Mrs. OETTINGER. Well, the problem of getting the maximum has to do with overriding considerations of the budget. Mr. FOGARTY. Just tell me what you think. Never mind the budget. Mrs. OETTINGER. Well, we are making progress in the States. We have more people on child welfare services staff in the States; they are moving toward their objective in 1975 of coverage in all geographical districts. More counties have now initiated services for child welfare so that we have 66 percent of the counties included in the number of counties that are providing child welfare services. You know for a long time this balance was at the 50-50 mark so now we feel this 121 additional counties is a forward step. Mr. FOGARTY. Provide for the record what you could do with the $4 million if you had it. Mrs. OETTINGER. Thank you, sir. (The information requested follows:) An increase of $4 million would make possible provision of child welfare services in some of the 1,100 counties now without services; would permit increasing the number of child welfare workers and supervisors; would allow for additional workers to attend schools of social work for training; and would enable extension of service to more children and their families. Following are examples of activities which might be financed with an additional $4 million. With an increasing number of children being served by public welfare agencies (9 percent increase from March 1964 to March 1965), States must expand their facilities and resources-such as homemaker services, day care services, and foster family homes-to meet problems like neglect, abuse, and emotional disturbance in children. Many infants are still in nurseries of hospitals waiting placement in foster homes. Many children are remaining too long in institutions because workers are carrying such heavy caseloads that they have insuficient time to find foster and adoptive homes. An estimated 1,000 more children could receive a good average standard of foster care with an additional $1 million. An estimated 3,000 unmarried mothers not presently receiving child welfare services could be provided care in maternity and foster homes with an additional $1 million. The shortage of child welfare personnel is severe, but is particularly critical for professionally trained staff. Based on the median salary of caseworkers and supervisors, an additional $1 million would provide about 150 additional caseworkers and 30 additional supervisors, with the result that about 7,500 more children would be served. Moreover, since States will be required to show a progressive number of staff members on educational leave beginning July 1, 1966, additional impetus must be given to educational leave programs. It is estimated that about 300 staff members could be sent to schools of social work on educational leave for 1 year with an additional $1 million. RESEARCH TRAINING AND DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS Mr. FOGARTY. For research, training, and demonstration projects, you are requesting an increase from $8 million to $9 million. This won't do much more than maintain a level of activity you are going to reach this year, will it? Mrs. OETTINGER. There will be, of course, some new starts. It will be limited Mr. FOGARTY. It won't do more than maintain the level of activity you have now? Do you disagree with me on that? Mrs. OETTINGER. Some of the continuations when they are completed Mr. FOGARTY. I am just looking at your justification now. Mrs. OETTINGER. we will be able to use some of the money from continuations but actually you can't have very many new starts with that amount of money. Mr. WYNKOOP. It will give us a total of two more projects Mr. Fogarty. Mr. FOGARTY. This is a lot of progress, isn't it? Now, Mrs. Oettinger, will you supply for the record a few examples of outstanding projects funded with this money? Mrs. OETTINGER. I shall be very glad to because I think they really cover the range of the various features of the programs. Mr. FOGARTY. Do you have one in mind that is really outstanding now? Mrs. OETTINGER. We have done a series of projects that are associated with the abused child and I think the reason that we have concentrated so on that has been the increased interest, not only of the medical personnel, but of the Child Welfare. It is a perfect example of how our Children's Bureau works together with Child Welfare and Health and Research and publications on a single activity. (The information requested follows:) Development of a Demonstration Day-Care Center for Young Children, State University of New York, Syracuse. The purpose of this project is to develop a demonstration day-care center for children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years. The children will be children of working mothers with low incomes. By providing a beneficial environment it is hoped that disadvantages for childrearing associated with the mother's employment can be offset. Evaluation of this project will contribute to knowledge of acceptable methods of group care of very young children and ways of overcoming cultural deprivation. Training for Nonprofessional Persons for Licensing Independent Day Care and Foster Homes, University of Illinois. This project, completed early in 1966, demonstrated methods of training nonprofessional staff for selected tasks in licensing family homes for day care and foster care. It was learned that: (1) The overall level of performance by the nonprofessional trainees met the agency's expectations; (2) the trainees met the agency's minimal level of competence for most tasks (the exception was the