USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1940 > Part 11
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Local Social Service Index
We believe that these reforms could best be achieved with the cooperation of the Community Chest. If the work proved too great for the present clerk in the Community Chest office, another full-time worker could be employed, to be paid either by a separate Town appropriation, or by the Welfare Department from its appropriation. His duties would be twofold, to operate a local social service index, and to act as an employment agent for welfare and other needy clients.
This clerk could coordinate the activities of public and private agencies, and maintain a master index of all those being aided publicly or privately in the Town. Instead of having to check with several different people, officers of these agencies could obtain information from this one source (like the welfare rolls, this list would be closed to private individuals). An occupational index could be main- tained, and attempts made to find jobs for local welfare clients. It would, of course, be necessary to keep in constant communication with the State Employment Bureau. By fol- lowing employment trends, the clerk could be of great help to young people in choosing a type of work.
Welfare Advisory Committee
Your Committee also suggests that a committee be ap- pointed by the Selectmen to act as a Welfare Advisory Com- mittee or a Community Council. This group should be com- posed of one or more representatives from the private wel- fare agencies as well as civic organizations such as the Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs and the Chamber of Commerce; and should meet once or twice a year in an advisory capacity with those in charge of welfare administration. An interchange of ideas on the problems confronting the va-
158
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
rious agencies and a discussion of them with local business men might be of great value to the authorities as well as to the taxpayers.
Public Information
The committee feels that unless welfare problems are kept before the public, the maximum cooperation in at- tempting to solve them cannot be expected. We believe that the advisory committee suggested before would be one means of convincing the taxpayer that his money is buying relief from an incredible amount of suffering, and the wel- fare recipient that as much as can be done is being done for him; and we believe that it would also be of value to keep the public informed of the number of persons receiv- ing aid of all kinds, and of the ways in which this aid is given. While the Town Reports contain a great deal of such information, it may be overlooked in the great mass of other material.
We suggest that information concerning welfare ser- vices and even informal news items be given by the Depart- ment of Public Welfare, or the advisory committee, to the local press several times a year.
Criteria of Adequacy
At the beginning of this report, we stated that it was difficult for the average citizen to evaluate properly welfare services, because so many of them are intangible. While definite criteria are lacking for public welfare programs, there are certain observable conditions which may serve as indications of whether all needs are being sufficiently met. (1) If there are large numbers of "panhandlers" and door- to-door beggars, it is possible that public assistance is not available for all those who are in need (we find that there is practically no door-to-door begging in Arlington). (2) If there are a large number of evictions of families from their dwellings for non-payment of rent, it is possible that the rent policy of the welfare administration is inadequate
159
TOWN RECORDS
(there are about 12 to 15 evictions yearly in Arlington, a very small number, which would seem to justify the de- partment's policy of paying only part of the rent of able- bodied Welfare Aid recipients). (3) School attendance is a factor. Very often reasons given for truancy include illness or lack of shoes and other clothing, all of which the depart- ment should prevent or correct (school attendance has not fallen below 931/2% since 1931, and shows only minor fluc- tuations). (4) If reports of school health examinations show evidence of malnutrition, it may be suspected that standards of public assistance are too low (in Arlington, the Visiting Nursing Association conducts a preschool clinic for the purpose of discovering and correcting condi- tions which might interfere later with health or school work. Dr. Feeley says, "The general health conditions of our recipients are excellent. They are no more subject to disease than is any member of the general population. No recipient of Arlington has suffered because of lack of medi- cine, medical care or hospitalization." We have also exam- ined the town mortality records and the records of con- tagious diseases, and find that there is no indication of lack of proper care). (5) Another indication may be an increase in the trend of crime and juvenile delinquency rates (there has been an increase in the latter since 1932, but we do not consider it sufficiently great to indicate any lack in the wel- fare department. Especially since the four preceding tests do not indicate that welfare standards are too low, or that families in need of relief or supplementary aid are not re- ceiving it, we believe that this increase is due to other causes).
From these tests of welfare service, it would appear that Arlington standards are high, and that few feasible methods of helping the recipients have been neglected.
