CARE OF CHILDREN

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 143, 7 September 1927, Page 16

CARE OF CHILDREN

NEW DEPARMENT WANTED SOCIAL WORKERS’ CONTENTION Establishment of a Government department. for child welfare was advocated at a meeting of the Auckland Social. Welfare Committee last night, members considering that a branch of. the Education Department could no longer cope with the work. The president, Mr. C. J. Tunks, said that since the inauguration of industrial schools in 1882, the nature of the work of child welfare had greatly developed and changed. The workers were now concerned with keeping people out of institutions and treating them by other means such as board-ing-out. I-lelping children to make social adjustments and dealing with delinquents was quite apart from the ordinary educational task. When the present amending Bill was passed the work ol! supervising private orphanages would be added to the duties of the child welfare department.

The highly specialised work of child welfare, touching on health, justice, hospitals, and charitable aid, was quite outside the scope of the Education Department. During the year 1925-1926 there had been a total of 10,299 children maintained apart from their parents. The total number'under control or supervision by the department and of cases investigated was 7,256. Dr. Mildred Staley said the separation of this department would make possible the establishment of a bureau of physical research. The meeting passed the following resolution, which is to be sent to th*s» Prime Minister and the Minister of Education: —“That, in the opinion of this conference, it would be in the best interests of child welfare in New Zealand that the child welfare branch of the Education Department should be separated from the Education Department and become a separate and distinct department under an officer directly responsible to the Minister in charge.”