£0X jrrM Z£ <$>' A"- cA* ARC 201 December 17, 1917 THE AMERICAN RED CROSS Department of Civilian Relief Washington, D. C. Manual of Home Service Second Edition r" '' \ \~-\ X 'N' \ -v t.'l""- \ >1 ' ___•* *-, December, 1917 T)A TTLEFIELD relief will be effected J_Jthrough Red Cross agencies operating under the supervision of the War Depart- ment, but civilian relief will present a field of increasing opportunity in which the Red Cross organization is especially adapted to serve, and I am hopeful that our people will realize that there is probably no other agency with which they can associate them- selves which can respond so effectively and universally to allay suffering and relieve distress.—Woodrow Wilson. Douglas C. McMurtrie New York Contents PAGE Introductory Statement 3 What Are the Opportunities of Home Service? 5 To Whom Does Home Service Apply? 8 Home Service Publications io I. Service 13 Standards of Child Care 13 Standards of Physical and Mental Health 17 Educational Standards 19 Standard Working Conditions 20 Information Service 22 Legal and Business Advice 23 Other Forms of Service 23 Utilizing the Specialist 26 II. Money Relief 27 Loans 28 Grants 29 Allowances 31 What Is Adequate Relief? 33 III. Method 34 What Is a Home Service Family? 35 The Family's Point of View 37 Things to Bear in Mind 39 A List of Don'ts 4° Directories and Other Helps 41 The Division of Responsibility 42 Home Service and State Funds 44 Home Service and Federal Allowances 45 IV. Organization 46 Duties of the Section 48 The Consultation Committee 49 Summary 5° Executive Secretary 5° Home Service Volunteers 51 Preparedness 52 CONTENTS PAGE Training 52 Institutes on Home Service 53 Chapter Courses 54 Reading for Home Service Workers 55 VI. Forms Record Card Monthly Reports Financial Accounting Records Are Confidential Sample Forms 56 56 57 58 59 60 Index 67 Introductory Statement Men may be the best soldiers in the world, but if things are not well with their families at home they lose effi- ciency through worry, and the morale of the army—that all-important factor—begins to fail. So it is the patriotic duty as well as the humanitarian opportunity of Home Service workers of the American Red Cross to care for the lonely families of our fighting men. It is to be remembered that they soon will be 'fighting men' in real earnest. Not only our enemies, but our Allies, and the American people as well, will be watching them. They must be encouraged to 'carry on' without faltering. Their families must not be allowed to bear personal privation and so to double the willing sacrifices they have made. Every report from the training camps and from the French front mentions the excellent spirit of our troops. Will they maintain this morale while thousands of miles from home, through trench life and battle, to the vic- torious end? The answer will be determined largely by the Home Service of the American Red Cross. To our soldiers and sailors the Red Cross means hospi- tals, doctors, and nurses when they are sick or wounded; hospitality and recreation when off duty in France or at American cantonments. To their folks at home the Red Cross must mean, no less surely, the neighborly counsel and aid which will keep them in good spirits, health, and comfort. The Home Service of the Red Cross must be the nation's assurance that no enlisted man's family shall suffer for any essential thing that it is within its power to give. 4 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE Keeping up the courage of our fighting men is a patri- otic duty in which every Home Service worker has a responsible part. It is not given to these workers to storm the enemy's trenches, but the morale of the Amer- ican Army, which should be the highest, is largely in their keeping—and this is the "invisible armor," which will help to win the war. Thousands of Home Service workers in every part of this country are now in daily contact with the families of soldiers and sailors and know that it is a present fact, and not a theory, that confronts them. They are encoun- tering many family situations in which only friendly and individualized service can take the place of the enlisted man's help and protection during his absence. The necessity for another issue of this Manual has made it possible to make some changes in the first edition of July, 1917, and to add to its various sections a few brief, concrete illustrations, and a few first hand experi- ences of Home Service volunteers. Better than any theoretical discussion, these will serve to show what Home Service really is. These volunteers have enlisted for duty for the period of the war and many of them are giving full time. The varied nature of their work is indi- cated in the examples given, which constitute a challenge, and an inspiring one, to all whose primary interest is in human beings rather than in the handling of materials. Both services are needed by our country and the Red Cross is rendering both, but, in the diversity of gifts, there is an especial opportunity in Home Service for the man or the woman with a gift for friendliness. In short, it is the duty and privilege of Home Service workers, as representing the intense interest and desire of the people of these United States, to do for the families of soldiers and sailors what the government cannot do. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 5 Since the first publication of this Manual in July, 1917, the War Risk Insurance Act1 has been passed by Con- gress. It makes liberal money allowances to the fami- lies of men in the American Service. These Government allowances, heartily advocated by the Red Cross, do not diminish, but rather multiply, the opportunities for use- fulness in Home Service, though these were manifold before allowances were granted. Home Service is now able to turn its full power upon its real task. What Are the Opportunities of Home Service? Its greatest opportunity is the conservation of human resources in families left behind by men at the front or on the high seas. A majority of these families will be in a position to maintain good standards of health, educa- tion, industry, and family solidarity without recourse to outside service of any kind. But in a large minority, on the other hand, these powers of self-helpfulness will be strained to the breaking point by lack of opportunity, by ill health, or by the sudden changes in the way of living due directly to war conditions. In no instance should standards and ideals of home life be lowered. The social consequences of war must be anticipated and all ten- dency to deterioration must be met and checked. The second opportunity, for which the government in the very nature of things cannot make provision, is relief in emergencies—such as temporary money help while legal claims are being adjusted, while the receipt of an allowance is delayed, and so on. This is not going to be a heavy burden, but it is one in which promptness is all important and one for which Red Cross Home Service was responsible during the first seven months of the war 1 Full details of the bearing of this Act upon the work of Home Service Sections are given in the "Handbook of Information for Home Service Sections' (ARC 207). 6 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE when there were no government allowances and no fed- eral aid. As the government assumes its rightful respon- sibility on the financial side, Home Service Sections should be careful to continue their relations of confidence and friendship with families previously aided and to con- serve the welfare of these families in every possible way. The third opportunity, like the first, will be not only a continuing but an increasing one. It is the giving of regular allowances, when needed, to those who have no legal claim to the federal allowances, but a moral claim to Red Cross interest owing to the fact that they have been accustomed to depend upon men now in the service. A second large group, who have no legal claim on the government, have been formally accepted by the Red Cross as its special responsibility; namely, families resi- dent in the United States of men who are in the armies or navies of our Allies. For the scrupulous discharge of this important responsibility, the Red Cross depends upon the Home Service Section of each community.2 A fourth opportunity will increase in importance with each month that our forces are engaged in active warfare. It relates to the returning soldier or sailor, more especially when he returns disabled. Whatever can be done through specialized hospital and institutional treatment will be done by the government supplemented by the Red Cross Department of Military Relief, but the supremely im- portant thing is the prevention of permanent disability. In this many forces will have to cooperate. In so far as these forces are local, the Home Service Section of a locality will have to carry forward the work begun in hospitals and in government training shops. The non- institutional side, the readjustment to actual home con- ditions, the fitting men back into industry after discharge, 2 See further references to this on pages 2, 28, 31, 32, and 35. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 7 the interesting of individual employers, the organizing of local resources for further training, and the development of a helpful and stimulating attitude toward these men throughout the local community—these will become Home Service tasks. After the war the world will need men as never before. It is not merely a just humanitarian service to individuals, but a duty to the country to put forth every effort to conserve the energies of partially disabled soldiers and sailors, and to readjust them to civil and industrial life. A fifth opportunity for Home Service workers lies in the desire of relatives of enlisted men for information of many kinds. Already this service is widely extended through Home Service Sections advising how mail should be addressed to soldiers and sailors; how information may be obtained of those sick, wounded, captured, or missing; what the war risk insurance law means and how to take advantage of its provisions. This work will be still more largely extended and will save untold anxiety and suffering. It will serve materially to maintain the comfort and health of these families, who have spared their breadwinners and protectors to the service of their country, and thereby also to sustain the morale of the fighting men themselves. Finally, a sixth opportunity is to help families to keep pace in ambition and achievement with the man who is surrounded, often, with new chances for education and advancement. One Home Service Section is caring for the large family of a naturalized citizen who enlisted as a private but is already top sergeant. He has made good in a remarkable fashion. It is obvious that he would be disheartened and discouraged if he should return to find his family in the same forbidding home life in which he left them. They have been moved to pleasant, comfort- able quarters. The wife and children will have the recrea- 8 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE tion and the advantages which will assure a home life worthy of this soldier's ideals when he comes back. These, in brief, are the important opportunities which lie in the field of Home Service: (i) conservation by service of human resources wherever deterioration is threatened in the soldier's or sailor's home; (2) tempo- rary relief of families in which there has been delay in payments, or in which there is an emergency; (3) respon- sibility for regular and continued assistance in cases not covered by government allowance—this includes families in need and resident in the United States of men who are in the service of our Allies; (4) personal services to the returned soldier or sailor, especially when he is disabled; (5) an information service which will save time, trouble, and anxiety for the lonely relatives of enlisted men; and (6) the advancement of home standards wherever pos- sible, but especially when the lack of help is likely to cause family disintegration. To Whom Does Home Service Apply? Home Service applies to the families of men in all branches of the service—to those in the regular army, to the national army, to sailors, marines, men of the avia- tion corps, engineers, and to the families of men and women attached to hospital units as nurses, doctors, orderlies, or ambulance drivers. It applies, as just indi- cated, to the families living in this country of soldiers or sailors of any of the allied forces, and also to the families of civilians who have been wounded or killed as the direct result of war activities; for example, through the tor- pedoing of a merchantman by a submarine. The field is a vast one and Home Service responsibility will be correspondingly great. In realizing this respon- sibility, it is necessary also to realize the proper limita- tions of the work. The Red Cross has no desire to shirk INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 9 and no desire to intrude. As already said, many families will not need Home Service and our volunteer workers will go to none without a definite introduction. First, help will be offered, without fail, at the request of the man in the service. He may have received full in- formation about Home Service and what it stands ready to do for his family from the camp officials, regimental and naval officers, chaplains, or others, in whose hands the Red Cross will have placed copies of this Manual. Second, requests for service from other members of the soldier's or sailor's family will be made to the Home Service office in person or by mail. This has been a fre- quent means of approach because such relatives hear of the work not only from the men in service, but from their friends, and from the newspapers. Third, Home Service Sections will learn of emergencies in families and find ways of offering help in the natural course of fulfilling one of their most important functions. This is the function of furnishing the information—which the Red Cross will make a specialty of securing in the fullest and most accurate way possible—about service pay and allotments, about federal allowances to families, and federal insurance, about means of communication with men in hospitals or captivity, and so on. (See ARC 207.) Fourth, helpful relations with families in which there are children can also be secured by explaining the aims and scope of Home Service to the school teachers of the community. The teachers are likely to know of any family emergency which affects the welfare of a child. Not by any general circularizing, but in quieter ways it should be possible to establish a full understanding with the teachers and thus to get prompt information from them about children who are wayward, or sick, or neg- IO MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE lected, or withdrawn from school prematurely because of the war service of a father or other near relative. Fifth, the various religious and social organizations of the community have many contacts with families. To these agencies too should be given full information about the work of the local Home Service Section. And again, this should be done not by a general circular, but by personal approach carefully considered, for it is most important to work out with each church, each society, each settlement, and other social agency, a thoroughly understood and agreeable cooperation. The work of each should be joined to the other with a constant, sympa- thetic regard for the feelings and the welfare of the fami- lies receiving Home Service. Sixth, the Exemption Boards will often learn of family situations requiring instant attention. Such families of drafted men should be reported to the Home Service Section. Prompt reference of all circumstances that properly come within the scope of Home Service is desirable, but it should be made very clear, both by statement and by action, in each instance that Home Service is not intended to supplant the work of others who have a natural and personal interest in a family's welfare. On the contrary, Home Service hopes to cooperate to the fullest extent with all who can be helpful. Home Service Publications There are issued from time to time pamphlets con- taining instructions and suggestions for the .work of Home Service. The first of these publications was "Home Service" (ARC 200), which is an exposition of principles which may with profit be adopted in Home Service. The establishment of twenty-five Institutes for instruction in Home Service methods has required the INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT II adoption of a standard course of training and its publi- cation in the "Syllabus of Instruction for Home Service Institutes." (ARC 205.) This and "Chapter Courses in Home Service" (ARC 206) will be useful in organiz- ing and conducting training courses for Home Service volunteers. The varied opportunities for an important information service by Home Service workers has led to the publication of the "Handbook of Information for Home Service Sections" (ARC 207) which is an indis- pensable supplement to this Manual. Home Service publications will be supplemented by circulars issued from the Bureaus of Civilian Relief in the Division offices, giving the fullest details possible about further develop- ments in the means, opportunities, and plans for this phase of Red Cross work. The present edition of this Manual (ARC 201) goes to press on December 17, 1917. A further revision may be required because of the enactment of new laws or be- cause the better organization and greater development of Home Service permits an important extension of its work and responsibility. It is not contemplated that any fundamental change will be made in organization, method, or principle. No such change is made in this edition. The revision is made only to record the results of experience and the new aspect of circumstances deter- mined by new laws. Suggestions about subjects that need to be included, or that need to be further developed, will always be greatly appreciated. If there are any omissions or if there are any questions which appear to any of the readers of the Manual to be not fully answered, the necessary addi- tions or changes will be gladly included in the next edi- tion. Please forward your suggestions at once. This Manual is based upon the experience of many persons who have had responsibility for Home Service 12 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE work. Several of them have contributed largely to the contents of the volume. To these friends it is desired to express the deepest appreciation of their invaluable services. The Home Service work of each Red Cross Chapter is a definite and serious responsibility. It is as much a duty to help to maintain the morale of our fighting men by safeguarding the welfare of their homes, as it is to con- tribute to the ^comfort and health of our fighting forces themselves. Although one duty is as important as the other, yet the work of Home Service will come under the closest scrutiny of the American people. It is to be done under the very eyes of the members and supporters of the Red Cross, whose concern for the welfare of the fam- ilies that have spared their breadwinners and protectors to the service of our country will become constantly more exacting of faithful and intelligent service. Dealing with the feelings and fortunes of these families is a delicate task and one that must not be shirked or casually undertaken. The best thought and effort, and the most thorough preparation by each Red Cross Chap- ter will be well expended in the work of its Home Service Section. The Department of Civilian Relief acknowledges with appreciation the zeal of those already at work, and con- fidently bespeaks the earnest cooperation of the members of each Chapter, in the great task now before the Red Cross—the conservation of the health, the happiness, and the general welfare of the families most entitled to neighborly and intelligent service. W. Frank Persons Director General, Department of Civilian Relief I Service When at last our country's soldiers and sailors return home, their families should be found to have maintained the essential