this family, and,
if so, to what extent and for what reason?---------------------------------------------------------What agencies or individuals do you know of that are interested in the family ?----------What definite information of importance, likely to be helpful in determining the case,
can you give us with respect to the family?------------------ ------------- --------- ------ _---Are there any reasons why, in your opinion, this family should .not receive public relief;
and, if so, will you please to state such reasons in confidence?.:----- ^---------------------Remarks________________________________ _____ _____________ <----------- .-------------------------(Signed)_________ _— — -------- ----------------(Official position.)
Date_______________________
N O TIC E O F GRANT O F ALLOW ANCE.

C it y o f N ew York , B oard of Ch il d W elfa r e .
City Hall, Room 2. All communications should be addressed to the board.
D ear M adam : The Board of Child Welfare of New York City has decided to grant
you a monthly allowance of $___________ b egin ning____ ,____ ______________ , 1919. In
accordance with the law, such allowance is granted for a period of six months only, and
may be revoked or decreased by the board at any time. The board is, however, em­
powered to continue the allowance for a longer period in its discretion. You will receive
your first monthly payment in the form of a check soon a f t e r --------------- ------------- ,
1919, and a like amount early every following month. The check will be made out to
your name and must be indorsed by you in order to be cashed.
Should you not receive your check promptly, please notify the Board of Child Wel­
fare, Room 2, City Hall, of that fact. You must also notify the board of any change
in your address, otherwise your payment may be greatly delayed. Send old and new
addresses.
This allowance is granted to you by New York City for the purpose of assisting you
to give proper care to your children, and the Board of Child Welfare will expect you to
expend the money in ways that will contribute to the health and education of the chil­
dren. This allowance is not given as charity, but in accordance with the laws of the
State for the proper care and education of the children.
Widows receiving allowances through this board will be expected to observe care­
fully and be governed by the rules of the board with relation to' the granting and con­
tinuance of allowances which are printed on the other side of this sheet. It is further
expected that the children of working age will contribute adequately towards the sup­
port of the home. Widows are also required to notify the board promptly of changes
in their family conditions, especially of possible remarriage upon which latter event the


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS1 PENSIONS.

175

allowance must in every instance be discontinued. The board expects the widows to have
a deep sense of honor in this respect.
It is the desire of the board to be of every possible service to your children. There­
fore do not hesitate to call at the office of the board at any time to consult with us on
any matters pertaining to their welfare.
Sincerely, yours,

President.
N O T IC E IN C R E A S IN G ALLOW ANCE.

C it y

op

N ew Y ork , B oard o p C h i l d W elfarb ,
City Hall, Room 2.

All communications should be addressed to the board.
N bw Y o rk ,.
D ear M adam : The Board of Child Welfare has increased your allowance from
$_________to $___________ , believing that you require a larger allowance to care for your
children.
Trusting the increased allowance will be of benefit to the children, for whose welfare
it is given, I am,
Respectfully, yours,

Executive Secretary.
N O T IC E D E C R E A SIN G ALLOW ANCE.

C it y

op

N ew Y ork , B oard o p C h il d W el fa r e ,
City Hall, Room 2.

All communications should be addressed to the board.
D ear M adam : The Board of Child Welfare has concluded to decrease your allowance
from $_________to $___________ , believing that your children should be cared for with
less assistance from the city.
This was done after due consideration and in view o f the fact that the board is con­
fronted with so many mothers whose burdens are comparatively greater, so that every,
effort must be directed to apportion the appropriation in the interest of all the children
under the care of the board.
Hoping that the allowance granted to you will prove beneficial to the children, I am,
Respectfully, yours,

Executive Secretary.
N O T IC E D IS C O N T IN U IN G ALLOW ANCE.

C it y

N ew Y ork , B qard o p C h il d W e l fa r e ,
City Hall, Room 2.
A ll communications should be addressed to the board.
N ew Y o rk ,______________ _________
D ear M adam : The Board of Child Welfare has concluded to discontinue your allow­
ance, believing that your children should be cared for without assistance from the city.
This was done after due consideration and in view of the fact that the board is con­
fronted with so many mothers whose burdens are comparatively greater, so that every
effort must be directed to apportion the appropriation in the interest of all the children
under the care of the board. The law limits under which the board acts also makes this
necessary.
Trusting that the allowance in the past has proven beneficial to the children, and with
every good wish for their future welfare, I am,
Respectfully, yours,
op

Executive Secretary.
N O T IC E T 6 W ID OW REGARDING A P PL IC A T IO N .

C it y

op

N e w Y ork , B oard op Ch il d W elfa r e .
City Hall, Room 2.

A ll communications should be addressed to the board.
N ew Y ork , _____ ___:_____ ________'
D ear M adam : W ill you please call a t th is office o n ______ ________ __________________ a t
----- ,-------- o’clock with reference to the application for an allowance made by you (or
on your behalf), to the Board of Child Welfare?
Please to bring with you the following papers, if possible:
1. Your marriage certificate.
2. The certificate of your husband’s death.
y
•
3. Your husband’s naturalization papers if he was foreign born, or other proof of his
citizenship.
4.. The birth certificates of all of your children under the age of sixteen years.
Do not pay any money to any person to secure these certificates for you. I f you do
not have these certificates in your possession, you will be informed when you visit this
office as to the proper methods of securing them. Please to bring, this letter with you.
Widows receiving allowances through this board will be expected to observe care­
fully and be governed by the rules of the board with relation to the granting and con­
tinuance of allowances which are printed on the other side of this sheet. It is further


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS * PENSIONS.

expected that the children of working age will contribute adequately toward the sup­
port of the home. Widows are also required to notify the board promptly of changes
in their family conditions, especially of possible remarriage upon which latter event the
allowance must in every instance be discontinued. The board expects the widows Sto
have a deep sense of honor in this respect.
Respectfully, yours,

Executive Secretary.

(Reverse side.)
B O L E S AND REG U L A TIO N S O P T H E N E W

YORK C ITY BOARD O P C H IL D
A LLO W A N CES.

W E L F A R E GO VERNING
'

Allowances shall not be granted or continued:
1.
- To families in which the mother is riot shown to be mentally, morally, and physi­
cally able to care for her children.
2. To families in which there is a record of intemperance, wastefulness, or o f mis­
conduct on the part o f the widow.
3. To families where the presence and behavior of lodgers are such as to bring the
widow into disrepute.
•
r.
4. To families where the home and the children are not kept clean and orderly, or
are otherwise neglected, or where the children are unnecessarily kept from school or
from work.
■
5. To families where the children are not regularly kept under the care o f the widow
in her own home, except as may temporarily be otherwise allowed by the board.
6. To families where the possession o f money or of property is denied or concealed in
order to obtain the allowance.
7. To families justly entitled to adequate assistance from other sources of relief.
8. Do families with but one. child not of working age, except where the conditions are
unusual.
Attention is particularly called to the following provisions o f the child welfare law :
“ A person who shall procure or attempt to procure, directly or indirectly, any allow­
ance for relief under this article, for or on account of a person not entitled thereto, or
shall knowingly or wilfully pay or permit to be paid any allowance to a person riot
entitled thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

[C e r tific a te s r e q u ir e d .]
D E PA R T M E N T O P H E A L T H TO BOARD O P C H IL D W ELFA R E.

MARRIAGE RECORD.
Family No.__________________ ._.
Names of contracting parties:
M an_______ ________________________________________ -___________ .— —

--------

Woman----------- _----------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- .----- -.—

Place of marriage--------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------.1-----:
Date of marriage— ____— ---------------- i--- ■------ Borough of— --------- ------------------ ----Verified,

A ssistant Registrar.
D E PA R T M E N T O P H E A L T H TO BOARD O P C H IL D WELFARE!.

DEATH RECORD.
Case No.________ ____________
Name of deceased______________________________________________________________________ _
Place of death-------------- ---------------- -— ------ „Borough of-----— ------------------------- ( I f institution, give previous residence.)
Date of death______________________ , 19— .
Verified,

A ssistant Registrar.
STA TE S U P E R IN T E N D E N T O P E L E C T IO N S .

VOTING RECORD.
Case No..
To B oard o p Ch il d W elfare :
This is to certify that the name of---------------------------------------------------------------- --residing at______ w_________________________________ —■----------------------------------------------age______________ ________ years, appears on the history card on file in the office of the
State superintendent of elections for the year------------------------ Dated_______________________

Chief Clerk.
B oard

op e l e c t io n s , borough o p ____________________

Case No..

VOTING RECORD.

T o B oard op C h il d W e l f a r e :
This is to certify that the name o f______________________________
residing at------------------------------------------------------------------------:-----------age___________________ i.__years, appears on the register of elections for the.
election district Of the_______________________assembly district for the year— .
Respectfully,

Chief Clerk.


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LAWS RELATING. TO MOTHERS9 PENSIONS.
D E PA R T M E N T O P H E A L T H TO BOARD O P C H IL D W ELFA R E.

BIRTH RECORD.
Case No.___________ ;_____ sj*
Name of child____ _______________ ______ _____ ,_l.s___ _______________________'___ __
Name of father___ .__ .______ ._______ l ___ .____ ___ ___ :_____ ___■_____________
Name of mother___ _______ ____________________ _________________________________
Mother’s maiden name____________________________ _______„______________________
Date of child’s birth______________„____________ _____________________ 191________ __
Place of birth, No_____ ___*______________________ ________________________ Street.
Borough of____ ___________________ :______________ I
Institution (name)______________________ ____________________________ _____________
Verified,
A ssistant Registrar.
SOCIAL INVESTIGATOR’S MONTHLY REPORT.

City

of

N ew Y ork , B oard

of

Child W elfare .

Social investigator.......... ......................

Month of

Visits.
Date. Families.

References.

Cases completed.

Absent.

Expenses.

Total.

New. Old. New. Old. New. Old.

Car
New Reinvestiga­ Hours. To
Sup­
cases.
tions.
date. fares. Phone. per.

1
2
3
Total.

f in a n c ia l

T h e C it y

op

statem ent.

N ew Y ork .

Date.

Department o f ___ .__ .■__ ___;_____

Bureau of

Dr.

To.
For amounts disbursed as folldw s:

Particulars.

Month. Day.

C it y

op

N ew Y ork , \ 0_ .

County of

/ ss' '

Amount.

•

Received p a y m en t,__________ — t—•_-------------- —-----

________________________________ being duly sworn, deposes and says that the above
items are a true statement of the disbursements actually made by him and that all of
said disbursements were necessary for the proper performance of his duties as
_____________________ in the Department o f __________ ____________ during the month of
____________________ 191_____
Sworn to before me this

. day of ________________
!Notary Put)lie, Comity of

143973°—19-----12


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NORTH DAKOTA.
[Daws 1915, ch. 185.*]
AN ACT To provide for the support of needy women who are the mothers of and who
are compelled to support one or more children under fourteen years of age.

Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of North Dakota:
1. Allowance to mothers.—In every county in the State of North
Dakota any woman who has one or more children under fourteen years of age
who are dependent upon her for support shall receive an allowance of not more
than fifteen dollars a month for each such child, such sum to be paid out of the
county treasury as hereinafter provided.
S ec . 2. Conditions of allowance.—Such allowance shall ■be made by the
county court and only upon the following conditions:
1. The child or children for whose benefit the allowance is made must be
living with the mother.
2. The allowance shall be made only when in its absence the mother would be
unable to maintain a suitable home for her children.
3. The mother must, in the judgment of the county court, be a proper per­
son morally, physically, and mentally for the bringing up of her children.
4. When the allowance shall be necessary, in the judgment of the county
court, to save the child or children from neglect.
5. No person shall receive benefit under this act who shall not have been a
resident of the county in which the application is made for at least one year
previous to the making of such application.
6. If the county court finds that the funds allowed under this act are not
used judiciously, he may order the allowance made in supplies and provisions,
in which case it shall be administered by the overseer of the poor in the town­
ship, village, or city in which the applicant lives, or by some proper person
appointed by the county judge.
S ec . 3. When allowance shall cease.—When any child shall reach the age of
fourteen years any allowance made to such mother for the benefit of such
child shall cease.
S ec . 4. Court may modify allowance.—It being the purpose of this act to provide
conditions under which dependent children may grow into useful citizens, when
in the judgment of the county court allowance made under it is failing of this
purpose the court may modify or discontinue such allowance to the mother of
such child or children.
S ec. 5. Duty of county officers.—In each case where an allowance is made under
the provisions of this act an entry to that effect shall be made upon the records of
the county court making such allowance, and the county judge shall notify the
county commissioners, the county auditor, and county treasurer that such allow­
ance shall be made, and it shall be the duty of such officers to make provision for
and pay such allowance monthly until notified by the county court that it shall be
discontinued.
S ec . 6. Application—Hearing.—Application may be made in writing to the
county court by a person desiring aid, or by some citizen in her behalf, stating
S ection

1 In the case of Cass County a. Nixon (161 N. W., 204) the Supreme Court of North
Dakota, Jan. 16, 1917, held this law to be constitutional.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

residence, number of dependent children and ages, and a statement of her income
and probable needs in order to maintain her home. The court shall set a day for
a hearing, giving notice in writing to the overseers of the poor where applicant
resides; to the county commissioners and the applicant and other parties known
by the judge to be interested; which hearing shall be not less than fifteen days
from date of such notice. The county commissioners, overseers of the poor, or any
tax-paying citizenr may file a statement with the county judge, or may appear in
person on the day set for hearing, in support of, or protesting against application
being granted, and may appeal to the district court for reversal or modification of
the county court’s action on such application.
Sec. 7. Purpose of act.—This act is intended to supplement existing laws for
aid of the poor, and is for the specific purpose of furnishing permanent aid to
mothers who come under its provisions. In cases of temporary aid, it shall be
granted under such laws as exist for such purpose; nothing in this act shall be so
construed as to change the proportionate payment by county, city, incorporated
village, or township.
Sec. 8. Emergency clause—An emergency is hereby declared to exist in that
there is no adequate provision of law providing for the support of needy women
mentioned in this act; therefore this act shall take effect and be in force from
and after its passage and approval.
Approved March 11,1915.


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OHIO.
[Laws 1913, pp. 877—9 ;* as amended by Laws 1915, pp. 436-7 ;3 Laws 1919, p. —,8]
S ection 1683-2. Allowance to poor mothers.—For the partial support of women
whose husbands are dead, or become permanently disabled by reason of physical
or mental infirmary, or whose husbands are prisoners or whose husbands have
deserted, and such desertion has continued for a period of three years, when
such women are poor, and are the mothers of children not entitled to receive
age and schooling certificate, and such mothers and children have a legal resi­
dence in any county of the State for two years, the juvenile court may make an
allowance to each of such women as follows: Not to exceed fifteen dollars a
month when she has but one child not entitled to an age and schooling cer­
tificate, and if she has more than one child not entitled to an age and schooling
certificate, it shall not exceed fifteen dollars a month for the first child, and
seven dollars a month for each of the other .children not entitled to an age and
schooling certificate. The order making such allowance shall not be effective
for a longer period than six months, but upon the expiration of such period,
said court may, from time to time, extend such allowance for a period of six
months or less. Such homes shall be visited from time to time by a probation
officer, the agent of an associated charities organization, or of a humane society,
as the court may direct, or in the absence of such probation officer, society or
organization in any county, the sheriff of said county shall make such visits as
directed by the probate court ; Provided, That the person, other than the sheriff,
who actually makes such visits, shall be thoroughly trained in charitable relief
work, and the report or reports of such visiting agent shall be considered by
the court in making such order for relief.
. S ec . 1683-3. Conditions of allowance.—Such allowance may be made by the
juvenile court, only upon the following conditions : First, the child or children for
whose benefit the allowance is made must be living with the mother of such child
or children ; second, the allowance shall be made only when in the absence of such
allowance the mother would be required to work regularly away from her home
and children, and when by means of such allowance she will be able to remain
at home with her children, except that she may be absent for work for such
time as the court deems advisable ; third, the mother must in the judgment of
the juvenile court be a proper person morally, physically, and mentally for
the bringing up of her children ; fourth, such allowance shall in the judgment
of the court be necessary to save the child or children from neglect and to avoid
the breaking up of the home of such woman ; fifth, it must appear to be for the
benefit of the child to remain with such mother ; sixth, a careful preliminary
examination of the home of such mother must first have been made under the
1 Part of Children’s Code. The commission to codify and revise the laws of Ohio rela­
tive to children, which made its report to the legislature in 1912, was not agreed as to
the desirability of enacting a “ widows’ pension ” law at that time. The bill drafted by
the commission as the form recommended should the legislature desire to pass such a
law as that enacted in 1913.
2 Amended sections 1683—2 and 1683—3 so as to allow county sheriffs to investigate
and supervise applicants for allowances when none of the other agencies named exist.
3 Amendment of 1919 increased the county tax for mothers’ allowances from one-tenth
of a mill on the dollar valuation of property to one-fifth of a mill.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS, PENSIONS.

direction of the court by the probation officer, the agent of an associated chari­
ties organization or humane society, or in the absence of such probation officer,
society or organization in any county, the sheriff of such county shall make
such investigations as the court may direct, and a written report of the result
of such examination or investigation shall be filed with the juvenile court, for
the guidance of the court in making or withholding such allowance.
S ec. 1683-4. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach
the age for legal employment, any allowance made to the mother of such child
for the benefit of such child shall cease. The juvenile court may, in its dis­
cretion, at any time before such child reaches such age, discontinue or modify
the allowance to any mother and for any child.
S ec . 1683-5. Partial relief.—Should the fund at the disposal of the court for
this purpose be sufficient to permit an allowance to only part of the persons com­
ing within the provisions of this act, the juvenile court shall select those cases
in most urgent need of such allowance.
S ec . 1683-6. To whom law does not apply.- r - The provisions of this act shall not
apply to any woman who, while her husband is imprisoned receives sufficient of
his wages to support the child or children.
S ec . 1683-7. Penalty for fraud.—Any person or persons fraudulently attempt­
ing to obtain any allowance for a*person not entitled thereto, shall be deemed
guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine
of not less than five nor more than fifty dollars, or imprisoned in the county
jail for a period of not less than two months, or both.
S ec . 1863-8. Motion to set aside allowance.—In each case where an allowance
is made to any woman under the provisions of this act, a record shall be kept
of the proceedings, and any citizen of the county may, at any time, file a motion
to set aside, or vacate, or modify, such judgment and on such motion said
juvenile court shall hear evidence, and may make a new order sustaining the
former allowance, modify or vacate the same, and from such order, error may be
prosecuted, or an appeal may be taken as in civil actions. If the judgment be
not appealed from, or error prosecuted, or if appealed or error prosecuted, and
the judgment of the juvenile court be sustained or affirmed, the person filing
such motion shall pay all the costs incident to the hearing of such motion.
S ec . 1683-9’. County board to levy tax.—It is hereby made the duty of the
county commissioners to provide out of the money in the county treasury such
sum each year thereafter as will meet the requirements of the court in these
proceedings. To provide the same they shall levy a tax not to exceed one-fifth
of a mill on the dollar valuation of the taxable property of the county. Such
levy shall be subject to all the limitations provided by law upon the aggregate
amount, rate, maximum rate, and combined maximum rate of taxation. The
county auditor shall issue a warrant upon the county treasurer for the pay­
ment of such allowance as may be ordered by the juvenile judge.
Approved May 9, 1913. Amendments approved June 2, 1915;
1919.


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OKLAHOMA.
[Laws 1915, ch. 183.1]
An Act To provide for the partial support of poor women whose husbands are_ dead or
convicts, or insane, when such women are mothers of children under the age of four­
teen years; and declaring an emergency.

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Oklahoma: S ection 1. County
boards to provide funds.—It shall be the duty of the board of county commis­
sioners in making the estimated needs of. such county for the fiscal year, to
provide an amount not to exceed eight thousand ($8,000) dollars; and it shall
be the duty of the county excise board in such county to make a levy for such
sum as may be needed, not to exceed the estimate made by the county commis­
sioners for the partial support of indigent women whose husbands are dead or
insane, or prisoners in any State institution, when such women are mothers of
children under the age of fourteen years, and such mother and children reside
in such county.
S ec . 2. Amount of allouxmce.—The allowance to each of such women shall
not exceed ten dollars ($10) a month when she has but one child under the age
of fourteen years, and if she has more than one child under the age of fourteen
years, it shall not exceed the sum of ten dollars ($10) a month for the first child
and five dollars ($5) a month for each of the other children under the age of
fourteen years.
S ec . 3. Conditions of allowance.—Such allowance shall be made by the county
court and only upon the following conditions: (1) The child or children for
whose benefit the allowance is made must be living with the mother of such
child or children; (2) the allowance shall be made only when in the absence
of such allowance the mother would be required to work regularly away
from her home and children, and when by means of such allowance she
will be able to remain at home with her children; (3) the mother must, in
the judgment of the county court, be a proper person, morally, physically,
and mentally, for the bringing up of her children; (4) such allowance shall,
in the judgment of the court, be necessary to save the child or children from
neglect; (5) no person shall receive the benefit of this act who shall not
have been- a resident of the county in which such application is made for
at least two years next before the making of such application for such
allowance.
1 Prior to the passage of this act Oklahoma had had for some years a law providing
“ scholarships ” for wage-earning children of widows as follow s:
“ If any widowed mother shall make affidavit to the effect that the wages of her child
or children under sixteen years of age are necessary to the support of such widowed
mother, then the county superintendent of public instruction shall after careful exami­
nation, upon the recommendation of the school district board, or board of education,
furnish such child or children a certificate called a ‘ scholarship ’ stating the amount
of wages such child or children are receiving, or so much of such wages as shall be
deemed necessary so long as such child or children shall attend the public school in
accordance with the provisions of this article, which aid shall be allowed and paid upon
certificate of the county superintendent of public instruction to the child or children
holding such scholarship by the county commissioners.” (Laws 1907—8, pp. 394—5, as
amended by art. 13, ch. 219, laws 1913.)

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

S ec . 4. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach the
age of fourteen years any allowance made to the mother of such child for the
benefit of such child shall cease. The county court may, at its discretion, at
any time before such child reaches the age of fourteen years, discontinue or
modify the allowance to any mother and for any child.
S ec . 5. Partial relief.—Should the fund herein authorized be sufficient to
permit an allowance to only a part of the persons coming within the pro­
visions of this law, the county court shall select those cases in most urgent need
of such allowance.
S ec .- 6. To whom, law shall apply.—The provisions of this law shall not apply
to any woman whose husband is not dead or who is not confined in the Oklahoma
State penitentiary or other prison in this State, or is in a State institution for
the insane in this State, and in the two latter cases it shall not apply unless
such prisoner is the lawful husband of the woman seeking such allowance.
S ec . 7. Penalty for fraud.—Any person procuring or attempting to procure
any allowance for a person not entitled thereto shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less
than one hundred dollars ($100), nor more than five hundred dollars ($500)
or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than one year,
or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Sec. 8. Motion to set aside allowance—In each case where an allowance is
made to any woman under the provisions of this act, a judgment entry to
that effect shall be entered upon the records of the county court making such
allowance, and it shall be the right of any taxpaying citizen at any time to
file a motion to set aside such judgment ; and on such motion the county court,
or the court to whom such motion may be taken on a change of venue, shall
hear evidence, either with or without a jury, as either side may demand, and
may make a new order granting or refusing such allowance, and from such
order so made an appeal shall lie as in ordinary civil cases. If the judgment
making such allowance is not appealed from, or is affirmed on appeal, the
person filing such motion shall pay all the costs of such motion and the pro­
ceedings subsequent thereto. Such motion may be renewed from time to time,
but not oftener than once in any calendar year.
S ec . 9. Repeal.—All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are, in- so
far as they conflict, hereby repealed.
S ec . 10. Emergency clause.—It being immediately necessary for the preser­
vation of the public peace, health, and safety an emergency is hereby declared
to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and be in full force from
and after its passage and approval.
Approved April 1, 1915.


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OREGON.
[Laws 1917, eh. 267.1]
AN ACT To provide assistance for dependent mothers whose husbands are dead or are
inmates of some Oregon State institution, or who are physically or mentally unable to
work and who have a child or children under sixteen years of age living at home with
the mother, dependent upon her for their support, and providing for the punishment- of
any person fraudulently obtaining or so attempting to obtain any such assistance, and
repealing chapter 42 of the general laws of Oregon for 1913, and repealing chapter 90
of the general laws of Oregon for 1915.

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Oregon: S ection 1. Jurisdiction—
Amount of aid—Residence.—The juvenile or county court of each county of the
State of Oregon shall give assistance to any mother who has a child or children
under the age of sixteen years and who are wholly dependent upon her for
support and whose husband, the father of said child or children, is either dead
or is an inmate of some Oregon State institution or who by reason of physical
or mental disease, is wholly unable to work or assist in any manner in support­
ing his family and who is a citizen of the State of Oregon and a citizen of the
United States, a sum not to exceed ten dollars ($10) a month for one child and
if she has more than one child residing with her seven and 50/100 dollars
($7.50) per month for each of said additional children.
The total amount given to any one family shall be discretionary with thè
court but shall not in any case exceed forty dollars ($40) per month: Provided,
Such mother had a previous residence of three years in the State of Oregon
and one year in the county immediately preceding the date of the filing of the
application for assistance and is a citizen of the United States.
S ec . 2. Conditions of allowances.—The court can not give assistance under
the provisions of this act to any applicant who came into the State in indigent
circumstances ; and the fact that such applicant was not in indigent circum­
stances at the time of coming into the State must be shown affirmatively in hèr
application for such assistance.
S ec . 3. In case the father of such dependent child or children is an inmate
of an Oregon State institution, the residence of the wife and children shall be
conclusively presumed to be in the county in which such father was a resident
at the time of his commitment and no assistance shall be given under the pro­
visions of this act except by the proper court of such county.
S ec . 4. The court shall not grant assistance for any dependent child who was
not alive at the time of such commitment or who was not born within ten months
thereafter, and no child of a father who is physically or mentally unable to work
shall be given assistance under the provisions of this act unless such child was
alive at the time or was born within ten months after the time said father became
wholly unable to work.
1 Repealed laws 1913, ch. 42, as amended by laws 1915, ch. 90, which had been
found to be deficient in protective clauses. The revised law, while identical in its main
provisions with the earlier law, requires the mother to be a United States citizen, to prove
that she was not in indigent circumstances when she came into the State, and to
make monthly reports to the court. Aid . may not be given if children over 16 or other
persons living with the applicant are not contributing their proportionate share to the
household expenses, or if the mother has property exceeding $500 in use as a home,
except after special investigation by the court.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS * PENSIONS.

S ec . 5. If, a t th e d a te o f h e r a p p lica tio n , or a t a n y tim e th e r e a fte r , th ere is
liv in g w ith a n y a p p lican t, a s a m em ber o f h er h o u seh o ld or o th erw ise, a n y o f
h er c h ild ren over six te e n y e a r s o f age, or* an y p erson or p erso n s n o t o f th e
im m ed ia te fa m ily o f su ch a p p lic a n t; a n d su ch c h ild ren or p erso n s a r e n o t con­
trib u tin g th e ir p rop ortion ate, in d iv id u a l sh a re o f su ch h ou seh old ex p en ses, th e
cou rt s h a ll not, fo r an d d u rin g su ch tim e, g ra n t n o r ren d er to su ch a p p lica n t a n y
a ss ista n c e hereu n d er.
S ec . 6. The court shall not give assistance under the provisions of this act, for

the support of any child who has property of his own unless in the judgment of
the court relief may be temporarily given, nor for any child or children who
do not reside with their mother.
S ec . 7. The court shall not give assistance under the provisions of this act
to any mother or child or children who have resources or other property which
may be drawn upon for the support of herself or her child or children, and
the court in giving assistance shall take into account any income from the labor
of the applicant or her child or children: Provided, That the allowance of any
child under the age of sixteen years shall cease as soon as it is eligible for a
permit to work; Provided further, That when the earnings of said child are less
than the maximum amount of assistance named in this act the court may in its
discretion give such additional assistance as taken with its earnings will equal
said amount.
S ec . 8. The court shall not give assistance under the provisions of this act
when it shall appear the applicant has deprived herself directly or indirectly
of property or income in order to qualify herself for assistance under this act.
S ec . 9. Monthly accounts.—The court shall not give assistance under the pro­
visions of this act unless monthly accounts are rendered to the court by the
applicant; which accounts shall be so rendered before further assistance may
be given. And the court shall be the judge as to the sufficiency of these reports
and may require more complete reports of the applicant.
S ec . 10. Presence of husband.—Whenever assistance is given under the pro­
visions of this act to a mother whose husband is incapacitated for work by
reason of physical or mental infirmity and the presence of such husband is a
menace to the physical or moral welfare of the mother or children, the court
may require that such husband may be removed from the home and provision
made for his care elsewhere, or failing to remove such husband or upon his
refusal to be separated from his family the court may in its discretion refuse
to give further assistance.
S ec . 11. Mother to be qualified.—No assistance shall be given unless the court
finds that the mother is a proper person, physically, mentally, and morally fit
to care for said child or children.
-**
S ec . 12. What property a bar.—The court shall not give assistance under thp
provisions of this act if the applicant has property of an appraised value exceed­
ing five hundred dollars ($500) in use as a home, unless the court after full
investigation finds that further assistance is necessary to save the child or chil­
dren from physical or moral neglect; such appraisement to be made by the court.
S ec . 13. Court may compel attendance of witnesses.—For the purpose of carry­
ing out the provisions of this act the tribunal mentioned in section 1 shall have
power to summon witnesses and compel their attendance and pay them the same
as witnesses in criminal cases are paid.
S ec . 14. Penalty {or fraud.—Any person fraudulently attempting to obtain or
fraudulently obtaining any assistance under this act shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not
more than one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment in the county jail
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for a period not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Justice’s courts, district courts, and circuit courts shall hare concurrent juris­
diction in all cases arising out of a violation of this act.
S ec. 15. Aid exempt from attachment.—All moneys given any person under
the provisions of this act shall be exempt from attachment and execution.
S ec . 16. Records to be filed.—There shall be filed with the application,
proof of death of the husband if he be dead, of his condition if he is mentally
or physically incapable of self-support, of his residence in any Oregon State
institution as provided in section 1 of this act; birth records of child, or
children ; and such other data as may be required by the court.
S ec. 17. If mother is improvident.—And if in the judgmeht of the court
any mother of such child or children is improvident, careless, or negligent in
the expenditure of the money received in pursuance of this act, the court
may direct that such money shall be paid to some person whom he shall
designate to be used for-the support of such mother and child or children.
S ec . 18. Order of payment.—Whenever the tribunal mentioned in section 1
shall determine that assistance under this act shall be given, it shall make
an order to that effect, which order, among other things, shall set out in full
the name of the mother, place of residence, the names and ages of the chil­
dren and the amount given for each child, and upon présentation of such
order the county court shall direct monthly warrants to be drawn therefor,
and the payment of such relief shall date from the court order giving such
assistance : Provided, Whenever the conditions of either the mother or any
child change after filing the last order, the court may in its discretion either
increase or decrease such monthly allowance, and the fact that an application
for assistance has been denied to the applicant shall not be taken into, con­
sideration upon a future application being rûade.
S ec . 19. Under no circumstances shall any assistance be given under the
provisions of this act prior to the order giving such assistance.
S ec . 20. Absence from county.—The relief given under the provisions of
this act shall not be allowed during any term of absence from the county
giving such relief, -except such absence is with thé consent of the court and
under conditions prescribed by him.
S ec . 21. Decision of court final.—The decision of the tribunal mentioned in
section 1 in all matters coming under the provisions of this act shall be final.
S ec . 22. Repeal.—Chapter 43 [42] of the General Laws of Oregon of 1913
and chapter 90 of the General Laws of Oregon for 1915 are hereby repealed.
Approved February 19, 1917.


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PENNSYLVANIA.
[Laws 1919, No. 354.1]
AN ACT Providing for assistance, to certain m others; providing for the appointment of
hoards of trustees for the several counties of the Commonwealth and for the appoint­
ment of a State supervisor and assistants and fixing the salaries of such State super­
visor and assistan ts; defining the powers and duties of boards of trustees, including the
power of appointing assistants and investigators, and the distribution of funds at their
disposal; providing for the apportionment of the State appropriation among the several
counties and requiring counties coming under the provisions of the act to appropriate
certain m oneys; and providing penalties.
S ection 1. Appointment of trustees.—Be it enacted, etc., That in each county
of the Commonwealth which by the action of its county commissioners accepts
the provisions of this act, the governor shall appoint a board of trustees, com­
posed of not less than five and not more than seven women, residents of the
county, to be called the Board of Trustees of the Mothers’ Assistance Fund. All
trustees heretofore appointed for the several counties by the governor for such
purposes shall continue to act, and shall constitute the boards to administer the
provisions of this a c t; and all counties which have heretofore availed themselves
of the provisions of the acts repealed by this act shall be deemed to have accepted
the provisions of this act and shall be entitled to the benefits thereof.
Sec. 2. State supervisor and assistants.—The governor shall appoint a State
Supervisor, qualified by training and experience, who shall be a woman. The
State Supervisor shall receive an annual salary of two thousand four hundred
dollars, and necessary traveling and ofpce expenses. The State Supervisor shall,
with the approval of the governor, appoint an assistant State Supervisor at a
salary of one thousand six hundred dollars per annum, and a clerk, at a salary of
one thousand two hundred dollars per annum. In addition to their salaries, the
assistant State supervisor and the clerk shall receive their necessary and actual
expenses.
Sec. 3. Powers and duties of State supervisor.—The State supervisor shall
have general supervision over the boards of trustees of the several counties, and
shall act as general field organizer. She shall be on the staff of the State board
of education.
The State supervisor shall formulate and issue, to the boards of trustees of
the various counties, rules of procedure by which they shall be governed, to the
end that uniformity of interpretation and practice shall obtain throughout the
Commonwealth.
She shall visit, at least twice each year, the boards of trustees of each county
accepting the provisions of this act. She shall, as general field organizer, visit
the county commissioners of those counties which have not availed themselves
of the provisions of this act, and shall explain to such commissioners the benefits
1 Supersedes Laws 1913, No. 80, as amended by Laws 1915, No. 439. The new law
raises the maximum grant from $12 per month for one child, $20 for two, $26 for three,
and $5 for each additional child to $20 for the first child and $10 for each additional
child, including now the unborn child. It reduces the residential requirement of three
years in the county to one year in the county and two in the State, with a further
provision whereby the mother who has established residence under the law does not lose
it by absence from the county lasting less than a year.

189

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accruing from the act and the advantages of coming within its provisions, and
shall assist such county commissioners in the organization of boards of trustees.
She shall make a report annually to the State board of education reviewing
the work done under the provisions of this act by the trustees of the various
counties, laying special stress upon educational conditions of the assisted
families.
Sec. 4. Powers and duties of boards of trustees.—The administration of
this act within the several counties shall be solely in the hands of the boards
of trustees appointed by the governor, subject, however, to the rules adopted
and issued by the State supervisor. The members of the boards of trustees
shall serve without compensation, but shall receive all actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duty.
Sec. 5. Administration—Expenses.—The boards of trustees shall provide
suitable headquarters, and shall appoint such competent investigators and
clerical assistants as may be necessary, and shall provide suitable furnishings
and stationery, and provide for the payment of salaries and incidental expenses.
At no time, however, shall the annual expenses of administration in any county
exceed ten per centum of the appropriation for the county for that year, with
the exception of the first year, when the trustees shall be permitted to expend
an additional sum of not more than five hundred dollars for furnishings.
S ec . 6. Mothers entitled to assistance.—It shall be the duty of the board of
trustees to provide, from the funds made available under the provisions of
this act, as ^.id in supporting their children in their own homes, assistance to
poor and dependent mothers of proved character and ability, who have children
under the age of sixteen years, and whose husbands are dead,1 or permanently
confined in institutions, for the insane.
S ec . 7. Citizenship—Residence.—In order to prevent the alienation of the
citizenship of those who may receive the benefits of this act, no family shall be
a beneficiary thereunder unless the mother ik s been a resident continuously of
the State for a period of two years and of the county in which she applied for
assistance for a period of one year. No family entitled to receive the benefits
of this act in any county shall be deemed to have lost its residence in such
county within one year after removal therefrom, but any such family shall, if
it returns to the county in which it was entitled to receive assistance within
said year, be immediately entitled to assistance in such county.
Sec. 8. Investigation of families.—The trustees of the various counties shall
in no case recommend payment to any mother until they are satisfied that she
is of proper character and ability and that for the proper maintenance of her
children in her own home monthly payments are necessary. For such purpose
the board of trustees shall cause to be made proper investigations. No pay­
ment shall be made on account of any child of proper age and physical ability
unless satisfactory report has been made by the teacher of the school in which
such pupil is enrolled stating that such child is attending school.
Sec. 9. Maximum monthly payments.—The combined maximum payment
allowed by any board of trustees shall in no case exceed twenty dollars per
month for the first child and ten dollars per month for each additional child.
A mother shall be entitled to assistance under this act for an unborn child, in
like manner as for other children, if she has one or more children living which
entitle her to the benefits of this act.
i in Commonwealth v. Powell (100 Atlantic Reporter, 964) the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania held that the word “ dead ” is to be given its popular meaning and an
award can not be made upon the presumption of death arising from the husband’s unex­
plained absence for seven years.


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S ec. 10. Records of families—Reports.—Before any payment is made to any
family under the provisions of this act, a complete report of such family shall
be made, giving the name of the mother, the number of children with their
full names, their ages and place of residence; one copy of such report shall be
placed ,on file in the office of the board of trustees as a record, one copy shall
be forwarded to the State supervisor, and two copies shall be forwarded with
each application for a warrant for the use of the auditor general and the
county treasurer. The copies forwarded to the auditor general and the county
treasurer shall be sworn to by the investigator, and shall be approved by a
majority of the board of trustees.
S ec. 11. Duration of payments.—All payments made under the provisions of
this act shall continue at the will of the trustees but not beyond the time
when any child under the provisions of the law may secure employment, ex­
cepting where the child is physically unable to earn wages or is at school with
a satisfactory record of attendance and scholarship, in which case such pay­
ment shall continue until such child has reached the age of sixteen years.
Sec. 12. Mode of payment.—All payments made under the provisions of this
act by the State treasurer and by county treasurers shall be made'direct to
the recipient thereof by warrant.
S ec . 13. Classification of counties for distribution of appropriations.—The
State treasurer after deducting from the entire amount appropriated and reappropriated from time to time by the General Assembly1 the sums designated
for the payment of salaries and expenses, shall divide the balance of such
appropriations into two equal sums. One equal part of each, sum shall be
distributed for the first fiscal year among the several counties^ in the manner
hereinafter provided, and according to the following classification of counties.
First class.—Counties with a population of more than one million five hundred
thousand inhabitants, eighteen per centum.
Second class.—Counties with a population of more than one million and not
more than one million five hundred thousand inhabitants, twelve per centum.
Third class.—Counties with a population of more than two hundred thousand
and not more than one million inhabitants, equal parts of fifteen per centum.
Fourth class.—Counties with a population of more than one hundred thousand
and not more than two hundred thousand inhabitants, equal parts of thirty
per centum.
Fifth class.—Counties with a population of more than fifty thousand and
not more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, equal parts of fifteen per
centum.
Sixth class.—Counties with a population of twenty-five thousand inhabitants
and not more than fifty thousand inhabitants, equal parts of seven per centum.
Seventh class.—Counties with a population of less than twenty-five thousand
inhabitants, equal parts of three per centum.
S ec . 14. County appropriations.—No county shall receive its allotment of
the State appropriation available for any year under the classification appointed
by the preceding section, unless such county has accepted the provisions of
this act, and has placed at the disposal of the board of trustees a sum equal
to the amount available from the State appropriation for such year.
S ec. 15. State appropriations available second fiscal year.—On the first day
of June of the second fiscal year following each State appropriation, the State
treasurer shall apportion, among the various counties which have accepted the
provisions of this act before the end of the first fiscal year, a sum equal to the
1 State appropriation for the two years ending June 30, 1921, $600,000, together with
$28,000 unexpended balance of two previous years. (Daws 1919, no. 361.)


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

amount apportioned to such county during the iirst fiscal year according to the
aforesaid classification, including therein all unexpended balances from the
previous fiscal year credited to the several counties accepting the provisions of
this act, which unexpended moneys shall remain available during the second
fiscal year for use by the counties to which theretofore credited, and excluding
all moneys apportioned to the several counties which have not availed them­
selves of the provisions of this act. He shall likewise exclude from said appor­
tionment all moneys appropriated for the second fiscal year for counties which
have not accepted the provisions of this act before the end of the first fiscal
year.
Sec. 16. Surplus funds.—All funds set aside from year to year for counties
which have not availed themselves of the provisions of this act shall be set
aside into a surplus fund. The surplus fund shall be available during the sec­
ond fiscal year in the counties which have availed themselves of the pro­
visions of this act before the end of the first fiscal year, but no county
shall be entitled to an amount from such fund in excess of twenty-five
per centum of the aggregate sum apportioned and set aside by the State treas­
urer to that county for the two-year period, and no such county shall participate
in such surplus fund unless it shall, in addition to the appropriations herein­
before required, appropriate a sum equal to the amount which it desires from
the surplus fund.
Sec. 17. Penalty for fraud.—Any person securing any allowance contrary
to the provisions of this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and; upon con­
viction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding five hundred dol­
lars, or to undergo imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or both,
at the discretion of the court.
Sec. 18. Report by'S tate supervisor.—A detailed report of the number of
beneficiaries, the amount expended, and the advantages and disadvantages of
the system, with recommendations for improvement, shall be made by the
State supervisor to the General Assembly at the beginning of each session of
the General Assembly. Such report shall be printed by the State printer, upon
requisition by the superintendent of public instruction to the department of
printing and binding.
Sec. 19. Repeal.—The act approved the twenty-ninth day of April, one thou­
sand nine hundred and thirteen (Pamphlet Laws 118), entitled “An act appli­
cable to all counties of this Commonwealth, to provide monthly payments, as
approved by the trustees, to indigent, widowed, or abandoned mothers, for
partial support of their children in. their own homes * * * ” and the act ap­
proved the eighteenth day of June one thousand nine hundred and fifteen (Pam­
phlet Laws 138) entitled “An act amending an act entitled ‘An act applicable to
all counties of this Commonwealth, to provide monthly payments as approved
by the trustees to indigent, \ Idowed, or abandoned mothers, for partial support
of their children in their own homes * ... * * ’ ” are hereby repealed.
Approved, July 10, 1919.
To assist the county boards of- trustees of mothers’ pensions in the ad­
ministration of this act the State board of education under the supervision of
the State supervisor of the mothers’ assistance fund of Pennsylvania issued
in April, 1916, the following circular of information relative to: (1) The pur­
pose of the law; (2) “Adequate” grants; (3) What families are not eligible
for assistance; (4) Investigation and supervision.
The legislature of 1915 laid upon the women of Pennsylvania a difficult and
delicate task. The mothers’ assistance fund act, commonly known as the
mothers’ pension act, was enacted primarily for the benefit of women, and
children and its administration was placed in the hands of women. It is a
law whose success is preeminently dependent on methods of administration

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and, like many laws, it carries with it grave dangers to our State if it is im­
properly administered.
The law has two reasons for its existence—a humanitarian and an economic
one. There are in our communities a large number of women with dependent
children who can not maintain their homes without assistance. We have come
to believe that as a principle of justice no home should be broken up for pov­
erty alone. In the past, some assistance has been given to such families by
relief societies, churches, and private individuals, but experience has shown
that private resources are not adequate, especially in cases of long-continued de­
pendency. The State therefore came to feel responsible for the support of this
group. The second reason was an economic one; it is actually cheaper in dol­
lars and cents to maintain children in their own homes than to support them
in institutions, and “ homemade ” children, cared for by their own mothers,
have the best chance of becoming healthy, normal citizens. From the point of
view of the proper training of future citizens, the work may be regarded as
part of the educational policy of the State and was properly placed under the
control of the State board of education.
In the consideration of the maintenance of a mother with dependent children,
we must always remember that a widow with children plus a lump sum of
money does not make a normal family. The father of a family is not only a
“ b rea d w in n erh is loss deprives the family of affection and discipline as well
as of their means of support. The lack is more than a material one and can
not be filled by money alone. Because the State felt this need of “ fathering ”
its dependent children, the clause providing for the appointment of county
boards of trustees was introduced. Their first duty is the proper administra­
tion of the funds; their second—equally important—is the supervision and
guardianship of the mother and children.
Nothing could be more encouraging than the beginning that has .been made
in the work. In her trips through the State, in spite of the fact that methods
differ widely and, in some cases, have been determined by a nearsighted kind­
ness rather than a farsighted wisdom, the supervisor has found the trustees
thoughtful and conscientious, giving generously of their time and strength; al­
ways open-minded ¿md ready to welcome suggestions and changes. In fact,
they have proved to be what the governor calls “ fine, upstanding women,
leaders in their communities.”
In this first message it is our purpose to review certain principles that should
govern the work.
I, THE QUESTION OF “ «ADEQUATE ” GRANTS.
II. WHAT MOTHERS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE UNDER THE LAW.
IH . WHAT POINTS SHOULD BE COVERED IN :
( a ) INVESTIGATION.
( 6 ) PLANNING FOR A FAMILY.
(C ) SUPERVISION.
I. THE QUESTION OF “ ADEQUATE ” GRANTS.

It is better to give adequate amounts to some rather than insufficient amounts
to many. What do we mean by an “ adequate ” grant? The amount that will
make up the deficit in the family budget and ensure the necessities of a normal
life. This amount differs in different families and localities, but it can be
determined in each case.
The arguments against the granting of inadequate amounts, the system of
giving “ a little to many ” are:
A. >It defeats the purpose of the law.
The purpose of the law is utterly defeated if so small a grant is made that
the mother still overworks, the children continue to be undernourished and
uncared for, and assistance on the almsgiving plan is still received from other
sources.
B. It offers no protection against disease.
There are more ways of breaking up a family than by starvation or by placing
the children in an institution. With inadequate grants we are likely to pay a
heavy price in tuberculosis, anemia, and cardiac exhaustion.- These cumulative
effects of poverty are just as sure and just as deadly as the more immediate
ones.
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C. I t demoralizes the family.
If help is received from several sources, the feeling of responsibility for mak­
ing returns for it is slight on the part of the recipient. Certainly, the mothers
would get no vision of their responsibility to the State for the training pf future
citizens. We would face the danger of thus rearing a “ pauper class,” as Eng­
land did under her poor-law system.
V
D. Constructive work is impossible.
Constructive work by the trustees under a system of inadequate grants is
impossible. It is cruel and futile to attempt to better health and living condi­
tions if the essentials for a normal life—food, clothing, and shelter—are
inadequate.
E. It fails to raise local standards of relief.
In the Institution Quarterly, for December, 1915, the official organ of the
Public Charity Service of Illinois, there is an article entitled: “ Is Mothers’
Pensions Failing?” In speaking of the smallness of the grants, the writer says:
“ It is fair to assume * * * that in many counties the mothers’ pension
law has made little or no difference in the methods and systems of relieving
the poor. It is the same old thing (poor relief), under a different name.”
If the State sets a low standard of assistance for its families, it is hardly
to be expected that local organizations will raise their standards and improve
their methods. If we can not do the work better than it .has been done in the
past, why should we attempt to do it at all?
F. A " Little to Many ” is based on a half truth.
The claim that all widows have a right to a share of the money is a half
truth. Selection is practised in all social agencies and institutions. Our
public institutions are not “ obliged” to take in all applicants, though those
on the waiting list may be fully as needy and eligible as those who were ad­
mitted ahead of them.
O. I t will lessen the possibility of an adequate appropriation.
Assistance to mothers is an experiment. The State is trying to learn how
to do the work in the best way. Surely we can not convince the legislature
of the need if our reports seem to show that a little is enough. Which state­
ment will prove most convincing: We have given all the mothers a little and
want to give them more, or: We have cared for this number properly; all
these others we have been obliged to refuse for lack of funds.
The arguments in favor of doling out small sums to many widows seem to b e:
A. Small grants to many please the community.
The law is a very popular one when every one “ gets their share.”
B. The local authorities would oppose adequate grants.
The local authorities would not stand for the distribution of adequate
amounts to some and the refusal of others.
C. More families are reached by smaller grants.
The wide distribution of the money insures a monthly visit and some control
over families that would not be on the more limited list.
After carefu l" consideration of the different points of view, it is very evident
that the arguments in favor of adequate grants to the smaller number far out­
weigh the others.
U . W HAT MOTHERS ABE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ASSISTANCE UNDER THE LAW.

There are certain conditions under which a grant should not be given. In
some cases the grant of State money would really foster, rather than check,
disease and degeneracy. These conditions are:
A. When the mother is feeble-rmnded.
Science has established beyond a doubt that feeble-mindedness is an incurable
condition. It involves an actual “ laek ” in the brain structure and we can no
more hope for “ improvement” in a feeble-minded person than we can expect
to grow an arm in place of a missing one. The feeble-minded have no moral
sense, are irresponsible, and lacking in will power and judgment. Where a

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feeble-minded woman is mother there can be no home ; it should be broken up
as quickly as possible, the woman placed in an institution, and the children
examined and placed there also if they have inherited the taint. If it is im­
possible to obtain institution care, the support of the family should be left to
the poor directors of the district, as the mother clearly does not qualify for our
assistance under the law.
B. When the mother is drunken, insane, immoral, or a drug-user.
The law states that the recipient of a grant must have “ proved her character
and ability,” and so excludes from our consideration the above groups.
C. When the mother has tuberculosis in an active form.
In granting a pension to a family, the State assumes responsibility for the
future of the children. When the presence of the mother really endangers the
health of the children, she can not be regarded as “ eligible ” for a pension.
Every effort should be made to secure sanitarium care for her and on no con­
dition should the disease be “ fed ” by our making it more easy for the mother
to refuse care. The promise of a grant after her return from the sanitarium
will often influence the mother to go. If your county has no good children’s
agency to care for the children, find out why.
D. Persistent refusal on the part of the mother to obtain proper medical
treatment.
Every allowance must be made for ignorance and fear, yet we must not per­
mit indifference and inertia to destroy, perhaps forever, a child’s chance for
health. Special attention should be given skin troubles, conditions of teeth, nose
and throat, and chronic undernourishment.
E. Where the mother keeps a man lodger.
Some States feel so decidedly on this point that they have a clause in the law
prohibiting it. ^Our widows are almost all young. They are often depressed
and tired, physically below normal. The presence of a man in the same house,
with a full pay envelope, may offer an overwhelming temptation. The danger
to the little girls is another consideration. They must be safeguarded not only
from actual physical violence but from any demoralizing influence. We nan
not easily rid ourselves of responsibility by doing as one trustee suggested:
“ Just dropping her from the list.” Our reasons for “ dropping” women aro
highly significant and are as apt to be an indication of failure on our part as on
theirs. Also, it is well to reinember that the widow “ drops ” to somewhere—
and removing her name from our list is no solution of her particular problem,
nor does it relieve society (meaning us), of its burden.
In the following three cases, it is not expedient to grant assistance :
A. To the mother with one child.
The need is great and our funds are limited. In many cases where a mother
is not able to support one child it will be found that a doctor rather than a grant
of money is most needed. The mother may be greatly in need of personal serv­
ice, such as help in procuring medical care, convalescent care, or work, rather
than a regular monthly payment.
B. If the need is temporary.
Such a need— (for example, for less than a year)—should be met by a local
relief society, a church, or a private individual. Our money, in order to bring
about lasting results, is more properly applied to building up families over a
period of years.
C. I f the mother owns property.
If the mother owns property (beside her home), or if there are relatives
under legal and moral obligations to help. It is well to remember that children
can be compelled to support their mother. Also, that, through the court, money
left to children can be secured for their support. We must not loosen family
ties nor relieve others of their legitimate responsibilities. Perhaps the gravest
danger in the administration of the fund lies in the tendency of relatives to
shirk their responsibilities when they know the State .may help. Frequently a
grant may be given on condition that certain relatives continue to help.

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III.

,

WHAT POINTS SHOULD BE COVERED IN :
(A ) INVESTIGATION.
(B ) PLANNING FOR A FAMILY.
(C ) SUPERVISION.

A. Investigation.
■Investigation means the gathering of all necessary information, not only to
determine whether the family is eligible for help and how large the grant
should be, but what plan we should make f-or the family and how it can best be
carried out.
To obtain this information we must consult relatives, clergymen and church
visitors, former employers and friends, the family doctor and school teachers,
and any other source of information available.
(For the kind of information required, see Questionnaire for Women with
Dependent Children, issued by this department.)
Good investigation is"a great time and money saver. It is a reflection on the
trustees if a woman is placed hastily-on the list, only to be dropped in a
month or two because someone “ has found something out ” about her. A large
number of canceled grants are sure to mean poor investigation or poor super­
vision.
B. Planning for a family.
The next step is the working out of a suitable plan. This plan should be
based on a consideration of such points as :
(a) The lowest amount sufficient for normal family life (see Question­
naire), and the grant necessary to insure this amount.
( b) The mother’s work : Place, kind,- and hours.
(e) The family environment—house and neighborhood.
(d) Recreation.
(e) Church connections.
(f) The children’s school.
(g) The interest of relatives and friends of the family.
C. Supervision.
Supervision includes :
(a) Careful examination of the monthly school reports of the children.
(b) Frequent and regular interviews with the school teachers in regard to
scholarship, attendance, and conduct.
<©> Advice to the mother in regard to the best way of using the money,
especially as to proper buying and preparation of food.
(d) Oversight of the children’s health, especially as to throat, dental, and
skin conditions. Instructions in regard to fresh air, bathing, sleep­
ing arrangements.
(e) Safeguarding the mother’s health by advising her about the proper
kind of work and helping her to get it.
(f) Placing before the family opportunities for connecting up with the
church, school, playground, settlement, classes, clubs, etc.
(g) Advice in regard to proper work for the children as they approach
working age.
(h) Arousing the interest of the nearest relative and anyone who has in­
fluence over the family.
At least one monthly visit is necessary and really constructive work will
require a number of visits.
As the office of the supervisor is to devote her time and energy to studying
the best methods of administering the law,- any suggestions from the county
boards will be most welcome.
The work offers a challenge to us as citizens of Pennsylvania. We are
building up a system that will operate long after we, as individuals, cease to be
identified with it. We must face thoughtfully the responsibilities and dangers
the system involves and realize that if “ State Assistance to Mothers ” is to be
more than high-sounding theory, it must be grounded in common sense and
knowledge of modern methods of social service.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

197

PENSIONS,

[F o rm s prep ared b y State s u p erv iso r o f m oth ers’ p e n sio n s.]
RECORD CARD F'OR FAMILY.

(Used in both county and State office.)
MOTHERS’ ASSISTANCE FUND OF PENNSYLVANIA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Application (date)........
Investigation (date).......
By..................................

Surname, - y ' ......................................

Date.

How
long.

Address.

Rent.

Num­
con­
ber Floor. Sanitary
dition.
rooms.

Landlord. . Address.

Man’s death.—Cause....................... . Last occupation and industry. Physical and mental defects.
Date............... Length last illness.. Related to illness....................
[Abstainer.
Doctor or hospital............................. Employer__
Court record.. .<M derate drinker.
(Heavy drinker.
Weekly wage.
School record.
First name.

Date Birth­
Age.
of
Years
birth. place. Enter­
Grade
ing
at­
age.. tended. reached.

School
or e ccupation.

W eekly W eekly Physical
earn­ insur­ and men­
ings.
ance. tal defects.

1. Man’s ..............
2. W o m a n ’ s
m aiden........
3. Children at
hom e............
4.........................
5.........................
6.............................

7.........................
8.........................
9.........................
10.............................
Others in fam ily (full
name).

Kinship.

To
num ­
ber.

Occupation.

Con­
tributes Previous addr esses
weekly.

Date.

11..........................................
12....................................
13..........................................

Birthplace.

Time in—
Marriage.
Nation­
Citizen.
ality or
race.
United County. Date. Place
States.

By whom.


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Previous
marriage.

Original religion
(church).

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

198

PENSIONS.

Financial status of family.
Grant M. A. F.
At date of investigation.

At man’s death.

Estimate of necessary
budget.

Amount.

Date.

Property--.. E q ^ ty -Insurance................................... Debts and installments..
Monthly income offamily.
Union........... Cost cf funeral—
CullybU u l l . Dftbts. . . . . . . . . . . .
How was family supported
from death to date of applica­
tion?

Light and fuel................ G r a n t canceled
(date).
Other sources................. Car fare, sundries...... ... Why? ...................

Relatives not living in family (write married children first).
Kinship to num­
ber.

Address.

Address.

Kinship to num­
ber.

N o t e . _Check date of marriage, man’s death, children’s births, citizenship, and facts relating to propertyand money when verified by public records.

(Reverse side.) *
Churches, charities, and persons interested.
Address.

References.

Connection of No.

Address.

Date.

In No.

Application for assistance made by..
H i s t o r y o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d s u p e r v i s io n . -

Date.

P E T IT IO N FO B A U DITO R GENERAL AND COUNTV TR EASU RER .

(Warrant for payment of grant, made out for each beneficiary.)
To t h e ------------------ ----------------In the mfttter of the petition o f __________________________________ f ° r pension under act
No. 80 of the laws of 1913.
REPO R T O F BOARD O F T R U S T E E S OF M O T H E R S ’ A S S IS T A N C E F U N D FO R £ ------------------------ ----------------C O U N T !, PA.

The _______________________ County Board of Trustees of Mothers’ Assistance Fund
hereby reports its findings as the result of its investigations into the petition filed in
the above-entitled manner.
Jt .
. _
The facts stated in the said petition as to the name of the petitioner, date of death,
or date of desertion of her husband, name and ages of her children, and their places of
birth, her residence, places of abode, and o f the property interests belonging to her ana
children, nre t,rue, excep t____________________________ _____ ____ _____ _____—
This board has found the efforts of the petitioner to support her children, as follow s:


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS1 PENSIONS.

199

This board reports that as the result of its investigation it finds that the said petitioner
is unable to support her children without assistance, and the family is likely to become
disrupted.
We, therefore, respectfully recommend that the above petitioner receive a pension of
f —X------------- x- - ---------per montb ( i) to be paid by auditor general and (J) to be paid
by treasurer o f --------- ----------------------- County. Requisition has been made upon the
treasurer o f _______________________ County.
Respectfully su bm itted__________ day o f ____________ ____ ___
19
The trustees of Mothers’ Assistance Fund o f ________ “
I_
_ “ county Pa

(Reverse side.)
Name of petitioner_________
Place of birth_______________
•Nationality________ ,_________
Religion_____________________
Residence___________________
Character of residence_______
How long a resident there___
Previous residence___________
How long___________________
How long a resident of county.
Name of husband____________
Date of death of husband____
CHILDREN.

Name.

Date of
birth.

Place of birth.

Mental or physical
defects.

HUSBAND’S RELATIVES.

Name.

V a lu e a n d

e q u ity

Relationship.

Address.

Circumstances:

o f re a l e s ta te o w n ed b y p e titio n e r

Value and equity of real estate owned by c h ild r e n -____
s to r f fs

1

p ™ p e rty

ow ned

by

P e titio n e r ,

m oney

in

^stocks1 etcPer*T owned by children,” “money“ “ f n

bank,

b u ild in g

and

lo a n

“ b a n k l ~VuildilTg” “ a n F lo a n “

sh a re s”

shares”

PETITIONER’S RELATIVES.

Name.

Relationship.

Address.

Circumstances.

State of Pennsylvania,
)
County o f ____________________, / ss*
Before me, the undersigned authority, personally app eared________
Investigator, who, being duly sworn according to law. deposes and
verfl ^^indieves S^a^ementS con^aiIied ln the foregoing report are true and correct as she
Sworn to and subscribed before me this

day o f ------------------- r_____, 19—,
N o ta ry Public.


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200

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
SCHOOL STANDING AND ATTENDANCE

BE COED.

(S ecu red fo r e v e r y ch ild a tte n d in g sc h o o l q u a r te r ly .)
(C ity ---------------------- _ _ _ _ _ _ -----------------------------N a m e o f s c h o o l------------------------------------------ -------i T o w n sh ip ------------------------------ -— ------------------~
(B o ro u g h _________________ ________ — ------R ep o rt o f ------------ -— -----!— --------------------------- ; A d d ress------------ ---------------- ------------------- *
& Se ------------------D a te -------------------------------------G rad e-------------------- -----------------------------.-----(m o n th !
T h e reco r d s o f t h is sc h o o l fo r t h e -{ p e r io d ) o f -------------------- ----------------sh o w t h e fo llo w in g :
(.term J
A tte n d a n c e : N o. o f tim e s ta r d y -------------- -------------- N o. o f d a y s a b se n t----------------------------R e a so n s fo r a b sen ce or ta r d in e s s ---------------------------------------- — --------------- ---------S c h o la r sh ip : E x c e lle n t__________ _ G ood----------- :— . P a ir ----------------- - Ç e flc ie n t--------------D e ficien t b ra n c h e s----------------------------------- ----------------- --------------------- y---------------- —
C on d u ct-

R e m a rk s in re p h y sic al d efects, p erso n al ap p earan ce, e te .
fS igned)

----------------

M oth ers’ A s s is ta n c e F u n d S t a t e B o a rd o f E d u ca tio n .


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Teacher.

budget b l a n k

Surnam e.

.

C ou n ty j.

(B e in g u sed e x p erim en ta lly in a num ber o f co u n tie s.)

N um ber.
M o t h e r s ’ A s s is t a n c e

F und

of

P e n n s y l v a n ia ,

State

B oard

of

E d u c a t io n .

Household account summary on basis of 12 months.
Income.

Woman.

Chil­
dren.

January___
February...
March..........
A p r il,..........
May..............
June.............
July..............
August........
September..
O cto b er.;..
N ovem ber..
D ecem ber..
Total.

/

Lodg­
ers,
or
board­
ers.

Rela­
tives.

Moth­
Other
ers’
Assist­ money
help.
ance
Fund.

Gifts,
cloth­
ing,
sup­
plies.

Total.

Rent,
taxes,
inter­
est,
etc.

Insur­

Food.
Fuel
and
light.

Milk.

Other
food.

Cloth­
ing.

ance,
union Carfares,
lunches.
d ues,
etc.

House­
hold Health,
fur­
doctor,
nish­ dentist.
ings.

Inci­
den­
tals.

Total.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS7 PENSIONS.

Month.

Expenses.

to

o

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1

J—

202

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS' PENSIONS.
R E Q U IS IT IO N FO R M ONEY FO R A D M IN IS T R A T IO N .

T o t h e ________________________ o f t h e _________________________o f P e n n s y lv a n ia :
P le a s e fu r n is h ________________________ _ tr e a su r e r o f t h e board o f t r u s te e s o f M oth ers’
A s s is ta n c e F u n d o f th e co u n ty o f------------------------------------------ t h e su m o f--------------- --d o lla r s,
to be u se d fo r h ea d q u a rter s, su ita b le fu r n is h in g s , sta tio n e r y , p o sta g e , e tc., fo r w h ic h t h is
w ill be y o u r su fficien t v o u ch er.
W e h ereb y c e r tify t h a t th e fo r e g o in g a m o u n t is to b e exp en d ed f o r v a r io u s ite m s pur­
su a n t t o t h e p r o v is io n s o f t h e a c t c ited , an d fo r w h ic h i t w o u ld b e im p r a c tic a b le to file
d e ta ile d v o u c h e r s a t t h is tim e .

.

President.
T reasurer.

I h ereb y c e r tify t h a t th e fo r e g o in g sig n a tu r e s a r e th o s e o f th e p rop er officers o f t h e
tr u s t e e s d u ly a p p o in ted by th e g o v ern o r a n d a b o v e referred to , an d t h a t th e y h a v e been
d u ly a u th o r iz e d by r e so lu tio n o f th e ir board p a ss e d ------------------------------------- to m ake t h is
r e q u isitio n , a n d th a t a sim ila r re q u isitio n a s to a m o u n t w a s a t t h e sa m e tim e a u th o r iz e d
a n d m ade on t h e tr e a su r e r o f ________________________ co u n ty .

.

Secretary.

H n d fc a te a d d r e ss to w h ic h check i s to be m a ile d .)
S e ttle d ______*«£-----------------------------—----------

A pproved.

MAINTENANCE FUND STATEMENT TO AUDITOR GENERAI«.
S ta te m e n t o f t h e r e c e ip ts a n d d isb u rsem en ts o f t h e M a in te n a n c e F u n d o f th e B oard o f
T r u s te e s o f _____________ ______ _.c o u n ty .
R e c e ip t s ______________________—
Date:— ; -------- --------- -----------------T o a m o u n t r e c e iv e d :
F ro m S ta te tr e a su r y ----F ro m c o u n tr y tr e a s u r y .
E x p e n d itu r e s :
B a la n c e o n h a n d --------------------A p p roved :----->---------------------------

Cr.

D r.
V ou ch er

num ber

. N am e _ .
.

P resident.

T reasurer.

MONTHLY PAYROLL FOR AUDITOR GENERAL AND COUNTY TREASURER.

To the auditor general of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

v

T h e rep o rt o f th e B o a r d o f T r u ste e s o f t h e M o th ers’ P e n sio n s f o r ---------- C ou n ty, P a .,
fo r m o n th e n d in g ________________________ , 1 9 _____» u n d er a c t ap p roved th e 2 9 th d a y o f
A p ril, 1 9 1 3 , P . L ., p. 1 1 8 .
. . .
T h e board o f tr u ste e s fo r t h e a b o v e c o u n ty h ereb y re p o r ts it s fin d in g s a s a r e s u lt o f it s
in v e s tig a tio n s o f th e m o th ers w h o se n a m e s a r e h e r e in a fte r en u m erated; d u r in g t h e p r e se n t
m o n th a n d le a rn ed t h a t t h e b en eficia ries a re e n title d to t h e sam e m o n th ly re m itta n c e ,
an d t h a t th e b en eficia ry h a s n o t m a rried or rem arried , a n d t h a t sh e an d a ll o f h e r ch ild ren
w ere a liv e a t t h e tim e o f t h is m o n th ly in v e s tig a tio n , a n d t h a t h er fin a n cia l c o n d itio n d oes
n o t a t t h is d a te w a r r a n t a n y c h a n g e in t h e a m o u n t h e r e to fo r e recom m ended.

Name.

Am ount.

Name.

$ .........................

R e s p e c tfu lly su b m itted t h i s -----------d a y o f ------------------------, 1 9 -------T h e tr u s te e » o f m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s o f ---------- C ounty.

N ot®.— T h is r e p o rt m u s t be filed b y th e 2 5 th o f ea ch m on th .


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Amount.
S.........................

SOUTH DAKOTA.
[L a w s 1 9 1 7 , ch. 3 0 0 1 a s a m en ded by L a w s 1 9 1 9 , ch. 2 6 3 .a ]
A n A c t T o p ro v id e fo r m o th ers’ p e n sio n s, an d to prescrib e p e n a ltie s fo r t h e v io la tio n o f th e
p r o v isio n s th e r e o f, a n d re p e a lin g ch a p te r 2 7 5 , L a w s o f 1913, an d c h a p te r 2 5 1 , L a w s
o f 191 5 .

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota: S ection 1.
Allowance to mothers.—For the partial support of any woman whose husband is
dead, whose husband becomes permanently disabled for work by reason of
physical or mental infirmity, or whose husband is a prisoner in the State peni­
tentiary, or any woman who has been divorced from her husband in this State
for a period of one year or more, when such woman has a child or children
under the age of sixteen years whom she is unable to support, and such mother
and child or children have had a residence in this State for one year and in the
county for six months before making application therefor, such county shall
have authority and be required to make an allowance to such woman, upon
petition and notice as provided in this chapter, which petition and notice shall be
prepared by the State’s attorney of the county without charge to the petitioner
of the county, as follows: Not to exceed fifteen dollars per month, when such
woman has but one child under the age of sixteen years, and if she has more
than one child under the age of sixteen years, it shall not exceed fifteen dollars
per month for the first child and not to exceed seven dollars per month for
each of the other children under the age of sixteen years. The order making
such allowance shall not be effective for a longer period than six months, but
upon the expiration of such period the judge of the county court may, from time
to time, extend such allowance for a period of six months or less, if the court
is satisfied that such order for extension is proper.
S ec. 2. Petition—Conditions of allowance.—Such allowance shall be made by
the county court upon a verified petition made by such poor woman or by some
member of the board of county commissioners of^said county, or by any other
charitable organization or association within such county. Upon presentation
of such petition to the court the county court shall proceed to examine into
the effects and shall make such allowance only upon the following conditions:
(1) The child or children for whose benefit the allowance is to be made must
be living with the mother of such child or children.
(2) The allowance shall be made only when in the absence of such allowance
the mother would be required to work regularly away from her home and
children, and when by means of such allowance she will be able to remain at
home with her children, except that she may be abseut not more than one day
a week for work; or when it is deemed and found to be absolutely necessary for
the proper care and education' of said children.
1 S u p ersed es L a w s 1 9 1 3 , ch. 2 7 5 a s am en ded by L a w s 1 9 15, ch. 2 5 1 , a lth o u g h n o t
ch a n g in g e s s e n tia l p r o v isio n s. P la c e d th e d u ty o f in v e s tig a tio n u p on th e c o u n ty com ­
m issio n e r s in ste a d o f th e S ta t e ’s a tto r n e y a n d in c rea sed th e ta x from o n e -te n th o f a
m ill to o n e-six th .
2 T h e a m en d m en t o f 1 9 1 9 r a ised th e a g e lim it o f th e c h ild ren w h o m ig h t be g r a n te d
a id from fo u r te e n to s ix te e n y ea rs.


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203

204

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

(3) The mother must, in the judgment of the court, be a proper person
morally, physically, and mentally for the bringing up of her child or children.
(4) Such allowance shall, in the judgment of the court, be necessary to save
the child or children from neglect and to avoid the breaking up of the home of
such woman.
(5) It must appear to be for the benefit of said child or children to remain
with such mother.
(6) A careful preliminary examination of the home of such mother shall first
have been made by the county commissioner of the district where such applicant
resides or by some other competent person appointed by the judge of the county
court, and a written report of such examination filed with the court, which report
shall, among other things, show whether such applicant has previously drawn a
mother’s pension, and if she has, where, when, for what period, and in what
amount or amounts.
Sec. 3. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach the age
of sixteen years any allowance made to the mother of such child for the benefit
of such child shall cease. The county judge may in his discretion, at any time
before such child reaches the age of sixteen years, discontinue or modify the
allowance to any mother and for her child.
S ec. 4. Partial relief.—Should the fund hereinafter provided for and at the
disposal of the court for this purpose be sufficient to permit an allowance to only
a part of the persons coming within the provisions of this act, the county judge
may and shall select those cases in most urgent need of such allowance.
S ec. 5. To whom law does not apply.—The provisions of this act shall not apply
to any woman who while her husband is imprisoned receives sufficient of his
wages to support the child or children.
S ec. 6. Penalty for fraud.—Any person or persons attempting to obtain any
allowance for a person not entitled thereto, or any attorney who advises or
counsels any woman to secure a divorce from her husband for the purpose of
securing a mother’s pension under the provisions of this act, and makes the pay
for his services dependent upon the pension that such mother may receive, and
to be paid therefrom, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction be
punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one hundred
dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding thirty
days or by both such fine and imprisonment.
S ec. 7. Motion to set aside allowance.—In each case where an allowance is
made to any woman under the provisions of this act an entry to that effect shall
be entered upon the records of the county court making such allowance and any
citizen of the county may at any time, file a motion to set aside or vacate or
modify such judgment and on such motion and upon such notice as the county
judge shall deem proper the said court shall hear evidence and may make a new
order sustaining the allowance, modify or vacate the same, and an appeal may
be taken from such order to the circuit court or supreme court as in civil actions.
If the'judgment be not appealed from or if the appeal be not prosecuted and
the judgment of the county court be sustained or affirmed, the person filing such
motion shall pay all the costs incident to the hearing on such motion. Such
motion may be renewed from time to time but not oftener than once in any
calendar year.
S ec. 8. County commissioners to levy tax.—It is hereby made the duty of the
county commissioners to provide out of the moneys in the county treasury such
sum each year as will meet the requirements of the county court and will pay
the allowance made by said court as herein provided, and to provide such
moneys. The said county commissioners shall levy a tax not to exceed one-sixth

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS■PENSIONS.

205

of a mill on the valuation of taxable property of the county. The county
auditor shall issue the warrants to pay such allowances upon the order of the
judge of the county court and the county treasurer shall pay the same. It
is specifically provided that the provisions of this act shall not apply to
mothers’ pensions that are now being paid and the same shall remain in force
during the time for which they were granted, notwithstanding the provisions
of this act.
_
'
S ec. 9. Repeal.—Chapter 275 of the Session Laws of 1913 and Chapter 251 of
the Session Laws of 1915 are hereby repealed.
Approved February 10, 1917. Amendment approved February 19, 1919.


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TENNESSEE.
[L a w s 1 9 1 5 , ch. 3 2 .]
An A c t T o p ro v id e fo r p a y m e n t by c o u n tie s h a v in g ju v e n ile c o u r ts o f m on ey fo r th e
p a r tia l su p p o rt o f poor w om en w h o se h u sb a n d s a re dead, o r a r e so d isab led , m e n ta lly
or p h y sic a lly , a s t o be u n a b le tb a id in t h e su p p o r t o f th e fa m ily , an d w h o a re m o th ers
o f ch ild ren u n d er six te e n y e a r s o f a g e ; to p rescrib e t h e q u a lifica tio n a n d c o n d itio n s for
r e c e iv in g su c h s u p p o r t ; to p ro v id e p e n a ltie s fo r fr a u d u le n tly p ro cu rin g or a tte m p tin g
t o procu re su c h su p p o rt a n d th e m ode o f s e tt in g a sid e a ju d g m e n t fo r su c h a llo w a n c e
fo r s u p p o r t; a n d t o c o n fe r u p on sa id ju v e n ile c o u r ts ju r isd ic tio n o v er su ch ch ild ren .
T h is a c t sh a ll a p p ly t o a n y co u n ty h a v in g a ju v e n ile c o u r t o r m a y h e r e a fte r e s ta b lish
one.

Be it enacted, by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee: S e c t i o n 1 .
Allowance to poor mothers.—That in every county in which a juvenile
court is now being held or may hereafter be held the county court shall
have the right and authority to provide out of the general fund in the county
treasury an amount sufficient to meet the purposes of this law, but not ex­
ceeding in any one year the sum of four thousand ($4,000) dollars for the
partial support of women whose husbands are dead, or are so disabled, mentally
or physically, as to be unable to aid in the support of the family, when such
women are poor and are mothers of children under the age of sixteen years
and such mothers are [and] children reside in such counties, and otherwise
come within the provisions of this act. This act shall apply to any county
having a juvenile court or [which] may hereafter establish one.
S e c . 2. Amount of allowance.—Be it further enacted, That the allowance
to each of such women shall not exceed ten ($10.00) dollars a month when
she has but one child under the age of sixteen (16) years and if she has more
than one child under the age of sixteen years it shall not exceed the sum of
ten ($10.00) dollars a month for the first child and five ($5.00) dollars a month
for each of the other children under the age of sixteen years.
S e c . 3. Conditions of allowance.—Be it further enacted, That such allowance
shall be made by order of the juvenile court and only upon the following con­
ditions :
(1) The child or children for whose benefit the allowance is made must be
living with the mother of such child or children.
(2) The allowance shall be made only when in the absence of such allowance
the mother would be required to work regularly away from her home and chil­
dren, and when by means of such allowance she will be able to remain at home
with her children.
(3) The mother must, in the judgment o f the juvenile court, be a proper
person morally, physically, and mentally for the bringing up of her children.
(4) Such allowance shall, in the judgment of the court, bfe necessary tb save
the child or children from neglect.
(5) No person shall receive the benefit of this act who shall not have been a
resident of the State for two years and of the county in which application is
made for one year before the making of such application for such allowance,
and upon removal from the county such allowance shall cease.
S e c . 4. When allowance shall cease.—Be it further enacted, That whenever
any child shall reach the age of sixteen years any allowance made to the
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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS1 PENSIONS.

mother of such child for the benefit of such child shall cease. The juvenile
court may, in its discretion, at any time before such child reaches the age of
sixteen years, discontinue or modify the allowance to any mother and for anjf
child.
S ec. 5. Partial relief.—Be it further enacted, That should the fund herein
authorized be insufficient to permit an allowance to only a part of the persons
coming within the provisions of this law, the juvenile court shall select those
cases in most urgent need of such allowance.
S ec. 6. To whom law shall apply.—-Be it further enacted, That the provisions
of this law shall apply to any woman whose husband is dead or is so disabled,
mentally or physically, as to be unable to aid in the support of the family.
S ec. 7. Penalty for frauds—Be it further enacted, That any person fraudu­
lently procuring or attempting to procure any allowance for a person not
entitled thereto shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $25,
or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than one year,
or by both fine and imprisonment.
S ec. 8. Motion to set aside alloioance.—Be it further enacted, That in each
case where an allowance is made to any woman under the provisions of this
act, a judgment entry to that effect shall be entered upon the records of the
juvenile court making such allowance, and it shall be the right of any taxpaying citizen at any time to file a motion to set aside such judgment; and on
motion the juvenile court, or the court to which such motion may be taken
on a change of venue, shall bear [hear] evidence, either with or »without a
jury, as either side may demand, and may make a new order granting or re­
fusing such allowance, and from such order so made an appeal shall lie as in
ordinary civil cases. If the judgment making such allowance is not [?] ap­
pealed from and is affirmed on appeal, the person filing such motion shall pay
all of the costs of such motion and proceedings, subsequent thereto. Such
motion may be renewed from time to time, but not oftener than.once in any
calendar year.
S ec. 9. Jurisdiction,'—Be it further enacted, That the juvenile court shall
have, jurisdiction over the person of a child, for whose benefit allowance is
made to its mother under the provisions of this act, as long as said allowance
continues.
S ec. 10. Be it further enacted, T hat th is act take effect from and after its
passage, the public w elfare requiring it.

Approved March 26, 1915.
The above act was limited in its application to the counties in which juvenile
courts were established or might thereafter be established and was therefore in
operation in only a few counties of the State. The following act adopted in
1919 while general in its terms has been held by the Attorney General of the
State to be supplementary to the 1915 law applying to counties in which no
“ juvenile courts ” have been established by the county courts.1
[ L a v s 1 9 1 9 , ch. 1 1 9 .]
A n A c t T o a u th o r iz e th e c o u n ty co u rts to p r o v id e fo r t h e a s s is ta n c e an d su p p o rt o f
in d ig e n t w om en w h o se h u sb a n d s a r e d ea d or a re in m a te s o f th e T e n n e sse e S ta te P e n i­
te n tia r y , o r A sy lu m , o r w h o h a v e a c h ild , o r ch ild ren , d ep e n d e n t fo r su p p o rt w h o lly or
p a r tly u p o n th e ir la b o r, a n d c o n ferrin g ju r isd ic tio n th e r e o f u p on c o u n ty cou rts.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee: Section 1.
Allowance to poor mothers.—That the county courts of each county shall have
1 L e tte r fro m W m. H. S w ig g a r t, jr., A s s is ta n t A tto r n e y G eneral o f T e n n essee , A u g u st 1,
191 9 .


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209

authority as hereinafter provided to make provisions for partial support of
women whose husbands are dead, or whose husbands are prisoners, confined to
the State penitentiary, or asylum, when such women are poor and are mothers of
children under the age of fifteen (15) years, and such mothers and children
reside in such counties.
S e c . 2. Amount of allowance.—Be it further enacted, That the allowance of
each such woman shall not exceed ten dollars ($10.00) per month when she has
but one child under the age of fifteen years (15) ; and if. she has more than one
child under the age of fifteen (15), it shall not exceed the sum of $10.00 per
month for the first child and $5.00 per month for each of the other children
under the age of fifteen years.
S e c . 3. Conditions of allowance.—Be it further enacted, That such allowance
shall be made by the county court and only on the following conditions:
(1) The child or children for whose benefit the allowance is made must be
living with the mother of such child or children.
(2) The allowance shall be made only when in the absence of such allowance
the mother would be required to work regularly away from her home and chil­
dren and. when by means of such allowance she will be able to remain at home
with her children.
(3) The mother must in the judgment of the county court, be a proper per­
son, physically, mentally, and morally, for the bringing up of her children.
(4) Such allowance shall, in the judgment of the court, be necessary to save
the child or children from neglect.
—
(5) No person shall receive the benefit of this act who shall not have been a
resident of the county in which such application is made for at least two years
before the making of such application for such allowance, provided that the
provisions of this act shall not apply to any child which has its own property
sufficient for its support.
S e c . 4. Levy of tax.—Be it further enacted, That the county court in each
county may levy a tax, not to exceed two mills on the dollar annually, on all
taxable property in the county, such tax to be levied and collected in like manner
with the general taxes of the county, and to be known as the mothers’ pension
fund and keep separate from all other taxes.
S e c . 5. When allowance shall cease.—Be it further enacted, That whenever
any child shall reach the age of fifteen (15) years any allowance made to the
mother of such child for the benefit of such child shall cease.
The county court may, in its discretion at any time before such child reaches
the age of fifteen (15) years, discontinue or modify the allowance to any mother
and for any child. If such husband has been confined to the Tennessee State
Penitentiary, such allowance shall cease on his discharge or parole, and when­
ever any woman, on whose account any allowance shall have been made under
the provisions of this act, shall marry, such allowance shall cease.
S e c . 6. Application—Residence.—Be it further enacted, That a woman whose
husband is dead, or whose husband is confined in the Tennessee State Peniten­
tiary may file an application for assistance under this act, provided such woman
is a citizen of the United States of America and has a previous residence of
two years in the county where such application is made and is the mother of a
child or children under fifteen (15) years old at the time of making application.
S e c . 7. Petition—Investigation.—Be it further enacted, That such allowance
shall be made by the county court upon a verified petition made by such poor
woman, or by some member of the court of said county, or by any other chari­
table organization within such county. Upon presentation of such petition to
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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

the court, the court shall proceed to investigate and shall make such allowances
only upon hereinbefore mentioned conditions.
S e c . 8. Penalty for fraud.—Be it further enacted, That any person or persons
fraudulently attempting to obtain a pension for a person not entitled thereto
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be
punished by a fine of not less than five dollars ($5) nor more than fifty dollars
($50) or by imprisonment for a period of not to exceed thirty days (30), said
imprisonment in discretion of the county court.
S e c . 9. Repeal.—Be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws in
conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
S e c . 10. Be it further enacted, That this act take effect from and after its
passage, the public welfare requiring it.
Approved April 11, 1919.


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TEXAS.
[L a w s 1 9 1 7 , ch. 120.]
A n A c t P ro v id in g fo r th e p a y m e n t by a n y c o u n ty o f t h e S ta t e o f T e x a s o f a m o n th ly
a llo w a n c e to in d ig e n t, w id o w ed m o th e r s fo r t h e p a r tia l su p p o rt o f th e ir ch ild ren in
th e ir ow n ho m es, a n d d ec la r in g a n em ergen cy.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas: .S ection 1. County
commissioners to aid widows.—Any widow who is the mother of a child or chil­
dren under the age of sixteen years and who is unable to support them and to
maintain her home, may present a petition for assistance to the board of
county commissioners of the county wherein she resides.
S ec. 2. Petition.—Such petition shall be verified and shall set forth the
following:
(a)
Her name, the date of the death of her husband, the names of her
children, and the dates and places of their birth and the time and place of her
marriage.
(ft) Her residence and the length of time that she has been a resident of
the State, the length of time she has lived at said residence and the address or
addresses of her^place or places of abode for the previous five years, and the
date, as near as possible, when she moved in and when she left said place or
places of residence.
(c) A statement of all property belonging to her and to each of her chil­
dren, which statement shall include any future or contingent interest which
she or any of them may have.
(d) A statement of the efforts made by her to support her children.
(e) The name, relationships and addresses of all her and her husband’s
relatives, that may be known.
(f) The names, sex, and age of each of her children, giving date and place
of birth of same.
S ec. 3. Notice.—A copy of the petition provided for in section two hereof and
a notice of the time and place when it will be presented to the board of county
commissioners must be served on or mailed to the county judge as chairman of
the board at least five days before the time the board shall be requested in said
petition to meet and consider the same.
S ec. 4. Hearing.—Upon the return of the petition and notice the board of
county commissioners shall examine under oath all'who desire to be heard:
Provided, however, That the board may, in its discretion, issue subpoenas for
the attendance of witnesses and adjourn the hearing from day to day: And
provided, however, i ’hat the board may refer said matter to a commissioner to
be appointed by the board to hear such witnesses. Said commissioner shall
make a report to the board setting forth the facts as proven before h im .
S ec. 5. Amount of allowance.—If, upon the completion of the examination
provided for under section four hereof, the board concludes that, unless relief
is granted, the mother will be unable to properly support and educate her chil­
dren, and that they may become a public charge, it may make an order direct­
ing that there shall be paid to the mother, monthly, out of the county funds,
the following amounts, for the maintenance and support of the children under
sixteen years old; not more than $12 for one such child; $18 for two children;
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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

and $4 per month additional for each additional child; and it is provided
further that said' allowance or relief shall be discontinued after said child or
any of said children as mentioned in section one of this act has reached the age
of sixteen years.
S ec . 6. Supervision.—It shall be the duty of the board of county commis­
sioners to see that any widow receiving an allowance as provided under this
act is properly caring for her children, that they are sufficiently clothed and
fed, and when it is found that she is not properly caring for her child or child­
ren, or that she is an improper guardian for such child or children, or when
the board shall find that she no longer needs such support as is afforded by
said allowance, the board shall thereupon revoke of cancel any order made
pursuant to this act, at any time With or without notice, and in lieu thereof
make any order that in the judgment of the board may protect the welfare
of the child or children.
S ec . 7. Action of commissioners’ court final.—Provided, That the commis­
sioners’ court shall have the right to refuse any and all applications for allow­
ance under this act, and their action in so doing shall be final and not subject
to review by any court.
S ec . 8. Residential requirement.—Provided, That no person shall be entitled
to receive allowances under the terms of this act until after they have been a
bona fide resident of the State of Texas for five years and the county in which
they make their application for at least two years.
S ec . 9. Emergency clause.—The fact that many widowed mothers of the
State are without sufficient means of support for themselves and their children,
creates an emergency and an imperative public necessity requiring that the
constitutional rule, which provides that bills should be read on three several
days shall be suspended, and said rule is suspended, and this act shall take
effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted.
Approved March 29, 1917.


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UTAH.
[Laws 1919, ch. 77.1]

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of TJtah: S ection 1. Sections
amended.—That sections 3960, 3961, 3962, 3963, 3964, 3965, 3967, 3968, Compiled
Laws of Utah, 1917, be and the same are hereby amended to read as follows:
S ec . 3960. Duties of commissioners—Funds.—It shall be the duty of the
county commissioners of each county in the State, and they are hereby author­
ized and empowered to provide, annually, funds in an amount sufficient to meet
the purpose of this law, but not exceeding in any one year the sum of $10,000;
Provided, That in the counties containing a population of 100,000 or more the
amount of such funds shall be $20,000, annually, such funds to be expended for
the partial support of widowed mothers who are dependent upon their own
efforts for the maintenance of their children. No part of the funds above pro­
vided for shall be expended for administration or purposes other than the par­
tial support of widowed mothers.
.
S ec . 3961. Amount of allowance.—The allowance to each of such dependent
widowed mothers shall not exceed $40 a month, whether she has but one child
or more than one child under the age of sixteen years; the amount and manner
and time of payment shall be determined by the board of county commissioners.
Sec. 3962. Condition of allowance.—Such allowance shall be made by the
county commissioners only upon the following conditions:
1. The child or children for whose'benefit the allowance is made must be living
with the mother of such child or children.
2. The allowance shall be made only when in the absence of such allowance,
a widowed mother would be required to work regularly away from her home
and children, and when by means of such allowance she will be able to remain
at home with her children.
3. The widowed mother must, in the judgment of the county commissioners,
be a proper person morally, physically, and mentally for the bringing up of her
children.
4. Such allowance shall, in the judgment of the county commissioners, be
necessary to save the child or children from neglect.
5. No person shall receive the benefit of this act who shall not have been a
resident of the county in which such application is made for at least two
years next before the making of such application.
1 The law as originally passed in 1913 (Laws 1913, chap. 90) empowered the county
commissioners of each county to provide not exceeding $10,000 annually “ for the partial
support of mothers who are dependent upon their own efforts for the maintenance of their
children,” such aid to be granted by the county commissioners except in Salt Lake County
where the juvenile court was given jurisdiction. The aid given was not to exceed $10
for one child and $5 a month for each additional child under 15 years of age. An amend­
ment adopted in 1915 (Laws 1915, chap. 21) increased the amount available for Salt
Lake County to $20,000 a year. The amendment passed in 1919, practically a new law,
limited the aid to widowed mothers, fixed a limit of $40 for any one family while removing
the lim it per child, and transferred the power to grant allowances from the juvenile court
to the county commssioners in Salt Lake County. The age of the children who might be
aided, was raised to 16 years and monthly reports from the mother were required.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

6. No person shall receive the benefit of this act who has received support
from public funds, within one year, before taking up her residence in the
county in which such application is made.
7. If, at the date of her application or at any time thereafter there is living
with any applicant, as a .member of her household, or otherwise, any of her
children of sixteen years of age or any person or persons, not of the immediate
family of such applicant; and such child or persons are not Contributing their
proportionate individual share of such household expense, the county com­
missioners shall not for and during such time, grant nor render to such applicant
any assistance hereunder.
8. The county commissioners shall not give assistance under the provisions
of this act unless monthly accounts are rendered to the county commissioners
by applicant, which accounts shall be so rendered before further assistance
is given, and the county commissioners shall decide as to the sufficiency of these
reports and may require more complete [!] to the applicant.
Sec. 3963. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach the
age of sixteen years, any allowance made the widowed mother of such child for
the benefit of such child shall cease. The county commissioners may, in their
discretion, at any time before such child reaches the age of sixteen years, discon­
tinue or modify the allowance to any widowed mother and for any child.
S ec . 3964. Partial relief.—Should the fund herein authorized be sufficient
to permit an allowance to only a part of the persons coming within the provisions
of this law, the county commissioners shall select those cases in most urgent
need of such allowance.
.
S ec. 3965. To whom law does not apply.—The provisions of this law shall not
apply to any widowed mother who is not dependent upon her own efforts for the
maintenance of her children.
S ec. 3966. Penalty for fraud.—Any person procuring, or attempting to procure,
an allowance for a person hot entitled thereto, shall be deemed guilty of a mis­
demeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as now provided by
law for punishment in case of'misdemeanors.
S ec . 3967. Motion to set aside allowance.—In each case where allowance
is made to any widowed mother under the provisions of this act, an order to
that effect shall be entered upon the records of the county commissioners
making such allowance and it shall be the right of any taxpaying citizen
at any time to file a motion tq set aside, or modify such allowance; and on
such motion the county commissioners shall hear evidence and make a new
order granting or refusing or modifying such allowance.
S ec . 3968. Appeal.—In each case where an allowance is made or refused to
any widowed mother, under the provision of this act, by the county commis­
sioners, an appeal may be taken from such decision by any taxpaying citizen;
such appeal shall be subject to the same provision of law as in the case of
appeal from justice courts.
S ection 2. Unused funds.—Whenever any portion of the fund set aside in ac­
cordance with this act remains unused at the expiration of any one year, the
amount so unused shall be returned to the general county funds for general
county purposes.
S ection 3. Exemption from attachment.—All moneys given any person under
the provision of this act shall be exempt from attachment and execution.
S ection 4. Widowed mother defined.—The words “ widowed mothers” as
used in this act shall be construed to include only those mothers widowed by
death.
Approved March 13,1919. In effect May 12, 1919.

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215

111 the case of D. & R. G. R. Co. v. Grand County, 170 Pacific Reporter, p. 74,
the Supreme Court of Utah (Dec. 21, 1917) upheld the constitutionality of the
mothers’ pension law adopted in 1913 on grounds which apply also to the
amended act of 1919. The case called into question the power of the legislature
to devolve upon the county commissioners the right to levy taxes necessary to
carry out the provisions of the law, the railroad contending that this was not a
“ public purposfe ” for which a tax might lawfully be assessed. In the decision
of the court sustaining the act Judge Gideon said:
“ It will be conceded, we take it, that the proper rearing and bringing up of
children, their education, their moral welfare, can all be subserved better by
giving to such children the companionship, control, and management of their
mothers than by any other system devised by human ingenuity. The object
of the act is to provide means whereby mothers who are otherwise unable may
be enabled to give such attention and care to their children of tender years as
their health, education, and Comfort require. The act further provides that no
such money shall be appropriated or given unless the mother is a fit person
morally and physically to be intrusted with the rearing of young children, and
that only during the years when the children are unable to determine right from
wrong or to earn a livelihood. The act having for its object the better care for
the training, mental" and physical, of children who are to become citizens of the
State, would at least leave the constitutionality of such act doubtful, and it is
the duty of courts in determining the constitutionality of any act to resolve
every doubt in favor of its constitutionality. We are not prepared to hold that
the act, in effect, does not define and declare a policy of the State, nor that it
is not within the province of the legislature to so define and declare a State
policy. Having in mind the public welfare by assisting in surrounding chil­
dren of tender years with home associations, with the care and Nurture of
their natural protector, the mother, the legislature, by this act, has determined
that to be a policy of the State. Such being the object of the act, this court
would not be justified in declaring the act invalid and that the funds so used
are not used for a public purpose.”


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VERMONT.
[Laws 1917, No. 244.]
An Act To establish a board of charities and probation, to amend certain sections, relating
to probation ; and to amend certain sections of the juvenile court act. and to abolish the
probation commission.

I t is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: S ec­
1. State board of charities and probation created.—A board is hereby created
to be known as the board of charities and probation, consisting of five members,
at least one of whom shall be a woman, to be appointed by the governor, one of
whom shall be designated by the governor as chairman. Each member of the
board shall hold office for five years except that when the board is first con­
stituted the members shall be appointed for terms ending on the thirty-first day
of January in the years 1918,1919,1920,1921, and 1922, respectively. Thereafter
in January of each year the governor shall appoint and commission a member of
such board for the full term of five years commencing on the first day of February
in the year of such appointment.
S ec . 2. Expenses.—The members of the board shall serve without compensation
but their necessary expenses when away from home on official business shall be
paid by the State.
S ec . 3. Secretary.—The board with the approval of the governor shall appoint
and may remove a secretary and fix his salary, which together with his necessary
expenses, while away from home on official business, shall be paid by the State
on vouchers approved by the board.
S ec . 5. The secretary shall be the executive officer of the board, and shall
devote his entire time to his duties.
S ec. 7. Powers of board.—The board shall have supervision and control of such
dependent, neglected and such delinquent children as it may take under its care
and such as shall be committed to it by the juvenile courts, shall receive and
disburse all funds which shall be given to it for charitable purposes, and shall
aid and assist in such charitable work as in its judgment will best promote the
general good of the State. It shall investigate and make report to the governor
as to all public charities. It shall in each even year make a report to the governor
of its acts.
S ec. 8. Petition.—Section 3 of No. 92 of the Acts of 1915 is hereby amended
so as to read as follows: A person who has knowledge of a child in his county
who appears to be either dependent, neglected, or delinquent, may file with a
court in such county a petition in writing, setting forth the facts, verified by
oath. It shall be sufficient that the facts stated in such petition are upon infor­
mation and belief. A member or secretary of the board of charities and proba­
tion may file such petition in such a court in any county in this State.
S ec . 9. Order of court.-—Section 6 of No. 92 of the Acts of 1915 is hereby
amended so as to-read as follows : When a child is found to be dependent or
neglected within the meaning of this chapter, the court may make an order commiting the child to the care of the board of charities and probation, or to some
suitable State institution or to the care of some reputable citizen of good moral
character who is willing to receive the same without charge, or to the care of
some association willing to receive him, embracing in its objects the purpose of
217
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caring for or obtaining homes for dependent or neglected children, or commit
the child to the care and custody of the State probation officer under such condi-,
tions as may be specified in the order'of the court.
S ec . 10. Guardianship of dependent children.—Section 7 of No. 92 of the Acts
of 1915 is hereby amended so as to read as follows: If the court awards a child
to the care of the board of charities and probation or an association or indi­
vidual in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, the child shall, unless
otherwise ordered, become a ward and be subject to the guardianship of the
board, association, or individual to whose care he is committed. Such board,
association, or individual shall have authority to place said child in a family
home or an institution or a hospital, and may be made a party to proceedings
for the legal adoption of the child, and may, by its or his attorney or agent,
appear in any court when such proceedings are pending and assent to an adop­
tion, and such assent shall be sufficient to authorize the court to enter the proper
order or decree of adoption.
S ec . 14. Medical aid.—If a child adjudged to be dependent or neglected or
delinquent requires medical or surgical treatment, such child may be sent by the
board to some hospital, institution, or home for such treatment.
S ec. 15. Duties of overseers of poor.—It shall be the duty of the overseer of
the poor in each town to report to the board of charities and probation all cases
of dependent, neglected, or delinquent children-.
S ec . 17. Aid to poor mothers.—If upon investigation of the case of a child of
a widowed or deserted mother it is found that the child can remain with such
mother only if she is aided in his care, and if it should appear that it is desirable
that the family be maintained and that the mother is a proper person to have
the care of such child and that it would be for the benefit of the child that it
should remain with the mother, then the board may pay a limited amount to the
mother, not to exceed two dollars per week, for the maintenance of the child,
one-half of the same to be paid by the town an'd one-half by the board.
Approved April 11,1917.
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VIRGINIA.
[Laws 1918, ch. 80.]
An Act Providing that any county or city of this State may pay a monthly allowance to
indigent, widowed mothers for the partial support o f their children in their own
homes.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: S ection 1. Aid to widowed
mothers.—That any widow who is the mother of a child or children tinder the
age of sixteen years, and who is unable to support them and to maintain her
home, may present a petition for assistance to the board of supervisors of the
county or to the council or other governing body of the city wherein she re­
sides. Such petition shall be verified and shall set forth the following:
(a) Her name, the date of the death of her husband, the names of her chil­
dren, and the dates and places of their birth, and the time and place of her
marriage.
(b) Her residence and the length of time that she has been a resident of the
State, the length of time she has lived at said residence, and the address or ad. dresses of her place or places of abode for the previous five years, and the date,
as near as possible, when she moved in and when she left said place or places
of residence.
(c) A statement of all the property belonging to her and to each of her chil­
dren, which statement shall include any future or contingent interest which she
or any of them may have.
(d) A statement of the efforts made by her to support her children.
(e) The name, relationships, and addresses of all of her husband’s relatives,
that may be known.
(f) The names, sex, and age of each of her children, giving date and place of
birth of same.
S ec . 2. Petition—Hearing.—A copy of the petition provided for as above
and a notice of the time and place when it will be presented to the hoard of
supervisors of the county or the council or other governing body of the city, as
the case may be, must be served on or mailed to the clerk of the board, council,
or other governing body at least five days before the time said petition is to be
considered. Upon the return of the petition and notice all persons desiring
to be heard shall be examined under oath, and subpoenas may be issued for the
attendance of witnesses and the hearing may be adjourned from day to day;
and the matter may be referred to a commissioner or a committee to be ap­
pointed to hear such witnesses. Said commissioners or committee shall make
a report setting forth the facts proven.
S ec . 3. Amount of allowance.—If, upon the completion of the examination
provided for under section two hereof, it is apparent that, unless relief is
granted, the mother will be unable to properly support and educate her chil­
dren, and that they may become a public charge, an order may be made or an
ordinance or resolution adopted directing that there shall be paid to the mother,
monthly, out of the county or city funds, the following amounts, for the main­
tenance and support of the children under sixteen years old; not more than
twelve dollars for one such, child; eighteen dollars for two children; and
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LAWS RELATING TO M O T H E R S’ P E N SIO N S.

four dollars per month additional for each additional child; and it is provided
further that said allowance or relief shall be discontinued after said child or
any of said children as mentioned in section one of this act has reached the age
of sixteen years; the mother remarries, or other cause rendering the assist­
ance here provided unnecessary.
S ec . 4. Supervision.—It shall be the duty of the attorney for the Common­
wealth of such county or city to see that any widow receiving an allowance as
provided under this act is properly caring for her children; that they are
■sufficiently clothed and fed ; and when it is found that she is not properly caring
for her child or children, or that she is an improper guardian for such child or
children, or that she no longer needs such support as is afforded by said allow­
ance, the said order, ordinance, or resolution shall be revoked or repealed, and
any order made pursuant to this act shall be canceled at any time with or with­
out notice, and in lieu thereof any other order, ordinance, or resolution that
may protect the welfare of the child or children may be made or adopted. All
refusals of applications for allowance under this act shall be final and not
subject to review by any court.
S ec . 5. Residence.—No widow shall be entitled to receive allowances under
the terms of this act unless she has been a bona fide resident of the State of
Virginia for three years, and the county or city in which she makes her
application for at least two years.
Approved February 28, 1918.


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WASHINGTON.
[Laws 1915, ch. 135,1 as amended by Laws 1919, ch. 103.*]
AN ACT Relating to the support of mothers, who by reason of destitution, insufficient
property or income, or lack of earning capacity, are unable to support their children
under the age of fifteen years.

Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Washington: S ection 1. County
aid to mothers—In every county it shall be the duty of the county commis­
sioners to provide out of the moneys of the county treasury an amount sufficient
,to meet the purposes of this law for the support of mothers who, by reason of
destitution, insufficient property or income, or lack of earning capacity, are
.unable to support their children under the age of fifteen years.
S ec. 2. Amount of allowance.—The allowance to such mother shall not exceed
fifteen ($15) dollars per month when she has but one child under the age of
15 years, and if she has more than one child under the age of 15 years, it shall
not exceed the sum of fifteen dollars per month for the first child, and five
dollars per month for each of the other children under the age of 15 years. *
S ec. 3. Juvenile court to make allowance—Conditions.—Such allowance shall
be made by the juvenile court in the counties where such court is held and else­
where by the superior court, and only upon the following conditions: (1) The
child or children for whose benefit the allowance is made must be living with
the mother of such child or children; (2) when by means of such allowance
the mother will be able to maintain a home for her child or children ; (3) the
mother must in the judgment of the court be a proper person morally, physi­
cally, and mentally, for the bringing up of her children; (4) no person shall
receive the benefit of this act who shall not have been a resident of the State
for three (3) years and of the county in which such application is made for at
least one year next before the making of such application for such allowance.
S ec . 4. When allowance shall cease.—Whenever any child shall reach the
age of 15 years any allowance made to the mother of such child for the benefit
of such child shall cease. The court may in its discretion at any time before
such child reaches the age of 15 years, discontinue or modify the allowance to
any mother and for any child.
S ec. 5. Penalty for fraud.—Any person procuring fraudulently any allowance
for a person, not entitled thereto, shall be deemed guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
1 Repealed laws 1913, ch. 179 but the only changes made were to exclude abandoned
mothers from the benefits of the act and to raise the residential requirement from one
to three years. In re Snyder, Supreme Court of Washington, Sept. 26, 1916 (160 Pacific
Reporter, 12) an attempt was made to have the 1915 act set aside in favor of the earlier
law on the ground of inequality of privileges granted to citizens, but the State Supreme
Court declared the act valid, holding that the scheme to be adopted for caring for the
indigent and poor was wholly within the discretion of the Legislature and that no one
could acquire a vested right to a pension since the granting of pensions to mothers was
a matter of largess or bounty. On an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States
the decision of the State court was sustained (39 Supreme Court Reporter, 67).
2 An attempt was made in 1919 to transfer the administration of the aid from the
juvenile court to the school authorities and also to eliminate discrimination between
classes of dependent children. As a compromise the legislature amended section 1 to
cover all needy mothers, thereby practically going back to the 1913 act, but without the
limitation of one year in cases of desertion.

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LAWS [RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

S ec. 6. Court proceedings—Payment of warrants.—In each case where an
allowance is made to any woman nnder the provisions of this act, an order to
that effect shall be entered upon the records of the court, making such allow­
ance. Proceedings to obtain the benefit of this act shall be instituted and
maintained in the same manner as proceedings are instituted and maintained
in the juvenile court, and the prosecuting attorney shall render all necessary
assistance to applicants under this act and shall appear in every such proceed­
ing and through the probation officer, the charity commissioner or any person
having knowledge of the facts, shall carefully investigate the merits of every
application to the end that this act may be fairly administered and no person
granted relief hereunder except those justly entitled thereto, and no officer of
the court or county officer shall receive any fees for any service rendered in
carrying out the provisions of this act. A certified copy of said order shall be
filed with the county auditor of the county in which such child’s mother is
resident, and thereupon and thereafter and so long as such order remains in
force and unmodified it shall be the duty of the county auditor each month to
draw his warrant on the current expense fund of the county in favor of the
mother for the amount specified in such order, which warrant shall be by the
auditor delivered to the mother upon her executing duplicate receipts therefor,
one to be retained by the auditor and the other to be filed by the clerk with the
other records in the proceedings relating to such child or children. It shall be
the duty of the county treasurer to pay such warrant out of funds in the
current expense fund of the county.
S ec . 7. Repeal.—That sections 8385-1, 8385-2, 8385-3, 8385-4, 8385-5, and
8385-6 of Remington & Ballinger’s Annotated Codes and Statutes of Washings
ton be, and the same are hereby, repealed.
Approved March 17, 1915. Amendment approved March 13, 1919.
The following sections from the juvenile court act relating to the method of
instituting and maintaining proceedings in the juvenile court are made appli­
cable by section 6 of the above a ct:
[Laws 1913, ch. 160 ]

Sec. 5. Petition.—Any person may file with the clerk of the superior court a
petition showing that there is within the county, or residing within the county,'
a dependent or delinquent child arid praying that the superior court deal with
such child as provided in this act: Provided, That in counties having paid pro­
bation officers, such officers shall, as far as possible, first determine if such
petition is reasonably justifiable. Such petition shall be verified and shall
contain a statement of facts constituting such dependency or delinquency, as
defined in section 1 of this act, and the names and residence, if known to the
petitioner, of the parents, guardian, or custodian of such dependent or de­
linquent child. There shall be no fee for filing such petitions.
S ec . 6. Summons.—Upon the filing of an information, or the petition, the
clerk of the court shall issue a summons requiring the person having custody
or control of the child, or with whom the child may be, to appear with the child
at a place and time stated in the summons, which time shall not be less tjian
twenty-four hours after service. The parents of the child, if living, and their
residence is known, or its legal guardian, if there be one or if there is neither
parent nor guardian, or if his or her residence is not known, then some rela­
tive, if there be one, and his residence is known, shall be notified of the pro­
ceedings ; and in any case the judge shall appoint some suitable person or
association to act in behalf of the child. * * * On return of the summons
or other process, or as soon thereafter as may be, the court shall proceed to
hear and dispose of the case in a summary manner. * * *

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WEST VIRGINIA.
[Laws 1917, ch. 46.1 ]
An Act To provide for the partial support of mothers whose husbands are dead, or have
become permanently incapacitated for work by reason of physical or mental infirmity,
or confined in some West Virginia State institution, or a woman who is the mother of
two or more children, and has become abandoned, when such mothers have children
under thirteen years of age, and a citizen of the United States and residents of thia
State for five years previous to the time at which application for relief is made, and
a bona fide resident of the county for three years in which the application was filed.

Be it enacted by thé Legislature of West Virginia: S ection 1. Jurisdiction.__
The county court in the several counties in the State shall have original juris­
diction in all cases coming within the terms of this act.
S ec. 2. Application for relief.—A woman whose husband is dead, or whose
husband has become permanently incapacitated for work by reason of physical
or mental infirmity, or confined in some West Virginia State institution, or who
has been abandoned, or a woman who is the mother of two or more children
under the age of thirteen years, may file an application for relief under this
act : Provided, Such mother is a citizen of the United States of America1and
has had a previous residence for five years in this State and has had a bona fide
residence in the county in which such application is made for a period of three
years.
S ec . 3. Official investigation and report.—Whenever an application for relief
is filed, the home of the applicant shall be visited by a member of the court
having jurisdiction of the matter, and the facts set forth in such application
shall be investigated by such member under the direction of the court, and a
report and recommendation of the approval or disapproval of such application'
shall be made in writing by such member of the court without any unnecessary
delay.
S ec . 4. P etition—After the investigation of such application for relief by a
member of the court, anft filing of a report and recommendation thereon, such
member of the court, or any reputable person of said county, may file with the
clerk of said court a petition in writing, duly verified, setting forth such facts
as are necessary under this act to give said court jurisdiction of the parties
and of the subject matter, and such other facts, which are found by the court
to be true, shall be the basis upon which the order of relief is entered ; which
application shall make the mother of such children and the county court
parties respondent to such application.
S ec. 5. Summons.—Upon the filing of such application, a summons shall
issue, returnable not less than three days nor more than ten days after the
date thereof, commanding the respondents named in such application to appear
at a place and time in such summons on the return day thereof.
S ec . 6. Service.—Service of summons shall be made in the manner as pro^
vided for the service of a summons as in other matters in which the county
court has jurisdiction. The clerk of the county court shall perform any duties
1 Supersedes Laws 1915, ch. 90, which had authorized overseers of the poor to give
assistance to needy mothers of children under 14 years, the amount not to exceed $10 per
month for one child and $5 for each additional child with a limit of $25 for any family.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

required o f him by this act, and the prosecuting attorney of each county shall
give to said court all legal advisement coming within the purview of this act,
and the sheriff shall serve all papers required of him hereunder, without com­
pensation to either for such service.
S ec. 7. New process.—Whenever process shall not be returned executed on or
before the return day thereof, the court inay direct the cierk to issue an alias
pluries or other process, returnable at a time ordered by the court.
S ec. 8. Appearance; hearing.—The filing of a written appearance by a re­
spondent shall render the service of summons on sqch respondent unnecessary.
The court shall proceed to hear the cause upon the return day of the summons
or upon a day thereafter to be fixed by the court without the formality of the
respondents filing answers: Provided, All „the respondents have either been
served with summons or have filed their written appearance in said cause.
S ec . 9. Hearing; order of payment; duty of county court.—Upon the hearing
in court of an application under this act, the court, being advised in the
premises, finding the facts alleged in the application to be true, may make an
order to pay the mother of said children, in whose behalf the application is
filed, an amount of money necessary to enable the mother to properly care for
such children, such sum, however, shall not exceed the amount hereinafter fixed,
and it shall be the duty of the county court to provide for the payment thereof,
to such mother, at such times as said order may designate, the amount so speci­
fied in said order for the care of such children until the further order of the
court. Such payments shall be made by order drawn by the court on the
sheriff of said county, payable out of the county fund.
S ec . 10. Amount of allowance.—The allowance made to such mother shall
not exceed fifteen dollars per month when such mother has but two children
under the age of thirteen years; and if she has more than two children under
such age, the relief granted shall not exceed five dollars per month for each
additional child: Provided, That in no event shall the relief granted upon each
application exceed the sum of twenty-five dollars per month.
S ec. 11. Conditions upon which relief is granted.—Such relief shall be granted
by said court upon the following conditions only: (1) the children for whose
benefit the relief is granted must be living with such mother; (2) the court
must find that it is fof the welfare of such children to remain at home with the
mother; (3) the relief shall be granted only when in the absence of such relief
the mother would be required to work regularly away from her home and chil­
dren, and when by means of such relief she will be able to remain at home,
except she may be absent at work a definite number of days each week, to be
specified in the court’s order when such work can be done ,without the sacrifice
of health or the neglect of home and children; (4) such mother must, in the
judgment of the eourt, be a proper person physically, mentally, and morally to
bring-up her children; (5) the relief granted shall, in the judgment of the court,
be necessary to save the children from neglect;, (6) a mother shall not receive
such relief who is the owner of real estate, or personal property other than the
household goods, or receives benefits from the workmen’s compensation fund;
(7) a mother shall not receive such relief who is not a citizen of the United
States, and who has not resided in the State of West Virginia at least five years
next preceding the filing of such application, and who has not been a bona fide
resident of the county in which such application is made, for a period of two
years next preceding the filing of such application; (8) a mother shall not
receive such relief if her children have relatives who contribute to their support
an amount equal to what might be allowed under this act; (9) a mother shall
not receive such relief if she harbors or permits to remain at her home any

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

225

adult person not a member of her family; (10) satisfactory reports must be
given by the teacher in the district school stating that the children of the
recipient of this fund are attending school: Provided, They are of proper age
and physically able to do so.
S ec. 12. Relief for children between thirteen and sixteen years.—Whenever
any child shall arrive at the age of thirteen years, any relief granted to the
mother for such child shall cease: Provided, If a child of thirteen years of age
be ill or incapacitated for work, the mother shall receive funds for his or her
care during such illness or incapacity for work until such child is sixteen years
of age, not to exceed, however, the amount hereinbefore provided, and the court
may, in its discretion, at any time before such child reaches the age of sixteen
years, modify or vacate the order granting relief to any mother for any child.
S ec. 13. Repeal—All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby
repealed.
Became a law May 24, 1917.
143973°—19----- 15


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WISCONSIN:.
I Wisconsin Statutes 1917, pp. 481-2,

as amended fey Laws 1919, chs. 251 and 308.1]

573L 1. Petition i® m m t for «M,-—Iff any person shall hare knowJ«Ige that any child is dependent upea the public for proper support or that the
interests of the public requires that such child fee granted aid, such person may
bring any such fact to the notice of a judge o f a juvenile court or of a county
court of the county in which such child resides.
2. Investigation—County fy&wHs of -cMM welfare*—-The said judge may make
or cause to fee made such investigation and examination before the granting of
aid for such child as he may deem necessary. To assist in making investiga­
tions and examinations the judge o f the juvenile court or o f the county court
may on July 1, 191 <, appoint a board of child welfare for his county to consist
of three members, who shall hold office at the pleasure of the judge making the
appointment. No salary or wages shad fee paid to the members o f said com­
mittee, tout they shall be reimbursed their actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties, such expenses to fee approved fey
the appointing judge and to fee audited and paid fey the county as other claims
against such county are audited and paid. Such hoard shall advise and con­
sult with the judge regarding the best method of investigating cases under the
provisions of this section? establish a basis o f household expenses to compute
the amount o f aid to be extended to needy families; help needy mothers to
expend aid granted economically, and advise them how to keep accounts of
expenses; recommend discontinuance and reductions In aid and,generally to
act, consult, and confer with each other and the court relative to any and all
problems relating to families to be aided and as to the best methods of carrying
out the provisions of this section economically and efficiently.
3. Pr&ee&dmgs.—The proceedings provided for by this section may include
one or more children, all o f whom may be named in the same notice, and order
of tine judge thereon.
4. Court to fix aliowanoc or commit to ISteto school.—Upon such investiga­
tion the judge may, as the best interest of such child requires, grant aid to it
S ection

1 Same a s Laws 193 5, eh, 637, as amended fey Laws 1917, ch. -589, which repealed an
earlier law passed in 1913 (Laws 1913, ch. 069>. Among the changes made in the 1915
revised law was an increase in the maximum amount of aid from 812 to $15 a month
for the first child and from $4 to $10 for each additional child, with a lim it set o f $40
for any one family, The amendment of 1917 increased this lim it to '$¡50 in «©unties of
390,000 or more population; extended the provisions o f the law to divorced mothers and
to cover children between 14 and 16 years of age unable to secure work permits; and
made more elastic the provisions relating to abandoned mothers. A new section 6 a was
added requiring monthly reports from all mothers receiving aid. The 1917 amendment
further authorized the judge of the juvenile or county court tea appoint a county hoard
of child welfare to assist the court in administering the law, in accordance with the
recommendations made by the State board of control in its report to the legislature in
1915. (See Nos. 539-531 of L ist of References.) The Laws of 1919, ch. 308, changes
the requirement of “ legal residence ” to one year in the county.
For the decisions o f the State attorney general relating to the provisions off this act
see pamphlet issued by the State' board of control entitled
Law providing add to
dependent children (mothers’ pension law), with the opinions of the attorney general
thereon and statement of expenditures, 1918.”


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.

or to its parents or to any person Raving the care and custody of such child, or
commit such child to the State public school, or place such child in the home
of a relative or friend of the family or in the home of a person interested in
public welfare or make such other disposition of such child as he may deem
wise.
5. Conditions of allowance.—Aid for dependent children shall only be granted
upon the following conditions : There must be one or more children living with
or dependent upon the mother or grandparents or person having the care and
custody of such children, one or more of whom shall be under the age of four­
teen or between the ages of fourteen and sixteen and unable to secure a permit
to work; the mother or grandparent or such other person must have resided
in the county in which application is made for aid for at least one year prior to
the date of such application ; the mother must be without a husband or the wife
of a husband who is incapacitated for gainful work by permanent mental or phy­
sical disability, or of a husband who has been sentenced to a penal institution
for one year or more, or of a husband who has continuously deserted her for
six months or more during which time all provisions of law have been used to
enforce support and none has been obtained, or such mother must be divorced
from her husband and must show that she has used all provisions of law to
compel her former husband to support her and has not been able to do so.
Such deserted or divorced woman need not show that she has used all pro­
visions of law to enforce support, if the court shall be of the opinion that such
procedure on her part would be of no avail; the mother or grandparents or
person having the care and custody of such children must be a fit and proper
person to have the custody and care of the dependent children and the period of
aid must be likely to continue longer than one year. The ownership by a
mother of a homestead shall not prevent the granting of aid under the provi­
sions of this section if the rental thereof would not exceed the rental which a
family of the same size as the family of such parent, receiving aid, would be
obliged to pay for living quarters.
6. Amount of allowance.—The aid granted shall be sufficient to enable the
mother, grandparents, or person having the custody of such children to prop­
erly care for the children and shall not exceed fifteen dollars per month for the
first child, excepting in emergency cases, where the aid to such first child shall
be left to the discretion of the court and ten dollars per month for each addi­
tional child and in no case shall any one family receive more than forty dollars
per month, excepting in counties containing a population of three hundred
thousand or over where the maximum for any one family shall not exceed fifty
dollars. Such aid shall be the only form of public assistance granted to the
family and no aid shall continue longer than one year without reinvestigation.
6a. Monthly reports.—The parent or other person receiving aid under the pro­
visions of this section shall file monthly with the judge of the juvenile or county
court of the proper county a statement showing the expenditures of all moneys
received as aid under the provisions of this section together with the original
receipts or vouchers therefor. The judge may require the mother to do such
remunerative work as in his judgment she can do without detriment to her health
or the neglect of her children or her home, and may prescribe the hours during
which the mother may work outside of her home.
7. County appropriations.—The county board of each county shall annually
appropriate a sum of money sufficient to carry out the provisions of this act.
Upon the orders of the judge of the court having jurisdiction, the county
treasurer shall pay out the amount ordered to be paid as aid, under the pro­
visions of this section.
8. Levy on toicns and villages.—The county clerk of each county having a
population of one hundred thousand or more shall make a report to the county

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

229

board at its annual November meeting, showing in detail the amount of money
advanced by the county to the residents pf each town, village, and city under the
provisions of this section. The county board at such meeting shall determine
the amount to be raised and paid by each such town, village, and city to reimburse
the county for the money so advanced. Within ten days after such determination
the county clerk of each county shall certify to the clerk of and charge to each
such town, village, and city the amount so advanced. Each such town, city, and
village shall levy a tax sufficient to reimburse the county for such advances to be
collected as other taxes and paid into the county treasury. If any town, city,
or village shall fail to raise and pay over such money to the county the county
board shall have authority to compel such payment.
9.
County treasurer to report to State Board of Control—State aid.—On the
first day of January of each year the county treasurer shall certify under- oath,
in duplicate, to the Secretary of State and the State board of control the amount
paid out by such county during the preceding year for aid under this section, and
if the board of control shall approve the same and shall cause its approval to be
indorsed by the president and secretary of said board on the certificate received
by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall credit one-third of the
amount so certified to be due such county on the State taxes next due therefrom,
ancTthe State Treasurer shall credit such county with said one-third of such
amount in his annual settlement with said county for taxes due the State:
Provided, That the amount paid by the State to any county in any one year shall
not exceed a sum equal to one dollar for each thirty inhabitants thereof. Pro­
vided further, That if the total amount paid by all the counties under this act
as certified by the county treasurers shall exceed the sum appropriated by sub­
section 13 of section 20.17,1 the Secretary of State and the State Treasurer shall
prorate the said sum among the various counties according to the amount paid
out.2
[F o rm s prep ared b y State b o ard o f co n tro l f o r use o f ju v e n ile an d county
co u rts.]
P E T IT IO N FO R AID.
S t a t e o p W is c o n s in ,

County of_________ ~___________
•Before H o n .________________
In the matter of

|ss.
Judge of t h e ____

Court.

Petition.
Alleged________________ T__ChildI______
To the honorable_______ _________ _____________ , judge of t h e _______
_ _
court of said county :
The undersigned,------------------------------------------------- - residing at t h e _________________
° f ---------- ---------------------------------------in said county, respectfully represents:
That--------------------------------------- „______ , born________ _______________________ _ 1 9 ____,
----------------------------------------------------------- , born____________________ ____________L 19____,
----------------------------------------------------------- , born_______________ ______ 1 _________ ; 1 9 ____’
and------------------------------------------------------ , born_____________________________;__ . 1 9 __’
-------------------------------- c h ild _______________s_______ ( 1 ) _______________
That said child reside_w it h __________________its ( t h e ir ) ___________
. „
(Staterelationship.)
at No. — --------------------------------------------- Street, in t h e _____________________________ of
----------------------------- -------------- , in said county, and that s a id _____ ____________ ____J ___ _
,
,
,
(Name persons having custody.)
legal resident— of said county ( a n d ----------------person___of good moral character and
the proper person— to have the custody and care of said dependent child_________ .) ( 2 ).
That the mother of said child__________ is (3 )_____________________________ __
That the period for which aid for said child__________ will be required is likely_ to
continue longer than one year, and that aid is reasonably necessary to save the
said child----------------from neglect or danger to health.
Dated this -------------------------------- day o f ________________ _
19
Petitioner.
Annual appropriation of $30,000 (Laws 1917, ch. 14, p. 4 3 ).
2 The above (sec. 573f) is renumbered 48.33 by Laws of 1919. ch. 614.
1


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230

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.
S t a t e o p W is c o n s in ,

^

^

|

ss

Z~~ZZZZZ2ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ___

being duly sworn, on oath says that affiant is the
petitioner named in the foregoing petition, by affiant subscribed, and knoTO_tke’
of said petition, and that the same is true to the best of affiant s knowledge and belief.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this

day o f ______________ _—, A. D. 19-

1: Here state whether the child or children are :
(а) neglected -, ©r,
<ô) dependent upon the public for support ; or,
(c) that their health is endangered.
^
. . ... .
_____ .»
2 If it is -alleged that the children are neglected, or that their health is endangered,
strike out the words inclosed in parentheses,
, ■
.
3. Here state whether the mother is a widow or is divorced or deceased ; if living and
married, then state :
'That she is the wife o f :
.
,
fa) a husband who is incapacitated for gainful work, or, ■
( б ) a husband who has been sentenced to a penal institution for one year or
morel of,
« . - »
_
. . _
(c) a husband who has continuously deserted her for one year or more, during
which time all provisions o f law have been used to enforce support and none
has been obtained.

ORDER, P O E A ID .
S t a t e o p W is c o n s in ,

County o f--.----------------—
Before H o n .__________

Judge o f "the--------- --------- ------------------------ Court-

In the matter of
Order for Aid,
________________________Child—-------------_of.
The application of-------------- ----------------------- ---------- ° f the.
in said county, for the granting o f aid for the above-named—. ------ -—
alleged to b e l l _______ - _____ — ___child__________ _ having been presented to the under­
signed, judge of th e_________ r________ court o f said county, and upon due investigation
and examination it satisfactorily appearing :
*
.
1. That the said_________________ -_was born on th e --------------- day or--------------------,
19
and is__________ years of age ; and that said---------------------------------was born on
the “ — „ „ d a y of____—_______ —- ____, 19____ , and is---------------- years of age ; and
that said_____________________ was born on the---------------- day of---- ------r —----------------19------, and is------------- years of age.
•
2. That the said child------reside------- w ith--------------- -------- - - ------ .------- at t “e-------------of
* ______ in said county, and whose post-office address is—*-------------------------and* who, at the time of the filing of said application------------ „ „ a n d now— --------- —
legal resident____of said county of--------------—-—
.
3. That_____________________ , the mother of said child------ , is *------------------- ------------~" 4 ~"fhât~t~hë7 ~Bâid"~
carë and custody of said
child__________ of good moral character and---------------- the proper person------ to have
__________ custody and care.
.
.
. . if
5. That the best interests of said child------require------ that aid be granted to---------------and that the period for which aid will bcT required is likely to continue longer th an on e
year, and that such aid is reasonably necessary to save the said child------from neglect or
dafiSeTha°t tim sum of
___________ dollars per month is reasonably necessary to
enable the s a i d - - - - - — — _____- ___ to properly care for said child------Therefore, it is ordered, That the county treasurer of said ----------------------------------County be and he hereby is authorized and directed to pay to said-----------—- —
-—- the sum of
____- _________ dollars per month, the first payment to be made on
___________________ ^ 1 9 ____; and monthly thereafter until the
tne sum oi— —
further order of the judge of said-------------------------------court, but not longer than one year
from the date herein fixed for making such first payment.
Made in triplicate and dated this--------------------------—day o f—------------------------, *■»------Judge of the-------------------------------- ¡Court.
* At paragraph 3 insert, following the word is:
(a) deceased ; or,
(fe) divorced; or,
(cj a widow ; or,
{d) who is incapacitated for gainful work by permanent mental or physical disa(«) who him’been sentenced to a penal institution for one year or more ;
■
(f) who has continuously deserted her for one year or more, during which time
all provisions of law have been used to enforce support and none has been
obtained.
N ote.— This order should be made out in triplieate-“-one copy shoul d go
the £
treasurer; one copy to thé S tate Board of Control of Wisconsin, Madison, W is., and the
other copy should be kept w ith the court’s records.


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LAWS ¡RELATING TO MOTHERS- PENSIONS.
■ORDER C O N T IN U IN G

231

AID.

St a t e o p W is c o n s in ,

l

J - ----------------- -----------------------— .------—_—County. fSB'
Before Hon____________________ _______________________
Judge of the______ :___________________
In the Matter o f
i
*

Court

'

-------------- -------------------- -i-> —>—------------- [Order continuing aid.
------------------------ __ Child_____ ___________ J
. It appearing to the Court that------------------------- ------------------------was (were) granted
aid by an order of this court under the provisions of Section 573f of the Statutes, dated
--—
------------------- -for a period not to exceed one year from the date fixed for making
the nrst payment and upon due investigation and examination it appearing-.
That the said---------------------- :--------- .-------------- _was born on t h e _______ ,_____s£_i_____
day of-------------------------------- , 1 9 ------ and is------------------yeaTs of age; that said________ :_
—- —;----------------------- was born on t h e ___________day of_____________________ , 19____,
and is----------------years of age ; and that said___________ _______ ;_was born on the
-------------------------------- day of-------------------------- j------, 19____ , and is __________ years of
That said term has expired and that aid should be continued.
Therefore, i t is ordered, That the County Treasurer of_____________________ County
be and he as hereby authorized and directed to pay to said__________ ,_______ l__
the sum of----------------Dollars per month, the first payment to be made on the__ ______
'day o f ----------------, 19------, and monthly thereafter until the further order of the Judge
of
s a id ------ - --------- - - - --------- Court, but not longer than one year from the date herein
tiVnH tat» mnlrirwv rmoV»
fixed for making such first4- payment.
Made in triplicate and dated this_____________________day of.
Judge o f the-------------------- I _____ Icou rt.
GliDEK D IS C O N T IN U IN G AID.
S t a t e o p W is c o n s in ,

— Countyr

.f o - '

Before Hon._______.__________ a_
In the Matter of Aid granted to

Judge of the

-Court.

-------------------- ------------------------------------------[Order discontinuing aid.
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I C b ild lllllllllllllllllj

It appearing to the Court that______________________________ :_was (were) granted
aid by an order of this court under the provisions of Section 573f of the Statutes dated
It further appearing that the said-._____________________ _________ are no longer
entitled to aid under the provisions of that Statute, for the reasons hereinafter set forth
Therefore, it is hereby ordered that the order heretofore made granting the aid to the
said child---------------- be and the same is hereby revoked, to take effect upon this date
D ated:_____________________
Ju dge o f th e __J_______ ’__I L ______ ____C ourt.

C E D E S IN C R E A S I N G

St a t e

op

A ID .

W is c o n s in ,
-C o u n ty .f ss*

Before Hon..
In the matter of

Judge of the--------------.------.--------- >________ Court.

Order increasing aid.
_________________________

c h i l d ____________________

It appearing to the Court t h a t ----------------- "_____________ *_____was, (were) granted
aid by an order of this court under the provisions of section 573/ of the Statutes
d a t e d ------------ -------------------for a period not to exceed one year from the date fixed
for making the first payment and upon due investigation and examination it appearing:

That the s a id ----------------------------------------------was born on t h e ___ ______________

day o f -------------------------------- 19--------, and i s ----------------years of a g e ; that said—I

. --------------------------------------- was born on t h e ______ i __ day of ~ ,______ __ i
19 ----- , and i s --------------- years of age; and that s a id ____ ,________________was born
on t h e ---------------day o f -------------------------------- , T9----- , and i s __________years of

age.
1
That — - —— ------------------------------------- and that, for the reasons stated, aid should
per
month.

be increased from --------------------------------- per month t o _______________________

Therefore, it is ordered, That the county treasurer o f____ _____ __________________
County be and he is hereby authorized and directed to pay to said___________ I I ---l i ­
the su m of -------------dollars per month, the first payment to bo made on t h e _______ I

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232

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.

day of________ _____________, 19____ , and monthly thereafter until the further order of
the judge-of s a i d ______________________ court, but not longer than one year from the
date herein fixed for making such first payment.
Made in triplicate and dated this ________ i-------------------- ; day of a*-----------------— ____
_____________________ , 19____
Judge of the------- ------------------ ----- Court.

ORDER D E CREASING A ID .
State op

W is c o n s in ,
.C o u n t y

Before Hon_______

-Court.

Judge of theIn the matter of

[Order decreasing aid.
child
It appearing to the court t h a t ________________________________ was (were) granted
aid by an order of this court under the provisions of section 573f of the Statutes, dated
_____________________ for a period not to exceed one year from the date fixed for mak­
ing the first payment and upon due investigation and examination it appearing:
That the said________________________________ was horn on the---------:------------ day of
___________________ , 19____ , and i s __________ years of age ; that said--------------------------- '
was born on t h e ________—__ day of — , —f.--------------------- 19---------- , and i s ------------ years jof age ; and that said_____________________ was born on the—.—:--------------------------day o f ___________________ ," 19____, and i s ______ — years of age.
T h a t ______________________________ and that, for the reasons stated, aid should Be
decreased fr o m ___________________ per month t o -------------- ,__________ per month.
Therefore, it is ordered, That the county treasurer o f ------------------------------------County
he and he is hereby authorized and directed to pay to said---------------- -------------the
sum o f __________ dollars per month, the first payment to be made on t h e ----------------day o f_____________________ , 19____, and monthly thereafter until the further order
of the judge of s a i d --------------------------------------- court, but not longer than one year from
the date herein fixed for making such first payment.
Made in triplicate and dated t h i s ________ day o f ------------------------------------------ 19------Judge of the.-------------------------------- Court.

c e r t if ie d

s t a t e m e n t o p a m o u n t p a id

_

UN DER PR O V ISIO N S

o ut fo r care and

su ppo rt of d epen dent

OF SEC T IO N 573F. 9 , W IS C O N S IN

C h il d r e n

ST A T U T E S .

EXTRACT FROM L A W .

573f. 9. On the first day of January of each year the county treasurer shall
certify under oath, in duplicate, to the secretary of State and the State board of control
the amount paid out by such county during the preceding year for aid under this section,
and if the board of control shall approve the same and shall cause its approval to be
indorsed by the president and secretary of said board on the certificate received by the
secretary of State, the secretary of State shall credit one-third of the amount so certified
to be due such county on the State taxes next due therefrom, and the State treasurer
shall credit such county with said one-third of such amount in his annual settlement
with said county for taxes due the State; provided, that the amount paid by the
State to any county in any one year shall not exceed a sum equal to $1 for each
30 inhabitants thereof; provided, further, that if the total amount paid by all the counties
under this act as certified by the county treasurers shall exceed the sum appropriated by
subsection 13 of section 20.17, the secretary of State and the State treasurer shall pro­
rate the said sum among the various counties according to the amount paid out.
County o f _____________________ J a n u a ry ---------------------------------- , 19-----To the____ _____ ___ .____ r________________- - - - - ______________
(Secretary of State or State Board of Control of Wisconsin.)
Pursuant to the provisions of section 573f. 9, Wisconsin Statutes, I hereby report the
names of all persons to whom payments have been made under provisions of said
statute for the year ending December 31, 19____, and the amount paid to each person.
The amount to which the county of - ----------------- ------------------------------------is entitled is
___Z______ ,_________ ^ dollars, ($__________ ), being one-third of the total amount
paid out as shown by the within bill.
S e c t io n

County Treasurer.
blanks may be had on application to the State Board of Control of Wis­
consin, Madison, Wis.
Postoffice address of
persons to whom
payments were
made.

Amount paid during months of—
càd
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s

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3 1—5

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3

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o
O

<D
to

1

Nov.

Name of persons to
whom payments were
made.

Ô
<D
Q

1Total during
1
year.

N o t e .— These

\

L A W S R E L A T IN G

State

of

TO

M OTHERS

W is c o n s in ,

P E N S IO N S ,

233

lo o

C ou n ty o f _____________ ____________________________________ J S8‘
________________________________________ b ein g first d u ly sw o rn , s a y s th a t he is th e c ou n ty

treasurer o f _____________________ county and that the within bill is just, correct, and
true, and that the amounts stated therein have been paid out by him during the year
ending December 31, 19____, and that the payments so paid were made upon orders
issued by the courts as provided by section 573f. 9, Wisconsin Statutes, and that no
part thereof has been audited, allowed, or paid by the State.
Subscribed and sworn to before me, t h i s _____________ day o f _______________19_____ _
'Notary Public, Wisconsin.
OFFICE OF THE STATE BOARD OF CONTROL OF WISCONSIN.

M adison , W i s „ _____ ____________ , 19____ _
This is to certify that the within bill is hereby approved for the sum o f____________
dollars ($----------------), and the county o f -------------------------- is entitled to________,_______
dollars ($— ------------ ), being one-third of the amount of the within bill as provided
by law.
State B oard

A tte st:

Secretary.


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of

Control

of

W is c o n s in ,

By --------------------------------------------------------------- - '
President.


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WYOMING.

[Laws 1915, ch. 32 as amended by Laws 1917, ch. 38.1]
A n A c t P r o v id in g fo r a p en sio n fo r d ep en d en t m o th e r s an d th e ir ch ild ren .

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of 'Wyoming: S ection 1. Allow­
ance to poor mothers.—Whenever any woman whose husband shall be dead or
shall have become permanently disabled for work by reason of physical or
mental infirmity, or shall be a prisoner, or shall have deserted her, and such
desertion shall have continued for a period of one year, and such woman shall
be poor and shall be the mother of children under the age of 14 years, and
such mother and children shall have been residents in the county in which
said application is made for one year, and such mother shall have been a resi­
dent of this State at the time of the death of her husband, or at the time he
became disabled, or at the time he became a prisoner, or at the time he deserted
her, the board of county commissioners of said county may make an allowance
to such woman, as follows:
First, not to exceed $20 a month, when she shall have but one child under the
age of 14 years, and if she shall have more than one child under the age of 14
years such allowance shall not exeeed $20 a month for the first child and $10 a
month for each of the other children under the age of 14 years. The order
making such allowance shall not be effective for a longer period than 6 months,
but upon expiration of such period said board of county commissioners may
from time to time extend such allowance for a period of 6 months or less.
The home of such woman shall be visited from time to time by any member
of the board of county commissioners or an authorized agent of discreet years,
as the board may direct, and the report or reports of such visiting member of
the board, or agent, shall be considered by the board in making such order.,
S ec . 2. Conditions of alloxoance.—Such allowance may be made by the board
of county commissioners only upon the following conditions:
1. The child or children for whose benefit the allowance shall be made must
be living with the mother of such child or children.
2. The allowance shall be made only when in the absence of such allowance
the mother would be required to work regularly away from her home and chil­
dren, and that by means of such allowance she shall be able to remain at home
with her children except by absence for work for such time as the said board
shall deem advisable.
3. The mother must in the judgment of the said board be a proper person
morally, mentally, and physically for the bringing up of her children.
4. Such allowance shall, in the judgment of said board, be necessary to save
the child or children from neglect and to avoid the breaking up of the home of
such woman.
1 The amendment of 1917 transferred the authority to grant aid from thè district
courts to the county commissioners, and omitted the proviso of the 1915 enactment re­
quiring that the person who made the visits to the homes should be “ thoroughly trained
in charitable relief work.” Eligibility for aid was made dependent upon the mother
having been a resident of the State at the time of her husband’s death or desertion, or
at the time he became disabled or was imprisoned.

235

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236

LAW S RELATING TO M O T H E R S’ P E N SIO N S.

5. It must appear to be for the benefit of the children to remain with such
mother.
6. A careful preliminary examination of the home of such mother must first
have been made by a member of said board, or such other competent person, or
agent, as the said board may direet, and a written report of such examination
filed with the board.
S ec . 3. County commissioners to provide funds.—It shall be the duty of the
board of county commissioners to make an appropriation of such sum as may
be necessary for the purpose of paying such allowances as may be made during
the year.
S ec . 4. Payment of warrants.—All payments of allowances as herein pro­
vided shall be made on warrants drawn as other county warrants are drawn
and paid by the county treasurer out of such funds.
S ec . 5. Application—Hearing—^Penalty for accepting fee.—An application in
writing for such an allowance may be made by any woman coming within the
purview of this act, or it may be made on her behalf only by any probating
officer, associate charities organization, or humane agent, and when suc{i appli­
cation is filed it shall be set down for hearing at a time fixed by the board of
county commissioners, and the report of the county commissioner or authorized
agent designated by the board to make the examination and report as required
by section 2 of this act shall be filed on or before such hearing, and upon the
date fixed the board shall hear said report and any other evidence that may be
offered, and at the conclusion of the same make such order as to the said
board shall seem proper in such matters. Any person or persons, officer, agent,
or attorney making application for an allowance for any woman within the
purview of this act who shall charge or accept any consideration for his serv­
ices in securing such allowance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding one hundred
dollars, and shall pay the costs of prosecution.
Sec. 6. Repeal.—All acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby
repealed.
S ec . 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
Approved February 15, 1915.
Amendment approved February 16, 1917.


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CANADIAN M OTHERS’ AID LAW S.
ALBERTA.

[Laws 1919, ch.

6 .]

An Act Granting assistance to widowed mothers supporting children.
S ection 1 . This act may be cited as “ The Mothers Allowance
S ec . 2. In this act, unless the context otherwise requires—

Act.”

(a) Municipality” means any city, town, village, or municipal district;
(&) “ Council ” means the council of any municipality;
(e) “ Superintendent ” means the Superintendent of Neglected and De­
pendent Children appointed under The Children’s Protection Act of
Alberta.
S ec . 3. Appointment of inspectors in cities.—There shall be appointed by the
council in every city and town in the Province one or more inspectors whose
remuneration shall be fixed and paid by the council, and whose duty it shall be
to receive applications for assistance under this act, to inquire into any. case
brought to his or their attention, and generally to do and perform such/matters
and things as may be required by this act or by any regulations passed here­
under;
S ec . 4. Aid to widowed mothers—Application.—Any woman who is a widow
(or the wife of a person committed to a hospital for the insane under the In­
sanity Act, and actually an inmate thereof) and who, having in her custody a
child or children under the age of fifteen years in the case of boys and sixteen
years in the case of girls, is unable to take proper care of such child or children,
may by herself or through any other person on her behalf apply to an inspector
of the city or town of which she is a resident for assistance under this act.
S ec. 5. Investigation and report.—The inspector shall thereupon make a full
and complete inquiry into the facts of the case, and shall forthwith report
thereon to the superintendent, who, if satisfied that the case is a proper one for
assistance under this act, shall recommend to the Attorney General the payment
to such woman of such sum or sums in weekly installments as to the said super­
intendent may seem fit and necessary.
(2) The superintendent, when satisfied upon inquiry that any woman in any
city or town is entitled to and requires assistance under this act, may make a
recommendation under this section whether or not an application has been made
by or on behalf of such woman to an inspector.
S ec . 6. Payments.—When any recommendation as aforesaid is approved by
the Attorney General the woman mentioned therein may be paid out of the
moneys appropriated by the legislature for that purpose the sum or sums speci­
fied in the said recommendation.
S ec. 7. Upon any subsequent recommendation for the termination, decrease,
or increase of any payments made under this act being approved by the Attorney
General such payments shall be discontinued, decreased, or increased in accord­
ance with such subsequent recommendation, and so as to any further recom­
mendation of the superintendent.
^
.
y
S ec . 8. Levy upon cities and towns.—The Attorney General shall every three
months forward or cause to be forwarded to the treasurer of each such city or
237

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238

LAW S RELATING TO M O T H E R S’ P E N SIO N S.

town, a statement of all moneys expended under this act during the next preced­
ing three months in respect of any woman or women residing in such city or
town; and the said city or town shall thereupon become liable to the province
for an amount equal to one-half of the moneys so expended, and the said amount
shall be paid to the provincial treasurer within thirty days after such state­
ment is so forwarded, failing which the provincial treasurer may sue for and
recover the same as a debt by action in his name against the said city or town as
defendant.
S ec . 9. Other municipalities.—In municipalities other than cities or towns,
the superintendent may make or cause to be made inquiry as to the necessity of
rendering assistance under this act to any woman who is a resident of such
municipality, and who, if she were a resident of a city or town, would "be entitled
to apply for assistance under section 4 hereof; and may thereupon in any fit and
proper case make the like recommendation to the Attorney General as in the
case of cities or towns, in which case the superintendent shall forthwith forward
to the secretary of such municipality, by mail prepaid, a notice of the recommen­
dation so made setting forth the date and substance thereof.
(2) Recommendations made under this section shall be dealt with in the same
manner as recommendations made in respect of a woman residing in a city or
town, and the council of the municipality of which such woman is a resident
shall be liable to the Province for an amount equal to one-half of the sums
expended by the provincial treasurer in respect to such woman as shown by the
statement forwarded fnonthly to the treasurer of such municipality, and the said
amount shall be paid to the provincial treasurer within three months after the
forwarding of such statement, failing which the provincial treasurer may
recover the same in like manner as in the case of a city or town.
S ec. 10. How funds may he raised.—Notwithstanding anything in any act or
ordinance contained all moneys required to be paid by any council under the pro­
visions of this act may be paid either out of the general tax fund of the munici­
pality or out of a fund established by the levy of a special rate over and above
the general rate of taxation o f the municipality, and the council is hereby
authorized to levy such special rate in each and every year, and the provisions
of any such act or ordinance limiting the rates to be levied by such council shall
not apply t6 any special rate levied under this .section: Provided, however, That
the council may from time to time by by-law authorize its mayor (or reeve) and
treasurer to raise by way of temporary loan such sum or sums as may be deemed
necessary to meet all expenditures under this act for the then current year, such
loans to be made payable not later than the 31st day of December of the year
following that in which such loan is made.
S ec . 11. Report to superintendent when aid should cease.—It shall be the
duty of every inspector to make proper investigations as to all women within
the territory over which he is appointed receiving assistance under this act,
and upon any such woman ceasing to be a resident of the municipality or other­
wise ceasing to be entitled to such assistance, the said inspector shall forthwith
report the facts of the case to the superintendent.
(2) The liability of any city or town in respect of payments made by the
provincial treasurer to any such woman shall not be affected by the fact of
her having ceased to be entitled to assistance under this act, if such fact has
not been reported as aforesaid to the superintendent: Provided, however, That
in case any moneys so paid are subsequently reimbursed to the provincial
treasurer, the council shall be entitled to reimbursement from the provincia7
treasurer of the amounts paid by it in respect of the payments so made.


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LAWS RELATING TO M OTHERS ’ P E N SIO N S.

239

(3) In municipalities, other than cities and towns, it shall be the duty of
the council to report to the superintendent in the case of any woman so ceasing
to reside therein, or to be entitled to assistance under this act, failing which
the said municipality shall be and remain liable in respect of payments made
to such woman, subject to a right to reimbursement as aforesaid.
S ec . 12. Residence.—For the purposes of this act, a woman shall be deemed
a resident of the municipality when she lives therein, and has habitually lived
therein for a period of one year last past, and in case of dispute as to whether
or not a woman is a resident of a particular municipality, the superintendent
shall decide, and his decision shall be final.
*
(2)
A woman having been a resident of any municipality shall not be
deemed to have ceased to be a resident thereof during such time as she shall
remain or be in the Province unless and until she shall have become a resident
of some other municipality under the provisions of the first subsection of this
section.
S ec. 13. Assistance for inspectors.—The council of any city or town may
appoint any person or persons or any association to inform and advise any
inspector appointed under this act in the carrying out of his duties thereunder.
S ec. 14. Regulations.—The lieutenant-governor in council may make such
rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this act as may
be deemed necessary for the proper carrying out thereof.
Assented to April 17, 1919,


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M A N IT O B A .

[Laws 1916, ch. 69, as amended by Laws 1917, ch. 56; Laws 1918, ch. 41.]
An Act To provide allowances for mothers.
S ection 1. This act
S ec . 2. Allowances

may be cited as “ The Mothers’ Allowances Act, 1916.”
to poor mothers—Conditions.—The lieutenant governor
in council may set aside during each fiscal year, out of the consolidated revenue
fund of the province, a sum or sums, in the whole not to exceed in any year
the amount voted for said purpose in the supply bill of that year, to provide
support or partial support for mothers of dependent or neglected children within
the Province, and an allowance may be made therefrom to any mother of a
neglected or dependent child or children whenever such mother is a widow or
her husband is an inmate of a penal institution or insane asylum, or, because
of physical disability, is unable to support his family, and the dependent or
neglected condition of such child or children is due wholly or in part to the pov­
erty of the mother and the want of adequate means to properly care for such
child, and the mother is otherwise a proper person to have the custody of such
child and the welfare and best interests of such child will be subserved by per­
mitting it to remain in the custody of its mother.
S ec . 3. Mothers’ allowances commission.—The lieutenant governor in coun­
cil may appoint a commission of not less than three and not more than five
persons, male or female, or both, to administer said moneys, and in and by said
appointment or subsequently may prescribe rules and regulations in accordance
with which said moneys shall be expended, and in accordance with which said
commission shall be governed and act, and may prescribe, limit or extend its
powers, and may prescribe returns and reports to be made by such commis­
sion, or may appoint such commission generally and approve of any rules and
regulations the said commission may make in respect of the matters in this act,
but no rules or regulations so made by the said commission shall have any force
and effect whatsoever until they shall have been approved by the lieutenant
governor in council.
S ec . 4. Levy upon municipalities.—The lieutenant governor in council may
authorize the municipal commissioner to levy upon the respective municipali­
ties of the Province the whole amount so expended or such portion thereof as
.may be just to recoup or partially recoup the Province for the same, and such
levies, when so authorized, shall have the same force and effect as if made
under the municipal commissioner’s act, and on receipt of any moneys so
levied from a muncipality the municipal commissioner shall pay the same over
to the provincial treasurer.
S ec . 5. This act shall come into force on the day upon which it is. assented to.
Assented to March 10, 1916. Amendments assented to March 9, 1917; March
6, 1918.
241
143973°—19----- 16


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242

LAW S RELATING TO M OTHERS ’ P E N SIO N S.

MEMORANDUM PREPARED BY THE COMMISSIONERS FOR THE GUIDANCE OF COMMITTEES
APPOINTED BY CITIES, TOWNS, AND RURAL MUNICIPALITIES TO A SSIST IN THE

1. Applications. .
„ .
.,
,
At the present time applications are only considered from widows and women
whose husbands are confined in an insane asylum.
New applications or requests for a revision of a former allowance must reach
the commission’s office not later than the 15th of any month if the allowance is
to be allowed or revised for the followingrmonth. ^
It is quite legitimate for a mother whose normal children are now in institu­
tional homes to make application for an allowance to enable her to make a home
for them. Unless special circumstances warrant, the commissioners will not
entertain applications from women with only one child under working age.
2. Investigations.
•
_
, .
„
The commissioners do not wish applicants to be considered as applying for
charity. A mother when in receipt of an allowance is receiving recognition for
her services to the Province in bringing up her children.
It is the duty, therefore, of the municipalities to investigate carefully the
fitness of the applicants.
,
A. .
M
.
,
Marriage, death, and Canadian citizenship must be proved by examination of
the certificates, which certificates should be sent with the application- form
unless special reasons exist for not doing so.
History records as complete as .possible should accompany applications.
All correspondence should be sent with the application form; the application
form will be kept by the commissioners, but the committee should make a copy
thereof on the form provided for the purpose.
3. Municipal residence qualification.
Whilst order-in-council number 27423 prescribes a municipal residence quali­
fication this is of no effect at the present time in so much as the Government
lew s at large on all the municipalities of the Province for half the cost of all
allowances granted irrespective of the residence of the beneficiaries. So long
therefore as an applicant has the necessary provincial residence qualification
it is in order for a municipality to forward an application from a mother irre­
spective of the length of her residence in that municipality.
4. Cooperation to be sought from relatives.
,■ ' - ,• u
The act was not intended to relieve near relatives, l. e., father and mother of
applicant or applicant’s husband, and brothers and sisters of either, of their re­
sponsibility for giving such assistance as they can. These near relatives should
be seen where possible and otherwise written to to secure as much help from
them as possible.
5. Estimate of expenditure.
,
,£
Foog —The commission have adopted the following monthly schedule for
mothers who live under such conditions that they are obliged to purchase all
their food, but it is realized that mothers in small towns and rural districts,
who are able to keep poultry and perhaps other stock, should not require as
large an allowance for food.
$9.50
Adult.
3.50
Child, 1 to 3_.
4. 50
Child, 4 to 6_
5.00
Child, 7 to 10.
7.00
Child, 11 to 14.
Clothing._The commission has adopted the following monthly schedule for
clothing :
5.50
Adult.
1.50
Child, 1 to 3_.
2. 50
Child, 4 to 6_.
3.00
Child, 7 to 10.
4.00
Child, 11 to 14.
Property.—When the interest charges on mortgages or agreements of sale,


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P E N S IO N S .

2 4 3

Cash.—Allowances will not be granted to mothers having cash assets of over

$ 200.

Insurance. -Inasmuch as the commission is authorized by-the Government
to make special grants for reasonable burial expenses, no allowance can be
made for life insurance; mothers holding life insurance may take the surren­
der value of the policy or convert into a paid-up policy.
Earnings of children.—The ‘ gross earnings of any member of the family
should be stated, but only the amount paid into the home entered in the
expenditure column.
Where boys and girls are competent to buy their own clothing, the amount
they retain for their own use will be increased, with a decrease in the amount
allowed for clothing for the family.
. Earning children should always be allowed some spending money of their
own, but are expected to pay into the home as much as possible, thus allow­
ing the family to become self-supporting at the earliest possible date.
6. Supervision of mothers under allowance.
A mother must not only satisfy the committee of her fitness to receive an
allowance at the time of her application, but she must satisfy them that she
is fulfilling the trust which has been placed in her, and on adequate, careful,
and helpful supervision the success or failure of the act will largely depend.
Particular attention should be paid by the committee and supervising visitor
to those points on which a monthly report is required covering health, earn­
ings, housing, clothing, and school record. These monthly reports are not
accepted by the commission as a recommendation for revision of allowance,
which must be submitted in separate form direct from the committee.
Changes in financial condition will be bound to occur. ‘Working children will
change to more profitable or less profitable employment, hence no family can
be said to be properly supervised, for this reason if for no other, unless visited
at least once a month. If possible these visits should be made during the first
half of each month, so that any recommendations to the commission for an
increase or reduction in allowance may reach them before the fifteenth day
of each month, and that the change may become effective by the first of the
following month.
7. Presence of boarders or lodgers.
The policy of the commission is entirely opposed to mothers under allowance
seeking income from the presence of male boarders or lodgers.
8. Mothers deriving income by work done away from home.
The object of the act is to enable a fhother to give proper care to her
children at home; mothers, therefore, any of whose children are below school
age, must not be encouraged to work out by the day.
9. That the personnel of all committees must include at least one woman as a
member.
Commissioners:
Aid. George Fisher, Chairman.
Mrs. T. R. Deacon.
Mrs. J, Dick.
J. H. J. Murray.
W. A. Matheson.
A. Percy Paget, Secretary.
MEMORANDA FOR THE GUIDANCE OF APPLICANTS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER THE ACT.
W i n n i p e g , February 1, 1919.
The mothers’ allowance act provides for a monthly payment to mothers who
have the necessary qualifications.
Qualifications.—
1. The husband of an applicant at time of death or admission to an institu­
tion must have been or be a Canadian citizen.
2. An applicant must have been resident in the Province with her husband and
family for two consecutive years previous to his death or admission to an
institution. (See Order-in-Council No. 27423.)
Should an applicant have been absent from the Province not more than
six months at the time of death or admission to an institution of her husband,
provided she had previously fulfilled the requirements of the act, she shall still
be deemed eligible.
3. Marriage, death, and Canadian citizenship must be proved by examination
of the certificates.


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4. The applicant must have satisfactory recommendations as to her ability,
character, and fitness for the proper care and training of her children.
5. The provincial government have required that applicants for an allowance
under the act can not have more than $200 cash assets.
N ote.— A t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e o n l y a p p l i c a n t s a r e e l i g i b l e w h o h a v e m o r e t h a n one
d e p e n d e n t c h ild a n d w h o a r e w id o w s o r w o m e n w h o s e h u s b a n d s a r e c o n fin e d in h o s p it a ls
f o r t h e in s a n e .

Administration of the act.—The mothers’ allowance act, which was passed in
March, 1916, provides for the appointment of five commissioners, who draft and
submit to the lieutenant-governor-in-council such rules and regulations from
time to time as they consider necessary for the proper administration of the
act. The commissioners receive no remuneration for their services.
Staff.—Provided for by the act, the secretary, an assistant who acts as super­
visor, and stenographer have been appointed whose duties are to attend to the
proper carrying out by the municipal committees of the requirements laid down
by the commission.
Appointment of local committees.—-While each municipality must appoint a
committee of not less than three persons, of whom one must be a woman, five
in most places would be advisable, twcr of whom should be women, whose duty it
shall be to receive applications for allowances, investigate all applications
received, forward a complete record of all investigations to the provincial
government, and supervise every family receiving an allowance. No member
of any municipal committee receives any remuneration from the provincial
government.
Supervision.—The local committees are urged to secure the assistance of
women who will voluntarily undertake the frier dly visiting of families receiv­
ing allowances.
.
Monthly reports.—The local committee is-expected to send to the provincial
commission by the 15th of each month a visitor’s report of all families benefit­
ing under the act; mothers are urged, therefore, to assist regularly in seeing
that the committee receives the correct information for this purpose.
Applications or adjustments.—Municipal committees should meet at least
once a month to consider the report of any applicant for an allowance, the con­
sideration of monthly reports, and any adjustment that may be necessary.
Recommendations with all papers are then to be forwarded to the provincial
commission, who carefully review same and endorse the local committee’s action.
Or if they are not satisfied, they mas decide to return the application for recon­
sideration or revision. Every application which is signed must be sent to the
commission for consideration.
Cooperation to be sought from relatives.—The act was not intended to relieve
near relatives of their responsibility of giving such assistance as they can.
The local committee may use their judgment as to whether relations outside
of the Province are written to, but all relatives residing within the Province
must be either seen or written to. The commission do not think it necessary
to communicate with relatives outside of Canada.
Property.—When the interest charges on mortgages or agreements of sale,
plus taxes and insurance, do not exceed the amount which would otherwise have
to be paid for rent for the family, and provided that these charges are only
upon property actually used by the family, an amount is allowed monthly in
lieu of rent sufficient to meet such charges when they fall due.
Insurance.—Inasmuch as the commission is authorized by the Government
to make special grants for reasonable burial expenses, no allowance can be
made for life insurance. Mothers holding life insurance may take the surrender
value of the policy or convert into a paid-up policy. If mothers wish to con­
tinue to carry insurance, the commission have not prohibited them doing so,
providing they do not ask for same to be included in the estimate of expenditure
upon which allowances are granted.
Earnings.—The gross earnings of any member of the family must be stated,
together with the amount paid into the home. Where the boys or girls are per­
mitted to buy their own clothes, the amount they retain for their own use will
be increased, and they will not be included in the amount allowed for clothes for
the family. Earning children may be allowed some spending money of their own,
but are expected to pay into the home as much as possible, thus allowing the
family to become self-supporting at the earliest possible date.
Changes in financial conditions will be bound to occur. Working children
will change to more profitable or less profitable employment, and the commis
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P E N S IO N S .

sion have ruled that any recommendation for an increase or reduction in the
allowance must reach them before the 15th day of the month, so that the
change may become effective by the first of the following month. Mothers under
allowance are expected to report any changes in children’s earnings to the local
committee as soon as they occur.
Changes not reported may seriously affect a mother’s allowance and even
lead to cancellation for cause.
Presence of boarders or lodgers.—The policy of the commission is to pro­
hibit mothers under allowance having male boarders or roomers whether any
added income is secured or not.
Mothers deriving income by work done away from home.—The object of the
act is to enable the mother to give care to her children at home; mothers, there­
fore, any of whose children are below school age, must not be encouraged to
work out.
Estimate of expenditure.—The following scale has been adopted by the com­
mission for food and clothing.
Monthly schedule of expenditure—Rent.—Reasonable amount for adequate
accommodation.
Food.

Clothing.

Adult------------------------------ - $9. 5 0 ___________________$5. 50
Child, 1 to 3________________ 3. 5 0 ___________________ 1. 50
Child, 4 to 6_______
4. 5 0 _c________________ 2. 50
Child, 7 to 10________________ 5. 50 ^_________________ 3. 00
Child, 11 to 14__
7. 0 0 ___________________ 4.00
Difference between income, if any, and the total estimate of expenditure is
the amount of the allowance.
Payment of allowance.—Payment is made by cheque on or about the first of
each month. The commission forward the cheques of all mothers under the
care of the local committee to the office of the secretary, who sees that they
are mailed to the beneficiaries, except in the case of new applicants, when a
mother is required to call at the office for her first cheque. Special grants or
adjustments are included in the amount of the monthly cheque when same are
granted.


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SASKATCHEWAN.
[Laws
An

A ct

To

p r o v id e

fo r

th e

1917,

2d

paym ent

sess.,
of

ch .

G 8 .]

p e n s io n s

to

in d ig e n t

m oth ers.

1. This act may be cited as “ The Mothers’ Pensions Act.”
S ec . 2. Aid to widowed mothers.—The Lieutenant Governor in council may
set aside during each fiscal year out of the consolidated fund of the Province
such sum or sums not to exceed in the whole the amount voted for that pur­
pose by the Legislature to provide support or partial support for any mother
who is a widow and who on account of poverty is unable to take proper care
of her child or children and who is otherwise a proper person to have the
custody of such child or children.
S ec. 3. Levy on municipality.— (1) The Attorney General may order the
municipality to which the mother belongs to pay such sum as to him may ap­
pear reasonable, not to exceed three dollars per week in respect of each child
whose welfare is in question, in order to recoup in whole or in part the amount
expended by the Lieutenant Governor in council under the provisions of, this
act in connection with such mother.
(2)
For the purposes of this section the mother shall be deemed to belong
to the muncipality in which she last resided for the period of one year.
S ec . 4. Regulations.—The Lieutenant Governor in council may make regu­
lations for the administration of this act and the control of all expenditures to
be made thereunder, and the appointment of all necessary officials.'
S ec. 5. This act shall come into force upon a date to be proclaimed by the
Lieutenant Governor in council.
Assented to December 15, 1917. In effect February 16, 191S.
S e c t io n

REGULATIONS FOB ADMINISTRATION.

R e g in a , April 11, 1918.
The Executive Council has had under consideration a report from the At­
torney-General, dated April 10th, 1918, stating that it is necessary and desirable
that certain regulations be approved for the proper administration of “ The
Mothers’ Pensions Act ”, which by proclamation became effective on the 16th
day of February, 1918.
Upon consideration of the foregoing report and on the recommendation of
the Attorney-General, the Executive Council advises, under the provisions of
section 4 of. “ The Mothers’ Pensions Act ”, in that behalf :
(1) That the Superintendent of Neglected and Dependent Children be charged
with the supervision of any matter or thing, which may from time to time
arise out of the administration of said act.
(2) That no allowance be paid to any mother save upon the recommendation
of the Superintendent of Neglected and Dependent Children, and that in no
case shall any allowance be paid in respect of any child of the age of sixteen
years or over.
(3) That the council of the municipality to which the mother belongs, be
notified of the allowance being made to the mother, and be charged with the
responsibility of advising the said Superintendent of Neglected and Dependent
Children, of any change in the conditions surrounding the mother or children,
or both, which by virtue of such changed conditions may effect the allowance
made.
(4) That the mother be paid such allowance in each case as may be determined
by the Lieutenant-Governor in council, the same to be made payable monthly,
on the first day of each month for the preceding month, from the legislative
appropriation for such purpose.
247


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D A N ISH LA W REGARDING ASSISTANCE TO CH ILDREN
OF W IDO W S.
[L a w

r e g a r d in g

a s s is ta n c e

E n k er.

to

c h ild r e n

of

w id o w s

(L o v

om

U n d e r s t0 tte ls e

til

B 0rn

af

L o v N r. 1 2 4 , 2 9 A p r il, 1 9 1 3 ; L o v N r. 1 0 1 , 4 M a rc h , 1 9 1 8 * ).]

S ection 1. Widows who are considered indigent shall, provided they are
entitled to support in cases of continuous need, have the right to a public
contribution toward the support and education of their legitimate children or
children adopted under marriage, without the disabilities attaching to poor
relief.2
A widow is considered indigent wThose property does not exceed 4,000 kr.
($1,072), with the addition of 500 kr. ($134) for each child under 14 years,
and whose income does not exceed the amount exempt from State taxation in
the commune concerned, pursuant to Law No. 144 of June 8, 1912, section 8,
paragraph 1, with the addition of 100 kr. ($26.80) for each child under 14
years of age. In exceptional circumstances the local board8 may, at its dis­
cretion, decide whether such a widow shall be deemed indigent and, if so,
whether she shall have the full assistance hereinafter mentioned, or whether
this can be reduced to one-half. The allowance for the calendar years 1918
and 1919* is: 150 kr. ($40.20) yearly until the child «is 4 years; 120 kr.
($32.16) yearly until the child is 12 years; 90 kr. ($24.12) yearly until the
child is 14 years.
The assistance ceases if the mother remarries; if she leads a life which gives
public offense (habitual drunkenness, immorality, or like offenses), if she
receives help from the poor relief (Fattigvaesen) or from a relief fund
(hjaelpekasse) which has a grant from the communal funds, or from the com­
munal section of the Copenhagen relief society.® The assistance is likewise
withdrawn if her economic condition essentially improves by an increase in
her property or income not originating from her own or her children’s work.
1 The

am endm ent

1918 and
to

a id

added
o f th e

1919

fr o m

of

The

le g is la t io n

th e

w h o le
to

s u b s is te n c e

th e

am ount

s e c t io n

a llo w a n c e

m a x im u m

of

in c o m e

exem pt

2 p e r m it t in g a id t o

o f th e w id o w , a n d

fo r

u n d e r w h ic h

th e

c a le n d a r

a w om an

fr o m

S ta te

t a x a t i o n ';

b e co n tin u e d t o

to be m a de fo r

years

is e n t it le d
and

th e g u a r d ia n

th e c h ild r e n

o f w id o w e r s

and

c e r ta in

bestyrelse,

a s s is ta n c e

p r o v id e d

is p a s s e d w a s

($ 2 1 .4 4 )

oth er

r ig h ts .

t h e g o v e r n in g
by

board

th e

1913

a s fo llo w s : 1 00 kr.

y e a r ly u n t il t h e c h ild is

o f each
la w

com m u n e.

and

($ 2 6 .8 0 )

w h ic h

sta n d s

y e a r ly

12 y e a r s ; 60 kr.

fo r

1920

u n til th e c h ild

($ 1 6 .0 8 )

u n le s s

is

new

2 years;

y e a r ly u n t il t h e c h ild

14 years.
6 By

w as
in

in c r e a s e d

o f t h e w id o w e r .

s u ffr a g e

8 Kommunal

is

to

paragraph s

c h ild a ft e r th e d e a th

2 L oss

80 kr.

1918

p e r c e n t ; in c r e a s e d

t w o -t h ir d s

th re e n ew

a fte r th e d e a th

4

of

fifty

th e

and

a

tem p ora ry

p e r m itte d
w id o w s ’

seek

fe a tin g

a id

needed

th e

la w

passed

O ct.

b e c a u s e o f in c r e a s e d

very

la w

had

r e lie f fr o m
a im s

of

th e

m ade

27,

1915,

cost
it

s u p p le m e n ta r y

o f liv in g .

n ecessary

th e p o o r
W id o w s ’

fu n d s .

fo r

m any

The

P e n s io n

a id

fr o m

T h e in a d e q u a c y
1915

Law .

w id o w s

la w

w as

(S o c ia l

p o o r -r e lie f

o f t h e fix e d

to

re fu se

m u ch

F orsorg,

th e

fu n d s

su m

set

su pport

c r itic iz e d

as

de­

1915,

pp.

bon u ses

fo r

N o v .,

2 5 6 -2 5 9 .)
U nder

th e

h ig h

cost

o f liv in g

la w s

of

D ec.

22,

1915,

and

w id o w s r e c e iv in g a llo w a n c e s f o r t h e s u p p o r t o f th e ir c h ild r e n
1913, w ere
liv in g

in c lu d e d .

bon u ses

n o r m a l a id .

to

In

C openhagen

w id o w s

w it h

fo r

dependent

th e

year

c h ild r e n

(F o r s 0 r g e ls e s v a e s e n e t i K 0 b e n h a v n ,

e n d in g

D ec.

M a r.

a m ou n ted

1 9 1 7 —1 8 , p .

28, 1916,

u n d e r t h e la w
to

31,

1918,

fifty

per

o f A p r il 2 9 ,
th ese
cen t

7 .)

249

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cost
of

of
th e

250

L A W S

R E L A T IN G

TO

M O T H E R S ’

P E N S IO N S .

Assistance to the mother under sections 44, 61, and 63 1 of the poor law does
not have this result, neither does aid from the relief funds or the communal .
section of the Copenhagen relief society in case of sickness of the mother or
children.
The contribution may, in exceptional cases, be extended to the 18th year.
S ec. 2. The subsistence allowance ( Underholdsbidrag ) is payable to the
widow concerned! quarterly, eventually monthly, in advance; the- first time for
the quarter or the month which follows the death of the husband, and the last
time for the quarter or month in which the aid ceases.
If the widow dies who has had support under this law the contribution for
the support and education of the child is payable to the guardian of the child,
or according to the decision of the communal authorities, to the person who
after the mother’s death exercises the right of rearing the child. The council
of guardians {Y(erg?raadet) of the place where the child lives can, after the
mother’s death, decide at any time that a guardian be appointed for the child.
Appointment of such guardian, who has the right of a parent over the child, is
made by the superior magistracy upon nomination by the council of guardians.
A guardian is always to be appointed if the allowance Is not being used for the
exclusive benefit of the child.
If a substantial bettering of the child’s economic position occurs, the support
can be withdrawn.
In the same class with the children o f widows mentioned in paragraphs 2
and 3, are to be regarded children of deceased widows who were not receiving
aid, but who were eligible for it? also children of widowers who at the time
of their death fulfilled the conditions prescribed for widows by the law re­
lating to support. The amount of the allowance is determined by the same
rules which apply to widows.
S ec. 3. If a child is under the care of the poor relief or has been taken under
the care of a council of guardian's 3 (Law No. 72, April 14, 1905) it does not
come within the provisions of this law.
S ec. 4. Half of the expense of^ the subsistence allowance herein provided for
is borne by the State, the remainder by the commune in which the widow con­
cerned or, after the widow’s death, the child (compare section 2, paragraph 2),
has her permanent abode. Country districts grouped with towns with respect
to poor relief are referred to the said town.
S ec. 5, In regard to the expense: which a commune, in accordance with the
rules in section 4, incurs in the capacity of residence commune, It can (pro­
vided the widow in question is entitled to support elsewhere) claim reimburse­
ment of three-fourths of the amount from the said commune owing support. I f
there is no commune which can be regarded as under liability for support, said
expense shall be made good out of the public funds which in accordance with
existing law are chargeable in pfaee of the commune owing support..
Sec. 6. The acquirement by a widow of right of support in the commune of
residence is regarded as pending for the period in which a subsistence allow­
ance ( UnderlioldsUdrag) is granted under this law from the public funds to
the children concerned.
S ec. T. At the same time that the communal' authorities* in accordance with
section 32 of Law No. 85 of May 15,1903, transmit to the minister of the interior
1 M oney
jx jP t

of

C e r ta in
poor

expended

th e

b lin d ,

k in d s o f

by

th e g e n e ra l

d e a f, d u m b ,

m e d ic a l

r e lie f

co m m u n ity

fo r

fe e b le -m in d e d ,

and

a re

a ls o

th e

e d u ca tio n ,

id io t s , i s

exem pt fr o m

not

m a in t e n a n c e ,
c la s s e d

as

th e : c i v i l d i s a b i l i t i e s

and

poor

s® p-

r e lie f.

a tta c h in g

to

r e lie f.

* The V w g e m # * , a special council of guardians in each wramw« wWeh looks after the
education and training of neglected and delinquent children.

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251

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

and the county council, respectively,1 the statement of certain expenditures
therein mentioned (a, b, c, and d) there shall be forwarded a statement of
what the commune has expended under the present law (sections 4 and 5).
At the apportionment of State aid pursuant to sections 31, 32, and 33 of the
first-mentioned law this amount shall be included in the account. S ec. 8. The management of all matters pertaining to a subsistence allowance
( UnderholdsMdrag) in accordance with the provisions of this law rests upon
the communal authority of the commune in which the widow concerned or, after
the widow’s death, the child (compare section 2, paragraph 2) has her perma­
nent abode.
&£C. 9. The communal authority which receives a request for a subsistence
allowance ( UnderholdsMdrag) must carefully investigate the economic condi­
tions of the home in question to determine the need and other circumstances in
order to decide what aid in each particular case shall be granted and how it
shall be paid out. It is furthermore the duty of this authority to exercise super­
vision in order that the subsistence allowance shall be expended in a proper
manner for the^ benefit of the children concerned. (Compare section 2, para­
graph 2.) It can determine that food or clothes shall be purchased with the
subsistence money for the child.
In case a particular or general regulation of the communal authority with
respect to the use of the aid is not complied with, the superior authority 2 is to
be informed of the matter.
If it shall be deemed desirable, private societies may cooperate in the work of
investigation and supervision.
S ec . 10. The payment of the subsistence allowance (see sec. 2) shall be made
in advance out of the treasury of the commune of residence concerned, after
which the expenditure of the communal board is to be reported to the county
for part repayment pursuant to section 4 of this act. With respect to the even­
tual reimbursement from the commune liable for support (sec. 5) the regula­
tions in section 48 of Law No. 67 of Apr. 9, 1891, apply.
The county is to report to the minister of the interior as soon as possible after
the end of the fiscal year what amount in each commune has been expended for
subsistence allowances in accordance with the present law.
S ec. 11. Complaints in regard to the decisions of the communal authorities
with respect to the provisions of this law shall not be made before the courts
but before the superior authority,2 whose decision if the complaint is not sus­
tained is final, but in the contrary case, appeal may be taken by the communal
authority to the minister of the interior.
If it comes to the knowledge of the superior authorities through the inspec­
tion of the accounts or . otherwise that there is being granted aid ( Underst0ttelse) to unqualified persons or the provisions of the law in other respects
are not being complied with, decision in the case rests likewise upon them, which
decisions may, however, be referred to the minister of the interior.
In the case of disputes between the communes themselves with respect to the
obligations imposed upon them in accordance with this law, the chairman of the
county council (Amtmand) of the superior magistracy to which the commune
belongs, against which the obligation is urged, has the power of decision ; and if
the dispute relates to Copenhagen, the minister of the interior.
The decisions of the chairmen of the county councils (Amtmaendene) may be
referred to the minister of the interior.
1 In

ru ral

com m u n es

Amtraad o r c o u n t y
2 T h e Amtraad o r
a p p o in te d , p a id

th e

Kommunal testyrelsen

c o u n c il ; in

p r o v in c ia l to w n s

c o u n ty c o u n c il.

The

under
th e

th e

m in is t e r

Amtmand-, t h e c h a i r m a n
Amtraad.

o ffic ia l, is t h e r e p r e s e n t a t iv e o f t h e


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a re

under

s u p e r v is io n
of

of

th e ir

t h e in te r io r .

o f t h is c o u n c il, a

S ta te

252

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

S ec . 12. The minister of the interior shall prepare detailed instructions
respecting the drawing up of the forms for requests for subsistence allowance
( Underholdsbidrag) as well as regarding the accounts necessary to be kept,
examination of accounts and so forth.
S ec . 13. The Government is empowered by royal proclamation to let this act
come into force in the Faroes with such modifications as the special conditions
in these islands may make expedient.
S ec 14 This act takes effect on the 1st of January, 1914. Widows who at
that time are receiving aid from the poor relief (Fattigvaesen% relief funds
(Hjaelpelcasse), or the communal section of the Copenhagen relief society, shall
not on that account be debarred from coming under the provisions of this act.


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N E W ZE A L A N D ’S PE N SIO N S ACT, 1913.1
ANALYSIS.

Title.
1. Sliort title.

22. Amount of pension not affected by
death of child within pension
year.
P art III.

Preliminary.
2. Interpretation.

MILITARY PENSIONS.

Districts and registrars.

23.
3. Districts. Alteration of bound­ 24.
aries.
4. Commissioner.
25.
5. Registrars.
26.
6. Tlieir powers and duties.

Military pensions.
Qualifications of applicant for pern
sions.
Amount of pension.
Form of application.
P art IY .

P art I.

MISCELLANEOUS.

OLD-AGE PENSIONS.

7. Persons entitled to pensions.
8. Necessary qualifications.
9. Amount of pension.
Increased
pension where young children
are dependent on pensioner.
10. Assessment of value of accumu­
lated property.
11. Provisions where applicant is owner
of his residence
12. Mode of computing annual income.
13. Where applicant is married.
14. Pensioners becoming inmates of
'mental hospitals.
P art II.
w id o w s ’ p e n s i o n s .

15. Pensions to widows.
16. Qualifications of applicant for pen­
sion.
17. Children to whom this part of act
does not apply.
18. Restrictions on grant of pensions.
19. Rates of pension.
20. Income from property.
21. On death of widow, guardian may
receive pension on behalf of
children.

19lfa9Ì2!3no.t2ei)WÌdOWS’ PeüSi0n

27. Periodical payments to which ap­
plicant is entitled to be computed
as income.
28. Pension, when to commence. Pen­
sion payable monthly.
Pension claims and pension certificates.
29. Pension claim.
30. Magistrate to investigate.
31. When personal attendance may be
dispensed with.
32. Witnesses and evidence on oath.
Duty to answer questions re­
specting applications.
33. Evidence to be corroborated.
34. How pension claim is to be dealt
with.
35. Magistrate may postpone claim.
Mode of rejecting claim.
36. Fraudulent misrepresentation by
applicant. Transfer of property.
' 37. «Strict rules of evidence not to be
binding. Matters to be distin­
guished. As to matters dis­
proved. As to matters unproved.
38. Pension claims may be amended.
39. Issue of pension certificate when
elaim is established.
40. Annual pension certificate.

aCt °f 1911 (1911’ D0- 16> and amendatory act

253

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254

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

Income and property statements.
41. Statement of income for preceding
pension year to be furnished to
registrar. Issue of pension cer­
tificate for year.
Payment of pensions and forfeiture of
instalments.

PENSIONS.

57. Commissioner may suspend pen­
sion certificate in certain cases.
58. Forfeiture of pension on cancella­
tion of certificate.
59. Instalments of pension forfeited
during currency of suspension
order.
[
60. Magistrate to notify registrar of
suspension or cancellation of
certificates.
61. Payment for procuring pension
illegal.
62. General penalty for offenses.
63. Proceedings, how and when to be
taken.

42. Place of payment of pension.
43. Change of place of payment.
44. Instalment to be applied for with­
in one month. Power to delegate
certain powers. When instal­
ment is deemed to be forfeited.
45. Charitable aid board not to refuse
Miscellaneous.
to admit pensioner.
46. Provision where pensioner is in re­ 64. No person entitled to more than
ceipt of charitable aid.
one pension.
47. Payment to other than pensioner. 65. Pensions absolutely inalienable.
48. Forfeiture of instalments in cer­ 66. Registrar, etc., may take declara­
tain cases.
tions.
49. Procedure as to payments of in­ 67. Exemption from stamp duty.
stalments by postmasters.
68. Payment of imprest moneys into
50. Inquiry by commissioner.
post-office account.
51. Magistrate may review his deci­ 69. Expenses of administration.
sion.
70. Annual statement to be laid before
52. Payments in excess may be re­
Parliament.
covered.
71. To whom act is not to apply. Act
53. After-acquired property.
applies to Maoris.
54. Apportionment of instalment on 72. Rules for assessment of undeter­
death of pensioner.
mined Maori interests.
55. Property disclosed on death of pen­ 73. Pensions granted subject to any
sioner.
amending act.
74. Regulations. To be laid before
Offenses.
Parliament.
56. Penalties. Certificate to be can­ 75. Repeals. Savings.
Schedule.
celed in certain cases.
[1913, No. 10, as amended by 1914, No. 55.]
An Act To consolidate and amend certain enactments relating to old-age (widows)
and other pensions. (11th October, 1913; 5th November, 1914.)

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of New Zealand in Parliament as­
sembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1. This act may be cited as the Pensions Act, 1913.
2. In this act, if not inconsistent with the context—
“ Commissioner ” means the Commissioner of Pensions appointed under this
a ct:
“ Income ” means any moneys, valuable consideration, or profits derived or
received by any person for his own use or benefit in any year, by any
means or from any source, and shall be deemed to include personal earn-


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

255

ings and tlie reasonable cost of board and lodgings estimated at a rate
not exceeding twenty-six pounds a year, but shall not include:
(a) Any pension payable under this act; nor
(5) Any payment by way of sick allowance or funeral benefit from
any registered friendly society; nor
(c) Any money received by way of charitable relief, not exceeding
fifty-two pounds in any year; nor
(d) Any money received from the Gold-miners’ Relief Fund pursuant
to section sixteen of the Mining Amendment Act, 1910, or from
the Coal-miners’ Relief Fund, or the Sick and Accident Fund pur­
suant to section eighty of the Coal-mines Act, 1908; nor
(e) Any money received on the sale or exchange of land or property;
nor
( f ) Any money received under an insurance policy on the destruction
or damage by fire or otherwise of a building or other property;
nor
(ff) Any capital moneys expended for the benefit of the applicant, or
for the benefit of his or her wife or husband or dependent chil­
dren ; nor
(h ) Any money or money’s worth received by an applicant on the
intestacy or under the will of the deceased husband or wife of the
applicant; nor
(i) Any payment by way of gift or voluntary or other allowance (not
exceeding fifty-two pounds in any year) from any relative of the
applicant.
“ Income year ” means the year ending one month before the date on which
the pension claim is finally admitted, and at the same time in each sub­
sequent year:
“ Minister ” means the minister for the time being administering this a ct:
“ Prescribed ” means prescribed by this act or by regulations thereunder:
“ Pension year ” means in respect of an original pension certificate a period
of twelve months commencing on the first day of the month in which the
pension claim is established, and in respect of a renewed pension certifi­
cate means a period of twelve months commencing on the corresponding
day of any subsequent year:
“ Widow ” includes a woman whose husband is detained in an institution
under the Mental Defectives Act, 1911.
Districts and registrars.
3. (1) For the purposes of this act the governor may from time to time divide
New Zealand into such districts, with such names and boundaries as he
thinks fit.
(2)
If any such district is constituted by reference to the boundaries of any
other portion of New Zealand as defined by any other act, then any alteration
in such boundaries shall take effect in respect of such district without any
further proceedings, unless the governor otherwise determines.
4. The governor may from time to time appoint a commissioner of pensions
who, subject to the control of the minister, shall have the general administra­
tion of this act.
5. The governor may also from time to time appoint in and for every such
district a registrar and such other persons as he deems fit.
6. Subject to the provisions of this act, the commissioner and every registrar
and other person appointed as aforesaid shall have such powers and duties as
the governor from time to time determines.

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256

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
P art

II.*

w ido w s ’ p e n s io n s .

15. Subject to the provisions of this part of this act, every widow who at the
commencement of any pension year conforms to the requirements hereinafter
set forth shall be entitled to receive during that year a pension at the rate here­
inafter provided.
16. No widow shall be entitled to a pension unless she is resident in New
Zealand, and has a child or children to whom this part of this act is applicable.
For the purposes of this part of this act the term “ child ” includes a stepchild
or a child legally adopted during the lifetime of the husband of the applicant.
17. This part of this act shall not apply to—
(a) Any child over the age of fourteen years.
(b) Any illegitimate child, unless after the birth of the child its parents
have intermarried.
(c) Any child born out of New Zealand unless its mother was only tem­
porarily absent from New Zealand at the time of its birth, or unless
its mother has continuously resided in New Zealand for not less
than ten years immediately preceding the date of an application for
a pension: Provided, That continuous residence in New Zealand
shall not be deemed to have been interrupted by occasional absences
therefrom if, she establishes the fact that during such absences her
family or home was in New Zealand.
18. No. widow shall be entitled to a pension under this part of this act—
(a) If she has at any time, whether before or after the coming into
operation of this act, deprived herself directly or indirectly of
property or income in order to qualify for a pension, or in order
to increase the pension to which she would otherwise be entitled;
nor
(b) Unless the magistrate to whom the application for a pension certificate
is made is satisfied that she is of sober habits and of good moral
character, and that the pension will be properly used for the support
of, her children.
19. (1) A pension qnder this part of this act shall be payable at the following
rates, subject to the deductions hereinafter provided:
(«) If the widow has one child to whom this part of this act applies the
pension shall amount to twelve pounds a year.
“ (b) For each additional child to whom this part of this act applies the
pension shall be increased by six pounds a year.” (L6 per annum
additional for each child provided for period of the war and 12
months thereafter by Finance Act, 1917.)2
(2) Each of the foregoing rates of pension shall be subject to a deduction
of one pound for every pound by which the annual income of the widow and
her children as aforesaid, after deducting personal earnings to an amount not
exceeding one hundred pounds, exceeds the sum of thirty pounds.
20. (1) If a widow or any of her children to whom this part of this act
applies is the owner of any property which produces no income, or which
produces an income less than five per centum per annum of the value of that
property, the widow or child shall, for the purposes of this part of this act, be

1Part 1 (secs. 7-14) relates to old age pensions. Section 9 provides for an additional
pension of not exceeding thirteen pounds per annum where children under fourteen are
dependent on pensioner.
21917. No. 7, Sec. 83.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

257

deemed to be in receipt from that property of an annual income equal to five
per centum of the value thereof after deducting the value of any property
upon which the widow and her children permanently reside, not exceeding
the sum of three hundred and forty pounds, and also the value of any furni­
ture and other personal effects.
(2) In estimating, for the purposes of the last preceding subsection, the
value of property upon which a widow and her children permanently reside,
the value shall not be deemed to exceed the capital value of that property as
appearing on the district valuation roll under the Valuation of Land Act, 1908,
at the date of the establishment of the applicant’s original claim.
(3) If a widow or any of her children to whom this part of this act applies
is in receipt of any income which is partly derived from property and is
partly personal earnings in respect of that property, the magistrate to whom
the application for a pension certificate is made shall apportion that income
in such manner as he thinks just between the income derived from such prop­
erty and such personal earnings.
21. In ease of the death of the pensioner, the guardian or other person for
the time being having the care or control of her children to whom this part of
this act applies shall, with the approval of the commissioner, be entitled to
receive the pension to which the widow would have been entitled in respect
of her children if she had lived.
22. The right to a pension or the amount of a pension shall hot be affected
during any pension year by reason merely of the fact that any child of the
pensioner has within that year attained the age of fourteen years, or by reason
merely of the death of any child of the pensioner.
P art

IV.1

MISCELLANEOUS.

27. Where an applicant, or the wife or husband of an applicant, for a pen­
sion or for the renewal of a pension under Part I hereof is at the date of
application entitled to received from any source periodical payments, by way
of personal earnings or otherwise, for his or her own use or benefit, or where
an applicant for a pension or for the renewal of a pension under Part II
hereof is at the date of application entitled to receive from any source any
such payments for her own use or benefit, or for the use or benefit of any of
her children to whom the said Part II applies, such moneys shall be included
in the computation of the income of the applicant, although no part thereof
may have been actually received by the applicant or by the wife or husband of
the applicant, as the case may be.
28. With respect to every pension under this act the following provisions shall
apply:
(a) The pension shall be deemed to commence on the date named in that
behalf in the magistrate’s certificate issued in respect of the first
year’s pension, being in every case the first day of the month within
which that certificate is issued: Provided, That no old-age pension
shall be deemed to commence on a date prior to that on which the
applicant reached the age of fifty-five, sixty, or sixty-five years, as the
case may be.
(&) Each year’s pension shall be payable pursuant to a pension-certificate
issued in respect of such year, and not otherwise.
1 Part 3 (secs. 23-26) relates to military pensions.

143973°—19-----17

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* LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

(C) Such certificate shall in every case specify the amount of the year’s pen­
sion, and the instalments by which it is payable, being twelve equal
monthly instalments. The first such instalment shall be payable on
the first day of the month next after the commencement of the year,
and subsequent instalments shall be payable on the first day of each
succeeding month thereafter: Provided, That an instalment payable
on the first day of January m any year may be paid at any time not
earlier than the twenty-third day of December preceding the due date.
(d) Except as hereinafter provided, the rate of each year’s pension shall
not vary during the year.
Pension claims and pension certificates.
29. (1) Every person claiming to be entitled to a pension under Part I or
Part II of this act shall, in the prescribed manner and form, deliver a claim
therefor (elsewhere throughout this act called a “ pension claim ”) to the
registrar of the district wherein the claimant resides.
(2) The pension claim shall affirm all the requirements and negative all the
disqualifications under this act.
(3) Every claimant shall, by statutory declaration, affirm that the contents of
his pension claim are true and correct in every material point.
30. (1) The registrar shall, in the prescribed manner, transmit the claim to a
magistrate exercising jurisdiction in the district.
( 2) The registrar shall thereupon ascertain on .what date the claim may be
investigated, and shall notify the claimant of a date on which he may attend to
support his claim.
(3) The magistrate shall on the date so fixed, or on the first convenient day
thereafter, proceed in chambers to fully investigate the claim for the purpose of
ascertaining whether the claimant is entitled to a pension, and, if so, for what
amount in respect of the first year.
(4) Thé registrar, or some person appointed by him, shall have the right to
appear at the hearing and to examine or cross-examine the applicant and the
witnesses.
(5) The hearing may from time to time be adjourned by the magistrate at the
request of the registrar.
31. Where the magistrate is satisfied that the documentary evidence in support
of the claim is sufficient to establish it, and also that by reason of physical
disability or other sufficient cause the attendance of the applicant should be
dispensed with, he shall not require the personal attendance of the applicant,
who shall be notified accordingly.
32. (1) For the purposes of such investigation all the powers under the
Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1908, shall be available for the purpose of compelling
the attendance of witnesses, and every witness shall be examined on oath.
(2) It shall be the duty of every person to make true answers to all questions
concerning any applicant for a pension, or any of the statements contained in
any application for a pension, put to him by the registrar or any officer authoiized in that behalf by the registrar.
(3) Every person commits an offence who—
(а) Refuses to answer any such question ; or
( б) Makes any answer knowing the same to be untrue.
(4) This section shall apply to any officer of any bank or other corporation
carrying on business in New Zealand, and to any officer of the post-office savings
bank, or of any other government department which receives investments of
money from the public.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

259

33. No pension-claim shall be admitted unless the evidence of the claimant is
corroborated on all material points, except that in respect of the age of the
claimant the magistrate, if otherwise satisfied, may dispense with corroborative
evidence.
34. The magistrate maj^ admit the pension-claim as originally made, or as
modified by the result of his investigations, or may postpone it for further
evidence, or reject it, as he deems equitable; and his decision shall be notified
to the claimant by the registrar.
35. (T) If the magistrate is of opinion that, although the claim is not com­
pletely established, further evidence may be adduced in support thereof, or it
may be mended by lapse of time, he shall postpone the claim if the claimant so
desires, and in such case all matters as to which the magistrate is satisfied shall
be recorded as proved: Provided, That this shall not be a bar to further
evidence being adduced in respect of the matter recorded as proved.
(2) If the magistrate decides that the pension-claim is not established, and
can not be mended by postponement for a reasonable time, he shall reject it, and
when doing so shall specify in writing all the material points which he finds to be
respectively proved, disproved, unproved, or insufficiently proved.
36. (1) If the magistrate is of opinion that any fraudulent misrepresentation
has been made by the applicant for a pension with the intention of obtaining
a pension to which he was not by law entitled, or a higher rate of pension than
that to which he was by law entitled, then, in addition to any penalty incurred
under this act by the applicant, the magistrate shall refuse the application, and
may by order declare that the applicant shall not be entitled to make a fresh
application for such period, not exceeding twelve months, as the magistrate
thinks fit.
(2) If the magistrate finds that any real or personal property has been
transferred to any other person by the applicant, or by the wife or husband of
the applicant, he may inquire into such transfer, and refuse the application or
grant a reduced pension. A disposition by will of any real or personal prop­
erty shall be deemed to be a transfer of such property for the purposes of this
section.
37. (1) In investigating any claim for a pension, the magistrate shall not
be bound by the strict rules of evidence, but shall investigate and determine
the matter by such means and in such manner as In equity and good conscience
he thinks fit.
(2) In disposing of material points against the claimant, the magistrate
shall distinguish between what he finds to be disproved and what he finds to be
simply unproved or insufficiently proved.
(3 In respect of wha^ is found to be disproved, the magistrate’s decision
shall be final and conclusive for all purposes.
(4)
In respect of what is found to be simply unproved or insufficiently
proved, the claimant may at any time thereafter adduce fresh evidence on
those points before the magistrate, and in such case all material points prev­
iously found by the magistrate to be proved shall be deemed to be established,
and he shall dispose of all other,points as in the case of a new pension claim.
38. The pension claim may be amended from time to time on any point which
has not been finally disposed of.
39. As soon as the pension claim is established, and the rate of the first
year’s pension is fixed by the magistrate, he shall, in the prescribed manner,
certify the same to the commissioner, who shall, in the prescribed manner and
form, issue to the claimant a certificate (elsewhere throughout this act called a
“ pension certificate ”) in respect of the first year’s pension.

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260

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

40. In respect of the pension for each year after the first, a fresh pension
certificate shall be issued as hereinafter provided.
Income and Property ‘ Statements.
41. For the purpose of ascertaining in respect of the second and each subse­
quent year, computed from the date of the commencement of the pension,
whether a pensioner under Part I or Part II hereof is entitled to any payment
in respect of his pension for such year, and, if so, for what amount, the follow­
ing provisions shall apply:
(a) Within the prescribed period before the commencement of each such
year the pensioner, whether claiming any payment in respect of his
pension for that year or not, shall furnish to the registrar a state­
ment in the prescribed form setting forth full particulars of his in­
come for such year (being the income for the last preceding incomeyear), and also the net capital value of all his accumulated prop­
erty.
(b) If the pensioner has received no income for the year and has no ac­
cumulated property, the statement shall contain the word “ Nil.”
(c) The magistrate shall investigate the statement, and ascertain whether
the pensioner is entitled to a renewal of his pension, in the same
manner, with the same powers, and subject to the same provisions
as in the case of pension claims.
(d) The magistrate, when satisfied as to the amount of the pensioner’s in­
come, and the net capital value of his accumulated property, and
that the pensioner is entitled to a renewal of his pension, shall
certifiy the same to the commissioner, who shall issue a pension
certificate in the prescribed form in respect of the year’s pension (if
any) to which the pensioner is entitled.
Payment of pensions and forfeiture of instalments.
42. Each monthly instalment of the pension shall be payable at the postoffice money-order office named in the pension certificate.
48.
On application in the prescribed manner, the name of such oifice may be
changed from time to time, and every change of oifice shall be recorded by the
registrar on the pension certificate and in the district pension registrar.
44. (1) Subject to the provisions of this act, each monthly instalment
shall be payable at any time within one month after its due date on the per­
sonal application of the pensioner and the production of his pension certificate
to the postmaster of the postoffice money-order oifice named therein: Provided,
That the minister may at any time further extend such period in any case
where the provisions of this section are not strictly complied with owing to the
pensioner’s illness or temporary absence from home (but not from New
Zealand), or other sufficient cause, and notwithstanding that such period has
then elapsed or that the instalment has then been paid.
(2) The minister may from time to time, as he thinks fit, by writing under
his hand, delegate to the commissioner all powers vested in him by this section.
(3) In default of strict compliance with all the provisions of this section,
and subject to any extension of time as therein mentioned, such instalment
shall be deemed to be forfeited.
45. It shall not be lawful for the governing body of any charitable institu­
tion to refuse to admit any person as an inmate of such charitable institu­
tion or to refuse to grant him relief on the ground only that he is a pensioner
under this act.

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261

47. ( 1 ) Subject to regulations, and on production to the postmaster of a
warrant in the prescribed form, signed by the commissioner, the instalments
may be paid to any clergyman, justice, or other reputable person named in the
warrant for the benefit of the pensioner.
(2) Such warrant may be issued by the commissioner whenever he is satisfied
that it is expedient so to do, having regard to the age, infirmity, or improvi­
dence of the pensioner, or any other special circumstances.
48. Every instalment shall be absolutely forfeited—
(a) In the case of an old-age pension, during any period while the pen­
sioner is in prison or is out of New Zealand;
(&) In the case of a widow’s pension, during any period while the pen­
sioner is out of New Zealand, or if she marries; and
(c) In the case of d military pension, during' any period while the pen­
sioner is in prison, or is an inmate of an institution under the
mental defectives Act, 1911, or is out of New Zealand.
49.
' With respect to the payment of instalments of pension by the postmaster
the following provisions shall apply;
(a) The postmaster may, if he thinks fit, require the applicant for pay­
ment to prove his identity, but shall not be bound so to do, and
may accept the production of the pension certificate or warrant to
which the instalment relates as sufficient evidence that the person
producing the same is the person entitled to payment.
(&) When making the payment the postmaster shall indorse on the.pen­
sion certificate the date and fact of the payment, and shall also
require the person receiving the payment to give a receipt therefor
in the prescribed form.
(c) Such receipt shall be sufficient evidence that the payment to which
the receipt purports to relate has been duly made, and no claim
against his majesty or the postmaster shall thereafter arise or be
made in respect thereof.
(d) Where the warrant produced as aforesaid relates to a single instal­
ment, or to the last of a series of instalments, it shall be delivered
up to and retained by the postmaster on payment of such
instalment.
50. (1) If at any time the commissioner has reason to believe that any pen­
sion certificate has been improperly obtained, he shall cause special inquiry
to be made before the magistrate, and shall give notice to the postmaster through
whom the instalments are payable to suspend payment of any instalments pend­
ing the inquiry, and payment of such instalments shall be suspended accordingly.
(2) If on inquiry it appears that the pension certificate was improperly
obtained, it shall be canceled by the magistrate; but if it appears that the
certificate was properly obtained, the suspended instalments shall be payable
in due course.
(3) Such inquiry shall be made in the prescribed manner.
51. Irrespective of any such inquiry, the magistrate may at any time him­
self review any pension certificate, and may either cancel the same, or vary
the same, whether by increasing, or diminishing the amount of the pension or
otherwise, in such manner as he thinks fit, having regard to the provisions of
this act.
52. Where it is found that any pension or instalment of a pension has been
paid in excess of the amount to which the pensioner- was by law entitled, the
amount so paid in excess (whether paid before or after the coming into opera­
tion of this act) may be recovered by the commissioner as a debt due to the

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS; PENSIONS.

crown, and if in tlie opinion oi the magistrate such excess was obtained by
fraud, then the pensioner shall, in lieu of or in addition to any penalty to
which he is liable under section fifty-six hereof, be liable, at the discretion of
the magistrate, to a fine not exceeding double the amount so paid in excess.
53.
If at any time during the currency of a pension the pensioner, or the
wife or husband of a pensioner, becomes possessed of any property or income
in excess of what is allowed by law in respect of the amount of pension
granted, the registrar may apply to the magistrate, who may on inquiry either
confirm or cancel the pension, or vary the amount thereof: Provided, That
should the excess of property or income as mentioned in this section cease, the
pension shall be immediately restored to the original amount.
55. If on the death of any pensioner, or of the wife or husband of any pen­
sioner, it is found that he, or either of them, was possessed of property in ex­
cess of what is allowed by law in respect of the amount of the pension
granted, double the amount of pension at any time paid in excess of That to .
Which the pensioner was by law entitled may be recovered as a debt due to the
crown from the estate so found in excess:. Provided, That where the husband
and wife were at the time of such death living apart pursuant to decree,
order, or deed of separation this section shall only apply in the case of the pen­
sioner.
Offenses.
56. (1) Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to
imprisonment for not more than three months with or without hard labor—
(а) If by means of any wilfully false statement or representation he obtains
or attempts to obtain a pension certificate, not being justly entitled
thereto, or a pension of a larger amount than he is justly entitled
to; or
( б) If by any means he obtains or attempts to obtain payment of any abso­
lutely forfeited instalment of pension; or
(c) If by means of personation or any other fraudulent device whatso­
ever he obtains or attempts to obtain payment of any instalment of
pension; or
(d) If by any wilfully false statement or representation he aids or abets
any person to obtain a pension certificate or any instalment pay­
able thereunder.
(2) Where any person is convicted of an offense under this section the
magistrate shall cancel the pension certificate in respect to the issue of which
the offense was committed.
57. If any pensioner under this act is convicted of drunkenness or of any
offense punishable by imprisonment for one month or any longer period and
dishonoring him in the public estimation, or if he misspends, wastes, or lessens
his estate, or greatly injures his health, or endangers or interrupts the peace
and happiness of his family, the commissioner may' direct that the instalments
of his pension be paid to any clergyman, justice of the peace, or other reputable
person, or may suspend the pension certificate for such period as he deems fit.
58. (1) In any case where a pension certificate is canceled, the pension shall
be deemed to be absolutely forfeited.
(2) In every such case the person whose pension is so forfeited is disqualified
to make any application for a new pension until the expiration of twelve
months from the date of the forfeiture.
(3) Every application made by any such person for a new pension shall be
subject in all respects to the same provisions as if no former pension had been
granted to that person.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS, PENSIONS,

263

(4)
This section shall extend and apply to all persons whose .pensions have
been forfeited before the passing of this act
59. (1) So long as an order is in force suspending a pension certificate all
instalments which, would otherwise become due and payable during that period
shall be forfeited.
(2) If any period of suspension is such as to extend beyond the expiration
of the year in which the order of suspension is made, the order shall apply
so far as regards the residue of that period to any pension certificate issued
for the next succeeding year.
60. In every case in which a pension certificate is suspended or canceled, the
magistrate so suspending or canceling the same shall forthwith send to the
commissioner a notice under the hand of the magistrate setting forth the terms
of the order so made by him and the grounds thereof.
61. Every person commits an offense who receives any money in consideration
of or in respect of the procuring of any pension or pension certificate, and in
the case of any licensed Maori interpreter so committing an offense his license
as such interpreter shall be canceled.
62. Every person who commits an offense under this act for which no
penalty is elsewhere provided is liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.
63. {1) All proceedings under this act, whether in respect of an offense
heretofore or hereafter committed, or of moneys recoverable under section
fifty-two or section fifty-five hereof, shall be taken before a magistrate alone,
and may be so taken at any time not exceeding six months from the time when
the facts first came to the knowledge of the commissioner.
(2) In all such proceedings the registrar, or other person appointed by the
commissioner, may appear on behalf of the commissioner, and the fact that
any person so appears shit 11 be sufficient evidence of his authority so to do.
Miscellaneous.
64. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this act, a person
who is in receipt of a pension under any pail thereof shall not be entitled to
receive a pension under any other part thereof.
65. A pension tinder this act shall be inalienable, whether by way of assign­
ment, charge, execution, bankruptcy, or otherwise howsoever.
66. Every statutory declaration required toy this act, or adduced in proof of
any particular required to be proved on the investigation of any claim or in­
come and property statement, may toe made toefore any justice, solicitor, con­
stable, registrar, or clerk o f court, or postmaster, or the commissioner.
67. No stamp duty sliall toe payable on any statutory declaration, receipt, or
other document made or given for the purposes of this act.
68. The minister shall from time to time, without further appropriation
than this act, pay out of the consolidated fund into the post-office account, by
way of imprest, whatever moneys are necessary in order to enable the instal­
ments of pensions granted under this act to be 'paid out of such account, and
the postmaster general shall thereupon pay such instalments accordingly.
69. All expenses incurred in administering this act <©ther than the payment
of pensions) -shall be payable out of moneys to be from time to time appro­
priated by Parliament.
76.
The minister shall, within thirty days after the dose of each financial
year ending the thirty-first day of March, prepare and lay before Parliament
if sitting, or if not sitting, then within fourteen days after the commencement
of the next session, a statement showing for such year—


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

(a) The total amount paid under this act in respect of old-age pensions,
widows’ pensions and military pensions separately;
(b) The total amount so paid in respect of other than pensions;
(e) The total number of pensioners;
(d ) The total amount of absolutely forfeited instalments; and
(e) Such other particulars as are prescribed.
71. (1) This act, in so far as it provides for the grant of pensions, shall not
apply—
(a) In the case of pensions under part I or part II hereof, to aboriginal
Maoris of New Zealand to whom moneys other than pensions are
paid out of the sums appropriated for native purposes by the Civil
List Act, 1908; nor
(b) To aliens; nor
(c) In the case of pensions under part I hereof, to naturalized subjects,
except such as have been naturalized for the period of one year
next preceding the date on which- they establish their pension
claims; nor
(d) To Chinese or other Asiatics, whether naturalized or not, and whether
British subjects by birth or not.
(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (a) of the last preceding sub­
section, this act applies to aboriginal Maoris of New Zealand: Provided, That
on the Investigation of any such Maori’s pension claim for an old age pension
his evidence as to his age shall be required to be corroborated to the satisfac­
tion of the magistrate.
(3) For the purposes of this section a woman who ceased to be a British
subject by reason merely of her marriage with an alien since deceased or from
whom she is legally separated shall not be deemed to be an alien.
72. In determining the claim of any aboriginal Maori to a pension under
part I or part II hereof, in so far as the same may be affected by rights or prop­
erty held or enjoyed otherwise than under defined legal title, the magistrate
shall be guided by the following rules;
(a) In respect of “ income,” any customary rights used or capable of being
used in respect of land the title to which has not been ascertained,
but which is enjoyed or is capable of enjoyment, shall be assessed and
determined by such evidence and in such manner as the magistrate
in his discretion considers proper;
(&) In respect of “ accumulated property,” the interest in land or other
property held or enjoyed under native custom, or in any way other
than by defined legal title, shall be assessed and determined by the
magistrate in manner aforesaid, with the view of arriving as nearly
as may be at a decision as to the net capital value thereof for the
purposes of this act; and the decision of the magistrate thereon
shall be final.
73. (1) Every pension granted under this act shall be deemed to be granted
and shall be held subject to the provisions of any amending or repealing act
that may hereafter be passed, and no pensioner under this act shall have any
claim for compensation or otherwise by reason of his pension being affected by
any such amending or repealing act.
(2) A notification of the last preceding subsection shall be printed on every
pension certificate.
74. (1) The governor in council may from time to time make regulations
under this act relating to any of the following purposes or matters;


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

265

(а) The procedure in all judicial proceedings (other than criminal pro­
ceedings) under this act;
( б) The recording or registration of pension claims, pension certificates,
and all other matters and proceedings in relation to pensions under
this act;
(c) The duties of the commissioner, registrars, postmasters, and magis­
trates under this act ;
(d) The transfer of pension certificates from the register of one district
to the register of another district;
(e) The issue of duplicate pension certificates in lieu of certificates lost
or destroyed;
(/) The forms of instruments required or authorized by this act;
(.<?) The mode of payment of pensions;
(h) All other matters in respect of which regulations are contemplated or
required by this act, or which the governor deems necessary or
admissible for the proper administration of this act.
(2) Such regulations shall be laid on the table of the House of Representa­
tives within ten days after the commencement of each session, and referred to
such sessional committee for report as the House directs.
75. (1) The acts mentioned in the schedule hereto are hereby repealed.
(2) The districts into which New Zealand was on the commencement of this
act divided for the purposes of the repealed enactment shall be deemed to
have been constituted under this act.
(3) The commissioner appointed under the Old-age Pensions Act, 1908, shall
be deemed to have been appointed commissioner of pensions under this act.
(4) All appointments of officers made under the repealed acts and in force
on the commencement of this act shall be deemed to have been made under
this act.
(5) Every pension existing on the.commencement of this act shall be deemed
to have been granted under this act; and all applications, investigations, and
proceedings pending under any act hereby repealed may be dealt with and com­
pleted under the corresponding provisions of this act.
SCHEDULE----ACTS REPEALED.

1908, No. 136.—The Old-age Pensions Act, 1908.
1908, No. 245.—The Old-age Pensions Amendment Act, 1908.
1909, No. 22.—The Old-age Pensions Amendment Act, 1909.
1910, No. 45.—The Old-age Pensions Amendment Act, 1910.
1911, No. 14.—The Old-age Pensions Amendment Act, 1911.
1911, No. 16.—The Widows’ Pensions Act, 1911.
1912, No. 21.—The Widows’ Pensions Amendment Act, 1912.
1912, No. 36.—The Military Pensions Act, 1912.
REGULATIONS UNDER THE PENSIONS ACT 1 9 1 3 .

P ensions D epartment,
H ead Office , Wellington, 23d October, 1913.

To registrars:
The various acts relating to old age, widows’, and military pensions have been
consolidated in the Pensions Act, 1913, copy of which is herewith forwarded
for your future guidance. The opportunity has also been taken of consolidating
all existing departmental instructions in this circular, which is to supersede
all previous circulars, now hereby withdrawn.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

The act above referred to, besides being a consolidating measure includes a
number of important amendments, which, taken in their sequence, are as
follows:
S ec. 2. Definition of income.—Friendly society benefits (par. 5) ; relief by
way of charity from any source up to £52 in any year (par. c ) ; grants from
Gold-miners’ and Coal-miners’ Relief Funds (par. d) ; reasonable expenditure
of capital (par. g) ; property received from deceased husband or wife (par. h) ;
and gifts from relatives up to £52 in any year—are now exempt as income for
purposes of both old-age and widows’ pensions.1
S ec. 16. Definition of child {widows’).—The widow’s pension is extended to
include stepchildren, and also children legally adopted during the lifetime of
the applicant’s husband.
Sec. 20. Description of property (widows’) .—In addition to furniture and
personal effects exempted by previous legislation, the home of a widow to the
value of £340—subsection 1—is now excluded from 'the computation of the
pension. Similarly to section 10 (3), subsection (2) of this section provides
that any increase in the valuation of a property used as a home subsequent to
the original granting of the pension shall not affect the amount of pension.
S ec. 27. Anticipated income (old-age and widows’).—Under this section any
applicant who at the date of application is due to receive income, either by
way of earnings, superannuation or otherwise, at the rate of the disqualifying
amount will not be eligible for the pension.
S ec. 28. Date of Payment.—Provision is herein made for paying the January
instalments of all classes of pensions before Christmas.
S ec. 30. Magistrate# inrestigation (old-age and widows’) .—It is herein provided—subsection (3b—that all applications shall be determined by the magis­
trate in chambers, the public examination in open court being done away with.
S ec. 36, Transferred property (old-age and widows’).—The magistrate is
herein empowered—subsection ( 2)—to include property disposed of by will by
the wife or husband of an applicant in the computation of the pension. The
practice has grown under the previous law of persons with considerable estate
leaving their property to children, thus enabling the widow (or widower) to
qualify for the pension. The new provision has been designed to prevent this,
and it will therefore be necessary in future to look closely into the position of
all property previously owned by the deceased husband or wife of an applicant.
S ec. 46. Pensioners in homes.—The payment of instalments of military pen­
sions, but not of widows’ pensions, to the governing body of a home or hospital
is herein authorized on production of a warrant which will be similar to that
already in use for old-age pensions. Registrars are therefore required to issue
such warrants as are necessary, and it is desired that military pensions be in­
cluded in a separate warrant for convenience at head office.
S ec. 53. Altered circumstances of pensioner.—This provision (formerly sec­
tion 48 of the 1908 O. A. P. Act) for old-age pension purposes by the inclusion
of the income or property of a husband or wife.
S ec 54. Accrued amounts.—Provision is here made for paying amounts ac­
crued to date of death in respect of both old-age and military pensions. The
same care is to be exercised by registrars, in regard to both classes of pen­
sion, in recommending payment in necessitous cases only. Widows’ pensions
at death are of course payable to the guardian of the children in terms of sec­
tion 21 of the act. •
S ec. 56. Penalty for fraud.—-An alternative penalty by way of fine is now
provided for in lieu of imprisonment.
S ec. 57. Convictions for drunkenness.—The compulsory provisions under the
old law (section 12, 1908 O. A. P. amendment) for the forfeiture of one or more
instalments of pension for drunkenness have been repealed, and the com­
missioner is now empowered to pay an agent, or to suspend payment as may
be deemed desirable. It will still be necessary for all convictions to be noti­
fied to head office on Form 23 as previously. The power, of course, still re­
mains with the magistrate to refuse the renewal of a pension if the habits of
the pensioner warrant it.
Section 64 makes it perfectly clear that no one person shall be entitled to
claim more than one class of pension payable under the act.

1Sections relating solely to old-age and military pensions omitted.
. N ote .— Under section 12 (1) provision is made for an old-age pension applicant being

eligible to claim the full pension immediately he ceases work if his income did not
exceed £2 12s. 6d. a week. A widow’s personal earnings are exempted up to £100 per
annum in any case.


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LIST OF REFERENCES ON

M OTHERS’ PE N SIO N S.”

UNITED STATES AND GENERAL.
1. Abbott, Edith. Public pensions to widows with children [Reyiew of Mr.
Carstens’s report.] American economic review, June, 1913, v. 3:473478.
2. The abolition of child poverty by mothers’ pensions. National health,
Apr. 1917, v. 9:194.
3. Almy, Frederic. Public pensions to widows. Experiences and observa­
tions which lead me to oppose such a law. (In National conference of
charities and correction. Proceedings, 1912, pp. 481-485.)
Printed also in The Child (Chicago) 1912, v. T : 51-54.

4. American academy of political and social science, Philadelphia. Social
work with families . . . Editor in charge of this volume: Frank D.
Watson. Philadelphia, American academy of political arid social
science, 1918. 198 p. (Its Annals, v. 77, whole no. 166, May, 1918.)
P a r t i a l c o n t e n t s .— The fatherless family, by Helen Glenn T yson ; Desertion and nonsupport in family case work, by Joanna C. C'olcord ; The illegiti­
mate family, by Amey E. Watson.

5.

Assistance to needy children.

Nation, April 17, 1913, v. 9 6 :37S.

6. Baldwin, W illiam H. The most effective methods of dealing with cases pf
7.

desertion and nonsupport. (In National probation association. Pro­
ceedings, 1917, p. 87-99.)
Both sides, a debate; mothers’ pensions. Independent, Nov. 9, 1914, v.
8 0 : 206.

8. Breckinridge, Sophonisba P. The care of needy families in their homes.
Chicago, General educational committee on Chicago philanthropy
[n. d.] 6 p. (Studies in Chicago philanthropy, v. 1, no. 3.)
9. ----- . . . The delinquent child and the home, by Sophonisba P.
Breckinridge . . . and Edith Abbott . . . with an introduction by Julia
C. Lathrop. New York, Charities publication committee, 1912. x,
355 p. inch illus. 24em. (Russel Sage foundation publications.)
Includes statistics of children of working mothers coming before-the juvenile
court of Cook county, 111.

10. -------- Neglected widowhood in the juvenile court. American journal of
sociology, July, 1910, v. 16:53-87.
11. Bres, Rose Falls. Maids, wives and widows; the law of the land and of
the various States as it affects women. New York, E. P. Dutton and
company [1918]. 267 p. 19icm.
Mothers’ pensions : pp. 74-83.

12.

Bullock, Edna Dean, comp. . . . Selected articles on mothers* pensions.
White Plains, N. Y-, and New York City, The H. W. Wilson company,
1915. xviii, 188 p. 20cm. (Debaters’ handbook series.)
Bibliography : p. [xi]_xviii.

267

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268
13.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

Bureau of municipal research, New York. Widows’ pension legisla­
tion. . . . New York, 1917. 125 p. 2 2 |cm. (Municipal research, no. 85,
May, 1917.)
C o n t e n t s .— Introduction.— I. Widows’ pensions.— II. The significance of
widows’ pensions.— III. The administration of widows’ pension laws.— IV . The
problem of organization.— Y. A year of widows’ pensions in New York State.

14. Butler, Amos W. Official poor relief and the state. Report of commit­
tee on home relief, American association of public officials of charity
and correction, Memphis; Tenn., May 7, 1914 [and discussion]. (In
Indiana. Bulletin of charities and corrections, Sept. 1914, p. 424-434.)
15. Carstens, Christian C. Public pensions to widows with children. Sur­
vey, Jan. 4, 1913, v. 29: 459-466.
Preliminary report of the investigation made for the Russell Sage founda­
tion in 1912.

16. -------- Public pensions to widows with children; a study of their adminis­
tration in several American cities. New York city, Russell Sage founda­
tion, 1913. 36 p. 23cm. (Publication no. 31.)
Report of an investigation made for the Russell Sage foundation in Chicago,
San Francisco, Kansas City, and Milwaukee in 1912.

17. -------- Public pensions to mothers with dependent children.

Child (Chi­
cago), Feb. 1913, v. 1:9-12.
18. -------- Widows’ pensions of doubtful value. (In Indiana Board of State
charities bulletin Dec. 1912, pp. 433-435.)
Summary of the report of the investigation made for the Russell Sage founda­
tion in 1912.

19.
20.

City funds to widowed mothers. Jewish charities, May, 1912, v. 2 :1.
Civic federation of Dallas. Summary of State laws relating largely to
centralized State authority or supervision over public and private
benevolent, penal and correctional institutions, compiled by the Civic
federation of Dallas for the State commission on charities and cor­
rections legislation appointed by Governor Hobby at the instance of
Texas conference of social welfare, Dallas, Texas, 1918. 176 p. 22cra.
Aid to mothers, or “ mothers’ pensions ” : p. 120-122.

21. Cleland, Ethel. Pensions for mothers. American political science review,
Feb. 1913, v. 7: 96-98.
22. Colcord, Joanna C. Broken homes. A study of family desertion and its
social treatment. New York, Russell »Sage foundation, 1919. 208 p.
17£cm. (Social work series.)
“ State aid to mothers” : p. 63.

23. -------- Desertion and nonsupport in family case work. American aca­
demy of political and social science, Annals, May, 1918, v. 77: 91-102.
24. Conference on care of dependent children. Washington, 1909. . . .
Proceedings of the Conference on the care of dependent children, held
at Washington, D. C., January 25, 26, 1909. Special message of the
President of United States recommending legislation desired by the
Conference . . . and transmitting the proceedings of the Conference.
Communicated to the two houses of Congress on February 15, 1909
. . . Washington, Govt, print, oft., 1909. 231 p. 23em. ([U. S.] 60th
Cong., 2d sess. Senate Doc. 721.)
Resolution on home care: p. 9-10.

25.

Conservation of the home.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Outlook, Dec. 9, 1914, v. 108: 809-810.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

269

26. Conyngton, Mary K. . . . Effect of workmen’s compensation laws in di­
minishing the necessity of industrial employment of women and chil­
dren. December, 1917. Washington, Govt, print/off., 1918. 170 p.
incl. tables. 23icm. (Bulletin of the United States Bureau of labor
statistics, whole no. 217. Workmen’s insurance and compensation
series, no. 11.) Issued also as House doc. 58, U. S. 65th Cong., 1st
sess.
S ta te s
v a n ia .
lo s s o f

27.

covered

by

th e

in v e s tig a tio n

S e c tio n s o f t h e r e p o r t d e a l w it h
in ju r e d w a g e -e a r n e r .

w ere

C o n n e c tic u t,

c o n d itio n

O h io

o f fa m ilie s

" How to help, a manual of practical charity.
Macmillan company, 1909.

and

b e fo r e

P e n n s y l­
and

a fte r

New York, The

W id o w s w ith ch ild ren : p. 1 8 5 -1 9 5 .

28.

Cosgrove, Mrs. Henrietta C. Mothers’ pensions: economic and humane
reasons for the enactment of a pension law by the State for the benefit
of indigent mothers and children. (In Southern conference on woman
and child labor, 1913, p. 15-19.)
29. Craiger, Sherman Montrose. Mothers on the pay-roll of many States.
Review of reviews, July, 1915, v. 52:81-84.
30. Daggett, Mabel P. The city as a mother. Pensioning school children and
mothers. World’s work, Nov. 1912, v. 25:111-117.
31. Dawson, Miles M. [Discussion of papers on mothers’ pensions at Con­
ference on social insurance, Washington, D. C., Dec. 8, 1916]. (In
U. S. Bureau of labor statistics. Bulletin 212, p. 835-837.)
On th e ex p e n d itu r e o f w id o w s’ fa m ilie s for in d u s tr ia l life in su ra n ce.

32.

Devine, Edward T. Pensions for mothers [and summary of existing
mothers’ pension laws]. American labor legislation review, June, 1913,
v. 3:191-201.
P a p e r read a t th e C on feren ce on s o c ia l in su ra n ce, C h icago, J u n e 6—7, 1913.
P r in te d a lso in T h e C hild, A ug. 1 9 1 3 , p. 1 6 - 2 L
F o r d isc u ssio n by W illiam
H ard see sa m e iss u e o f A m erica n lab or le g is la tio n r ev iew , p. 2 2 9 —2 34.

33*
Pensions for mothers. Peace forum, Aug. 1913, v. 1, no. 11, p. 12—17.
34. ---------Pensions for mothers.—Survey, July 5,1913, v. 30: 457-460.’
S u b sta n ce o f a paper read a t th e C o n feren ce o f so c ia l in su ra n ce, C hicago,
J u n e 6 - 7 , 1 9 1 3 , p rin te d in A m erica n labor le g is la tio n r ev iew fo r Ju n e, 1913*
p. 1 9 1 -2 0 1 , a n d in T he C hild (C h ic a g o ) A u g. 1 9 1 3 , p. 1 6 -2 1 .

35. --------- State funds to mothers. Survey, March 1, 1913, v. 29: 747-748.
36.
Those who need help. (In Ms Practice of charity, 1904, p. 27-29.)
37- -------- Widows’ needs. Survey, April 4, 1914, v. 32 : 23-29.
38. Doherty, W illiam J. What should be the test of eligibility of children
for admission to child-caring agencies [and discussion]. (In New York
city conference of charities and correction. Proceedings 1914 p
224-251.)
Discussion covers relief o f widowed mothers.

39. Duncan, W. C. Relief by boards of children’s guardians. (In Indiana.
Bulletin of charities and correction, Dec. 1916, p. 475-481.)
40. Einstein, Mrs, W illiam. The keeping together of families [and discus­
sion]. (In New York city conference of charities and correction.
Proceedings, 1911, p. 72-91.)
41- — ---- The keeping together of families. (In New York city conference
of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1912, p. 61-65.)
42. ------- - Pensions for widowed mothers as a means of securing for depend­
ent children the benefits of home training and influence [with dis­
cussion by Frederic Almy and others]. (In New York state conference
of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1910, p. 224-246.)
P r in te d a lso in N ew Y ork ( s t a te ) B oard o f ch a r itie s.
v. 1, p. 1 0 1 0 -1 0 3 2 .


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A n n u al rep ort

1910

270

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.

43. Endowing math.erli.oad. Literary digest, Dec. 7, 1912. v. -45: 1066—1067.
44. Eubank, Earle Edward. . . . A study of family desertion . , . [Chi­
cago, 1916] B p. 1., 73 p. 24cm.
T h e sis (P h . D .) — U n iv e r s ity o f C h icago, 1 9 1 6 .
p a r tm e n t of p u b lic w e lfa r e , c ity o f C hicago, 1 9 1 6 .”

“ Issu e d a lso by th e D e ­

B ib lio g ra p h y : p. [ 6 8 ] —73.

45.

Felton, Katherine C. Insurance in lieu of pensions. California outlook,
Feb. 15, 1918: 9-12.
46. Eitzgibbon, T. E. Mothers with dependent families. (In Indiana. Bul­
letin of charities and correction, Dec. 1916, p. 452-461.)
P r e se n ts t h e r e s u lts o f a q u e stio n n a ir e se n t o u t b y a c o m m ittee o f th e
In d ia n a C h ild ren ’s bureau on th e o p era tio n o f m o th ers’ p e n sio n la w s in th e
v a r io u s sta te s.

47. Folks, Homer. Poverty and parental dependence as an obstacle to child
labor reform. (In National child labor committee. Proceedings of
the third annual meeting, 1906, p. 1-18.)
48. Frankel, Lee K. The relation of insurance to poverty. (In National con­
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49. “ Funds to parents” [editorial]. Survey, Jan. 4, 1913, v. 29:413-414.
50. Gibbs, W inifred S. The development of home conomies in social work,
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51. Gillett, Lucy H. A survey of evidence regarding food allowances for
healthy children. New York, Association for improving the condition
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52. Gray, B. Kirkman. Philanthropy and the state, or, Social politics . . .
Ed. by Eleanor Kirkman Gray and B. L. Hutchins. London, P. S.
King and son, 1908. x, 339 p. 2 2 |cm.
“ W id ow an d o rp h an ” : p. 274—288.

53. Gt. Brit. Local government board. Mothers’ pensions in the United
States of America. Report prepared in the Intelligence department of
the local government board. 1918. London. Published by H. M. Sta­
tionery office, 1918. iv, 19 p. 24)cra.
P rep a red by I. G. Gibbon.

54.

Griswold, Josephine M. Should a family be broken up on account of
poverty alone? (In Connecticut. State conference of charities and
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55. Hale, M. L. The widows’ pension controversy. [Letter with comment by
C. C. Carstens]. Survey, Feb. 22, 1913, v. 29 : 736-738.
56. H all, Fred S. Scholarships for working children. Charities and the
Commons, Nov. 14, 1908, p. 279-282.
57. Hannan, W illiam E. . . . Mothers’ pension legislation in New York and
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[7]-41 p. 23cm. (University of the state of New York bulletin no.
614. Legislation bulletin 41.)
In c lu d e s d ig e st o f th e m o th ers’ p en sio n la w s o f tw e n ty -e ig h t sta te s ,

58. Hard, W illiam. Financing motherhood. Delineator, Apr. 13, 1913, v.
> 81:263.
59. -------- Hats off to our opponents. Delineator, May, 1913, v. 82 : 355.
gO -------- Help the “ widows’ pension ” idea in your state. Delineator, Sept.
1912, v. 80:144.
— The moral necessity of “ State funds to mothers.” Survey, March
61.
1, 1913, v. 29 : 769-773.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.
62.

271

Hard, YTilliam. Motherless children of living mothers. • Delineator, Jan.
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63. -------- [Pensions for mothers r discussion of paper by Edward T. Devine at
Conference of social insurance, Chicago, June 6-7, 1913]. American
labor legislation review, June, 1913, v. 3:229-234.
64. Hare, George A. Our social readjustments and the relation of the state
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c u ssio n s o f a n n u a l m e e tin g o f A m erica n a cad em y of m ed icine, J u n e 9—12, 1916.

