1941: Social Service, Public

Social Problems in National Defense.

The major tendency in public welfare in 1941 has been a progressive gearing of machinery and program to the total defense effort of the nation. Some 400 areas throughout the United States, its territories, and island possessions are considered critical defense areas—places where concentration of military or naval personnel or workers in defense industries creates difficult social and economic problems.

The calling of men from home and civilian pursuits into the armed service places them in a highly abnormal social environment where the problem of leisure-time activities is especially important. Family ties may become strained through long absence and loss of income to the home. The large-scale migration of industrial workers involves somewhat similar problems related to recreation, juvenile delinquency and vice. Individuals and families must adjust to new jobs in a new community, often under very crowded and unsatisfactory housing conditions.

For workers in defense industries, the sudden stepping up of income to unaccustomed levels sometimes makes for the deterioration of the individual and the disintegration of the family unit. For workers whose income has not increased in the present boom, the rapidly rising cost of living—especially food and rent—impairs the financial status of the family, in some cases to the point of public dependency. The high living costs are especially serious for social insurance annuitants and for recipients of relief.

While the total volume of unemployment is much smaller than a year ago—estimated November 1941 at 3,900,000 as against 7,600,000 in November 1940—the curtailment of non-defense production creates pockets of so-called 'priority unemployment' in many industries. This type of unemployment has thus far proved to be localized and, in most instances, of small enough proportions that the jobless workers could be absorbed with little delay by expanding defense industries. Now that the United States has become a belligerent power, however, much more drastic cutting of civilian production is expected, with more serious dislocation in employment and a probable rise in short-term dependency.

Relief rolls in the aggregate have declined greatly during 1941 and the general trend is still downward. As the rolls shrink, the proportion of unemployable and near-unemployable persons remaining on relief continues to rise. This calls for increased provision for medical care and increased emphasis on programs of rehabilitation. Unemployability is a relative concept, and many who would have been considered unemployable two years ago are now finding jobs. This process is being accelerated by physical rehabilitation and retraining of skills.

The problem of effectively mobilizing America's man power for production is receiving much attention, as crucial shortages of skilled labor have developed in many areas, and further shortages are anticipated. The state employment services which, under Federal leadership, have been taking a major part in this mobilization, became an organic part of the Federal Security Agency in December. State and local public welfare agencies cooperate in this mobilization process by making certain that all employables on relief register with the employment service and are put in touch with appropriate retraining programs.

Coordination of Public Social Services.

The need for coordination of social service machinery has been of pressing importance. The administrator of the Federal Security Agency is also serving as director of the Office of Defense, Health and Welfare Services, in the Office for Emergency Management, the latter being the section of the Executive Office of the President that directs most of the important defense activities of the Federal Government. The Office of Defense, Health and Welfare Services is assisted by committees in family security, nutrition, and other fields where liaison with other Federal agencies is necessary. This office utilizes the regional set up of the Federal Social Security Board with its extensive field force as a medium for coordinating Federal activities in welfare fields at a point close to the local communities.

The twelve regional directors of the Social Security Board have established regional advisory councils composed of representatives of Federal programs related to health and welfare in each region. The functions of these councils include gathering and analyzing information on special problems in major defense localities, the appraisal of available Federal, state and local resources, and the initiation of programs in cooperation with state and local authorities to meet the problems presented. It is the responsibility of the regional councils through their directors to cooperate with state defense councils and other agencies coordinating defense activities of the states and localities.

Besides the Office of Defense, Health and Welfare Services, the Office of Civilian Defense, also within the Office for Emergency Management, has functions closely related to the public social services. The OCD is responsible for organizing civilian volunteer participation under the general direction of a committee of 45 members, five from each of the Army Corps Areas. Each community is expected to set up a civilian defense volunteer office, which will coordinate locally the recruiting, placing and training of volunteers in services essential to civilian morale and well-being, including numerous social services.

The problem of community coordination and planning is one in which the public welfare administrator is qualified to take an active part. Not only has be intimate knowledge of the needs of the community, but his staff is expert in community organization. Community programs have been slow in developing, many localities failing to see the need for defense councils and other social machinery. The attack on Pearl Harbor, however, served to blast away public apathy, and to give tremendous impetus to volunteer efforts in the localities.

Post-War Planning.

The Federal Government and, to some extent states and localities, are active in planning measures to prevent an economic collapse after the war's end. The National Resources Planning Board has recommended that a six-year program of public works be developed to be put in effect when needed. A new Federal agency, the Public Work Reserve, has been created to develop an inventory of proposed construction and community service activities projected by states and localities. This agency will deal directly with all states and all political subdivisions, and will encourage fiscal planning on the part of governmental units now deficient in this respect.

Volume and Cost of Relief.

Public dependency remains the chief problem of social welfare though the extent of need is considerably reduced. The average number of persons receiving aid of all types, directly or through work relief, is estimated at 12,837,000 during the first nine months of 1941, a drop of more than 19 per cent as compared with the corresponding period of 1940. The greatest declines occurred in general relief and WPA. General relief cases—families and individuals—averaged 1,042,000 during January-September 1941, or 29.2 per cent below 1940, a drop of some 430,000 cases. Persons employed on WPA, the major Federal work program, averaged 1,431,000 in 1941—525,000 fewer than the previous year. Farm Security Administration cases dropped from 74,000 to 40,000. As to the youth programs—Civilian Conservation Corps and National Youth Administration—average CCC enrollment dropped 21.3 per cent to 214,000 as a result of increased employment opportunities and military service, while NYA with expanded industrial training facilities for defense industries, showed a gain of 19 per cent to 689,000.

There were substantial increases in old age assistance, aid to dependent children and aid to the blind—whose beneficiaries are very largely unemployables. OAA recipients increased 9.3 per cent to a monthly average of 2,143,000 in 1941. Blind persons receiving aid rose 4.2 per cent to 74,000. Families receiving aid to dependent children averaged 387,000, and the children involved averaged 932,000, a gain of 13.5 per cent in both factors. Average monthly expenditures for the various relief programs appear in the following table. The value of Federal surplus commodities distributed to families on and near the relief level is not included.

Legislation.

The process of extension and liberalization of public welfare programs on state and local levels has been furthered by the state legislatures during the past year, but the broad changes anticipated in the Federal Social Security Act have not yet materialized. The movement in Congress for Federal grants-in-aid for general relief has gathered momentum because of problems involved in the greatly increased migration of industrial workers. The outbreak of war has also served to focus new attention on expansion of health insurance programs. Wide expansion of coverage and increase in the amount of Federal aid, probably related to the varying economic capacity of the different states, are prominent features of the proposals for new social security legislation. See also WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION.