I..«" «9" A LIMH‘ED STUDY OF FOSTER PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN THE ENDEPENDENT BOARDlNG HOMES OF ENGHAM COUNTY, MiCHI-GAN Thesis for the Beam of M. A. MICHGAN STATE COLDEGE Jacheline Ann FuNer 1950 NIAL IN BACK OF BOOK This is to certilg that the thesis entitled v n q —. w 1 ,m . - 1 , . - ,. w t... - \ . ‘1. s L’- ~ - a L -fi 1 V , O 'P ‘ ‘ ' 'v , i-y~—y- tx- ‘, . » , ‘- v' . r7' .1 . ’ J;‘l_l A‘ it ‘L.. w-;' LA. ' l ' -U DJ .-«. -A.‘ .1, ' ‘ I I 1,\ r a v .. A. J I- uy , .' -- I; has been acvepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for ‘ .'. . "t- : <. ,: - -. , ""‘- degree in J — ~- H » as“ . 1' Major prulcgnr J i ‘ Date 0—169 A LILZI‘JS 3153?: CF FCJTi-Li Pal-1.433 OF CLQLLU' ‘ in.) ‘1'“; T .~r/\ r*,- wfi ‘ m: '7' "H ’\ .* 33‘ "t ‘t *1 r o . "“r' \T- Jul“ .L -H *l‘IU-hl Aid—*i dme‘J-L—Isr gu—klfil—‘D A -. "‘-.'v-‘. 1.f\-"'” T ‘.‘_'_l" “- VF J.-4\LLLA\A VUVL: .L‘Y’ iii—.0‘i‘Utfl'vi by Jacqueline Ann Fuller Submitted to the Graduate School of Lichigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of lAJTfiR CF AHTS Department of Eome hanagement and Child Development 1950 _THESIS ACKI‘IOI'IIZDW “I‘JSL‘ITS The writer wishes to express her appreciation to kiss Bernice D. Bergman and Dr. Irma h. Gross for their interest and supervision in this study and for their helpful suggestions. The writer is indebted to the nichigan Department of Social Lelfare for making available the case records used in this study and for permission to visit the independent boarding homes. as. Donald J. DeVinney was particularly helpful as a Consultant through- out the work on the thesis. hrs. Shirley Charboneau, Dr. Lrnest B. Harper, and hr. Ierry hatz are to be thanked for their interest in the stu y and for making available additional material. Kiss Virginia Fuller was of assistance in proof reading the manuscript and making further suggestions. r~rmi:7{at d‘J .a mwr. ' I 1")? fit-v» if?" -‘ .- I. II. III. IV. I '3 1, i _ 3; (I x 'V'E u. :- 1. ‘. “4 . elutluefl « 7'. ,.~ FR ‘7'," "..‘ r. ‘ A. .171 Y? 77"“ 6". ""‘$ ”1-H: nLiL-ILJ K}: ngllwilo ~ n. ~.« ,~th "‘34 l': ‘3“ It. )1"; '35-”; fl BACKGRCJND A D :Uircous CF PM; arguY The problem Geographical description Definition of terms used Boarding Home Foster Parent Importance of the study Purpose of the study RSVIEH G? LITERATUAE Literature on boarding homes Literature on children in foster homes I‘JE’lIZ'LDS 21.13 La’fitLLLS methcas used Katerial obtained from the Lichigan Department of Social helfare file records Description of sample Laterial obtained from the home interviews Interview procedure F ll: D111 GS Findings from the rxcords of tfie lienigan Department of Social ”elfare Ages of boarding parents Education of the boarding parents Occupation of the boarding father 15 15 15 16 16 17 20 CHAETER Yearly income of the boarding parents Religion and race of the boarding parents Number of own children and boarding children Ages of own and boarding children Reason given for beginning to board children Findings from the Interview Sample How the family first learned about boarding children Reasons for beginning to board children Reasons given by the real parents for boarding their children in these homes Charges for boarding children Length of time boarding child an have been in home Problems encountered in boarding children Concepts of child guidance held by the boarding parents Observed relationships between boarding parents and foster children Satisfactions realized by boarding parents v. sum :5 mm corona: one Summary Conclusions Suggestions for future study s1 “Ll. *oa‘anay ny-_'- APPENDIA Copy of the letter written to the 23 families of the sample Sample interview data sh at from tLe 20 home inter- view studies 57 39 41 42 01 (D 63 65 66 6? “f 7 '1 1' Ain't Selected characteristics of the sample families 68 Imenty hone interviews 69 flap of the independent boarding homes of Ingham County, Lichigan ndent boarding homes in sample (D Lap of the 23 indep TABLE I. II. III . IV. V. VII. VIII . IX. LIST OF TABLES Ages of the Independent Boarding Home Parents of Ingham County, Michigan. Education of Boarding Parents in the Independent Boardiig Home or Ingham County, Michigan. Occupation Classification of the Independent Boarding Homes ct Ingham County, Michigan. Distribution of Families by Total IKioney Incons Compared with National Figures of Families in the United States for 1948. Number ct Children Allowed by License in the Independent Boardirg Homes of Ingham County and Michigan. Number of Children Allowed by License in Ingham County Accordirg to Type cf License in the Independent Boardirg Home. Ages of Own and Boarding Children in the Indie-- pendent Boardizg Homes cf Ingham County. Reasons Given For Boarding Children by the Independent Boarding Parents on Application. Reasons Given for Boarding Children According to Income of the Independent Boarding Homes. PAGE 21 23 25 26 28 29 31 32 Chapter I MGBOUND AND PURPOSES g; THE STUD! Within the last decade, the independent boarding home for children has seemed importance as a substitute hone for children whose parents are able to pay for their care but are unable, for various reasons, to continue giving full tin care to their children. In the state of Michigan, the Michigan Boardirg Home Law, Act 47, was passed in 1944. his law stated in detail the qualifications which boarding homes must meet, in order to be licensed. these regulations for the mpervision or the iniependent boarding homes were an important step in ascertaining the proper physical aid psychological surroundi ngs for the child who must be placed in a boarding home. no purpose of this stucw is to determine, if possible, what sort of people becam independent boarding home parents, and to learn what factors influenced than to become boarding home parents. An attempt will be nde to discover what sati erections are to be round in boarding ehild- ren, as well as the particular problems to be met in this situation. There were 51 liemsed indepmdent boarding homes in Inghan County, Michigan on November 1, 1949. These homes were used in this study for comparison and analysis. Ingham County, Michigan covers an area of approximately 553 square miles. Lansing, the capitol of Michigan, is located in the northwestern corner of the county. It is an important industrial city as well as a political center. The State College of Agriculture and Applied Science is located in East Lansing. The total population or Inghun County, as- cording to the 1940 census, is 130,616. A comparison of the urban, rural non-farm, and rural farm population of Ingham County with the state of Michigan as a whole revealed that a slightly higher percentage of Ingham County residents live in urban centers than for the state as fi 'h01.e (19) fi Urban fi Rural Non-farm fl Rural M Ingham County 67 21.8 11.2 Michigan 65.7 17.9 16.4 The chief industries of Lansing are auto making and auto accesory manu- facturing. The 51 independent boarding hoses are located throughout Ingham County. Accordizg to one authority, (20) boardig 1193:; may be defined as ”a home in which the family receives compaisation for the care of a child not their own while he is in the home“. This definition on- braces all types of boarding homes: those used by the various social agencies for the care of the dependent children under their program, moss used by the court for the children under their Jurisdiction, and also the independent boarding hone s. The chief difference between the independent boarding home and the other two types, agency and court, lies in the fact that the independent boarding hem is managed on a private basis. be independent boarding home family nukes its own con- tact with pmspective parents who wish to board children and is paid directly by the parents. The agency or court home is used by those two public agencies for the placement cf children under their Jurisdiction and the agency or court pays a set price for this service. There is no direct contact between the real parents and the foster parents except for scheduled visits at regular periods. All boarding homes, whether court, agency, or independent, must be licmsed yearly by the Michigan Department of Social Welfare to in- me the proper surroundings for each child. There is a definite set of standards which must be adhered to before a license is granted to the boarding home. These standards imlude such factors as a safe water supply, adequate play space, proper diet, and other regula- tions which will insure necessary care aid Irotecti on for every child in a boarding home. Attention is also paid to the psychological environment of the boarding hone. The regulations for the inspection and licensing of boarding homes for children in Michigan (3) state: Members of the boarding family small be of good character, habits and reputation; relationship within the family shall be such that a melanoma atmosphere for too child will be assured. All members of the boarding family hell be filling to accept the boarding child into the home as a member of the fanily group. The person in charge of the boarding home mall be of a suitable age and temperament to care for children; shall understand the needs cf children; shall be capable of hmdling an emergency situation promptly and intelligently; and shall be willing to cooperate fully with the children's own Yparents" and/or the supervising agency. One definition for foster grant is "the person in the foster home who takes the place cf the mtural parent.“ (20) The foster mother and father endeavor to give the child the care which his own parents are unable to give him. In the independent boarding home, the foster parent attempts to meet me qualifications dananded by the real parents in caring for their child. The natural parents are not obliged to leave the child in an independent boarding home which they do not feel meets their own personal standards. Neither is it necessary for the independent boarding parents to continue caring fcr those children whom may feel are too difficult or too dananding of their time or clergy. The independent boarding home foster parents set their own price for the value cf the service rendered and it is their responsibility to collect the money which is due them. The foster parent in the agency or court boarding home is paid through the agency or court for his services. Ihie independent boarding home parents secure children to board by advertising in the newspaper, by referral from the Department of Social Welfare, or through neighbors cr friends. he agency or court boarding parent receives children from the agency or court social work- er he feels mat the particular boarding hone meets the needs of a specific child under their Jurisdiction. One of the primary reasons for the growing need for the independent boarding hon, is the large nunber of married women with children who have found it necessary, for various reasons, to work outside the home. Smaller families, labor-savirg devices, rising costs, and public accept- mce of women wrking have resulted in increasingly higher percentages of narried women holdiig positions away from hon. One either stated: (5) Women have obtained the first objective of the social movement known as the emancipation ct women, namely, the entrance of women into the world of activities formerly monopoliaed by men. World War II like World War I, accentuated the trend toward equality of vocational opportunities and equality of pay. In 1890, 515,260 married women were gainfully employed in the United States as compared with d,560,835 married working women in 1940. The 1940 figure constituted 15.8 percent of all married women, and 35.5 percent of all working women, sirgle and married, in this court ry. A comparison of the percent ages of married women to work with all work- ing women for the years from 1890 to 1940 effectively illustrates the increasing numbers of harried women who are gainfully employed. (5) Percent A11 Married Working Women Yeg Are of All Working Womn 1890 13.9 1900 15.4 1910 24.7 1920 23.0 1930 28.9 1940 35.5 It would be logical to assume that these percentages greatly increased durirg the last war when thousands cf women took over Jobs in defense industries. In the state of Michigan, 13.1 percent of narried women fifteen years of age md over were in the labor force in 1940. (5) Another impca'tant factor to be considered in relation to the in- creased inpcrtmce cf the independent boarding home is divorce. Public disapproval of the divorced wman has been broken down to a great extent in the last two decades. The number of divm‘ces in the United States has risen. In 1888, there were about 6.5 divorces per 100 marriages in this country. In 1933, the number had risen to approximately 21 divorces per 100 marriages. The estinted figure for 1946 was a little over 50 divorces per 100 marriages. (5) Because it is customary for the woman to be awarded the custody of any children in a divorce, he must assume the responsibility for their care and in some instances, their support, the role of both mother and father. Frequently, this means that the divorced mother must work outside his home, and provisions made for either part time or full time care of her children. A study of the independent boarding home parents at this 1:1- is important in helping to analyze the adequacy of substitute parents for those mildren moss own parents cannot care for them on a full time basis. The purpose d this study can be sumarized as twofold: 1. To discover certain characteristics of the people who become boarding home parents and to compare some of these characteristics with the general population. 8. To discover certain contributing factors which in- fluenced persons to become boarding hone parents, what satisfactions are to be found in boarding children, and what types of problems occur most frequently with the boarding children, as well as some of the concepts ct child guidance held by boarding home parents. Chapter II REVIEWE IITERATURB Mulch has been written about foster home care for the dependent child whose parents cannot care for him properly, either because they are unable or unwilling to do so. ‘Ihese children, who are dependent upon public welfare, are placed in foster homes either by the court or by a child placing agency. Consequently, the situation is different in many respects from the voluntary placement and payment of board by the natural parents in the independent boarding home. However, some of the literature miich pertains to foster family care in general is useful in regard to the independent boarding hone situation. A list of standards for boardirg homes for children (16) was pub- lished in 1941. These are pertinent and of value in deciding which homes should be licensed for boarding home care of children. The author states that physical standards should take into consideration safety, light, ventilation, heating of the home, cleanliness, sanitation, general furnishings, location, neighborhood facilities, and accessibility. m individual bed should be provided for each child and separate sleeping rooms are desirable. The boarding family should be a complete family unit with both father and mother, except under special circumstances. All manbers of the boardirg fanily should be in good physical and mental condition with a certificate to that effect from the fanily physician. Inter-relationships between the foster family members should be such tlet they provide for wholesome, complete and stable family life. Moral mid ethical standards within the home are of importance and religious affiliation and spiritLal values have an integral place in the family. Some attention mould be paid to the motives or reasons for applying for a boarding home license because a: unwholesome attitude toward the boarding child can be a detriment to his developmmt. These factors are discussed in some detail by the author and provide valuable criteria for the selection of boarding home for children. The author stresses the importmce of the physical and psychological environment for die boarding child and has set up such big: standards that probably few homes could meet them. As a goal to aim for in child placement, these standards are useful and necessary. As a practical wide in licensing homes, perhaps these standards are too exacting to be adhered to rigidly. Sayles (12) found that there are four ways in which foster child- ren differ from natural children: 1. No physical bond between foster parent md child and usually no bond formed by nurmng and care from the earliest days; 2. No heredity common to the two generations; 3. No responsibility for bringing the child into the world; i. No prenatal rejection. These factors are true for the independently boarded child, in most cases, as well as the agency or court placement. Sayles also emphasized the importance of discovering the underlying motive cm persons wishing to board children. She feels that this motive may be one of many, such as desire for the opportunity to mold a youngster into .1 adult pattern, fulfillment of the male or female role as a parent, and fulfillment in m object of devotion, to name a few of the ones the author has given. Sayles particularly emphasised the destructivcness of pity in dealing 9 with foster children. She states that the child needs security as a basis from which he can grov; he needs freedom to grow and he needs ideals toward Ihich he cm work. Last of all, he needs adult com- panionship which is coupled with both love and understanding. This book is written in a sympathetic tone and provides a great deal of material for gaining psychological insight in dealing with foster parents. However, a great part at the naterial is of an idealistic nature and concerns such intangible aspects of the boarding parent's personalities that would be difficult to apply in an actual situation. Several studies have been made of children in foster homes. One of the earliest was made in 1924 by the State Charities Aid Association. (16) This study was an analysis of 910 children she were placed in foster homes by that organization and who had reached the age of eighteen years or older. The authors found it impossible to contact some of the 910 children and consequently the compilation of the figures is open to a certain range beyond that mich is stated. The subjects were divided into three groups: capable, imapable, and unknown capability. By capable, the authors meant subjects who manage their own affairs with a moderate degree of success and are carrying on normal, useful lives in their conmunities. Incapable imludes those subjects who are either unwilling or unable to care for thanselves md are not livirg according to the accepted standards in their communities. The unknown category contained those subjects who were not axfficiently well known to be placed in either of the other two groups with my degree of confidence. or the 910 subjects, then, 615 fell into the. capable group, 188 into the incapable, and 113 in the unknown capability. There is a great deal more subdivision and breaking down of this material into pertinent 10 groups, such as occupation of foster father, education and special training received by the subject, etc. This study was interesting but the arbitrary classifications into mich the children were divided were subjective ones and probably of little scientific value. These child- ren were all dependent children and for that reason, the situation does not relate closely to the situation in the independent boarding home. Skodak (14) made a study of the mental development of children in foster homes in 1939. This investigation related the mental develop- ment of children to their own parents and the mental development of children to foster parents. The mbjects were two groups of children from family backgrounds inferior in educational achievement, occupational status, level of intelligence, and socio-economic status. The foster home were above average or siperior in regard to these characteristics. The first group of children numbered 154. These children were placed in foster homes between the time of birth and six months of age. The second group consisted of 65 mildren placed in foster homes between the ages of two aid five and one-half years. Skodak found that the children in the first group, at one year of age, showed little difference in mental development on the basis of occupational classification of the foster parent, but at an older age, this difference was marked, the children in the three highest occupational classifications being con- sistently above the mean for the total group while the children in foster homes of the four lower occupational levels were consistently be- low the mean. A correlation of .149 was found between the children's I.Q. and a measure of the home environment at the older pre-sehoel level. ‘lhe children in the second group all gained in mean I.Q. after foster home placemnt, the gain being relative to the occupational level. The 11 children who were initially very high or very low showed the most change when retested. The study of the mental development of foster children is of value because it points out that a basic factor in foster hem placement is selection of the home best suited for the individual child. The foster homes used in this study were adoptive homes. 0b- viously, children placed in independent boarding bones are not placed for an indefinite period, in most cases. Consequently, this study is pertinent to the independent boarding home situation only in those instances when a child is placed for a long period of time by the parent. Baylor and Manachesi in conjunction with the Children's Aid Association (1) made a study of foster homes used by that organization in child placement. There were 566 foster bones and 545 children need in the study. Baylor and Monachesi found that children placed in homes where the foster parents were over 35 years of age made a better adjust- ment than men the foster parents were younger. The ages of foster parents in that study were categorized from 35 years to 5'? years and over as the upper limit. The authors found that 84 percent of the foster funilies were in either marginal or comfortable circumstances, though the economic status of the foster family apparently had little or no relation to the adjustment of the boarding child. The authors found that placements in the homes of professional nsn and farmers were slightly less successful than in the other occupational classifications. The size of the foster family was not an important factor in the boarding child's adjustment. Over half of the boarding families stated that economic reasons were the primary ones in wanting to board children. However, 60.1 percent of placements in these homes were successful ones. In 204 fanilies, children were boarded fcr help in the home or farm. It was found that 12 in 47 percent of these cases, the child's response was unfavorable. There were 171 fanilies who desired to board children because they enjoyed working with children or enjoyed their companionship. Approximate- ly 59 percent of these placemmts were successful. Other reasons given for wanting to board children were to replace an own mild, 4nd unable to have own children. These were given in 4 and 8 cases, respectively, and were favorable in the child's response to care 75 percent and 87.5 percent. Baylor and Monachesi found that as the size of the community in which the foster homes were located increased, the favorable response of the boarding child decreased. Children placed in open country, rural homes responded 61.4 percent favorably. Children placed in the residential section of a city responded favorably 57.7 percent. Other factors were also studied in their relation to the favorable C unfavorable response of boarding children. The ones listed are those most pertinent to the factors which are being malysed in the present study of the independent boarding home parents. This study is a useful one for comparison because the factors studied are similar. However, the foster homes used in this study were three main kinds: boarding homes in which the parents or guardian pay for the child's board and room; wage bones in which the child is able to earn all or part of his keep by performing various duties; ad free home in vhioh the child is boarded free of charge. Because of the variation in the type of foster home, the findings of this study are less specific than would be desired. In 1942, Harper (8) made a study of the need for day care sertices for children or working mothers in Lansing, Michigan. This study was carried out by personal interview and through contacting the working mothers at their place of work and leaving forms to be filled out by them. 13 Three hundred and fifty-one reports were utilized in all. This included 200 interview schedules and 151 questionnaires. It was estimated by the author that this sample represented 20 to 23 percent at the total number of working mothsrs wiih children between the ages of two and fourteen years in Lansing. IIhree-fourths of the children of these women were of school age. Approximately one-fourth were five years of age and younger. Harper found that 24.4 percent of these children were left in the care of a relative; 13.2 percent were cared for by a house- keeper or hired girl; only 1.4 percent were cared for in private homes. However, 8.4 percent stated that they would desire pri vate day care in a boarding home for their children, if it were available. The most desired manner of care for children of working mothers was school mpervi sion after school hours, with 35 percent stating that this was the most preferable, if available. This study is valuable because it reveals that the number of working women in mis area who desired private boarding care for their children in 1942 exceeded the number who were able to actually secure such help. A more detailed analysis of the type of boarding home care the children of these working motmrs were receiving, whether licensed or unlicensed, and some study of the relative cost of this type of care as compared to housekeeper or day nursery, would have been extremely useful. McLain (11) made a further study in 1943 of the attitudes and practices of parents with pro-school age children. This study was carried out in Lansing, Michigan mid consisted primarily of 50 home interviews in the area of the city indicated by the Harper study as being that area in which parents of children were most dissatisfied with the present method of care during the day while the mother was working. The 14 parents contacted all had children under five years of age. The author found that housekeeper services, either an employed housekeeper or a relative, was the most desired solution for care of children while the mother worked. The working mothers preferred this type of care because the housework was done at the same time the children were being cared for, which was of double value to them. However, 50 percent of the mothers stated that they would like to try a nursery school for their children. McLain felt that many of the mothers contacted knew little of what a nursery school program would mean, and were not in- terested enough to investigate the possibilities. However, McLain talked with each mother about the opportunities of nursery school training and the benefits to be derived from this experience and she felt that through the conversation, many of the mothers knew more about the program of nursery schools and were perhaps more interested in obtaining this type of care for their pre-school children than before her visit. This study provided an interesting further development of the city survey done by Harper (8) in 1942, in the area of nursery school care for child- ren of working mothers and informal education in the meaning of a nursery school program. This study is of value in relation to the present study because it investigates another method of day care for children other than the independent boarding hone program. Chapter III METHODS AND MATERIALS Two methods were followed in gathering naterial for the study. First, records from the Michigan Department of Social Welfare for the 51 boarding homes of Ingham County were studied. From these records, a schedule of the material to be learned from them was made and filled out. The various it ems were tabulated and the results were studied. The second method was the interview contact with the selected families. Twenty interviews were made over a period of approximately four weeks. Each interview was written up in case-history form as soon as possible after the visit was nade. The primary sources for material for this study of the independent boarding home parents, then, were the State Welfare file records for the total group and home inter- views with the selected sample. The welfare records for the independent boarding hone parents which were used were made available by the Michigan Department of Social Welfare. These included for each family a preliminary application blank to board children filed by the prospective boarding home parent, a detailed case study of the boarding hone and the boarding fwnily, a record of subsequent home visits made by the case worker, a copy of the yearly license mich was issued to the boarding family, and any other pertinent correspondence or informati on. Some of the families which are now boarding independently, formerly boarded for an agency or the court. In that case, the record imluded the investigation and any other pertinent information from the agency or court which had had contact with the fanily. Unfortunately, some of the records were much 16 less complete than others. It was found that those fanilies which had been boarding children for the longest tbme often had very incomplete case studies of the home and of the boarding family. One or two of the records were not up to date. In mess instances, the records of the Ingham County Child Welfare worker were made available, and the necessary information was obtained. Fourteen items were tabulated from.the records of each of the independent boarding hone s. T.:ese included nationality back- ground, religion, occupation of father, ages of father and mother, education of father and mother, approximate yearly income, number of boarding children, sex and.ages of boarding children, length of time children have have been in the boarding home, reasons given by the boarding parents for wanting to board children, location of home, and type of boarding home —- whether full tin, an care, or both. Twenty families were chosen from the 51 independent boarding homes as the sample to be interviewed. These 20 homes were chosen by geographical location in the county. Spot maps:L ”1‘0 made loci-Mus the 51 boarding homes and from these maps, 20 were chosen to represent the entire county. The 20 families chosen.for the home interviews were first contacted'by an introductory letter2 stating the purpose of the stuck; and signed by the author with the approval signatures of Domld W. DeVinney, Regional Consult ant of the Childrean Division, Michigan Department of Social Welfare, and Dr. Irma H. Gross, Head of the Depart- Appendix. 2Appendix, p. 66. 1'7 ment of Home Management and Child DevelOpment at Michigan State College. The letter was followed within a week by a phone call to arrange a convenient time to hold the interview. In most cases, the appointment was made for the following week. The interviews were held, for the most part, during the afternoon, though a few were conducted during the morning and one visit was made in the evening. The inter- view was planned to last approximately one hour. For most of the families, the interviews lasted within ten minutes of an hour, though in two cases, the interview took a little over two hours. No notes were taken during flue interview except for factual mterial such as number and ages of boarding children, number and ages of own children, and the amount charged by the boarding mother for her services. Of the 20 families originally chosen for the sample, only two families were found unavailable. One of these families left for an extended trip before the home visit could be made and the other boarding mother was too busy at the time she was contacted to find tine for an inter- view. Substitute families were chosen from the spot map of the nearest home giving the same type or care (that is, day care, full time, or both). Letters were sent out to the two substitute families and they were visited in the same manner as the original eighteen. A. general procedure for conducting the home interviews was made out before any visits were made. This outline included the following points: First, In introduction of the interviewer was made, and some explanation was given as to why the information about their boarding experiences was sought. The first question generally concerned the number of children the family was boarding at the time of the interview. The ages of these children were learned, and from this beginning it was 18 possible to go back and find out What other children the family had boarded, how long they had bem boarding children, and how they be- came interested in caring for other people's children. A.discussion of the relation between the natural children and the boarding children usually followed, with the relation of the boarding home father to the boarding children brought into the conversation. Stemming from this topic, die boarding mother could easily be led into a conversation concerning the problems she has with the boarding children, and how these problans have differed from the problems she has had with her own children. All of the boarding mothe rs were willing to reveal how much they charged for their services and how this plan had worked out. An attempt was made to learn in.what ways boarding children had been a rewarding experience for fine boarding family. Unless the boarding mother showed a definite desire to prolong the conversation, the inter- view generally ended soon after these points had.bean discussed fully enough to be of value. As stated, the interviews were conducted over a period of about four weeks. On several occasions, it was necessary to hold two inter- views on the same day, and.one day three home visits were scheduled. It was found to be much easier to write the case study of the family when not more than two interviews were held in one day. The interviews were written up with a general description of the home and.of the boarding mother. Her feelings about the matters discussed were recorded as closely as possible. .A face sheet was made for each case study1 with some of the more factual things listed on it, such as manbers of the lAppendix, p. 67. 19 boarding family and.their ages, type of home, amount charged for boarding children, number of boarding children in the home, and reasons given by the boarding mother for beginning to board children. This face sheet was found to be very valuable as a summary sheet and also as an.immediate record of the factual content of each interview as soon as it was completed. Chan: or IV FINDINGS Material from the records 23 the Michigan Demrtment .22. m Welter» There were 51 licensed independent boarding homes for children in Ingham County, Michigan on November 1, 1949. These 51 boarding families were those used in this study. From the mterial in the file records of the Michigan Department of Social Welfare, information was tabulated for each family. Two categories were discarded because they were incomplete. These were 'nationality background' which was listed by may as merely American, and 'when boarding family first began to board children' because the information in a number of cases was not available. A few omissions were found under 'education of boarding father and mother' and under 'ocoipation', men the place of work was listed rather than the type of position held there. Financial status, age md number of own diildren, and reasons for boarding children were complete except for three instances. In eon: cases, the information as to the number and ages of diildren boarded was not kept up to date. The type cf license, whether for full time care, day care, or both, was learned for every fuily. Although some of the aforunmtioned itans were omitted fram the original Qplic ation, the descriptions of home visits and of the family where of the independent boarding homes also contained in the records, nnde it possible in many instances to obtain a good picture of the type of home and the kind of care a child was likely to receive in that family. After the material from the files had been tabulated, eight categories were found to be sufficiently complete to be useful. These 21 were: ages of boarding parents, education of boarding parents, occupa- tion of boarding father, financial status, religion, number of natural and foster children, ages of natural and foster children, and reasons given by the boarding parents for desiring to board children. Ages 31: Boarding Parents: The largest number of boarding parents, 20 of the men and 25 of the woman, stated their age at the present time as between 30 and 40 years. Only 4 of the 51 boarding mothers were over 50 years of age. The largest group fell between the age range of 30-50 years, with 3d of the boarding fathers lid 38 of the boarding mothers in this classi- fication. (See Table I) Table I AGES __13_ no: marsnnnnr BOARDING norm manure pg INGRAM comm, MICHIGAN Ass m. man 21-30 6 8 31-40 20 25 41-50 14 14 51-60 8 3 61-70 3 1 Total 51 51 This table shows that the average age of the parents in the independent boarding homes in Ingha County falls somewhere between 30 and 50 years of age, with a larger percent age between 30 and 4.0 years. 22 The women were slightly younger than the men. It is interesting to note that over half of the women boarding children are still of an age there it would be possible to have more children of their own. Baylor and Monachesi (1) found that foster children in homes where the boarding parents were 35 years of age or older nude the best adjustment. Sophie Van Senden Thais, executive secretary cf the Child Placing and Adoption Committee of the State Charities Aid Association stated in an interview (10) that children from that agency were general- ly placed in homes where the wife was no more than thirty-eight or forty years older than the child. The husband could be alightly older. Both authors felt that when the boarding parents are more nearly the probable ages of the child's own parents, rapport between the child and his foster parents is probably more easily established and the relationship is closer to the actual parent-child situation than if the boarding parents are very young or over fifty. Education: Due to the fact that 12 of the boarding fathers and 17 of the boarding mothers made no report on the amount of formal education they had received, this information is of value only as an indication of how much schooling a particular boarding parent is likely to have had. It was found that the largest number of both boarding fathers and boarding mothers had completed at least 10 to 12 grades of school; 24 men and 22 women fell into this categcn'y. Twelve of the boarding fathers and six of the boarding mothers had completed 7 to 9 grades. (See Table II) oOf the boarding mothers who reported, more of them had gone to school longer than the boarding fathers. This is probably due 23 to the fact that boys are more often needed to supplement the family in- come at an early age or to help out with the farm. Six of the board- ing mothers and three of the boarding fathers had training beyond high school, though none of this group was a college graduate. It has been found that the median number of school years completed by persons aged 25 years and over in Michigan was 8.5 for males and 8.8 for fanales. In Ingham County, the figures are slightly higher; the median for males 1. 9e4 and for females, lOe‘e (2) Table II EDUCATION 9; BOARDING PAREIE in THE INDEPEQDMI‘ _B_QARDII§Q songs; 9;; mama COUNT! 9329.93. Completed 919. fig}; £19. 3313;; 7-9 12 6 10-12 24 22 13-15 3 6 unknown 12 1'? Total 51 51 Due to the large number who did not report on this factor, it was impossible to compute the median number of school years completed or to draw any malysis between the number of years of schooling and in- come, or with the methods of child guidance employed with the boarding children . Occupati on: All but 5 of the 51 boarding families reported the occupation of 24 the head of the house. The Federal Reserve system.of occupational grouping (7) was used in classifying the occupations of the boarding fathers. This classification divides the type of occupations into six categories which are distinct enough to permit definite classifica- tion of any type of vocation. Almost half of the 51 boarding families (24) fell into the skilled.and.semi-skilled group. The next largest numbers were 7 un- skilled workers and 7 farm.operators. Four'men.were employed in clerical and sales personnel; three were managerial and self-employed, and one family fell into the professional group. (See Table III) In a study done in 1935, Bergman (4) found.that there was a definite relation between occupation and type of physical care received by natural children from 2 to 5 years of age. Such factors as food, sleep, play and clothing needs were met more adequately in homes of the higher occupational levels. This study used the Minnesota system of occupation classification which corresponds generally to the Federal Reserve System. Twenty-ehght of the 51 boarding homes used in this study were in the upper three occupational groups. The number of in- dependent boardirg homes in each of the six occupational groups is shown on Table III. 25 Table III pgcnrumn CLASSIFICATION 9}; m2: ImEPENDENT BOARDING HOMES gr; Imam comm Occunal tion £13. 315%. M Familieg Professional 1 Managerial and Self Employed 3 Skilled and semi-skilled 24 Clerical and sales personnel 4 Unskilled 7 Farm operators 7 Unknown 5 Total 51 Yearly Income: Closely related to occupation is the financial status of the individual boarding horns. The yearly income of the husband was report- ed to:- each ofthe 51 families. It was found that 22 families of the total group had a yearly income between $3000 and $3999. Fifteen homes reported an insane between $2000 am $2999. Two families had an income between $1000 and $1999 and only one home reported 31 income of less than $1000. This particular family, hwever, was a retired farm family who owned their own home. Consequently, the low income probably does not indicate the true standards nintained. Six families reported an incons of between $4000 and $4999 and five of the boarding families had a yearly income of from $5000 to $5999. 26 Table IV DISTRIBUTION pg FAMILIES _B_Y_ TOTAL mom INC our comm WITH NATIONAL FIGURES g; FAMLIES _I_1_\I_ THE UNITED STATES raw Percent of Independent Percent of Families $3221.29. _1_\I_9_. Boarding Homes in UnitggtflL under $1000 1 1.9 10.6 91000-31999 2 3.9 14.5 32000-32999 15 29.4 20.6 $000-$999 22 43.1 20.7 94000-94999 6 11.7 12.9 wow-$5999 5 9.8 8.1 56000-39999 0 0 9.9 $10,000 and over 0 0 2.9 Total 51 100% 100% "‘ The percent ages for tie incomes of families in the United States were taken from Table 1, "Consumer Income", Current Population Reports, p. 15. A comparison of the percentage of boarding homes in each of the income groups with the percentage of families in the United States revealed that 43.1 percent of the boarding families had an income between $3000 and $3999 while 20.? percent of the families in the United States fall into the same group. (See Table IV) The median income for families in the United States in 1948 was $3187. (6) The median income for the inde- pendent boarding families in Ingham County was $3658, tion is slightly higher. 27 Religon and Race: It was found that 43 of the 51 independent boarding families were of Protestant faith, five families were Catholic and three of the families were of mixed religion. There were no families of the Jewish faith. For the state as a whole, in December of 1949, there were 282 Catholic independent boarding horns, 1450 Protestant independent boarding homes, five other, and one unknown. (l3) Eleven different Protestant churches were named by the boarding families as the church of their choice. There were 13 Methodists and nine Baptist families listed. These two were naned most often, but Lutheran, Christian Scientist, Pilgrim Holiness, Presbyterian, Church of God, and Seventh Day Adventist were some of the others which were also mentioned. it the present time, there are no Negro independent boarding homes in Ingham County, but mare than one family will be licensed soon for this service.* The Negro population of Ingham County was 1.3 percent in 194?. The percentage d.‘ Negroes of the total population of Michigan was 3.9 percent. (a) Number 9; Own Children and Boardigg Children: Of the 51 independent boarding homes, 18 families were licensed to care for one child, 20 homes were licensed to care for two children, nine home were licensed to care for three children am four families were licensed to care for four children. * his information was obtained from Mrs. Shirley Charboneeu, Children's Worker, Ingham County Children's Services. 28 Table V NUMBER 2; CHILDREN ALLOWED g LICENSE _I_N THE INDEPENDENT BOARDING HOMES 9; mom COUNTY AND meal £9. licensed Leg; M_a_‘h__am 9211—1131 Michigan one child 18 701 two children 20 657 three children 9 196 four children 4 175 five children '0 1 six children 0 6 seven children 0 l eight children 0 0 nine children 0 2 other 0 1 Total 51 1741 "‘ he figures for the state of Michigan were used through the courtesy of the Research Unit, Children's Division, Michigan Department of Social Welfare. For the state of Michigan as a whole, 3441 children were living in the 1741 independent boarding house in December of 1949. (13) In Ingham County, there were 100 children in the independent boarding homes in December of 1949. At the time this study was mde, there were 11 families to did not have my boarding children in their homes. 29 Table VI NUMBER 93; CHILDREN ALLOWED 13.! LICENSE _I_N INCEAN COUNTY ACCORDIN} T0 TYPE OF LICENSE IN THE INDEPENDENT BOARDING Helms _{u_1_l_ Time Care 3‘13. _o_§ Boardigg Home; one child 13 two children 10 three children 3 four children 3 Total 29 29; Care one child 5 two children 6 three children 5 four children 1 Total 17 Combination one child 0 two children 4 three children 1 four children 0 Total 5 There was a total of 90 natural children living in the independent boarding homes at the tine this study was made. The average number of children for each hone was 1.76 or between one and two children. Many of the older boarding parents had other children who were married on working away from home and no longer lived with their parents. gee _<_I.f_ Own and Boer-dig Children A comparison of the ages of the own and boarding children in the independent boarding families revealed that the greatest number of board- 30 ing children were from two to seven years of age while the greatest number of natural children were between eight am thirteen years of age. (See Table VII) The fact tlat so many of the boarding children are of Ire-school age can partially be accounted for in the number of children boarded for day care only ‘10 will probably not need the boarding hone service when they have started to school. Table VII AGE Q_F___ OWN AND BOARDING CEI____L___IIREN LN CHE INDEPENDENT _BOARDING HOMES” CF INGHAM —LUNH 5...! 9:; Children Boardi_gg 011119;“ under 2 2 5 2-4 11 25 5-7 14 15 8-10 18 4 11-13 17 2 14-19 13 3 17-19 8 2 over 19 7 0 Reasons Given For M _t_9_ Board Children: A reason was given for desiring to board children on the original application form for every family except one of the 51 inde- pudent boarding fanilies. Twenty-one listed the extra income as the reason for desiring to board children. A total of 69 reasons were given by the 51 fsnilies, indicating that in many instances more than one reason was supplied. 'me next most frequent reason given after ex- 31 tra income desired was companionship for family members, either for the boarding parents or for their children. Several of the boarding mothers stated that by boarding childrai they could be hone with their own children, have companionship for them by boarding a child, and still have a little extra imone. Table VIII REASON—J GIVEN FOR BOARDING CHILDREN BY THE INDTENDENT BOARDING P__A.__'____1ENTS 2N APPLICATION 92.99.93 19: Supplanent inconn 21 Companionship 18 Enjoy child care 14 To give a child a hone 9 Have none of own 4 Help out neighbor or friend 2 Not given ___1_ Total 69 Because so many of the families boarded children to supplement the family income, a comparison of the income with the reason given for beginning to board children was made. (Table II) Sixteen of the 21 families who started to board for the extra income fell into the 52000- 33999 incom bracket. It was interesting to note that the three families with incomes less than $2000 per year all began to board children for stated reasons other than the extra money. It is difficult to tell, however, how accurate the reasons givm on an application blank migit 52 be because of the desire to put down 'what was wanted’ or to cover up the underlying reason, not admitting it even to thanselves. This is one of the major problems faced by the social worker in licensing boarding homes because often the real reasons for wanting to board children are diffICult or even impossible to determine with any accuracy. Table IX REuSONS GIVEN FOR BOARDINg CHILDREN ACCORDING TO INOOhm 9;; THE INDEPENDENT BOARDING HOMES 19.292 under $1000 1 I 31000-91999 1 1 2 32000-52999 8 2 s a 2 1 19 83000-93999 8 9 e e 28 34000-34999 3 e 1 1 1 9 35000-95999 2 3 2 l 1 1 10 Supplement Family TO give Help out enjoy have none not Tota‘ Income Companion- child Neighbor child of own given ship a hone or Friend care Findings from the Home Interviews: The home visits to the 20 families chosen for the sample from the total group of 51 homes were useful in completing the study of the boarding home parents because they gave insight and meaning to the factual natarial obtained from the files. All of the 20 fanilies visited were cooperative and helpful. These families, accustomed to being visited by case workers frm the welfare department , were not reluctant to dis- cuss their boarding experiences with a stranger. Eleven of the homes visited boarded children hull time. Seven of the families were licensed for day care only and two homes were boarding Children both on a full time and day care basis. Six of the families visited.were not boarding any children.at the time of the interview. Certain topics were discussed.with each boarding mother quite fully. These included how the fanily first learned about boarding children, reasons for beginning to board.dhildren, reasons given by the real parents for boarding their children in these homes, charges for boarding Children, length of time boarding children have been in the home, pnoblams encountered in boarding children, concepts of child guidance held by the boarding parents, observed.relationships between boarding parents and foster children, and satisfactions realized by the boarding parents, in caring fcr other people's children. It is im- possible to draw a.conc1uaive picture of the situation of the independent boarding home from.so snail a group, but a discussion of the inter-re- lationships between family'members'and the boarding children re- vealed in visiting these 20 fanilies gives an indication of certain dif- ferences among the homes and.helps to reveal the possible strengths and weaknesses inherent in the independent boarding home. All of the 20 homes visited gave an impression of neatness. Some were furnished much better then others, but flowered slip-covers helped to give a home-like appearance in many cases. Children's toys were in evidence in those homes boarding younger Children. Blade and bicycles were often seen on the front porches or propped along the side of the house. One family had a miniature playhouse in.the front yard. Shrubbery and neat hedges gave evidence that care was given to the yard during the sunser months. lbst of the boarding mothers visited (13) were dressed in cotton housedressee, although 11 vs of the foster mothers were clad in more dressy attire, mch a suit or crepe dress. One young foster mother wore slacks and another was dressed in a sweater and tweed skirt. Almost all of the boarding mothers appeared neat and clean. Two of the foster mothers had their hair in curlers during the inter- view. One of them explained that the following day was her wedding aniversary ad she had washed her hair so it would look nice for the next evening. How the family first learned about boardng children: The boarding mothers learned about boarding children in a variety of casual ways, chiefly from friends and relatives. (7 cases) One womm first began to board children when her daughter, who boarded independently, asked her to take a child that had been referred to her. Another mother heard that you could get children from a local agency from a friend at a church social and decided to apply. In another home, the boarding mother had first kept a little girl whose parents were separated as a personal favor and then applied for a license when the child's parents wanted her to conti nus to board the child. Seven of the boarding mothers had friends or relatives who boarded children and became interested in caring for children that way. One family was asked by the visiting teacher to board a high school girl. In one case, the boarding mother stated that she first began to baby-sit for neigh- bors and then began to board children of mothers working in factories during the war. Another boardirg mother stated that she had boarded 35 her own children diring the war for day care while she was working. Seven of the families stated they did not realize that a license was required by law if you cared for other people's children in your home. The Michigan Department of Social Welfare contacted two of the boarding mothers about a license after seeing their advertise- ment to board children in the newspaper. Reasons for beginning _t_<_>_ board childrefin: Eleven of the 20 fanilies stated on their original application that they wanted to board children to supplement their income. Nine families stated or implied this reason in the interview. Five of the boarding mothers had specific reasons for needing the extra income. One family had recently purchased a new home and the mother felt that she could help pay for the house sooner by boarding children. Another family had had many expenses with a new sewer and water system and the money earned by boarding children would help meet this expense. Two of the boarding mothers began to board children to help out their husbands while still in school and beginning a new business. Another reason given by one foster mother was the need for extra money for recreation. the. 3'. stated that the chief reason that she wanted to board child...-sn was because she en- Joyed bowling so much and by caring for child- ran it made possible extra money for this re- creation. She also is giving her little girl tap dancing lessons from the extra money and what is left goes for groceries. We. I told this with a great deal of humor and said, ”I suppose I have a guilt complex or something about my bowling, but I do enjoy it.1 Several of the boarding mothers felt that boarding children was vase No. 11. Appendix, p. 98- 36 a good way to make a little extra money and at the same time be at home with their own children. One woman said that she began to board children when her husband objected to her working in a factory during the war. Mrs. T started to board.ahildren during the war, she imagined.it was about five years ago. She had gotten a JOb in one of the defense industries, working the opposite shift from her husband so that one of mem could be home with her two boys at all times. Her husband.did.not like the idea of her working outside the hone and told her she could do anything, piecework at home or whatever she liked, Just so she wouldn't work out. Mrs. '1' decided to start boardirg children.l Nine of the foster mothers began to board.at least partly for the companionship children would afford. One young foster mother began to board Children because her husband worked suCh irregular hours and was often gone overnight that she wanted something to keep her busy and decided that boarding children was an adequate solution. One mother had raised four Children of her own and was so lonesome without a child around the house that she began to board Children. Another foster mother began to board children because she felt that her own youngster was becoming spoiled and mother child in the home might help to overcome this. Two other families gave sindlar reasons of wanting companionship for their children. In at least two cases, although it was not clearly stated, it appeared to the interviewer that the help of the boarding Child around the house was valuable. In one case, the boarding mother admitted some help; for the other family it was Just surmised. Four of the families which were visited had started to board children for an agency before they began to board daildren independently. la N ease No. 4. Appendix. p. 97 37 Mrs. P feels that boarding independently is a more satisfactory arrangement than boarding for the court or for an agency. She stated that when you make an arrangement with the child's own mother, the situation works out much better. She felt that you are also more likely to get normal children. From the agency, Mrs. P said that she never knew what she was going to get. Mrs. P also stated that the agency tried to la down too many regulations to follow in caring for their children and Mrs. P felt that with her wide experience in caring for children, being told mat to do was unnecessary and irritating.l Another boarding mot her found that die had many more problems with children boarded from an agency thm with children boarded independently. This boarding mother also gave the extra money from boarding independently as a reason for changing from an agency to an independent boarding home. All of the boarding mothers stated that their husbands either did not mind having the boarding children in the home or were actively interested in them. One foster mother said that she would not have started boarding children if her husband had minded and this seemed to indicate the general trend of thought. The major part of the care of a boarding child fell on the mother and it was she who made the decision to board children, in agreement with her husband. Reasons given by the natural parents for boarding their children 31.}; these homes: The most common reason given by the natural parents to the board- ing parents for placing their children was that both parents worked during the day and consequently there was no one to care for the child Case No. 20. Appendix, p. 124. 38 while they wer gone. (10 cases) One boarding mother boarded a two year old boy whom she has had since he was a few weeks old. Johnny's parents wanted to board him at first be- cause they both wanted to work to pay for the large hospital bill which occurred when he was born. the. n (the boarding mother) said that the child's rather is a great sport's fan and goes to many games through- out the year. Hs expects his wife to accompany him. Johnny's mother enjoys working and evidently the couple could afford to take the boy back now but are reluctant to do so until the child starts schoo . The mother pays his board bill from her salary. Other boarding parents reported similar situations, in which the boarding child's mother preferred working to caring for the child and boarded him for that reason. One foster mother felt that the child's parents probably saved very little money by having both parents work because by the time the child's board bill was paid, car fare and lunches for the parents figured out, the remainder would be quite small. Another reason given many times by the boarding child's own mother for boarding the child was divorce. In the majority of these cases, it was necessary for the mother to work to support herself and her child and there were no relatives or other persons who could care for the child during the day while she was gone. Most of the families contacted to boarded children from divorced parents boarded them full time. (7 cases) This could be die to the fact that the divorced mother often had no home except fa: a single furnished room to which to take the child at night. Those parents who were both working were about even- ly divided between those who boarded their children for day care, lCase No. 3. Appendix, p. 75. 39 (6 cases) and those who boarded them full tine. (4 cases) These two r .asons, both parents working and divorce, were the two most common ones given for placing children in independent board- ing homes. Two boarding mothers either had at one time or were at the present, boarding children of unwed mothers. Another boarding mother had boarded children briefly mile the real mother was in the hospital. It was found that many of the boarding mothers were interested in discussing the boarding children's real parents in some detail dur- . ing the interview. Some d“ the foster mothers expressed hostility toward the real parents for 'not loving the child enough to give it a normal homa'. One boarding mother confessed that she occasionally found herself trying to turn the boarding child against hisown parents. In many instances, the boarding mother interpreted the reason the boarding children were placed in a boarding home differently from the natural parents. This was particularly true of the cases where both parents found it necessary to work. One boarding mother stated that the mother of the child she boarded dressed much better than she herself was able to afford. Consequently, the boarding mother felt that the child's mother wasfinancially able to have the child at home, but was unwilling to assume the responsibility. Charges for boardigg children: The amount charged by the boarding parents for caring for foster children in their homes varied considerably. One family did not re- ceive any payment for this service. Two families received as much as $15 per week for full time care. This was the highest amount charged 40 by any of the boarding homes. The average amount received.for full tine care was about $12 a week and $2 a day for day care. One boarding mother stated that during the war die had charged $2 a day for day care, but has lowered the rate to $1.50 a day since that time. Some boarding mothers made specific arrangements with the boarding child's parents to take the child for at least one day over the week end, with a corre- eponding reduction in the fee. One boarding mother stated that she liked to have the boarding child go to his own home on Sundays so that she could rest and have one day alone with her family, without the boarding children to care for. The amounts charged per week were as follows: None 1 Less than.$5.00 l $5.004? .49 1 $750-$939 3 homo-$12.49 10 Memo-$15.00 __9__ Total 22* * Two families had two rates each, one for daily care and for weekly care. Most payment was by the week. There were problems concerning the payment of the fee. One of the board- ing mothers said that ehe always asked to be paid in advance because she was certain of being paid.if this were the arrangement. Another boarding mother stated that she had never had any trouble collecting the boarding money and canned surprised that others had had any difficulty. Two foster mothers stated that they always had been paid regularly by 41 the boarding child's parents but that they had gone to the place where the woman worked every pay day to collect their money. Other- wise, they found that the money had been spent elsewhere before paying the board bill. Legth .9; T the Boarding Family has been Boardig Children: The boarding mothers who were interviewed had been boarding children for varying lengths of time. One mother had been boarding children for seventeen years. Six families had boarded children be- tween five and ten years and six families had been boarding from one to two years. Length 3; Time Boarding Families Had Been Licensed Less than 1 year 1 l-3 years 10 4-6 years 5 7-10 years 3 more than 10 years ___l__ Total 20 Four of the boarding mothers stated trmt they had been boarding the children they had at the time of the interview from four to six months. Seven of the children boarded at the time of the interview had been boarding with that family for one to two years and three children had been with the same boarding family two years or longer. 42 Length _o_f_'_ time Boardig Children had be_ejr._1 in Home Less than 1 month 3 1-6 months 7 7-12 months 3 13-24 months 3 25-37 months 6 Total 22 children Problems encountered in boarding children: Fifteen of the boarding families interviewed had few or no problems with which they felt unable to cope. The easier problems mentioned were thumb-sucking (2), difficulty in securing obedience (3), and bed-wetting (3). Four of the boardixg mothers spoke in detail of problems with the boarding children which they seemed unable to cope with or get to the root of the trouble. All of these fanilies were boarding children over seven years of age. None of the 20 boarding mothers interviewed reported serious problems with the pre-school age children. A brief discussion of the four families who have had unusual trouble in meeting the problems of the boarding children under their care will illustrate the types of problems encountered in carirg fcr foster children. The Q family has been boarding children for over seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Q are both in their late thirties and they make their home on a mall farm with their two sons. At the present time, the Qs are boarding a borther and sister. The boy is nine years old and the girl eight. Their mother is divorced and. is working. These child- ren have been with the Qs for two and a half years. Mrs. Q is very fond of both of the child- ren but has sons trouble with the boy., Arthur. Mrs. Qe own children feel that Arthur gets out of deserved whippings and voiced the wish that he would leave. Arthur also wets the bed. Mrs. 43 Q has tried everything die can think of to help the boy overcme this. She has tried punishing him, taking away privileges, making him wash his own bedding, and other ways. None of them seem to do any good. She gets him up at night, often twice, and in this way avoids having a wet had every night. Mrs. Q. feels that Arthur's mother should take him to a doctor and try to do something for him. Whenever she tried to talk to the mother about the situation, she changed the conversation and so finally Mrs. Q called the grandmother and the boy is going to the doctor next week. Once, when Mrs. Q told the mother that either she would have to take the boy to the doctor or also pay more board money for him, the mother took the boy aside and told him that she couldn't afford to pay any more money asked him to please stop wetting the bed. Mrs. Q, felt that this was very bad as Arthur felt terrible and just asking him to stop was getting no more} This problem has been a difficult one because it upset the relationship between the boy and the other children living in the hem. It was further complicated by the indifference of the child's own mother. The A family had a problem of a different type with seven year old Dickie mom they were boarding. Mrs. A promised to board Dickie, the boarding child, sight unseen. When the mother arrived with Dickie she was appalled because of his thinness, dirtiness, and peculiar haircut which was very uneven due to another child trying to cut it in a former boarding home. Dickie's mother brought him straight from the other boarding hone to the As. Mrs. A stated that she and bar husband felt a great deal of sympathy for the child. He could speak only three words when he first came to their home a year and a half ago and it was soon obvious to them that he was rather dull mentally. The child is a very heavy eater which Mrs. A feels is unnatural for his age and size. (He is very thin). She said that when he first came to live with them, l - Case ho. 16. Appendix, p. 111. they let him eat as much as he wanted to, but he mld keep on eatirg until he vomited. Consequently, they are careful not to let him have too much food at one meal. Dickie also has a tnedency not to tell the truth about 311911 matters, which worried Mrs. A . She gave an example dist happened that noon when she noticed that some of the leaves were removed from one of the plants in the room. She asked Dickie if he had cbne this and he denied it, though she had seen him at the plant. Mrs. A expressed some concern over the fact that Dickie's dullness mentally may lead him to grow up to be violent and uncontrollable. She cited as an example one of the front windows finish was badly cracked more Dickie had hit it when he was angry. The child also has a speech impediment, not being able to pronounce the letter '1" but the child’s own mother is unconcerned about this, saying that her older boy had the same trouble and outgrew it.1 Mrs. A stated that die felt very sorry for the youngster and spoke with pride of the improvement he had made since living with them. However, this problem is one that will probably not be cleared up very soon, and Mrs. A felt at a loss as to how to handle it. The R fanily had been boarding a 17-year-old high school girl for over a year at the time the interview was made. Paula was classed as a 'problem child’ when she was brought to the R home, and Mrs. R feels that, given the opportunity, she would never take mother teen- ageer with problems. Mrs. R stated that Paula thinks the world owes her a livirg. Mrs. R felt that the girl's attitude was that 'if you are nice to me and give me things, I will be as good and pleasant as a child can be but if you cross me, I will make you sorry.’ Paula helps with the dishes and does sons cleaning and other tasks about the house, but Mrs. R feels that the girl «has not help as much as she could if she would only try. 1Case No. 14. Appendix, p. 105. 45 Another problem which Hrs. R has with Paula has to do with clothes. The arl does not understand the difference between work clothes and good clothes, acca'dizg to the. R, and will wear her good sweaters with her blue Jeans around the house and put on her good coat to go out to the garbage can or to get the milk. The girl also has a tendency to want more expensive clothes than the Re can afford. Mrs. R feels that Paula should be able to get a Job part time diring the year and during the simmer. However, so far, die has not been able to get Paula to do this, even though she has mentioned several Job opportunities to her. Mrs. R stated that one of her chief problems with Paula is the fact that she doesn't show any appreciation for things which are done for bar. This problem is a serious one for the Rs because they lack the experience to understand the needs of an adolescent. The Re have no children of their was The writer felt, however, that die to the lack of frankness on the part of the boarding mother airing this interview, that the real reasons for the family continuing to board Paula were not stated. The license for this home is a provisional one because the child sleeps on the davenport due to the fact that there is no extra bed. The B family also boarded a high school girl, 15 year old Janice. Janice came to live with the Be two years ago in March. The Be have legal custody of the girl and plan to keep her with them until she is able to care for herself adequately. Mrs. B explained that the arrangement was beneficial to than as well as to Janice because the girl helps with the dishes and washing, as well as caring for the children. The Be have tried to make Janice feel that she is one of the family but Mrs. B spoke several times during the course of the interview of the resent- ment which Janice has. She stated that about once 2 Case No. 18. Appendix, p. 117. 46 each month she found it necessary to sit down with the girl and talk things out with her. She said with a laugh that her husband called it arguing but that she felt it was Just getting things straight- ened out. The Be three little girls like Janice, but Mrs. B stated that she found it necessary to put the children to bed herself because Janice could not manage them as easily. Mrs. B wants Janice to tell her where she is going when she leaves the house and related an incident which occurred last sinner when Janice called up and said they were going out to Lake Lansing. Mrs. B inquired who with and what were they going to do there. Janice did not know and so Mrs. B was hesit- ant to let her go. Janice told Mrs. B that she Just didn't want her to have any fun. Mrs. B said that die tells Janice frequently that she hopes she has enough sense to stay on with them, at least until die finishes h1g1 school. As a graduation gift next spring, the Be are planning to take Janice with them on a trip to the west coast. The family is looking forward to this event.l The problems encountered by this family seem to stem from the fact that they have three children of their own to worry about and the extra bur- den of the boarding child often proves too much for them. These four families illustrate boarding homes which have had more than an expected number of problems in working with the boarding child- ren under their care. It is interesting to note that not one of the four mothers spoke of not keeping the children, during the interview, though they are not obliged to continue to care for children, if they do not wish to do so. On the other hand, many of the boarding mothers appeared to be genuinely surprised that boarding children might present more problems 1Case No. 17. Appendix, p. 114. 47 than their children. One young mother of twins was expecting to go to the hospital soon after the time of the interview to have another baby. She had been caring for a four year old boy during the day and found that he was an excellent companion for her during this tin and she felt almost as though he were one of the fanily. This boarding mother had made arrangements for her mother to care for the boarding child during the time she was in the hospital and expected to continue boarding the boy after her return. Another foster mother stated that she had always tried to give the boarding children in her care the love and security they needed so badly. Whm this need was met, she had no trouble in meeting the occasional problems which might occur. Concepts 9; child guidancg held by the boarding parsing: closely related to the number of problems encountered in working with the boarding children are the concepts of child guidance held by the boarding parents. It would be difficult to ascertain what applica- tion was made of the beliefs about child care expressed in one inter- view by the boarding mother. However, the ideas in regard to bringing up children provide some clues to the individual boarding parent's feel- ings about the needs of the children in her care. One boarding mother stated that the seven year old girl she has been boarding has had a difficult tin adjusting to her own mother’s remarriage and divorce. The boarding mother stated that children bear the brunt of such family troubles because they can't understand them rationally and can only feel the situation which is confusing and up- setting to them. This particular child has reacted to the situation by aggressive behavior. The boarding mother said that die has tried to 48 help the little girl by giving her love and respect. With this security, the boarding mother felt that she had had less trouble in meeting the problems presented. Two other boarding mothers also men- tioned the importance of love and security as a basis in working with children. Another young boarding mother said that when the boarding child- ren had disputes over who was to have a certain toy, die allowed the one who had the toy in his first place to keep it because she felt it was unfair to deprive one child.merely to pacify the other. This board- ing mother felt that fanilies who board.children full time have a chance to do a better Job because they see more of the boarding child- ren and.are able to understand their problems better. Another boarding mother~felt that the parents of the two-year. old boy she was boarding were missing the best years of his life. She felt that when he was older and in high school, the boy would do things which the parents would.find inexplainable because they were not living with the child when he was fonning his patterns of behavior. The boarding mother stated that the years for character formation are the first five and the child's own parents would have missed them all, if they continue to board the child in a boarding home until he starts to school. In another foster family, the boarding mother stated that the seven year old boarding child would eat food until he vomited. Cone sequently, they were careful not to let him.have too much food at one meal. The foster mother wondered if perhaps the child's hearty appetite might not be a method of compensation for his feelings of insecurity. .49 One of the older boarding mothers spoke with sympathy of girls who 'get in trouble'. If she had the money, she would like to start a home for them to give unwed mothers a place to live where they would have a chance 'to make a go of it' without being condemned as bad. This boarding mother stated that she felt the girl's own parents in such a situation were basically at fault by not giving them the proper instruction and a whole some exanple at home, rather than letting them learn the facts of life from their friends or in school. The foster mother also felt that the boy was as much to blame in such cases as the girl, but the girl had to bear the brunt of the social criticism because she carried the child and no one knew who the father was or condemned him. These caments were representative of those made about child guidance during the home interviews. One mother spoke of sending to the Children's Bureau in Washington for the government publications on children and mother mentioned that she had found Dr. Spock's book on child care in the Pocket Edition of great help. Several of the boarding mothers stated that they were probably much more lenient with the boarding children than their own parents would be. One boarding mother felt that what the boarding child needed most was some outside person to talk to her and help straighten the girl out. Another boardixg mother stated that a religious how. is the best environment for a child to grow up in. Two of the boarding mothers hesitated to show too much affection for the boarding children because they felt that this would tend to make it harder for the child to understand when he was taken from the boarding her. One of the boarding mothers stated that she always gave the board- SO. ing children a variety of toys and playthings which kept him in- terested and happy. Consequently, she never had any trouble with her personal possessions being broken. Another boarding mother said that she did not believe in removing ashtrays and knick-knacks from the tables. Instead, she taught the boarding children that these things were not to be disturbed, 81d that they had their own things with which to play. This boarding mother also felt that it was im- portant to be firm with a child in what he could do and not do, or he lost all respect for the adult. Another boarding mother also felt that you must be firm with children and they won't run wild away from home if they are handled sensibly at hone. During another interview, the boarding mother stated that you didn't need to be strict with child- ren to make them mind, but rather, it met be made clear to them where they stand and what you expect of them. This mother felt that it was unfair to burden a child with adult problems which he could not understand, because they only confuse aid upset the child. One of the boarding mothers stated that die did not believe in spanking children unless other methods have been tried, first. Another boarding mother spoke of a three year old boy she had boarded whose parents could not manage. However, the boarding mother wauld Just tell the child that unless he minded her, he couldn't go out and play with the other boys. She found that this method of handling the situation was successful and he never had to spank him. In mother home, the boarding child reported to the boarding mother that her own mother stole articles from stores. The boarding mother confronted the child's mother with this place of in- fomation which angered the woman. However, the boarding mother assured 51 the boarding child that as long as she stayed in her home, she would never be punished for telling the truth. The problem of an allowance arose in one of the boarding homes with an older girl. The boarding mother tried to give the boarding child an allowance of $3 per week but discontinued it because the girl did not know how to manage the money. The family solved the problem by allowing the girl to ask for money as she needs it, and the situation is greatly improved. In another home, the boarding mother stated that she gave the boarding child a quarter for each A she brought home on report cards. It is evident that each d' the twenty honss visited had a slightly different situation, and for that reason the problems pre- sented varied and the solutions to these problens and the theories of child guidance held by each of the boarding mothers were of an individual nature. _O_b_served Relationship; Between Foster Parents and BoardLng Children: In some of the 20 homes visited, the boarding children were present for at least part of the interview. The casual relationships observed between the foster parents and the boarding children in the hon we e ineeach instance apparently harmonious. During one interview the 17 year old girl came in the back door Just as the interview was ending. She called a cheery greeting to her foster mother as she entered the door. Another foster family boarded three infants, who were seen. The youngest baby was in a room adjoining the living room and when die seemed to be getting quite restless, Mrs. N went and got her and she played happily on the davenport next to Mrs. N the rest of the time I was there. Mrs. N gave her a piece of cellaphane to play with and talked to her occasionally. While we were 52 talking, Janet, the sixteen month old girl awoke from her nap and Mrs. N called to her son to put her on the toilet chair and get her dressed, which he did, and then carried her downstairs. Janet is a pretty little girl.wdth reddish blonde hair and nice features. She came readily over to the daven- port and smiled shyly. Mrs. N said.that she had fourteen teeth.already. The little two year old boy came downstairs soon after. he is a sturdy looking youngster with.unruly blond hair, and was dressed in red overalls and.a tee shirt. He was a little shy about coming into the room and stood by the window, clutching the curtain until he finally ran over to Mrs. N. Another boarding mother answered the door with the boarding child, two year old.Ann, with her. As I removed.my cost, due introduced Ann to me, urging the child to tell me her name, which she did. The boarding child in the 0 home was present throughout the interview. Billy, the two year old.boarding child played nearby throughout the interview. Occasionally, he came over to the boarding mother and put his arms about her neck or called to her about some- thing. Mrs. C seemed.to have a very nice re- lationship with the child, answering his ques- tions and being very interested in him, without overdoing it. When she asked him to do some- thing, he did it willingly. Billy's behavior could be contrasted with that of the two year old boy boarded by the E family. Johnny, the two year old boarding child, was present during the interview. He is a.thin blonds boy with big blue eyes. he was quite demanding of Mrs. E's attention during our conversation, crying twice, asking to be helg, and poking at her face and eyes while we were talking. 1Case No. 1. Appendix, p. 69. acase No. 2. Appendix, p. 72. 3Case No. 3. Appendix, p. 75. 1......“ 1'... \I.u.l‘s sin? b slat: 53 When the visit was made to the F home, Mrs. F opened the door and then went to see what was wrong with the baby who was crying in the bedroom. She returned with the 10 months old child in her arms. The child had ceased crying and was very good throughout the interview, laughing and play- ing with her toys. Just before I left, the three year old boarding child awoke from her nap and came into the room. She had blonds, naturally curly hair and deep dimples when she smiled. Although she ap- peered to be rather shy and sat close to Mrs. F on the davenport, she talked a little to me and eventually came over and showed me her recipe, of which she is very proud. Most of the time she was in the room, however, she looked at magazines or played nicely with the baby. In each of these homes, the relationship between the foster mother and the boarding children was apparently a pleasant one. Satisfactio_n_s_ realized by boardigg parent : It is difficult to detennine exactly what rewards are to be found boarding children. For each of the foster families, tm place of the boarding child in the home may be a little different and may have a different meaning for them. One of the chief satisfactions mentioned by the boarding mothers was the realization that they were of assistance in helping a child to grow up normally in a pleasant, happy environment. Five of them felt that the boarding children under their care had improved in their be- havior and general adjustment in a way which would not have been possible otherwise. One of the older boarding mothers stated that she had boarded more than twenty-three children in the last eighteen years and had enjoyed ‘ ._‘ 1 Case No. 6. Appendix, p. 83. 54 every one of them. She spoke with pride of the ones who now had child‘en of their own to care for and said she still received letters from many of them addressed to 'Mom and Pop'. Several of the boarding mothers spoke critically of the abilities of the natural parents to care for the children they boarded and felt that they had a definite responsibility in assuming the role of parents for these children whose natural parents had failed to care for them.properly, either intentionp ally or through ignorance. Although almost half of the boarding mothers interviewed stated that they had begun to board children for the money received, after talking to each of then» it appeared that in almost every case there was a fundamental enjoyment of children. Ewen those families who spoke at length of the problems they had with the board, ing children seemed to be genuinely interested in helping the child find a constructive solution to his difficulty. Two of the boarding mothers mentioned that they would.like to adopt a child. In one case, the family wished to adopt the boarding child. In the other case, the family had no girls of their own and the boarding mother expressed the desire to adopt a little girl. Three of the boarding mothers stated that the boarding child provided a playmate for their own children. In two cases, the primary satisfaction seemed to come from the pride felt in being able to successfully handle the boarding children. 56 4. Charges for boarding children 5. Problems encountered in boarding children 6. Concepts of child guidance held by the boarding parents 7. Length of time boarding children have been in the home 8. Observed relationships between boarding parents and foster children 9. Satisfactions realised by boarding parents The material used from the record files of the Michigan Depart- ment of Social Welfare was compared with figures for the total number of independent boarding homes in the state of Michigan and with national figures, whenever possible. Tables were nade illustrating these com- parisons. The material used from the interviews of the 20 families il- lustrated the topics discussed with definite examples of specific in- cidents. It was found that 34 of the boarding fathers and 39 of the boarding mothers were between 30 and 50 years of age. Ten to 12 grades of school had been completed by 24 of the board- ing fathers and 22 of the boarding mothers. The breadwinners in slinost half of the boarding homes, 24, fell in the skilled and semi-skilled occupational group. The median income earned by the husband in the independent board- ing homes was $3658 yearly. Of the 5l independent boarding house, 43 were of the Protestant faith, the others were Catholic. No Negro homes were found. There was a total of 90 own children in the 51 independent boarding homes of Ingham County at the time this study was made. There were about 100 boarding children in these boarding homes. The greatest number cf own children, were from 8-10 (18 cases) years of age while the greatest number, (25) of boarding children were from two to four years of age. 55 Chapter V SUM/HR! AND CONCLUSIONS The purpose of this study was to discover certain distinguishing characteristics of the persons who become boarding home parents in the independent boarding home situation and to discover what were the contributing factors which influenced these persons to become boarding home parents. Some attempt was also made to evaluate the boarding home situation in terms of the problems presented, the reasons given for placing children in the independent boarding homes, and the relative success of the arrangement. Two methods were used in collecting material for the study. First, the file records of the Nfichigan Department of Social Welfare were studied for each of the 51 independent boarding homes in Ingham County, Michigan. The material obtained from this source included: 1. Ages of the boarding parents 2. Education of the boarding parents 3. Occupation of the boarding father 4. Yearly incone (If the boarding family 5. Religion and race of the boarding parents 6. Number of own children and boarding children 7. Ages of own and boarding children 8. Reasons given for boarding children by the boarding parents. Secondly, a sample of 20 families was chosen at random.according to geographical location in the county to be interviewed. These twenty families were visited over a period of 29 days. The interview was planned to last approximately an hour. These factors were discussed with each of the boarding mothers visited: 1. Reasons for beginning to board children 2. How the boarding parents first learned about boarding children 3. Reasons given by the natural parents for boarding their children in these homes. 56 4. Charges for boarding children 5. Problems encountered in boarding children 6. Concepts of child guidance held by the boarding parents 7. Length of time boarding children have been in the home 8. Observed relationships between boarding parents and foster children 9. Satisfactions realised by boarding parents The material used from the record files of the Michigan Depart- ment of Social Welfare was compared with figures for the total number of independent boarding house in the state of Michigan and with national figures, whenever possible. Tables were made illustrating these com- parisons. The material used from the interviews of the 20 families il- lustrated the topics discussed with definite examples of specific in- cidents. It was found that 34 of the boarding fathers and 39 of the boarding mothers were between 30 and 50‘ years of age. Ten to 12 grades of school had been completed by 24 of the board- ing fathers and 22 of the boarding mothers. 'mie breadwinners in almost half of the boarding homes, 24, fell in the skilled and semi-skilled occupational group. The median inc oms earned by the husband in the independent board- ing homes was $3658 yearly. Of the 51 independent boarding horses, 43 were of the Protestant faith, the others were Catholic. No Negro homes were found. There was a total of 90 own children in the 51 independent boarding homes of Ingham County at the time this study was made. There were about 100 boarding children in these boarding homes. The greatest number (I own children, were from 8-10 (18 cases) years of age while the greatest number, (25) of boarding children were from two to four years of age. 57 A total of 69 reasons was given by the boarding parents for be- ginning to board children. The reason given most frequently, (21) was to supplement the family income. The next most frequent reason given (18) was for the companionship a boarding child would afford. The reasons given by the boarding parents in the 20 home inter- views for beginning to board children centered around the extra money (9) and family companionship (9). Five of the boarding mothers had specific uses planned for the added income from boarding children. The boarding parents first learned about boarding children from neighbors or relatives in 9 cases. The two reasons given most often by the parents of the boardirg children for placing their children in these homes we e divorce and both parents working. The most frequent problans occurring with the boarding children were thumb-sucking (2 cases), bed-wetting, (3 cases) and securing the child's obedience (3 cases). At least 15 of the 20 mothers interviewed revealed some knowledge of basic concepts of child guidance. The boarding mothers charged an average of around $2 a day for day care and about $12 a week for full time care. In the majority of those homes boarding full time, some arrangement was made for the natural parents to take the boarding children for at least part of one day each week. The satisfacti one found in boarding children mentioned were the feeling that the boardizg family was of importance in helping a child achieve a normal, happy childhood by giving him a substitute home and the enjoyment gained by the boarding family in having the boarding child in the home. Her own self-development was mentioned by one boarding mother and pride in the ability to handle children was mentioned Lit fives! . It I} .P ‘11 F anti,- 181’?! _ a y 1.... .\ 58 twice. It is impossible to draw any definite conclusions about the situation in the independent boarding home in general from so small a group. However, certain possible characteristics should be noted. 1. It appears that persons under 30 and over 50 years of age do not tend to bee me boarding home parents. Almost 75 percent of the in- dependent boarding home parents in Ingham County were between 30 and 50 years of age. 2. The percentage of independent boarding home parents with incmmes between $2000 and $4000 a year was 72.5 percent conmared to 41.5 percent of the families in the United States earning between $2000 and $4000 per year. There may be several reasons to account for the larger number of independent boarding homes falling in this income bracket. It is pos- sible that fewer persons in the higher income brackets, from.$4000 up, board children because there is less need to supplement the family income and consequently, they do not consider boarding children for the extra money unless there is some other reason such as the desire for the companionship of a child, to motivate these homes to board children. 3. It would appear that most independent boarding homes are licensed to care for one or two children. Thirty-eight of the boarding homes in Ingham County were licensed fcr those numbers. No homes in Ingham County were licensed for more than four children, and only 11 homes in the state of Michigan.were licensed for more than four children. It is stated in the boarding hon laws that no homes shall be licensed for more than four children, except under special circumbtances. 