65. ‘ Kebberd, Robert W.
13 p.

Mothers' pensions.

Albany, J. B. Lyon co

1913

A d d ress a t tb e N a tio n a l co n fe r e n c e on tb e ed u ca tio n o f back w ard , tru a n t,
d elin q u e n t and d ep en d en t ch ild ren , B u ffa lo , A ug. 28; ISIS'. P rin ted ' a lso in
O hio b u lle tin o f c h a r itie s a n d co rre ctio n , O ctober, 1913.

66.
67.

68.
69.
70.
71.
72.

Uniform settlement laws. (In National conference of charities
and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p. 416-427.)
The Henry N eil league for mothers’ pensions. Survey, March 22, 1913,
v. 29: 849-851.
Henry N eil: pension agent. Survey, Feb. 1, 1913, v. 29: 559-561.
H iggins, Alice L. Helping widows to bring up children. {In National
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Holmes, John Haynes. Widows’ pensions [letter and comment]. Sur­
vey, March 14, 1914, v. 37:759).
Howe, F. C. and M. J. Pensioning the widow and the fatherless. Good
housekeeping, Sept. 1913, v. 57:282-291.
Hubbard, Alice. ‘ A protest. Harpers’ weekly, Jan. 31, 1914, v. 58: 18.
A d v o c a t e s s t a t e s a la r ie s

to

m oth ers ra th er th a n

p e n s io n s .

73.

Hull, Theodore Y . State aid for needy mothers. {In Texas state con­
ference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1913, p. 8-13.)
74. Hunter, Joel B. Mothers’ pensions as a preventive of juvenile truancy
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75. Ingram, Mrs. Helene. Supervision of relief and family rehabilitation.
{In New York State conference of charities and correction. Proceed­
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76. International congress in America for the welfare of the child,
3$, Washington, D. C. 191j. Third International congress on the
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77; Israels, Belle Lindner. Widowed mothers. Survey, Sept. 4, 1909, v
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78. Kelley, Mrs. Florence. Governmental aid for dependent women and chil­
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79. Kelso, J. J. Aiding destitute mothers. Popular movement, but one re­
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80. Kettleborough, Charles. Administration . of mothers’ pension laws.
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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

81.

Kirrgsley, Sherman, C.
Child (Chicago) Feb.
82. -------- The theory and
(In U. S. Bureau of

PENSIONS.

The newest interest in the mother and child.
1913, v. 1:13-16.
development of the mothers’ pension movement.
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P a p er read befo re th e C on feren ce on so c ia l in su ra n ce, W a sh in g to n , D . C.,
D ec. 8, 1916.
L is t o f r e f e r e n c e s : p. 804.

83. Lathrop, Julia C. Pension the mothers.
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Journal of education, Oct. 20,

S ee a ls o no. 155.

84.
85.

86.
87.

88.

Lee, Porter It. Some facts about widows with children and their cdre.
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R ead before In d ia n a C h ild ren ’s B u rea u , M adison, O ctober 17, 1914.

89. Lowenstein, Solomon. Public relief for widowed mothers. Jewish chari­
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90. Ludlow, Samuel. Report of the committee on children [recent legislation
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91. McKelway, Alexander J. Child labor and the home. (In National con­
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92. Mangold, George Benjamin. Problems of child welfare. New York,
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P e n sio n fo r m o th e r s : p. 4 8 2 -4 8 7 .

93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
300.
301.
302.
103.
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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.

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Mothers’ pensions in the United States. The objections stated.
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Ma­

R ev iew o f th e rep ort o f In te llig e n c e d e p a rtm en t o f B r it. L oc al governm entboard on “ M o th ers’ p en sio n s in th e U n ite d S ta te s o f A m erica .”. (N o. 53 o f
t h is lis t .)

107.

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108. Murphy, W. R. The author of mothers’ pensions. Christian herald^
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109. National conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1912..
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S ym p osiu m on p u b lic p e n sio n s to w id o w s : p. 4 5 8 -4 9 8 .
F or p ap ers a t la te r c o n feren ces see e n tr ie s u n d er S ta te s.

110.

The needy mother and the neglected child. Outlook, June 17, 1913, v.
104:280-283.
111. Neil, Henry. Mothers’ pensions. London, Printed by C, F, Hodgson
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1913]. Survey, March 22, 1913, v. 29: 891.
F o r d isc u ssio n o f le tte r se e sa m e iss u e , p. 8 4 9 -8 5 1 .

113.

-------- Mothers’ pensions in America.
v. 17: 7-9.

Juvenile court record, Oct. 1917,

R e p r in te d in J o u r n a l A m er. in st. o f crim . la w an d crim in ology, M ay, 1 9 1 8 ,
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(In Cook county charity

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116. -------- Household management. New York, Russell Sage foundation,
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117.
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119. New York State conference of charities and correction.
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Delineator, Aug. 1912, v. 80: 85-86.
343973°—19----- 18


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12L

North. Dakota. Public library commission. Legislative reference dept.
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122.

Park, M r s . Clara C. Helping the widowed mother to keep a home.
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,
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R e feren ce's: p. 28 —29.

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125.
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131. Potter, Jane G. Mothers’ pensions: graft, charity or justice? Outlook.
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134. Putting motherhood on the State pay roll. Child welfare magazine,
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137.

Richmond, Mary E. Motherhood and pensions. Survey, Mar. 1, 1913,
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140. Rubinow, Isaac M. Social insurance, with special reference to Ameri­
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141.

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A d v o ca tes m o n th ly in co m e in su r a n c e a s a su b s titu te for m o th ers’ p en sion s.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS

275

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_
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146. Shaw, W illiam B. Progressive law-making in many States. Ameri­
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148.

Southern conference on woman and child labor.
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Proceedings, 1913.

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149. Sprague, George C. Widows’ pensions: theory and practice. Chicago
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154.

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. 1 9 1 5 : L e g is la tio n : p. 16—17.

1 5 6 . ------------------Laws relating to “ mothers’ pensions ” in the United States,
Denmark, and New Zealand. . . . Washington, Govt, print, off., 1914.
102 p. 25em. (U. S. Children’s bureau. Dependent children series,
no. 1. Bureau publication no. 7.)
P rep a red by M iss L a u ra A. T h om p son , lib ra ria n o f th e B u reau.
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157. Vaile, Gertrude. Some social problems of public outdoor relief. Sur­
vey, Apr. 3, 1915, v. 34:15-17.
158. W aite, Florence. The treatment of needy families in their homes.
(Iti.Ohio. Bulletin of charities and correction, Apr. 1914, p. 15-18.)
159. Waldman, Morris D. Relief in the home for special classes, including
widowed mothers, deserted wives, and the feeble-minded. {In New
York State conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914
p. 1131-125.)

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276

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

160.

Watson, Amey E. The illegitimate family. Annals of Amer. acad. of
polit. and social science, Mayf1918, no. 166, p. 103-116.
161. Webb, Sidney. The extension ladder theory of the relation between
voluntary philanthropy and State or municipal action. Survey, March
7, 1914, v. 31: 703-707.
162. -------- and Beatrice Webb. Prevention of destitution. London, Long­
mans, Green and co., 1911. 348 p. 22icm.
Outdoor relief to widows: p. 136-137, 262-263, 335.

163.
164.
165.

Withdrawal from industrial wage-earning of the mothers of young
children. (In Ms Public organization of the labor market. London,
Longmans, Greenland co., 1909, p. 278-280.)
Weinstock, Mrs. S. Widows’ pensions. ( In Iowa State conference of
charities and correction. Proceedings, 1912, p. 137-139.)
The welfare of the children. How to prevent delinquency [by] Mrs.
Joseph T. Bowen . . . The Funds to parents act and -how to treat de. linquency [by] Hon. Merritt W. Pinckney . . . [Chicago, 1912] 47 p.
From the Proceedings of the 222d regular meeting of the Commercial club
of Chicago, Saturday, Jan. 12, 1912.

166.
167.
168.
169.
170.

171.

Who shall administer mothers’ pensions? Maternity and child wel­
fare, Nov. 1917, v. 1: 502.
Widowed mothers’ pensions. Outlook, April 21, 1915, v. 109 : 909.
Widowed mothers’ pensions. (In World almanac and encyclopedia,
1916, p. 512-513; 1917, pp. 580-582; 1918, p. 383.)
Wildfire spread of widows’ pensions— its start— its meaning and its
cost. Everybody’s, June, 1915, v. 32: 780-781.
Windom, Florence B. Helping widows to bring up citizens. A paper
based on the experience of the district secretaries of the Associated
charities of Boston, prepared for the National conference of charities
and correction by Florence B. Windom and Alice L. Higgins, [n. p.)
1910. 11 p. 21cm.
W innipeg, Manitoba, Social service workers' club. State salaries for
mothers. A study of legislation in the United States granting pro­
visions to mothers deprived of income from their husbands; also an
investigation into local conditions, and some general conclusions.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Social service workers’ club, 1916. 15 p. 23cm.
Bibliography on widows’ pensions : p. 15.

172.

Young, Mrs. W. B. Mothers’ pensions. (In Florida State conference
of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p. 48-56.)
BY SEPARATE STATES.

ALABAMA.
173. National child labor committee, New York. Child welfare in Ala­
bama ; an inquiry by the National child labor committee under the
auspices and with the cooperation of the University of Alabama.
Edward N. Clopper, director. New York city, National child labor
committee, 1918. 249 p. 23cm.
Report recommended the passage of a mothers’ pension law for Alabama
with supervision in a State board of social w elfare: p. 245.

ARIZONA.
174. Arizona. Board of control. Annual report of the Board of control of
Arizona for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1915. Phoenix, 1915. 89 p.
“ Old age and mothers’ pension law ” : p. 28.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
175.

State board of control et al. v. Buekstegge.
21, 1916, v. 158': 837-845.

277

Pacific reporter, Awg.

Decision of Arizona Supreme Court declaring unconstitutional the old age
and mothers’ pension act adopted by popular vote November, 1914. A new
law was passed in 1917.

CALIFORNIA.
176.

Associated charities of San Francisco.
1912.

Report, Jan. 1911 to July

Report of boarding-out department : p. 34-37.

177.

California. Commission to investigate ,old age insurance and pensions
and mothers’ pensions. [Report.] March 30, 1915. (In California As­
sembly daily journal, April 1, 1915, p. 2-4. )
Report recommended raising age limit for aid to 15 years ; requiring 2 years’
residence in State ; and prohibiting reimbursement to counties unless aid was
paid in money instead of supplies, except where permission for latter was
granted by State board of control.

178. -------- Laws, statutes, etc. California laws of interest to women and
children, 1917. Comp, by the California state library. Sacramento,
California State printing office, 1918. 272 p. 17om.
Provisions relating to orphan aid : p. 154-157.

179. -------- Social insurance commission. Report of Social insurance commismission of the State of California, Jan. 25,1917. Sacramento, California
State printing office, 1917. 340. 22i cm.
Mothers’ pensions and orphans’ aid : p. 269-270.

180. -------- State hoard of charities and corrections. County outdoor relief in
California. Sacramento, Cal., State print, off., 1916. 29 p.
County aid to children : p. 11—13 ; work of widows’ pension bureau of San
Francisco county : p. 26—29.

181. ------------------County outdoor relief in California. Revised edition, 1918.
Sacramento, Cal., State print, off., 1918. 33 p. 22icm.
County aid to children, p. 13—15 ; work of widows’ pension bureau of San
Francisco county : p. 29-32. One of the difficulties noted in the administration
of the State aid for care of dependent children is the failure of many of the
counties to supplement the State subsidy.

182. ------------------ 5th-8th biennial reports, July 1, 1910, to June 30, 1918.
Sacramento, 1912-1918. 4 v.
1910—12 : Aid to widowed mothers, p. 43.
1912-14 : Correlation of State aid and child labor laws,'p. 20 : administration
o f public outdoor relief [including State aid to children] p. 183-192.
1914—16 . Child welfare work, p. 13—15 : State and county aid to orphans,
p. 65-68.
1916-18 : Recommendations for increase in amount of State and county aid
for dependent children, p. 24-25.

182a.

Carstens, Christian C. Public pensions to widows with children ; a
study of their administration in several American cities. New York
City, Russell Sage foundation, 1913. 36 p. 23cm. (Publication no. 31.)
“ The California plan ” : p. 8-11.

183.

Gates, W. Almont. Caring for dependent children in California. (In
National conference of charities and correction. Proceedings 1913
p. 306-311.)
Discusses the provisions of the California law passed in 1913.


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184.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

Nesfield, Margaret C. Notes on widows’ pensions act as administer«!
in San Francisco, California (Sept. 2, 1913 to Jan. 1, 1914) {San Fran­
cisco, 1914] 4 p.
For later reports see no. 188 in this list.

185. -------- State aid to children (widows’ pension act). (In California
conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1915, p. 48-51.)
186.

Neylan, John Francis. State aid to children [in California]. (In
California conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1915,
p. 46-47.)

187.

Russell, Jessie A. Study of mothers’ pension. (Jw- California State
Conference of social agencies. Proceedings, Bulletin, Feb. 1918. p.
39-40.)
188. San Francisco. Widows’ pension 'bureau. Reports, Jan. 1, 1914 to June
30, 1917. [San Francisco, 1915-1917] 4 v.
Margaret C. Nesfield, Director.
For account of first four months of operation of law see no. 184 in this list.

189.

Slingerland, W illiam H. Child welfare work in California; a study
of agencies and institutions . . . introduction by Hastings H. Hart
. . . New York, Department of child-helping, Russell Sage foundation,
1915. xix, 247 p.
“ Combined county and State aid ” ; p. 144—151.
“ Widows’ pensions ” : p. 224—226.

190.

Steinhart, Amy. State aid to children in the homes of their widowed
mothers [and discussion]. (In California State conference of social
agencies. Proceedings, 1916, p. 69-75.)

191.

Wilbur, Curtis D. Proposed California statute establishing a Mothers’
pension fund and a scholarship fund to assist poor and worthy children.
[Los Angeles, 1913] 20 p.
Draft of a. bill by Judge Wilbur of the Los Angeles juvenile court.

COLORADO.
192.

Colorado. State board of charities and corrections. 12th-14th biennial
reports, 1913/1914-1917/1918, Denver, Smith-Brooks print, co., State
printers, 1914-1918. 3 v.
1913—1914: “ Mothers’ compensation ” : p. 40-41.
1915—1916 : Statistics of aid granted in 12 counties for year ending June 30,
1915, p. 39-40; in; 16 counties for year ending June 30, 1916, p. 40.
1917—1918: Reports from county courts relative to mothers’ compensation
act, p. 55—57.

193. -------- —1—-- Quarterly bulletin, Jan. 1914.
Operation of Mothers’ compensation act to June 30, 1913: p. 7-8.

194.

Denver. Dept, of social welfare. lst-2d annual reports of the Social.
welfare department of the city and county of Denver, 1913-1914.
[Denver, The W. H. Kistler stationery co., 1914—15.]
1913: Outdoor relief department, mothers’ compensation, p. 70—72.
1914 : Outdoor relief, p. 96—97 ; mothers’ compensation, p. 101—102.

195.

Lindsey, Ben B. The mothers’ compensation law of Colorado. Survey,
' Feb. 15, 1913, v. 29:714-716.
196. Mothers’ compensation act in Colorado. Journal of education, Feb. 27,
1913, v. 77: 239.


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R E L A T IN G

TO

M O T H E R S ’

P E N S I O N 'S .

279

197.

Vaile, Gertrude. Administering mothers’ pensions in Denver. Survey,
Feb. 28, 1914, v. 31:673-675.
198. -------- Public administration of charity in Denver. (In National confer­
ence of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1916, p. 415-418.)
CONNECTICUT.
199.

Connecticut. Commission on public welfare. Report of the Commission
on public welfare, under authority of chapter 163 of the Public acts of
1917 and House Joint resolution 104 of the 1917 session of the General
assembly. Hartford, published by the State, 1919. 136 p. 23cm.
Recommendation that General assembly consider adoption of mothers’ pension
law for Connecticut : p. 19.

199a. -------- Department of State agencies and institutions. Law, policies and
rules of the Department of State agencies and institutions in relation
to State aid to widows with dependent children. Hartford, Conn.,
1919. 14 p. 18icm.
Robert Q. Eaton, agent.
Includes the text of the act providing aid to widows enacted in 1919.

200.

Connecticut State federation of churches. C o m m itte e on Social, s e r v ­
ice. A survey of proposed social legislation in Connecticut. Middletown, Conn., March, 1919. [8] p. 21icm.
Widows’ pension bills before the legislature : p. 2.

200a.

Connecticut legislation.

Survey, June 14, 1919, v. 42: 436-437.

Criticism of the mothers’ pension bill adopted in 1919. The bill which had
the support of the social workers of the state was defeated.

DELAWARE.
201.

202.

Delaware. Secretary of State. State manual containing official list of
officers, boards, commissioners and county officers, 1917-1918. Milford,
Del. Milford Chronicle publishing company [1918] 24 p.
Mothers’ pension commission : p. 19.
Richardson, C. 'Spencer. Dependent, delinquent and defective children
of Delaware. New York city, Russell Sage foundation, 1918. 88 p.
23cra. ([Russell Sage foundation, New York. Dept, of child-helping.
Pamphlets] CH36.)
Mothers’ pensions: p. 83_84.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
203.

204.

Baldwin, William H. Making the deserter pay the piper. The District
of Columbia plan of paying prisoners’ wages to their deserted wives.
Survey, Nov. 20, 1909, v. 23:249-252.
DeLacy, William H. Family desertion and non-support. Survey, Feb.
5, 1909, v. 23:678-680.
On the District of Columbia plan of paying prisoners’ wages to their de­
serted wives.

205. District of Columbia. Board of children's guardians. 15th annual re­
port of the Board of children’s guardians for the fiscal year ended
June 29, 1918. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1918. 15 p.
, Recommended the enactment of the mothers’ pension bill for the District
before the 65th Congress (H. R. 11981) : p. 7-8. Bill places the administra­
tion of proposed aid in the Board of children’s guardians.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

FLORIDA.
206.

Florida. Mothers' pension commission. Report of Mothers’ pension com­
mission, as provided for by legislative act of 1915. (In Florida.
House journal, 1917, p. .210-211.)
Commission asked for its continuance to 1919 in order to make a survey
of the counties of the State.

207.

Hart, Hastings H. and C. L. Stonaker. A social welfare program for
the State of Florida, prepared at the request of His Excellency, Sidney
J. Catts, Governor, and the cabinet of State officers. New York city,
Russell Sage foundation, 1918. 44 p. 28cm. (Russell Sage founda­
tion, New York, Dept, of child helping, Pamphlets CH35.)
Report recommended study of mothers’ pension legislation in other States,
with a view to adopting law for F lorida: p. 34.

GEORGIA.
208.

Georgia. Bill to be entitled an act to provide for the relief of poor
mothers, dependeht and neglected children: to provide a mothers’ pen­
sion under certain circumstances, and confer jurisdiction thereof upon
the court of ordinary in the several counties of this State.
Typewritten copy of bill introduced in Georgia House in 1917 by Mr. Cul­
pepper of Meriwether and Mr. Walker of Bleckley. Bill passed the committee
on pensions but no action was taken by the House before adjournment.

IDAHO.
209. Mothers’ pensions in Idaho. Child welfare magazine, Nov. 1913, v.
8:104.
ILLINOIS.
210.

Abbott, Edith. The administration of the Illinois “ Funds to parents ”
laws. (In U. S. Bureau of labor statistics. Bulletin, no. 212, p. 818834.)
Paper read before the Conference on social insurance, Washington, D. C.
Dec. 8, 1916.

211. -------- The experimental period of widows’ pension legislation. (In
National conference of social work. Proceedings, 1917, p. 154-165.)
Issued also as no. 125 of Reprints of Reports and addresses of the National
conference on social work.

212. Bowen, Mrs. Louise Hadduck (de Koven). Safeguards for city youth
at work and at play. New York, The Macmillan co., 1914. xv, 241 p.
191cm.
Widows’ pension act in Illin o is: p." 98-100.

213.

Breckinridge, Sophonisba F. The care of needy families in their home.
Sources of dependency in Chicago. Chicago, General educational com­
mittee on Chicago philanthropy, [n. d.] 6 p.. (Studies in Chicago
philanthropy, v. 1, no. 3.)
214 -------- . . . The delinquent child and the home, by Sophonisba P.
Breckinridge . . . and Edith Abbott . . . with an introduction
by Julia C. Lathrop . . . New York, Charities publication commit­
tee, 1912. x, 355 p. incl. illus. 24cm. (Russell Sage foundation publi­
cations. )
Includes statistics of children of working mothers coming before the juve­
nile court of Chicago.

214a.

Carstens, Christian C. Public pensions to widows with children; a
study of their administration in several American cities. New York
city, Russell Sage foundation, 1913. 36 p. 23cm. (Publication ho. 31.)
“ Funds to parents act of Illinois ” : p. 14—23.

Chicago.

Juvenile court. See Cook Co. 111. Juvenile court.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

28Ì

215. Cook County, III. Board of county commissioners. Charity service re­
ports, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917. [Chicago, 1911-18.] 4 v.
1913 : Parents’ pension fund statistics, p. 42-43, 292-296 ; Funds to parents
dept. p. 259-265; Method of making a family budget, .p. 297-302.
1915: Parents’ pension increase, p. 12, 32-33; Statistics of pension depart­
ment, p. 257-260.
1916 : Parents’ pension increase, p. 39-40 ; Summary of relief work, p. 42-49
Parents’ pension fund, p. 50—55 ; Pension department, p. 255-277 ; Estimating
a family budget, p. 278-298.
1917 . Parents pensions, p. 13, 47—48 ; Aid to mothers’ division of juvenile
court, p. 305-306, 347-356.
Reports of juvenile court and detention home also issued separately (see
no. 218).

216.

-------- Committee to investigate operation of juvenile court. The
Juvenile court of Cook County, Illinois; report of a committee ap­
pointed under resolution of the Board of commissioners of Cook
County, hearing date August 8, 1911. . . . [Chicago, 1912.] 294 p
2 3 cm ;

Willard E. Hotchkiss, chairman of committee.
“ Funds to parents act of 1911 ” : p. 17-19.

217.

-------- Comptroller. Comptroller’s report Cook county, Illinois, for the
fiscal year ended Dec. 4, 1915, and brought down to Jan. 3, 1916. [Chi­
cago, 1916.] 211 p.
Statement of parents’ pension fund from July 1, 1911, to Nov 30 1915 •
p. 159.
’

218. -------- Juvenile court. Juvenile court and juvenile detention home. . . .
Annual reports, 1912-1917. [Chicago, 1912-1917.] 5 v.
1912 : Funds to parents’ statistics from March 1, 1912-Dec. 1, 1912. p. 19-30.
1913 : History of Funds to parents’ act, p. 14-15, 22-23 ; Funds to parents’
dept. p. 67-73, 100-104 ; Method of making a family budget, p. 105-110.
1914 : See no. 220 of this list.
1915 : Statistics of pension dept. p. 45-48.
1916 : Pension dept. p. 9-31, 89-92 ; Estimating a family budget, by Florence
Nesbitt, p. 32-52.
1917: Aid to mothers’ division, p. 9-10, 51-60.
A separate report of the juvenile court was issued for years 1913 and 1914
(see nos. 219-220).

219. -------- '------- - Report of the Cook county juvenile court for the fiscal year
ending Nov. 30, 1913, Chicago, John F. Higgins, printer [1914], 166 p.
History of Funds to parents’ act; p. 12-13; Report of Funds to parents’ de­
partment : p. 86-98, 112-119 ; Method of making a family budget: p. 120-125.

2 2 0 . ------------------ Report of Merritt W. Pinckney, judge of Juvenile court of
Cook county, 111., for the year ending Nov. 30, 1914. Chicago [1915].
8 p. 25!cm.
Funds to parents’ division : p. 4-5.

221. County pension law for needy mothers.

Survey, Aug. 5, 1911, y.

26: 634-635.
A discussion of the Illinois Funds to parents’ act adopted in 1911.

222.
223.
224.

Entrikin, Jessie M. Questions in the operation of the Funds to parents’
law. {In Illinois. Institution quarterly, March 31,1914, p. 103. )
Graham, W. Morland. Mothers’ pensions and their failure in Illinois.
{In Illinois. Institution quarterly, Sept. 30, 1916, v. 7, p. 7-21.) .
Hinrichsen, Annie. The story of Tin Town. {In Illinois. Institution
quarterly, March 31, 1917, v. 8: 20-34. )
Mothers receiving pensions in Mt. Carmel, 111. : p. 31-34.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS*

225.

Hunter, Joel D. Administration of the Funds to parents’ law in Chicago.
Survey, Jan. 31, 1914,. v. 31: 516—
518.
226. -------- Administration of the Funds to parents’ act of Illinois, (In Ohio.
Bulletin of charities and correction, Apr. 1914, p. 11-15.)
227. _____ Funds to parents’ act. Chicago, General educationa, committee
on Chicago philanthropy fn. d.} &P- (Studies in Chicago philanthropy,
v. 1, no. 5.)
228. -------- The Illinois widows’ act [letter}. Survey, Aug, 14,1915, v. 34: 455.
229. _____ Some results and lessons learned from the operation of the Funds
to parents’ law in Cook county. {In Illinois. Institution quarterly,
Mar. 31, 1914, p. 99-103.)
230. Illinois. Department of public welfare. General information and laws.
Effective July 1, 1917. Compiled by Edward J. Brundage, attorney
general, Springfield, 111., Schnepp and Barnes, State printers, 1918.
272 p. 23cm.
Text of mothers’ pension law : p. 9&-101.

23i

_____ Department of visitation of children placed in family homes.
Biennial report for 1914-1915. Springfield, Illinois State journal eo.,
1917.
Beneficial results of mothers’ pension law in keeping together fam ilies: p. 8.

232. _____

State charities commission. One year of mothers’ pensions in
Illinois. {In Illinois. Institution quarterly, Dec. 31,1914, v. 5, p. 8-16.)

Review of operation of Funds to parents* act throughout the State during
1913. For report on aid given by the counties prior to 1913 see no. 243.

233. ___________- Is the mothers’ pension failing?
quarterly, Dec. 31,1915, v. 6, p. 10-14.)

{In Illinois.

Institution

Review of operation of Funds to parents act during 1914.

234_ _______ _____

The mothers’ pensions.
terly, March 31, 1916, v. 7 : 30-32.)

(In Illinois.

Institution quar­

Review of operation of Funds to parents? aet during 1915.

235.

Illinois new mothers* pension law. {In Illinois. Institution quarterly,
Sept. 30, 1913, v. 4:35-37.)
236. Johnson, Virgil V. The deserted family and need of .legislation in
Illinois. (In Illinois. Institution quarterly, March 31, 1917, v.
8:158-159.)
237. Juvenile protective association of Chicago. Revised manual of juvenile
laws, Juvenile protective association of Chicago . . . Comp, and rev. by
Harry E. Smoot, attorney. [Chicago, Hale-Crossley printing co.] 1916.
155 p.
Aid to mothers and children: p. 14-17.

238.

Kingsley, Sherman C. Public pensions to widows. {In National con­
ference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1912, p. 468-472.)
Printed also in The Child (Chicago), July, 1912, v. 1 : 3 2 ^ 2 .

239. ___ — The \yorking of the Funds to parents’ act in Illinois.

{In National
conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p. 437-440.)

240.

Lies, Eugene T. Public outdoor relief in Chicago. (In National con. ference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1916, p. 345-355.)
Includes brief discussion of “ mothers’ pensions.”
Institution quarterly, Sept. 30, 1916, v. 6 : 21—26.


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Published also in Illinois.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

283

V\ v

241.

Low, Minnie F. The “ Funds to parents’ act ” in. Chicago. Jewish
charities, Feb. 1912, v. 2: 4-5.
242.
How the Funds to parents’ laws affect private charity. {In Illi­
nois. Institution quarterly, Mar. 31, 1914, p. 107-109.)
243. Martin, Vella. Juvenile courts of Illinois, including practice of “ Funds
to parents ” law. {In Illinois. Institution quarterly, Sept 30 1913
v. 4:219-242.)
Covers aid given under 1911 act in counties outside of Cook county.

244.

245.
246.

247.

Moss, Joseph L. The administration of the Aid to mothers’ act in Cook
county. {In Illinois. Institution quarterly, June 30, 1916, v 7-221223.)
Mothers’ pensions cut juvenile crime. New York Times, Jan. 11, 1915.
Nesbitt, Florence. An analytical study of the standards of living, fixed
by the Chicago Juvenile court in Funds to parents’ cases. {In Illinois.
Institution quarterly, June 30, 1916, v. 7:122-134.)
Teaching home management in dependent families. (In Illinois.
Institution quarterly, June 30, 1916, v. 7 : 223-225.)
See also no. 114 of this list.

248.

Paul, George F. The mothers’ pension law in Illinois. Child welfare
bulletin (Peoria, 111.) Sept. 1912, v. 1:2-3.
■249. Pensions for mothers. Public, Nov. 24, 1911, v. 14: li94-1195.
On the administration of the Illinois Funds to parents’ act.

250.

Pinckney, Merritt W. Funds to parents’ act. {In Kansas conference
of charities and corrections. Proceedings, 1912, p. 56-69.)
251. -------- Probation of juvenile delinquents. {In Illinois. Institution quar­
terly, Mar. 31, 1915, p. 176-183.)
Funds to parents’ division: p. 179-180.

252. -------- Proposed ‘-Funds to parents ” act for Illinois. Child (Chicago)
Apr., 1913, v. 2 : 30-32.
253.
Public pensions to widows, experiences and observations which
lead me to favor such a law. {In National conference of charities and
correction. Proceedings, 1912, p. 473-480.)
Printed also in The Child (Chicago) July, 1912, v. 1 : 43-50.

254.

Stone, Clyde E. The new mothers’ pension law [Illinois]. Child-welfare
bulletin, Oct. 1913, v. 2:8-9.
255. Taylor, Graham. Parents’ fund act—attack and defence. Chicago daily
news, June 29, 1912.
256. Van Nostrand, Myra B. Some dangers in the operation of Funds to
parents’ law. {In Illinois Institution quarterly, Mar 31 1914
p. 110- 111.)
* „
257. Witter, John H. The Illinois funds to parents’ act. Child (Chicago)
March, 1912, v. 1: 28-30.
INDIANA.
258.

Butler, Amos W. Adequate relief to needy mothers in Indiana. {In
National conference of charities and correction. Proceedings 1914
p. 440-441.

259.

- Official poor relief and the State [and discussion]. (In Indiana.
Bulletin of charities and correction, Sept. 1914, p. 424-434.)
Opposed to'adoption of a “ mothers’ pension” law in Indiana'on ground
tliat existing’ relief machinery is adequate.


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260.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.
Duncan, W. C. Relief by boards of children’s guardians [and discus­
sion]. (In Indiana. Bulletin of charities and correction, Dec. 1.916,
p. 475-481.)
Paper read at 6th annual conference of Indiana Children’s bureau, Oct. 1916.
Discusses powers and procedure of county boards of children’s guardians in
caring for dependent children.

261.

Edmondson, Edna E. H. State aid to mothers of dependent children.
(In Indiana.
Bulletin of charities and correction, Sept. 1915, p.
418-420.)
Paper read before Indiana Children’s bureau, Madison, Oct. 17, 1914, in
support of a “ mothers’ pension ” law for Indiana.

262.

Eitzgibbon, T. E. Mothers with dependent families.
of charities and correction. Dec. 1916, p. 452-461.

Indiana.

Bulletin

Presents the results of a questionnaire sent out by a committee of the Indiana
Children’s bureau on the operation of mothers’ pension laws in the various
States. General conclusion is that existing laws in Indiana are ample, if
adequately and efficiently administered.

263.

Indiana. Board of State charities.
and correction. March, 1913.

The Indiana bulletin of charities

Statement of attitude of Board of State charities to a mothers’ pension bill
for Indiana: p. 83—84.

264.

--------------

27th-28th annual report for 1915-1917.

19151916: View of secretary of the board that “ mothers’ pensions ” are
not needed in Indiana, p. 128, 179.
19161917: Boarding-out. Work of county boards of children’s guardians,
p. 23-24.

265. -------- Laws, statutes, etc. A resolution for the appointment of a com­
mission to investigate and report on a mothers’ pension bill. (Senate
concurrent resolution no. 4, [1915]). (In Indiana. Bulletin of Chari-,
ties and correction. March, 1915, p. 27.)
Commission authorized by this resolution was never appointed.

2 6 6 . -------------- — An act to amend section 5 of an act entitled “ An act to
establish a board of children’s guardians in each county” (Acts 1919,
chap. 95.) {In Indiana. Bulletin of charities and correction. March,
1919, p. 30-31.)
Amendment definitely authorizes boards of children’s guardians to board
out dependent children with their own mothers.

267.

Van Nuys, Ashton M. The scope and possibilities of the board of
children’s guardians law [and discussion], (In Indiana. Bulletin of
charities and correction. June, 1918, p. 271-276.)
IOWA.

268.

Briggs, John E. Social legislation in Iowa. Iowa city, State historical
society of Iowa, 1914. 65 p. (Iowa applied history series, ed. by B. F.
Shambaugh, v. 2, no. 9.)
Legislation concerning pensioners: p. 35-36.

269. Degraff, Lawrence. Widows’ pensions [and discussions]. (In Iowa con­
ference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1913, p. 66-75.)
On the administration of “ mothers’ pensions ” in Polk co., Iowa
Moines), July 1—Nov. 1, 1913.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
270.

285

Gillin, John Lewis. . . . History of poor relief legislation in Iowa.
Iowa city, la., State historical society of Iowa, 1914. xiv, 404 p.
(Iowa social history series, ed. by B. F. Shambaugh.)
Advocates placing supervision of mothers’ pensions under State hoard of
control.

271. -------- Poor relief legislation in Iowa. Iowa city, la., State historical
society of Iowa, 1914. 37 p. (Iowa applied history series, ed. by B. F.
Shambaugh, v. 2, no. 11.)
“ Mothers’ pensions ” : p. 24-26.

272.

In re Application for support of minor children. Debrot v. Marion
county (Supreme court of Iowa, Feb. 19, 1914). Northwestern reporter
v. 145:467-470.
Court held that a divorced woman whose husband is alive is not a widow
within the meaning of Sec. 254-a20 of Iowa Code and therefore not entitled
to pension under that section.

273.

McClenahan, Bessie A. The Iowa plan for the combination of public
and private relief. Iowa city, la., The University, 1918. 73 p. (Uni­
versity of Iowa monographs. Studies in the social sciences v. 5, no. 3.)
Discussion of widows’ pensions: p. 22-23, 36-37.

274. -------- The social survey. [Iowa city, Iowa] The University [1916] 22 p.
(University of Iowa extension bulletin. 1st. ser., No. 7. Dec. 1, 1916.
Bulletin no. 26.)
Includes discussion of widows’ pension law of Iowa.

275.
276.

Tibbott, Mabel. Practical workings of widows’ pensions and blind pen­
sions laws in Iowa. (In Iowa State conference of charities and cor­
rection. Proceedings, 1916, p. 46-51.)
Weinstock, Mrs. Sam. Widows’ pensions: their good and bad features,
proposed remedies for the Iowa situation. (In Iowa conference of
charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p. 26-28.)
KANSAS.

277.

Bresette, Linna E. Hours and wages of working women and girls.
(In Kansas conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914,
p. 65-67.)
Recommendation of the Kansas State department of labor and industry for
adoption of a mothers’ compensation law.

278.

Charles, H. W. A system of welfare laws. (In Kansas conference of
charities and correction. Proceedings, 1916, p. 31-36.)
Recommendations included a State-wide mothers’ pension law administered
by county boards of public welfare.

279.

Kansas. Mothers’ pension law. Senate bill no. 60 by Senator W. M.
Pierce of Lyon county . . . endorsed by the State probate judge’s
association and the State federation of women’s clubs. Emporia,
Kansas, Gazette printer [1915?] 8 p.
Differs from the bill'enacted in 1915 in that it placed the administration of aid
in juvenile court instead of with county commissioners.

280. -------- Board of control of State charitable institutions. Sixth biennial
report for the two years ending June 30, 1916. Topeka, Kansas, State
printing plant, 1916. 299 p.
“ Funds to parents’ act ” : p. 2-3.

281. — --------------Report from the county clerks to the Board of control
for the year July 1, 1915—July 1, 1916, as to amount of money expended
for charitable purposes.
Typewritten.

Includes statistics of mothers’ aid.


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282.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.
Kansas conference of charities and correction. Proceedings of 13tli
annual session, Lawrence, Kansas, Dee. 5-6, 1912. Topeka, State print­
ing office, 1913.
Resolution indorsing principle of mothers’ pensions. Similar resolutions
were adopted also at the 1914, 1915 and 1916 conferences favoring juvenile
court as the administrative agency.

283. -------- Proceedings of the 15th annual session, Lawrence, Kansas. Nov.
19-21, 1914. Topeka, State printing office, 1914.
Round table on the subject of “ mothers’ pensions ” : p. 51-56.

LOUISIANA.
284.

Mothers’ pension board proposed to study State method.
Item, July 11, 1917.

Nejr Orleans

On the resolution for the appointment of a mothers’ pension commission
introduced by Senator Stafford in 1917 session. No action taken -by the
legislature.-

285.

New Orleans welfare officials favor widows’ pensions.
Item, July 15, 1917.
MAINE.

New Orleans

286.

Aid to mothers with dependent children. (In Maine charities and cor­
rection quarterly bulletin, July, 1915, v. 2, no. 3, p. 14-36.)
Text of bill before the Maine legislature in 1915 together with the discus­
sion upon it in the Senate and House. The bill, which followed in its main
outlines the Massachusetts law, passed the Senate but was indefinitely post­
poned by the House. A different bill was passed in 1917.

287.

Maine. State board of charities and correction. 4th annual report
covering the year ending Nov. 1, 1916. Waterville, Sentinel publishing
company, 1916. (Its Quarterly bulletin, Jan. 1917.)
Recommended the adoption of a law for aid to mothers with dependent
children : p. 11.

288. — --— — ——' Mothers’ with dependent children.
bulletin, April, 1917, p. 16-17.)

(In its Quarterly

Summarizes the provisions of the mothers’ aid law passed in 1917.

289. -------- -------67-68.)

Mothers’ aid.

(In its Quarterly bulletin, Oct. 1917, p.

Instructions to municipal boards of mothers’ aid.
board.

Appointment of Augusta

290. -------------------Mothers’ aid, how it is granted. (In its Quarterly bul­
letin, Jan. 1918, p. 21-24.)
291. ------------------- Mothers’ aid. (In its Quarterly bulletin, April, 1918, p.
76-77; July, 1918, p. 167; April, 1919, p. 74.)
Notes on administration with number of applications . received during first
year.

291a.

-------- --------- Outline of social legislation enacted by the 79th legisla­
ture. (In its Quarterly bulletin, April, 1919, p. 51-56.)
Changes in mothers’ aid la w : p. 51-52.

292. -------- State board of mothers’ aid. Digest of mothers’ aid law.
1919. [Augusta, 1919.] 3 p. 12|cra.

July,

MARYLAND.
293.

Beveridge^ W. E. The fight for mothers’ pensions in Maryland. Mary­
land suffrage news, April 20, 1918, p. 23.
Reviews the history of the law adopted in 1916, the difficulties which rendered
it inoperative and the unsuccessful attempts made to pass a new law in 1918,


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L A W S R E L A T I N G TO M O T H E R S ’ P E N S I O N S .

294.

Committee of 100, Baltimore. Copy of mothers’ pension hill, Issued by
Committee of 100. Baltimore [19162], 9 p.
295. Maryland discussion of widows’ pensions. Survey Dec 13, 1913 v
31:305.
*
296. Pensions for widow-mothers. Maryland needs it. Faets worth know­
ing. What is meant by pensions for widow-mothers? [Baltimore
19162] 4 p. 23cm.
L e a flet is s u e d by C o m m ittee o f 1 0 0 in su p p o rt o f p ro p o sed M ary la n d la w .

MASSACHUSETTS.
297.

Abbott, Edith. Massachusetts report on widows’ pensions [with com­
ment by Professor Foerster] American economic review, Sept 1913
v. 3:739-745.

298.

Administering' the Massachusetts mothers’ act. Survey, Dec 13 1913

For report referred to gee no. »11 of this list.

299.

300.

v. 31:285.
Association of justices of district police and municipal courts of Mas­
sachusetts. Committee on law and procedure. Report on criminal
remedies in Massachusetts for failure to furnish support, [n. p.] 1916.
52 p. 23cm. (Report no. 7, August, 1916.)
Boston children’s aid society. 52d annua) report of the Boston chil­
dren’s aid society for the year ending Sept. 30, 1916. Boston, pub. by
the society, 1917. 56 p.
“ The mothers' aid la w : a crisis in administration ” : p.

301. Brookline, Mass.
5 v.

Overseers of the poor.

9- 14

.

Reports for years 1914—1918.

Includes statistics of mouthers’ aid.

302.
303.

Davis, Michael M., jr. Food supply in families of limited means. A
study of present facts of the food problem in Boston families by six
welfare agencies . . . Boston, League for preventive work, 1917. 24 p.
Dawson, Miles M. [Discussion of papers on mothers’ pensions at Con­
ference on social insurance, Washington, D. C., Dee. 8, 1916]. {In
U. S. Bureau of labor statistics. Bulletin, 212, p. 835-837.)
On the expenditure for industrial life insurance of mothers’ aid families
in Massachusetts.

304.

Foerster, Robert F. Relief of widows [letter with comment by P. R.
Lee], Survey, May 17, 1913, v. 30: 253-255.
Reply to Porter R. Lee's criticism of the report of the Massachusetts com­
mission on the children of widows.

305.

Four years’ experience in mothers’ aid. Survey, Jan. 11 1919 v
41:506.
Review of report of Massachusetts State board of charity for year ended
June 30, 1917.

306.

307.
308.
309.

Goodhue, Frank W. Problems of administration of mothers’ aid: dis­
cussion. {In National conference of social work. Proceedings 1918
p. 365-367.)
A half million dollars in widows’ pensions. Survey, Dec 26 1914 v
33 : 336.
Lee, Porter R. The Massachusetts report on the relief of widows. Sur­
vey, April 26, 1913, v. 30:134-136.
Maloney, Mrs. Elizabeth F. Some specific problems arising out of the
operation of the mothers’ aid law.
Typewritten copy of paper read at Massachusetts State conference of chari­
ties, Lowell, October 27, 1916.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.

310. Massachusetts. Bureau of statistics. Report of a special inquiry rela­
tive to dependent families in Massachusetts receiving mothers’ aid.
[Boston, 1918.] 69 p.
Reprint of Appendix A of Report of the special recess committee on social
insurance, 1918 (Sen. Doc. no. 244).
Data obtained from the records of the State board of charity and tabula­
tions made and report prepared under the direction of the Bureau of statistics.
Besides information relating to wages, occupations, causes of death or inca­
pacity of the fathers, size and condition of the families, report includes analysis
o f data with reference to insurance.

311. -------- Commission on support of dependent minor children of widowed
mothers. . . . Report of the commission on the support of de­
pendent minor children of widowed mothers. Jan. 1913. Boston,
Wright and Potter printing co., state printers, 1913. 189 p. 23 cm.
([General court, 1913] House. [Doc.] no. 2075.)
Members of the Commission: Robert F. Foerster, chairman, Mrs. Clara C.
Park, secretary, David F. Tilley. Minority report signed by David F. Tilley.
Besides the reports of the commission contains the report of the investi­
gator, Ralph E. Heilman, on Massachusetts methods of helping widowed
mothers with dependent children (p. 40—166).
B ill recommended by the Commission: p. 37-38. For discussion of the
report see nos. 297, 304, 308 of this list.

312. -------- Governor. Address of his Excellency Samuel E. McCall to the
two branches of the legislature of Massachusetts. Jan. 3,1918. Boston,
Wright and Potter printing co., State printers, 1918. 18 p.
Discusses study of Massachusetts families receiving mothers’ aid (see no.
310) and urges adoption of system of health insurance: p. 10-11.

313. -------- Laws, statutes, etc. A manual of laws relating to the State board
of charity of Massachusetts . . . Boston, Wright and Potter printing
co., State printers, 1915. 315 p. 23icm.
“An act to provide for suitably aiding mothers with dependent children ” :
p. 83-85.

314. -------- Special commission on social insurance. Report of the Special
commission on social insurance. Jan. 15, 1918. Boston, Wright and
Potter printing co., State printers, 1918. 178 p. incl. tables, diagrs.
23cm. ([General court, 1918,] Senate [Doc.] 244.)
Herbert A. Wilson, chairman.
Appendix A. Report of a special inquiry relative to dependent families in
Massachusetts receiving mothers’ a id : p. 73-141. See note under no. 310.

315. -------- State board of charity. Annual report, 35th-39th, 1913-1917. Bos­
ton, 1914-1918. 5 v.
Supervision of mothers’ a id : 1913, pt. 1, p. 128—134; 1914, pt. 1, p. 100-d.09;
1915, pt. 1, p. 157-174; 1916, pt. 1, p. 119-141; 1917, pt. 1, p. 112-131.

316. ------------------Tentative statement of general policies governing new
form of aid.
Circular to Overseers of the poor, dated Nov. 30, 1913. Reprinted in TF. S.
Children’s bureau. Laws relating to mothers’ pensions in U. S., Denmark and
New Zealand. 1914, p. 34-36. (No. 156 of this list.)

317. ------------------ Policies relating to chapter 763, Acts of 1913 and' rules
relative to notice and reimbursement by the Commonwealth. (Revised
March 17, 1916.) [Boston, 1916?] 4 p. 28cm.
Printed also in the Annual report of the Board for year ending Nov. 30, 1917,
pt. 1, p. 115-119.

318.

Park, Mrs. Clara Cahill. Widows’ pensions in Massachusetts.
welfare magazine, June, 1912, v. 6: 343-346.
See also no. 311 of this list..


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.

289

819.

Sheffield, Mrs. Ada Eliot. Administration of the mothers’ aid law in
Massachusetts. Survey, Feb. 21,1914, v. 31: 644-645, 659.
320. -------- The influence of mothers’ aid upon family life. Survey Julv 24
1915, v. 34:378-379.
■■
*
321. Tilley, David F. Adequate relief to dependent mothers in Massachu­
setts. (In National conference of charities and correction. Proceed* ings, 1914, p. 453-457.)
See also no. 311 of this list.

322.

Widows’ pensions in
30:132-133.

Massachusetts.

Survey, April 26 1913 v
’
’ *'

MICHIGAN.
323. M ichigan.. State board of corrections and chanties. 22d-24th biennial
reports, 1913/14-1917/1918. Lansing, Mich., 1914-1918.
, 1919-1914 : Table showing data pertaining to the so-called “ Mothers’ pension
law from Aug. 14, 1913-June 30, 1914, p. 160-161.
1915-1916: Table showing data pertaining to so-called “ Mothers’ pension
law for fiscal year ending June 30, 1915, p. 203-204; for fiscal year ending
June 30, 1916, p. 205-206.
1917-1918 : Mothers’ pension section of juvenile court act and decisions of
attorney general regarding, p. 158-159; statistics of aid granted by the counties
for fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, p. 170-171; for fiscal year ending June 30,
1918, p. 172—173; comparative table of data for years 1914—1918, p. 174.
Mothers’ pensions in Michigan. Independent, June 1, 1914 v 78 *

o24.

424-425.

’

'

MINNESOTA.
325.

Campbell, William A. Discussion on mothers’ pensions. (In Minne­
sota academy of social, sciences. Papers and proceedings, 1914, p. 91-95.)
Constitutional law—Minnesota’s mothers’ pension law. Chicago legal
news, May 30, 1914, v. 46: 341.
Hennepin Co. Minn. Juvenile court. The juvenile court of Hennepin
county, Minnesota. With annual reports of Hennepin county probation
office, Glen Lake farm school for boys, Research department, juvenile
court. Minneapolis, 1914. 44 p. 23^cm.

326.
327.

“ County aid to mothers of dependent children ” : p. 7—11, 17—18, 41—44.

328.
v

The juvenile court of Hennepin county, Minnesota, 1914-^
1915’ witil reports of Hennepin county probation office, Glen Lake
farm school for boys, court physician and surgeon. Minneapolis, 1916
55 p. 23cm.
County aid to mothers of dependent children: ’ p. 6 -7 ; statistics
1915, p. 17-18, 24-25.

329.

1913-

7— The juvenile court of Hennepin county, Minnesota, 19161917 . . . Minneapolis, 1918. 56 p. 23cm.
Operation of county aid law, p. 5 -6 ; statistics for 1916 and 1917, p.
27~29j 31.

330.

How can juvenile courts make use of county child welfare boards.
(In Minnesota. State board of control. Quarterly bulletin, special
edition, Aug. 5, 1918. p. 182-i91.)
Round table discussion at 26th Minnesota State conference of charities and
correction, Owatonna, Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 1917.

331.

Merrill, Galen A. The new child welfare laws—their relation to the
dependent child [and discussion] (In Minnesota. State board of
control. Quarterly bulletin, Aug. 1917, p. 22-41.)
Includes discussion of revised “ allowances to mothers ” law adopted in 1917

143973°—19-----19

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290

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS1 PENSIONS.

332.

Minneapolis mothers’ pensions. Survey, Dec. 26, 1914, v. 33:337.
Minneapolis, Minn. Jouvenile court. See Hennepin Co., Minn. Juvenile
court.

333.

Minnesota. Child welfare commission. Report of the Minnesota child
welfare commission with bills recommended and synopsis of all changes
from present law. St. Paul, Minn., Office of the commission [1917]
143 p. 23cm.
“ Mothers’ pension law strengthened ” : p. 16.
Draft of revised law for allowances to m others : p. 80—85.
legisláture without change.
,

334.

Enacted by

-------- Children's bureau. Report of the director of the Children’s bureau
of the State board of control, periocT Jan. 1-Oct. 31, 1918. St. Paul,
1918. 16 p. 23cm.
William W. Hodson, director.
County allowances to mothers, work of child welfare boards: p. 15-16.
Printed also in 9th biennial report of State board of control.

335. -------- Laws, statutes, etc. A compilation of the laws of Minnesota relat­
ing to children, 1917. William W. Hodson, director Children’s bureau,
State board of control. . . . [St. Paul]. Enterprise printing co.
[1917] 185 p. 23cm.
** Allowances to mothers ” la w : p. 75-80.

336. -------- State board of control. 8th-9th biennial reports of State board of
control 1914/1916-1916/1918. Minneapolis, Syndicate print, co.,
1916- 1918.
Fiscal year ends July 31.
1914-1916; State aid to families of prisoners, p. 9 ; Effect of mothers’ pen­
sions on admissions to State public school, p. 247; Statistics of county aid for
dependent children in Hennepin, Ramsay and St. Louis counties, p. 299, 302—304.
1916-1918: Mothers’ pensions, p. 42; Effect on parole of insane, p. 50;
County aid, Hennepin, Ramsay and St. Louis counties, p. 267, 270, 272.

337. -------- -------- Statement of money expended for county allowance
1917- 1918.
Typewritten report covering the different counties of the State.

338.

O’Connor, J. J. Public allowances to dependent children of poor widows
in Minnesota. (/«. Minnesota academy of social sciences. Papers and
proceedings, 1914, p. 78-90.)

339.

Qrr, Grier M. The juvenile court and its relation to the State institu­
tions. (In Minnesota State board of control quarterly, Nov. 1915,
p. 58-62.)

340.

O’Toole, Mrs. W . J. The Minnesota law for mothers’ pensions and its
operation. (In Minnesota academy of social sciences. Papers and pro­
ceedings, 1914, p. 73-77.)

341.

State ex rel. Stearns county v. Klasen, probate judge (Supreme court
of Minnesota, Nov. 14,1913). Northwestern reporter, v. 143:984-987.

342.

Vasaly, Chas. E. The new child welfare laws—their relation to the
State board of control [and discussion]. (In Minnesota. State board
of control quarterly, Aug. 1917, p. 4-17.)

Favors juvenile court for administration of mothers’ pensions.

Includes discussion of duties of Board of control in relation to new mothers’
allowances act.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

291

343. Waite, Edward F. Administration of county aid to dependent children
[and discussion]. (In Minnesota State conference of charities and cor­
rection. Proceedings, 1913, p. 68-80.)
Paper and discussion covers operation of mothers’ pension law to October
1913 in several counties of Minnesota.

344. -------- Need for revision and codification of Minnesota’s laws relating to
children . . . Discussion by Hastings H. Hart, Minneapolis [ri. d.]
13 p,
•
Reprint from the Proceedings of the 23d Minnesota conference of charities,
Sept. 1914, p. 98—111." Printed also in Minnesota State board of control
quarterly, Nov; 1914, p. 46-56.

345. -------- Social legislation in Minnesota. (In Minnesota State conference
charities and correction. Proceedings, 1913, p. 12-20.)
Includes discussion of mothers’ pension law.

346. Weeks, C. Louis. Uniformity of court practice in allowances to mothers
[and discussion]. (In Minnesota State conference of charities and
correction. Proceedings, 1917. p. 175-182.)
Proceedings were printed as a special edition of the Quarterly bulletin of
State board of control, Aug. 5, 1918.

MISSOURI.
347.

Appo, Alice M. House bill no. 626. A first step toward the endowment
of motherhood. Collier’s, Aug. 17, 1912, v. 49 : 20-21.
A discussion of the Missouri law passed April 7, 1911.

348.

Cruise, Mrs. Edith M. Widows’ pensions. (In Missouri State confer­
ence of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1913, p. 22-23.)
349. Fairbank, Alfred. Mothers’ pensions in Missouri. (In National con­
ference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p. 442-444.)
350. Halbert, L. A. The widows’ allowance act in Kansas City., Survey,
Feb. 28, 1914, v. 31: 675-676.
351. Jackson Co. Mo. Juvenile court. 8th annual report of Juvenile court,
Jackson county. Kansas City, Mo., 1911. 48 p. (no later reports
printed, June, 1918.)
“ Widows’ allowance ” la w ; p. 11—14.

* S 5 2 -------------- — Report on cases coming under Widow’s allowance act from
June 2, 1911 to Jan. 1, 1914.
Typewritten report from James L. Gillham, deputy probation officer in charge
of the widows’ allowances.

353.

Kansas City, Missouri. Board of public welfare. A survey of the ex­
tent, financial and social cost of desertion and artificially broken homes
in Kansas City, Missouri, during the year 1915. By Eva M. Marquis.
Kansas City, Mo., Fratcher ptg. co., [1916?] 51 p. 23cm.
Based on a study of the records'of the various charitable and semicharitable
institutions in Kansas City.

Kansas City, Mo. Juvenile court. See Jackson Co. Mo. Juvenile court.
354. Mathias, E. L. The widowed mother and children. How to help them.
Child (Chicago) April, 1912, v. 1; 20-22.
Operation of the Missouri 'law passed April 7, 1911.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS PENSIONS.

355. Missouri. Children’s code commission. Preliminary report of the com­
mittees of the Children’s code commission, submitted to the Missouri
children’s code commission, July, 1916. [n. p„ 1916.] 28 1. diagr.
28Fm.
Autographed from typewritten copy.
Recommendations of committee on destitute and neglected children for State
wide provision for mothers’ pensions: p. 13.

356. ____________ A complete revision of the laws for the welfare of Missouri
children. Prepared by the Missouri Children’s code commission, ap­
pointed by the Governor to revise and codify the laws relating to chil­
dren, for submission to the 49th General assembly. December, 1916.
[n. p.] 160 p. 23cm.
Rhodes E. Cave, chairman.
Recommendation for a State wide mothers’ pension act to be administered by
county boards of public welfare : p. 36—37 ; Draft of bill, p. 133—135.

357. :________ 1— Report of the Missouri Children’s code commission. A com­
plete revision of the laws for the welfare of Missouri children, 1918.
Prepared by the Missouri Children’s, code commission appointed by
Governor Frederick D. Garner to revise and codify the laws relating to
children, for submission to the 50th General Assembly in 1919. J e f f e r ­
son City, Hugh Stephens co., printers, 1918. 231 p. 23cm.
Rhodes E. Cave, chairman.
Only part of the laws recommended by the 1916 commission were enacted in
1919. A new commission was appointed in 1918.

358.

Pensions given to wives of convicts.

Survey, Aug. 19, 1911, v. 26:711.

Discussion of the Missouri law passed Apr. 7, 1911.

359. Porterfield, E. E. How the widow’s allowance operates. Child-welfare
magazine, Feb. 1913, v. 7:208-210.
St.
Louis, Mo. Boards of children’s guardians. Annual report, Board of
360.
children’s guardians, city of St. Louis, 1915-1916. St. Louis, Wilson
printing co. [1916.] 29 p. 251cm.
Anuimi report of placing out department: widows’ cases, p. 25-27.

361. -------- Juvenile court. Report of juvenile court and probation officer for
year 1914 and 1915. St. Louis, Mo., 1917. 53 p.
Conditions underlying juvenile delinquency.
hom es: p. 21—25.

Number of children from broken

362. ___ __ Municipal commission on delinquent, dependent and defective chil­
dren. Report of the Municipal commission on delinquent, dependent
and defective children. St. Louis, Mo., 1911. 90 p.
Recommended the care of dependent children in family homes and, wherever
possible, maintenance in the child’s own home. Recommended also the estab­
lishment of a board of children’s guardians for St. Louis.

363. -------- Ordinances, etc. No. 26565. An ordinance creating the Board of
children’s guardians, defining the number of its members, their terms
of office, their qualifications, duties and powers, authorizing said board
. . . to receive delinquent, dependent and defective children and to place
them in public institutions or with families, providing for the payment
of the care of any such child . . . Approved July 8, 1912.
Authorized the boarding out of children of widows w ith their own mothers.

364. -- -- ------------ No. 28134. An ordinance amending ordinance number 26565
creating the Board of children’s guardians, defining the number of its
members, their terms of office, their qualifications, duties, powers . . .
Approved July 14, 1915.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

293

865.

St. Louis, Mo. Public library. Municipal statistics of St. Louis. Com­
piled by Andrew Linn Bostwick, municipal reference librarian. (Its
Monthly bulletin, July, 1916, new series, v 14, no. 7.)

366.

Warfield, George Alfred. . . . Outdoor relief in Missouri; a study of
its administration by county officials . . . . prepared under the direc­
tion of Thomas J. Riley . . . New York, Survey associates, inc.
1915. ix, 140 p. 23cm. (Russell Sage foundation publications.)

Work of the Board of children’s guardians during 1915-1916: p. 289.

“ Mothers with dependent children ” : p. 94-99.

MONTANA.
367.

Montana. Bureau of child and animal protection. 8th biennial report
of the Bureau of child and animal protection of the State of Montana,
1915-1916. Helena, Montana, 1917. 16 p.
“ Mothers’ aid granted in counties.

Changes suggested in law : p. 3-4.

NEBRASKA.
367a.

Douglas Co., Neb. Juvenile court. Report on mothers’ pensions, July
1, 1918 to July 1,1919. 1. Typewritten.
368. Johnson, Esther A. [Letter on the operation of the “ Mothers’ pension ”
law in Douglas county, Nebraska.] (In Kansas conference of chari­
ties and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p. 54-55.)
369. Nebraska. State board of charities and corrections. 9th biennial re­
port of the Nebraska State board of charities and correction . . . for
biennium closing Nov. 30, 1918. Lincoln, Neb., American ptg. co. 1919.
47 p. 22°m.
Number of mothers’ pensions granted and amounts expended by counties:
p. 32-35.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.
370.

New Hampshire. Children's commission. Report of the Children’s com­
mission to the governor and legislature, Jan. 1915. Concord, N. H.
[printed by J. B. Clarke co,, Manchester] 1914. 136 p. 22cm.
Changes suggested in mothers’ pension la w : p. 31-32, 130-131.

371. --------- Dept, of public instruction. Division of child\ welfare. . . .
Manual; attendance, child labor, mothers’ aid. Concord, Dept, of pub­
lic instruction, 1916. 30 p.
372. —--------------- - Report of the superintendent of public instruction
1913/1914—1917/1918. Concord, N. H. 1914-1918.
1913—1914 : The mothers’ relief act, p. 48—54.
1915—1916: Mothers’ aid, p. 61—72.
1917—1918 : Mothers’ aid, p. 102—108.

NEW JERSEY.
373. Day, Frances. Our State wards. (In New Jersey review of charities
and correction, May, 1916, p. 16-17.)
374. New Jersey. Laws, statutes, etc. Poor relief, a manual for overseers
of the poor . . . Issued by the State charities aid and prison reform
association of New Jersey. 2d ed., 1915. [Trenton, 1915.] 64 p. 16cm.
“ Widows’ pensions ” : p. 44_45.

375. ------ <----------- Poor relief, a manual for overseers of the poor . . . Issued
by State charities aid and prison reform association of New Jersey
. . . 3d ed., 1918. [Newark, N. J., 1918.] 23 p. 23cm.
“ Act to promote home life for dependent children ” : p. 8—9.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

294
076.

New Jersey. State board of children?$ guardians. Report for the years
1913- 1917. Trenton, N. J., MacCrellish and Quigley co., State printers,
1914— 1918. 5 v.
Operation of “ widows’ pension ” la w : 1913, p. 3-6, 19 J 1914, p. 4-6, 9-10,
16; 1915, p. 3-6 8 -1 7 ; 1916; p. 6-7, 15-23; 1917, p. 11-12, 17-19.

377.

New Jersey child labor and welfare committee. A guide to the laws of
New Jersey relating to children. Issued by the New Jersey child labor
and welfare committee. East Orange, N. J. [1917.] 36 p. 23cm.
'

378.

Text of “ widows’ pension ” la w ; p. 29-30.

State charities aid and prison reform association of New Jersey.
32nd annual report of the Board of managers of the New Jersey State
charities aid and prison reform association for year ending Oct. 31,
1917. Rahway, N. J., New Jersey reformatory print. 1918. 68
p. 23cm.
Work of State board of children’s guardians, p. 20-22.

379. -------- The New Jersey State board of children’s guardians. A study of
the work of the State board of children’s guardians. {In New Jersey
review of charities and correction, Dec. 1915, p. 2-12.)
Covers the work of the mothers’ pension department.

380.

"Wittpenn, Mrs. Caroline B. Experiences in administration of mothers’
pensions. {In U. S. Bureau of labor statistics. Bulletin no. 212,
p. 805-810.)
Paper read hefire Conference on social insurance, Washington, D. C., Dec.
8, 1916, by president of New Jersey State board of children’s guardians.

381. -------- Widows’ pensions [and discussion].

{In New Jersey State con­
ference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p. 77-86.)
NEW YORK.

382. Albany Co., N. Y. Board of child welfare. lst-3rd annual report, 19161918. Albany, Journal co., 1916-1918. 3 v.
Includes statistics of widows’ allowances granted from Aug. 5, 1915-Oct.
31, 1918.

383. Anthony, Katherine. Mothers who must earn: a study in New York’s
West side. Survey, April 4, 1914, v. 32:17-22, 38-43.
384. -----;— Mothers who must earn. New York, Survey associates, 1914.
223 p. 20Fm- (Russell Sage foundation. West Side studies, [v. 2,
pt. 2.]
385. Arnold, C. W. H. An adequate system for the care of destitute, neg­
lected and delinquent children in a community. {In New York State
conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1916, p. 109-125.)
386. The Board of child welfare. {In Weekly report of the Babies welfare
association, Jan. 13, 1917, p. 2-3.)
On the work of the New York city board of child welfare to Jan. 1, 1917.

387.

Bureau of municipal research, New YorJc. Widows’ pension legisla­
tion . . . New York, 1917. 125 p. 22£cm. (Municipal research, no.
85, May, 1917.)

388.

The case for widows’ aid in New York.
547-549.

A year of widows’ pensions in New York State: p. 111-125.

Hearings on N. Y. bill.


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Survey, Feb. 20, 1915, v. 33:

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS1 PENSIONS.

295

389. Devine, Edward T. Report of an investigation of matters relating to
the care, treatment and relief of dependent widows with dependent
children in the city of New York. [New York city] 1914. 50 p.
Report made for the executive committee of the conference called by Mr.
O. F. Lewis and held in the office of Mr. Thomas M. Mulry on Jan. 4, 1913.
Printed also in part in the Survey, Apr. 4, 1914, p. 23-29 under title “ Widows’
needs.”

390. -------- Widows’ needs. Survey, Apr. 4, 1914, v. 32:23-29.
391. -------- Widows’ pensions in New York. Survey, April 3, 1915, v. 34: 30.
392. Einstein, Mrs. W illiam. New York State allowances for widowed
mothers. General federation of women’s clubs magazine, Apr., 1917,
v. 16:36-37.
393. -------- The practical application of the child welfare law in New York City
[and discussion]. (In New York City conference of charity and correc­
tion. Proceedings, 1918, p. 168-180.)
394.
Survey of the operation and needs of child welfare boards in the
State of New York [and discussion by George G. Prince and others].
(In New York State conference of charities and correction. Proceed­
ings, 1917, p. 253-275.)
395. England, Frances. Child care is the concern of the State: therefore
Ogden L. Mills urges widowed mothers’ pensions. New York Tribune,
Feb. 11, 1915.
396. First widows’ pensions in New York State. Survey, Dec. 18, 1915, v.
3 5 :312.
397. Generous pension funds for widows. Survey, June 3, 1916, v. 36: 270271.
398. Gibbs, W inifred Stuart. The minimum cost of living; a study of fami­
lies of limited income in New York city . . . New York, The Macmillan
company, 1917. xv, 93 p. illus. 19$cm.
399. Glenn, Mrs. John M. Relief of needy mothers in New York. (In Na­
tional conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p.
452-453.)
.
400. Hannan, W illiam E. . . . Mothers’ pension legislation in New York
and other States. Albany, The University of the State of New York,
1916. 7-41 p. fold tab. 23cm. (University of the State of New York
bulletin no. 614. Legislation bulletin 41.)
Co n t e n t s .— Mothers’ pension legislation in New York.— Chapter 588, Act
establishing commission to study question.— Chapter 228, Act creating local
boards of child welfare.— List of States having mothers’ pension legislation.—
Digest of mothers’ pension laws of twenty-eight States.— Forms proposed by
New York State board of charities.— Forms used in city and county of San
Francisco.— List of child welfare boards of New York State.—Bibliography.

401.

Hebberd, Robert W . Relief to needy mothers in New York. (In Na­
tional conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914, p.
450-452.)
402. -------- “ Widows’ pensions.” (In New York state board of charities.
Annual report for 1915, v. 1:1047-1052.)
Address before the annual convention of County superintendents of the poor,

403.
404.

June 24, 1915.
Hopkins, Harry L. To what extent are public and private relief agen­
cies supplementing low wages [and discussion]. (In New York city
conference of charities. Proceedings, 1917. p. 12-29.)
Huffaker, Lucy. What Mrs. Weintraub knows. Harper’s weekly, May
8, 1915, v. 60 : 455.


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296

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

Influenza raises number of widows asking pensions; Board of aidermen comes to rescue with. $250,000 in revenue bonds. New York
evening world, Jan. 8, 1919.
406. Israels, Belle Lindner. Widowed mothers. Survey, Sept. 4, 1909, v.
22: 740-742.

405.

On the Widowed mothers’ fund, N. Y.

407. Lee,’ Porter R. Some facts about widows with children and their care.
Survey, Feb. 14, 1914, v. 31:620-622.
408. Loeb, Sophie I. Widows’'pensions raised 12 per cent on account of high
cost of living. New York evening world, May 22, 1917.
On the increased allowance for food made by the New York city board of
child welfare in widows’ aid cases.

409.
410.

-------- Widows’ pension law now proving its great merit. Juvenile
court record, Nov. 1916, v. 16:13.
Matthews, W illiam H. Experiences in administration [New York].
{In U. S. Bureau of labor statistics. Bulletin no. 212, p. 811-817.)
Paper read before Conference on social insurance, Washington, D. C., Dec.
8, 1916.

411.

-------- Widows’ families, -pensioned or otherwise.
v. 32 : 270-275.

Survey, June 6, 1914,

Summary of the report of the New York association for improving the con­
dition of the poor entitled “ Shall widows be pensioned? ”

412.

413.
414.
415.

416.

417.

More widows by reason of flu epidemic. Dutchess county board of
child welfare has more cases as result of epidemic. Poughkeepsie
courier, May 18, 1919.
Mothers’ pensions in New York. Literary digest, April 10, 1915, v.
50:796.
Needy widows in the State of New York. Survey, April 4, 1914, v.
32:1-3.
New York (city) Board of child welfare. lst-3rd annual report of the
Board of child welfare of the city of New York. [October 1, 1915December 31,1918]. New York city, 1916-1919. 3 v.
---------------- — Report of work of the^Board of child welfare of the city of
New York for the* twelve months ending Aug. 6, 1916. Made to the
mayor of New York city by William H. Matthews, president of the
Board, [n. p., 1916] 16 p. 23cm.
------- - Bureau of municipal investigation and statistics. Report relative
to proposed legislation, providing pensions to widows with children, sub­
mitted to Hon. Wm. A. Prendergast, comptroller of the city of New York,
by the Bureau of municipal investigation and statistics, Jan. 25, 1915.
[New York, M. B. Brown printing and binding co.3 1915. 26 p. 26£cm.

418. -------- Commissioner of accounts. Board of child welfare, city of New
York: A test survey of the homes and related conditions of widowed
mothers receiving allowances under the provisions of chapter 228, Laws
1915. Leonard M. Wallstein, commissioner of accounts. New York,
The O’Connell press, 1917. 9 p. 25icm.
- Report of an investigation made by the commissioner of accounts for the
purpose of assisting the Tax budget subcommittee of the Board of estimate and
apportionment in considering the estimate of $1,269,450 for the work of the
Board of child welfare.

419. ----------- ------- Deserted and abandoned children: A test of the value of
enforcing the city’s rights against child deserters. Leonard M. Wall­
stein, commissioner of accounts. [New York,'M. B. Brown printing and
binding co.] 1916. 11 p. 25$cm.

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
420.

297

New York (city). Mayor. Municipal yearbook of the city of New York
1916. New York, M. B. Brown printing co., 1917. 235 p. 20cm.
Work of child welfare board: p. 102-103.

421.

New York (State) Board of charities. Annual report, 1914-1916.
bany, J. B. Lyon co., state printers, 1915-1917.

Al­

1914: State commission to inquire into the relief of widowed mothers n
24-27.
.
1915: Text of law establishing local boards of child welfare and Governor
Whitman’s memorandum of approval, p. 13-21.
.1916 . Work of boards of child welfare, v. 1 :1 9 7 ; causes for commitment and
dependency of children committed to orphan asylums, p. 246-248; statistics to
June 30, 1916, v. 2 : 896-905, 1003.

422. ------------------- The Hill-McCue bill for the relief of the children of
widowed mothers; Governor Whitman’s memorandum of approval;
Senator Hill’s letter to the governor, and the paper of Secretary Robert
W. Hebberd of the State board of charities, on “ Mothers’ pensions.”
Albany, J. B. Lyon company, printers, 1915. 27 p. 23cm.
Printed also in New York State board of charities.
v. 1:1017-1093.

423.

Annual report for 1915

:---- Commission on relief for widowed mothers. Preliminary report
of the New York State commission on relief for widowed mothers.
Transmitted to the Legislature March 20, 1914. Albany, J. B. Lyon
co., printers, 1914. 6 p. 23cm. (Senate no. 53.)
Aaron J. Levy, chairman.

424.

Report of the New York State commission on relief for
widowed mothers. Transmitted to the Legislature March 27, 1914.
Albany, J. B. Lyon co., printers, 1914. 584 p. 23cm. [Legislature, 1914.
Senate doc. 64.]
Includes a detailed report of the work of the private charities of the State
and «extracts from the records of the children’s court. Draft of mothers’ pen­
sion b ill: p. 10-14.

425.

426.

New York association for improving the condition of the poor.
Shall widows be pensioned? A report to the public of the service ren­
dered by the,. New York association for improving the condition of the
poor to 474 widows with dependent children under its care on Feb. 1,
1914, with suggestions as to how such service may be made more ade­
quate and equable. Comp, by the staff members of the Department of
family welfare of the New York association for improving the condition
of the poor during the months of February and March, 1914 . . . New
York association for improving the condition of the poor [1914]. 39 p.
(Its Publication no. 82.)
New York city conference of charities and correction. Committee on
governmental aid to dependent families. Report of committee on gov­
ernmental aid to dependent families by the chairman, Dr. O. F. Lewis.
Albany, J. B. Lyon co., State printers, 1912. 29 p. 23cm.
Majority report recommended the establishment by the city of a “Department
of home assistance ” with power to grant monthly allowances to widows with
2 or more children under 16, to be paid through private relief organizations
certified by the State board of charities.
Printed also in the Proceedings of the conference for 1912, p. 87-114.

427.

New York State association of child welfare boards. New York State
board of child welfare. Proceedings of the 1st State conference held
at Utica, N. Y., Jan. 31, 1917. Utica, N. Y., 1917. 61 p. 20icm.


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298
428.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
Oneida Co., N, Y . Board of child welfare. lst-3rd annual reports of the
Board of chi-d welfare to the honorable board of supervisors of Oneida
county. Utica, N. Y., 1916-1918. 3 v.
Include statistics of widows’ allowances granted from July 9, 1915-Nov. 1,
1918.

429.
430.

Pensions for the widows of New York [editorial]. Survey, Apr. 3,
1915, v. 34 :1.
Rensselaer Co., N. Y. Board of child welfare. Statistical and financial
statement from Nov. 1, 1918—May 1, 1919.
Typewritten report.

131. Richmond, Mary Ellen. A study of nine hundred and eighty-five
widows known to certain charity organization societies in 1910. New
York city, Charity organization department of the Russell Sage founda­
tion, 1913. 83 p. ( On cover: Russell Sage foundation. Charity organi­
zation department. Publication C. O. 34.)
432. State charities aid association, New York. 46th annual report to the
State board of charities . . . Nov. 1, 1918.
Report of the- subcommittee on assisting and providing situations for
mothers with young children: p. 70-74; Subcommittee on county agencies for
dependent children : p. 75—78.

433. -------- Appropriations to boards of child welfare in New York for widows’
pensions. Prepared by H. Ida Curry, 1916.
Manuscript report.

434. Strong, Jay M. First year of “ widows’ pensions” in New York State.
(In New York State conference of charities and correction. Proceed­
ings, 1916, p. 128-136.)
435! Taylor, Ruth.The problem of Westchester courts and how a public
agency is meeting them. (In New Jersey State conference of charities
and correction. Proceedings, 1917» P- 132-143.)
Mothers’ allowances: p. 135--141.

436.

W allace, Richard W. The future of institutions for children in New
York State [and discussion]. (In New York State conference of
charities and correction. Proceedings, 1915, p. 260-271, 293—294.)
Effect of mothers’ pension law on commitments to institutions: p. 263-266,
293-294.

437. Weiner, Cecil B. County boards of child welfare [and discussion] (In
New York State conference of charities and correction. Proceedings,
1916, p. 136-146.)
438. Westchester co.,'N. Y. Commissioner of charities and correction. 1st
annual report of the Commissioner of charities and correction of West­
chester county, New York, Jan. 1 , 1917-Dec. 31, 1917. East View, N. Y.,
1918. 187 p.
Report of the Department of child welfare, including. widows’ allowances:
p. 119-176.

439.

Westchester co., N. Y. Superintendent of the poor. Reports of the Su­
perintendent of poor of Westchester county for the period Nov. 1,
1914-Dec. 31, 1916.
1914- 1915 : Children’s department, p. 40-54.
1915—
1916: Allowances to mothers, p. 39—45; economic status of families
before granting of allowances, p. 45-47 ; cost of family and home care, p. 48—49;
results of allowance system, p. 49-50; problems of family upbuilding, p. 50-53.
For 1917—1918 report s e e no. 438.

440.

W idows’ pension bill for New York State.
31:791.


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Survey, Mar. 28, 1914, v.

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS * PENSIONS.
441.

Widows’ pension bills in New York.
528-529.

Survey, Feb. 13, 1915

442.

Widows’ pension fund of $20,000 a year.
33:1.

299
v

33-

Discusses the various bills before the State legislature in 1915.

Survey, Oct. 3 1914 v

On the grant of the Rockefeller foundation to the New York association for
improving the condition of the poor.

443.

W idows’ pension money all allotted.
725.

Survey, Mar. 18, 1916 v 35-

444.

Widows’ pensions adjunct to be employment bureau for orphan chil­
dren. New York evening world, May 14, 1919.
On the branch of the State employment bureau established in the office of the
New York city child welfare board for the purpose of aiding widows under the
care of the board to find suitable jobs for their children of working age:

445.

W indows’ pensions in New York, [letter from Mary K. Simkhovitch
for the Committee on widows’ pensions of the Association of neighbor­
hood workers]. Survey, Mar. 15, 1913, v.’29: 843.
«

446.

Widows themselves to testify on pensions.
31:285-286.

Survey, Dec. 13 1913 v

447. A year of mothers’ pensions in New York.
595-596.

Survey, Sept 16, 1916 n

NORTH CAROLINA.
448.

An act to secure the attendance of indigent children at school.
(In North Carolina. State board of charities and public welfare.
Bulletin, Jan.-April, 1919, v. 2, no. 1, p. 16-17.)
Permits .aid to extent of $10 a month to be given family during continuance
of compulsory school term.
\

449.

Help mothers to keep their children. {In North Carolina. State
board of charities and public welfare. Bulletin, April-June, 1918, v. 1
no. 2, p. 2-3.)
View is expressed that county commissioners have the power to grant aid to
mothers to care for their children in their own homes. Need of county super­
intendents of public welfare is emphasized.

450.

National child labor committee, New York. Child welfare in North
Carolina: an inquiry by the National child labor committee for the
North Carolina conference for social service, under the direction of W.
H. Swift. New York city, National child labor committee, 1918. 314 n
23cm.
Recommended the enactment of a mothers’ pension law for North Carolina
to be administered by .county boards of public welfare with supervision in a
State board of public welfare.

NORTH DAKOTA.
451.

Cass county et al. v. Nixon (Supreme court of North Dakota. Jan. 16,
1917). 161 Northwestern reporter, p. 204-206.
Decision upheld the constitutionality of the mothers’ pension act of 1915.


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300

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS ’ PENSIONS.
OHIO.

452. Adams, George S. Mothers’ pensions [and discussion] {In Ohio. Bulle­
tin of charities and correction, Jan. 1915, p. 18-22.)
On the administration of mothers’ pensions in Cuyahoga county, Ohio
(Cleveland).

453.

Cassidy, John R. Problems of the juvenile court in a rural coUnty.
{In Ohio State conference on dependent children. Proceedings, 1915,
p. 52-53.)

Includes statement on administration of mothers’ pensions in Logan county,
Ohio.

Cincinnati. Juvenile court. See Hamilton Co., O. Juvenile cow t.
Cleveland. Juvenile court. See Cuyahoga Co., 0. Juvenile court.
454. Conyngton, Mary K. Effect of. workmen’s compensation laws in dimin­
ishing the necessity of industrial employment of women and children.
Washington, Govt, print, off., 1918. 170 p. (Bulletin of the U. S. Bu­
reau of labor statistics, whole no. 217. Workmen’s insurance and com­
pensation series, no. 11.)
States covered by the investigation were Connecticut, Ohio and Pennsyl­
vania. Sections of the report deal with condition of the families before and
after loss of injured wage-earner.

455. Cuyahoga Co., 0. Juvenile court. Report of mothers’ pension depart­
ment April i, 1914—Jan. 1, 1915.
456. ------------------Reports for years 1915-1918.
Typewritten reports from Miss Katherine Kennedy, Mothers’ pension dept.

Dayton. See Montgomery Co., 0.
457. Edmonds, T. J. and Hexter, Maurice B. State pensions to mothers in
Hamilton county, Ohio. Survey, Dec. 12, 1914, v. 39:289-290.
458. Earr, L. T. Allowances for mothers’ pension. {In Ohio Bulletin of
charities and correction, June, 1916, p. 56-59.)
Refers to Columbiana county, Ohio.

459.

Eieser, James L. Coordination of the work of public welfare giving
agencies. {In Ohio. Bulletin of charities and correction, Jan. 1915,
p. 66-71.)
460. Hamilton Co., 0. Juvenile court. Annual report, Juvenile court of
Hamilton county, Ohio, for the year ending Dec. 31, 1914. 15 p. 23cm.
Mothers’ pensions: p. 3-5.
461. Jackson, James E. Experience of Ohio in relieving needy mothers. {In
National conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914,
p. 444-447.)
462. K ingsley, Sherman Colver. Survey of Cleveland agencies which are
giving relief to families in their homes [by] Sherman C. Kingsley . . .
Amelia Sears . . . [and] Allen T. Burns . . . [Cleveland] The Sur­
vey committee of the Cleveland foundation, 1915. 81 p. 23
([Cleveland foundation] Publications no. 1.)
“ Mothers’ pension division of the Juvenile court ” : p. 40-45, 74-75.

463. Tvriami Co., O. Juvenile court.

Mothers’ pensions,

[n. p.]

8 p. 17 .

Pamphlet explaining the terms of the Ohio law with a letter to the pensioned
mother.

464.

Montgomery Co., O. Court of common pleas. First annual report, court
of common pleas of Montgomery county, Ohio, division of domestic
relations, from Jan. 1, 1917-Jan. 1, 1918. Dayton, 1918. 20 p. 16*cmMothers’ pension department: p. 4—5, 18—19. •


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
464a.
465.
466.

4671

301

Montgomery Co., O. Court of common pleas. Report January 1, 1918,
to January 1, 1919. Typewritten.
Ohio. Board of state charities. Annual statistics of non-state benevo­
lent and correctional agencies. 1915. 1 1.
-------- Statistics of non-state benevolent and correctional agen­
cies for 1916. (in Ohio. Bulletin of charities and correction. March,
1918, v. 24, no. 1, p. 20-21.)
Statistics of public benevolent and correctional agencies
for 1917. (In Ohio. Bulletin of charities and ^correction. Feb. 1919,
v. 25, no. 1, p. 34-35.)
Gives the number of “ mothers’ pensions ” granted in each county and the
total amount expended fo r pensions.

468.

Ohio. Commission to codify and revise laws relative to children. Re­
port of the Commission to codify and revise the laws of Ohio relative to
children. [Columbus, 1912] 72 p. 23cm.
View s o f the commission regarding a mothers’ pension la w fo r Ohio - d
D ra ft o f b i l l : p. 2 7 - 2 9 .
K

469.

470.

6
*

Ohio. Laws, statutes, etc. The mothers’ pension act. A law providing
for pensions for needy mothers, codifying the child labor laws and pro­
viding aid for needy blind persons. Columbus, O., The F. J. Heer
printing co., 1913. 52 p. 24cm.
Spencer, W illiam A. Child welfare needs and child welfare agencies
in Cincinnati. (In Ohio. Bulletin of charities and correction June
1915, p. 8-22.)
M others’ pensions granted in C in cin n ati: p. 1 8 - 1 9 .

47S.

National child labor committee, New York. Child welfare in Okla­
homa ; an inquiry by the National child labor committee for the Uni­
versity of Oklahoma, under the direction of Edward N. Clopper
New York city, National child labor committee [1918]. 285 p. front,
(map). 23*“.
The section on Poor relief, by Eva Jofte gives the results of an inquiry into
the operation of mothers’ pensions throughout the State (p. 208-215). In­
cluded also is a brief statement on the aid granted under the “ scholarship ” law
enacted in 1909. The report recommended State supervision of mothers’ pen­
sions through a State child welfare division in the State department of charities
and correction.

OREGON.
473.

Tour months of mothers’ pensions in Oregon (editorial). Nation Nov
6, 1913, v. 97: 425.
474- Hayhurst, Elizabeth. How pensions for widows were won in Oregon.
Child-welfare magazine, March, 1913, v. 7:248-249.
475. Multnomah co., Oreg. Juvenile court. The juvenile court, Multnomah
county, Oregon. Annual report, May 22, 1915-June 30, 1916. Portland,
Ore., Chausse Prudhomme co., printers [1916]. 34 p. 23cm.
“ Mothers’ pension department report from June, 1913-June, 1916, inclusive ” •
p. 23-28.

476.

— Report of mothers’ pensions department Multnomah county,
Oregon, for June, 1913-Jan. 1916. Portland, Franklin press [1916]
8 p. 20i*m.


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302

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

477.

Multnomah, co., Oreg. Mothers’ aid. Report for year' 1917-1918, Mult­
nomah county. Portland, Ore., Multnomah print co., 1918. 12 p. 22icm.

478.

Slingerland, W illiam H. Child welfare work in Oregon; a study of
public and private agencies and institutions for the care of dependent,
delinquent and defective children, by W. H. Slingerland . . . for the
Oregon child welfare commission. Salem, Ore., State printing dept.,
1918. vii, 131 p. 23cm. (University of Oregon bulletin, new ser. vol.
xv, no. 10.)

479.

Trumbull, Mrs. M illie R. A year under the widows’ pension law in
Portland. Welfare, Sept. 1914, p. 13-14.

Statistics of mothers’ aid in all counties of Oregon in 1917: p. 12.

Assistance for dependent mothers : p. 95—97.

PENNSYLVANIA.
480. Allegheny co., Pa. Report of the Allegheny county trustees of Mothers’
assistance fund, Nov. 25, 1913-Jan. 16, 1915. Pittsburg, Pa., [1915].
8 p. 22i cm.
481. Bogue, Mary P. The experimental period of widows’ pension legisla­
tion. (In National conference of social work. Proceedings, 1918, p.
349-359.)
481a. --------

The greater economy of adequate grants.

Paper read at National conference of social work, June 6, 1919.

482. Bryant, Louise S. Social conditions among juvenile court families [and
tables]. (In Philadelphia. Municipal court. Annual report 1916,
p. 148-323.)
Table 125 shows the relatively large number of mothers of all groups working
outside theirl. homes.

483.

Clearfield co., Pa. Report for 1914 and a plea for 1915 from the Mothers’
pension board of trustees of Clearfield county, Pa. [Typewritten.]

484.

Coffee, Rabbi Rudolph I. Why Pennsylvania needs a widows’ pension
law. (In Slingerland, W. H. ed. A child welfare symposium. New
York, Russell Sage foundation, 1915, p. 131-134.)

485., Columbia co., Pa. Report of the trustees of mothers’ pension fund to
the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Jan. 4,
1915. 3 p. 24cm.
486.

Commonwealth ex rel. Trustees of Mothers’ assistance fund of Phila­
delphia county v. Powell, Auditor general, Supreme court of Penn­
sylvania (Feb. 12,1917). 100 Atlantic reporter, p. 964.
The case involved the interpretation of the word “ dead” in the phrase
“ whose husbands are dead ” used in the mothers’ pension act. The court held
that the act used the word in its popular sense with no regard to legal pre­
sumptions not mentioned in the act.

487.

Conyngton, Mary K. . . . Effect of workmen’s compensation laws in
diminishing the necessity of industrial employment of women and
children. Washington, Govt, print, off., 1918. 170 p. incl. tables.
23icm. (Bulletin of the United States Bureau of labor statistics, whole
no. 217. Workmen’s insurance and compensation series, no. 11.)
States covered by the investigation were Connecticut, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Sections of the report deal with condition of the families before and after loss
of injured wage-earner.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

303

488. Howe, Stanley H. Adequate relief to needy mothers in Pennsylvania.
(In National conference of charities and correction. Proceedings,
1914, p. 447-450.)
489. Luzerne co., Pa, First annual report of the trustees of the mothers’ pen­
sion fund of Luzerne county. [1914.] 4 p.
490. ------*— Shocking distress shown by Mothers’ pension board investigating
Luzerne county.
Press notice Nov. 1914 on the 1st report o f the Luzerne county mothers’
pensions board calling attention to the large number of widows applying for
aid whose husbands had met death in the mines. Urged Workmen’s compen­
sation law for Pennsylvania.

491. -------- Mothers’ pension fund trustees issue appeal. Wilkes-Barre Times
leader, Feb. 3, 1919.
Open letter from the trustees of the Mothers’ assistance fund of Luzerne
county urging need o f ihcreased appropriations.

492. More money for mothers’ pensions. “ Flu ” epidemic has created
50,000 orphans that State must care for. Scranton Republican, March
5, 1919.
On the hearing before the House appropriation committee of Pennsylvania
legislature for an appropriation of $1,000,000 for mothers’ pensions.

493. Mothers’ pensions in Pennsylvania. Survey, Feb. 28, 1914, v. 31:676.
494. N eil, Henry. Mothers’ pensions in Pennsylvania. Juvenile court rec­
ord, April, 1917, v. 17: 7-8.
495. Pennsylvania. State hoard of education. Mothers’ assistance fund.
Information relative to (1) The purpose of the law; (2) “Adequate”
grants; (3) What families are not eligible for assistance; (4) Investi­
gation and supervision. Harrisburg, Pa., Wm. Stanley Ray, State
printer, 1916. 12 p. 21Jcm.
Issued by the State board of education under the supervision of the State
supervisor o f the Mothers’ assistance fund o f Pennsylvania, April, 1916.

496. Pennsylvania. State hoard of education. Report of the Mothers’ assist­
ance fund 1916. Issued by the State beard of education under the
supervision of the State supervisor of the Mothers’ assistance fund of
Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, Pa., J. L. L. Kuhn, printer to the Common­
wealth, 1918. 92 p. 22icm.
Contents .— I. Introduction, Dr. J. George Becht, State board of education.—
II. Report of the State supervisor, Helen Glenn.— I I I . Reports from the
county boards of trustees.— IV. A study o f dependent widows with young
children in Philadelphia, by Helen Whitehead.

