CHAPTER I

THE DEPENDENT AND NEGLECTED CHILD

1. Definitions.

The dependent child is one thrown on the public for support. The neglected child is one who is destitute, homeless, abandoned, dependent on the public for support; one who habitually begs or receives alms; one who is found in any house of ill fame, or with any vicious or disreputable person; or one who is suffering from the depravity or cruelty of its parents or other persons in whose care he may be. Although these are typical definitions of these two classes of children, it will appear at once that the dependent child may be included under the other group. The definition for the neglected child is also very similar to that frequently given for the juvenile delinquent. Dependent and neglected children are not separated by hard and fast lines; nor are the neglected from the delinquents. They are all members of a series with the dependent and delinquent groups at the extremes. Our present methods of social work are such, however, that similar treatment of these classes is not always desirable.

2. Types of Dependents.

There are many dependent and neglected children representing numerous types and forms of dependency. One group of children consists of those who are crippled or deformed from birth. Although their number is not large, accommodations for their care are usually lacking, and thus they become a grievous burden to their parents and fail to receive the attention which they merit. A portion are curable, or may at least be made partially self-supporting, if they are provided with the proper medical and educational facilities.

A second class includes illegitimate children, foundlings, and

abandoned infants. Society has very unjustly charged such children with the blame of their ignoble birth, and their entire lives are often spent under the handicap of such a terrible injustice. These infants deserve every consideration given to the legitimate child, and equal provision for their care should be made. In the United States the number of illegitimate children is relatively small and the number of foundlings quite insignificant except in the large cities, where shame can be concealed and where poverty often pinches.

A large number of children, especially in our industrial centers and in the congested portions of our cities, cannot be comfortably provided for by their parents. Frequently the mother is forced to spend the day in the factory, and her children are either neglected or placed in the care of a small daughter-a "child mother." Again, among the poor, medical attention is often omitted because financial means are wanting, and accordingly children do not recover fully from disease; scars, traces, and minor defects remain, and sometimes more serious defects permanently handicap the child. This group of children constitute a semi-neglected class, and the neglect frequently leads to such conditions of subnormality as will render the individual barely self-supporting on his reaching maturity.

The largest group of children considered in this class are those who for various reasons are partially or completely dependent upon society. Many are without natural family support, owing to the desertion of the father or mother, to separation and divorce, or to the death of one of the parents; and some are orphans too young to support themselves. In some cases parents are temporarily or permanently disabled and the children must be given temporary relief, but in other instances parents are simply not able to provide for their children.

A closely related type is the neglected child for whom his parents fail to care so that he suffers from actual want or is demoralized. The following case occurring in New York illustrates the type. Investigation by the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children disclosed "two children, aged six and four years respectively, badly neglected by a

drunken mother. The surroundings were filthy, the mother almost hopelessly intoxicated, the children quite nude, and a sister of the mother lay dying from consumption on a bed of rags near by." Neglect does not necessarily depend on the economic condition of the parents, but is largely the result of an attitude of mind. It is this which frequently differentiates such a case from that of dependency and makes another form of disposition necessary. The solution of the problem of the neglected child often means the disruption rather than the preservation of the home.

3. Causes of Dependency.

The prevention of dependency furnishes one of the most difficult of all child problems. A very large percentage of dependency is due to fundamental conditions that cannot easily be remedied, and a radical reconstruction of social relations would be necessary to prevent its regular recurrence. Hereditary influences, unexpected death of parent or natural supporter, industrial maladjustment, poverty, sickness, and many other causes of dependency are hard to control. Nevertheless the situation is not hopeless; much dependency among children can be mitigated; and some of it can be entirely prevented, especially since the causes differ materially from the causes of dependency among adults. The German statistics compiled by Böhmert in 1893, based on the cases of 13,000 children, are still valuable for comparative purposes. According to these figures the chief causes of dependency were distributed as follows: orphanage, 38.75 per cent; lack of work, 14.90; sickness, etc., 11.88; abandonment, 11.66; imprisonment of guardian, 4.70; abuse and neglect, 4.5; sickness of guardian, 4.34; laziness of guardian, 3.49; drunkenness of guardian, 1.54; mental or physical defect in guardian, 1.74. The remaining causes are of minor importance. According to Böhmert, one-fourth of the children are dependent, owing to causes controlled by their parents or guardians, but this estimate includes only the more obvious forms of parental neglect and omits lack of work, sickness, and, of course, orphanage. To a large degree lack of work depends on the inefficiency of the parent, and is

a remediable evil; furthermore, much sickness could be avoided by the exercise of a little more intelligence, and by improving conditions in factories and workshops. The amount of unnecessary dependency is therefore much larger than the estimate given above. The lessening of the death rate through the decrease of the number of accidents, better sanitation, the elimination of certain diseases especially prevalent among the poor, and the reduction of our occupational mortality will decrease the aggregate amount of orphanage.

Contrasted with these figures are some American statistics of interest, especially those collected by the New York Board of Charities. These figures are a compilation from reports sent by local agencies to the state board, and they are somewhat lacking in accuracy, because of the many interpreters of the causes of dependency, but the larger number of cases reduces the percentage of probable error. According to these figures based on 29,137 cases observed in the two years, 1910-1911, the causes of dependency were distributed as follows:

These proximate causes of dependency need further examination in many instances, in order to learn the ultimate causes to which they are related. It is clear, however, that a large proportion of the given causes must lie within the control of 1 See report of State Board of Charities of New York, 1912, p. 180.