writing of case records); (3) some tasks needing reinforced training were identified. The published report makes the findings available to the field of public welfare where hopefully they will help ease the crucial shortage of manpower. Development of Group Foster Homes for Children in Long-Term Care, Family and Child Services, Washington, D.C. This project now in its third and last year was designed to demonstrate that stable foster homes can be developed in an urban setting for children of minority groups. These are children who all too often are crowded into institutions or are shunted from one temporary home to another. In this project the foster parent is an employee of the agency rather than independent contractor. A recent progress report provides a number of preliminary signs of success. Most important, placement in these homes has proved stable. Moreover, in four of the six homes the foster parents consider the children permanent members of their family; for example, in two cases the children have been included in the foster parents' wills. Also, additional homes on this model have been developed and supported by a grant from the United Planning Organization and plans are currently underway for providing continuity of this project with support from local resources. Physical Facilities for Group Care of Children, University of Chicago. This study is in its last year. It consists of a national survey of physical facilities housing children's institutions to: (1) Determine characteristics of existing physical plant; (2) relate that information to current ideas on institutional programs and the structures they require; (3) estimate both the extent to which the programs would substantially benefit from remodeling or rebuilding, and the scope, cost, and financing of such renewal programs. The data being gathered will be reported by early 1967 and will provide sound national estimates. Similar information has currently been requested from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress. Follow-up Study of Parents Who Adopted Older Children, University of Wisconsin. The final report of this research project was received in March 1966. One of the significant findings is that older children can be placed for adoption with some reasonable expectation that the placement will have a satisfying outcome. This evidence may help convince both skeptical child welfare workers and prospective adoptive parents that infants are not the only likely subjects for successful adoption. This means that potentially thousands of older children in foster care may be viewed as good prospects for adoption. Another important finding is the confirmation that childhood disadvantages resulting from early deprivation can be overcome. The children in this study, early in their childhood with their natural families, had experienced social and emotional deprivation resulting from poverty, inadequate housing, and parental neglect or abuse. The favorable outcome of these adoptions means that the effects of early deprivation can be overcome. ABUSED CHILD AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES IN RHODE ISLAND Mr. FOGARTY. On the abused child, what have you done that is outstanding? What have they done in Rhode Island? Mrs. OETTINGER. We haven't any special demonstration studies in Rhode Island, but there is an intensified interest in protective service. Mr. FOGARTY. Where? Mrs. OETTINGER. In the child welfare services. Mr. FOGARTY. In Rhode Island? Mrs. OETTINGER. Yes. Mr. FOGARTY. Be specific about it now. I don't think they have. You say they have. Mrs. OETTINGER. There has been so much intensified interest in the whole country Mr. FOGARTY. I am talking about Rhode Island now. Mrs. OETTINGER. Yes, I know. When we consult with them--and on a regional basis we do consult with Rhode Island-we find out they are concerning themselves about the child who has been abused and neglected. Mr. FOGARTY. What have they done about it? Mrs. OETTINGER. Their caseworkers, I think, are more pointed in that direction and are more acutely aware that when a case of child abuse comes to their attention, there is a need for followthrough. Mr. FOGARTY. Give me one example of where they have improved in this area in the last year, or 3 years, or 4 years. Give me one example. Mrs. OETTINGER. I can probably find some specific example in their general services Mr. FOGARTY. Just give me one example of how they have improved in this area in the past 4 years. Mrs. OETTINGER. You are speaking specifically of the abused child and protective services? Mr. FOGARTY. Right. In Rhode Island. Mrs. OETTINGER. As they carry on their day-to-day work, they have to specifically take care of neglected children because Rhode İsland, along with all the other States, is really inundated by the number of cases that are being brought to public attention because of greater awareness Mr. FOGARTY. Now, give me something specific. Mrs. OETTINGER. I really can't actually say one special thing that has been done. I have had pointed out to me the rate of increase in services that are initiated Mr. FOGARTY. Give me one example. You are ducking the question now. Why don't you give me one example in the last 4 years? You don't have any, do you? Mrs. OETTINGER. I am looking here for something specific. Mr. FOGARTY. You are having a hard time finding it. Mrs. OETTINGER. In general terms there has been development of protective Mr. FOGARTY. I didn't say general terms. I said something specific. Give me one example. Mrs. OETTINGER. You have pushed me to the wall. I haven't one specific example. Mr. FOGARTY. That is what I thought. EXAMPLES OF NATIONAL PROGRAM OF PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR ABUSED CHILDREN Now, supply some examples for the record of what you have done in this area throughout the country. Mrs. OETTINGER. Yes, I shall. (The information requested follows:) The number of cases of child abuse known to the community will continue to grow as new State statutes which make reporting of these cases by physicians mandatory go into effect. Forty-seven States and Virgin Islands, encouraged by Children's Bureau leadership and suggested legislative language, now have such laws. Only one State had such a law in 1960. The Children's Bureau has recently awarded four grants amounting to $226,345 to initiate studies of the battered child problem in the United States. The four grants went to the Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago; Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass.; the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work in Philadelphia, and the University of California School of Social Welfare in Berkeley. They range from collecting nationwide data on how often abuse of children occurs to an analysis of how the protective services of child welfare agencies are used in case of neglect and abuse. Chicago's Juvenile Protective Association was awarded $97,120 to provide services for families in which children are neglected or abused. The services will include day care, foster mothers, a pediatrician, and tutoring of children with learning problems. The University of California award of $49,572 will be used for a study of the personal and social characteristics of parents who neglect and abuse their children. Brandeis was given $22,159 to investigate cases of child abuse and the effects of community measures to treat and prevent child abuse. The $57,494 going to the University of Pennsylvania will be used to attempt to find the most effective way to combat abuse and neglect. The Columbia Law School project on the legal aspects of child abuse, directed by Prof. Monvad Paulsen, is in the process of completion. Articles based on this study are already appearing in law reviews and professional journals. In the spring, Professor Paulson, in cooperation with the Children's Bureau, is holding a meeting of selected juvenile court judges and law professors to discuss the major legal issues and problems involved with abused child cases appearing in juvenile courts. The University of Colorado Medical Center is continuing its battered child syndrome research project to study the characteristics of parents who abuse their children. During March 1966, the project, in cooperation with the Children's Bureau, is sponsoring a workshop roundtable on patterns of parental behavior leading to the physical abuse of children. Leading psychiatrists, pediatricians, and social workers with clinical and research experience in this field have been invited to participate. 60-627-66-pt. 280 SPECIAL PROJECT GRANTS FOR MATERNAL AND INFANT CARE Mr. FOGARTY. You are requesting $30 million, the same as for 1966, for special project grants for maternal care and infant care. What is the maximum authorized? Mrs. OETTINGER. $30 million. Mr. FOGARTY. Will you tell us what the allocation procedure is and what matching is required, and how Rhode Island is doing in this area? PROGRESS OF PROGRAM IN RHODE ISLAND Mrs. OETTINGER. As you know, there's 25 percent matching and we have a policy of carefully worked out procedures. I think if we talk specifically about Rhode Island, Dr. Lesser is so intimately familiar with it he will be better able to speak to it. Mr. FOGARTY. I don't think they are making much progress. We have had a number of meetings with them. As a matter of fact, the first draft of the application was on the whole pretty good. There were a number of local problems that had to be worked out in relation to hospitals and other aspects of it, not all of which are clear to me. I don't know why we don't have an official application for a program at this point. It is well over a year since we started. Mr. FOGARTY. You must have some idea why they haven't- Mr. FOGARTY. Is it a question of money? Dr. LESSER. No; they have money. They tell me a lot of things but they don't tell me everything. Mr. FOGARTY. Well, tell us then; maybe we can help you. Dr. LESSER. Well, I truly don't know what is holding it up. We have had meetings with the people in the health departmentMr. FOGARTY. Who? Dr. LESSER. And the hospitals. Mr. FOGARTY. Who? Dr. LESSER. With Dr. Cannon and Dr. Bowes, and also people from St. Joseph's and more recently I understood they were trying to include the Lying-in Hospital but for reasons which escape me things are never brought to a conclusion and I cannot understand what the trouble is. Mr. FOGARTY. Why don't you tell me what you think now? Mr. FOGARTY. You have been around here a long time and you know Rhode Island, too. Dr. LESSER. Well, I think part of the problem there Mr. FOGARTY. Why don't you tell us what you honestly think? Dr. LESSER. The people who are involved in trying to develop this program, I feel, all have other jobs to do, which is their primary job. They are short of personnel in Rhode Island. The salary scale levels are low. Dr. Cannon and others up there they all have several jobs to do. I think they just have difficulty recruiting additional people who can give full time to something like this. Mr. FOGARTY. If they raised the salaries, do you think they could recruit the people? Dr. LESSER. I would think so. It is certainly a pleasant State to work in. |