Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/35

 SCHOOLS FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN 21

year (July I, 1899 July I, 1900) 2,200 cases were docketed and disposed of by the court. Eight hundred and ten depend- ents, 365 of whom were girls, were brought before the court, and 1,450 delinquents, in of whom were girls. One thousand and ninety-five of these children were released on parole, *'. e. t were allowed to return home under the supervision of probation officers, and the 1,175 were sent to various schools and institu- tions or committed to the care of child-saving societies. Dur- ing the second year (July I, 1900 July I, 1901) 2,378 cases were docketed and disposed of by the court. Of these, 1,204 were delinquents, 126 of whom were girls, and 1,071 were dependents, of whom 528 were girls. One thousand and eighty- nine were placed on probation, 658 of these being children released from the John Worthy School. There were only 195 probationers, or 10^ per cent, of the total number of delin- quents returned to the court, and quite a number of these chil- dren had been paroled during the previous year ; so that the result of the probation system is most encouraging.

The average age of the delinquent boys was 12.9 years, of delinquent girls, 14.1 years. The average age of dependent boys was 7.1 years, and of dependent girls, 8.4 years. The delinquencies consisted chiefly in petty thefts (374), vagrancy (169), disorderly conduct (261), and incorrigibility (153). The causes of dependency were chiefly lack of proper parental care, desertion, drunkenness, or death of one or both of the parents. Prior to the enactment of the juvenile-court law, 50 per cent, of the juvenile delinquents, or more than 500 a year, were sent to the county jail; but during the year 1901 only I per cent, of the juvenile delinquents were sent to jail.

The juvenile court endeavors in all cases where it is practi- cable to keep the original family together, and the family is broken up only in those cases where it appears to be necessary to the welfare of the child. The juvenile court is no longer an experiment. Its work is pronounced a success by the most competent and impartial judges. It is considered the most important step taken in recent years in reform work, and other states Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey,