Experience in County Public Welfare Organization and Administration as a Basis for Planning in Illinois

Abstract

RECENT events in the field of public welfare have stimulated new interest and concern among the welfare leaders of Illinois in a county unit plan of welfare and administration. Along with the general added significance of welfare problems during the depression, the experiences of the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission, the transfer in large measure of the emergency relief administration burden to the townships,' and the new social security legislation have added to this concern. The idea of a county unit plan for the administration of welfare activities is not altogether new in Illinois. In i9i2, Professor E. C. Hayes in his presidential address, as-president of the Illinois Conference on Public Welfare, stressed the need for a type of county wide organization in the interest of improved standards of welfare service.2 Wilfred S. Reynolds in the presidential address of the same body in I9I7 set out the principle of county boards of public welfare for the state.3 In I92o a Special Children's Committee, appointed at the request of the State Conference by the Director of the State Department of Public Welfare, reported among its 46 recommendations one for county units as a basis of local public welfare administration. This recommendation is quoted below as an interesting bit of pioneering: In order to crystallize the potentialities of the counties and local communities, both rural and urban, it is recommended that the Department of Public Welfare promote the formation by the officials and citizens of local committees which might be known as County Boards. Experience in other states has shown that such boards do much to prevent duplication of effort, and to arouse interest, and lead to a common understanding of community resources and responsibilities and a fine spirit of cooperation in service for the common good.4