Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/203

Rh institutions has been authorized. The state boards of New York and Pennsylvania are authorized to appoint a committee of three in each county for the visitation of the local public institutions, the jail, and the almshouse. In Pennsylvania the power of visitation also extends to public and private asylums and retreats for the insane. In Illinois it is incumbent upon the state board to appoint such a committee of three. The state board of New Jersey may appoint two representatives in each county. The county agents serve in a somewhat similar capacity in Michigan. The state board of Tennessee, organized in 1895, has appointed a committee of six, three men and three women, in each county to aid it in its work. Perhaps other state boards have done likewise.

Ohio and Colorado provide for the appointment of county boards by the probate court. In Ohio the boards consist of five members (three of whom are women), whose duty it is to visit the local institutions and to make an annual report to the clerk of the court and the State Board of Charities. In Colorado the boards consist of six members, two being appointed each year and serving for three years. They visit and inspect all local institutions quarterly, and make an annual report to the State Board of Charities and Corrections. As is the duty of the county agent in Michigan, someone appointed by the board in each county must appear in court in the interest of a minor when arraigned. In both Ohio and Colorado the appointment of these boards is mandatory.

The state charities aid associations of New York and New Jersey are of much importance in the supervision of the charities of those states, and should receive attention here. They are voluntary organizations, having committees in most of the counties of both states. Permission is secured from the courts to visit and inspect the local institutions. The organizations are of such repute that their investigations and reports