standards of home life. Nothing less than this will measure up to American ideals. The govern- ment is doing its full share to conserve the homes of its fighting men, and a majority of their families are going to be able to make good with no other aid. Many others, however, without the kind of friendly, democratic help- fulness which the Red Cross offers, would be crippled in spirit and in health by the stress of these times. Rela- tively speaking, only a few are likely to need the money relief described later, and from now on such relief will be the least important part of Home Service. It has been the least important part in the past. The few illustrations here given—all taken from the early months of the war before any federal allowances had been made—indicate the really important services which have devolved, and will continue to devolve, upon the Sections. Home Service demonstrated in those months its ability to conserve human resources in thousands of homes by helping to maintain there good standards of child care, of physical and mental health, of education, and of work- ing conditions. In some communities these standards have been achieved only after long toil. How can Home Service continue to help in maintaining them? Standards of Child Care Living is more difficult for everyone in war times, and the first thing for a Home Service visitor to understand, 14 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE in trying to conserve the welfare of children, is that their mothers are, beyond everything, often lonely and discouraged. Whatever will give the mothers courage to 'carry on' helps the children. From many different parts of the country comes the story of women whose outlook is suddenly darkened, whose need is for sympathetic understanding of their plight, for the development of new interests and cheerful companionship. Some are facing the birth of a first child alone; some have displayed symptoms of mental depression that require the prompt- est attention and, in a few cases, hospital care. The ab- sence of the man deprives the family of the interest which he brings home with him from the world of trade and industry. "It is not merely the work I have to do," said a woman whose husband had died, "it is not merely that I have to be responsible alone for the care of the children, but there is nobody who comes home at night." 3 This lack and the loss of companionship must, so far as pos- sible, be replaced. Various forms of recreation, including clubs and classes, become, therefore, very important for the mother as well as the children. The chairman of a Home Service Section reports one instance in which discouragement led a mother to write to the department of soldiers' aid in her state, asking her husband's release from the army; her three boys, she stated, were so unruly that she could do nothing with them. A Home Service visitor, asked to report upon this request, found the family in no financial difficulty, but the mother so worried that she lacked the mental energy to cope with three little lads all of whom were full of life and high spirits. The visitor's first suggestion was a vacation for the mother and a temporary housekeeper for her children. But the boys would have none of this, protesting that they wanted their own mother and no » See Chapter I, A R C 200. SERVICE 15 one else. This new attitude upon their part gave no small degree of comfort to the discouraged woman. She began to enter into the recreational plans for the children, which were proposed and carried out by the visitor, but seemed to respond most of all to the chance to talk over personal affairs at frequent intervals with someone who was really interested in them. The health of young children must be a matter of con- stant concern on the part of the Home Service worker who should consult the physician advising the Section about the obvious indications of malnutrition, adenoids, and other frequent ailments of infants. Speaking gen- erally, any sign of debilitation, such as persistent cold, cough, loss of weight and appetite, mouth breathing and pallor should prompt the visitor to urge the parent that medical advice be secured. All available resources for the health care of the school child should be brought to bear when at all needed. Make full use of the services of the infant welfare nurse, the school nurse, and the tuberculosis nurse, and of any visiting nurse or public health nurse in the community. Such nurses are sometimes competent to advise about dietaries and food economies as well as concerning mat- ters of health. A representative of the national Children's Bureau says that the chief measure for protecting babies is to insure their care and nursing by healthy mothers in their own homes. Helping mothers to plan their affairs so as to remain at home most of the time while the children are small is a health measure for both mother and child, though a woman's temperament and her standard of home care before the enlistment of the breadwinner should be taken into consideration. Faithful school attendance can be assured by arrang- ing, when necessary, for regular reports from teachers. 16 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE When the age for leaving school approaches—in fact, long before it has arrived—the best vocational guidance obtainable for the boy or girl should be sought. Do everything to discourage entrance into occupations in which there is no future, no skill to be acquired, no good chance of advancement, or in which the processes menace health.4 Problems of boys and girls in their early teens—in the years of adolescence—may require the wisest advice available from teachers, club leaders, and from others experienced in child helping. Sometimes the mother is unable to manage the family affairs as she should. She may even be the victim of a bad habit. Then it is important that the allotment of pay and the family allowance be expended by someone else who will administer it for her and her children's best welfare. Soldiers and sailors have had to appeal to Home Service Sections in such situations, the solution re- quiring court intervention in some cases and in others not. Another difficult situation is that of the father whose wife has died. A widower, drafted into the army, appealed to the Home Service Section in his city to arrange for proper care for his one child. This was done with the help of a child-placing agency, and the child's board paid by the father through the Section. The question has been asked whether unmarried women who are the mothers of soldiers' children come within the scope of Home Service. Such mothers do and so do their children. The legal rights of both mother and child should be known. In handling such cases, a denial by the man must be investigated, remembering, however, the possibility of blackmail and so being very careful to deal fairly with both man and woman on the basis of all the facts obtainable, and with the competent advice * See also p. 19, Educational Standards. SERVICE 17 and service of a good lawyer of sympathetic mind who should be a member of each Home Service Section. Standards of Physical and Mental Health 5 Many people become so accustomed to a low health standard that they actually regard ill-health as a normal thing. Accustom families to a higher standard. Attend to dental defects, eye defects, nose and throat defects in time, bringing them promptly to the notice of the proper medical and dental specialists. It will be necessary, in particular, to guard against an increase of tuberculosis. The experience of foreign coun- tries, especially of France, in this war, indicates the possible rapid spread of this disease. Accordingly, espe- cial attention should be directed (1) to any loss of weight in members of the families visited, (2) to a persistent cold or cough, (3) to fever or loss of appetite. Suspected cases should be immediately referred to a doctor or to the local tuberculosis dispensary. "In families where we have found a history of tuberculosis in the past," writes the secretary of one Home Service Section, "we have had examinations made and have been able to give treatment to patients who had not known they required a physi- cian's care." If the presence of the disease is determined, adequate care in an available sanatorium or hospital, or at home, should be provided. Close cooperation be- tween Red Cross visitors and the local anti-tuberculosis agencies is advised. In communities that have none, the Division Director of Civilian Relief may be able to procure advice as to treatment. It may happen that a general practitioner has done all that he can in certain cases of acute illness and the advice of a specialist is needed. In one such case, with the con- 6 For further suggestions about the maintenance of health standards, see Chapter IX, A R C 200. 18 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE sent of the family doctor, the group of physicians who were giving voluntary professional aid to the Home Ser- vice Section provided the specialist. After weeks of attention and careful dieting, the patient in question, a young girl, was able to be removed to a hospital, where further care led to her recovery. A man received orders to report at a distant camp only the day before his wife was to undergo an operation. He had just time to appeal to the Home Service office be- fore leaving—there were no relatives to whom he could turn—and request that they stand by his wife and keep him informed of her condition. In still another case —the case of a soldier's sister this time—the same Home Service office was able to save the patient from a medical practitioner who was without standing among the physi- cians of his community. Here is an extract from the notes of one Home Service visitor. "We were asked to furnish crutches in this family for the lame boy of thirteen. He lives with his father, mother, and five brothers and sisters, of whom the oldest boy has enlisted. I found all the others in bad physical condition owing to a combination of insufficient income, poor management, and lack of knowledge of food values, so I took every one of them to a dispensary, where they were examined by specialists. Two doctors examined the boy who 'needed crutches'. With the consent of his parents and his priest, he was operated upon with satis- factory results. I am teaching the mother how and what to cook. There is an astonishing physical improvement in every member of the family." It ought to be unnecessary to emphasize the importance of diet at this time, for the whole country is going to school to the home economist and the dietitian. Mr. Hoover's messages about food conservation should be distributed by Home Service visitors wherever they go. SERVICE 19 Under the Department of Agriculture, there will be ap- pointed in each state a "state leader of home demonstra- tion agents" 6 and the county or city agents engaged in this work should be consulted by Home Service Sections, for they are anxious to be of service to the families of soldiers and sailors. One Home Service visitor writes of a Canadian soldier's family living in this country, "When the first allotment and separation allowance arrived, the wife had never seen so much money at once in her life before, and she gave me $50 to keep and spend for her." This was surely the time to think of the dietary standards of that mother, who had six children. Almost as important as diet are the housing conditions that make for health and decency. These should be properly maintained, and the aid of the board of health, or whatever department is charged with the duty, should be sought in remedying unsanitary conditions and in removing nuisances. Often it has been possible to help families to move to better quarters, to establish those in homes who had been living in lodgings only, and to aid others, who had more rooms than they needed, to find desirable sub-tenants among their own relatives. The signs of mental defect and mental disturbance escape those who have had no experience of either, but it cannot be too strongly advised that a specialist be con- sulted at once if there is reason to suspect feeble-minded- ness or mental disease, either in the children or any of the older members of a family. Educational Standards Mention has been made of the importance of keeping children in school and assuring regular attendance there, but Home Service Sections are doing more than this. 6 Your Division Director of Civilian Relief will have full information about this official and her work. 20 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE Children who had been removed and put to work to meet a shrinkage in the family income are being returned to school promptly as soon as Home Service is called in. There is danger that other children may be kept out of school even after the government's family allowance makes their return easy, unless attention is given to in- suring this return. The right adjustment might be made in every case by seeking information from those schools in which instances of withdrawal are known. One Home Service Section reports a boy, found to be working illegally nearly fourteen hours a day, who has been returned to school. This Section is making special pro- vision to keep children between the ages of fourteen and sixteen in classes where they will receive a good prepara- tion for earning their living later. Another is taking children out of "blind alley" occupations and providing special aid to give them training for better work. An- other reports upon a wayward boy who has been intro- duced to the Boy Scouts and is now doing well in school. Still another made it possible for a young man to com- plete his last year in college by paying the necessary tuition after his father entered the national army. One member of a Home Service Section is getting a great deal of pleasure out of giving free music lessons to three chil- dren whose father has died. Standard Working Conditions Unless we are able to learn by the mistakes of Great Britain in the earlier years of her present struggle—mis- takes which she recognizes now—we shall be confronted with attempts to speed up industry at the expense of the health and strength of the workers.7 There is no excuse 7 See Housing, Fatigue, and Health in British Munition Factories and Employment of Women and Juveniles in Great Britain during the War. United States Department of Labor Statistics Bulletin, whole numbers 221 and 223. SERVICE 21 for this, as President Wilson has pointed out. Strict administration of the laws now on our statute books for the protection of workers against long hours and un- wholesome processes, and the earnest cooperation of every volunteer engaged in Home Service to assure this enforcement deserve especial emphasis. First of all, the Home Service worker should know what the national, state, and local provisions are—not only the laws regulating working conditions, but the agencies and officials responsible for their enforcement. What provisions are there about maximum hours? What is a standard working day for men, for women, for chil- dren of working age? Is one day's rest in seven provided for by law? Is night work prohibited for women? For children? What hazardous employments are prohibited for either or both? Children who work are required to have employment certificates in almost all of our states. Have these been issued legally? Women need special protection from overwork before and after childbirth. Ask any lawyer interested in Home Service about the laws applicable to these matters. By order of the Quar- termaster-General of the Army, uniforms for soldiers cannot be worked upon in any tenement house or dwell- ing. Home Service workers can give valuable help in the enforcement of the order by making it known to the families with which they have to deal. Home Service should do its share toward keeping the family intact in every possible way. The Sections are systematically avoiding the practice of thrusting women into industry who can serve the family better at home. Before family allowances made earning outside the home less necessary, they were assuming extra financial burdens cheerfully in order to keep mothers with their children, and it will still be important to safeguard home life on this side. When married women are childless, however, 22 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE or their children no longer need constant home care, they naturally seek occupation, and Home Service has aided many to obtain employment who were not able to secure satisfactory placement through employment bureaus. Information Service A sympathetic hearing for all members of soldiers' and sailors' families in search of information, and an earnest endeavor to supply that information as clearly and ac- curately as possible, is one of the most important func- tions that Home Service Sections have assumed. It involves having an accessible place and scrupulously kept office hours with some one or more persons regularly in attendance who are fully informed, and free enough from other duties to give cordial and considerate atten- tion to each questioner. Many questions at first will center around the details of service pay, of allotments from pay, and of family al- lowances from the government. Later will come queries about communicating with men in the service abroad, sending them packages, and so on. Later still will come the acute anxiety of those who, after a battle, fear the worst and are seeking fuller details than official announce- ments have yet given. A special publication, "Handbook of Information for Home Service Sections" (ARC 207), not only deals with the method of furnishing this infor- mation, but supplies answers to many of the questions which will be asked again and again. All Home Service workers should be familiar with this Handbook of In- formation. It is apparent that, when members of families come seeking these separate items of fact, there will be chances for quiet, personal talks which will lead, frequently, to opportunities of serving them in other and even more important ways. SERVICE 23 Legal and Business Advice Home Service Sections report the greatest willingness on the part of professional men to lend their experience freely for the benefit of families temporarily without a head. This is true of business men also. It has been possible, therefore, to give the wives and mothers of men in the service needed legal advice and help in a vari- ety of matters requiring special business knowledge. Thus, bankers have been consulted with regard to the predicament of women whose incomes were sufficient but whose business affairs had become badly involved; fore- closures of mortgages, evictions, and constable's sales have been prevented; releases from rental contracts have been obtained on favorable terms; insurance matters have been adjusted; help has been given in keeping up insurance payments; and wills have been drawn. A federal bill providing a moratorium for all soldiers and sailors is now before Congress. A moratorium for soldiers and sailors in the American service has been established in some states, and extensions of credit have been granted voluntarily in many instances in other states. Arrange- ment for considerate action by creditors has not usually been difficult. In the matter of chattel loans, one Section reports a family of education and refinement where the husband and father had enlisted after mort- gaging the furniture for $100, when it was worth many times that amount. The rate of interest was thirty-six per cent. The Home Service Section was able to release the mortgage for the amount of the original loan. Other Forms of Service Aside from the money relief to be considered in the next chapter of this Manual, aside from maintaining the standards already considered—and bearing always in mind that many families which will not need or accept 24 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE money relief will need and welcome the service which is offered in the right spirit—it may be well to enumerate a few of the endless number of friendly acts, each small in itself, but making in the aggregate the difference be- tween success and failure, which Home Service has found it possible to perform. First and foremost, the acts that center around home solidarity: Knitting more closely together the natural ties of kindred. "I find," writes one Home Service leader, "that misunderstandings melt away when it is fully realized that the man at sea or at the front may never return." Getting lonely women back to live with their own people when this is found, upon inquiry, to be a practicable thing to do. Watching over the interests of the expectant mother, espe- cially when the child will be her first born; assuring good pre- natal care, good confinement care, good convalescent care. Writing to men in the service about the home situation, when they express a desire to hear, as they often do. Re-uniting scattered families. Example: The grown children of an inebriate woman, who had been placed in a hospital, were prevailed upon to combine forces and keep house in order to make a home for the younger children. Next, safeguarding the interests of those who are left without steadying home duties: Doing for these the things that would naturally be done for a newcomer in a community. "All she asked," writes a Home Service worker, "was advice and friendship. Her husband's en- listment left her alone. We found her a boarding place with a motherly woman, helped her to dispose of the furniture that she did not need, and found a visitor who welcomed her to her own pew in church. The little woman has become an enthusiastic church worker." Next, of course, the children: Explaining their lessons to children who fall behind in their classes. SERVICE 25 Seeing that the child in need of medical care actually goes to the dispensary and that the instructions there are understood and carried out. This often means having a Home Service worker accompany the child. Trying to understand by patient talks, and by seeking advice elsewhere, the child who is just beginning to be wayward and disobedient. Giving the children and the grown-up folks opportunities for good times—not as war families or war children, but individually and quietly, or in their own natural groupings. Emphasis in all this upon the good times that mother and children have together. Then, the economic side: Fitting people to the right job and helping them to stay fitted by trying to find out where the job pinches. Seeing that insurance policies do not lapse. If the man has always attended to paying the premiums, his wife or mother may be careless about this. Encouraging the people who have more ready money than usual—some will have—to spend it with good sense and to save some of it, if possible, for the time when service pay and the government's family allowances stop. Protecting the recipient of pay and allowance checks from the wiles of the installment man and from unscrupulous sales agents. Getting the best legal and business advice for families in the complex problems that are sure to arise in war times. And finally, the crippled soldier or sailor: Encouraging employers to give suitable work to such men that they may find permanent opportunity for entire or partial self-support, and chance for advancement. Maintaining an information service regarding opportunities for such employment. Giving personal attention to the troubles and hopes of those who have not found satisfactory work, or working conditions, and to others whose courage and stamina must not be allowed to fail. 26 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE Organizing the resources of the community for vocational training for those unfitted for the kind of work there available, or for those capable of being trained for work more skilled or remunerative than that for which they are already fitted. Creating a public opinion which will exact self-support from all crippled soldiers and sailors to the degree that it is possible for them to work. Utilizing the Specialist Successful Home Service organization will depend not so much upon the extensiveness of the knowledge and experience of those relatively few persons who will be actively engaged in it, as upon their ability to utilize the knowledge and experience of others. They have a claim upon the expertness of the whole community to which the possessors of special knowledge and skill will be only too glad to respond with enthusiasm, if it is made clear to them that the Red Cross intends to do its fair share, and that it will follow up the diagnosis, the prescription, the dental service, the mental examination, the surgical operation, the carefully worked out food budget, the housing inspection, and so on, by service which will make these things count for health and better living. The strengthening of church ties, whatever these may be, by close cooperation with priest or pastor, and the restoration of such relations where they have lapsed, will bring another powerful ally to Home Service. Some of these advisers will join the Consultation Committee (see page 49); others will stand ready to serve as called upon. Each Section may well take thought even in advance of need, and try to enlist the interest of such specialists as are available in the community—of den- tists, physicians, lawyers, food demonstrators, dietitians, and (where these too are available) of psychologists and psychiatrists. II Money Relief The plans and purposes set forth in the preceding section are the main task of Home Service. The family allowances now provided by the government will form, in most cases, an adequate supplement to service pay and make outside assistance on the financial side unne- cessary. This leaves the Red Cross free to devote its energies and resources to provide service wherever it is found to be needed. There will remain, however, the task of meeting emer- gencies and unavoidable delays in the adjustment of claims and making of payments, and the larger task of meeting needs by regular allowances when the most that the man in service can be reasonably expected to do plus the government allowance and the family income from other sources is inadequate. This will usually be in the families of a son or brother in service, who was carrying a large share of the family burden before he was called to the colors. Government allowances are smaller for these relatives than for wives and chil- dren. There will also remain a still larger task of relief to two other groups: First, to the relatives who have a moral claim on a soldier's or sailor's support, but one for which no govern- ment allowance is provided in the War Insurance Act. Here too, after the man in service has made as large an allotment out of his pay as can reasonably be expected, but not otherwise, the Red Cross may have to supple- ment his payments. One Home Service Section has supplemented the allowance made by an enlisted man to his father and mother who became dependent after his enlistment. Because he had not habitually contributed 28 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE to their support for a year prior to enlistment, they are not entitled to a family allowance under the War Risk Insurance Act. Second, to the families of the soldiers and sailors of our Allies. In both of these groups, the money relief may have to be continuous, and in both it must be under- stood to be given as a means toward the achievement of the principal aim of Home Service; namely, the conser- vation of the human resources in our American communi- ties, and the maintenance of good standards of home life. The money relief given by Home Service Sections, in other words, cannot be regarded as a natural right to which a family, from which a man has enlisted, is en- titled without reference to its needs or condition. Each enlisted man under the War Risk Insurance Law must allot at least one-half his pay to his wife and children. The government then makes an additional family allow- ance without regard to the financial circumstances of the family. The Home Service Section should take these facts into consideration and supplement with care only when necessary. Red Cross aid could easily do more harm than good by niggardliness on the one hand, or by lavishness on the other. This part of its work will have to be administered with the highest sense of respon- sibility in order to prove at once its adequacy and its even-handed justice. Needless to say, it must also be administered without publicity or hampering conditions that would hurt the self-respect of its recipients. The usual forms of relief will be money paymentsof Loans. Grants, or Allowances given from Home Service funds. Loans There is no advantage in calling that which is really a gift a loan. A money payment necessary at the time, but MONEY RELIEF 29 one which it is reasonable to believe that the recipient will be in position to return later without undue hardship, should be given as a loan. The conditions of repayment should be explained, the obligation put in writing and signed, and the collection of the loan (without interest of course) when it falls due should be carefully followed up. Loans are not expected to be followed by other gifts at regular intervals. Examples of loans already made include a sum to pur- chase equipment to enter the service and payments to meet delay in the receipt of government checks. One man, whose service pay was $90 a month, was left in this way without enough to provide for his family. Home Service allowed $20 a week for five weeks. When his pay arrived, he returned $40, and arranged to repay the balance at the rate of $10 a month. After allotments and allowances began under the War Risk Insurance Act on November 1, 1917, payments were delayed for a consid- erable period. This meant that payments from Home Service funds for maintenance to families would be dupli- cated by the government later for the same purpose in a lump sum. Such Home Service payments were, there- fore, given in the form of loans in some instances, and the family was expected to repay as soon as the government check was received. Families in temporary straits, but unwilling to accept a grant, have been glad to avail themselves of this arrangement. Grants Grants may be made necessary by demands which the family income and government allowance cannot be ex- pected to provide for, as, for example: sickness, funerals, the need of special training, and so on. Grants in small amounts may be required to tide over a period of acute distress until proper inquiry can be made and a plan of 30 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE service can be decided upon. This special relief given until wiser and more thorough-going action is possible should be enough to provide food and shelter temporarily. In some instances, it may seem wise to supply this in the form of a grocery order or an order for lodgings. One Home Service Section made the mistake of giving money in its first contact at the office with a soldier's wife who was found later to drink heavily, but gave its additional help (until the children who had left home could be seen and the wife could be given proper care in a hospital) in the form of payments to her landlady and of cooked food purchased in the neighborhood. All other financial aid granted by the Home Service Section should be in cash or by check. When a family has always paid its own bills, it should not be exposed to the humiliation of having to present relief orders to local tradesmen. As soon as the facts are known and a plan fully agreed upon with the family itself, cash is a safe form of help; without the facts and such clear un- derstandings, no form of relief would be safe. A kind of aid not considered advisable in Home Service Sections is the accumulation and distribution of second-hand clothing or other supplies. This practice should be definitely discouraged as always humiliating. The clothing so given is, moreover, often very unsuitable. A Home Service visitor was asked one night by the local poor director to visit a certain home. She went at once, finding a little house in a pleasant part of the town, with books and other signs of refined taste in evidence. The young wife was alone with one small child. Neither she nor her husband was American, but they had married in this country and he had been drafted here. She spoke of him proudly as having no faults "save his pipe and the habit of buying books on the installment plan." He went off sure that the government would provide for her, with MONEY RELIEF 31 the result that she and her child had had just $5 on which to live during the last month. She knew nothing about the soldier's aid to which she was entitled in the state in which they resided, nor did he, and no federal allowances had yet been granted. Her only plan was to give up the house (the landlord "was a hard man who would make no concessions"), take one room in the nearest large city and get some sewing to do. Pending the granting of state aid, for which application was made at once, a weekly sum was given by the Home Service visitor, who also saw the "harsh" landlord. He was much interested—reducing the rent of the house for the winter and offering to save some of the cost of fuel by making changes in the fur- nace. The Woman's Exchange provided sewing and this particular soldier's wife once more found life worth living. Allowances 8 These are payments at regular intervals of a stated sum by the Home Service Section to the relatives of a soldier or sailor. They are usually limited, though not always, to those not entitled to a government allowance —such as, for example, the families of enlisted men of our Allies. Another limitation upon the granting of Home Service allowances and a very important one is the assurance, in each case, that the soldier or sailor has allotted as large a proportion of his pay as, with due regard to his other responsibilities, it is reasonable to expect from him. This last-named condition is funda- mental. When a regular allowance is first arranged for, the family which is to receive it should know its amount, the way in which payments will be made, and the exact conditions under which it is granted, in order to be able to know upon what they can depend—so long as their » See Chapter VIII, ARC 200. 32 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE circumstances remain unchanged, that is—and so make their plans with this provision in mind. The purpose of the payments is to maintain a good standard of home life, where this would be impossible without the allowance and the service of which it is only a part. No allowance can be properly determined, as just indi- cated, without first requiring the allotment of part of the enlisted man's pay, and without also taking into account the allowance due the family from his government—from Canada or Great Britain, for example. In a family where the sum of these, plus all other natural sources of income (such as contributions from relatives, allowances from public departments, and from social agencies already interested and helping) do not equal an amount needed to maintain health and a decent standard of home care, an allowance from the Home Service funds should be granted. Then it becomes the responsibility of the Home Service Section to make sure that this financial aid, with the other service planned and needed, will achieve the purpose which all such aid must have in view; namely, the best welfare of the members of the family, especially of its minor children. The amount of an allowance may be changed at any time to meet changing conditions of income or changes in earning capacity. An allowance ceases automatically with the discharge and return of an enlisted man, unless his discharge was due to incapacity caused by wounds, injuries, or disease received or contracted in active ser- vice. In that case, the Home Service allowance may be continued while proper government provision is pend- ing. Such temporary continuance of the allowance may be necessary when a soldier or sailor is reported 'killed' or 'missing', until the government compensation is granted. MONEY RELIEF 33 What Is Adequate Relief? There is no way of indicating for different localities or for different families in the same locality a fixed sum upon which so many adults and so many children of such ages and constituting a family group may be maintained decently and in health. Quite aside from local fluctua- tions in the cost of living, a housekeeper without guid- ance and instruction may fail where one with guidance can succeed. Such guidance is going to be more avail- able now, because the country is thoroughly aroused to the importance of household management and the selec- tion of food from the point of view of conservation, econ- omy, and nourishment. The Home Service Section should avail itself of the services of home economists and of the local food demonstrators of the United States Department of Agriculture not only in the working out of current schedules of local costs, but in seeking sug- gestions about the food expenditures of particular fami- lies. Given the actual kinds and quantities of food pur- chased and consumed in one week by a family, how far does this fall short of providing a balanced diet and in what particulars? The items of expenditure to be covered in figuring a family budget should include rent, food, light, clothing, spending money for those at work, carfare, insurance, and household incidentals. To these would have to be added special items for families which have members in need of special care or special diet. (See the reverse of the Record Card, p. 64.) A flat rate for all families of a certain size or exhibiting certain disabilities is obviously unfair where such detailed care as Home Service stands ready to give is possible. The family's own standards must be taken into account and allowance made for the degree of resourcefulness and adaptability which it is reasonable to expect of it. 34 MANUAL OF HO ME SERVICE When, instead of an allowance, relief is required in the form of a grant for transportation to some place where work or a home is guaranteed, assurance should be received by correspondence with that place that the facts are as represented. The family or individual should then be sent straight through to the destination. The habit of "passing on" a person in need of this form of aid from place to place along the road he must travel is an inexcusable custom and one which exposes him to humiliation and hardship. So great are the difficulties which have been caused through failure to recognize this principle that the reputable and well-conducted social agencies of the United States and Canada have formally agreed that no one of them will supply transportation to anyone un- less the social agency sends such a person clear through to his destination and unless it has assured itself by cor- respondence that at this destination there are awaiting him opportunities or resources for maintenance. This agreement is known as the Transportation Agreement. It was first issued in 1904 by what is now known as the National Conference of Social Work.9 Ill Method When does a family properly come under the care of a Home Service Section? This question cannot be an- swered finally and in a word, for there will be border-line instances that will require careful consideration with a view to discovering the rights and duties of other agen- cies, and those of the individuals already interested in a 9 Address: 315 Plymouth Court, Chicago, Illinois, for full information. METHOD 35 family. Home Service applies, however, to the families of men in all branches of the service. As has been indi- cated in the introduction, it applies to the regular and to the national army, to the families of sailors, marines, and men of the engineering and aviation corps; and to the families of men and women attached to hospital units as nurses, doctors, orderlies, or ambulance drivers. It also applies to the families living in this country of sol- diers and sailors of any of the allied forces; and includes, moreover, families of civilians who have been wounded or killed as the direct result of war activities—for exam- ple, the torpedoing of a merchantman by a submarine. What Is A Home Service Family? Repeatedly, it should be emphasized that no home should be entered in the name of Home Service without a definite invitation from the family or from some re- sponsible person competent to speak for them. The intentions of the volunteer who