!9!Fl MN a rii1 F;Tr rl~' 1 il~a ~E~ aa ARAV^ S ~$Y.0 ~~9~,, ~~~~ ~2~ -5 I _ _ A STUDY OF DELINQUENT AND NEGLECTED NEGRO CHILDREN BEEORE THE NEW YORK CITY CHILDREN'S COURT I925 The situation in regard to the inadequate facilities for institutional care of colored delinquent children is an unfortunate one. The Children's Court is confronted almost daily with its inability to deal constructively with colored children under sixteen years of age who are in need of custodial care by reason of the scarcity of institutions willing to accept such children. The community should be fully informed of these deplorable conditions in order that the colored child may receive its proper share of institutional education and training. It is my hope that this report will help bring about a solution. -Presiding Justice Franklin Chase Hoyt of the Children's Court of the City of New York JOINT COMMITTEE ON NEGRO CHILD STUDY IN NEW YORK CITY IN COOPERATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH OF THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE AND THE WOMEN'S CITY CLUB OF NEW YORK 1927 -— ~ i -c I.' '. '** { I 4 JOINT COMMITTEE ON NEGRO CHILD STUDY IN NEW YORK CITY IN COOPERATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH OF THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE AND THE WOMEN'S CITY CLUB OF NEW YORK Miss VIRGINIA M. MURRAY, Chairman Joint Committee, 144 East 44th Street, New York City MR. CHARLES S. JOHNSON, Chairman Study Committee, 17 Madison Avenue, New York City Miss RACHEL HOPPER POWELL, Secretary Treasurer, 110 Second Avenue, New York City Miss CLARISSA M. SCOTT, Field Worker 110 Second Avenue, New York City JOINT COMMITTEE PAYTON F. ANDERSON, M. D. MR. WILLIAM H. BALDWIN, Fisk University and Urban League. MISS MABEL E. BICKFORD, Social Worker, St. Philip's Church. MRS. TEMPIE J. BURGE, Brooklyn Urban League. MRS. LISLE C. CARTER, New York College Women's Club. DR. KATHARINE BEMENT DAVIS, Joint Board Katy Ferguson House John R. Hegeman Home. Miss M. E. DOWNS, Harlem District Charity Organization Society. MR. R. J. ELZY, Brooklyn Urban League. HAVEN EMERSON, M. D. MRS. MARTHA P. FALCONER, Federation of Institutions Caring for Protestants. DR. HASTINGS H. HART, Russell Sage Foundation. MRS. ELIZABETH Ross HAYNES, Young Women's Christian Association. MRS. E. F. HORNE, Empire State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. n MR. J. H. HUBERT, New York Urban League. 3 i~ MR. CHARLES S. JOHNSON, Research Department, National Urban League. MR. EUGENE KINCKLE JONES, National Urban League. MRS. ANNA H. KEELAN, Brooklyn Urban League. DR. MARION E. KENWORTHY, Medical Director, Bureau of Children's Guidance. MISS ELISE W. KORNMANN Principal Public School 136. MISS ELIZABETH W. MARTIN, Girls' Service League, Inc. MRS. GERTRUDE ELISE McDOUGALD, Assistant Principal Public School 89. MISS ELIZABETH J. MACKENZIE, Associate Director, Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service. MISS VIRGINIA M. MURRAY, New York Travelers' Aid Society. MR. JOHN E. NAIL. MISS MARY WHITE OVINGTON, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. MRS. WILLARD PARKER, JR., Colored Orphan Asylum and Protestant Big Sisters. MR. WALTER W. PETTIT, New York School of Social Work. MISS RACHEL HOPPER POWELL, Women's Prison Association of New York. MRS. ALBERT S. REED, Utopia Neighborhood Club and New York Urban League. MRS. E. P. ROBERTS, West 137th Street Branch Y. W. C. A. MISS CECILIA C. SAUNDERS, West 137th Street Branch Y. W. C. A. MR. GRAHAM ROMEYN TAYLOR, Joint Committee on Methods of Preventing Delinquency. MR. THOMAS T. TAYLOR, West 135th Street Branch Y. M. C. A. MRS. ORDWAY TEAD, Women's City Club of N. Y. BRIGADIER EDWARD B. UNDERWOOD, Salvation Army. Miss FLORENCE L. WALKER, Hope Day Nursery. MRS. KATHERINE Z. WELLS WHIPPLE, New York Tuberculosis and Health Association. STUDY COMMITTEE MRS. TEMPIE J. BURGE MR. CHARLES S. JOHNSON MISS VIRGINIA M. MURRAY MR. WALTER W. PETTIT Miss RACHEL HOPPER POWELL MRS. E. P. ROBERTS 4 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION I. Outstanding Facts-Page 6. II. Recommendations-Page 7. III. How the Study Came About-Page 9. IV. The Problem-Page 11. A<* The Negro Child and the Court-Page 15. VI. Inadequacies in Institutional Provision for the Delinquent and Neglected Negro Child-Page 24. VII. Social Background of Negro Delinquency and Neglect Cases-Page 29. VIII. Institutions-Public and Private-Page 38. IX. Conclusion-Page 46. Appendix Tables covering January-June inclusive, 1926-Page 47. 5 SECTION I OUTSTANDING FACTS IN THE REPORT OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON NEGRO CHILD STUDY 1. In 1925, of a total of 11,512 cases in the New York City Children'sOCourt, 890- or 8 per cent were cases of Negro children; of these 61 per cent were delinquents; Negro boys brought into court for delinquency outnumbered the girls three to one. 2. On the basis of population the proportion of juvenile delinquency among Negroes is considerably greater than among the whites, but whereas the most common charge against white boys is stealing that against Negro boys is disorderly conduct; the offense second in importance among Negro boys is desertion of home, whereas among white boys who are brought to the Children's Court it is burglary. 3. In approximately 85 per cent of the Negro girl delinquency cases the charge is "ungovernable and wayward" or desertion of home. 4. Of the 890 Negro children arraigned, 802 were Protestants, 86 were Catholics, and in 2 cases the faith was not ascertainable. 5. Of the 543 Negro children arraigned in 1925 as delinquents, 107 or approximately 20 per cent were committed to institutions; of the rest some were placed on probation. Of 34 cases of assault one resulted in commitment; of 78 cases of stealing 14 were committed. 6. Contributing causes of delinquency among Negro children the committee found to be: 1. Lack of opportunities for supervised recreation. 2. Lack of parental control commonly where mothers work outside the home. 3. Retardation in school and resulting tendency to truancy. 7. The largest number of neglected Negro children were under seven years of age; the largest number of delinquents, boys and girls, were between 13 and 16 years of age. 8. Of 50 cases picked at random only one child was found to have had any contact with organized recreation; in two-thirds of this group there was practically no attendance at church or Sunday School by either child or parents. 9. Whereas there is considerable provision for mild delinquents among the white children, there is less for colored children than for white, and even this limited provision is decreasing. 6 I SECTION II RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended: 1. That there be a committee of the Welfare Council of New York City representative of all of the committees now interested in work with the colored to co-ordinate these activities and to give information with regard to projects already under way or contemplated, and to plan a social welfare program for Harlem and other colored districts of the city. 2. That with regard to recreation there be (a) a coordinated all-year-round recreation program in the colored districts. (b) an extension of organized programs for adolescent colored youth such as the Scouts, Christian Associations, etc. (c) much more emphasis on opportunities for Negro youth to form clubs under efficient leadership (1) in church and school (2) through the development of non-sectarian boys and girls clubs (3) through short courses in club leadership offered to volunteers who might serve in any type of club organization. (d) an increase in municipal facilities for play. The recommendation of the City Recreation Committee to the Mayor's Committee on Plan and Survey of a site at 130th Street and Fifth Avenue is hereby endorsed as a beginning in such a program. (e) consideration by school authorities of the special problems arising from absence of both parents from the home, discussed in this report, and that provision be made for after school and summer activities in all schools in which the attendance is largely colored. The Superintendent of the Schools, W. J. O'Shea, has already issued an order opening a number of school yards after school hours and Saturdays for the entire summer, but this Committee believes that it is essential to supplement the opening of the school yards with adequate supervision of play activities at all times during the year. (f) several neighborhood centers in congested districts for recreation and other social work purposes in which the 7 adults as well as the children would receive attention. These would differ from adolescent club centers in that they would consider the family as a unit. (g) further development of summer camp facilities for not only the under-privileged but also those who are able to pay and that in this development consideration be also given to provision for families. 3. That there be more emphasis on social case work-by providing (a) in the field of child placing more facilities for boarding out colored children in homes of good standing with adequate supervision. (b) an extension of probation service for colored children. (c) an increase in the number of visiting teachers in schools dealing with colored children. (d) that family case work be extended through existing family welfare societies inasmuch as many of the problems of delinquency and neglect arise from other more fundamental family problems. (e) case work supervision for Big Brothers and Big Sisters working with colored children. 4. That efforts be made to secure increased appropriations from the New York State Legislature to make possible an increase in the capacity of the New York State Training School for Girls. 5. That provision be made for neglected colored boys and girls who are Protestants, particularly for those who are over twelve years of age. 6. That the attention of the State of New York be called to the urgent need of more suitable institutional provision for young delinquent boys. 8 SECTION III HOW THE STUDY CAME ABOUT Negro children, delinquent and neglected, have been the subject of consideration for several years, by the Committee on Corrections of the Women's City Club of New York. While the need for more adequate and constructive care was recognized not only by this Committee, but by all organizations working in related fields, no definite facts regarding actual conditions were available upon which conclusions might be reached or relief measures planned. Early in 1926 the Executive Committee of the Women's City Club approved the action of the Committee on Corrections to undertake a study of conditions in this field. Under Miss Rachel Hopper Powell's leadership, a meeting was called at the New York School of Social Work, at which were present representatives of the organizations, a list of which appears in this report. The result of the meeting was the forming of the Joint Committee on Negro Child Study in New York City, Miss Virginia M. Murray, Chairman. The Committee was fortunate in securing Miss Clarissa M. Scott, a graduate of Wellesley, and subsequently a teacher in the Public Schools of Washington, D. C., to gather facts and assemble material for presentation to the Study Committee. A Study Committee consisting of Mr. Charles S. Johnson, of the Department of Research of the National Urban League, Miss Rachel H. Powell, of the Women's Prison Association, Mr. Walter W. Pettit, of the New York School of Social Work, Mrs. E. P. Roberts, of the Y. W. C. A., Mrs. Tempie J. Burge, of the Brooklyn Urban League, and Miss Virginia M. Murray, of the Travelers' Aid Society, have worked closely with Miss Scott throughout the progress of the report. The Committee is indebted to the National Urban League through its Executive Secretary, Mr. Eugene Kinckle Jones, for valuable advice, for providing office space for Miss Scott, and for making possible the important service of Mr. Charles S. Johnson, who has edited very efficiently the entire report. 