We are indebted for these tests of welfare service, as well as for several other suggestions, to an article by Fred K. Hoehler in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science for September 1938.
160
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
Criteria of Administration
We have already discussed at some length the import- ance of having an adequate staff in the Department of Pub- lic Welfare. If, as is the case in Arlington now, a visitor has two hundred or more cases, the most effective service can- not be given; and, because of lack of proper investigation, ineligible persons may be added to the rolls or retained there after their need has passed. If, as we have recom- mended, two additional visitors are employed, this situation will be remedied.
Another method of appraising welfare administration is the examination of applications for relief. A steady in- crease in the number of these may indicate that worthy cases are being rejected. Occasional sharp increases, how- ever, may show that the department has acted quickly in emergencies. From a study of the case files in Arlington, we find that there is no rapid increase from month to month in the number of new applications. All sharp rises in the case loads are traceable to industrial conditions, to changes in the laws increasing the number of persons eligible, or to W. P. A. layoffs.
In some sections of the country, organizations of the unemployed, of the aged, of veterans, on public relief rolls have been formed. Since there are no such organizations in Arlington, it may be assumed that no great need for them has been felt, and that relief recipients are fairly well sat- isfied that the Town is doing all it can for them. On October 18, 1939, this Committee held a public meeting at the Rob- bins Memorial Town Hall, after advertising in both local newspapers that we would be glad to hear the views of any citizen of Arlington concerning welfare problems. In ad- dition to a few public-spirited citizens who attended this meeting to offer suggestions to the Committee, only one of the 2604 persons who were receiving aid appeared to com- plain that he was not receiving what he was entitled to, and upon investigation even his complaint proved to be un- justified.
161
TOWN RECORDS
Indeed, the recipients of public welfare in the Town of Arlington should feel grateful for the services rendered to them. The standards of welfare in Massachusetts are prob- ably as high as those of any state in the union; and officials of the Massachusetts Department of Public Welfare are of the opinion that Arlington's service is one of the best in the State. We should add that students of social service in two nearby colleges are occasionally sent to observe the depart- ment, as one of the most efficiently and humanely managed departments in suburban Boston.
As we have stated previously in our chapter on person- nel, experts in municipal government agree that the admin- istrative costs of a wisely and economically run Department of Public Welfare should be about 8 to 10% of the total ex- penditures. In view of this fact, the taxpayers of Arlington should feel fortunate in having efficient service at a mini- mum expense, for even including the salaries of two ad- ditional visitors and salary increases for two of the visitors now on the staff, administrative costs here would probably not exceed 6%.
~COMPARATIVE CHART~
WELFARE
JAN.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
· June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
16 000
15000
14000
13000
/2000
11000
10000
9000
8000
==
7000
6000
AID TO DEPENDENT CHILDREN
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
SOLDIERS' RELIEF .
4000
3000
2000
1000
O
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
162
KEY
1937 -- 1958 -· 1939-
--
-
COMPARISON OF RELIEF EXPENDITURES FOR THE YEAR 1939
DIRECT RELIEF - INCLUDING FEDERAL GRANTS NOT INCLUDING ADMINISTRATION EXPENSE
Per Capita Costs
City or Town
Population 1935 Census
Welfare
Old Age Assistance
Aid to Depend- ent Children
Soldiers' Relief
Welfare
Old Age
A.D.C.
S.R.