4. Evidently, the independent boarding hcme parents prefer boarding pre-school children. Fifteen of the 20 families interviewed stated 59 this preference. The reasons given for preferring younger children were that they presented fewer problems and that they went to bed earlier thus giving the boarding mother more time to be with her own family in the evenings. Also, there would seem to be a greater need for pre-school children to be boarded during the day time than for child- ren who are in school all day. 5. The need for the natural mmmr of the boarding children in the independent boarding homes to work is the chief reason given by the real mothers for boarding their children. This includes cases where both parents are working (10) and cases where the divorced mother is working (9). Many of the boarding mothers were not in sympathy with this reason. This feelixg on the part of the boarding mother could partly be due to hostility or feelings of resentment that these women are able to work outside of the home and they resent the fact that they are not able, for various reasons, to do so, also. Another reason for the hostile feelings expressed between the boarding mothers and the real parents of the boarding children could be the sympathy felt by the boarding mothers for the children boarded in her home, and resent- ment that the child's own parents will not seems the parental responsi- bility of making a hone for the child. 6. It would appear that more problems occur in caring for boarding children over seven years of age. Four families in the sanple inter- view described serious problans with the boarding children. In each case, the children were over seven years old. No serious problems were re- Ported with boarding children under seven years of age. It is possible that the boarding parents do not recognize the symptoms of difficulties Present in the younger children, and excuse behavior problems in a 60 younger child that become more accentuated and more difficult to handle in a child that is a little older. 7. It appears that a high percentage of boarding parents show in- sight into the needs of the children under their care. Fifteen of the twenty families interviewed mentioned concepts of child guidance which they upheld. It would be difficult, however, to ascertain what the true child-guidance practices in the independent boarding house are likely to be. 8. The motives underlying the boarding of children are probably mixed. To earn extra income was the reason given by 21 independent boarding parents of Inghan County on their original application to board children. Some of the boarding mothers who had begun to board children to supplement the family income stated specifically what things they hoped to do with the extra money. To help pay for the home or help a husband Just getting started were two of the reasons given. Although the desire for extra income was the original motive in boarding children, it would seem that these families continue to board children because of a strong feeling for them. To even the most casual observer, caring for children is a responsibility and a tins- consuming one. The money earned in this manner is not a large sum, in comparison with the salaries offered in factories and stores. As one boarding mother stated during the interview, "You'd have to love child- ren to get into this business in the first place.” These women probably must have realized before they began to board children that the monetary rewards would be relatively small. These women were apparently home loving women. The home visits E! , it 4%!!! 6.» inane.“ 51 revealed that most of the independait boarding homes were neat and well cared for. Sleds and other playthings were in evidence but the home had a comfortable, lived in appearance. Often, if the boarding children were present during the interview, some evidence of the affection they had for the boardirg mother would be shown. 9. The problans presented by the boarding children were those often associated with feelings of insecurity such as bed-wetting, lying and obvious resentment. In all but a very few instances, the boarding mother was concerned for the child's welfare when there were problems, and anxious to help him overcome the difficulty. Several of the ' ‘ mothers asked questions during the interview about ways to meet certain speci fic problems. Suggestions for future stug: A comparison of the licensed and unlicensed independent boarding homes could be made. An analysis of the qualities of each would be of value in determining what qualifications are essential to obtain a license to board children. This analysis would provide further criteria for evaluating the boardirg horn laws which contain certain qualifications for boarding hens to be licensed. A survey of the persons who have children in independent boarding homes muld be of value in detemining what part of the population is served by the independent boarding hone and what reasons mate it es— sential for certain persons to place their children in a substitute home e a large scale study of the independent boarding home parents of 62 the state of Michigan, rather than from a single county, would give more complete information regarding the characteristics of persons becoming boarding home parents. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 7. 8. 9. 10. ll. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Baylor, Edith M. H. and Monachesi, Elio D., The Rehabilitati_o_n__g_f_ Childreg, The Theopy and Practice 3; Child Placemept, New York: Harper and Brothers. 1939. 534 p. Beegle, J. Allen, fichigan Population Compositigp _a_n_<_i_ Cha e, Special Bulletin 342. East Lansing: Michigan State College Agricultural Experiment Station, Section of Sociology and Anthropology. November, 1947. 103 p. Boarding Homes 2‘31; Children, Lansing, Michigan: Department of Social Welfare. April, 1947. 9 p. Bergman, Bernice D.. Aggmparative Stuy 2; mm Physical Neegg g_f_ Preschool Children Are Beg Met _i_.-1_i_ Homes _c_f_ Various Occug- tional Level , unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Child Development. Iowa State College. 1935. 89 p. Burgess, Ernest W. and Locke, Harvey J’., The Family, New York: American Book Company. 1945. 800 p. ”Consumer Income”, Current Pomlation Remrt . United States De- partment of Commrce, Bureau of the Census. Series P-SO, No. 6. February 14, 1950. Washington: United States Government Printirg Office, 1950. 29 p. ”Distribution of Consumer Income in 1948", 1949 Survey 3; flow Finances-Part 11g, Federal Reserve Bulletin. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. July, 1949. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. 1). 778-792. Harper, Ernest B.,D ay___ Care F__9__r Children of Worki 2g Mother , A Study of the Need for _Day _Care in Lansing, Michigan. Lansing: Michigan State College Department at Sociology, December 1, 1942. 26 p. Harper, Ernest B. and Gibson, Duane L., Reorganisation 3; Public Welfare _i_n_ Michim. East Lansirg: Michigan State College Agricultural Experimnt Station. 1941. 80 p. Kinkead, Katherine T., ”Our Son“, The New Yorker. 26:32-52, March 4, 1950. - Me Lain, Carrie, The Attitudes and Practices of 2_P_______arents in Rektigg t__q_ Their Children _o_f Pro-School £4 unpublished Master's Thesis, Department of Hons Management and Child Deve10pment, Michigan State College, 1943. 85 p. Erin. tilllitl , I I... Eula-:3 . .IL...» 12. 13. i 14. 15. 17. 18. 19. 20. 64 Sayles, Mary Buell, Substitute Parents, A Study of Foster Families, New York: The Comonwealth Fund. 1936. 309 p. Selected Statistics Relating _Tg Licensed Boarding Homes £03.; Children in Michigan. Compiled by the Research Unit, Child- ren's Division. Lansing: State Department of Social Welfare, January 30, 1950. Skodak, Marie, Children _i_._n_ Foster Homes, A Study of Mental Develop- ment, Iowa'City: University of Iowa, 1939. 156 1). Standards for Children's Organizati ons Providipg Foster Famin Care, New York: Child Welfare league of America, March, 1941. 57 p. State Charities Aid Association, How Foster Children Turn 93¢, A Study and critical analysis of 110 children who were placed in foster homes by the State Charities Aid Association and who are now eighteen years of age or over. New York: State Charities Aid Association. Publication No. 165. 1924. 235 p. Thaden, J’. F., The Lansing Region 213% Tributagy Town-Country Communities. East Lansing: Michigan State College Agricultural Experimental Station, Section of Sociology. Bulletin 302. March, 1940. 50 p. Thaden, .T. F., Population Trends _i_1_i Lichi an, Special Bulletin 236. East Lansing: Hdchigan State College Agricultural Experimental Station, Section of Sociology. June, 1933. 38 p. United States Bureau of the Census, Sixteenfli Census Re ort, Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1940. Young, Erle F., fictiomryg Social Welfare, New York: Social Science Publishers, Inc., 1948. 218 p. APPEIDIX MICHIGAN STATE COLLEGE sas'r Lansme February 14, 1950 SCHOOL OF BOMB BCONONIG DEPARTMENT OF HOME MANAGEMENT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT Mrs. John Doe 232 Arlington Drive Lansing, Michigan Dear Mrs. Doe: I am a student at Michigan State College and as a part of my work I am making a study of the independent boarding home program in this county. The study is being done with the approval of the Michigan Department of Social Welfare and the Child Development Department at Michigan State College. Because you have had valuable experience in working with children, would you be willing to spend about an hour with me, talking about your work? Before I come out, I shall telephone you and we can arrange a time which will be convenient. I shall appreciate any help mich you will be able to give me. Sine erely, Jacqueline Fuller, Graduate Student Department of Home Management and Child Development Approved by: Dr. Irma Gross, Head Department of Home Management and Child Development Michigan State College Mr. Donald W. DeVinney District Conmltant Children’s Division Michigan Department of Social Welfare vy réiilug 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 67 SAMPLE INTERVIEW DATA SiEEP Case number of family . Date of interview . Length of time of interview . Family now boards children, age . Family boards children full time. day care both Family has boarded present children since . Family has been boarding children since . Reasons given by mother for beginning to board children: Husband wants boarding children in home. doesndt mind doesn't want Own children's relationship with boarding children in home: thher prefers to board school age children. infants pre-school thher has no problems with the boarding children which are dif- some ferent from.those she has with own many children. Financial arrangement with.own.parents This plan has worked out well. has not Members of foster family: 68 SMTED CHARACTERISTICS 9}: ' .IE SALE’IE FHJILIES Case Type of Amount charged N . or own No. or board- No. License Income Yearly for board children ing children in home 1131 home 1 full 33500 $15 week 4 3 2 day 33240 3 2 day 2 1 3 full $3800 315 week 2 1 4 both 33380 $12.50 wk. full 2 2 $ 9.00 wk. day 5 full 35000 $11 week 3 1 6 day $3600 310 week 2 2 7 both 33500 $10 wk. full 2 2 $ 1.50 day, day 8 ru11 31820 $12 weak 1 0 9 ru11 $2880 3 2 a day by week 2 3 10 ru11 33380 812 week 0 0 11 day $3120 3 5 week (mornings 2 1 only) 12 full $2860 32 day 1 o 13 day 32840 $8 week 2 0 14 tu11 $3000 312 week 2 1 15 day 33500 $7.50 week 2 2 13 full 32160 310 week 2 2 17 full $3840 3 3.50 week 3 1 18 full $2400 none 0 1 19 day $3000 3 1.50 day 3 0 20 day 32300 t 1.50 day 1 0 69 This foster home is boarding three pre-school children. The two year old boy has been with the family a year because his parents are di- vorced and his mother must work. The sixteen months old grl was placed in February, 1950 for the sane reason. The six months old baby girl has lived in the boarding hone for five months because her unmarried mother is working. Family Members: Cgsg 1 Mr. N. - 45 years old W's N C 45 £011 - 20 Son - 18 Daughter - 15 Son - 10 The N home was located in one of the older middle class residential sections of the city. The N house was a large two story ivory clap- board with sn enclosed porch across the front. The small front year had grass growing in it and the family collie lay on the front steps. The front door opened into the porch mich had a cot made up on it and a few other pieces of furniture. The living room was a large one, running the width of the house. The furniture was well-worn but suitable and in taste. 1 large davenport stood against one wall. In front of the fireplace stood a coffee table with several chins figures of horses. Large matching square easy chairs were on each side of the fireplace. Two or three other overstuffed chairs and tables were arranged around the room. The windows had glass curtains and drapes of a flowered peach material. Mrs. N is a tall blonde woman with large bones. Her blue eyes and fair cola-ing make her appear very Nordic, though her family is of Mglish extraction. She was clad in a lavender cotton dress, no stockings and gabardine scuffies. Mrs. N greeted the interviewer with a pleasant smile and took her cost into the Omar rosm. When she returned they sat down, md began to talk than her son returned. He was introduced to the interviewer and then headed his mother a bill. She explained with a smile that he had Just purchased his first tailored to order suit and she wasn't 8116 how he was going to like it. Roddy is 18 years old, a very well dressed, handsome youig nan with dark coloring, resembling his father to a great extent. Mr. N came downstairs about at this time and was introduced. He is a tall man, very young looking for his age. He went back upstairs almost inmediately Ihile Roddy sat down and listened to our conversation for fifteen a: twenty minutes. Mrs. N first started boarding children about seven years ago. She did not realize that a license was needed and boarded children for some little time before the welfare office called her and made the investigation and gave her her license. Mrs. N'started to board children because she 7O liked them and her youlgest child was past the baby stage and she en- Joyed caring for a baby. She boarded three children from one family for about three years when she first started. At the present time, she is caring for three youngsters: a little boy two, a girl 16 months and a girl six months. She has had the two year old for a year, the sixteen months old girl for a week md the six months old baby for five months. Mrs. N said that most of the children she has boarded have been placed because the parents are divorced and the mother must work. This is the case for the two oldest children she now has. The mother of the six months old child is unmarried and is working to support him. Mrs. N usually charges the parents $15 a weak for full time care, or $2.50 a day. If the children go home for the week end she makes a reduction. She said that formerly she didn't make any reduction but found that the parents were more willing to take their children for part of the week end if it didn't cost them so much. Mrs. N is charging the mother of the six months old baby only $8 a week because she feels that the young mother can't afford any more than that and she wants to keep the child. She said that she has never had any trouble with the parents not paying her 11d can only remember losing about one or two weeks board in all the time she has been boarding children. She said the mother of the' youxgest child she has now is behind but she isn't worrying about it be- cause she knows it will be paid when the mother is able to do so. The youngest baby was in a room adjoining the living room and when she seemed to be getting quite restless, Mrs. N went and got her and she played happily on the davenport next to Mrs. N the rest of the time I was there. The baby is an extremely attractive little girl with very dark eyes and hair, and smiled and cooed as she looked about. Mrs. N said she is a very good child 81d that she has never had any trouble with her. The mother visits the home frequently to see her baby. Mrs. N said that the mother is also willing to come out and care for all of her boarding children if she wants to get away for an afternoon or on Sundays. She said with a smile, 111st things worked both ways, meaning that even though the mother was behind in her board payments, she and Mrs. N were working together. Mrs. N feels that it is too bad that the girl's mother won't help her care for the child or that the welfare de- partment can't do something to help her along financially as she doesn't want to give the baby up. Mrs. N said that she definitely preferred boarding pre-school children, particularly babies. Right now, she is hoping to take another child under a year old as she can have two of that age. Mrs. N said that she is always willing to take a child in an emergency as she can a].- ways find room for one more and has done this on more than one occasion. We. N stated that her own four children enjoy the boarding children im- mensely and get very attached to them. She said that her fifteen year old daughter particularly enjoyed caring for the children and always felt badly when they left the hone. M's. N said that she can see her daughter telling herself that next time will be different but after they get a new baby and he has been in the home for a week or two, the daughter cares as much for him as she did the last ones. mrs. N's children and husband are very cooperative about helping with the children, While the interviewer was there, Janet, the sixteen month old girl awoke from her 71 nap and We. N called to Roddy to put her on her toilet chair and get her dressed which he did, and then carried the child downstairs. Janet is a pretty little girl with a little reddish blond hair and nice features. She was dressed in pastel corduroy overalls and a tee shirt. She came readily over to the davenport and smiled shyly. Mrs. N said she has fourteen teeth already. The little two year old boy came down- stairs soon after. He is a sturdy looking youngster with unruly sandy hair, dressed in red overalls and a tee shirt. He was a little shy about coming into the room bit finally ran over to Mrs. N. Mrs. N stated that she didn't care what religion the parents of the children she boarded had, though the N family is Catholic. Mrs. N could recall only two children who were Catholic that she has boarded. She had a Mexican baby at one time and religion and color don't make a bit of difference if the baby needs a home and she can make room for him. Mrs. N stated that me has had very few problems with the children she has boarded. They have all eaten well and gotten along with both the fanily and the other boarding children. She said she has had trouble with some of them sucking their thumbs or fingers, a problem she never had with her own children, but she always felt that they would outgrow it or Just stop when they got used to living in the N home. Mrs. N felt a few years ago that her youngest son, Tommy, was too shy and retiring. He got interested in the Y.M.C.A. activities for boys his age and developed swimming ability and other sports down there which she thinks has benefited him. He is also a boy scout member and she was gratified when the pack leader told her that Tommy was the best be- haved boy in the pack. Mrs. N feels that you must be firm with children and that they won't run wild if they are hmdled sensibly at home. She ' said that Tomnw used to go to the LM. and stay away and miss his meals. She warned him several times that he couldn't do this and finally had to give him a paddling before he learned his lesson. Mrs. N said that perhaps she isn't as patient with older children as she might be, and that she for this reason avoids boarding older children. Mrs. N felt that perhaps she could get the children out of doors more than she does but she finds it hard to find the tin to be out with them with so many. Her oldest boy is 20 and goes out to the college, Roddy the 18 year old works at the sane place his father does, and the two younger children are in school. Meals are on a shift basis because Mr. N and Roddy must eat at different times due to their work. Mrs. N finds that things work out better if she eats with the younger children and then serves her husband am son later. ' Mrs. N was very interested in the other persons who are boarding children and asked what kind of homes may were and what kind of problems other people had. She was interested in the interview throughout and did her best to be helpful. 72 The two year old boy living with this foster family has been with them since he was eight weeks old because his mother is working. Family Members: Case 2 Mr. C - 30 years old Mrfle c - 29 Twins - 7 The C home was located on a rather busy street one block from one of the city's large manufacturing concerns. The district was one of the older residential sections aid the O house was of white frame construc- tion with a large porch in the front. It was set rather close to the sidewalk but the backyard was large and had been fenced in. The exterior was quite dirty appearing but this is to be expected in that section of town. The front door opened directly into a good size living room with the usual pieces of furniture: a large davenport, easy chair, several oc- casional chairs, bookcases, family photographs, and the like. It was a comfortable room, neat and tidy, but did not reflect outstanding taste, although it was very pleasant. Mrs. 0 opened the door with a cheery greeting and led the way into the room. She excused herself to return to the kitchen where the board- ing child was having a glass of Juice and called to the interviewer to take off her cost. In a minute die called again to come out to the kitchen. A pot of cot fee was brewing on the stove and Mrs. C got out cups and saucers and put some cookies on a plate which were enjoyed while she talked. Billy, the two year old boarding child played about on the floor and at thetable during the conversation. Mrs. C was a pretty young woman in her late twenties. Her thick dark hair, dark eyes and flashing smile made her very attractive. She wore a dark crepe dress with a flowered cotton apron over it, stockings and sandals. Mrs. G was expecting a baby in March and talked about the coming event. She was going to a baby shower that evening. Billy played nearby through- out the interview. Occasionally he came over to the boarding mother and put his arms about her neck or called to her about something. Mrs. C seemed to have a very nice relationship with the child, answering his questions and being very interested in him without over doing it. When she asked him to do something, he did it willingly. The C's have boarded Billy since he was eight weeks old. They have him in the day time only. He was the only child they had ever boarded. The fanily started to board children when 1hr. C returned to college after the war and they needed the extra money. Mrs. C did not want to work - outside of the home because of her own children, twins, now seven years old. Consequently, she knew of a neighbor who had boarded chilch'en and applied for a license. The family really feels that Billy is one of the family because he has been with them for so long. Mrs. 0 toilet trained him and helped him learn to walk. She said that he used to call her mommy like her own children did but that she felt it wasn't fair to 75 his own mother so she encourages the child to call her Leta and her husband Buncky. The 0 family enjoys having Billy around the house and he is treated much as if he were actually their own. Mr. G enjoys romping with the little boy and he in particular, is interested in the child's develop- ment because he missed the early childhood of his own twins when he was away in the army. We. C appears to enjoy the companionship which the child affords. She spoke cf planning her housework in such a manner that she and Billy can take a walk on nice afternoons. She mentioned several times how easy he is to care for and how intelligent he is. He seems to be very interested in books and played with several during the interview, using them in a variety of ways. Billy's mother works during the day and for that reason finds it necessary to board him. We. 0 plans to leave him with her mother when she goes to the hospital in March, hit will continue to board him after she is home again. She said that she felt that it was easier to work with and train a boarding child then your own because with someone slse's child it is much easier to be objective and to understand him. Mrs. C voiced no complaints against Billy's mother, saying that she paid her promptly, kept Billy well clothed and didn't feel that it was any of her business to pry further into the woman's affairs. Mrs. C charges $22 a day for caring for Billy. She said that they could always use the money which they got for boarding Billy. For instance, they found it necessary to install a bathroom downstairs. This, plus other expenses which they found have arisen after purchasirg their present home, have taken care of any extra funds. We. 0 seemed to be acquainted with mmy modern concepts of child guidance. She said she had sent to Washington for the "Your Child From Six to Twelve" booklet and Dr. Spock's pocket book on child care was in the bookcase. Mrs. 0 stated that the girl twin was a trifle taller than the boy twin and people had mentioned it enough to the boy that he was self-conscious about it and so she has tried to give him extra at- tention in other ways so that he won't feel insecure and not 'good enough'. She also said that she tried not to show too much affection for the boarding child because for awhile he did not want to leave her at night and she felt that this might be the reason and so she avoids too much display. We. 0 spoke with pride of her husband's job as well as of his position in the city sports program, displaying several trophies on the book- shelf. She was anxious that the. interviewer stay long enough to see the twins after she had voiced an interest in them. It seemed that Mrs. C is deeply happy with her little family and takes a good deal of pride in all of them, including the boarding child. Mrs. C's 81 Star and her two children came during the interview but left. soon after. Ricky, the boy twin, cans home from school just before the interviewer left. He was a handsome, dark-haired youngster, rather shy, and dressed in blue jeans. As the interviewer left the home, a dark- hairsd little girl, evidently the other twin, spoke to her from the side- W‘lke '74 This interview took about an hour. The interviewer felt it was very satisfactory and that Mrs. C was a woman capable of a great deal of giving and that she must make an excellent mother. 75 This foster family has boarded the two year old boy since Jamiary, 1948 because both his parents are working. Family Members: Case :3 Mr. E - 45 years old Bar's E "' 39 Daughter - l5 Daughter - 8 Niece - 17 The E family home was located in a semi-commercial district on one of the main streets at Lansing. Across the street from the house was a school and next door to that was a drughstore. In the blocks directly behind the E house was a nice residential section. The E home was a rather large white shingle house with a large lawn and shrubs around the front porch. The yard and home were well cared for. The interior of the home had been recently redecorated. The front door opened directly into the long living room-dining room which was done in a grey background with Chinese red accents. A piano, davenport, easy chairs and tables were attractively arranged in blending colors. Two of the lamps were Chinese in design and some incense was burning in a container on the shelf. The dining room table was covered with a bright red clothewhich reached the floor. Mrs. E was a fresh appearing woman with a busy manner. She was dressed in a cotton house dress, stockings with runs in them, and sandals. Johnny, the two year old child who is boarded, was present during the interview. Mrs. E's niece, a girl of about twelve, was also present in the dining room, though she was not introduced and she did not enter the conversation. Johnny is a thin, blonds little boy with big blue eyes. He was quite demanding of Mrs. E's attention during our conversa- tion, crying twice, asking to be held, and poking at her face and eyes while she was talking. Mrs. E appeared to be very willing to talk about her experiences in boarding children. This is the second marriage for her husband and one of her husband's daughters by his first marriage boards children. Two years ago, Mrs. E's stepdaughter was asked to board Johnny but was unable to do so and suggested that the woman call Iv'n'w. E. Iv’rs. E thought about it for awhile and finally decided to do so because of the need for the extra income. Since that tine she has taken other children for a week or two while their mother was having a new baby, but Johnny is the only child she has had over any period of time. The child is boarded full time. Mrs. E charges $15 a week board and Johnny is taken for the week ends. Johnny's parents wanted to board him at first because they both wanted to work to pay for the large hospital bi ll which occurred when he was born. Mrs. E said that the child's father is a great sport's fan and goes to many games throughout the year. He expects his wife to accompany him. Johnny's mother enjoys working and evidently the couple could afford to take the boy back now but are reluctant to do so until 76 the child has started school. The child's mother is a diabetic. It is she that pays his board bill from her salary. Johnny's parents are quite friendly with the E's visiting in their home and having them at their house. At Christmas tine, they gave presents to both of the E's. Mrs. E stated that they have a room in their house fixed for the child and have numerous toys such as a tricycle and the like, which the E's cannot afford to buy. Consequently, Mrs. E talks during the week of the fun Johnny can have playing at home with his tricycle so that he will not be too reluctant to leave them. She said that he always seems very relieved to return to the E's on Sunday night. Mrs. E said that her family and particularly her husband enjoy having Johnny with them. She said with a laugh that she thought you enjoy and appreciate children even more when you are older than you did when you were younger and struggling to make a go in life. The eight year old daughter particularly feels that Johnny is her little brether and he often goes over in the morning and crawls in bed with her. She said that the two of them used to share a room but they kept each other awake talking and giggling so they sleep in separate rooms now. Every once in awhile, Mrs. E suggests that they let Johnny go back to his own parents but her children just don't want to see him go and feel as though it would be like sending one of them away. Mrs. E stated that Johnny is a very bright child and she has never had any trouble with him. She feels that his own mother is too strict with the boy but she has taught him to mind and the parents thank her frequently for what she has done for the child. Johnny still wets the bed at night but Mrs. E feels he will outgrow this. Mrs. E felt very strongly that Johnny's own parents are missing the best years of his life. She felt that when he is older and in high school, he will start doing things that they will find unexplainable because they were not living vdth him when he was forming his patterns of be- havior. She said that the years for character formation are the first five and they will have missed them all, if she keeps Johnny until he starts school, as they wish her to do. Johnny was dressed in blue jeans and a little sweater. His own parents buy all of his clothing and Mrs. E feels that they keep him well dressed. She prefers to board younger childrm, though she feels that they are a definite responsibility. She said that Johnny had had a lot of sick- ness with infected tensile and adenoids and several ear infections. She has kept him during all of these bouts and felt that it was a responsibility to have this worry with someone else's child. However, they have en- joyed the company of the child and she feels that it is worthwhile. 77 The two year old boy in this boarding home has lived with the foster family since June, 1949 because his parents are divorced. The nineteen months old girl was placed in January, 1950 because both her parents were working. Family members: Case 4 Mr. T - 43 years old MTIe Te - 40 Son - 16 Son - 13 The T home was located in one of the older residential sections of two story wooden construction homes. The T house was a two story white clapboard with a porch running across the front and down one side. he yard appeared to be a fairly large one and there were some bushes and plantings around the side. A.glider was on the front porch. The front door opened directly into a small ball which adjoined the dining room. Beyond.that was the living room.which had aqua painted walls, a blue plush davenport and.matching chair, a coffee table with an aqua mirror in it in.front of the davenport, a knee-hole desk in the corner, other tables, and numerous family photos on shelves and an the desk. Three luminous children‘s pictures were on the wall. Dotted swiss curtains were at the windows. The room was neat and clean, though the walls were somewhat cracked and chipped. Mrs. T mentioned during the interview that they were hoping to have the walls redone soon. .Mrs. T was a plump young looking woman with reddish hair and blue eyes. She was clad in a pink rayon blouse, grey crepe skirt, stockings, and brown platform.sandals. She was interested in.hslping as much as possible and told several anecdotes in relation to things which she was tOllinSe Mrs. T started to board children during the war, she imagined it was about five years ago. She had gotten a job in one (I the defense in- dustries, working the opposite shift from.her husband so that one of them could be home with her two boys at all times. Her husband did not like the idea of her working outside of the home and told her she could do anything, piecework at home or what ever she liked, just so she wouldn't work out. Hrs. T decided to start boarding children. When she first started boarding, Mrs. T did not need a license but be- cause of a fire out near the edge of town where several children were burned, a license was required.soon.after she started to board. Mrs. T did not know of the new regulation however, until one of her neighbors lho boarded children asked her if she had one and told her that they ‘wers needed. This neighbor was unable to be licensed herself because the welfare office felt that she was too nervous to be caring for children. Mrs. T, however, called the welfare office and she was approved and li- 78 At the present time, Mrs. T is boarding two children, one day care and one full time. The little boy, two years old, began to board day care with the Ta last June. About in September, his parents separated and divorced, and since that time, Mrs. T has had the child full time. His board bill is paid by the father who evidently has custody of the child, but his mother calls and comes to see him regularly. Mrs. T has an apartment upstairs which she rents and which the child's mother would like to have but Mrs. T feels that this would be a very unsatis- factory arrangement and does not cansider the possibility. She planned to keep the little boy until June, and was not certain that she would keep him after that, or not, because she loved to go fishing and places with her family in the summer which she could not do if 819 had the boarding child. Mrs. T was also boarding a nineteen month little girl day care five and a half days a week. Both of the parents of this child were working and she was placed for that reason. Mrs. T has found that a great many of the children she has had have come from broken homes, though she has had a me from families where both parents are working, also. Mrs. T generally gets her children by putting an ad in the paper. She felt that it was much harder to find children now than it was during the. war and had not iced that the papers are full of people who will care for children. Mrs. T usually finds it much harder to find children to board for dw care than for full time. Mrs. T would prefer boarding children for day care because then she has her evmings to herself and she can enjoy herself with her family. She felt that caring for other people's children is a definite responsibility and she is always more worried about their physical well-being thm she ever was about her own boys because she would hate to have anything happen to the boarding child- ren while they were in her care. Mrs. T prefers to board boys be- cause shs has had more experimce with them and has boarded more boys than girls. However, she always wanted to have a little girl of her own and enjoys them. Mrs. T felt that boarding pre-school children is much easier thm boarding older ones because with a younger child you can train them the way you want them to act, while with an older child that already has his ways of behaving formed, it is much harder to restrain them. Mrz. T felt that it is very important to train child- ran in the right ways while they are young so that then they grow up they will be desirable men and women. Mrs. T stated that unless you were firm with a child in mat he could do and not do, he lost all re- spect for you. Mrs. T stated that this did not nean being too strict or harsh, but making sure the child knew the difference between right and "018 a Mrs. T said that her own boys were very guod with the boarding children and were willing to stay with them when 816 went to church or to a movie. The two year old boy seems like one of the family to them and often asks during the day "When are Ray and George comiig home?" Mrs. T felt that boarding children has been very rewardirg to her as well as helping someone else out. She said that die has a very quick temper and she has learned from her contacts with the boarding parents not to say mything that comes into her mind. She also feels that she '79 has more patience and understanding from caring for the boarding children. Mrs. T charges $9 per week for dw care. (5% days) and $12.50 a week for full time care. hire. T has had occasional trouble being paid for her children. On one occasion, die told a woman that she would keep the children's clothing until she paid. On another occasion, the mother took the children and almost a year later she got a note and the board- ing money from the grandmother the said that she had just learned of the debt and was sorry it had gone for so long. The boarding children often bring their own toys with them. At the present, toys belonging to the two year old boy are so numerous that Mrs. T has stored some of them in the attic. She does not believe in removing ashtrays and knick-knacks frcm the tables hit rather teaches the children that they are not to be disturbed and they must play with their own things. 80 The two-and-one-half year old girl board- ing with this family has been in the home since February, 1949. Her mother is divorced and working. Family Members: Case 5 Mr. G - 40 years old Mrs. G - 3'7 Daughter 16 Son - 13 Daughter 10 The G home was located in an average, middle class neighborhood of story and a half and two story wooden houses. The G house was a grey stone one and a half story building with white wood trim. There was a porch across the front. Due to the snow, it was difficult to tell what plant- ings were around the house, though the yard was not large, the house being built on a single lot. The front door opened directly into a long living room. The walls were unpainted in a neutral shade. The furniture was of good quality and the room had a pleasant appearance. The main color scheme was carried out in aqua with three of the lamps being of this color and the davenport was a deeper shade of blue-green. A breakfront was along one wall, a piano, two or three easy chairs and occasional tables fur- nished the room. The room was very neat and clean. Mrs. G opened the door herself after repeated ringing of the bell and finally knocking. Ann, the two and one half year old boarding child' accompanied her. Mrs. G is a pleasant looking wanan with smooth brown hair and blue eyes. She wore an aqua polka-dot dress, stockings, and tan dices. As the interviewer remover her coat, she introduced Ann to her, Ln‘ging the child to tell her her name, which she did in a low voice. After the interviewer sat down and had begun to talk to Mrs. G, Ann brought her basket of pebbles over to show her. The child was dress- ed in a fresh cotton dress and had a bright yellow ribbon tying back her long curls. Her chin was a little chapped and she showed me her 'pimple’ on her chin. While Mrs. G and the interviewer talked, Ann put various pebbles into the interviewer's hand. Some of them she sucked on before giving than to her, and then laughted when she found them wet. She attempted to open her pocketbook tut she continued to hold it and Ann finally went over to one of the drawers in the breakfront and took out some of her toys which she put on the floor and began plwing. Mrs. G appeared to be interested in the conversation and willing to tell what she could. She has been boardirg children for about five years, she isn’t sure exactly how long it has been. She had two little boys for day care at first. At that time she did not have a license, not know- ing that she needed one. After she ceased boarding these children, she went down to the newspaper office to placesn ad to board children and they asked her if die had a license. This was the first she knew about it and cal led the welfare office and was finally licensed, after a period 81 of waiting to be interviewed. Mrs. G has been boarding Ann since February, 1949. The child will be three in June. If'rs. G originally started boarding children to have a companion for her boy. However, she has had children younger than he and now feels that perhaps it is better not to have a child his age, (he is 13 now) because she might get one that would be a detrimental influence on him. The/reason she started to board Ann was because her oldest daughter wanted to get a Job outside the hone and Mrs. G told her that she would board a child and her daughter agreed to help her. rIhe si tuation has worked out fine and all of Mrs. G's fsnily enjoy Ann. She said that Mr. G and Ann are very fond of each other. As an example, she said that when Mr. G came home from work that afternoon, he made himself a cheese sandwich. Ann immediately asked to have some too. Lire. G said that Ann is not particularly fond of cheese but because Mr. G liked it she wanted some too. Ann's mother is a very young woman in her early twenties. She is di- vorced and works to support herself and her child. She takes Ann on Saturday evening after supper and keeps her over Sunday. lire. G said that me would continue to keep the child as long as her mother wanted her to. A little later in the conversation, however, she stated that Ann was almost too large for her bed and when she outgrew it, she felt that die would have to give the child up. Mrs. G charges $11 per week for full time care. The child goes hone Saturday night and Sunday. Mrs. G said that she did not have any special problems with Ann dif- ferent from her own children except that the child has a tendency to suck her fingers, which worried her. She felt that when the little girl was sucking her fingers she went into a sort of dream-like state that was not real. She was anxious to break her of this habit and had been putting mittens on the child's hands at night. Last week end, however, she gave the mittens to the child's own mother for her to wear at night, but the mother did not put them on her. Consequently, Mrs. G was rather discouraged as to how this rememdy would work out if the mother would not cooperate with her on it. hire. G asked the inter- viewer's opinion about the child's dreaminess when sucking her fingers, and wondered if she thought this was logical or if she was Just imagining it. She said that when Ann first cane to live with them, she used to ask to go to bed at night and Mrs. G thinks that the reason she did so was because she wanted to suck her fingers. She has ceased to ask to go to bed now, though. Since the child has been wearing the mittens at night, Mrs. G feels that die is much brighter and more alert to what is going on. While Mrs. G and I were talking, Ann was playing quietly on the floor. However, due interrupted the conversation to point at the interviewer and say "I don't like that lady”. Mrs. G told her that that wasn't nice and that she liked everybody. She then went on to explain that Ann always immediately likes or dislikes every- one who comes into the hone. She told of an incident a few weeks ago when she had to call the doctor for one of her own children. Ann took an immediate likirg for the man and pointed at him swing "I want to kiss him". Mrs. G said they had all gotten quite a laugh out of this. Mrs. G said that she supposed the interviewer had noteced that Ann called 82 her Mamer. She said that she encouraged the child to do so because she didn't want to have her feel any different from her own child and that Ann probably thinks she has two mothers hit it is better for her to feel that way than to feel that she didn't have any mother. Before the interviewer left, Ann went over and stood in front of her gazing at her feet. Finally she pointed to them, saying delightedly, "Look at that". The interviewer looked down and there was a large puddle of water brought in by the snow clinging to her shoes. Mrs. G said it was perfectly all right. Ann said that she wore boots when she went out in the snow aid went and got them and put them on. She wore them about the living room aid when Mrs. G's oldest daughter came hone, ran to show her her boots. Iwh‘s. G's daughter came into the living room and was introduced. She was a very pretty girl, neatly dressed. She is a Junior in h1g1 school. Mrs. G told her that the interviewer was from the college and said ”That is where you will be going soon". The girl sat down and talked for a few minutes before the interviewer left. Ann ran over to the davenport where the interviewer was sitting and took her pocketbook over to the girl, asking her to open it. She told Ann to give it back to the interviewer, which she did. The interviewer told her that she muld show her what was inside, which she did. After she had finidn ed explaining what everything was, Ann stood up and said "Give me some gum." The interviewer told her she was sorry that she didn't have any. She walked away slowly saying "But I want acne". Mrs. G was very interested in learning what kind of people board child- ren and how her home compares to others that had been visited. 83 The two little girls, ten months old and three years old, boarding with this family, were both placed in September, 1949 because their parents were both working. Family Members: Case 6 Mr. F - 35 years old hESe F O 31 Son «- 12 Son - 11 The 1? home was located in a new development just outside the city limits. The road on which it was located was an unpaved dirt lane. The F house was a one story grey slingle with white trim. A flagstone walk led up to the house and there were shrubs and plants around the edge of the house. A picture window was in the front. Inside, the F home was small but attractively furnished in modern pieces. The walls were painted a delpht blue. The small davenport, and occasional chairs were in harmonious colors. The room presented a lived-in appearance with many magazines on the table, knitting and yarn on the couch and a teeter-seat for the baby next to the radio. The radio was playing softly througiout my visit. Mrs. F opened the door and invited the interviewer to come in and take off her coat while she went to see what was wrong with the baby who could be heard crying in another room. Mrs. F was a young appearing woman with a rather long face, protruding teeth aid glasses. She was clad in a black tweed skirt, grey sweater, apron, socks and saddle shoes. Her hair was in pin curls with a bandana around her head. She apologized f r her hair later, saying that the next day was hr wedding anniversary and me had to wash her hair that day so that it would be looking nice for the next evening. Mrs. F returned with the ten month old boarding girl in her arms. The child had ceased crying and was very good throughout the int erview., laughing and playing with her toys. Just before the interviewer left, the three year old boarding child awoke from her nap and came into the room. She had blonds, naturally curly hair and deep dimples when she smiled. Although she appeared to be rather shy, she talked a little and showed the interviewer her recipe, of which she was very proud. Most of the time she was in the room, however, she looked at negazines or played nicely with the baby. lire. F appeared to be very interested in the interview and was cooperative throughout the conversation. Both of the children she is boarding now are being boarded in the daytine only, and week ends the parents take them. She has had both of the little girls since September. She plans to keep the ten month old child until Nay aid the three year old probably until June. The family is planning a trip this summer and so she does not plan to have any children with her during the summer months, except that die has promised To take the three year old again for about 84 two weeks during the sunmer when her parents have their vacation. She is plmning to take children again next fall, however. Mrs. F receives $10 a week for each of the little girls. She stated, however, that she boarded children mostly because she enjoyed them and enjoyed their company when her fsnily is gone all day. She has two sons, eleven and twelve and she has been boarding children ever since they have been in school (about 5 years). She stated that she liked to be kept busy and she found plenty of time to do her own housework in between caring for the children. Mrs. F appeared to be a woman of great vitality and interest in doing things. She s owed some ski-socks she had just crocheted for her boys. A rag rug in the next room under the play pen she had made and also a crocheted afghan on one of the chairs. She and her husband had built the home they lived in meviously but it burned down aid they bought their present structure. However, they are planning to build again, possibly next year. She and her husband have a hobby of developing and enlarging pictures. She showed the enlarger her husband had made and several mints of the boys and of herself. Mrs. F seemed to take a great deal of pride in her fsnily and home and enjoys a number of activities with them. Mrs. F stated that both of the children she is boarding now come from unbroken homes. She does not know why the children have been placed except that the mothers both seem to prefer to work rather than stay home. Because Mrs. F loves her own home so much, this attitude on the part of the children's real parents struck her as being a little odd. She feels that they are missing the best years of their children's lives. She does not feel that the parents are making any money by the tin they pay their children's board bills and buy lunches out and car-fare and other expenses which are necessary for working people. Mrs. F seemed to be very fond of both of the little girls, md they appeared to return this affection. She said her husband and the boys like the children and play with them. She was satisfied that she did not have them week ends, however, because then she can devote herself to doing things with her own fanily. She told of the little boy they had boarded previously. The family had him for two years, taking him when he was only about two weeks old. They had him full time, except for week ends and were very attached to the child. When his real parents moved out of town and took him away, the whole family was heartbroken. Mrs. F's two boys both cried and she stated she would never keep a child that long again because she got too attached to him. Mrs. F seemed to have sound ideas on child guidance. She said she found it hard to understand how the boarding parents could talk to her over the phone and bring their children out to her without ever seeing her or her home. She felt that they were taking an awful chance in what kind of care their children might get. The mother of the ten month old girl dresses her only in Dr. Denton's and Mrs. F felt that the child is old enough to be wearing dresses and creepers. The child is able to stand quite well when hanging on to something and Mrs. I felt that if the parents would provide some little shoes for her, she would be able to go on and start walking. However, die hates to tell the real parents how to raise their own children, feeling that they might 85 resent it. hire. F stated that she has never had any trouble with either of the little girls but feels that this attitude might possibly be due to the fact that she has them with her because she wants to and not because she has to have the money. She thought that if you had to board children, you might get more irritated and tired of them than you would in her situation. She said that she had worked in a store herself before Sue was married or before the boys came, but she enjoyed being home so much more. In your own home you can plan things out like you want to, aid work at your own speed. Mrs. F said that the parents of the baby would probably find another boarding hone for her as soon as she let the child go. Mrs. F wants to keep the three year old with her for a while longer than the baby because she and the three year old enjoy going for rides in the car and going downtown which the baby is too young to enjoy. Mrs. F appeared to be quite proud of both of the children, telling how pretty the baby was getting and how sweet the three year old is. She said she would rather board children under school age and probably around two or three because they are no trouble at all at that age. The baby is fun though, and she has enjoyed having her. Mrs. F was very cooperative and informal. As the interviewer left, Mrs. F told her to be sure and come back when she could. C. 86 Two sisters, one-and-one-half and three years old were placed in this boarding heme a week before the interview. Family members: Case '7 Mr. S - 33 years old IVII'Be S " 32 Daughter - 13 Daughter - 7 The S home was located in one of the outlying districts near the edge of town, about a block from a through street. The house was a story and a half white shingle with a glassed in front porch. Bushes were planted all along the edge of the porch and there was a large side yard. Mrs. 8 opened the door and led the way into the living room. The living room was a large one, with a small alcove adjoining to the front. It was tastefully furnihhed with a large blue plush davenport and matching chair, other easy chairs, tables, a coffee table in front of the daven- port, and various pictures on the peach colored walls. The room was very clean and neat. Mrs. S was a young appearing woman with her dark, graying hair worn in a long hob and blue eyes. She was clad in a light blue and yellow figured dress, navy blue socks and saddle shoes. She was very business- like througiout the interview, but answered all questions as completely as she thought necessary. Mrs. S stated that she has been licensed to board children for three years. However, during the war, she boarded some children 'when you didn't need to have a license'. Three years ago, a man from the welfare office called her about a license after seeing her ad in the paper and she has been licensed for two children full time and one child day care since then. Mrs. S boards children because they are companionship for her during the day when her husband and two girls are away. Her own two children get lunch at school, and so Ms. S doesn't have too much to do during the day and she enjoys caring for children. She said with a laugh that she didn't see how anybody did it for the money because she has found that you make very little on the proposition. However, she enjoys caring for children and enjoys having them in the house. At the present time, Eire. S is boarding two little girls, a year and a half and three years old. They are sisters and she took them just last week. They were referred to her by the welfare office. Lira. S has gotten many of her children through putting an ad in the paper. This fall, however, when she ran an ad she found that she got very poor re- sults because there were so many other ads. The families that applied she didn't feel were desirable. She described one family that wanted to place their two little children, who came to see her. The man was unshaven and the children were ragged and dirty. Mrs. S stated that she didn't mind if the children were uncared for but she felt that this 87 family was not reliable and perhaps the children were carrying some disease and she hated to expose her on girls. The mother, in this case, was looking for a job as waitress in a tavern. Mrs. S has found it much mcre difficult to find children for day care than for full time, due to the fact that she lives so far out. At the present time, she is hoping to find a child for dw care and is considering running her and again. Mrs. S has found that most of the children she has taken for full time have come from broken homes while the children for day care have usually been placed because both the mother and father were working. Mrs. S charges $10 a week for full time care (5 dw week) and 3.31.50 a day for care. Mrs. S has never had any trouble being paid her board money and always required that it be paid in advance. She has the children bring their own toys with them and finds that this arrangement works out very well. Some things, such as her younger daughter's dishes, can be shared and her younger daughter is very generous in letting the boarding children play with them but for most things, she finds that it is best for the boarding children to have meir toys and Mrs. S's children have theirs. Particularly in the case of little boys, has Mrs. S found this true, be- cause she has no toy trucks or cars which boys like and they are much happier if they bring their own. Mrs. S prefers to board girls because she has had the most experience with girls. She also prefers to have Ire-school children because they go to bed early in the evening and Mrs. S can devote that time to her own family. Mrs. S always likes to have the boarding parents take the boarding children over the week end so she can have this time free to relax with her own family. She has had families who left their children with her for the full week, but she usually insists that they take the children at least one day. Mrs. S could only remember one mot her with whom she had any trouble. This mother would cons out to their house at any time and take her little girl down town and get her so tired out and irritable that Mrs. S couldn't do a thing with her when she was brought back again. Con- sequently, she finally told the mother that she couldn't keep the child any longer. The boarding children cell 1%. and Mrs. S mama and daddy if they stay for any length of time. Those who stay a shorter time call Mrs. S, Mrs. S and Mr. S either Mr. S or by his first name. Mr. S enjoys the boarding children and both he and Mrs. S feel that the house seems empty when she isn't boarding my children. Mrs. 8 stated that the only problems die had encountered with the boarding children were shyness, which eventually wore off aid also that they were unaccustomed to family life because they had usually been boarded out so much that they didn't know right from wrong. Mrs. S felt that these Iroblems were not serious and she was usually successful in working with the children to overcome them, at least to some degree. 88 After the interviewer had said goodbye to Lira. S, she got her car stuck in the snow in her driveway. She came out once and told her it was perfectly all right to drive across the lawn if she could get out that way. Finally, she came out aid brought a box of cinders to use, and this was eventually siccessful. 89 There are no boarding children in this foster home at the present time. Until the week before a three year old girl had boarded with the family because both of her parents were working. The board- ing mother returned the diild bedause her board bill was unpaid. Lia M - 46 years old Case 8 Li 3 0 IV: - 43 Daughter - 12 The M home was located in one of the new deveIOpments on the outskirts of Lansing. The house itself was a one story white shingle with a glassed in porch across the front of the house. The yard in front was of grass with a hedge a long one side. hrs. M.did not hear the knock at her front door so the interviewer vent to the kitchen door which she heard and came to the door. We went through the house to the living room, where hrs. M took my coat and hung it in the doorway on a hanger. The living room was of medium size with a.maroon pluSh davenport, two beige easy chairs, a small desk and other end tables. There were several pictures of different children on.the walls and tables. The rug on the floor had two or three scatter rugs over it. In the dining room, the floor was linoleum. A stuffed pheasant and a stuffed deer head were on the walls. hrs. M is a young looking woman with brown curling hair arranged in a bang on her horehead, brown eyes and rimless glasses. She wore a red, black and white striped plaid dress, stockings and black calf pumps. No other persons were in.the home during the interview. The Ms have been boarding children for about six years. During that time they have had eight different children. The Ha started boarding privately. However, the family whose children they were boarding at the time took the children still owing Mrs. M about $60 so she switched to a Children's Aid home. She boarded children.from.there for about two years but found She had so many problems with these children, that she went back to boarding independently about two years ago. Mrs. M began to board children-because they have none of their own and they both enjoy children around.the house. Mrs. M said that She herself prefers to board boys but her husband is partial to girls so they have boarded some of both. One of the reasons Hrs. leent back to boarding children independently is because she could get more money. However, she stated that though you only get paid #8 a week boarding for an agency, you were sure of getting the money while when.you boarded privately, you were never sure of getting paid or not. Mrs. M has boarded both pre-school children, infants and school age children. She prefers to board preschool children. hrs. Micharges $12 a week for full time care. 90 Until the middle of the week before the interview, Lrs. M was boarding a three year old girl. However, she found it necessary to return the child to its parents because they never paid h:r board bills. his. M said it is very lones3me without a child in the house and she plans to take anotaer as soon as possible. If the court stepped in and took the child She was boarding, she was contemplating changing to a court home so she could have the little girl back again. The child had been with her for two years in January. Lrs..M has also boarded other children from the same family but never for any length of time. In this fandly, both parents are working and.board their children for that reason. hrs. M felt that they don't care for the children adequately and she has had to get proper play clothes for the little girl. She said that she thought about getting bar a snowsuit and boots but knew she would never be paid back for anything like that and.so she didn't. The first children which firs. Liboarded were two pre-schoolers which the nmther placed.while the father was in.the army during the war and the mother went to work. The next children Which hrs. M.had were from the court and were taken from her home and put up for adoption. The last few children which hrs. M has boarded have been placed because both parents were working. The Rb adopted their twelve year old girl about five years ago. They have had some trouble with the child stealing and bedwetting but feel that She has definitely improved since a few years ago. For some time, they considered adopting another child but have decided against it since their experiences with Ifarion. Mrs. M made Ifarion pay back from her allowance all of the money which she took from one of the teacher's pocketbooks at school. She felt that b doing this, the child wouldn't forget very soon about the experience. Sometimes when Marion has been in trouble, Ems. NZaSks her if she doesn't want to live with them.any- more. The child always replies that yes she does. On one occasion, the. M seriously considered not keeping the girl. However, things are working out better now and she thinks that if she keeps on working with Marion she will be able to overcome her own family's bad influence. Khrion enjoys playing with the boarding children and Mrs. M said that the children particularly enjoyed dramatizing little stories such as the three beers and the three little pigs. Theims have a small black dog, which Mrs. M said is Just like a baby to them.and which they enjoy immensely. They also have a cat which they keep out of doors, particularly when.there are boarding children, be- cause he scratches. Mrs. M told.of three other children which.she had.boarded whose mother stole things. She saw this influence in the children when they took pictures from.a bottom.dresser drawer in.their bedroom.and hid the pic- tures under the mattress when due came into the room. She would find the photos there and ask thenlabout them but they said they didn't know anything about thenu Finally, the two year old admitted that the older child had taken them from the drawer. Mrs. M told the children that if 91 they wanted to look at the pictures, they could if they put them back, but not to hide them under the mattress. One of these sane children, told mrs. M that her mother and another woman stole things from stores. Mrs. M requested the mother not to bring the friend to her house anymore. When the mother aSKed.Lrs. M.where She had heard things about them, Ems. M told them that the daughter had said this. The woman was very angry at the daughter but his. M told.the child that as long as she lived in her home, she would never be puniéhed for telling the truth. As the interviewer was leaving, Mrs. hishowed some wooden toys on the front porch which she had.made for children she had boarded. There was a nice train with cars that Joined and a pull truck. She stated that she had gotten experience making things when she helped to build their home. 92 This family has three boarding children, age two, three and four. The two and three year old brothers were placed in September, 1949 because both of their parents were working. The four year old.girl has been.with the boarding family since 1948 because her parents are busy with their tavern. Family Members: Case 9 me. W - 35 years old Mrs. W - 50 Son - 8 Son - 3 The W home was located in one of the new residential developments on the out3kirts of Lansing. Their house was a white shingle one of one and a half stories. A few shrubs were in front of the house and there was a small patch of what must be a lawn in the summer. The road going by the house was unpaved and.was a sea of mud the day of the inter- view. mrs. W opened the front door with a sweet sndle and took the interviewer's coat into the next room. The front door opened directly into the taste- fully furniahed living room. The living room was not a large one but the furnisture was good and it had a very attractive appearance. A large davenport was along one wall with a big picture mirror over it. A.large red plush easy chair was by the window; tables, attractive lamps and a built in bookcase completed.the picture. Mrs. W was attractively dressed in a black crepe skirt and white rayon blouse, stockings and black calf pumps. Her hair was nicely arranged and she gave the appearance of being very well groomed. She showed an interest in the interview and answered all questions frankly but waited for prompting to discuss any problem in any detail. No one else was present during the interview except the W's cooker. One of the little boys coughed occasionally from.upstairs but they were still taking their naps when the interviewer left. Mrs. W said that they first started boarding children two years ago When the little girl whom.they are still boarding needed a home because her mother had temporarily left her father. Mrs. W said she would keep the child until they found some place to put her permanently. However, the family urged her to keep the child and she decided to do that. The little girl's own mother eventually came back but She was very satisfied to let Mrs. W keep the little girl because the family has very odd hours for sleeping and working because they have a tavern in their home. The minister's wife told Mrs. W that She would need a license to keep Petty and so Mrs. W contacted the welfare dept. and had this taken care of. One of the reasons that they decided to keep the little girl was because of the need for some extra money with the high living costs today. 93 Patty stays with the W's four days over the week end and is home with her own family the rest of the time. Hrs. W put an ad in the paper early this fall to take another Child. They have had to contribute over $700 for the installation of a water and sewage pipe system.on their street and.needed extra funds to:meet the expenses. It was at this time that Mrs. W assumed the care of the two boys, age 2 and 3.. They are brothers and she didn't like to take one and not the other, finough she had only wanted to take one more child. The parents of these two child- ren live in the Ire-fab unit at the college. The husband is attending school while his wife works. The parents take the two boys on Sunday, Mbnday and Saturday, so they are with the W's only four days a week. has. W feels that this arrangement works out very well as the four year old girl is boarded over the week ends and.the two boys during the week. lbs. W charges $2 a day board for the children. Ere. W stated that she was kept quite busy the three boarding children plus her own two boys, age 3 and 8 but she has found that by scheduling her work, she gets along fine. Her husband has been very helpful with the boarding Children and her eight year old son is able to help her to sane extent, also. Mrs. W felt that the little girl, Patty, is particular— ly almost like one of the family. Because they have no daughters of their own, she and her husband get a great deal of satisfaction in having her live with them. She also felt that Patty needs the affection and love of a mother and father which she does not get in her own home, al- though her own parents are taking more of an interest in her than former- ly, giving her tap and acrobatic lessons. The two little boys, on the other hand, are greatly loved by their own parents who would prefer having them with them, if they were able to do so. Mrs. W said that Patty has a different temperament than her own children, being a very vivacious, lively child while her own boys are more quiet and easy-going. She said she did not know if this was just a difference between child- ren or if it is due to Patty's own family and their influence on her. his. W felt that the most important single factor in caring for child- ren is to give them.plenty of love. She said that you can't make a puppy obey by simply Shouting at him.and children are the same way. They need to feel secure before they can learn. She prefers to work with younger children than older ones because her experience has all been with younger children, and she feels that she understands them better. She has not found.that any of the boarding children have pre- sented difficult problems, different from.those of her own children. Perhaps the only problem which she has to cope with at present is bed wetting for the two little boys. Hrs. W feels that her home is a good place for children to be in because she tries to make than secure and.yet give them enough freedom. She does not let them play outdoors alone and always goes out with them. She spoke of worrying about her eight year old going to and from.school alone because of the highway whidh he must cross. She spoke highly of the help which her husband.and older son give her in caring for the board- ing children and seemed to feel that the arrangement has worked out very well. She and her husband try to have at least one night out a week and she gets a baby sitter at this time to care for the children. 94 She and her husband have been going to the college ice rink this winter and having a great deal of fun, Skating together. Mrs. W likes to go skating with the older b»y, particularly on Saturday afternoons when most of his friends go to the neighborhood theater, no matter what might be playing. He is learning to skate and doing very well. It was felt that this interview was a satisfactory one. It took about an hour and Mrs. W was very helpful and interested. She seems to truly enjoy her family and the boarding children, particularly the little girl. 95 This boarding family has no boarding children in the home at present, though they are anxious to adopt the four year old boy who lived with them until December, 1949 because his un- married mother was working. Family Kembers: Case 10 Mr. O — 46 hrs. 0 - 36 The 0 home was located in one of the relatively new developments in Lansing. The house was a one story wiite clapboard with green blinds at the windows. The yard was very well car:d for with evergreens grow- ing around the edge of the house and a white picket fence along the side of the yard. Mrs. O answered the door with a pleasant smile and took the interviewer's coat and hing it in the closet. She is a tall rather heavy weman.with brown hair and eyes. She was dressed in a pink and grey cotton dress with white trim and white sandals. The living room of the home was d;ne in good taste with grey walls and white woodwork. The furniture was modern and included a davenport and three easy chairs. A.radio-record combination, end-tables and a cof- fee table all in blond wood gave the room.a light pleasant look. White venetian blinds were in.the windows and the flowered drapes were repeat- ed.in miaiions on the davenport covered in the same material. hrs. 0 entered readily into the conversation and seemed to be very anxious to help as much as she could. She called “Jr. 0 from.the other room to come in and meet me because she said that he has cared for the boarding children as much as she has. lir. O is a tall thin man with graying hair. He was dressed in khaki shirt and pants. He sat down on.the other side of the room.and occasionally entered into the conversation with a comment or two, though hrs. 0 did most of the talking. The Os have been beerding children for about three years. They were originally licensed at that time through a child placing agency. It was through that organization that Hank came to live with them when he was seven.months old. They had the Child.until he was four, near the end of December. Mrs. O has had other children from time to time, but hank was the only one over any period of time. hrs. 0 has also been caring for her brother's little girl five days a week while he and his wife are working. They started caring for her when she was six weeks old. She is now about twenty months. At the present time, there are no boarding children in.the family. Hank, the child placed by the agency was with the family for about a year when his mother came to fire. 0 and asked her to board the boy directly through her which Mrs. C agreed to do. Since that time, she has been licensed as an independent home. The mother paid Mrs. 0 S7 a week at 96 first. This was later raised to e10 and then to $12, due to rising costs of living and because fire. 0 knew that this was comparable to what other boarding homes were receiving. Mrs. C said.that the child's mother still owes her a little money but she did not appear to be con- cerned about it. She said.that when she had the child, She would go to the place where his own.mothor worked every week on the day that she was paid so that fire. 0 was sure to receive her board money. She said.that if she did not do this, the woman would not pay her regular- ly or in full, saying that she had so many other bills to meet. Mrs. 0 first started boarding children when she was talking to one of her friends aud telling her about how lonesome she got home alone all day with nothing to do. The friend said that She was boarding child- ren through an agency and suggest d that Hrs. 0 contact them, w ich she did. the. C said that both she and her husband felt very badly when Hank was taken out of their home in December. She said that her husband probably felt worse then She did and.that he refused to have her brother's little girl with them.any longer if they couldn 't have Hank too. Consequently, the family has not had any children since around the first of the year. Mrs. O contemplated getting a Job to keep herself bus; so she wouldn't worry about the little boy but she has difficulty standing on her feet over long periods of time and.hes given this plan up, or will continue on a part time basis if at all. The 03 expressed a desire to adopt Hank, if it were possible to do so. The childls mother is unmarried and has never had.the boy with her be- cause ehe has always had to work to support him. Consequently, he calls the De mother and daddy and will not go to his real mother readily. Evidently the child's mother is an unstable, dependent sort of person for she cannot keep a job more than a fer weeks and calls “re. 0 fre- quently on the phone to ask her what she should do. The mother's family knew that She had the baby but believed that she gave him up for adoption right after his birth. She has never told them.fliat she is still trying to support him. At the gresent time, Hank's mother has been given three months t, settle down and make a go of supporting herself and the child. If she is not able to do this in.that time, the child.will be taken from her. Although the Ca have tries to adopt the boy, they do not think they will be allowed to do so. They feel that the child is very bright and not at all like his mother, who they feel might possibly be unbalanced. L'rs. 0 got out some pictures of the child to shomme. Mr. 0 said that he liked to put the little boy to bed at night and that when he sat in his chair reading, the child would come over to him and sit on the floor between his knees. Ira. O is a Catholic and said that Hank is also and she told Hank's mother that if she were to raise him, she would.make certain that he was a member of the church. hr. 3 is not a Catholic and is over 45 years old which hrs. 0 felt would be held against them, if they started proceedings to adopt the child. Lrs. C said that she would even be willing to have both the child and his moth r stay in their home, if it became necessary, so that they could have hank with them. hrs. 3 stated that she had said that she would testify against the 9? mother but now feels that a:e wouldn't because she wouldn't like to have anyone do that to her if she had children. Hrs. 0 said that She has never had any trouble managing hank or her little niece. She said that the two children play together nicely and.she likes to have them both for the companionship they give one another. firs. Q has quite a variety of toys in the basement and the garage which she brought out for the child to play with. By giving him a variety of different playthings, she kept him interested and happy and She never had any trouble udth.him.breaking her things or getting into mischief for this reason. Last spring, hrs. C was ill for several weeks but said that her husband was just grand in caring for the child- ren and that they managed just fine during the period she was in bed. Hrs. 0 does not believe in spanking children unless she has tried other ways of making them mind, flirst. She said that her sister-in-law spanks the little niece frequently but when the child is at the Cs, “rs. O has never found.this necessary. Mrs. G recalled.that about twelve y ars ago she boarded a mother and her baby for $5 a week. She and 1liar. 0 both laughed tn think how much 95 meant to them in.those days and how low the grice seems today. At the yrs-sent time, firs. O is contemplating boarding a baby and his father. She is very interested in the situation and said with a laugh that She would try anything once. Hrs. 0 does not care what race or religion the Children are whom she boards and does not care what the neighbors might think. At one time, She was going to take a Korean baby but didn't because cf lack 0? space. Hrs. O has very interested in telling all she could that might be of help, and for this reason the interview lasted much longer than most. 98 The five year old boarding girl in this foster home has heel with the foster family for marnings only since September, 1949 because both her parents are working. On Saturdays, the seven year old brother is also cared for by the foster family. Family Kembers Case 11 Mr. J - 30 years old Mrs. J - 26 Daughter - 9 Son - 4 The J home was located near his outs irts of town in a middle-class district of frame one and.two story homes. The J house was a one and a half brown shingle structure with white trim. A porch runs across the front of the house. It was set fairly close to the street, but there was a large yard to one side with a swing and dangling rings. Due to the snow, it was difficult to ascertain the condition of the yard, but it looked like it was ept up quite well, with grass growing over the wide yard. The front door opened directly into the rather small living room. The davenport and two easy chairs were Slipcovered in a neutral beige with some sort of a flower design. The pieces were substantial ones but looked as though they had received a good deal of wear. To one side stood a table and.$helves far record albums and in the corner was a large radio. A.small brown wooden table was in front of the davenport. his. J'is a very pretty, young woman with long brown hair parted neatly in the middle and blue eyes. She answered the door with a pleasant greeting and too the interviewer's coat in to the b droom off the living room, saying as she did so that she had better turn it inside out as the bedspread got all over everything. When she returned to the room, she sat down in the chair facing the interviewer with an expectant smile. Her attitude throughout the interview was one of interest and informality. She appeared perf ctly at her ease, for the most part, though she oc- casionally inspected her fingernails. res. J was dressed in green slacks, a flowered rayon blouse, tan socks and bowling shoes. Her son, Teddy, was present throughout the interview. Teddy is a sturdy four year old child with brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was clad in a.blue cot- ton suit. I-(ms. 3' stated that she had been boarding five year old Sally in the mornings since Sept. 20. The child attends kindergarten in the after- noons. On Saturdays, she has both Sally and her seven year old brother Billy for the day. These children are neighboring children and she knew them and the family before she started caring for them. The children's mother has to work to supplement the family income. Mrs. J boarded an- other child for a few weeks last year before taking Sally. Mrs. J said that She had boarded a baby for six weeks full time during the war to accomodate a friend. At that time, she had not known it was necessary 99 to have a license. However, last winter when she decided to take some children and put an ad in the paper, the welfare office called her and asked her if She had a license. She told them no and they ask- ed her if she knew that she should have one. She said no and they eventually sent someone out to see her and give her a license. Mrs. J said.that she knew that full time boarding homes had to have a li- cense, but didn't realize that one was needed for day care only. Mrs. J charges :55 a week for caring for Sally for 5 week dw mornings. Mrs. J’ said that having Sally with her in the i-ornings did not make much difference in how busy she was because it was so nice for Teddy to have someone to play with. Teddy is very generous with his toys, evidently, though the two children have occasional squables. They particularly enjoy playing records on the victrola and spend a good deal of their tins thus occupied. Mrs. J said that her brother was married at Christmas time and since then Teddy and Sally have been playing bride and groom and house and that sort of thing with their dolls. Teddy enjoys cars and trucks a good deal and the children play with them also. 0n Saturdays, when both Sally and her seven year old brother stay at the J's, Mrs. J doesn't attempt to do anything else but make the beds and clean up the house and keep an eye on the children. She said that on one occasion she had found it necessary to go to the grocery store which she did with the four children in tow, but she felt it was an experience she wouldn't like to repeat. She used to do a lot of her mopping on Saturday morning, but now arranges to go to the market on Friday night with her husband. Mrs. I stated that the chief reason that she wanted to board children was because she enjoyed bowling so much and by caring for children it made possible extra money for this recreation. She also is giving her little girl dancing lessons from the extra money and what is left goes for groceries. She told all of this with a great deal of humor and said "I suppose I have a giilt complex or something about my bowling but I do enjoy it". She also feels that Teddy more than benefits from the arrangement because most of the children he plays with are in school and during the winter months, those who are not are kept indoors because of the weather. Mrs. J doesn’t feel that she has any trouble managing Sally. She stated that Billy, the seven year old who comes on Saturday, is sometimes more difficult to handle, because he doesn't think he has to mind her. She said that he will mind her husband, however, and occasionally he has stepped in. When the younger children have differences over who is to have a certain toy, she allows the child who had it first to keep it, feeling that it isn't fair to deprive the child who had it originally just to pacify the one who wants it. Mrs. J said that she thinks that people who board children full time have more of a chance to do a better job with the boarding children because they see more of them, and the children are more willing to mind. She said she thinks Sally and Billy get confused occasionally about who they have to mind and that is why she has a little trouble with the older child. We. 3’ said that she must run her home in her own way and the children's own mother runs lOO her home in her own way and it is hard for the children to understand the differences. mrs. J said that at first she didn't know how Teddy was going to get along with Sally because before they started to board Sally, she and Teddy had a fight every time they met one another. However, she told Sally's mother that if the children didn't get along, she wouldn't be able to keep Sally but She feels that they really play together nicely. She said.that perhaps this was because they are both a little older. the. J‘s nine year old daughter doesn't see too much of the boarding children except on Saturdays. Then, however, they all play together and have a good tins, playing with the victrola, or playing old maid. Teddy and Sally play old maid sometimes with just the two of them, also, but it is diffic it for them to manage the large hands. The only time the J's nine year old.has ever been upset with Sally was when she came home from.school one day and.found diet Sally had undressed the new doll she had received for Christmas. Ere. J told her that if she didn't want Sally to play with the doll, she had better take it up- stairs and put it away, for as long as the doll was out, Sally had a right to play with it. Mrs. J said that she expects to continue boarding Sally the rest of the year. She is considering getting a job next year herself when Teddy goes to kindergarten because they want to buy a new house and will be unable to do so unless she can help. fire. I said that Mr. J has a workshop in the basement where he likes to repair furniture. Teddy evidently likes to work with tools also. While the interviewer was there, he got out his screwdriver and pro- ceeded to remove all of the screws from the wooden table in front of the davenport and from.the door jamb. He replaced each one. Nae. J thinks that perhaps he shows mechanical ability and did not mind his activity in the least, as long as he put the screws back in when he had replaced theme She said with a laugh that a few weeks ago he had taken all of the screws out of the wall canopener and.hadn’t been able to get them all back in place. She discovered it too late when she tried to open a can. Right now Teddy is very interested in.receiving a doll and ubggy next year for Christmas. Mr. J'doesn't like this very much. Teddy talked about some trains he had seen in a store at Christe mas time and told about some reindeer he had heard over the radio. hrs. J said that he had picked up all the words to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and.anjoyed singing it. At Christmas time, one of the houses in Lansing was decorated with a Santa and sleigh with reindeer and one little reindeer, Rudolph, standing off to one side. The J's took the children over to see the home which they enjoyed immensely. Mrs. I told about a woman with five children who had gone back to college and.went to the kitchen to get the paper to show the interviewer. She said that she herself is always being kidded about being a grandmother before 35 if her nine year old gets married early. hrs. J'was most interested in talking and the interviewer enjoyed the interview and felt it was successful. 101 The boarding family in this case study has no boarding children at present be- cause the mother is expecting a baby soon. The last child boarded by the family was a five year old.boy whose mother was in the hospital. Family members: Case 12 kt. L - 29 years old Mrs. L - 25 Son - 4 The L home was located in one of the new developments on the outskirts of Lansing. The house was a cement and wood one in white with blue trim. It was a single story. The front yard appeared to be well cared for with a box hedge enclesing the front and another hedge around the edge of the house. The road going by the home was unpaved. The interior of the L home was well furnished and very attractive. The walls of both the living rocmxand the adjoining dining room were a Williamsburg blue with white woodwork. A.large red davenport, comp fortable chair, radio, and tables were in the living room. A.kneehole desk stood in the partition between the living and dining rooms. At the time of the visit, a rack of drying clothes stood in the corner of the living room.and an ironing board had been put up in the dining room. Mrs. L answered the door and led the way into the living room. She is an attractive young weman with.ash blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was clad in a blue polkadot housedress, tan anklets and oxfords. Mrs. L ap010gized for her appearance and that she was just going to listen to the radio and do a little ironing as she had forgotten about the interview. The L's are not boarding any children at the present time due to the fact that Mrs. L is expecting a baby soon. Ems. Intold.me with a laugh that she had been.forgetting everything lately because she was so busy planning for things for the new baby. The clothes on the rack were baby clothes from her little boy which she was washing up and getting ready. Mrs. L said that they first took out a license to board a child because she wanted to have a baby around the house and they were not able to have one at the time. Mrs. L knew about getting a license to board children because her mother-in-law had boarded children from the welfare during the depression. When Mrs. L first suggested boarding a baby, her husband.thought it was a fine idea. She said she probably wouldn't have gone ahead with it if he had not approved as she wouldn't have wanted to bring a child.into the midst of a family argument. How- ever, the Ls have not had a baby to board as they had planned. Mrs. L did receive one inquiry from.a mother with a baby to board but they lived in a different section of town and it would have been difficult for the parents to go back and forth. Apparently, the only child the Ls have boarded far any length of time was a five year old boy for two weeks last summer while his own mother was in the hospital for an opera- 102 tion. Mrs. L enjoyed having the child around the house and he was a good playmate for her own child, who will be four in.thrch. Mrs. L also wanted to board a child because her husband worked the night shift frequently, and she would have enjoyed having company and someone to care for. Mrs. L charged 32 a day for full time care. The L home was bought under the G. I. loan four years ago and the family wants to buy a larger home when they are able to find one they like, because the one they have now only has two bedrooms. Last amm- mer, When they were boarding the little boy, mes. L's own child had to sleep on the davenport and she did not feel that this was a good ar- rangement for over any period of time. Mrs. L said that she would prob— ably renew her license when her old one ran out but that she had no plans to board one in his near future due to the lack of space and also because of the new baby. About half way through the interview, Mickey, the L's four year old awoke from.his nap and called to his mother. She went into his room.and he asked her who she was talking to. She told him a lady. He asked her how thelady got there, if she had walked. His mother said no, that she had driven a car. The child.then asked in an excited voice if it was a new Oldsmobile. His mother told him.she didn't know but that he could look out of the window and see, after he was up. hhckey came into the living ro m.to have his mother put on his shoes. He is a tall, blond little boy with blue eyes like his mother, though she said that thought he resembled his father. She asked him.to tell the lady his name which he did, mumbling against her arm. He also told his address when she asked him.to do so. After he had his shoes on, he went into the bedroom.to look out of the window at the car. When he returned he wasn't sure what kind of a car it was, but pointed to the blue walls when asked what color it was. Mrs. L is hoping that the baby will be a girl as she would enjoy making little dresses and the like for a.girl and as long as she has the one boy, she would prefer not to have another this time. She said that next month the doctor is going to tell her whether the baby will be a boy or girl. He told her before Mickey was born.that he would be a boy. Ere. L shifted her position frequently on the davenport and didn't seem to be physically too comfortable, so the interviewer left soon after the little boy got up. He had asked to have some raisins after he awoke and was waiting for his mother to get them. Mrs. L regrets that Rickey does not have any other children to play with in the neighborhood, as he won't be in kindergarten until the yearsafter next. He is always very interested when he sees other children.on the street and.wants to stop and play with them. She is very glad that they are having an addi- tion to the family so that he won't be alone so much. 103 No boarding children were with this family at the time of the interview because the foster fanily's little boy underwent an operation in December. Family Members: Case 13 hr. I - 40 years old his. I ~ 37 Son - 14 Son - 5 The I home was located a block from one of the city's busy streets, in a suction of older homes, mostly of one and a half and two story frame houses. The I house is a two story white clapboard structure. A porch runs across the front of the house. The small front yard was bordered by a wire to prevent people from.stepping on the grass. The front door opened into a long narrow hall with a staircase going upstairs to the left. To the right was the door going into the small living room. The walls of the living room were painted pale blue and the room.had a cluttered appearance due to its small size and amount of furniture. A large mohair davenport was across one corner with a blue glass coffee table in front of it. Another easy chair, large radio, table and straight chair filled the room. The furniture was in good condition and the room looked neat and clean. Venetian blinds were at he wi ndows. fire. I led the v:ay into the: living room.and took the interviewer's coat and hung it up in t‘;1e next room. She is a tall, young looking woman with dark red hair. She wore a becoming grey gabardine dressmaker suit with high heeled red sandals. She spoke in a soft, pleasant voice throughout the interview and s emed to be anxious to help as much as she could. Her son, age five, was present throughout. He is a round-faced little boy with glasses. he entered into the conversation occasionally, telling about his taxi, trucks, and other wheel toys, and about how he and one of the farmer boarding children had played horse out in the backyard. his mother would say "330w, Tommy" When she felt he was monopolizing the conversation, but he appeared to be a very well- mannered, interesting youngster. Mrs. I is not boarding any children at the present time due to the fact that Tommy had to have a minor operation at Christmas time and she felt that she would be busy caring for him. She plans to take two children, one and a half and three years old, in March. The mother had asked her to take them in December, but she felt that larch would be a better time far her because of the operation. lrs. I has been boarding child- ren for aporoximately three years. She first became interested in it through her sister, wio boards ciildren. She felt that it would be nice to have a companion for Tommy when he was home alone all day as her older boy was in school. Consequently, she has always tried to take children of about his age, so that they could play together. She said with a laugh that mien there was a boarding child in the house, Tommy didn't get into so much misclief and she didn't have to worry every 104 minute about what he was doing. hrs. I said that she has had about eight different children in the three years she has been boarding, for varying lengths of time. Hrs. I said that not only Tommy but her older boy and also her husband enjoyed the boarding children. Her fourteen year old son started high school this year and die got out his proofs of some pictures he had taken recently to show to me. he is a nice looking boy with dark hair. his. I said that he had certain favorites among the children she had board- ed, and mentipned the names of two or three he had liked partiCularly. In relation to her husband, she told of one little girl they had boarded who had a great affection for re. I. At noon, when a4r. I came home for lunch, he usually ate quite quickly and then stood up, announcing,"I'd better be moving if I'm going to make it back in time". Lie. I had noticed that the little girl would always start her meal perfectly will- ing but would begin to cry about half-way through and they finally discovered that she would start to cry just after her husband stood up to leave because she just hated to s*e him go. his. I stated that she rather enjoyed boarding girls because her own family consists of just boys. She had hoped that one of her children might be a girl but ajpears perfectly satisfied with what she has. She herself came from a family of six children and she enjoys having them around the house. She didn't feel that the boarding children made any extra trouble for her. She has never considered boarding children fiull time due to the fact that they would have no room for sleeping because the upstairs is made into an apartment which they rent. The children which hrs. I has boarded have usually had breakfast and lunch at her home and thepparents pick them up between five and six, after work. She felt that most of the children she has had have been. boarded because the family needed.the additional income from.having the wife work. Most of them have been young couples, getting a start. Mrs. I charges $8 a week for day care. hrs. I told about her older son starting high school this year. Most of his friends were going to the high school not in their district and so she wrote to the su;erintendent of schools and arranged it so that her boy could go where his friends were going. Mrs. I appeared to take a great deal of pride in her two Children and her husband. She told several times of how interesting welfare work seemed to her because you had a chance to meet so many different people. 105 The boarding child in this foster home is a seven year old mentally retarded boy, placed by his di- vorced mother in June of 1948. Family Hambers: Case 14 hr..A - 33 years old LIPS o A ' 33 Daughter - 13 Son - 6 The A.home was located in a typical urban middle class neighborhood of story and a half and two story one family homes of the wooden or shingle six or seven room.variety. The A.home was a two story house of yellow clapboard, badly in need of paint. 1t was lazated on a single lot with a few bushes around the edge of the front porch. The yard was muddy due to the weather, and a child's sled was lying to the one side. On the porch were two tricycles. The interior of the home was tastefully furnished. The living room was neat and clean and contained a davenport, coffee table, easy chairs, end tables, victrola, bookcase, and ofiier things. Two large porcelain lamps with cherry shades were on the end tables at either end of the davenport and there was a crucifix on the wall. There were two or three plants of ivy and other green.growing things in the room. In the dining room.beyond could be seen a large dining room table with matching chairs and a number of toy trucks and cars inane corner. hrs. A was a young woman in her early thirties. She wore a clean cotton dress and.stockings win; sandals. “er hair was becomingly arranged and she answered the door with a pleasant smile. Lhe was peeking through the curtains as I walked up the front steps. No other persons were in the house at the time of the interview. Mrs. A spoke in a soft, pleasant, well modulated voice wdth little ex- pression. She carried tie brunt of the conversation with very little questioning. khat questions were asked were answered immediately. She stopped to think, occasionally, in the middle of a story but then went on after a few moments pause. her hands were busy almost constantly picking at the edge of the davenport arm.or at the neck of her dress. his. A.was particularly interested.in.discussing the foster child's own mother and describing the things which she did and the way she had treated the child. The.A family started boarding Children in June of 1948. The child they have now has been with them.for that length of time. He is seven, his birthday being in Septenber. hrs. A.learned about boarding children from a neighbor who boarded children and thought it would be just as easy to care for a boarding child as well as her own little boy Who is almost six. She wanted to get a child of about his age far that reason and also for companionship for her own child. Unfortunately, the Child which they are boarding is mentally rather dull and is in his second 106 year of kindergarten. Consequently, her own boy and the boarding child do not have as nuch in cornwn as die had hoped. However, the two children do play together. hrs. A promised to board Dickie, the boarding child, sight unseen. When the mother arrived with Dickie she was appaled be- cause of his thinness, dirtiness, and peculiar haircut which was very uneven due to another child's trying to cut it in a former boarding hone. Dickie's mother brought him straight from the other boarding home to the A's. Mrs. A said that if die could have backed out of the arrangement then and tiers she would have done it. Dickie's mother did not tell Mrs. A.Who she was and it was only after inquiring what the child's last name was, that sis learned that the woman was his mother. The mother's boy friend accompanied her on this visit. hrs. A stated that She and her husband had a great deal of sympathy for Dickie when he first came to live with them, and found it difficult to punish him. Now, however, he is getting so that he talks back and shows a little more life. She described her own boy as being a live wire and.seems to be happy to have Dickie acting more like him. She seemed to evidence a fair amount of affection for the child, with con- cern over the peculiar kind of hair cut his own mother wants him.to have which is not becoming to the boy due to his peculiarly shaped head. She spoke with pride of the fact that the boy always minds her more than other members of the foster family, due to the fact that they play and 'kid around' with the child.a great deal. iMrs..A expressed some concern over the fact that Dickie's dull mentality may lead him.to grow up to be violent and uncontrollable. She cited as an example one of the front windows Which.was badly cracked Where Dickie had hit it with his fist because he was angry. The child also has a speech impediment, not being able to pronounce his "f”s but the child's own mother is unconcerned about this, saying that her older boy had the same trouble and outgrew it. Mrs. A.spoke several times of the fact that she wondered whether the boy's dullness stemmed from.his early poor environment or whether he was naturally that way. The child is a very heafy eater which mrs. A feels is unnatural for a child of his age and size. (He is very thin). She said that when he first came to live with them, they let him.sat as much as he wanted to, but he would keep eating until he vomited. Consequently, they are cars- ful not to let him.have too much food at a meal. She wondered it per- haps his hearty appetite might not be.a method of compensation for his own feelings of insecurity. Dickie also has a tendency to lie about small matters which worried.Nks. A, He would tell a lie even though he told the truth right after or even if Mrs. A.had seen.hime She gave an example that happened that noon When She noticed that some of the leaves were rsmoved.from.one of the plants in.the room. She asked Dickie if he had done this andrhe said "No" even though she had seen him at the plant. They ave the child free run of the house and he is allowed to play the victrola records and the like, even though he has broken some of them, She stated that she felt that the child's own mother would probably be much stricter with him.than She is. mrs. A.seems to get a great deal of satisfaction from.helping this 107 child, though when asked if she felt it was worth it, she replied that some times she didn't think so. The family has been contemplat- ing boarding another child and mrs. A has baen to visit the family and see the child before taking him, due to what she feels as being taken advantage of in not knowing about Dickie before taking him. When he first came to live with them, he could only speak three words and she is quite happy that he was kept after school the other day for talking too much. She seemed to enjoy the child and referred to something ”the boys" had done the other day, meaning her own boy and the boarding child. She did state, however, that she had her own child and Dickie placed in spearate sections and different rooms of the kindergarten due to the fact that her own child was being held back by his constant vigilance over Dickie to make sure he wasn't slighted and was taken care of. Mrs. A stated that she would rather be doing day care rather than full time because the reasons that parents would board out their children for just day care would be different because the parents would really enjoy their children and want them home with them at night. Mrs. A feels that Dickie's mother just doesn't want to be bothered with him and that she has only taken him for one night, last Christmas eve, since he has been living with them. She said that Dickie's mother dresses very expensively, much better than she does, and obviously could make a home for him if she only would. The child has seen his own father but once in the time which she has had him. Mrs. A resents the fact that the child has two grandmothers and several uncles, aunts, and a sister living in Lansing, who make little or no effort to see him. The mother purchases clothing and toys for the child when Mrs. A requests items. The weekly board rate is $12 which Dickie's mother has usually paid promptly by mail. The boarding child was not seen. The interview lasted a little longer than an hour and was generally very satisfactory. Unfortunately, the interviewer did not inquire into the problem of religion for the board- ing child because the foster family is Catholic. The mother was very cooperative however, and seemed to enjoy a chance to talk to someom about her troubles for an effort was made to leave three times before the interviewer actually got out the door. 108 The seven year old girl who is boarded with this family was placed in January, 1947 because her divorced mother had to work. Since that time, the child's mother has remarried and been divorced again. Family Kembers: Case 15 Hr. K - 50 years old Dirge K - 28 Daughter - 8 Daughter - 4 The K home was located in a pleasant middle class neighborhood of frame residences. The K house was a two story bdrwn clapboard structure with a gabled roof and a front porch across the front trimmed in White. The house was set back far enough to allow a small plot of grass be- tween sidewalk and house and a hedge runs along either edge of the property. It was a single lot. On the porch, a large sled stood up against the house. The K's have no doorbell and after knocking twice, his. K answered the door. The radio was going. The front door opened into a narrow hall, at the end of which was the nedium.sized living room. The room gave a bright appearance with attractive calico slipcovers which.matched on the davenport and two overstuffed diairs. A coffee table stood in front of the davenport and a radio-combination stood along one wall. Some ivy and other green plants were growing in front of the side window. Glass doors, which were closed, led into a second living room along the front of the house. hrs. K explained.that that room.was used primarily in the summer and they weren't heating it at the present time during the coal shortage. To the rear of the living room.were a play room and the di ning room. Mrs. K's daughter Karen, age four, came into the room.as the interviewer arrived. She is a thin, blonds little girl with an attractive, pert little face. After we were introduced, she went down to the basement where Mk. K was working on some shelves for the girl's playthings which he is building. 1‘fi'r. K evidently goes to work in the afternoon. firs.JK is a pleasant looking woman with brown hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a flowered cotton house dress with an apron over it, no stockings and sandals. l“rs. K talked readily about the children. Occasionally she pleated the edge of her apron or looked at her hands. The K's have been boarding children for about three years. Mrs. K said that She decided to start boarding because of the companionship for her own.daughters and because She felt she could help out a little in paying for their home. Mrs. K said that she had formerly done housework and there had usually been children in the families she worked for. She enjoys children and does not find them a lot of trouble to have around. She said that die felt that even people who board children for money must enjoy children or they wouldn't choose that method of making AA 109 money. hrs. K worked herself during the war when her husband was in the service and had to place her children during the day. She couldn't remember where she had first learned about having a license to keep children but knew of this regulation before she started. kary Ann, the seven year old who boards with the K's, has bexn with them.for about three years. inrs. K had three children from the same family for about two weeks when she first began to take children. This didn't last however, and she got Mary Ann soon after. The child's own home is in the next block from the K's but Mrs. K said she didn't know the family until she put his ad in the paper and Inary Ann's mother called her. “rs. K has had other children off and on during the time she has boarded.Mary Ann, but none of then permanently. Around.Kovember, she had a boy about Karen's age for a Short time. At the present time she is boarding an eight year old boy for lunches only, five days a week. The K's have their big meal at noon and they enjoy having the four children at that time, all talking at once and telling about what they did that day in school. Mrs. K charges $7.50 a week for day care and 50¢ a day for the boy's lunches. hrs. K stated that Kary Ann's own mother was divorced from.the child's father when mie first started to board hary Ann. The child's mother found it necessary to work and placed the child for that reason. Since then, she'has remarried and divorced the second husband, also. L'Irs. K felt that Kary Ann had a very hard time adjusting to her mother's remarriage and subsequent divorce. hrs. K said that She feels that children bear the brunt of such family troubles because they can't under- stand them rationally and feel the situation which is confusing and up- setting to them. Kary Ann still has the feeling that no one likes her, though she was much worse about it before than she has been lately. The child is quite aggressive and likes to be the center of attention. She has a quick tongue, and for that reason, some of the children don't like her and this summer didn't want her to play at the playground with them. Mary Ann's teacher told.Hrs. K she didn't know how she was able to manage the child. wrs. K said that she has never had any trouble with Mary Ann. She feels that the child knows that she loves her and respects her and Mrs. K warns her when she is angry that she must be careful What she says. Consequently, the child has never talked back to LAre. K. hrs. K also tells wary Ann that God always loves her and won't forget about her, and she can always count on.Him~ The K eight year old gets along well with Kary Ann however, and always takes her part in any argument. Because Mary Ann has boarded with the family so long, they almost feel she is their own child. Kary Ann comes over in the morning after She has had her own breakfast. However, she usually has a piece of toast or something before the girls go off to school. She is there for lunch at noon and comes back after school, until her own mother gets home, just before supper. the. K feels that Mary Ann's own mother tells her her troubles which is not too good for the child. hrs. K feels that you don't need to be strict with children to make them mind but you must make clear to them.where they stand and what you expect of them. She doesn't think it is fair to the child to treat her like an adult and expect her to understand adult problems. The K's have a daschund who came into the house and frolicked about. 110 A grocery salesman came also to bring Airs. K some staples. She bought some horhound candy from him, explaining that the girls had recently become very fond of eating cough drops and she thought that the horhound was similar in flavor to coughdrops and she would rather they ate the candy. The K's have never considered boarding children full time because of the lack of space. She prefers boarding children of the same age or younger than her own children. She would not like to have a child older than her eight year old because she feels that this would lead to difficulties with an older child 'bossing' her own Children. lure. K has never had any troubles with the plan of payment with children's parents, and she feels that one of the greatest satis- factions which she has had from boarding laary Ann is the feeling that she has really helped the child. She said with a laugh, that it probably was sn't a very nice thing far her to say but that she really felt that she had done something to help the little girl and it made her feel good to see her coming along so well. 111 The eight and nine year old sister and brother in this boarding home were placed by their divorced mother two and one half years ago. Family Lambers: Case 16 hr. Q - 38 years old 121‘s 0 Q, - 36 Son - 11 Son - 8 The Q home was located outside of Lansing on a winning country road. The house itself was a large old farmhouse, coversd with simulated brick-asbestos. It was set back from the road. .3 row of trees lined the driveway. here was a sled lying in the snow in the front yard. Two dogs were lying in the sunshine by the back door. They were friend- ly dogs, and approached, wagging their tails expectantly. hrs. Q opened the side door and invited the interviewer in with a pleasant greeting. One of the dogs came in too. The door opened into a large dining room. hrs. Q had the ironing board set up and some clothes on it. She had evidently been ironing. The living room was just beyond. It was a large room with a davenport, easy chairs, big old-fashioned piano in the corner and.sev.ral tables. On the wall were two or three pictures of Jesus and religious mottoes. hrs. Q is a plump, young appearing woman with smooth brown hair braided around her head and blue eyes and glasses. She wore a light blue house dress with a crisp flowered apron over it, dark stockings and brown shoes. She sat in a rocking chair and rocked throughout the interview. She was very interested in helping to the best of her ability. The is have been boarding children for seven years, five months, having ap7lied in Cctober of 1942. They originally boarded for an agency. firs. Q stated that she first learned that people boarded other people's child- ren when she was at a church social. Another woman there was boarding some children from a child placing agency and hrs. Q asked her what you had to do to get some child:en. The woman told her to just call the agency and they would cone out and look at your house and if it was all right, they would give you some children to board and a license. hrs. Q called the agency immediately after this and was eventually li- censed. Soon after they started to board, the agency sent Ronny to her. he wasn't even a year old at the time. he was an illegitimate hild and after the as had had him.for a few months, the boy's mother offered to let them adopt him, Which the as eventually did. The boy is eight years old now and the as are very satisfied with him. They have one other adopted child,a boy, eleven years old. hrs. Q stated that she felt that the agency did not approve of her adoption of Ronny and when she called them.and asked to board some more children, they never responded. .rs. a boarded another small boy from.the tine he was eight months old u til he was three and a half. This child's mother eventually remarried and took the boy. The as were very attached to him.snd 112 felt badlr when he left, but yrs. Q statgd that die thinks he is probably very happy now b:cause his new father is an excellent man and.she still hears from them soretimes. hrs. a boarded a girl from.the reiorm school for two years also, un- til the girl was eitheen. hrs. a stated that after the girl had been with them about a year, she became very difficult to manage and hr. Q finally got so nervous that the doctor told hrs. Q that she would have to get rid of the girl or else she would lose hr. Q. Jenny did not want to leave the Q home but it was necessary for h;r to go. She is married now and has children of her own. She still keeps in touch with ir. and Lrs. Q and comes t4 see them. firs. Q feels that she really had some influence in helping fi:is girl and she is happy that she has settled down. She said that the girl still smokes a great deal but when she comes to visit the Q's she does not because she knows hey don't approve. Cnce wren she was there, its. Q told h r she just Shelled when she came in the door, from smoking. After their visit, Jenny went up to hrs. Q and said sue didn't smell so badly now and wanted Lrs. Q to kiss her goodbye which she did. Lrs. Q said that Jenny never tells them must things aren't going just right but she hears about it from other people. She feels that the girl had a lot against her from.the start, though. She was brought up by her foster father who was old enough to be her grandfather and an uncle. Lhen she was eight years old she was accosted by a man and mrs. Q felt that t.e girl never knew a real home until she came to live with them. At the present time, the as are boarding a brother and sister. The boy is nine years cld and the girl eight. Their mother is divorced and is working. These children have been with the as for two and a half years. Lrs. Q is very fond of both of the children but has some trouble with the boy, Arthur. firs. Q's own children feel that Arthur gets out of deserVed whippings and voiced the wish that he would leave. however, i-—rs. R explained to them diet that was ArtLurs home as long as his mother wanted him.to stay there and they musn't say things like that. Arthur also wets the bed. hrs. Q has tried everything She can think of to help the boy overcome this. She has tried punishing him, taking away privileges, making him.wash his own bedding, and other ways. None of them seem to do any geod. She gets him up at night, often twice, and in this way avoids having a wet bed every night. hrs. Q,feels that Arthur's mother should take him to a doctor and try to do something for him. Whenever age tried to talk to the mother about the situation, she changed the conversation and so finally firs. Q called the grandmother and the boy is going to the doctor next week. Once, when “rs. Q told the mother that either she would have to take the boy to the doctor or else pay more board money for him.the mother took the boy aside and told him that she couldn't afford to pay any more money and asked.him.to please stop wetting the bed. firs. Q felt that this was very bad as the boy felt terrible and just asking to stop was getting nowhere. The Qs recently moved into their present home and.the children are looking forward eagerly to raising pickles this summer. hrs. Q said that it is wonderful to watch the difference in the children now that 113 they have enough room to really play in and move around. She said that they are just like animals released from a cage. They particularly enjoy the new school they are attending and “re. Q feels that they are all getting along much better. Her oldest boy had to be put back a year. At the time, she felt that perhaps he would feel badly about this but she told the teacher to do what she thought best. The boy has not minded the change at all and seems to be taking a greater interest in his studying. Mrs. Q stated that Arthur gets the best grades of the four children and she hopes that it doesn't come so easily to him that he will just forget everything as soon as he has learned it. his. Q,hopes that the children whom.3he is boarding will be able to stay throughout the summer as they are planning on it so much. Ere. Q stated that the eight year old girl, Kary, is just like one of the boys and hardly eVer plays with dolls or the new dollhouse she got for Christmas. his. Q,has hesitated to be too affectionate with the boarding children and does not like to encourage Mary to help her around the kitchen or get too close to her because she feels that when the children do leave, this bond would make it too hard for them. Mrs. Q said that she could understand but does not feel that Mary would be- cause after all, she is only a child. “rs. Q said that hr. Q is particularly fond of Mary but she does not respond readily to his affection. Mrs. Q said that she nad her husband would like to adopt a little girl if they could find one, because Mr. Q is particularly fond of girls. The boarding children call Kr. and linfra. Q mommy and daddy. hrs. Q had never had any trouble being paid for the children. She usual- ly goes to the place Where the mother works on the day she is paid and gets her money. hrs. Q charges $10 a week for full time care for each of the children. Their mother takes them on Sundays. Hrs. Q feels that a religious home is the best environment for children to grow up in and asked if most of the boarding homes didn't have a strong religious feeling. Hrs. Q was very interested in discussing the children andtheir problems and the interviewer found it difficult to leave after an hour. 114 This boarding family has had the fifteen year old girl living with them since Larch 1948. The family has legal custody of the girl because her divarced father and step- mother did not care for her properly. Family ii—embers: Case 17 lair. B - 42 years old I'JPIrSe B G 37 Daughter - ll Daughter - 9 Daughter - 6 The B home was located in a small middle class section of Lansing a block from one of the main streets. The house was a white shingle, one story building of six or seven roams. In the yard were a sled and several other toys. A wh te playhouse stood on one side of the yard. The yard was not a large one but had the appearance of being a pleasant place for children to pl y in the summer. The front door opened directly into the smell living room. A.davennort, two easy chairs, and a table or two furnished the room. The chairs and davenport were slipcovered in bright floral patterns and the room.had a lived in appearance. 4A low screen stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen to keep the dog in the kitchen. The walls were painted grey. hrs. B opened the door with a pleasant greeting and took the interviewer's coat. She is a young appearing woman in her thirties. Her hair was up in pin curls with a bandana wound turban style around her head. She wore a navy blue flowered dress, stockings and sandals. Janice, the fifteen year old girl who boards with them.was in the kitchen finishing up the luncheon dishes. hrs. B said.that Janice was going to visit her aunt in a few minutes and they could talk then. Before the girl left the interviewer had the chance to be introduced to her. She is fairly short, stocky girl with good features but no make up and her hair quite unkept. She wore a wrinkled cotton dress. .Mrs. B explained that Janice was home that afternoon because she had finished her semester exams in the morning. She said that the girl got all A's and B's and had been on the honor roll that semester. She called out to the kitchen, ahking the girl questions about her subjects and school. Janice is in the eleventh grade though she won't be sixteen until March. Hrs. B seem- ed to take a great deal of pride in the girl’s scholastic achievements. hhs. B opened the conversation by telling about her own daughter who is mentally and physically handicapped. She spoke enthusiastically about the school for exceptional children, and explained the facilities which they had available at the school and told of some of the problems they had in securing a place to continue the work and in getting trained per- sonnel to work with the children. After Janice had left the house, She spoke more freely about her. The B's have two other daughters, age six and nine besides the other child. 115 The family became acquainted with Janice through having her baby- sit for them, about three years ago. At that time, they learned something of Janice's home life with her father and stepmother who was quite mean to Janice and her brother, locking them out of_the house and not allowing them to go places with their friends. mrs. B con~ tacted the Friend of the Court and told.them.that she would be willing to make a home for Janice if it became necessary. Janice came to live with the B's two years ago in March. The B's have legal custody of the girl and plan to keep her with them until she is able to care for herself adequately. Inrs. B explained that the arrangement was bene- ficial to them as well as to Janice because the girl helps with the dishes and washing, as well as caring for the children. The B's have tried to make Janice feel that she is one of the family but she spoke several times during the course of the interview of the resent- ment which Janice has. She stated that about once each month she found it necessary to sit down with the girl and talk things out with her. She said with a laugh that her husband.called it argueing but that she felt it was just getting things straightened out. The Bchildren like Janice but hrs. B stated that She found it necessary to put the children to bed herself because Janice could not manage them.as rasily. Janice does all of the ironing for the household, while lvirs. B~takes care of the washing. The girl washes the dishes for the breakfast and evening meals, with some assistance from.mrs. B's nine year old. At the present time, Janice has a part time job each noon in the high school cafeteria. Mrs. B explained that Janice wasn't going to take the job this fall be- cause her girl friend didn't want to, but Hrs. B convinced her that it would be a fine opportunity to meet new people and that Janice is very happy with the work now. She is going to be promoted to cashier next semester which is quite an honor, usually held by senior girls. Janice also helps Mrs. B with the household cleaning. Mrs. B said that she was quite lucky that Janice had not started 'running around with the boys' as yet, because she has heard of the difficulties other parents have had with this situation. Mrs. B spoke at length of the girl's family background. Janice's own mother lives in Detroit with a Negro man and.has two small children, one of them born this year, though she is not married. Janice knows of this situation but Hrs. B told her that She just couldn't waste time worrying about her mother, that She was old enough to know right from wrong and that it wasn't Janice's duty to fret about her and that Janice would do best not to even think about her. The only time that the girl's mother has visited her was just after the B's took her, as she did not want the family to adopt Janice. Janice sees her father rarely as when she visits him she invariably has-a tiff with the stepmother and L31's. B said.that She just wouldn't take the girl there anymore. Mrs. B said that her husband wasn't too much in favor of having Janice board with them. her father is supposed to pay $3.50 a week for her but quite often does not. lfirs. B said that in the two years Janice has lived with them, they have received only about $75 from.her father. The B's take care of buying all of Janice's clothes and giving her spending money. 116 hrs. B wants Janice to tell her where she is going when she leaves the house and related an incident which had occurred last summer when Janice called up and said she was going out to Lake Lansing. Mrs. B inquired who with and what they were going to do there. Janice did not know and so “rs. B was hesitant to let her go. Janice told hrs. B that she just didn't want her to have any fun. She said that Janice does go places in the evenings though and occasionally they find.it necessary to get a baby sitter when Janice and “r. and Hrs. B are all planning to go out. Mrs. B said that she had thought about boarding a boy but felt that her husband would not have the patience to talk things over with him like she does with Janice. hlrs. B said, in relation to Janice, that it seemed a shame that parents could treat a normal, bright girl like her so badly when she was perfectly content to take care of her own mentally handicapped child herself. She said die would hate to put her own child in an institution as long as she can care for her at home. her one aim for the child is to help her to learn to care for herself so that she will never be a burden on society. his. B seemed to feel that tie problems she he s with Janice are dif- ferent from.those She has with her own children. however, this could partly be due to the fact that Jmiice is several years older than Mrs. B's oldest daughter. She also mentioned Janice's feelings of resentment whiCh she felt her own Children would never have. She said.that Janice just didn't seem to feel that their home was her home too, though they would like to have her feel that way. his. B said, that they had tried giving Janice an allowance of 93.00 a week but had discontinued it because the girl didn't know how to manage her money and seemed quite quarrelsome about it. Now, they let Janice ask for money as she needs it, and the situation is much better. She asked the interviewer's opinion as to Why this would be so. Janice is planning to either “3 to business school or take up the teaching of business courses when she is through high school. Mrs. B seemed to be interested in helping the girl get started and stated that they expect Janice to keep living with them until She is able to make her way. firs. B said that she tells Janice frequently that she hopes she has enough sense to stay on with them, at least until she finishes high school. As a graduation gift next spring, the B's are planning on taking Janice with them on a trip to the west coast. The family is looking forward and planning for this event. The interview took a little over an hour. ere. B was interrupted two or three times b the phone. She seemed to enjoy talking a great deal and did most of the talking with very few questions . She seemed to be very interested in talking about Janice and it was felt that the in- terview was successful. 117 This interview concerned Paula, the seven- teen year old boarding girl, who was placed in this home by the visiting teacher in January, 1949. Paula's parents are divorced and her father has remarried. IFamily Members: Case 18 Li. R - 42 years old his. R - 37 The R home was located outside of Lansing in a section of small new homes. The R house was a one story, grey clapboard home. There was a large y'rd in front of the house and the yard to one side of the house was fenced in, apparently for a pet. The front door opened directly into the small living room, which was furnished with a maroon plush davenport, matching overstuffed chair, another easy chair, two large radio sets in each corner of the one end, and a table or two. Ihe room wns neat and tidy but not outstanding in colors, arrangement, or choice of furnishings. Nrs. R is a young appearing woman with brown hair, blue eyes, and rimless glasses. She is not a pretty woman but has an energetic air and forceful manner of speaking which give the impression of great vitality. She was dressed in a grey and pink striped cotton dress, green anklets, and w.ite Oxfords. Also present in the living room were a large, fluffy cat, and a pekenese dog. Another cat could be seen lying on the bed in the adjoining bedroom. hrs. R has been boarding children since January, 1949. At that time, she was approached by the visiting teacher of that district who knew both hr. and are. d, and asked them if 'hey would take a sixteen year old girl for a few weeks. hrs. R explained to the woman that they would be glad to d; so except that they had no room for another per- son in their home unless she could sleep on the davenport. A.few days later, the visiting teacher brought Paula to the 3 home and she has been there ever since. Mrs. R stated that they had only a pro— visional license because they have no extra bedroom and Paula is still sleeping on the davenport. Paula was class d as a '3rdblem daild' when she was brought to the R home, and li-rs. R felt that She would nev r take another teenager with problems again, if given the opportunity. Eaula's mother is an alcoholic and deserted the family of five children when Paula was about six years old. flhe father attempted to make a home for the children for about seven years and'tnen remarried. The step-mother is a woman in her early twenties and she and Paula did nbt get along. Paula finally ran away from.home and went to _ive with her mother who could not manage her, and after a few weeks could cope with the problem no longer. The girl was placed in a boarding home but after a short period this arrange- ment did not work out well, and at that time the visiting teacher brought the girl to the As. The as do not receive any money for boarding Paula 118 and take care of buyihg her clothes aid all the ot or thing she needs oit of their own pockets. l--rs. R stated that tzis has often resulted in she and her husband sacrificing things that they want to keep Paula, but they want to do it. hrs. R felt that she has a great rany problems with Paula which She does not know how to cope with. One of these is the fact that she feels that Pa.la thinks the world owes her a living. hrs. R stated that Paula operated on the theory flint 'if you are nice to me and give me things, I will be as good and pleasant as a child can be but if you cross he, I will make you sorry.’ Ea la helps Ere. R with the dishes and does sore cleaning and odier tasks about the house, but Lrs. R feels that the girl does not help as much as she could if She would only try. Eaula has a tendency to forget the things she is supposed to do. i«rs. R stated that the girl likes to be the center of attention and is not happy if some one isn't ;aying attention to her. Ere. R feels that this is grobably an indication of Paula's inferiority complex. Lbs. R said that she woxli hate to have Fa la leave them now because they have worked hard to build up a feeling of security for the girl and feel that tie c anges in her have been marked since she came to live with them. when Iaula first came to their home, her grades are failing. How, however, she received two As, a B and a C on the last estimate. hrs. 3 said that she did not expect the girl to get all As and she was very happy for this great change. she and her husband give Paula a quarter for every A which eie gets and she said the girl really works for them. Another problem which “rs. A has with Fa la has to do with clothes. The girl does not understand the difference between work clothes and good clothes and will wear her good sweaters with her blue-jeans around the house and put on her good coat to go out to the garbage can or to get the milk. The girl also has a tendency to want more expensive clothes than the Le can afford. hrs. R felt that perhaps Paula is jealous of her and her husband. For instance, this winter ire. R was in.thmphis and was able ta buy a lovely dress on sale for seven dollars. Jhen Paula needed a new dress, sis told the girl that she could spend around seven dollars for one, as that is what she herself spent. Paula ended up buying a nine dollar dress and.hrs. R thinks that she did this so that she could have a dress better than lrs. Rs. hrs. R showed a blue wool skirt which she had given to Paula - it was one of her old ones - for working around the house or for school. Howev r, the girl will not wear it and wrs. 3 cannot understand why. hrs. 3 does a great deal of her own sewing and makes most of her things except for good clothes which she feels have hore style if bought ready made. tr. R has a nice playful relationShip with Paula, though 1are. R said that when Paula first came to live with them, on one occasion, fir. R snapped the back of her bra jokingly and the girl got very hurt. firs. R explained to her that hr. R wouldn't think of touching her and that he liked to ’kid' and play around and she must learn to take this in the manner in which it was given. Now, however, the two do a great deal of 'horseplay' and get along well. 119 lrs. 3 has had some trouble with the girl coming in nights. At the present time, She allows Paula to be out three nights a week. TWO of these nights, She has to Cheerlead at the basketball games and the other night can be of her own Choosing. hes. R expects Paula to be in by 12:50 on date night, unless die has a very good excuse for staying out longer. If she does not have an excuse, hire. 3 takes away her dating privilege for a week. This plan has worked out well, as the girl has a good sense of what is fair, and is willing to cooperate and does not resent being made to stay home, if she feels hrs. R is justified in doing 30. Hrs. R stated that Paula has very high moral standards and will not allow boys too much freedom with her. hrs. R heard from one boys mother that Paula slapped a boy in the face for telling off-color stories in front of her. Paula does not approve of drinking and will not date one boy whem.3he heard liked to drink. ,The girl also has very high standards regarding lying and stealing and inrs. R does not feel she would ever do either. the. R feels that Paula Should.be able to get a Job part time during the year and during the summer. However, so far she has not been able to get Paula to do this, even though she has mentioned to her several Job opportunities. Last summer, die girl had a Job for about ten days but hrs. R felt She was justified in quiting because her employer didn't treat her right and told her that she should appreciate what the Rs do for her because they were sacrificing to keep her. Mrs. R resented.thenztelling this to Paula and did not mind when she stopped working for them. Paula calls lit. and If-rs. R mother and daddy. Eire. B said that this sometimes embarrassed her as Paula implied that they were her real parents. For instance, was. R felt that some of Paula's teachers, knowing that she was an 'only child', might blame the Rs for things which Paula did. Krs. R has encouraged.Paula to take a business course in high school and hoped that the girl would be able to use this training when she graduated. firs. R hopes that Paula will stay with them until she graduates from high school, because she does not feel that the girl will ever finish without their encouragement. Paula is very interested in school activities and is a cheer leader and in her class play» Before the interviewer left, Paula came home. She entered the back door, calling a cheery greeting to her mother. Mrs. R introduced them and She said she was very glad to have met the interviewer and went into the bedrooms Paula is a slight, blonde girl with pretty little features. She smiled and seemed generally quite happy and fond of was. R. Mme. R feels that what Paula needs mots right now is some outside person who could talk to her and.belp her to realize what the Rs are doing for her, as Mrs. R feels that one of her chief problems with the girl is the fact that she doesn't show any appreciation for anything which is done for her. 120 There are no boarding children in this foster home at present, though the foster mother spoke proudly of the many children she has boarded in the past six years. Family Lembers: Case 19 hi. H - 40 Mrs. H - 38 Son - 19 Daughter - 16 The H home was located in a small residential section a block from a very busy street leading to the center of town. The house was set on a single lot, close to the street as are the rest of the homes in this block. The H ouse was a single story butterscotch colored clap- board structure with brown trim. There was a small porch on the front. The front yard was small with a hedge along one side. Hrs. H.answered the knock at the door. She was dressed in a cotton pink and black plain dress, stockings and high heeled black sandals. Mrs. H is of a rather stocky build with brown curly hair and.blue eyes. She wore glasses. The front door opened directly into the small living room.which was furniShed with a blue plush davenport and matching chair, a grey occasional chair, a table and a small coffee table in front of the davenport. The walls wece done in a peach wall-paper with white design. The room presented aneat appearance and the furniture was in very good condition. White crocheted antimaccassars were on the davenport and chair set. Mrs. H settled herself in one of the chairs and waited for the inter- viewer to open the conversation. After the conversation began, however, she responded a little more enthusiastically. “rs. H stated that she has been boarding children since before the war, she guessed for about six years, but she meant longer than that, if she actually started be- fore or at the beginning of the war. ‘At the present time, she is not boarding any children directly, though she is considering putting an ad in the paper. However, she said that she cares for a little girl across the street two or three days a week when her mother goes with her father to Detroit or out of town. (He is a salesman). On another day she cares for another of the neighborhood children so she is quite busy now without putting an ad in the paper. She stated that fromrher ads she has had quite a number of other ladies who board children call her up to find out how much she charges and refer children who need to be boarded and live in her vicinity to her. She said that often a number of people answer the ad.who are looking for a boarding home but live and work so far from her home that the arrangement Just couldn't work out for them. Hrs. H was notvvery clear as to the sequence of children she has had, but did recall several that stood out in her mind. She has always done day care except for one little boy that she had full time for about nine 121 months. hrs. h started boarding children gradually. She originally began to care for neighborhood children occasionally when they were sick or the parents were going out of town for a few days. From this start, she began to take children during the war when.so many women were working in factories. She said.that she has always enjoyed children, having two of her own and doesn’t find them.any trouble to have in the house and she has never had any trouble managing children. To il- lustrate her point she cited several examples. A.woman called her one day and said She was anxious to put her little girl in a new boarding home because She felt that the home she was in at that time did not like mie child. She explained to I‘nlrs. H that the little girl had a hair lip and cleft palate and was not very attractive. The child was to have an operation in eight months and was to gain.five pounds by that time so as to be in good physical condition. Hrs. H agreed to have the woman call on her with the child wkich she did. At the time the mother brought the little girl. Mrs. H had a neighbor and her child visiting her. The mother came in and brought the fifteen month child in, encouraging Hrs. H to make up to her. hrs. H said that she wouldn't do that, that it was better to have the child make the first move. The little girl sat down on the floor and began playing with the other child. Eventually, she brought a book over to Krs. H and climbed up on her lap to be read to. The mother was very surprised at this, because the child was very shy and did not make up to strangers readily. hrs. H kept the little girl for the eight months and in seven months she had gained the required five pouuds. She was very proud of his and said she required five pounds. She was very proud of this and said she grew very fond of the child. The mother called her the other day and is going to bring the little girl over to see Mrs. H because she is finished with the series of operations now and looks like different child. hrs. H had to feed her a special diet when she had her due to the condition of her mo th. The child played with the other children in the neighborhood and got along very well there. The mother told her that in the boarding home the child.had been previously, she would start to cry in the morning when they left her and.when they came at night she was sitting in a chair, crying. Mrs. H told of another 3 year old boy a‘ze had taken whom the parents just couldn't manage but she never had any trouble with him. his parents had whipped him, but she never had to do that. She would Just tell him that unless he minded her, he couldn't go out and play with the other boys and miat seemed to work just fine. The only people she has had any trouble with were a couple who brought their little girl to her filthy dirty, arranging to call for her each evening. However, they failed to do so. Eventually, Mrs. H called them and they came and took the child for the week end, bringing her back to I‘cirs. H in the same dress she had left in, and almost as dirty as she was when “rs. h first got her. About this time, the child's grand- father found out Where she was and got in touch with the Hs. The child was eventually taken by the court, and the grandfather paid the child's board bill and for the clothes which 1airs. 5 had found it necessary to purchase. Outside of this instance, Ere. n has never had any trouble 122 about people paying her. She said a lot of boarding homes ask for the money in advance, but she has never found it necessary. hrs. H. charges el.50 a day for day care. During the war, she charged 92.00 per day. Evidently the children whom.hrs. H has cared for remember her after they are back in their own homes. She said there is one little five year old who calls her up almost every week and asks her when she can cone and stay with her again. Another family had moved to hansfield, Chic and called her up long distance to tell her how sorry they were that they hadn't had a chance to Come and see her before they left town. She talked to each one of the several children in the fmuily and was quite touched that they would do this. Another little girl always tells her that if any thing happens to her own mother and father, she wants to come and live with Hrs. H. The child's mother has told her, also that if anything happens to them, she wants mes. H to have Kary. The family does a great deal of flying, having their own plans. Ere. K said that the children.she has boarded have always called her Kama H. She usually gives the boarding children two meals, breakfast and lunch and the own parents take them for the evening meal. If the child comes and is not hungry for breakfast in the morning, she lets them play around for a bit before they eat. She often plans to go for a walk with the children she has, if at all possible, some time during the day. She has been asked to care for children with scarlet fever which she did not do, due to the fact that she was unwilling to expose her own family. Another time, she was asked to take a dying baby in bandages which she refused to do, feeling that the child belonged in the hospital and she disliked getting attached to a dying child, whose own parents refused to care for him. Lbs. spoke proudly of her own.children. She showed a recent photograph of her teenage daughter and said that she has four families for whom she does baby-sitting. firs. H feels that the children she has boarded have been a good experience for her daughter, as she learned to make up a formula and change diapers, etc. from working with the children her mother took. Lrs. h's son was recently discharged from the service and has taken a.preliminary test to get a job in the same outfit with his father. hrs. H couldn't recall what type of a test this was, but said it was an I.Q. test or something like first. hrs. H also stated that her husband enjoyed.the children and didn't mind at all that she boarded them. hrs. H likes children and doesn't mind the responsibility. She said hat she was used to it, for her own mother had to work outside the home and She has always had to help. She feels perTeps that many girls today are unwilling to assume the proper responsibility, even when they can see it. She said that the parents of the children she has boarded have had to board their children out because both parents found it necessary to work to make any money and keep going. host of them were young couples just starting out. 123 Apparently, lire. 11 takes pride in both h:r own home and what she is doing and it was felt this was a very satisfactory interview, although it is unfortunate that she couldn't recall more accurately when she had t‘.:e different children, and men she started to board children. 124 This foster family is not boarding any children at the present time because of illness in the boarding family. The boarding mother discussed the many children she has boarded in the last seventeen years. Family Lambers: Case 20 Li. P - 58 years old hrs. P - 55 Son - 12 The P home was located in a semi-connercial district with several stores and a filling station nearby. The house was a one and a half story white clapboard with a porch running across the front. It was set close to the street, with a very small yard in front. The front door opened directly into the small living room. The walls were covered with a pale wall-paper and a blue flowered carpet was on the floor. An archway with pillars on each side separated the living room from the dining room beyond. The furniture in the living room con- sisted of a large davenport, two easy chairs, a knee-hole desk and other small tables. Several pictures were on the walls. Hrs. P is a short stocky woman with graying black hair, blue eyes and rimless glasses. She was clad in a lavender flowered cotton dress, faded sweater and white anklets with black shoes. She opened the door with a pleasant smile and.told the interviewer to take off her coat. hrs. P was willing and anxious to tell anything that might be of help and held her boarding hwme record in her hand throughout the interview, referring to it from time to time to check on a child's name or how long a particular child had lived in her home. Mrs. P stated that she has been boarding children for about eighteen years. She boarded full time originally for a child placing agency. Last year she changed to day care because the fanily has moved and their new home does not have the room for full time care. Mrs. P also has some trouble with arthritis and feels that she does much better now, only having the children during the day. hrs. P could not recall exactly how long She had been boarding privately. She thought it was for about six or seven years. The P's adopted their twelve year old son about six years ago and since that time, wrs. P has gotten most of her children through private arrangements because she felt the agency did not approve of her adoption of the boy, Timmy. She said mist they did not send her very many children after they took die boy and so she began to board privately. She stated that the agency cannot board children in the same home as privately boarded children so she told the agency that they didn't need to send her any children after that time. At the present time, firs. P is not boarding any children. The last child she had was a four year old girl last JUne for two weeks. Due to ill- ness in her own family, Lrs. P has been busy caring for grandchildren 125 and making trips to the hospital. hrs. P stated that she had boarded twenty three children in the last eighteen years for three months or more. She said with a laugh that she would hate to try and count all of the others that she had kept for a Shorter length of time. hrs. P first began to board children when her youngest child started to school. She co ld not have any more children herself and so decided to board a child because she miss d having a little one about the house. At that time, Lrs. P did not have a boarding license. She did not realize that this was necessary. After a few months, one of her neigh- bors reported mrs. P to the welfare and they called her and asked her why she didn’t have a license. She told fliem that she didn't know about this regulation and they eventually investigated her home and licensed her. She said with a laugh that as soon as they learned that she wanted to board children, every agency and the state and everybody wanted to put a child in her h me. She was licensed to board two children full time. his. P said that she has boarded every kind of child possible and has enjoyed them all, ene way or another. She spoke with pride of the fact that she still hears from many of her 'children' and two or three girls she has boarded have gotten married from.her home and have babies of their own now. Mrs. P charges S10 to élz a week for day care, depending on the person. firs. P stated that She boarded two mentally deficient children during the time that she was boarding for the agency. One of these, a seven y ar old boy who evidently was syphlitic, she described in great de- tail. She had the child for seven months and finally Just had to have the agency came and get him.because the strain was too much for her. The child could not be housebroken and could not remember his name for five minutes. hrs. P felt that he was oversexed and it embarrassed her to take him places and it was impossible to leave him alone. hrs. P spoke with great fondness of several other of the children she has boarded. One boy had infantile paralysis. On severla occasions she has boarded unwed mothers and.their babies. Hrs. P feels a great deal of sympathy for girls who 'get in trouble'and said that if she had the money, she would like to start a home for them, and give them place to live where they have a chance to make a go of it without being condemned as bad. hrs. P feels that it is these girls' own mothers and fathers who were basically at fault by not giving them the proper instruction and example right at home, instead of letting them learn the facts of life from their friends or intthe school. The parents can be a living example of the goodness of sex, if they will be frank and open hearted with tneir children, which most of them.don't seem to want to do; then turn around and throw all of the blame on the child when She gets in trouble. Lrs. P also felt that tne boy was as much to blame as the girl only the girl had to bear the brunt of it because she carried the child and no one even knew who the father was or condemned him at all. Mrs. P also spoke with great feeling about telling adopted children they are adopted and not letting them.find out from someone outside the family. She gave as an example one of her girlhood friends who had been told by a neighbor and Just cruShed. She has always told their boy that he is their adopted son and he understands about it. The boy hates his own mother, but hrs. P hoped that he would find it in his heart as he 126 grows older to forgive her. “re. P felt that ’Judge not that Ye be not judged' is a good maxim to follow. Lie. P felt that boarding independently is a more satisfactory arrange- ment than boarding for an agency or for the state. She stated that when you make an arrangement with the child's own mother, the situation works out much better. You are also more likely to get normal children. From the agenc;, mrs. P said that she never knew what she was going to get. hrs. P also stated that the agency tried to lay down too many regulations to follow in caring for their children and fire. P felt that with her wide experience in caring for children, being told what to do was un- necessary and irritating. hrs. P is moth r to a Cub Scout Den once a week and spoke enthusiastical- ly of tpis activity. She got out some plaster of paris molds she makes of Indians and other figures which the Cubs decorate. ner son, Timmy, is also a scout. he came home from school while the interviewer was there. he is a nice looking boy with blonde hair and rosy cheeks. He was dressed in a plaid shirt and blue jeans. Timmy came in the front door with his goloshes covered with snow. hrs. 1 reminded him that he should use the kitchen door when his feet were snowy. The boy took off his boots at onec. Mrs. P's four year old granson was also present during the interview. he played quietly in the dining room, most of he time. After Timmy came home, he and Timmy got out their erector set and started to build something on the floor. Another of hrs. P's hobbies is helping people in flurope. She got a stack of letters and photographs fronzthe desk and showed me sev.ral of the letters from people in Germany and other countries. She has sent 'fiian several packages a d pointed out the different people in pictures which they nad sent her. One of these families has sent firs. i some hand.made lace and handkerchiefs and other linens w ich she treasures highly and got out of a drawer wrapped in tissue paper to show to the interviewer. hrs. P said t at her husband enjoys the boarding children when she has them and they usually call her and Lr. P Kama and Daddy if the: are with them long. Rrs. P feels that Timmy is t rning out to be a fine boy. he gets excellent grades in school and she is proud of him. She urged him to Show some care he had built which he did. he also showed some of the plaster of paris indians he had worked on. Before the interviewer left, lhrs. P insisted tgat she take a plaster horse-head pin w ich she had made. She told several times that she hoped she would come back again and visit them, and hoped that she hadn't taken up too much of the interviewer's time. 539 ’52 - M‘u... 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