fastened a Red Cross flag to his automobile and started out to call on every sol- dier's family in his town were of the best, but his use of the flag was unwarranted, and he misapprehended the purpose and intent of Home Service. It has no desire to intrude or to expose people to comment; in fact, it is determined not to do so. For this reason, the wearing of a special costume by its workers has been discouraged; for this reason also, unconfirmed, anonymous requests to visit families are to be ignored, though each such request should be made a matter of record. If, however, a family belongs to any one of the groups already named, it may claim the services of the Red Cross. Such a claim should receive the promptest possi- ble attention. Like the best of the social agencies of the country, the aim of Home Service is to visit within forty- eight hours; in emergencies, the same day. 36 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE First of all, there will be needed the assurance that a member of the family in question is in some branch of the service. The fact of enlistment will have to be definitely established. It is a matter of record. (See, for method of verification, ARC 207.) Obviously, also, some evidence of the relationship of the family or indi- vidual to the enlisted man should be available, such as a marriage record for a wife, or the birth record of the enlisted man for a mother. In the absence of such docu- mentary evidence, the relationship can often be estab- lished by consulting the family's clergyman, doctor, or other thoroughly competent source of information. It should be unnecessary to add that any emergency should be dealt with promptly by temporary measures during the brief interval which must elapse while these facts are being obtained. If, for example, an application is made to Home Service, owing to failure to receive remit- tances, papers in the possession of the family may estab- lish their identity, but, in the absence of these, no family will be allowed to suffer for lack of prompt temporary aid while the facts necessary as a basis for further action are sought. Pressure may be brought to bear upon a Section to urge the discharge of a man from service. If, for instance, a boy has enlisted under age, a married man has enlisted as single, or some public relief department or private agency has felt that a man's larger earnings in civil life are needed in the home, the duty of the Section in any case is clear; in none will the Red Cross, as a patriotic body, urge discharge from the service. Where a com- manding officer asks for information before acting upon a request for a discharge, received from some other source, a Home Service Section will supply him with such facts as it has and leave further action to the proper military authorities. METHOD 37 The Section, however, should not regard any procedure as invariable. There will, undoubtedly, often arise par- ticular situations that will require departures from any set of regulations which might be formulated. The pur- pose of the Manual here, and elsewhere, is merely to indicate principles which, in general, can most satisfac- torily be observed. The Family1 s Point of View Even before the first full talk with a member of the family, in which every opportunity is given for the devel- opment of his or her story in complete privacy and in the narrator's own way, it may protect the family and help the Home Service worker to find out whether other agencies are already interested in this same problem. Social agencies have learned to exchange information in order to avoid getting in one another's way. This practice of theirs is well established in many places, and Sections will find that the best way to protect the homes of soldiers and sailors from the evil of multiplied and un- necessary visitation will be to consult at once whatever exchange of information has already been organized among the social agencies of the community. Such an inquiry might show that a hospital or a child-saving sta- tion was at present acquainted with the family and try- ing to serve them. When, on the other hand, inquiry shows that the family is unknown, Home Service can go forward without the fear of duplicating the work of any- one else and can be assured, moreover, that none of the social agencies will take action later without conferring with the Red Cross. The talk with the family should not be delayed, how- ever, for it is the only sensible beginning of service. It is held usually with the mother of the family, though the father (where a son is in service) should be seen too. 38 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE This first conversation should be long enough to give the Home Service worker definite facts, and it should leave the family with a feeling of confidence in the interest and good sense of the Home Service Section. The purpose of such a thorough investigation of the family situation is to discover opportunities for service. What chances for normal growth does the family lack? What obstacles stand in the way? We have seen that Home Service covers not only material things, but strives to assure good standards of child care, of health in body and mind, of education, of working conditions, and of family unity. These are all vague, intangible, well-nigh meaningless things until they are thought out all over again in terms of the concrete facts, in terms of the fam- ily's life as it really is and as it can be made to be. Here, in the first talk, is a chance to make a strong beginning in the attempt to understand the legal or business diffi- culties, the financial needs that loom large at the mo- ment, and also the needs that are not realized so keenly because they have long been present—the ill-health, for example, that has been accepted as a usual thing, the lack of a future in plans for the children, the wrong work- ing arrangements, the bad housing conditions, the unex- pressed discouragements of the over-worked, under-re- freshed and under-interested. Often these things come out in successive talks, and often, in matters not clearly understood, it may be necessary for the worker to con- sult outsiders, such as the employer of a boy or his school teacher, the family priest or pastor, a doctor, a lawyer, and so on. Plans must be built largely upon the sympathetic understandings that are thus revealed, or that come from some relative or friend already interested, but all inquiry will have to be conducted in ways that will not expose the family to gossip. METHOD 39 Often this first talk will more suitably take place in a visit to the home, following promptly upon the first application to the Red Cross. In the two brief illustra- tions given above, on page 30, it may be noted that the soldier's wife who was handicapped by the drink habit was first seen at the Home Service office. There she was handed $2.00 and was told that a visit would be made a little later. When she was seen in her own sur- roundings, it became evident to the visitor, with such confirmation as came from her children, who were work- ing and living away from their mother, that she did not know how to spend money without injuring herself and that she would have to be helped in some other way. In the case of the other soldier's wife, seen in her own home at night as soon as her plight was reported, there was also need of immediate relief, but the first impres- sion gained of her, confirmed as it was by her own proper setting and background, proved upon further acquain- tance to be the correct one. Things to Bear in Mind In earlier contacts with a family there are so many things, any one or more of which might prove to be keys which will unlock for us opportunities for service, that it may be well to enumerate some of these: Particular attention should be paid to the health of the mother and children. Do the children appear to be in good condition? Does the mother? What children have died or are away? What doctors or medical agencies have cared for those now living, and what, later on, have these physicians to report? Is the home healthful? Are sleeping quarters good? Are the toilet arrange- ments good? The rooms dry? The water-supply sufficient? Are there any dark rooms? What of the education of mother and children? The schools of the children and their records at school are important. 40 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE Who are in the family now? Are there any boarders or lodgers? What relation do they bear to the problem, aside from the income that they bring in? On the financial side, if this difficulty has not been solved by a federal allowance, what savings are there or have there been? What insurance is there? What debts? What weekly expendi- tures for food, rent, insurance, etc.? Who are earning, and what amounts? What was the enlisted man's last place of employment before he entered the service? Who should be con- sulted there? What were the man's earnings, and what was the share given to his family? Has his employer arranged for a continuance of salary or made any contributions to the family since the man's enlistment? What are the other details of the present income and outgo of the family? Is the family in im- mediate need? Is anyone working illegally? Is anyone working beyond his or her strength? These are not questions to be asked serially. They are merely indications of the things that the Home Service Section will usually need to know in order to safe- guard the interests of the family and to give it the sympathetic understanding and assistance it requires. A List of Don'ts It is as important to remember the things that ought not to be done as to keep in mind the things that should be done. A number of 'don'ts' follow: Don't overwhelm people with questions before they have had a chance to say what they want to say. Don't suggest to them the answers that they should make. This is often done unconsciously. Don't forget that their own hopes and plans are more impor- tant than any single fact that the Home Service worker wants in order to make her report or her record complete. Don't encourage the children to talk about things that con- cern