Total
Arlington
38,539
$122,504.38
$120,714.12
$ 41,284.95
$26,190.91
$3.18
$1.07
$ .68
$ 8.06
Belmont
24,831
55,470.23
44,790.63
10,979.99
10,691.79
2.23
$3.13 1.81
.44
.43
4.91
Brockton
62,407
445,240.02
697,896.85
96,1 42.97
69,174.41
7.13
11.18
1.54
1.11
20.96
Brookline
50,319
277,493.16
223,989.98
50,757.02
15,462.33
5.52
4.45
1.01
.31
11.29
Chelsea
42,673
400,000.00
163,383.75
83,600.00
32,250.05
9.37
3.83
1.96
.75
15.91
Concord
7,723
24,576.91
27,940.51
7,2 73.13
2,290.23
3.19
3.62
.94
.30
8.05
Dedham
15,371
137,489.27
74,558.60
13,3 09.50
16,200.00
8.93
4.84
.86
1.05
15.68
Haverhill
49,516
210,640.28
484,494.11
119,403.17
48,495.73
4.25
9.79
2.41
.98
17.43
Lawrence
86,875
363,496.75
270,445.01
64,637.33
77,102.24
4.19
3.12
.74
.89
8.94
Lexington
10,813
72,794.50
43,724.95
11,723.54
8,515.08
6.74
4.05
1.08
.79
12.66
Lynn
100,909
686,819.75
904,670.86
121,890.58
87,639.52
6.86
9.04
1.22
.88
18.00
Malden
57,277
457,028.45
369,184.68
68,828.97
48,778.26
7.98
6.44
1.03
.85
16.30
Medford
61,444
433,550.01
300,903.21
61,646.75
38,873.54
7.05
4.89
1.00
.63
13.57
Melrose
24,256
87,220.12
117,335.85
26,4 00.95
30,302.90
3.60
4.85
1.09
1.25
10.79
Milton
18,147
25,922.49
56,450.38
12,4 83.72
16,332.26
1.43
3.11
.69
.90
6.13
Natick
14,394
39,220.21
96,335.18
32,9 91.37
18,644.98
2.72
6.62
2.29
1.29
12.92
Needham
11,828
27,812.38
45,150.57
13,682.11
9,256.94
2.36
3.82
1.16
.79
8.13
Newton
66,144
357,828.50
213,694.66
100,5 97.24
94,178.00
5.42
3.23
1.52
1.43
11.60
Quincy
76,909
182,300.99
344,331.52
85,619.22
58,684.25
2.37
4.47
1.11
.74
8.69
Reading
10,703
51,737.20
79,715.92
21,042.86
11,736.81
4.83
7.45
1.96
1.09
15.33
Somerville
100,773
792,234.09
510,515.94
155,2 23.99
91,473.09
7.87
5.07
1.54
.91
15.39
Stoneham
10,841
45,113.85
60,771.37
11,0 36.94
9,126.20
4.18
5.62
1.02
.84
11.66
Wakefield
16,494
48,062.01
75,457.92
15,7 39.50
23,099.57
2.91
4.58
.95
1.40
9.84
Waltham
44,557
157,209.48
264,327.83
56,5 41.05
26,864.16
3.53
5.94
1.27
.60
11.34
Watertown
35,827
180,037.27
123,471.38
59,8 65.43
45,187.80
5.03
3.45
1.11
1.26
11.40
Compiled by :
BOARD OF PUBLIC WELFARE Arlington, Massachusetts Clifford W. Cook, Agent
February 21, 1940
TOWN RECORDS
163
COMPARISON OF RELIEF EXPENDITURES FOR YEAR 1937
DIRECT RELIEF - NOT INCLUDING ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE
Per Capita Costs
City or Town
Population 1935 Census
Welfare
Old Age Assistance
Aid to Depend- ent Children .
Soldiers' Relief
Welfare
Old Age
A.D.C.
S.R.
Total
Arlington
38,539
$107,842.12
$ 78,006.48
$ 28,2 69.13
$24,309.19
$2.81
$2.03
0 .73
$ .63
$ 6.20
Belmont
24,831
39,017.60
26,193.40
4,880.31
6,912.77
1.56
1.06
.20
.28
3.10
Brookline
50,319
273,567.10
133,999.34
28,300.92
11,794.75
5.44
2.66
.56
.23
8.89
Cambridge
118,075
678,588.30
322,511.34
141,846.00
79,767.14
5.65
2.69
1.18
.66
10.18
Chelsea
42,673
452,908.51
132,252.38
58,449.16
39,178.55
10.63
3.10
1.38
.91
16.02
Concord
7,723
24,715.24
18,105.05
3,522.59
1,763.34
3.21
2.35
.45
.23
7.24
Dedham
15,371
98,707.65
60,209.45
12,899.66
17,059.20
6.45
3.93
.84
1.10
11.32
Haverhill
49,516
309,890.14
388,281.56
84,289.21
71,761.90
6.26
7.84
1.70
1.45
17.25
Lawrence
86,875
246,989.44
194,900.00
45,000.00
69,360.64
2.82
2.24
.52
.80
6.38
Lexington
10,813
73,286.28
28,482.00
7,493.20
4,076.71
6.65
2.59
.68
.36
10.28
Lynn
100,909
459,899.01
689,568.23
82,5 60.22
50,518.00
4.55
6.82
.82
.50
12.69
Malden
57,277
395,904.11
218,155.25
40,386.73
46,945.30
6.92
3.81
.71
80
12.24
Milton
18,147
11,274.56
36,177.51
5,959.60
13,466.75
.61
1.95
.27
.75
3.58
Natick
14,394
56,000.00
87,000.00
36,000.00
20,000.00
3.89
6.04
2.50
1.31
13.74
Needham
11,828
25,838.43
30,934.09
8,771.60
10,133.47
2.10
2.61
.73
.86
6.30
Newton
66,144
319,560.05
148,401.31
71,9 05.58
65,998.21
4.83
2.25
1.09
1.00
9.17
Quincy
76,909
246,571.40
261,233.63
66,4 21.64
64,242.04
3.19
3.38
.78
.75
8.10
Reading
10,703
64,197.38
54,900.33
18,0 68.31
11,648.91
6.00
5.13
1.68
1.08
13.89
Somerville
100,773
877,889.96
383,475.83
18,617.03
75,080.00
8.72
3.81
.18
.75
13.46
Stoneham
10,841
43,343.32
51,320.35
8,0 48.35
6,219.49
3.94
4.66
.73
.56
9.89
Watertown
35,827
140,952.00
70,860.72
36,1 49.00
40,347.77
3.94
1.98
1.01
1.12
8.05
Waltham
44,557
170,000.00
193,102.00
43,7 75.00
23,350.00
3.82
4.34
.98
.52
9.66
Compiled by :
BOARD OF PUBLIC WELFARE Arlington, Massachusetts Clifford W. Cook, Agent
August 25, 1938
164
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
165
TOWN RECORDS
ARLINGTON EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT
COMMITTEE
Chapter IX
DEVELOPMENT
1930: An emergency committee for the relief of the unemployed of Arlington was organized on November 20, 1930, at the call of the Board of Selectmen. All organized groups of residents were invited to send representatives, who constituted a general committee. This committee elected Lester W. Collins as chairman ; Miss Edith Winn as vice-chairman; and Miss Grace Parker, Charles A. Hardy, and Charles H. Higgins as other officers. Registration of the unemployed was begun immediately.
1931: The committee appointed in November 1930 was dissolved on May 22, 1931. The report filed for these six months showed : 940 persons registered, 1760 jobs obtained, and 1699 persons placed in employment. During the first year, apparently there was no thought of expending Town money in putting the unemployed to work, but stress was laid on finding private jobs. This became more and more difficult with the deepening of the depression, and the Board of Selectmen formed a second committee consisting of the heads of many Town departments. At a special Town Meet- ing held in November 1931, office space was provided in the Old Town Hall for clerks, etc., and appropriations made to carry out projects which furnished employment for about 250 workers. The Town was beginning to realize that some- thing should be done for those who were reluctant to accept straight welfare. On November 10, 1931, the second Emer- gency Unemployment Committee appointed Clifford W. Cook as executive Secretary. Mr. Cook carried on the active work of the committee from that time until December 1932, when he was appointed Agent to the Board of Public Wel- fare.
166
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
1932: During this year, the committee carried on its work of providing employment, placing its clients for short periods in private work and in several projects voted by the Town. At the Town Meeting, several Town departments requested additional money for projects employing these men. The Planning Board and the Park Commissioners co- operated with the committee in finding most of the work for the unemployed. Since December 1932, Neil S. Peters has been Executive Secretary of the Emergency Unemployment Committee. The plan of having able-bodied Welfare Aid recipients work out their rent, grocery, and cash allowances at a fixed rate per day was developed . The work done by this group was on Town projects for which there were no available funds otherwise provided.
1933: On November 27, the Civil Works Administra- tion, the first Federal plan to relieve unemployment, came into existence, and the Executive Secretary of the Unem- ployment Committee was made Assistant Administrator. The second committee was dissolved on April 3, 1933, and since that time the Board of Selectmen has acted as the Arlington Emergency Unemployment Committee.
Purposes
The purposes for which the Emergency Unemploy- ment Committee exists are as follows :
(1) To bring unemployed men and women in con- tact with opportunities for employment, both private and public.
(2) To cooperate with the Department of Public Welfare by giving work assignments on various Town projects to able-bodied Welfare Aid re- cipients.
(3) To supervise and operate Town projects for which Town funds are appropriated.
167
TOWN RECORDS
Authorization
The Board of Selectmen derives the power to act as the Emergency Unemployment Committee from Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40, Section 5, which states that: "A town may at any town meeting appropriate money for the relief, support, maintenance, and employment of the poor."
Personnel
The staff of the Unemployed Department consists of three employees. All of them devote much of their time to W. P. A. affairs, and likewise the W. P. A. administrative staff has much work in connection with the Unemployed Department. These three employees, who were placed on the Civil Service list with the other Town employees, are:
Weekly Salary $50.00
Neil S. Peters
Executive Secretary of the Emergency Unemployment Committee
Coordinator of the Works Projects Administration Employed by the department since November 1932 General supervision and management of both the Un- employed Department and the W. P. A.
Marion Watson $20.00
Stenographer and clerk
Employed by the department since May 1934 Principal duties :
.
(1) Serving as secretary to Mr. Peters;
(2) Assigning all Unemployed workers on authori- zation of Mr. Peters;
(3) Checking time sheets when submitted with the days assigned;
(4) Preparing and typing weekly payrolls for the Unemployed ;
UNEMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION CHART
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY NEIL S PETERS
PURCHASING JIMCARNEY
ACCOUNTING
EL NEEDHAM
APPLICATIONS FREVILLE
ASSIGNMENTS PAYROLLS M. WATSON
PROJECT SUPERVISION W. RYAN
EQUIPMENT CLERK
INVESTIGATORS
+E.L. Needham.
168
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
169
TOWN RECORDS
(5) Making individual card record of workers' earn- ings covering the entire period of employment ;
(6) Assigning welfare workers referred by the De- partment of Public Welfare, checking time sheets when submitted, making individual card record of workers' time which is checked week- ly on inquiry from the Welfare Department ;
(7) Assigning applicants permitted to work out their Poll Taxes upon authorization of the Tax Collector, typing monthly reports with regard to these persons and sending copies to Welfare De- partment, Tax Collector, Board of Assessors, and Town Accountant ;
(8) Distributing weekly employment cards to indi- cate that workers are seeking employment else- where and supplementing verification of cards returned by sending reply postal cards.
Augustus Gardella $30.00 Supervisor of Unemployed and W. P. A. projects Employed by the department since July 1, 1934 Principal duties :
Mr. Gardella and Mr. Ryan (who is listed under W. P. A.) alternate, switching from W. P. A. to Un- employed work as Mr. Peters requests. Their duties are to supervise directly the foremen of projects on outside work; to arrange for necessary materials and equipment; to supervise and check the time sheets referred to them by the foremen and in turn to sub- mit daily reports to Mr. Peters ; to report all matters of inefficiency or indifference on the part of any worker which call for suspension or dismissal.
