ors with more workers, better investigations, more carefully guarded placements, a ew receiving home. It is on the way toward becoming an efficient agency. 4. A group of nurseries (survey only) have secured a social worker for investigaions and home treatment, and have adopted records of modern type. Closer coperation with family work societies has cut out some relief work. More care is taken ith reference to cleanliness and more milk introduced in children's diet. 5. The Humane Society (survey only) has attempted to become a real society, eing one only in name before. 6. A visiting nurse association has been established. Previously there had only een tuberculosis nurses. 7. Absolute failure is reported regarding recommendations touching upon city epartments, because of the interference of politics. A survey completed in December, 1920, in Memphis and now being worked out by he committees of the central council there, has brought rather important agreements n this short space of time on the part of a number of the agencies. These up to une 7, with some of the committees not yet reporting, included: 1. Acceptance by case-working agencies of bearing on an equitable basis cost of ocial service exchange, also important adjustments in work. 2. The Y.W.C.A. has agreed not to build a large boarding-home as proposed but put up a modest headquarters building, with some gymnasium and club facilities nd to specialize on this, developing an extension movement in the establishment of irls' clubs all over the community. 3. Another agency will combine its large boarding-home but with better arrangenents for looking after the small-salaried girls, and with looking toward the participaion of the boarders in the management of the home. 4. An old man's home has accepted and is carrying out recommendations covering building defects and for the use of the social service exchange when investigations for dmission are made. 5. The county commissioners, in connection with a forthcoming bond issue, have ledged about $100,000 toward carrying out recommendations regarding the Home for Aged and County Workhouse. 6. The Y.M.C.A. has agreed to withdraw from an annual Christmas giving-affair which had been exceedingly demoralizing and to restrict use of its boarding-department to the small-salaried men. 7. With regard to a settlement in which recommendations included the abandonnent of a day nursery and dispensary, and a democratic reorganization of the whole undertaking which would bring to the house both youths and men and women (its usefulness now being confined to children), thus making it a real neighborhood organization, the directors have asked to work the whole thing out themselves, requesting the council committee to take no action for a few months. 8. The beginning steps have been taken to bring the Traveler's Aid to measure up to the standards of the national association. 9. A messed-up clinic situation has been cleared by transfer of all clinic responsibility to the general hospital. 10. The hospital has also assumed charge of a social service department and increased its staff. Heretofore this department has been in charge of another society. II. A case conference of family, health, and other agencies to deal with immediate case problems in which difficulties between agencies have arisen. 12. This is only the beginning in carrying out recommendations which so far have been accepted in toto and in good faith by all the agencies with the possible exception of one. PUBLIC DEPARTMENTS, PROGRAMS OF LEGISLATION, AND SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES OF COUNCIL We have not space to discuss the activities of councils in these directions and presume that no conceivable question could arise as to their functioning in these directions. The Columbus and Milwaukee councils particularly have functioned notably with reference to developments in public departments and programs of legislation. REVIEW OF INDIVIDUAL BUDGETS Though this has been suggested as the part of the program of most central councils which have been organized I can find that no central council has attempted anything in this direction. I believe it is a perfectly possible thing, but this paper is dealing with actualities not beliefs. The secretary of the Wichita Council, newly organized, informs me a committee will be organized in the fall. I have just heard that at a meeting held on June 17 of the re-organized Chicago Council, the new president announced that budget considerations and help in publicity should be part of the program. AGENCIES TO DO THE RIGHT KIND OF PUBLICITY With the exception of a series of special meetings followed by the issuance of a pamphlet on Publicity Methods by the Chicago Council, I can find no particular developments along this line. DISCUSSION Elwood Street, Secretary, Council of Social Agencies, St. Louis In the paper just given, Mr. McLean dealt with the actual accomplishments of organizations called Councils of Social Agencies. This information is exceedingly helpful, for it shows many interesting attainments. However, Council of Social Agencies is not merely the title of an organization, but the name for a co-operative affiliation of social agencies, working together in any community, urban or rural. The functions of some of these councils include joint financing as well as joint attack on social problems and joint endeavor for the raising of standards. Therefore the report given did not cover the whole field for it discusses only "social" councils. I shall not speak, in this discussion, of the accomplishments made in the field of joint financing. However, in the cities where joint financing is one of the functions of the centralized organization, a great many accomplishments may be shown. For example, in Cleveland there are functional groups such as the Association for the Crippled and Disabled, Children's Bureau, Hospital Council, Girls' Council, Health Committee, Children's Conference, Conference on Illegitimacy, Community Christmas, and Central Purchasing Bureau, which able to show a great number of valuable results. There are two points I should like to bring out: First, from the results actually secured in those cities where agencies are banded toget planning and unified attack on problems and for the raising of standards, experience conclu that the "council" or "federation" plan should be advocated, and cities not thus organized well to take steps in this direction at an early date. Second, we must get together on this central council idea. Th American Association for Community Organization, and the Arr 1 he nizations By Welfare Societies-which are particularly interested in this matter, have, through their various experiences, accumulated a mass of information. The time has come for unified action on the problems of community organization rather than allowing a difference of opinion on certain questions, such as financial federation, to prevent many communities from the utilization of the experiences which we jointly have had. We are in the midst of too important a movement to be concerned with our individual viewpoints on the matter. It is important that the joint methods worked out by each of these national agencies be assembled for the benefit of the movement. THE OHIO COUNCIL OF SOCIAL AGENCIES Fred C. Croxton, Chairman, Ohio Council of Social Agencies, Columbus The organization in Ohio of several of the war activities was such as to demonstrate in a very marked way the advantages of teamwork on the part of state departments and state-wide social agencies. In that state a minimum of new official agencies was created to meet war needs; but on the other hand, the executive office and every state department co-operated to produce results. One private agency (The Ohio Institute for Public Efficiency), for instance, placed practically its whole staff at the disposal of the federal and state governments for war-work without compensation or reimbursement. The community needs disclosed and the spirit of service developed during the war led a number of social-service agencies to expand or develop community programs soon after the war. An inevitable result of the many public and private agencies undertaking to develop social work in communities seemed to be conflict of plans and confusion of communities. With the experience in teamwork gained during the war, what was more natural than that an effort should be made to develop joint planning and joint action with relation to the social problems of peace time? The governor of Ohio, having in mind the value of teamwork, issued an invitation to all public and private social agencies having a state-wide program in that state to send delegates to a conference to be held in the State House on March 27, 1919. At the close of this conference, the following resolution was adopted: "That this body meet at regular intervals, beginning once a month; that each agency should clear its full program through the chairman's office, and also supply maps showing branch organizations in the counties." For several months the meetings were merely informal conferences, but the benefits derived from the gatherings were such that the Ohio Council of Social Agencies, which became a deliberative body, was organized and a constitution was adopted. Two essentials of the constitution are as follows: (a) The purpose of the council is to enable each of the associating organizations to discuss its program and policies with other agencies of the council, to prevent overlapping and duplication of social work, to enable the as inties to co-ordinate their communities, ointly in p bind communities. the council, sho nor shall any age obligations. Since the monthly wi present me At no time has it been felt that the Ohio Council was a finished organization. It has been and still is an experiment in a difficult field where the need for co-operation is universally recognized. "Co-operation," as stated by one of the representatives at the first meeting, "is not just an idea, but something needing mechanism and machinery." Carrying out this principle, the council has constantly striven to develop an organization which makes co-operation possible and easy of actual accomplishment. The earlier meetings were devoted largely to discussions of programs which brought about mutual understanding. With mutual understanding came mutual confidence, and then came the possiblity of joint planning and joint undertaking. One of the earlier joint undertakings was joint social surveys of communities under common guidance. These surveys, made at the invitation of the communities, were conducted in some six communities varying in size from a few thousand to approximately a quarter of a million. It is generally believed that nothing could have been more effective than such community studies in driving home an appreciation of the close relationship of all social problems, and emphasizing the necessity for joint planning and joint effort in individual communities. Scarcely a meeting of the council passes without the creation of one or more temporary committees to report on some specific subject a t a subsequent meeting of the council. These committees, without exception, consist of representatives from the agencies most vitally interested in the particular subject. In some cases, such committees are authorized to call, in the name of the council, a state conference of leaders in the particular field of work under consideration, and after careful consideration in that manner, to report recommendations to the council. Practically coincidentally with the creation of the Council of Social Agencies, the Ohio Council on Child Welfare was created. The most significant accomplishments of the Council on Child Welfare have been the study of and development of interest in increased support for mothers' pensions; health conditions in rural schools; school attendance; juvenile courts and the probation system; and finally securing the enactment of very progressive legislation regulating school attendance. The same person acted as secretary of both councils. By its own action a few months ago, the Council on Child Welfare became a standing committee of the Ohio Council of Social Agencies. A few months after the organization of the Council of Social Agencies, two other state councils were created-one known as the Ohio Council on Women and in Industry, and the other as the Ohio Council on Family Social Work. these councils have representation on and work in the closest possible rela the Council of Social Agencies. At the last meeting of the Council of Social Agencies a committee of th authorized and appointed to arrange to put on a short course for attendance-on in order to meet the demands created by new legislation which makes necessary t appointment of a county attendance-officer by every Coun The most striking development of the Council of S want of a better name, is known as the County Case Co meets monthly throughout the forenoon of the day on which sists of representatives from the state departments and from have contacts in a larger number of counties or localities. The r usually the heads of departments or agencies-as is the case on the are the field agents familiar with the particular counties under discussion. At each meeting some three or more counties, agreed upon in advance, are discussed. For each county the social and health problems are presented; the county's social resources, both as to agencies and individuals, are discussed; and a general method of procedure is agreed upon. The County Case Committee seeks to learn these local needs and to develop plans for utilizing the local social resources. The members of the committee, by pooling their information and planning together, are able to economize time and to render a much greater service than would be possible through individual and unrelated effort on the part of the individual agencies. The County Case Committee has been an important factor in constantly keeping before agencies the needs of the particular community rather than the extension of the program of any one agency. After some of these county discussions no agency could assume a selfish attitude if it desired to do so; and no agency would desire to do so if it were possible to do so. Probably the state departments have derived even a greater benefit from the County Case Committee than have the private agencies. In order to get a measure of the value of the Ohio Council of Social Agencies to its members, each member was recently asked for a frank statement in writing covering several suggested topics. A majority of the agencies replied promptly, and the opinions expressed are summarized below. Every agency replied affirmatively to the inquiry as to whether the council had been of value to the agency and its workers. Every agency stated that the council had given the workers of that agency a better knowledge and appreciation of other organizations. With only one or two exceptions every agency attaches importance to joint planning in developing general policies. One agency says, "It makes for clear thinking." The council has also sought to develop joint planning in developing work in local communities. With reference to the subject, one agency states, "It prevents overlapping of effort. It provides more adequately for meeting the real needs. It tends to improve the standards of work in each community due to the fact of joint observation of other agencies." Another agency tersely states, "It prevents duplication or a lop-sided program." Every agency reporting, with one exception, feels that the council has been a factor in placing greater emphasis upon the community and its needs rather than upon the extension of programs of individual organizations. All agencies reporting state that it is essential, or at least desirable, in planning to meet local nee w the plans of other organizations. The information concerning in specific communities as presented in the Case Committee helpful by all agencies pcinating. the part of other ommunities?", The majority, lic depart contri"The started for us." or frank |