A Review of the Shelter Home Program of the Archdiocese of New York, 1946 – 1950

Anita Marie Barrett, Fordham University

Abstract

Background of the Study. In the normal course of every day living, families are forced to face such crises as sudden illness, death, neglect, marital discord, disturbed parent-child relationship or a situation which leaves the parent temporarily unable to carry the responsibility of caring for his child. These situations, together with the fact that families for many reasons appear to assume less and less responsibility for their own and relatives' children, make it necessary for the child to become temporarily dependent upon the community.While the aforementioned conditions last at all times, these same conditions are accentuated during war years and post war year periods. "War is one of the chief causes for child dependence on a large scale." Thus the problem of the temporary care of the dependent or neglected child is one which has existed for some time but because it was accentuated during World War II and the post war period, it began to receive the attention it deserved. There was an increasing need for planning and caring for children outside of their own homes. This principle, of placing dependent and neglected children in boarding homes rather than in institutions, has been the accepted principle in child placement in New York City since 1938. The result of this trend has been the increasing inability to meet the needs of children who should receive care outside of their own homes. This need for homes became so acute that the public itself became directly aware of it through press and radio releases, which stressed the acute need for emergency placement.

Subject Area

Social work|Social research|Social studies education|Individual & family studies

Recommended Citation

Barrett, Anita Marie, "A Review of the Shelter Home Program of the Archdiocese of New York, 1946 – 1950" (1951). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI30724939.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI30724939

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