9 The Committee is indebted to judges, probation officers, and other Court officials, and to institution and organization executives for so courteously placing at Miss Scott's disposal their records and supplying information and facts which have furnished the basis for this report. The work has been made financially possible by contributions from interested individuals and organizations, and particularly from the Women's Prison Association of New York, which has borne approximately one-half of the entire cost of the study and in addition has given generously of their time and clerical help in assembling statistics and otherwise preparing the report. The Women's City Club has also contributed generously in money, and with clerical help in the preparation of the report. VIRGINIA M. MURRAY, Chairman. 10 I SECTION IV THE PROBLEM The advent of a large group of people to a city usually brings about numerous problems of adjustment. Frequently it is the child upon whom the chief burden of the adjustment falls. In the case of the group studied in the following pages there are certain conditions which make the problem especially serious. The crowded tenements of Harlem as contrasted with rural or small town conditions in the South, an entirely different standard of living, the absence of both parents from the home until late in the day, mean weakening of family, neighborhood and religious control over the adolescent. Social problems are rarely recognized early in their development. They come to the surface gradually and still more gradually do agencies, private and public, develop to meet those problems. We have almost always waited for the difficulty to appear before considering means of remedying it. Amelioration as a step in the development of social work precedes prevention. The problem of child life in Harlem is no exception. Moreover agencies which have already developed to deal with like problems among other racial groups have frequently found it impossible to expand to meet the needs of the new racial group. To an extent evidenced probably by no other racial group in the city, the Negro finds himself with inadequate facilities in the recreation field and in the field of care of dependent and delinquent children. Unlike certain other racial groups the Negro has not accumulated sufficient wealth as yet to make it possible for him to do much toward meeting the problems of his own people. Since 1900 the Negro population in New York City has experienced important changes. There has been a material shift in the center of this population from the section known as Columbus Hill"San Juan Hill," in the vernacular, between 53rd and 63rd Streets west of Seventh Avenue, to Harlem, stretching in a narrow strip from 116th to 150th Street. Moreover, since 1910 this population has more than doubled through migration to the city. In 1910 it was only 1.9 per cent of the population of the city, and in 1900 even 11 less. It was 2.7 per cent in 1920, and the increase has continued at a lively pace since the last census. The rate of Negro increase in the last decade was nearly four times as great as that of the general population, and in the decade just preceding about thirty per cent greater than that of the population as a whole. The large Negro increase has not been due entirely to newcomers from the South; there has been migration in important numbers from the British West Indies, the Virgin Islands, now a possession of the United States, and from Cuba, creating a situation in Negro communities unique among American cities. In the last decade about 20,000 foreign Negroes were added to the population. The Negro population was in 1920 given as 152,467 in a total of 5,620,048. Of their numbers 30,436 were West Indians, 78,242 migrants to the city, and only 39,233 born in the city. The unsettled character of the population is evident; since 1920 it is estimated that about 50,000 new migrants from the South have come to the city, but with the new immigration restriction the yearly number of West Indian immigrants has been greatly reduced. Families whose background had been a simple rural plan of work and life were suddenly introduced to the rigorous northern winter and the exigencies of a metropolitan community. Pressure of this sudden population upon the Negro communities has brought new problems. The areas of residence have expanded, but not rapidly enough to accommodate the increases. Severe overcrowding, rent exploitation and serious disorganization of family life has resulted. An indication of the severity of economic pressure for Negro families in this new life is the extraordinary number of women forced to abandon home duties for outside work. The proportion for Negroes is twice as large as that of any other racial group in the city, and one of the largest recorded for cities. Even more significant, the proportion of Negro married women working is over four times as great as that of the native white women and over five times that of the foreign born women. The children of these families constitute a particular concern. They reflect both the handicaps of their parents and the inescapable social effect of these handicaps. The increasing volume of delinquency and dependency among these has been noted by social agencies with apprehension. In the preface to the Annual Report of the Children's Court of the City of New York, for 1925, Presiding Justice Franklin C. Hoyt observes that juvenile delinquency in the city is no longer increasing, and commends the successful efforts of child welfare programs over recent years. Obscured by the trend of the entire volume of these cases the figures for Negro children have 12 been taking a contrary direction-the number of Negro juvenile delinquents has been increasing very rapidly. The circumstance of a greater population increase than for the white children undoubtedly accounts for much of the increase, but does not explain the fact that the percentage of Negroes among the delinquent and neglected cases is nearly three times their population proportion, as estimated by the National Urban League. Of a total of 11,512 cases in the Children's Court in 1925 we find 890, or 8 per cent were cases of Negro children. TABLE I NUMBER OF NEGRO AND WHITE CHILDREN ARRAIGNED IN THE CHILDREN'S COURT-1919 TO FIRST SIX MONTHS 1926 Year Per cent Number White Negro White Negro 1919.............................. 95.8 4.2 13,052 575 1920............................. 95.8 4.2 11,090 492 1921............................. 95.4 4.6 9,969 476 1922.............................. 95.1 4.9 9,781 505 1923.............................. 94.5 5.5 10,125 591 1924.............................. 94.2 5.8 10,234 624 1925.............................. 92.0 8.0 10,602 890* 1926 (1-6 Mos.).................... 93.1 6.9 5,799 426 *NOTE. The annual Report of the Children's Court, 1925, gives a total of 910, the difference being due to the inclusion under the head of "colored," children of Chinese families. The figures for this study were taken from the original records and the totals of 11,512 for all cases correspond. Officers of the Children's Court have observed that in the case of various groups of foreign born, waves of delinquency have tended to relate themselves to waves of immigration, and that, following the adjustment of the groups to their new environment, the juvenile delinquency record decreased. The same trend might be expected for the Negroes, similarly a migrant population and in an unfamiliar environment. A complication, however, presents itself in the somewhat isolated character of the Negro population and the special problems which Negroes have to face. The provision of preventive and correctional facilities for children in the city is doubtless inadequate, but for Negro children this situation is increased because certain agencies and institutions make no provision for them. The purpose of this study, then, is to set forth information concerning Negro delinquency and neglect in New York City and provisions made for dealing with the subject, under the headings; (1) The extent of Negro delinquency and of Negro neglect, 13 absolutely, and in relation to the total volume of delinquency and neglect. (2) The character of offences for which Negro children are brought into court. (3) The disposition of Negro delinquency and neglect cases. (4) Present facilities for the care of delinquent and neglected Negro children. (5) Recommendations. (See page 7) This inquiry was started July 15, 1926, and completed February 15, 1927. Court records of Negro children in all of the five boroughs were transcribed from the record book for the entire year 1925, and the first six months of 1926, and the items of number, type of offence, age, disposition of cases, religion and sex noted; probation records of fifty cases of delinquency and neglect brought into court in the first six months of 1926 were read, questionnaires were sent out to institutions, visits made to those receiving colored children, and inquiries made into the work which churches and organizations are doing for colored children, in so far as time permitted. 14 -— I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - SECTION V THE NEGRO CHILD AND THE COURT A STUDY OF THE FIGURES OF THE CHILDREN'S COURT For the convenience of the courts in dealing with the children brought before them, a definition of delinquency and neglect is provided in the Children's Court Act of the City of New York. It reads: "The words 'delinquent child' shall mean a child over seven and under sixteen years of age (a) who violates any law of this state or any law or ordinance of the City of New York, or who commits any act which if committed by an adult would be an offence punishable otherwise than by death or life imprisonment; (b) who is incorrigible, ungovernable or habitually disobedient and beyond the control of his parents, guardian, custodian or other lawful authority; (c) who is habitually truant; (d) who, without just cause and without consent of his parent, guardian or other custodian, deserts his home or place of abode; (e) who engages in any occupation which is in violation of the law; (f) who begs or who solicits alms or money in public places; (g) who associates with immoral or vicious persons; (h) who frequents any place the maintenance of which is in violation of law; (i) who habitually uses obscene or profane language; or (j) who so deports himself as wilfully to injure or endanger the morals or health of himself or others." " 'Juvenile Delinquency' is the commission by a child over seven and under the age of sixteen years of any of the offences enumerated in the foregoing definition of a delinquent child." "The words 'neglected child' mean a child under sixteen years of age (a) who is without proper guardianship; (b) who has been abandoned or deserted by both of its parents, or by any other person or persons lawfully charged with its care or custody; (c) whose parent, guardian or person with whom the child lives, by reason of cruelty, mental incapacity, immorality or depravity, is unfit properly to care for such child; (d) whose parent or guardian has been sentenced to imprisonment for crime; (e) who is under unlawful or improper supervision, care, 15 i custody or restraint by any person; (f) who wanders about without lawful occupation or restraint or who is unlawfully kept out of school; (g) whose parent, guardian or custodian, neglects or refuses when asked to do so, to provide necessary medical, surgical, institutional or hospital care for such child; (h) who is found in any place the maintenance of which is a violation of law; (i) who is in such condition of want or suffering or is under such improper guardianship or control as to injure or endanger the morals or health of himself or others." While an adequate differentiation is made in the definitions quoted, it commomly happens that conditions of both classifications are involved in the cases of the children. So involved are they that the suggestion frequently intrudes that the presence of one set of conditions may actually lead to the other. Just as serious is the other danger that a "delinquent" child when there exists no institutional provision for its care, may be adjudged "neglected" and so committed. In the records of the Children's Courts, however, the bulk of the cases appear under the two headings, "delinquent" and "neglected." But there are added two classes which clearly fall outside; "material witnesses" and those calling for "mental special proceedings." For the Negro children, taken separately, the figures are as follows for the full year 1925: TABLE II ARRAIGNMENTS OF NEGRO CHILDREN BY CLASS OF CASE AND SEX, 1925 Total Boys Girls Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent All classes........... 890 100.0 582 100.0 308 100.0 Delinquent.......... 543 61.0 418 71.8 125 40.6 Neglected........... 304 34.1 151 25.9 153 49.7 Material witnesses.... 30 3.4 8 1.4 22 7.1 Others.............. 13 1.5 5.9 8 2.6 Delinquency cases constitute 61% of those brought into court, and under this heading the boys outnumber the girls more than three to one. In cases of neglect they are more evenly balanced. Distribution by Boroughs. According to the Census returns for 1920, the Negro population of New York City was distributed among the boroughs in this manner: In Manhattan were 71.5%, in Brooklyn 20.8, in Queens 16 3.3, in the Bronx 3.1 and in Richmond 1.3. A similar distribution of the Negro delinquency and neglect cases would be expected. Manhattan borough shows 63.2 per cent of all cases and Brooklyn 18.9 per cent. (See Table 3.) TABLE III ARRAIGNMENTS OF NEGRO CHILDREN BY CLASS OF CASE AND BOROUGH, 1925 Material Total Delinquent Neglected Witnesses Others Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per ber cent ber cent ber cent ber cent All boroughs...... 890 543 61.0 304 34.1 30 3.4 13 1.5 Manhattan........ 563 368 65.4 172 30.5 13 2.3 10 1.8 Brooklyn......... 170 110 64.7 47 27.6 12 7.1 1.6 Bronx........... 65 32 49.3 31 47.7 1 1.5 1 1.5 Queens.......... 72 23 31.9 46 63.9 2 2.8 1 1.4 Richmond......... 20 10 50.0 8 40.0 2 10.0 - - In connection with the figures given above, we should note that according to the 1920 census there is a smaller number of Negro children in proportion to the total of the Negro population, than of white children to the white population, in the Borough of Manhattan. Between the ages 5-14, the per cent of Negro Children in the total Negro population in Manhattan is 9.8 as compared with 12.7 for Brooklyn and 16.1 for Queens. Families outside the congested areas are not only larger in size, but the charges of delinquency appear to be fewer. In Manhattan and Brooklyn, delinquency cases greatly outnumber those of neglect. Queens, however, shows twice as many neglect as delinquency cases. About 34 per cent of all arraignments of Negro children are for neglect. When compared with all cases coming into the Children's Court, some interesting facts appear. The Negro children, with 8 per cent of the cases, had a joint delinquency and neglect rate considerably greater than the Negro population proportion (2.7% in 1920). There is some indication that a small part of this excess is due to the large number of neglect cases. TABLE IV ARRAIGNMENTS OF WHITE AND NEGRO CHILDREN BY SEX, 1925 Total White Negro Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Total............ 11,512 100.0 10,622 100.0 890 100.0 Boys............. 8,477 73.6 7,895 74.3 582 65.4 Girls.............. 3,035 26.4 2,727 25.7 308 34.6 17 Analysis of the Cases of Children Brought into the Children's Court. (See Table 5.) Examination of the court records of these children throws light upon the nature of their offences, where there have been such, and provides a clue to a partial interpretation of the gross figures. Arraignments during 1925 of Negro children are classified by charge and age for all boroughs of New York City. In the determination of age groupings the birthday is used. The second group thus would read from seventh to tenth birthday. The figures for truancy cases in this table are scarcely representative since these are so generally handled by the Board of Education few reach the court. "Violation of the Railroad Law" refers to stealing rides on cars or subways. The largest numbers of Negro children are arraigned for disorderly conduct, desertion of home, waywardness and ungovernable habits. These are, ordinarily, regarded as among the less serious offences, and more often attributable to improper parental control from whatever cause, and to unpleasant home surroundings, than to a dangerously anti-social nature. This is especially true in the younger age groups. These three charges account for sixty per cent of all delinquency cases. Stealing ranks next in importance; it is confined almost wholly to the boys, and occurs most frequently in the older age groups. The two principal charges against the girls fall under "ungovernable and wayward," and desertion of home. These account for about 85 per cent of their delinquencies. Age Groups of Negro Children Arraigned. The largest number of these children were between the ages of thirteen and sixteen: this is true of both boys and girls. The latter who fall so heavily in the classification "ungovernable or wayward", represent virtually an adolescent group, rebellious of authority, keen for adventure, who when left without supervision, may drift easily into trouble, or be readily preyed upon. The largest number of neglected children were under seven years; many of these were family groups, close together in age, whose mothers had died, were sick, had been deserted by their husbands, or otherwise forced to leave their children uncared for while they were at work. Relatives and friends of Negro mothers will often take care of a somewhat older child when they are reluctant to care for an infant. 18 TABLE V NUMBER OF NEGRO CHILDREN ARRAIGNED IN ALL BOROUGHS ON EACH CHARGE, BY AGE GROUPS-1925 Delinquent Grand Totals Under 7 yrs. 7 to Io 10 - 13 13 - 16 Children Tot. Boys Girls Tot. Boys Girls Tot. Boys Girls Tot. Boys Girls Tot. Boys Girls Assault................... 34 31 3.................. 9 8 1 25 23 2 Robbery.................. 4 4............. 1 1... 3 3... Burglary................. 42 42............ 2 2... 17 17... 23 23... Unlawful entry.. 4 4........... 2 2... 2 2. Stealing................... 78 70 8...4 4... 15 15... 59 51 8 Disorderly conduct......... 122 118 4......... 5 5... 34 33 1 83 80 3 Peddling or begging........ 1 1..... 1 1............. Ungovernable or wayward... 97 35 62........ 9 6 3 18 9 9 70 20 50 Desertion of home.......... 115 72 43...... 11 8 3 28 23 5 76 41 35 Truancy.1 1............. 1 1 Violation of R. R. law...... 3 3................. 3 3... Violation Corp. Ordinances.. 1 1.. 1 1...1 1 Unclassified............... 41 36 5....... 1 1... 8 8 32 27 5 Total................... 543 418 125......... 34 28 6 132 116 16 377 274 103 Neglected and Others Neglected children......... 304 151 153 150 73 77 42 25 17 59 32 27 53 21 32 Material witnesses......... 30 8 22 1... 1 2 2... 3 2 1 24 4 20 Others.................... 13 5 8 1... 1....... 1 1... 11 4 7 Total 347 164 183 152 73 79 44 27 17 63 35 28 88 29 59 Grand Total............. 890 582 308 152 73 79 78 55 23 195 151 44 465 303 162 Offences and Neglect Cases of Negro and White Children Compared. (See Table 6.) While the relative proportion of Negro juvenile cases is almost uniformly greater than the white, there are interesting differences according to seriousness of offence. The largest number of Negro juvenile offences is for disorderly conduct; in the case of the white children it is for stealing. Similarly for the offence second in importance, for the Negro children it is desertion of home, while for white children it is burglary. TABLE VI ARRAIGNMENTS OF WHITE AND NEGRO CHILDREN BY NATURE OF ALLEGATION AND SEX, 1925 White Negro Total Number All cases.............10622 Delinquent........... 627 Assault............ 267 Robbery........... 55 Burglary........... 1148 Unlawful Entry..... 108 Stealing........... 1256 Disorderly Conduct. 1152 Peddling or Begging. 260 Ung'n'ble or Way'd. 630 Desertion of Home.. 1000 Truancy........... 63 Railroad Law..... 157 Corp. Ordinances.. 23 Unclassified........ 308 Neglected and Others.. 4195 Neglected.......... 3743 Material Witnesses.. 362 Others............. 90 Per cent 100.0 60.5 2.5.5 10.8 1.0 11.8 10.9 2.5 5.9 9.4.6 1.5.2 2.9 39.5 35.2 3.4.9 Boys 7895 5719 248 55 1146 107 1166 1134 253 381 698 58 157 23 293 2176 2022 98 56 Girls 2727 708 19 2 1 90 18 7 249 302 5 15 2019 1721 264 34 Total Num- Per ber cent 890 100.0 543 61.0 34 4 42 4 78 122 1 97 115 1 3 1 41 347 304 30 13 3.8.5 4.7.5 8.8 13.7.1 10.9 12.9.1.3.1 4.6 39.0 34.1 3.4 1.5 Boys 582 418 31 4 42 4 70 118 1 35 72 1 3 1 36 164 151 8 5 Girls 308 125 3 8 4 62 43 5 183 153 22 8 The disproportion in offences of Negro children which may be classed as serious, suggests that these children get into the courts more readily. In general, there are, in proportion, for the white children, twice as many offences classed as burglary, more stealing, peddling, unlawful entry, and fewer cases of assault, disorderly conduct and desertion of home, than for the Negro children. The per cent of Negroes in the total population is 2.7 and of Negro boys in the total number of boys arraigned 6.8. Against these per 20 T centages, the per cent for Negro boys for burglary is 4, for unlawful entry 4, for stealing 6, and for assault 11. The per cent for all Negro offences, both sexes, is 7. The Negro girls with 10 per cent of the total number of girls arraigned in 1925, contribute 20 per cent of the ungovernable and wayward cases, 12 per cent of the desertion cases, 8 per cent of the assault cases, and 18 per cent of the disorderly conduct cases. While the largest number of Negro girls were arraigned as wayward and ungovernable, the largest number of white girls were arraigned for desertion of home. There is suggested in the differences between the Negro and white children a difference in the sources of petitions. The Negro cases obviously are less frequently those which should require the attention of the police, but in a surprisingly large number of instances these children were actually brought into the courts by the police. Negro parents have used the children's courts as a clearing house for advice and help in the disciplining of their children. The very necessity for both parents working away from home to maintain their families, which in the end loses for them control over their children, prevents them from appearing at court with their Ichildren. The children thus appear on the petition of others and, most conveniently, the police. During 1925 the source of petition was in 54 cases the attendance officers, in 154 cases a citizen, in 152 cases relatives, in 229 cases the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (mostly neglected cases), in one case the Children's Aid Society and in 321 cases the police. An explanation of the small number for the attendance officers is suggested in the reference to the Bureau of Education's attention to most of the cases of truancy and the minor related offences. Disposition of Cases. (See Table 7.) A serious phase of Negro delinquency is reached at the point of disposition of the cases. Here the inadequacies and necessary temporizations appear. In 1925, of 543 Negro children arraigned as delinquents only 107, or 19.7 per cent were committed to institutions. Of 347 Negro children classed as neglected 113, or 32.5 per cent were committed to institutions. (See Court Report for total of commitments). Table 8 gives the disposition of these cases by offences. The dispositions given in this table represent the status of the case at the time the figures were completed; whether in instances where children were placed on probation, commitment to an institution was the final outcome, or whether children who were remanded were later placed on probation, or under supervision, is not indicated. 21 Such action is a part of the constantly shifting status of cases throughout any year. Only one of the 34 cases of assault resulted in commitment, and. only 14 of the 78 cases of stealing. The greatest number of commitments was for desertion of home. Only 2 of the 122 cases of disorderly conduct were committed to institutions. The number of actual commitments was largest, relatively, for desertion. Of the 115 children arraigned on this charge, 42, or 36.5 per cent were committed to institutions. On the other hand, of the 42 children arraigned for burglary, 9, or 20.4 per cent were committed, while 15 got suspended sentences. The percentage of commitments for stealing was 17.7 and for the charge "ungovernable and wayward" 29.8 per cent. Relatively few of the petitions were dismissed. As between Negro boys and girls, the commitment of girls was much greater. Of 125 girls arraigned, 45 or 36 per cent were committed; of 418 boys arraigned 62, or 14.8 per cent were committed. Eighty-six per cent of the commitments of girls fell under the two offences-desertion and "ungovernable and wayward." The low commitments to institutions, particularly of boys, are an index to certain institutional inadequacies which both the figures for institutions and the observations of judges support. TABLE VIII INSTITUTIONS TO WHICH NEGRO CHILDREN WERE COMMITTED AND THE NUMBER COMMITTED TO EACH-ALL CHARGES 1925 Name of Institution Total Boys Girls Angel Guardian Home..................... 1 Brooklyn Home for Children............... 2 1 1 Children's Village....................... 1 1 Colored Orphan Asylum................... 63 35 28 House of the Good Shepherd............... 20... 20 House of Mercy.......................... 3... 3 House of Refuge.......................... 33 33 Letchworth Village...................... 20 7 13 Mission of the Immaculate Virgin........... 16 7 9 New York Catholic Protectory............. 24 24 New York Foundling Hospital.............. 4... 4 New York Nursery and Child's Hospital...... 12 6 6 New York State Training School for Girls.... 14.. 14 New York Parental School................. 2 2 Salvation Army Home..................... 5... 5 Total.................................. 220 116 104 The list as given includes certain institutions which actually exclude Negro children. For example, the two children sent to the 22 lr *- - --- --. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I TABLE VII DISPOSITION OF CASES OF NEGRO CHILDREN ARRAIGNED IN RELATION TO CHARGES-ALL BOROUGHS-1925 Petitions Discharged Placed on Committed to Suspended Grand Totals Dismissed from Probation Probation Institutions Sentence Fined Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Tot ) ELINQUENT CHILDREN: Assault.................... 34 31 3 7 5 2 12 12.. 2 2.,. 1 1.. 12 11 1 Robbery.................... 4 4.............. 1.. 3 3 Burglary.................... 42 42.. 3 3.. 9 9.. 6 6.. 9 9.. 15 15 Unlawful Entry............. 4 4.. 1 1.............. 1.. 2 2 Stealing..................... 78 70 8 2 2.. 12 12.. 4 4.. 14. 11 3 45 40 5 1 1 Disorderly Conduct.......... 122 118 4 9 9.. 31 31.. 3 3.. 2.. 2 16 14 2 61 61 Peddling or Begging.......... 1 1..........1 1 Ungovernable or Wayward.... 97 35 62 11 4 7 16 8 8 14 1 13 29 10 19 26 11 15.. Desertion of Home.......... 115 72 43 10 7 3 29 22 7 13 5 8 42 22 20 21 16 5 Truancy.................... 1........ 1 1 Violation of Railroad Law..... 3 3........ 1........ i 1.. 1 1 Violation of Corp. Ordinances.. 1 1............................. Unclassified................ 41 36 5 4 3 1 16 15 1 3 1 2 7 6 1 1 1..... Totals................. 543 418 125 47 34 13 129 113 16 45 22 23 107 62 45 152 124 28 62 62 fEGLECTED AND OTHERS: Neglected Children.......... 304 151 153 54 31 23 108 51 57 33 16 17 101 49 52 3 1 2.... 4 Material Witnesses........... 30 8 22 18 6 12 11 1 10 Others...................... 13 5 8 1.. 1......12 5 7 Total................... 347 164 183 73 37 36 119 52 67 33 16 17 113 54 59 3 1 2...... 4 GRAND TOTAL........... 890 582 308 120 71 49 248 165 83 78 38 40 220 116 104 155 125 30 62 62.. 4 Remanded Others tal Boys Girls Total Boys Girls.... 1 1.... 1 1 2 2 1 I1.... 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 --:I -- ~t~ c/ `4 O Z C)71 3; ~' Brooklyn Home for Children were committed by mistake and later sent elsewhere. The boy sent to the Children's Village was mistaken as white. Six institutions-the Colored Orphan Asylum, House of the Good Shepherd, House of Refuge, Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, Letchworth Village and the New York Catholic Protectory receive over 75 per cent of all Negro children committed. Three of the six are Catholic institutions. These are private institutions which accept Protestant Negro children because there exists no other institutional provision for them. Mental and Physical Examinations. Mental and physical examinations are given at the Children's Court only in cases where the need is obvious. In 1925 out of 890 Negro children in the court, 118 were given mental examinations. Court figures regarding the number of physical examinations do not indicate color. Increase in Number of Court Cases of Negro Children. The increase in the number of Negro children in the court may be attributed in part at least to two outstanding causes; first, the increase in the Negro population in New York City, second, the slow development of preventive programs and child welfare work generally among this group. An impression was gained during the study that the decrease in number of white Protestant boys before the court was at least in part due to the fact that this boy had been first given the advantages of recreational and preventive programsthat he came for the most part from a home in which the father only was working, and was earning a good wage, and that society generally created for this boy an environment in which he had a fairer chance. Welfare and recreational work among Negro boys and girls is so far wholly inadequate. A minor cause of the increase in the number of colored children in the Children's Court is the greater use of the court by Negro parents. This is doubtless due to the lack of intermediary agencies for them. Religion of Children Arraigned. The question of religion has importance in determining the disposition of cases, for more generous provision in private institutions is made by Catholics. Protestants predominate among Negro children, only about ten per cent of those brought into court are Catholics. While most of the Catholic Negroes are native born, there are some who come from the West Indies. In 1925 there were in the Children's Court 802 Protestant Negro children, 86 Catholics, and two whose faith was unknown. 23 SECTION VI INADEQUACIES IN INSTITUTIONAL PROVISION FOR THE DELINQUENT AND NEGLECTED NEGRO CHILD Judge Franklin Chase Hoyt, Presiding Justice of the Children's Court of the City of New York, in a statement says: "The situation in regard to the inadequate facilities for institutional care of colored delinquent children is an unfortunate one. The Children's Court is confronted almost daily with its inability to deal constructively with colored children under sixteen years of age who are in need of custodial care by reason of the scarcity of institutions willing to accept such children. "The community should be fully informed of these deplorable conditions in order that the colored child may receive its proper share of institutional education and training. It is my hope that this report will help bring about a solution." No Protestant institution receives delinquent colored children except the Katy Ferguson Home for unmarried mothers with a capacity of only sixteen, and the Salvation Army Home and Hospital with a capacity of six. The two state institutions receiving delinquent colored boys and girls present certain problems. The colored girls live in cottages of their own at the New York State Training School, and there is room for only fifty there. The turnover is very small and none is taken on remand, so that once the quota has been filled no other colored girls may be admitted. The institution for boys, the House of Refuge, though separating the young delinquents from the older ones, is not equipped to give the type of training required in the cases of young boys, who, though delinquent, are nevertheless still at an age where they might be influenced for good. While considerable institutional care is provided for the neglected colored child, there is difficulty in finding suitable boarding homes and financing the necessary supervision of them. The New York Nursery and Child's Hospital, the New York Foundling Hospital, 24 the Children's Aid Society, the Brooklyn Nursery and Infant Hosiptal, and, to a certain extent, the Colored Orphan Asylum, which has developed a number of boarding homes on Long Island, have not been able to extend this side of their work as rapidly as they have wished. Colored girls over 12 may not be sent to the Colored Orphan Asylum. The neglected colored girl over this age presents a problem as to care. The real problem of institutional care for the young delinquent colored boy became more acute when in 1924 the doors of the Children's Village were closed to this group. The Judges of the Children's Court, when consulted in the course of this study, doubted the wisdom of sending young boys to the House of Refuge. Some felt that the conditions there were not so unsuitable as represented, others that they could not feel entirely satisfied to send there the young colored boy guilty of some slight misdemeanor but nevertheless needing institutional care for a short time. They felt that it should not be necessary to send Protestant colored children to Catholic institutions. All felt the need of some Protestant or nonsectarian institution which would accept colored girl delinquents who needed short institutional commitments, but who were not sex offenders, and for some place other than the House of Refuge to which to send young colored boys. In some cases it has been necessary to change a charge from delinquency to neglect, when the delinquency is not too serious, in order to send a child to the Colored Orphan Asylum, rather than to the House of Refuge. The probation officers feel that many of the boys of Harlem sense the situation in regard to the disposition of the cases of boys and as a consequence assume a reckless attitude, knowing that there is no place to which the courts are willing to send them and therefore they will most likely "get away" with their misdemeanor with only probation as a result. Delinquents at the Colored Orphan Asylum. The Heads of this institution expressed unwillingness to accept delinquent children in an institution founded for the care of neglected children. The Superintendent in order to present graphically the fact that delinquent children are sent to the institution on commitment, selected from the records of children now in the institution twenty-one cases, all of which are twelve years of age or over, and which were committed to the institution between August 3rd, 1925, and November 3rd, 1926. Most of these children had a truant or delinquent record and were brought into court as delinquent before 25 they reached the institution. Only two of the cases are considered normal mentally, three are slightly retarded, ten retarded about two to four years, and four markedly retarded are candidates for the feeble-minded school. The Superintendent says, "The children we have had the most trouble with are those that are retarded or markedly retarded and are a type of child for which the institution has no facilities for care." It is true that neglect and delinquency go hand in hand, as improper guardianship is one of the chief causes of delinquency so that the courts are within their rights when adjudging a child neglected instead of delinquent. At the same time it is highly unfair to the children in an institution for orphans and neglected to be subjected to the influence of delinquents. Delay in Admission of Children after Commitment. The Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in New York and Brooklyn have been able to note at first hand what institutions had adequate or inadequate capacity for receiving colored children. So serious has the situation appeared to the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, that their report of 1925 contained the following statement: "The Society desires to urge to the attention of the public the serious lack of adequate institutional provision, public or private, for colored children, particularly girls. The growth of the colored population in New York City in the past five years has been about 50,000 and in the past ten years about 75,000. The estimated colored populatiou of New York City according to figures obtained by the Society is 225,000, with 165,000 living in Manhattan. There has been practically no increased provision of institutions for colored children needing such care, despite this phenomenal growth. The result is that in certain classes of cases, particularly those of girls, where the Children's Court has made commitments and there are no vacancies in institutions, these children are often left in the Society's shelter for long periods. This delay in meeting this problem for this large population which forms an important part of our community cannot but continue to bring increasingly serious results, and cooperation of Municipal and State authorities, as well as organizations interested in the welfare of the children, is sought by the Society to remedy this serious situation." With the aim of determining more exactly the situation in regard to delay of institutions or organizations in receiving colored children after commitment, the following information was gathered from the records of the New York and Brooklyn Societies for the Prevention 26 of Cruelty to Children, over a period of a year and a half. All committed cases are recorded: TABLE IX NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS THEY REMAINED IN THE NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN S. P. C. C. AFTER COMMITMENT, 1925 AND FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 1926 INSTITUTIONS New York BROOKLYN S. P. C. C. No. Average No. Average Children Days Children Days Children's Aid Society....................... 3 Colored Orphan Asylum................. 78 10 16 4.5 Department of Public Welfare............ 2.... House of Good Shepherd................. 4 7.3 5 1.2 House of M ercy........................ 4 6 House of Refuge........................ 14 2.7 18.02 Letchworth Village...................... 11 20.5 2.7 New York Catholic Protectory........... 13.6 7.4 New York Foundling Hospital................ 2.... New York Nursery and Child's Hospital... 3 2.... New York Parental School............... 3.... 5.... New York State Training School for Girls.. 5 42.4 8 33 St. Benedict's Home for Destitute Colored Children............................ 2 2.5...... Salvation Army Rescue Home............ 2........ T otal............................. 141.... 66.... It will be seen that the New York State Training School for Girls keeps girls awaiting delivery at the institution longer than any other institution. The average number of days girls remained in the S. P. C. C. Shelter is presented here, but this does not indicate the extreme cases, as for example: one girl waited 83 days, another 104 days, another 79, another 47, in the two Societies. It will be noted that there is a fairly high average for the Colored Orphan Asylum. This is due to the fact that the institution has room for only eighteen children in the quarantine, which is opened once a month, and then closed for a period of three weeks. Moreover, should any contagion break out, the quarantine is sometimes kept closed for an indefinite length of time and the reception of children at the institution is at a standstill. It should not be necessary for the S. P. C. C. Shelters to keep the children for such a prolonged period. These organizations are designed to give only temporary care; and in addition the children are wasting time since they are not being given the sort of training which 27 ------ they need and should get in the institution to which they have been committed. In contrast to the situation in regard to the colored child, is that of the white children who seldom have to stay long in the shelters. The Superintendent of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children says, "Catholic institutions remove their children in about 24 hours. The Jewish Protectory takes children the same day they are committed; other Jewish institutions in about four days; nearly all Protestant institutions within twenty-four hours." Protestant Negro Children in Catholic Institutions. The following table indicates the number of Protestant children sent to Catholic institutions because there was no other place for them. Although the parents must agree to the commitment before the children are sent there, they do so because they feel that some sort of institutional care is absolutely necessary, as do the Judges. Out of a total number of 220 commitments of colored children to all institutions during the year 1925, 41 were commitments of Protestant children to Catholic institutions; and out of a total of 109 commitments to institutions in the first six months of 1926, 15 were commitments of Protestant children.to Catholic institutions. A little less than one fourth of the total number of commitments of Negro children for 1925 were those of Protestant Negro children to Catholic institutions and about one seventh of the total number of commitments in the first six months of 1926. TABLE X NUMBER OF PROTESTANT NEGRO CHILDREN COMMITTED TO CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS 1926 NAME OF INSTITUTION 1925 FIRST SIX Mos. Tot. Boys Girls Tot. Boys Girls House of the Good Shepherd......... 16.. 16 9.. 9 Mission of the Immaculate Virgin..... 5 4 1 New York Catholic Protectory....... 16 16. 5 5 New York Foundling Hospital........ 4.. 4 1.. 1 41 20 21 15 5 10 The question of institutional care for the colored boy and girl delinquents is one that requires serious and immediate attention and thought. 28 SECTION VII SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF NEGRO DELINQUENCY AND NEGLECT CASES The number of Negro children before the Children's Court with one or both parents dead or deserted constitute a large volume of the total. The children registered as living with aunts and grandparents in a number of cases were illegitimate, and thus deprived of the first step toward a normal family life. Even where both parents are living it not infrequently happened that an inadequate income of the chief bread-winner forced both parents out to work leaving the children without care. This last condition is strikingly reflected in the figures of the Colored Orphan Asylum. In 1925 out of a total of 340 children classified as orphans, only 23 were full orphans, 124 were half orphans, while the majority, 167, had both parents living. In the effort to get further light on the background from which these children come, 50 of these cases, selected at random, were read and the general social information noted. They offer some suggestions useful to an understanding of the total figures. In about half of them the information was supplemented by visits to the homes of the children and interviews with parents and children. This group of 50 yielded 15 cases of desertion of home. In each such instance this charge was coupled with some other. Truancy was a constant accompanying charge. Back of the desertion was the children's claim of ill treatment at home. There was also the presence of some offence which constituted a problem solved most conveniently by running away. In four instances boys had been tempted to steal, twice it was money from parents, once a bottle of milk and once some fruit. Others stole in protest against the denial of money for the motion picture shows, or against the re-marriage of a parent, or against living in their homes at all. With girls desertion was frequently coupled with some sex delinquency. Four of the seven left home to live with boys or men. One of these wanted to go on the stage, another when found, was pregnant. The others protested against ill-treatment, scolding, beating or overwork. The desertion of the boys, in the cases examined, was, for the 29 most part, an habitual reaction. Six of them had deserted more than once, and one of them as much as ten times. This boy was living with a step-mother and gave as his reason for running away, the abuse and vile language of this parent. But when sent to an institution at his own urging, he ran away from it. Another boy who had deserted his home four times, was, according to his mother, ordinarily well mannered and respectful, but had fallen under the improper influence of an older man. In the group were five "disorderly" cases. A gang of boys had entered a school building, destroying records and writing obscene sentences on the blackboards. In the cases of three of the four boys arrested on this charge, both parents were away from home daily at work. One of these was such a serious case of neglect that the boy was committed to an institution officially as neglected. The fifth case, a boy of fifteen, was one brought into the Children's Court by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for annoying his schoolmates. He told his schoolmates that he had given blood in transfusion to a white girl in a hospital. He explained to questioners that he wanted something to boast about. He was placed on probation and transferred to another school where he gave no further annoyance. One case of stealing by a girl was noted in this group. She stole earrings valued at $2.00 "so that she might look stylish." She admitted, however, that it had been her regular custom, in company with other girls, to steal candy from stores. Of the seven boys, one stole two phonographs; another took a carton of butter which he had planned to open and distribute, when arrested; another in company with another boy, attempted to steal a car, although according to his story, he jumped in the car and took a ride just for fun but had every intention of returning the car; another stole a coat; another stole three brooms valued at $1.50 each, sold them and returned the money to the owner. Two other boys had been guilty of more serious offences; one held up the proprietor of a cigar store, the other held up a taxi-cab driver. For six of these boys it was their first offence, and five of them seemed to have been actuated by a spirit of mischief and adventure rather than any desire for money or to do injury to anyone. One of the boys said, when asked if his father never gave him money, "Yes, but I don't like to ask him, so I've taken little things and sold them, so as to get fifteen cents to go to the movies with." Truancy frequently is related to other fundamental social problems, neighborhood, family or individual. In the 15 cases of desertion of home the children were also truant. In the case of one girl, included 30 under this heading, for a period of six months she had been coming to school but had remained in the basement each day, lest she be scolded for being late. This girl was crushed in spirit, sullen and resentful, as a result of harsh treatment by her step-father. In the cases of the three boys in this group there was also a problem of neglect or improper guardianship, poor living conditions, and broken homes. The charge of "ungovernable or wayward" is the most frequent one on which colored girls are brought into court, and in most cases.their parents or other relatives make the petition. Of the eight wayward girls included in the fifty cases read, five had had sex experiences with men, in furnished rooms, on the roof, in hallways. Two of these girls were graded as having borderline intelligence, one was a moron of low grade, and one of dull, normal intelligence. In the case of the other no mental examination was given. Two of the three girls who were wayward but had not had sex experience, were disobedient, destructive, high-tempered. One of them was a moron of mid-grade. The third girl was innocent of the accusation made by the mother that she had had relations with her step-brother. In this case the girl had got in bed with her step-brother because in a family of ten, and only four rooms, there was no bed for her to sleep in comfortably as the others were over-crowded with the younger children. The one boy brought in on this charge was said to be wilful and disobedient. He had neither father nor mother, and had been cared for by a neighbor after his aunt had died. Out of the fifty cases read, nine were of neglect. In seven of these nine cases of neglect, children were being cared for by relatives or persons with whom they had been boarded, instead of with their parents who had deserted them, or were dead. There is a kindliness among colored people that very often impels relatives or friends to take over the care of children whose parents have deserted them or who have got into some difficulty. In three of the cases the petitioners were relatives who brought the children into court only as a last resort, because they could no longer care for them with their limited income. In three of these cases the petition was made by an officer of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children after investigation, claiming that the children were living in unsanitary surroundings which were likewise questionable as to morals. In two cases parents made the petition, one of these, a father, said that as he was a chauffeur and employed regularly until 3.00 A. M., he was unable to exercise supervision over his four children. They were often left alone since the mother wished to go out at 31 night. Here the situation was one arising from marital discord-the mother, only thirty, was attractive and wanted diversion, the father, a much older person, was hardworking. In the other case the parent was a mother whose husband had deserted her, and who was unable to supervise the activities of her son because she was working all day as a hotel maid. In both cases there seemed to be genuine interest on the part of the parents, and a facing of the fact that they were unable to do what was best for the welfare of their children. In four of these nine cases the children were committed to an institution; in three, the children were sent to relatives in the South, in one an adjustment was made in the family, and in another relatives assisted financially in the care of the children. Among the various conditions that led to the situation in which the children found themselves were, in two instances, the fathers in the penitentiary, in one the mother who had been arrested for prostitution, and in another a father who had been blinded by drinking poisoned liquor. The lack of opportunities for supervised recreation showed up conspicuously. In only one instance, was there any statement on the part of the child or its parents that it belonged to any club or had any contact with organized recreation. The one boy who had had such contact, was a member of a Boy Scout troop. Many parents did not seem to know of the existence of the recreational facilities offered to boys and girls by the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. Few parents knew of the camps to which children might be sent in the summer, and those that did felt reluctant to send their children away. The Brooklyn Urban League has found it difficult to convince parents of the value of the summer outing for their children, although this association has been able to develop summer homes for colored children with New England families. Among the girls, groups or little clubs seemed to flourish much more than among the boys. One of the girls belonged to a club called "The Go-Getters." Dancing was the form of recreation most liked by the girls, and it was at dances that they had their best chance "to be with boys." In the cases of two girls, their first sex experience had come as a result of meeting boys at dances. The parents in these cases paid little attention to their activities. Some of the boys had held regular jobs. One worked with an iceman earning $12.00 per week; one was employed by a dress company at $15.00 a week; one worked in a radio store polishing radios at $12.00 per week; and another at one time was an errand boy at $14.00 per week, and at another time was a car cleaner for the Pullman Company earning $3.44 a day. One boy worked after 32 school for a laundry company earning $5.25 a week. Three of the eleven girls had regular home duties, and one was working afternoons as a helper in a home. The mother of one of these girls was anxious for her to get a part-time job that would make it possible for her to earn enough money to clothe herself while in high school. In less than half of the cases was there church affiliation, or even attendance at church, and in two-thirds of the cases of this group there was practically no attendance at church or Sunday School, either by parents or children. The benefit of the moral training which churches offer is lacking where it is most needed. Moreover, where families are isolated and hard working and have no contact with organizations, social pressure is not so great and there are few checks in the form of wholesome example or public opinion either upon the parents or the child. The neglect so frequently manifested by the parents seems not always so much a matter of indifference as ignorance and lack of time. They frequently lack an appreciation of the complex mental and physical changes which take place in their adolescent children. There is to be found usually a very real affection for their children. One mother who had carried her daughter into court because she suspected her of immoral acts was most happy when she discovered that her suspicions were unfounded. She seemed devoted to her daughter, anxious for her to get ahead in school, humiliated that a child with such a good mind should have to go to school poorly clad, and proud of the independent feeling of a girl who refused to be a burden to a step-father who had eight children of his own. One mother who was a prostitute boarded her children with a friend so that they would not be in the atmosphere of her home. In this particular instance, however, the home of the friend with whom she boarded the children was also questionable. She sent them to school and church regularly, and could not imagine why they had been taken from her by the court. In two cases where aunts were looking after children, they were devoted to their nephews and nieces. One aunt had done everything possible to make her niece happy, but the girl left home and was found three weeks later living with a boy whom she later married against the wishes of her aunt and uncle. Retardation existed in 25 of the 37 cases of Negro children for whom information regarding age and school grade was obtained. Six were normal and three were accelerated. Among the causes of retardation in these cases were noted low mentality, truancy, poor 33 i parental control, conditions too crowded for study, and home duties. In only ten of the fifty cases had both mental and physical examinations been given the children by the court. Children are not given physical and mental examinations unless the need for such examination is obvious. In two cases examinations were made by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children to determine the degree of sex experience of a girl. In one case only a mental examination was given by the court, in another only a physical examination. Of the 11 given mental examinations, three were classed as morons, one of low grade, two of mid-grade. Six were of borderline intelligence and two were classed as "dull normal." According to the Court Physician, in three cases findings were that the children might have taken their place in normal society had a closer supervision been possible for them. With both parents or guardians working, this was impossible and commitment to an institution was the only solution. In one case in which a girl of "dull normal intelligence" deserted her home for eleven days, and was unable to tell why she ran away, the Judge asked the mother, who was a factory worker, to stop work so that she might better supervise the girl's activities. The mother did so, the girl was put on probation and has measured up in every respect. The statement of the psychiatrist that the girl's delinquency might be checked if she were closely supervised, has proven true. In two cases there was insanity on the maternal side. The results of mental examinations in the cases of the ten children who were given them were a definite aid to the court in determining its course of action. The physical defects found on examination were hypertrophied tonsils, malnutrition, reduced or uncorrected vision. In two cases there was endocrine disturbance, in one pronounced, in one tremor of the tongue and hands. Nine of the 50 cases were families from the British West Indies, in only two instances however did the difficulties arise because of lack of adjustment or immediate arrival problems. In six cases the families had been in this country over five years. In ten of the 50 cases social agencies of some form had already been engaged in administering help. The economic position of the parents of these children is of interest. Practically all of them were engaged in unskilled work. The list of occupations of parents in the 50 cases studied include, for men, porters, laborers, janitors, chauffeurs, elevator operators, longshoremen, house cleaners and factory workers; and for women, house workers, laundresses, cooks, janitresses and factory workers. With these were a carpenter, one jeweler, one steward and one sales 34 lady. Monthly incomes for families, such as could be obtained with any degree of accuracy, fell between $75.00 and $115.00. Two extreme instances of incomes of $225.00 and $245.00 were noted among the 42 cases in which this information was secured. With these wages, however, went rent costs which might be considered high for the amount of room received. As given in 23 cases, five received rent free for janitor service, nine paid between $15 and $35, four paid between $35 and $55, three paid between $55 and $75, and two paid over $75 a month. Thirty of the mothers or female guardians in the fifty cases read were forced to work away from home. EXPERIENCE OF VISITING TEACHERS A questionnaire was sent to the twenty-two visiting teachers who work in the schools of Greater New York, some under the Board of Education, some under the Public Education Association. Sixteen of these teachers had not any experience with colored children as they were connected with schools in which there were no colored children. Six of the teachers had handled the cases of 286 Negro children over a period of a year and a half; one of the teachers had had large numbers but no figures based on races were obtainable. These questions were asked: 1. For what type of difficulty were the children referred? 2. What seemed to be the underlying causes of lack of adjustment in school? 3. What is the attitude of the Negro parent toward school difficulties of his child? Under the first, home conditions were given as the major difficulty, with conduct, scholarship and special attendance problems following. Low mentality, health, stealing and disobedience were less frequent difficulties than tardiness, retardation and what is called "lack of effort." To the second question, the most common replies were "working mothers," poverty and poor parental control, which might be considered a corollary. Other causes mentioned were "overwork in the home," "feeling of inferiority based on color," "dull mentality," "lack of training in persistent effort." With regard to the Negro parent the opinions of the seven teachers indicate that cooperation is most common. Other experiences are divided. There is given also the experience with parents who are "anxious to shield the child rather than clear the issue," 35 and, still another experience which found parents interested but handicapped by economic conditions necessitating work by the mother. One particularly interesting experience we reproduce in full. "The teachers in this school are conscious of facing a situation which may not be present in most of the schools where the majority of children are white. My feeling is however that they believe their problems are due to the racial element instead of to an accentuation of problems which may be found in any such school. I think it will be of value to have the psychiatric implications of the following three conditions brought before them and I have chosen problems which seem to me peculiarly acute in this neighborhood. First of all, the insecurity of home life is very prevalent. Broken families exist in other groups, but I am under the impression that more children suffer from uncertainty and confusion of broken homes among the colored people of Harlem than in any other districts because of the custom of sending children from the South and from the West Indies to live with relatives or friends. Out of the 54 new cases referred to the visiting teacher this year only 18 were from homes where both parents were present. In the group of 18, in two of the homes there is such dissension between the parents, that the effect on the child is very noticeable. In two other homes the financial insecurity is pronounced, thus leaving only 14 families out of the 54 cases which can be said to surround the child with any feeling of normal security. One outstanding case is that of a girl of 13 years,,who since the age of six months has lived with five different old women, all of them with grandchildren. At present she shows no interest in her guardian, who is not a relative. She stays away from home as much as possible and finds her escape in the movies and in lurid magazines, in consequence of which she is constantly threatened with an institution. In addition to the insecurity of broken family life and frequent changes of guardianship among these children, we often find instability of home life resulting from economic conditions. Constant moving to avoid high rent, congestion, working mothers and the presence of lodgers, increase the confusion in the homes to a greater extent probably than in most white neighborhoods. The second problem which seems peculiar to this school is that of the adjustment of the adolescent colored child to her vocational future. To the colored girl and boy there is practically no middle ground between personal service and the trades, on the one hand, the professions on the other. All other positions are as yet blind alleys leading to no future. For the first time in their lives many of 36 these girls come up against the hard walls of prejudice, which keep their group from certain opportunities. They become acutely conscious, not of some individual who is unfair, but of an impassive society shutting them out. In the discussion of which courses they should pursue in school or what work they should take up on leaving at the age of fifteen or sixteen, they hear the word "race" coming up constantly at home, and on the streets. They learn that there are some schools they cannot enter and there are certain jobs for which it would be useless to apply. It seems quite probable that the indifference and resentment, the dullness which may really be timidity, the self-assertiveness and impudence, with which the teachers are constantly contending in these adolescents, may be the direct result of the first shocks which they have experienced on the race question. If the teachers could recognize in these traits not the characteristics of a race but the natural mental reactions toward an extraordinarily hard situation, there might be certain ways of avoiding much disciplinary trouble." OBSERVATION OF JUDGES As regards the Negro children whose cases come to the attention of the court, the judges referred to the lack of parental control aggravated by the absence of the mother from the home. Though many colored mothers are at present receiving pensions from the Board of Child Welfare, this allowance does not make it possible as a rule for them to stop work as the maximum sum $18.85 per child per month must be supplemented by earnings outside the home in order to provide adequately for a family. Certain of the judges said that the parents were cooperative but their interest found little practical outlet as both parents were working and proper care of the child was practically impossible; others felt that the parents were not particularly interested and that the home conditions from a moral standpoint were deplorable. All said that few colored children coming before them were of a vicious type. A number of the judges stressed the failure of parents both white and colored to instill religious principles in their children. They felt that a valuable force for good had been discarded when the influence of the church on the home was lacking. 37 SECTION VIII INSTITUTIONS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE Delinquent Population New York State Training School.................... 350 White 50 Colored House of the Good Shepherd....................... 72 '" House of Refuge.................................. 442 " 106 " New York Parental School........................ 359 " 33 Catholic Protectory........................ 841 " 59 Neglected and Dependent Brace Memorial Farm for Boys................Yearly 200 27 colored in 1926 Colored Orphan Asylum-In institution 250; After care 48; Boarding homes 250 St. Benedict's Home for Destitute Colored Children............... 152 Colored John R. Hegeman Home for Colored Girls................. Not now operating Feebleminded Letchworth Village................................2250 White 120 Colored Rome State School................................2891 " 64 " Babies and Mothers Katy Ferguson House..........................16 colored mothers-8 babies New York Foundling Hospital......................1050 White 125 Colored Hopewell Society............ About 80 White 5 colored babies with mothers New York Nursery and Child's Hospital...............158 Colored under care Salvation Army Home and Hospital................. 32 White 6 Colored Brooklyn Nursery & Infant Hospital about 166 white-9 colored babies-2 mothers New York State Training School for Girls: The New York Training School for Girls is a State institution at Hudson, N. Y., under the supervision of a Board of Managers, for the care and training of juvenile delinquent girls. At the time of this report the population was about 400 which included 50 colored girls. Girls are received from the ages of 12 to 16 and may be retained until they are 21 years of age. They usually stay for a period of at least 18 months and in some cases remain for three or four years. The institution is on the cottage plan. It covers a large acreage and is ideally located on the Hudson river. The girls are classified in cottages planned for a normal home life. Two of the cottages are occupied by colored girls who receive the same opportunities for 38 education and recreation as the white girls. Owing to the lack of accommodations for the colored girls they cannot be graded according to offence as carefully as the white girls are. Elementary, high school, occupational and vocational training is given. As far as possible girls are paroled to their homes and employers, and many are successful in the trades and occupations taught them in the institution. A farm with a beautiful cottage and gardens is connected with the institution. Here the young mothers live with their infants and are taught to care for them while assisting with the care of the house and garden. House of the Good Shepherd: The House of the Good Shepherd is at the foot of East 90th Street, New York City. It is a Catholic institution supervised by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and is for the care and training of delinquent women and juvenile delinquent colored girls. The institution is classified in three departments and is on the congregate plan; its capacity is about 500. At the time of this report there were 72 colored girls, from 10* to 16 years of age living in the St. Peter Clavier House, two-thirds of whom were Protestants. The Board of Education conducts regular elementary classes including bookkeeping, shorthand and typewriting. Domestic science is taught and commercial industry with power machines. There is a Social Service Department connected with the institution. *The Charter provides for commitments from the age of twelve to sixteen. Those younger are only taken on remand pending the decision of their case. House of Refuge: The House of Refuge is on Randall's Island, New York City. The institution is maintained by the State and supervised by a Board of Managers and cares for boys committed by Children's Courts as juvenile delinquents and also cares for boys committed by other Courts for all offences except those punishable by death or life imprisonment. This institution is on the congregate plan with dormitories and cells. The colored boys are not separated from the white boys. The classification is according to age, offence, previous history and record, and the general character of the boy. At the time of this report the population was 442 which included 106 colored boys. There was a group of colored and white boys of 39 primary school age 10 to 14, of which 33 colored boys constitute two-thirds of the group. While there is no different policy for the care of these boys, they sleep apart and go to classes in separate rooms from the older ones. The boys receive elementary, high school and vocational training. The parole officers have been successful in placing boys in good positions after their release. New York Parental School: The New York Parental School is located at 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, New York. This institution is supervised and maintained by the Board of Education and is for the care and training of truant boys. The population at the time of this report was 392 of which 33 were colored boys. The boys are committed for two years, but may be released after six months of good behavior provided the environment is satisfactory. The institution is on the cottage plan and has thirteen attractive modern buildings where the boys are instructed in the elementary grades and given vocational training. The colored boys are not separated from the white boys. New York Catholic Protectory: The New York Catholic Protectory is at Westchester, New York. It is under the supervision of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. It is managed by the Christian brothers, and is for the care and training of Catholic juvenile delinquent boys. At the time of this report the population was 900 including 59 colored boys. Among the colored boys a few Protestants are occasionally received. The institution is on the congregate plan. There are thirteen or fourteen acres of land and six sections or dormitory buildings for the care of the different groups of boys. The colored boys are not separated from the white boys. The suburban location of the Protectory enables the boys to learn truck farming and provides ample grounds for play and athletics. In addition to elementary grades, commercial and industrial training is given. Through the Social Service Department of the Catholic Charities special supervision is given to the boys when discharged or paroled to parents or guardians. It is very difficult to get suitable homes or places for colored boys. 40 Brace Memorial Farm for Boys: Brace Memorial Farm for Boys is situated at Valhalla, New York, at the foot of the Westchester Hills. It is under the supervision of The Children's Aid Society, of New York, and is for the care and supervision of homeless and needy boys. The population for the year is usually about 200 boys, during the past year (1926) they cared for twenty-seven colored boys. The farm covers an area of 150 acres. Fifty-five boys can be accommodated-they are divided into two age groups, those under fourteen number 35, and those from fourteen to nineteen number 20, living in two separate cottages. The boys remain but a short time on the farm, usually from ten days to four months. Those of school age continue their elementary work. In addition to the school work all boys are trained to be useful on farms which become their permanent homes. The homes are chiefly located in the States of New York, Maryland and Delaware. Colored Orphan Asylum: The Colored Orphan Asylum is at Riverdale on the Hudson, New York. It is under the supervision of a Board of Trustees, and provides for the care and training of neglected and dependent Protesttant colored children. The population is 500 at present; 250 in the institution; 250 in boarding homes; 48 after care. The institution is on the cottage plan and was among the first to adopt the cottage system. It receives children from the ages of two to twelve, all of whom are given a physical and mental examination upon entering. The younger children live in the main building, and are under the care of colored matrons. The Board of Education supplies teachers for elementary, vocational and industrial instruction which includes classes from the kindergarten to the eighth grade. A few have received assistance in higher education. There is also a special summer school which includes manual training, nature study, etc., and there are special classes in winter in sewing, playground work, etc. While some of the children return to their own homes, a very valuable part of the work of the institution is the placing out of children in boarding homes. The success of this work is due to the careful selection of homes and the follow-up work. The children placed in homes are not only visited frequently but are brought to the institution for physical examination and treatment. 41 St. Benedict's Home for Destitute Colored Children: St. Benedict's Home for Destitute Colored Children at Rye, New York, is under the auspices of the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin and provides for the protection of.homeless and destitute children. It is supervised by the Sisters of St. Francis. The Home accommodates about 160. At the time of this report the population was 152-84 girls and 68 boys. The institution is for the care of Catholic children, but occasionally destitute Protestant children are received and temporarily retained. The institution is on the congregate plan covering eleven acres. The boys and girls live separately. Children are received from four to fourteen years of age, and are retained until sixteen when necessary. The children receive an elementary education; some of them graduating. John R. Hegeman Home for Colored Girls: The John R. Hegeman Home for Colored Girls, formerly Sojourner Truth House, was unable to open its home at New Rochelle and thereby has been delayed in proceeding with its work. The Home is for the temporary care of girls under sixteen, in danger of becoming delinquent. The girls are to be received from probation officers, church workers and social visitors; they will be trained and placed in safe homes. Letchworth Village: Letchworth Village, Thiells, Rockland County, New York, is a State institution for the feebleminded, created to serve the needs of the southeastern part of the State. It is under the supervision of the State Department of Mental Hygiene. The population at the time of this report was about 2250 white, 120 Negroes. The institution is composed of several groups of buildings-a complete unit consisting of eight dormitories each accommodating seventy-five or eighty people, with a central dining room, kitchen, doctor's cottage, school, industrial building and playground. It is a very complete modern plant in every way. Owing to the large acreage and new construction which is under way, road building and plenty of out-door work has been provided for the boys. The boys and girls are given elementary, vocational and industrial 42 training as far as their mentality will permit. The colored children are not separated from the white children. As those who are paroled return to their families-or are placed with families in homes, the girls are given special training in household work and paroled at a suitable time. There is an active social service department connected with the institution for the after-care and supervision of those paroled. Rome State School: Rome State School in Rome, Oneida County, New York, is a State institution for the care and training of the feebleminded, under the supervision of the State Department of Mental Hygiene. The population at the time of this report was 2955-including 64 Negroes. The institution is on the congregate plan, with wards where the classification is according to mental and physical ability. The buildings are located on a 600 acre farm much of which is under cultivation. The boys are given elementary, vocational and industrial training as far as their mentality will permit. The colored children are not separated from the white children. An outstanding feature is the colony system. There are twentytwo boys' colonies and sixteen girls' colonies, in different localities, to which the children are promoted when they are sufficiently advanced. Each colony is a household group with a house mother or house mother and father. Here the children live as normal a life as possible, and are given the opportunity to be more self-reliant. Among the colored children in the colonies there are twelve boys under sixteen training for farm life, and six girls under sixteen in the Junior Colony at Hamilton receiving household training. There is an active social service department connected with the institution for the after-care and supervision of those paroled. Katy Ferguson House: The Katy Ferguson House is situated at 162 West 130th Street, New York City. It is supervised by a Board of Managers, and is for temporary care of unmarried colored mothers and their babies. For the last six months of 1926, 63 cases were cared for, the House accommodating 16 mothers and 8 babies at a time. The girls are received while pregnant and during the period before confinement an effort is made to instruct them in house work and child care. After confinement in the hospital, the mother returns to the House with 43 her baby for a period of from six to eight weeks, sometimes longer. Those girls who do not return to their homes or are not committed to institutions, are placed by the Superintendent in families in the country where, keeping their babies with them, they serve as mother's helpers and maids. New York Foundling Hospital: The New York Foundling Hospital, 175 East 68th Street, New York City, is under the supervision of the Sisters of Charity for the care of Catholic mothers and babies, deserted children and foundlings. The capacity is 1050 for the five different departments. At the time of this report there were 125 colored children a few of whom were Protestants. It receives children from the age of one to six years who are sometimes supervised until they are sixteen years of age. The Social Service department endeavors to place children in boarding homes, but finds it difficult to place the colored child in a colored home. There is a kindergarten connected with the institution. Hopewell Society: The Hopewell Society of Brooklyn, 218 Gates Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, is supervised by a Board of Managers and cares for dependent and neglected children. Its capacity is 85. Colored children are not admitted to the orphanage but are cared for in the annex connected with the institution which is used for temporary shelter. Here children are admitted with their mothers. At the time of this report there were five Negro children with their mothers. The institution receives girls from infancy to sixteen and boys to six years old. New York Nursery and Child's Hospital: The New York Nursery and Child's Hospital, 161 West 61st Street, New York City, is supervised by a Board of Managers and provides maternity care for destitute women, hospital care for sick children and places children under two years of age in boarding homes. The capacity of the Hospital is 280, and there are about 400 children in 150 boarding homes. At the time of this report there were 158 colored children under the care of the Hospital, the children all in 44 boarding homes except a few temporarily in the Hospital. These homes are visited regularly by nurses. The colored children are always placed in colored homes. Salvation Army Home and Hospital: Salvation Army Home and Hospital, 312-318 East Fifteenth Street, New York City, under the supervision of the Salvation Aimy for the care and treatment of unmarried mothers, where the girls must remain at least three months. The capacity of the Hospital is 38. It has accommodations for six colored girls. Through the efforts of the Social Service department the girls return to their own homes or are placed for employment. A mother's club meets once a month. Brooklyn Nursery and Infant Hospital: Brooklyn Nursery and Infant Hospital, 396 Herkimer Street, Brooklyn, New York, under the supervision of the Salvation Army, cares for needy and friendless infants up to the age of four years, who may be kept until six years old. The capacity of the nursery and hospital is 175. Occasionally mothers with children are admitted. At the time of this report there were nine colored babies in the hospital. The colored babies are not separated from the white babies. Provision is made for two colored mothers in separate quarters. A kindergarten is conducted. The social service department endeavors to return the children to their homes after readjustments are made. 45 SECTION IX CONCLUSION In conclusion the material presented in these pages indicates the size of the problem of delinquency among Negro children, and the inadequacy of present attempts to meet the problem. The study gives some idea of what the various institutions and agencies which are now dealing with colored children are doing. In the limited time available comparatively little could be done in studying the activities and informal organizations of Negro youth itself. This, as well as further case studies of family life among Negroes, would be of value. While this study has been far from exhaustive because of lack of time and funds, it does show what can be done through accumulating and examining existing information upon a special subject with the purpose of securing action regarding it. This material should be of interest to social workers generally, and particularly in those cities which are facing the problems arising from recently arrived groups of people differing in race from the dominant group, as with the Mexican in the west and the Negro in the north. It is hoped that the chief result of the report will be to increase interest on the part of the public in general in the wider implications of present conditions among Negro adolescents. Only as a large group of publicly minded citizens of both races becomes interested in giving the Negro child a better opportunity, will the specific recommendations of the report be adequately carried out. 46 APPENDIX TABLES COVERING JANUARY-JUNE INCLUSIVE, 1926 47 TABLE XI-NUMBER OF NEGRO CHILDREN ARRAIGNED ON EACH CHARGE BY AGE GROUPS-ALL BOROUGHS 1926-FIRST HALF Grand Total Total Under Seven 7 to 1o 10 to 13 13 to I6 Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls DELINQUENT CHILDREN: Assault....................... 8 8........ 1 1.. 1 1.. 6 6 Robbery...................... 2 2.............. 1 1.. 1 1 Burglary...................... 18 18........ 1 1.. 6 6.. 11 11 Unlawful Entry............... 4 4.............. 2 2.. 2 2 Stealing...................... 51 47 4...... 1 1.. 9 8 1 41 38 3 Disorderly Conduct............ 29 28 1............ 12 12.. 17 16 1 Peddling or Begging.............. Ungovernable or Wayward...... 65 24 41...... 2 1 1 14 6 8 49 17 32 041 Desertion of Home........... 52 26 26...... 2 2.. 17 14 3 33 10 23 oo Truancy...................... 3 3................... 3 3 Violation of Railroad Law...... 2 2.................... 2 2 Violation Corp. Ordinances.......... Unclassified................ 19 17 2...... 5 5.. 6 6.. 8 6 2 Total..................... 253 179 74.. 12 11 1 68 56 12 173 112 61 NEGLECTED AND OTHERS: Neglected Children........ 146 79 67 52 23 29 30 17 13 37 21 16 27 18 9 Material Witnesses............ 23 2 21............ 3 2 1 20.. 20 Others........................ 4 1 3.................. 4 1 3 Total 173 82 91 52 23 29 30 17 13 40 23 17 51 19 32 GRAND TOTAL............. 426 261 165 52 23 29 42 28 14 108 79 29 224 131 93 I- ",, I. - -l- -- ---... 1-1 - -.. - - - --- -.1 i I I.... - - I- I... - - I I i I I i i I I I I I I I II I I TABLE XII DISPOSITION OF CASES OF NEGRO CHILDREN ARRAIGNED IN RELATION TO CHARGES-ALL BOROUGHS-1926-FIRST H Petitions Discharged Placed on Committed to Suspended Total Total Dismissed from Probation Probation Institutions Sentence Fined Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls To ELINQUENT CHILDREN Assault...................... 8 8.. 2 2.. 2 2.. 1 1........ 3 3 Robbery.................... 2 2.............. I 1. 1. I 1 Burglary................... 18 18.. 1 1........ 7 7.. 5 5.. 4 4... Unlawful Entry.............. 4 4........ 2 2.. 2 2................ Stealing..................... 51 47 4 6 6.. 6 6. 19 18 1 6 6.. 13 10 3 1 1.... Disorderly Conduct.......... 29 28 1 2 1 1 22 22........ 1 1.. 2 2.. 2 2 Peddling or Begging.............................................. Ungovernable or Wayward.... 65 24 41 3 3.. 13 8 5 19 5 14 16 6 10 8 1 7..... 5 Desertion of Home.......... 52 26 26 4 2 2 6 2 4 13 6 7 18 11 7 7 4 3...... 4 Truancy.................... 3 3........ i I........ I I.. i 1 Violation of Railroad Law.... 2 2.. 1 1.............. 1 1.......... Violation of Corp. Ordinances....................................... Unclassified................. 19 17 2 7 6 1 5 4 1 3 3.. 2 2........ 2 2 TOTAL................. 253 179 74 26 22 4 57 47 10 65 43 22 51 34 17 38 25 13 5 5.. qEGLECTED AND OTHERS Neglected Children........... 146 79 67 10 3 7 75 34 41 3 3.. 54 36 18 4 3 1... Material Witnesses........... 23 2 21 8.. 8 12.. 12 2 2............ 1 O thers....................... 4 1 3..............4 1 3 Total 173 82 91 18 3 15 87 34 53 5 5.. 58 37 21 4 3 1...... 1 GRAND TOTAL.......... 426 261 165 44 25 19 144 81 63 70 48 22 109 71 38 42 28 14 5 5.. 1 [ALF Remanded Others tal Boys Girls Total Boys Girls.... 1 1 5.. 5 1 1.. [ 1 3.... 1 8 2 2... 1..9... 1...... 1 9 2 2.. I d I THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DUE 3 9015 00349 4401 DO NOT REMOVE OR - MUTILATE CARDS