4 9 6 a .------------------- Report of Mothers’ assistance fund to State board of
education 1918. 9 p. Mimeographed.
497. Philadelphia co., Pa. Report to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania
1915 of the trustees of the mothers’ assistance fund of' Philadelphia
county, Sept. 24, 1913-Jan. 1, 1915. Philadelphia [1915.] 36 p. 23cm.
498. Philadelphia’s experience w ith mothers’ pensions. World’s work,
Aug. 1917, v. 34: 365-366.
499. Slingerland, W illiam H. Child welfare work in Pennsylvania; a co­
operative study of child-helping agencies and institutions, directed by
William H. Slingerland . . . in cooperation with the officers and a
committee of the Pennsylvania State conference of charities. New
York, Department of child-helping, Russell Sage foundation, 1915.
352 p.
“ Law of 1913 for mothers’ assistance ” : p. 276-282.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

804
500.

T .A W S

RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

Tyson, Mrs. Helen Glenn. The fatherless family. Annals of Amer.
acad. of polit. and social science, May, 1918, no. 166, p. 79-90.
See

a ls o

n o . 4 9 6 o f t h is lis t .

501.

Westmoreland co., Pa. Report of trustees of mothers’ pension fund of
Westmoreland county to General Assembly of Pennsylvania, Jan. 1915.
[Typewritten.]
502. Women protest tinkering mothers’ pension measure. Oppose Hep­
burn proposal. Pittsburgh Gazette-times, March 26, 1919.
On t-he h e a r in g b e fo re th e H o u se J u d ic ia r y g en era l co m m ittee o f P e n n s y l­
v a n ia o n t h e b ill to g iv e 'th e ju v e n ile co u r t ju r isd ic tio n over d ep en d en t c h il­
dren in c o u n tie s w h ich h a v e n o t ta k e n a d v a n ta g e o f m o th ers’ a s s is ta n c e act.

SOUTH CAROLINA.
503.

South Carolina. Commissioner of agriculture, commerce and industries.
8th annual report 1916, Labor division. Columbia, S. C. Gonzales and
Bryan, State printers, 1917. 148 p.
■■■■.;.
Recommended' law making provision for mothers’ pensions for -one year,
applying exclusively to plants affected by the new child labor law (p. -6).

TENNESSEE.
504.

Memphis, Tenn. Juvenile court. Mothers’ pensions from March 25,
1916-Dec. 25, 1916. [Typewritten statement.]
505. Mothers’ pension, fund raised $6,000. County court votes to make total
$10,000 for 1918. Memphis, Tenn. Commercial appeal, Jan. 22, 1918.
TEXAS.
506.

Brooks, S. J. The family desertion law. (In Texas State conference of
charities and correction. Bulletin, Jan. 1915, p. 87-89.)
P a p e r o n t h e T e x a s fa m ily d ese r tio n la w , read a t 4 th a n n u a l S ta te con ­
fe r e n c e o f c h a r itie s, N o v . 17, 191 4 .

507. -------- Need of a family desertion law. (In Texas State conference of
charities and correction. Proceedings, 1912, p. 33-38.)
508.

Charity expenditures'of county for year were $139,537.82.
post, July 26, 1918.

Houston

509.

Dallas. Dept, of puUic welfare. 2nd annual report, 1916-1917. Dallas?
1917. 47 p. 23cm.

In c lu d e s s t a t is t ic s o f m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s in H a r r is cou n ty .

W eak p o in ts o f T e x a s w id o w s’ p e n sio n b i l l : p. 43.

510.

Scott, Elmer L. Texas law granting pensions to widowed mothers. A
critical review (condensed). (In Texas State conference of social
welfare. Bulletin, Jan. 1918, p. 23-24.)
P a p er rea d a t T e x a s S ta te c o n feren ce o f s o c ia l w e lfa r e , N ov. 1 1 - 1 3 , 1917.

UTAH.
511.

Denver & R. G. R. Co. v. Grand county, Supreme court of Utah.
(Dec. 21,1917). 170 Pacific reporter, p. 74.
D e c isio n u p h eld th e c o n s titu tio n a lity o f t h e sta tu te .

512.

Salt Lake City, Utah. Juvenile court. Disbursement of mothers’ pen­
sion fund for years 1913 and 1914. [Typewritten statement.]
...


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\

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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS

PENSIONS.

305

VERMONT.
513.

Vermont. Laws, statutes, etc. Charities and probation laws of the
State of Vermont. Published by authority, 1918. 17 p. 23cm.
A id to w id o w ed or d e se rte d m o th e r : p. 8.
D ese r tio n and n o n -su p p o r t o f f a m i l y : p. 1 5 -1 6 .

WASHINGTON.
514.

Burnside, Mrs. N. M. Thepry, development and effect of mothers’ pension legislation [mimeographed].
F a v o r s a d m in is tr a tio n o f m o th ers’ a id by sc h o o l a u th o r itie s in ste a d of
ju v e n ile co u rts. A b ill to t h is end w a s in tr o d u ce d in t h e 1 9 1 9 le g is la tu r e bu t
fa ile d o f final p a ssa g e.
(S e a tt le P o s t I n te llig e n c e r , M arch 11, 1 9 1 9 .)

515.

Gephart, A. It. Mothers’ pensions in Washington. {In Washington
State conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1914,
66-69.)
In c lu d e s s t a t is t ic s o f th e o p e r a tio n o f t h e la w th r o u g h o u t t h e s t a t e in 1914.

516.

In re Snyder, Supreme court of W ashington (Sept. 26, 1916). 160 Pa­
cific reporter, p. 12-14.
M o th ers’ p e n sio n a c t o f 1 9 1 5 o m itte d a b an d oned m o th ers w h o h ad been
a llo w e d a id u n d er 1 9 1 3 la w . A n a tte m p t w a s m ade in t h is c a s e t o g e t th e
1 9 1 5 a c t d ecla red u n c o n stitu tio n a l on t h e g ro u n d s o f in e q u a lity o f p r iv ile g e s
g ra n ted to c itiz e n s b u t th e S ta te S u p rem e co u rt u p h eld th e c o n s titu tio n a lity of
t h e la w an d i t s d e c isio n w a s affirm ed by t h e S u p rem e C ourt o f t h e U . S. on
a p p ea l. (3 9 S u p rem e C ou rt rep o rter, p. 6 7 .)

517.

Mothers’ pensions.

Outlook, March 1, 1916, v. 112: 489.

C om m ent on c h a n g es m a d e by 1 9 1 5 W a sh in g to n la w w h ic h exclu d ed d i­
vorced a n d d ese rte d m o th ers from th e b en efits o f m o th e r s’ p en sio n s.

518.

Seattle. Juvenile court. Annual report of the Seattle juvenile court for
1913-1917. Seattle, 1914-1918. 5 v.
1 9 1 3 : R ep o rt o f th e o p era tio n o f th e m o th e r s’ p e n sio n d ep a r tm e n t from
J u n e 13 , 1 9 1 3 -D e c . 31 , 1 9 1 3 , p. 6 - 9 .
1 9 1 4 : R ep o rt o f su p erv iso r o f m o th ers’ p e n sio n s , p. 4 9 - 6 5 .
1 9 1 5 : R ep o rt o f su p e r v iso r o f m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s, p. 2 3 - 2 9 ; T e x t o f 1915
a c t, p. 45 —47.
1 9 1 6 : C h a n g es recom m ended in m o th e r s’ p en sio n la w , p. 7 ; R ep ort o f
m o th e r s’ p e n sio n d ep a rtm en t, p. 17—31.
1 9 1 7 : R ep o rt o f m o th e r s’ p e n sio n d ep a rtm en t, p. 1 5 -2 2 .

WEST VIRGINIA.
519.

Gives opinion on the mothers’ pension act.
June 12, 1917.

Wheeling intelligencer,

S u m m ary o f th e o p in io n o f th e a tto r n e y -g e n e r a l o f th e S ta te u p h o ld in g th e
p r o v isio n s o f t h e 1 9 1 7 m o th e r s’ p en sio n a c t w ith refe r e n c e to th e e a rlier la w
o f 1915.

520.

Hart, Hastings H. A suggested program for the Executive State Corn­
ell of defense of West Virginia, based upon a study of Hon. Clarence L.
Stonaker, of .the institutions and resources of the State. Charleston,
W. Va. [Tribune printing co.] 1917. 24 p. 23cm.

521.

W est V irginia State conference of charities and correction. A guide.
to the laws of West Virginia affecting ^hild welfare. [Morgantown?
1918] 40 p.

N eed o f r e v isio n o f m o th e r s’ p e n sio n la w o f W e st V irg in ia : p. 1 1 -1 2 .

R e lie f o f m o th e r s : p. 33—34.

143973°—19-----20

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306

LAWS RELATING iTO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.
WISCONSIN.

522.

Carstens, Christian C. Public pensions to widows with children, a
study of their administration in^several American cities. New York
city, Russell Sage foundation, 1913. 36 p. 23cm. (Publication no. 31.)
R ep o rt o f a n in v e s tig a tio n m ade fo r th e R u sse ll S a g e fo u n d a tio n in 1 9 1 2 in
C h icago, S a n F r a n c isc o , K a n sa s C ity a n d M ilw au k ee.

523.

Marchetti, Louis. State aid to dependent children from the judge’s
point of view. (In Wisconsin State conference of charities and cor­
rection. Proceedings, 1915, p. 12-18. y

524.

Nesbitt, Florence. Minimum cost of living in Wisconsin [and discus­
sion]. (In Wisconsin State conference of charities and correction.
Proceedings, 1915, p. 52-63.)
■

In c lu d e s s t a t is t ic s on m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s in M arath on cou n ty , W is.

D is c u s s io n o f th e ch a p te r on s ta n d a r d iz a tio n o f h o m e ca re in r e p o r t o f W is­
c o n sin m o th e r s’ p e n sio n in v e s tig a tio n . S e e n o. 5 30.

525. Profit by experience. La Follette’s weekly, June 7,1913, v. 5, no. 23, p. 3.
E d ito r ia l in su p p o r t o f W isc o n sin m o th e r s’ p e n sio n com m issio n b ill.

526.

W ilson, Agnes E. The report of the Board of control’s survey of the need
of State aid for dependent children [and discussion]. (In Wisconsin
State conference of charities and correction, Proceedings, 1915,
p. 18-33.) '

527.

Wisconsin. Laws, statutes, etc. Chapter 669, Laws of 1913 relating to
State aid for dependent children. The so-called “ Mothers’ pension law.
Issued by the State board of control. [Madison, Wis., 1913] 5 p.

F or rep o rt d isc u sse d s e e n o. 5 3 0 . '

5 2 8 . _________ — Law providing aid to dependent children (Mothers pension
law) with the opinions of the attorney general thereon and statement
of expenditures. Comp, by the State board of control of Wisconsin.
[Madison] 1917. 87 [2] p. incl. tables. 23cm.
S ta te m e n t o f m o th ers’ p e n sio n s by c o u n tie s fo r y e a r s 1 915 an d 1 9 1 6 : p. 8 4 -8 7 .

529. ____________ Law providing aid to dependent children (Mothers’ pen­
sion law) with the opinions of the attorney general thereon and state­
ment of expenditures. Comp, by the State board of control of Wis­
consin. *[Madison] 1918. 117 [2] p. incl. tables. 23
S ta te m e n t o f m o th ers’ p e n sio n s by c o u n tie s fo r y e a r s 1 9 1 6 a n d 1 9 1 7 : p.
1 1 4 -1 1 7 .

530. _____ State board Of control. Report of the investigators in the survey
and investigation relating to State aid for dependent children.
provided by chapter 669, Laws^of 1913.) [Typewritten.]

(As

A g n e s E . W ilso n , d ir e c to r o f in v e stig a tio n .
C o n te n ts — C hap. 1. T h e e x te n t o f n eed fo r m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s in W isc o n sin ,
by E lle n K . C ooney.— 2. P u b lic o u td o o r r e lie f in W isc o n sin .— 3. N o rm a l de­
p e n d en t ch ild ren in W isc o n sin in s titu tio n s .— 4. T h e sta n d a r d iz a tio n o f hom e
ca re, by F lo r e n c e N e s b itt,— 5. A d m in istr a tio n .

53!

____________ Conclusions and recommendations of the State board of
control based on the “ Survey and investigation into the question of
aid to mothers with dependent children ” as authorized by section 11,
chapter 669, Laws 1913. [n. p„ 1915.] 34 1.
A u to g ra p h e d fro m ty p e w r itte n copy.

5 3 2 .___________ Statement showing the operation of mothers’ pension law
(chapter 669, Laws of 1913) up to Dec. 31, 1913. 11.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

307

533. Wisconsin. State board of control. Statistics showing the extent of
the operation of the “ Mothers’ pension la w ” (chapter 669, Laws of
1913) since the law became effective July 26, 1913-July 31, 1914, 1 1.
For later statistics see no. 5 2 8 and 5 2 9 .
534. -------- ----------Biennial report of the State board of control 1915/1916—
Madison, Wis., 1916.
1 915—1 9 1 6 : A id t o d e p en d en t c h ild r e n : p. 3—5.

WYOMING.
535.

First judicial district of Wyoming.
in 1st judicial district.]

[Statistics of mothers’ aid granted

T y p e w r itte n s ta te m e n t fr o m J u d g e W . C. M en tzen .

536.

Second judicial district of Wyoming. Widows’ and children’s pensions
allowed and denied in Albany county, Wyoming, from time of first
allowance of pension to Nov. 1, 1916. [Typewritten statement.]
537. -------- Widows’ an<T children’s pensions allowed and denied in Carbon
county, Wyoming, from May 4, 1915-Nov. 1, 1916. [Typewritten state­
ment.]
538. Fourth judicial district. [Mothers’ pensions granted in Johnson and
Sheridan counties from Feb. 15, 1915-Oct. 31, 1916.]
T y p e w r itte n s ta te m e n t fro m J u d g e C. H . P a rm elee .

539.

Sixth, judicial district. [Mothers’ pensions granted in 6th judicial dis­
trict comprising Natrona, Converse, and Fremont counties to Oct. 31,
1916.]
T y p e w r itte n sta te m e n t fr o m J u d g e C. E . W in ter.

540. Wyoming. State board of child, and animal protection. Biennial report
of Wyoming Humane society and State board of child and animal pro­
tection for 1914/16-1916/18. Cheyenne [1917-1919?].
1 914—1 9 1 6 : M o th ers’ p e n s io n s : p. 1 3 - 1 4 .
1 9 1 6 —1 9 1 8 : M o th ers’ p e n sio n s a n d d elin q u e n c y :■ p. 60—6 1 .

AUSTRALIA.
541.

New South Wales. Bureau of statistics. Official yearbook of New
South Wales, 1917. Sydney, W. A. Gullick, government printer, 1918.
843 p. 24cm.
W ork o f S ta te ch ild r e n r e lie f board, in c lu d in g ex p e n d itu r e fo r ch ild ren boarded
w it h th e ir o w n m o th e r s 1 9 1 3 - 1 9 1 7 : p. 4 6 9 - 4 7 8 . ’

542.

Laws, statutes, etc. Statutes 1896, no. 9. An Act to amend an
Act to establish a system of boarding out of children.
P e r m its t h e b o a rd in g o u t p f c h ild ren to th e ir o w n m oth ers.

543.
544.

~

Statutes 1901, no. 61. An Act to consolidate the acts re­
lating to the establishment of a system of boarding out children.
---------------- Amended regulation under “ State children relief act,
1901.” Issued April 10, 1912. (In New South Wales. State children
relief board. Report for 1914, p. 12.)
P r o v id e s t h a t ch ild r e n “ board ed o u t ” w it h th e ir ow n m o th e r s s h a ll b e p aid
fo r a t t h e sa m e r a te a s ch ild ren b oard ed -o u t w it h str a n g e r s a n d r a is e s t h e a g e
lim it fro m 1 2 t o 1 4 y ea r s.
*

545.

------ State children's relief board.
1918. 9 v.

Report, 1909-1917. Sydney. 1910-

C hildren boarded o u t w it h th e ir o w n m o th e r s : 1 9 0 9 , p. 2 9 - 3 4 , 5 5 - 5 6 ; 1 910,
p . 2 6 - 3 0 , 4 9 - 5 0 ; 1 9 1 1 , p . 2 9 - 3 4 , 5 1 - 5 2 ; 1 9 1 2 , p . 2 7 - 3 4 , 6 7 - 6 8 ; 1 9 1 3 , p. 2 7 - 3 2 ,
4 9 - 5 0 ; 1 9 1 4 , p. 9 - 1 2 , 3 5 - 4 3 , 6 8 - 6 9 ; 1 9 1 5 , p. 8 9 - 4 2 , 6 8 - 6 9 ; 1 9 1 6 , p. 3 5 - 3 8 ,
6 1 - 6 2 ; 1 9 1 7 , p. 2 9 -3 4 .


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.
J

546.

Queensland. Laws, statutes, etc. The State children act of 1911 (2 Geo.
V., no. 11) and regulations. Brisbane, A. J. Cumming, government
printer, 1912. 87 p. 18cm.
•
Sec. 35 (p. 1 9 ) p e r m its th e b o a rd in g o f a n y S ta t e c h ild w ith it s ow n m oth er.
A c t w a s a m en ded in 1 9 1 7 , r a is in g a g e lim it fo r ch ild ren boarded w ith th e ir ow n
m o th ers fro m th ir te e n to fo u r te e n y e a r s (1 6 y e a r s in c a s e o f i l l h ea lth ),. P ro­
v is io n w a s a ls o m a d e fo r S ta te m a in te n a n c e fo r a c h ild over 1 4 y e a r s h o ld in g
a S ta te sc h o la r sh ip .
(A n n u a l r e p o r t o f S ta te c h ild ren ’s d ep t, fo r 1 9 1 7 , p v 3.)
A p p lic a tio n fo rm s fo r a d m issio n a s S ta te c h ild an d fo r b oard in g ou t w ith
m o th er : p. 58—5 9 , 6 6 -6 8 .

547 --------

State children’s department.
bane, 1914r-1918. 4 v.

Annual report, 1913-1917.

Bris­

C h ild ren b oarded w ith th e ir o w n m o th ers or w ith fe m a le r e l a t i v e s : 1913,
p. 9, 1 7 ; 1 9 1 4 , p. 1 0 , 1 8 ; 1 9 1 5 , p. 1 2 , 1 8 ; 1 9 16, p. 10, 1 3 ; 1 9 17, p. 7, 11.

548.

Spence, Catherine H. State children in Australia; a history of boarding
out and its development. Adelaide, printed by Vardon and sons, 1907.
147 p. 18cm.
549. Victoria. Department for neglected children and reformatory schools.
Report of the secretary and inspector for the years 1912-1913,1915-1917.
Melbourne, 1913-1918.
In c lu d e s s t a t is t ic s o f “ n eg le c te d ” ch ild ren b oarded -with th e ir ow n m oth ers.

CANADA.
550.

Alberta. Laws, statutes, etc. An act granting assistance to widowed
mothers supporting children. (1919, chapter 6.) Edmonton, 1919. 4 p.
551. --------- Superintendent of neglected children. Annual report, 1916-1918.
Edmonton, 1917-1919.
M o th ers’ a llo w a n c e s , 1 9 1 6 , p. 6 7 ; 1 9 1 7 , p. 8 ; 1 9 1 8 , p . 10.

552.

Bryce, Peter. Mothers’ allowances.
1919, v. 1:131-132.

Social welfare (Toronto) Mar. 1,

553.

Child welfare convention in British Columbia. Labour gazette (Can­
ada) Jan. 1919, p. 3-4.

D is c u s s e s form o f a d m in is tr a tio n d e sir a b le fo r O n tario.

C o n v en tio n recom m en d ed t h e e n a c tm e n t o f a m o th e r s’ p e n sio n la w fo r B r it­
is h C olum bia.

554.

Committee on mothers* allowances, Toronto. Report pf the Committee
on mothers’ allowances, Dec. 2,1918. Toronto, Croft and Wright, 1919.
11 p. 15*'“.
C o m m itte e w a s a p p o in ted by a la r g e g a th e r in g r e p r e s e n ta tiv e o f v a r io u s
so c ia l a g e n c ie s an d in d iv id u a ls in te r e ste d in m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s in T oronto.
R ep o rt u rged th e a d o p tio n o f a “ m o th e r s’ a llo w a n c e s ” a c t fo r O n tario, to be
a d m in ister ed th r o u g h a C h ild ren ’s a id co m m issio n an d lo c a l c o u n ty co m m ittees,
t h e c o st to be d iv id ed b e tw een t h e P r o v in c e an d th e m u n ic ip a litie s. Sub­
m itte d to t h e O n ta rio g o v e r n m e n t J a n . 3, 1 9 19.

555.

Falk, J. Howard T. Mothers’ allowances.
Mar. 1, 1919, v. 1:131.

Social welfare (Toronto)

P a p e r r e la te s in p a r t t o o p e r a tio n o f M a n ito b a a c t.

556. Henderson, Mrs. Rose.
1915.

Pensions for mothers.

Ottawa citizen, April 19,

R e p o r t o f a d d r e ss b efo re t h e O tta w a w o m a n ’s club.

557. Huestis, Mrs. A. M. Mothers’ pensions vs. provincial aid for mothers.
Public health journal (Toronto) April, 1918, v. 9:163-168.
S y n o p sis o f a d d r e ss b e fo re A cad em y o f m ed icin e , T oronto.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

309

558.

Manitoba. Mothers’ allowance commission. 2nd annual report for pe­
riod July 1, 1917-June 30, 1918. [Winnipeg* 1918.] 11 p. 18cm.
559.
Mothers’ allowance act, province of Manitoba. A memo­
randum prepared by the commissioners for the guidance of committees
appointed by cities, towns, and rural municipalities to assist in the. ad­
ministration of the act. Winnipeg, Jan. 1, 1919. 4 p.
560.
Mothers’ allowance committees are appointed in each
municipality to administer the Manitoba mothers’ allowance act.
Memoranda for the guidance of applicants and beneficiaries under the
act. Winnipeg, Feb. 1, 1919. 3 p.
561. Moore, Tom. Industrial reconstruction. Relations between employer
and employee: Labor. Social welfare (Toronto) April 1, 1919 v
1:155-157.
In c lu d e s se c tio n u r g in g m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s.
a n d L a b o r C o n g ress o f C anada.

562.
563.
564.
565.

W riter is p r e s id e n t o f T rad es

Mothers’ allowances in relation to child labour. Growth of the move­
ment for assisting mothers in Canada. Labour gazette (Canada) June
1919, p. 713-715.
The Mothers’ pension act [Saskatchewan], Public service monthly (pub.
by the Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture) Sept. 1918, v. 7:25.
Mothers’ pensions. Social welfare (Toronto) Jan. 1919, v. 1:80—
81.
U rg es a d o p tio n o f m o th e r s’ p e n sio n a c t s in a ll th e Canadian’p rovin ces.
[News notes regarding1 mothers’ pension movement] Labour gazette
(Canada) June, 1918, p. 381-382.
G iv es s t a t is t ic s o f a id g ra n te d in M a n ito b a in N ov. 1917; D e le g a tio n o f
w om en to B r itis h C olu m b ia L e g is la tu r e u rg e p a ssa g e o f m o th e r s’ p en sio n b ill
fo r th a t P r o v in c e .

566.

Nova Scotia. Supt. of neglected and delinquent children. Report of the
superintendent of neglected and delinquent children for year ending
Sept. 30, 1918. Halifax, N. S. Commissioner of public works and
mines, King’s printer, 3919. 112 p.

567.

One step towards mothers’ pensions. Representatives of many or­
ganizations approach Premier Hearst. Toronto world, Jan. 4, 1919.
Ontario. Commission on unemployment. Report of the Ontario commis­
sion on unemployment. Toronto, A. T. Wilgress, 1916 viii 334 n
24*cm.

N eed fo r m o th e r s’ a llo w a n c e s : p. 8—10.

568.

N e e d fo r m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s : p. 6 4 -6 5 .

569.

Supt. of neglected and dependent children. 23rd report of the
superintendent of neglected and dependent children of Ontario for
1915. Toronto. Printed by A. T. Wilgress, 1916.
“ M o th ers’ p e n sio n s ” : p . 8 5 - 8 6 .

570.

Ontario social service council. Annual meeting 1919.
(Toronto) March 1, 1919, v. 1:124-125.

571.

Saskatchewan. Laws, statutes, etc. An act to provide for the payment
of pensions to indigent mothers (1917 second session, chapter 68).
Regina, 1918? 1 p.

572.

[Regulations adopted for the administration of the act,
April 11, 1918]. Typewritten copy.
Social service council of Canada. [Summary of proceedings of the an­
nual meeting held Jan. 14-16, 1919] Social welfare (Toronto) Feb 1
1919, v. 1:105-116.

Social welfare

R e so lu tio n w a s a d o p ted fa v o r in g m o th e r s’ a llo w a n c e s .

573.

R e so lu tio n u r g in g “ m o th e r s’ a llo w a n c e s ” a c t fo r O n tario w ith o u tlin e of
p la n : p. 116, 119.


https://fraser.stlouisfed.org
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

310
574.

Trades and labor congress of Canada. Report of the proceedings of
the 31st annual convention held at the city of Vancouver, B. C., Sept.
20-25, 1915.
. \ v
R ep o rt o f e x e c u tiv e c o m m ittee fa v o r in g o ld a g e a n d m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s, p. I S ,
U rged in p r e sid e n t’s rep o rt, p . 65 ; R e s o lu tio n o n m o th e r s’ p e n sio n s : p. 110—11 .

575. _____

Proceedings of the 32nd annual convention held at Toronto, Sept.
25-30, 1916.
.
J

Recommendation of executive committee for a commission to study old age
and mothers’ pensions : p. 32 ; Resolution urging widows’ pensions : p. 104.

576. Winnipeg, Manitoba. Social service workers’ club. State salaries for
mothers. A study of legislation in the United States granting pro­
visions to mothers deprived of income from their husbands; also an
investigation into local conditions, and some general conclusions.
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Social service workers’ club, 1916. 15 p. 23cm.
T h e s itu a tio n in M a n ito b a : p. 9—11 ; T h e c ity o f W in n ip eg, p. 11—1 3 , Con­
c lu sio n s fa v o r a llo w a n c e s to m o th ers.

DENMARK.
577.

A fg 0relse vedr0rende Enkeloven. Social forsorg, Apr., 19i5, v. 11 î 43,
Aug. 1918, v. 14:141; Oct. 1918, v. 14:191.
N o te s o f d e c is io n s in w id o w s’ a llo w a n c e s ca ses.

578. L’assistance aux veuves mères de famille. (In France.
travail. Bulletin, July, 1913, v. 20, p. 706.)
Su m m ary o f t h e p r o v isio n s o f th e D a n ish la w

Ministère du

p r o v id in g a id

to w id ow s

p a ssed in 1 9 1 3 .

579.

Copenhagen. Magistrat. Fors0rgelsesvaesenet i K 0benhavn 1913/19141917/1918. K0benhavns magistrats 3 afdelings beretning og regnskab.
K0benhavn, S. L. M011ers bogtrykkeri, 1914-1918.
In c lu d e s s t a t is t ic s o f t h e a id g r a n te d in
p en sio n a c t o f 191 3 .

C openhagen u n d er t h e w id o w s

580. Dyrtidstillæget til enkeb 0m sunderst 0ttelsen i K 0benhavn.
sorg, Jan. 1916, v. 11: 340.

Social for­

On th e e x te n s io n o f t h e h ig h c o s t o f liv in g b o n u se s t o in c lu d e w id o w s re­
c e iv in g su b s iste n c e a llo w a n c e s in C openhagen. T h e la w o f 2 2 D ecem ber, 1 9 16,
c o n cern in g co m m u n a l a r r a n g e m e n ts t o m e e t t h e h ig h c o s t o f liv in g p erm itted
t h e g r a n tin g o f m oney h elp t o w id o w s r e c e iv in g a llo w a n c e s u nder th e la w
o f 19 1 3 .

581.

Denmark. Indenrigsministeriet. Cirkulaere til samtlige Amtmaend angaaende Underst0ttelse til B0rn af Enker. K 0benhavn, J. H. Schütz,
1913. 6 p. 25%cm.
.

in s tr u c tio n s iss u e d by t h e M in iste r o f th e In te r io r in a cco rd a n ce w ith sec­
tio n 12 o f t h e W id o w s’ p e n sio n a c t o f 2 9 A p ril, 1 9 1 3 .
(See n o . 5 8 3 o f t h is
lis t .)

582. Denmark.
til b0rn
Oktober
samling,

Laws, statutes, etc. . . . Forslag til lov om underst0ttelse
af enker og af enkemænd. Fremsat i Landstinget den 8.
1912. (Denmark. Rigsdag. Landsting. Lovforslag: ordentl
1912-13. nr. 4.)

T h e b ill a s in tro d u ced a n d p a ssed by t h e F o lk e tin g in clu d ed c h ild ren o f
w id o w ers a s w e ll a s o f w id o w s. A m ended by th e L a n d s tin g to exclu d e
w id o w ers.

5 8 3 . ___________ Lov om Underst0ttelse til b0rn af enker.
1913. 8 p.

K0benhavn,

Law providing aid to widows with children as adopted in 1913.
F o r E n g lis h t r a n s la tio n


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

see

no. 5 9 5 o f t h is lis t .

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS* PENSIONS.

311

584. Denmark. Laws, statutes, etc. Midlertidig lov af 27. Oktober 1915 om
aendring i lov af 29. April om underst0ttelse til b0rn af enker. Social
forsorg Nov. 1915, v. 11:260-261.
Under widows’ pension act of 1913 allowance was withdrawn if widow
received help from the poor relief. The amendment passed in 1915 permits
such help “ for the present ” because of the increased cost of living.

585.

---------------Lov af 4 Marts 1918 om aendringer i lov af 29. April
1913 om underst0ttelse til b0rn af enker. Social forsorg, May, 1918,
v. 14:36.
Text of amendatory widows’ pension law passed in 1918 increasing amount
of aid for the years 1918 and 1919. Permits also the continuance of the al­
lowance to the guardian of the child in the event of the mother’s death. For
discussion in the Rigsdag see nos. 586-587 of this list.

586. . -------- Rigsdag. Rigsdagstidende. Forhandlinger
paa
Folketinget.
Ordentlig samling, 1917-18, column 2636, 2821, 2841, 2904, 3397; Tillaeg A, column 3709, Tillaeg C (14) column 255.
-------------- Rigsdagstidende; Forhandlinger paa Landstinget, Ordent­
587.
lig samling 1917-18, column 826, 920, 955 ; Tillseg B, column 877; Til­
laeg C (14) column 363.
Discussion o f the amendment to the widows’ pension act passed March 4,
1912. For text of act see no. 585 of this list.

588« -------- Statens statistislce bureau. Enkemaend og enker, med b0rn un­
der 18 aar. K0benhavn, B. Lunos bogtrykkeri, 1911. 34 p. 23£cm.
Danmarks statistik. Statistiske meddelser, 4 raekke 37 bd. " 2 hfte).
An inquiry into the number of widows and widowers with children under
18, undertaken when the widows’ pension law was proposed to determine its
possible cost, gives statistics of the number o f widows with children in the
different income groups.

589.

Denmark. Statens statistiske bureau. Statistisk aarbog . . . Annuaire
statistique, 1916-1918. K0benhavn, 1916-1918.
Statistics of assistance to widows with children, 1916, p. 1‘5 4 ; 1917, p. 172;
1918, p. 174.
Report year ends March 31.

590.

Loeb, Sophie I. [Report of investigation of widows’ pensions in Den­
mark. (In New York (State) Commission on relief for widowed
mothers. Report, 1914, p. 197-217.)
Includes translation, of Danish law, forms used in its administration and
statistics of aid being given to Copenhagen in January, 1914.

591.

Steincke, K. K. Enkeb0msloven og sendringen. i denne.
Nov. 1915, v. 11: 256-259.

Social forsorg,

Criticises the widows’ pension law of 1913 because of the inadequacy of the
aid and compares it with the higher grant made for the care of illegitimate
children.

TTnderst0ttelser til b 0rn af enker i 1915-16. Social forsorg, March,
1917, v. 12: 405.
593. XJnderst0ttelse til b 0m af enker i 1916-17. Social forsorg, Jan. 1918,
v. 13:272.
594. Underst0ttelser til b 0m af enker i 1917-18. Social forsorg Jan. 1919,
v. 14:291.
.
595. U. S. Children's bureau. Laws relating to “ mothers’ pensions ” in the
United States, Denmark, and New Zealand . . . Washington, Gov’t,
print, off., 1914. 102 p. 25cm. (U. S. Children’s bureau. Dependent
children series, no. 1. Bureau publication no. 7.)
592.

Prepared by Laura A. Thompson.
Translation of Danish widows’ pension law passed in 1913: p. 76-78.


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312

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS * PENSIONS.
. GREAT BRITAIN.

The American system of mothers’ pensions for Bristol war widows
and other children. Juvenile court record, March, 1917, v. 16:14.
Birmingham
(Eng.) Board of guardians. Birmingham union. Outdoor
597.
relief to widows and other women with dependent children. Birming­
ham, 1914. 30 p. 2 4 r m.
598. Browne, Mrs. Walter. Gare and treatment of widows and children un­
der the poor law [and discussion]. (In Poor law conferences. Offi­
cial reports, 1915-1916, p. 22-44.)

596.

Discusses the Local government board’s circular of October, 1914, advising
boards of guardians as to their policy in relieving widows and children.

599.

Gt. Brit. Local government board. Relief to widows and children.
Local government board’s circular letter dated 8th October, 1914, with
an appendix and notes by the editor of the “ Poor law officers’ journal.
London, The Poor-law publications company, 1914. 115 p. 21cm.
For the report prepared in 1918 by the Intelligence department of the Local
government board on “ Mothers’ pensions in the United States ” tee no. 53 of
this list.

-------- Ministry of pensions. Instructions on the training of widows.
October, 1917. [London, 1917.] 8 p.
600a. -------- Ministry of reconstruction. Report of women’s employment com­
mittee. London, H . M. Stationery off., 1919. 116 p. 24cm. (Cd. 9239.)

600.

Recommended some system of mothers’ pensions which would enable widows
and deserted wives, including wives, of men serving long terms of imprison­
ment, to remain at home and care for their children.

-------- Royal commission on poor laws and relief of distress. Report on
the condition of the children who are in receipt of the various forms
of poor law relief in England and Wales, by Miss Ethel M. N. Williams
. . . assisted by Miss Mary Longman and Miss Marion Phillips . . .
London, H. M. Stationery off., printed by Wyman and sons, 1910. 285
p. 33cm. ([Gt. Brit. Papers by command] Cd, 5037)
Issue as Appendix voi. XVIII of the reports of the commission.
____________
Report of the Royal commission on poor laws and relief of
602.
distress. London, Printed for H. M. Stationery off., by Wyman and
sons, limited, 1909. xiii, 1238 p. (Cd. 4499)

601.

The children: Majority report, p. 179-200, 619-620; Minority report, p.
801-845.
Withdrawal from industrial wage-earning of the mothers of young children :
p. 199, 1194—1195.

603.

____________ Report on the condition of the children who are in receipt
of various forms of poor law relief in certain parishes in Scotland, by
C. T. Parsons . . . London, H. M. Stationery off., printed by Wyman
and sons, 1910. 236 p. 23cm. ([Gt. Brit. Papers by command] Cd.
5075)
Issued as Appendix voi. xxiii of the report of the commission.

604. —------ War Cabinet. Committee on women in industry. . . . Report of
the War cabinet committee on women in industry . . . London, H. M.
Stationery off., 1919. 341 p. 24cm. (Cmd. 135.)
Recommended a scheme of mothers’ pensions to be granted to widows and
deserted wives with children and to mothers whose husbands are physically
or mentally disabled.

605.

Gwynn, Stephen. Plea for the adoption of Judge Neil’s scheme in Eng­
land. Juvenile court record, July, 1918, v, 18:4-5.


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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS5 PENSIONS.
606.

Henderson, Charles R. Modern methods of charity.
Macmillan co., 1904. 715 p. 23icm.

313

New York, The

Bibliography: p. 689-702.
Pensions to widows in Scotland : p. 245.

607.
608.
609.
610.

611.

Irving*, Mrs. H. B. Widows’ pensions. National health, .Tune, 1919, v
11:293-296.
Judge Neil on his mothers’ pension scheme as applicable to England.
Poor law officers’ journal, Aug. 31, 1917.
Lawrence, Emmeline Pethrick. Mothers’ pensions in England. Juvenile
court record, Sept. 1917, v. 17:8-9.
Loeb, Sophie L Report of investigations in six countries visited—Eng­
land, Scotland, Germany, Denmark, France, and Switzerland. (In
New York (State) Commission on relief for widowed mothers. Re­
port, 1914, p. 183-474.
<
Manchester and Salford women citizens’ association. Interim report on
child welfare in Manchester. Manchester, Richard Bates, printer
[1919] 32 p. 21cm.
Favors extension of system of family allowances to widows of civilians, to

be administered through the Maternity and Child Welfare Act, one half of the
expense of the. aid to be borne by the State.

612.

Mothers’ pensions.

Eugenics review, July, 1917, v. 9:135,

Report of meeting at Central Hall, Westminster, May 23, 1917.

613.
614.

615.
616.
617.

Mothers’ pensions. Discussions at London Baby week conference, July,
1918. National health (London) Oct. 1918, v. 11:90-95.
Mylne, Mrs. The Local government board circular on relief to widows
and children [and discussion] (In Poor law conferences. Official
reports, 1914-1915, p. 498-524.)
N elville, Edith. Some suggestions for the care of widows and their
children. Charity organization review, May, 1916, v. 39: 242-248.
Palmer, Thomas. The treatment and care of children whose parents are
receiving out-relief [and discussion]
(In Poor law conferences.
Official reports 1913-1914, p. 444r-463.)
Pensions for widowed mothers. Christian commonwealth, Apr. 16, 1919.
- v. 39: 339.
Summary of the discussion on pensions for widowed mothers in the House
of Commons, April, 1919.

618.

619.

620.

621.
622.
623.
624.

Percival, Tom. The care and treatment of children whose mothers are
receiving out relief [and discussion]. (In Poor law conferences. Offi­
cial reports, 1913-1914, p. 241-272.)
Rackham, Mrs. The treatment and care of children whose parents are
in receipt of out-door relief [and discussion]. (In Poor law confer­
ences. Official reports, 1912-1913, p. 225-244.)
Rathbone, Eleanor. State pensions for widows. Nation’s duty to the
mothers who are left with no means. The stigma of present day char­
ity. Daily Sketch (Manchester) April 7, 1919.
-------- The widow and the orphan [and discussion]. (In Conference on
poor relief and personal service, June, 1915. London, 1915, p. 78-100.)
Rowntree, B. Seebohm. Widows’ pensions. Maternity and child welfare
(London) Nov. 1918, v. 2:380-381.
Spender, E. Harold. Mothers’ pensions. Maternity and child welfare
(London) Sept. 1918, v. 'Z: 297-298.
State-aid for mothers. Medical officer, Dec. 8,191?, v, 18:190-191.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

625.

Suttle, G. A. The treatment and care of the children of parents in
receipt of out-door relief [and discussion]. (Jw Poor law conferences.
Official reports, 1912-1913, p. 469-484.)
626. Williams, Ethel. Children and out relief. (I n Poor law conferences..
Official reports 1910-1911, p. 220-238.)
For report discussed see no. 601 of this list.

NEW, ZEALAND.
627.

Hutchinson, Robert H. The “ socialism ” of New Zealajid. New York,
New Review publishing association, 1916. x, 155 p. 19£cm.
“ Widows’ pensions ” : p. 88—89.
National provident fu n d : p. 98—101.

628.

Lusk, H ugh H. Social welfare in New Zealand. New York, Sturgis and
Walton, 1913. 287 p. 19£cm.

629.

New Zealand.

National provident fu n d : p. 137-138.

Parliamentary debates, 1911-1914.

Debate on Widows’ pension act, 1911, v. 156: 648—651, 692—693, 697, 815—
819, 867-869, 938-942.
Debate on amendment, 1912 : v. 158 :148, 157^.158, 160; v. 159 :168 ; v. 160 •
549; v. 161 :6 2 -6 8 , 171-172, 174-175, 212, 217, 223-224, 231, 529-532, 636,
662, 696.
'
„
„ Jr| '
*
Debate on Consolidated Pensions Act, 1913 : v. 163 : 88-126, 368-369 ; v. 164 :
112-116, 274-298, 425-429, 464-473, 528-533, 606-607, 651-652.
Debate on Pensions Amendment Act, 1914 : v. 171: 497—498, 563—564, 576.

630.

New Zealand.
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
1917

no.
no.
no.
no.
no.
no.

Lawst statutes, etc.

41 National provident fund act, 1910.
16 Widows’ pensions act, 1911.
21 Widows’ pensions amendment act, 1912.
10 Pensions act, 1913 (Consolidated act).
55 Pensions amendment act, 1914.
7 Finance act, 1917.

631. _____

National provident fund. lst-6th annual reports of the board
and statistics of amounts paid out in subsidy, 1911-1916. Wellington,
N. Z., 1912-1917. 6 v.
.
632. _____ Post and telegraph dept. Old age pensions branch. 14th annual
report for the year ended 31st March, 1912. (Session II* 1912. F.-9.)
« Widows’ pensions ” : p. 6-7, 14-17. During the first year the widows’
pension act was administered by the old age pensions branch of the Post and
telegraph dept. For later reports see Pensions department.

633. _____

Pensions dept.
N. Z. 5 v.

15th-20th annual reports, 1913-1918. Wellington,

A separate department for the administration of the old-age, widows’ and
military pensions’ act was created Nov. 14, 1912. Reports contain statistics on
pensions granted to March 31, 1918.

634. ____________Circular to registrars (regarding consolidated Pensions
Act, 1913). Wellington, 1913. 2 p.
Registrar general's office. New Zealand official year book, 19111917. Wellington, N. Z., 1911-1918. 7 v.

635. --------

“ Widows’ pensions ” : 1912, p. 897—898 ; 1918, p. 711—712 ; 1914, p. 753—
754 ; 1915, p. 650-652 ; 1916, p. 525-526 ; 1917, p. 595-596.
National provident fund : 1911, p. 782—783 ; 1912, p. 899—900 ; 1913, p. 719—
721 ; 1914, p. 761—763 ; 1915, p. 665—666 ; 1916, p. 538-542 ; 1917, p. 612—616.

6 3 6 . ---------- :------

Monthly abstract of statistics.

Wellington, N. Z.

Includes statistics of widows receiving pensions each month;


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.
637.

315

U. S. Children's bureau. . . . Laws relating to “ Mothers’ pensions ” in
the United States, Denmark and New Zealand . . . Washington, Gov’t,
print, off., 19T4. 102 p. 25cm. (Dependent children series, no. 1.
Bureau publication no. 7.)
Prepared by Laura A. Thompson, librarian of the bureau.

Includes (p. 79-97) text of Widows’ pension act of 1911, regulations issued
under the act, forms used in its administration and statistics of aid granted
during the first 15 months of operation.
OTHER COUNTRIES.
638.

Bagpi, T. L’assurance des veuves et des orphelins et la Caisse italienne
de prévoyance pour l’invalidité et la viéllesse des ouvriers. {In Bulle­
tin des assurances sociales, Paris, 1910, v. 21, p. 641-654.)

Paper read before the International conference on social insurance at The
Hague, 1910.
639.
640.

Bellom, Maurice. L’assurance des veuves et des orphelins. Revue po­
litique et parlementaire, 10 May, 1908, v. 56:284-304.
Bibliographie der social Wissenschaften 1905-date. Berlin, 1906r-date.
See indes)

641.

under Witwen- und Waisenversicherung.

Cheysson, E. L’assurance des veuves et des orphelins [Prance] Revue
philanthropique, Nov. 1908, v. 24: 5-22.

Report made to the International congress on social insurance at Rome in
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Dawson, ‘William H. German social insurance and poor relief. Contem­
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Delatour, Albert. L’assurance veuves et des orphelins [France].
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•
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{In

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Résumé given in French.
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Paper read before the International conference on social insurance at The
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648. Elster, Alexander. Witwen- und waisenversorgung. {In Handwörter­
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Literatur : p. 845-846.
649. Frankel, Lee K. and Miles Dawson. Workingmen’s insurance in
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See index

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'
*7
Widows’ and orphans’ pensions; p, 506, 687-688.


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LAWS RELATING TO MOTHERS’ PENSIONS.

316
651.

Gobbi, Ulysse. L’assurance des veuves et des orphelins [Italy]. (In
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Reprinted from 24th annual report of U. 'S. Commissioner of labor.
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654. -------- Workmen’s insurance in Germany.

Washington, 1911.

975-

1493 p.

Reprinted from 24th annual report of U. S. Commissioner of labor.
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Bibliography : p. 1491—
1493.

655.

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“ Witwenpension ” : p. 34—
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Kleesis, F. Zum projekt der witwen- und waisenfürsorge. Sozialistische*
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660.

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Text in both German and French.
Literatur : p. 667,

o

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