Unemployment Assignments, 1939
In addition to those paid from administrative funds listed above, the following received more than $9.00 a week :
170
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
No. of days
Amount Rec'd
Rate
1 Foreman
240
$ 1,152.00
$24.00 a week
1 Foreman
236
944.00
24.00 "
1 Foreman
310
1,248.00
24.00 "
6
1 Foreman
310
1,248.00
24.00 "
1 Forelady
248
996.00
18.80 “
2 Investigators
435
1,744.00
20.00 "
66
1 Equipment Clerk
241
818.00
18.00 "
66
1 Truck Driver
311
1,560.00
30.00 "
1 Carpenter-Foreman
105
504.00
9.50 "
1 Worker-traffic signals
284 1/2
1,138.00
4.00 a day
5 Laborers
830
2,641.80
9.97 a week
1 Clerk
184
736.00
13.88 “
1 Clerk-typist
3101/2
855.00
16.50"
1 Mason
149
596.00
11.25 "
Total
4505
$17,740.80
437 persons received $9.00 or less a week.
Application and Investigation
The application and investigation for Unemployment Committee work is practically the same as for W. P. A. projects. The applicant must first give his Social Security number if he has one, must register at the district office of the Massachusetts State Employment Service, and must produce a birth certificate. He then signs statements show- ing his family resources, and whether he is entitled to Un- employment Compensation. If the applicant is entitled to this relief in his opinion, the Executive Secretary takes up the case with the Selectmen, acting as the Emergency Un- employment Committee, the following Monday evening. The Committee decides how much, if any, assistance shall be given, the usual amount being two or three days' work a week. Occasionally a man who is partially crippled or other- wise disabled to such an extent that he cannot find private employment, although he is able to do some work, is given more than three days' work. One of the investigators as- signed to these cases makes a visit to the home of the appli- cant for information concerning the family history, re- sources, housing conditions, health conditions, outstanding bills, etc. Revisits are made every three or four months. Other than these home visits, no investigation is made.
171
TOWN RECORDS
Method of Work Assignment
Various considerations determine these assignments and the number of days an applicant is permitted to work. The applicants fall into four main groups :
(1) Cases where some immediate revenue is neces- sary pending W. P. A. assignment ;
(2) Cases of urgent need technically ineligible for Welfare Aid;
(3) Cases of single persons, living alone or apart from their families for justifiable causes, not entitled to Welfare Aid benefits;
(4) Cases where the family income, from W. P. A. or other sources, is insufficient for family needs and supplementary aid is necessary.
If, after investigation, the applicant is found to be in need and otherwise eligible for Unemployed work, he re- ports to Mr. Peters' office, where he receives a card indicat- ing the number of days each week he is entitled to work. He is told where to report, taking the card to the foreman on the job. Thereafter he reports each week to the office for assignment to a project. A large card is made out in the office for a complete record of the total number of days worked and the wages received. All applicants under 40 years of age are expected to make a continuous effort to find private work. Weekly cards are issued them, which must be signed by private employers, proving that the ap- plicant actually sought work.
Amount of Assistance
The daily pay for ordinary workers is $3.00 ; for skilled workers, $4.00 to $6.00. Because of the greater pay, skilled workers are used on projects only when they are absolutely essential. Three days are set as the usual maximum for a week's work, not because they are considered sufficient, but because of the desire to help as many persons as possible.
172
ARLINGTON TOWN REPORT
Able-Bodied Welfare Aid Recipients
Employable Welfare Aid recipients work out some of their aid under this department (see the chapter entitled "Welfare Aid"). About 40 of these men are given cards at the Unemployed office every week, and told to report to the foremen on the jobs. Usually these workers are assigned to the Park and School Departments, but they are used from time to time on other Unemployed projects.
Poll Tax
A citizen who is unable to pay his Poll Tax is given the privilege of discharging it by one day's work under the supervision of this department.
Purchasing of Materials
All materials and equipment necessary for Unemployed and W. P. A. projects are purchased by John M. Carney (see the discussion of his duties in the chapter on the W. P. A.). Any item that runs into a substantial amount - $200.00 or more - is taken up by Mr. Peters with the Se- lectmen, and then submitted for bids. The Unemployment Committee takes advantage of the Board of Public Works' contract in purchasing materials used in street construction (cement, sand, gravel, asphalt, etc.).
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