their elders—about the family difficulties, income, and so on. Don't let the children come to the office with messages and METHOD 41 requests except when there is a real emergency and no older person can possibly come. Don't discuss the affairs of a family; don't tell the facts that come to your attention in the course of Home Service work to any outsider. Don't give confidential information about the family when making inquiries. Don't make inquiries of the present neighbors or do anything that will expose the family to gossip. Protect them as you would your own family from anything that would hurt their self- respect. Don't venture to make permanent plans on a first visit. Don't fail to discover whether there is immediate and urgent need of relief and to make some temporary provision for supply- ing it before waiting to make further inquiries. Don't fail, however, to inquire (before paying the first visit, if possible) what other agencies, including churches, are inter- ested. Directories and Other Helps It will save time and trouble, especially in the larger towns, to have in the Red Cross office in addition to the telephone directory, the latest city directory, together with a street index. The Home Service Section should also arrange for access to the file of city directories of earlier years and, if possible, the directories of other cities. The local board of trade, the publisher of the local city directory, some one of the local newspaper offices, or some large manufacturer may have a file of these. The Home Service Section should have a directory of the social and charitable agencies of the city if such a direc- tory is issued. If not, one may readily be compiled on index cards. These directories usually include the hos- pitals, neighborhood centers, child welfare organizations, relief societies, charity organization societies, dispen- saries, and the like. Professional directories, as, for example, those containing lists of the local physicians, 42 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE teachers, clergymen, and dentists will be of value. An atlas ought to be available. Detailed information about the rules, regulations, offices, hours, of the various city boards, especially of the boards of education and health, should be conveniently at hand. There should be accessible copies of the state laws and local ordinances regulating hours and conditions of work, especially those relating to the work of women and chil- dren. The child labor law, the desertion and non-support law, the regulations fixing responsibility for support from relatives, the school attendance law, the state and local provision of allowances for dependent mothers with children, or widows with children, the housing regula- tions, the regulations of the state and local boards of health, and the Federal immigration law of 1917, are those most likely to be needed for consultation. Even more important, of course, are the government rules and regulations with regard to soldiers and sailors, their enlistment, pay, and promotion, the proportional allotment of their wages to dependents, the granting by the government of family allowances, the granting of furloughs, the government's method of reporting all casualties (wounded, taken prisoner, missing, invalided home), and deaths (killed in action, died of wounds, death from illness), and the many other details that will be needed in fulfilling the Home Service function of supply- ing information in a sympathetic way. Many of these matters are discussed in A R C 207. The Division of Responsibility When a family situation becomes clear, and the various things that Home Service might be able to achieve are once realized, these things should not be lost sight of again in the pressure of new tasks. Some can be done soon and easily, some, in their nature, may take a long METHOD 43 time. Many could never be achieved by Home Service alone and unaided. No maxim is more out of place in Home Service work than the self-satisfied one, "if you want a thing well done, do it yourself." Home Service must develop not only skill and patience in cooperating, but a genuine enthusiasm for working with others. Some tasks it will surrender to others, some it will share with others, and some it will inherit from others, but under all three of these sets of circumstances it will work with others in that it will seek and stand ready to receive all the guidance and help the community can offer—and communities are more willing to give these than ever before. Sometimes a family will be found to be already under the care of a public or private social agency. For exam- ple, a children's agency may know the family very well because it is dealing with the most difficult problem in the home—the waywardness of a boy or girl. Or a widow, whose boy has just gone to the training camp, is visited regularly by a public officer and is receiving an allowance from the widows' pension board. Or a church may be familiar with a certain family difficulty and may be dealing with it effectively. In such instances as these, it is recommended that the agency already visiting continue to do so, though the Home Service Section might well be called upon to fill some unexpected gap in income due to the withdrawal of a breadwinner to join the colors, until allotted pay and the government's family allowance can replace the Red Cross payments. This policy may ap- propriately be pursued whenever a thoroughly well accredited agency, either public or private, is paying a regular allowance to the family, or is carrying out plans for its welfare which demand continued oversight. The Red Cross should share the burden but keep the present family resources intact, supplementing them as proves 44 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE necessary. Usually, however, this course should not be followed when an agency has once known or had dealings with a family but does not at the time have it under active care. Another question connected with the division of re- sponsibility comes up when a soldier or sailor is dis- charged from service. If he is not disabled and in need of after-care, he and his family cease to be a responsibility of Home Service. It may well be that, in some instances, the relation already existing cannot, or should not, be cut off sharply without making certain suggestions and arrangements; without, for example, calling in a local agency that could meet a continuing need in that par- ticular home. Still another question relates to deserters from the service. A man who absents himself from his command is not declared a deserter and his name stricken from the rolls until, after thorough investigation, his company commander has reason to believe that he does not intend to return. If he ceases to be a soldier, his family no longer comes within the scope of Home Service. But here again, whether the man is apprehended and imprisoned for desertion or not, his family deserves considerate treat- ment, and it is important that careful choice be made of the agency best fitted to cope with their difficulties, before making the transfer. Home Service and State Funds It has frequently been suggested that Home Service workers should administer state aid to families of soldiers and sailors, or at least, make investigation of the financial circumstances upon which awards from government funds may be made. This may be objectionable because it brings the Home Service visitor to the family not only without invitation, but as the unwelcome consequence METHOD 45 of an application made to a different agency for something regarded as a matter of right. Such inquiries under these conditions are certain to alienate confidence and to limit the opportunity for the kind of Home Service which the Red Cross is most anxious to render. Home Service and Federal Allowances In the matter of the federal family allowances the prin- ciple stated above seems even more clear. It should be remembered that an enlisted man's wife and children are entitled to the family allowance that the government provides from the mere fact that they are his wife and children. There will be no examination into the question of their financial condition. The War Risk Insurance Law provides also for voluntary allotment of pay by the enlisted man to parent, grand- child, brother or sister, and to any of these also a family allowance under three conditions. First, the enlisted man must make an allotment of at least five dollars a month, or one-seventh of pay, whichever is greater, and apply for the allowance. If he is not making a compul- sory allotment to wife or children, he must first allot fifteen dollars a month or up to one-half of his pay before there can be any claim for an allowance. Second, the relative must be actually dependent, in whole or in part, upon the man. Third, the allotment and al- lowance combined cannot exceed the average amount, monthly, that the man himself has been habitually con- tributing during the last year of the period of dependency. The enlisted man when the application is made, and the beneficiary when the allowance is accepted, must certify to the essential facts and circumstances upon which the award of an allowance is conditioned. They know the facts better than any one else. The government 46 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE will require them to state these facts under severe penalty for any wilful misrepresentation. When it shall occur that formal inquiry by the Bureau of War Risk Insurance is made of a prospective benefi- ciary only conditionally entitled to the allowance, and that person desires or accepts the assistance of a Home Service worker in making answer to the formal questions in satisfactory form, then the possibility of service ap- pears. It is apparent, however, that such statements made under penalty must be the statements of the bene- ficiary and. of no one else. And it is equally apparent that statements so made should not be called into serious question unless the contradictory evidence is submitted in similarly solemn and responsible fashion. The whole purpose of the War Risk Insurance Law is to afford compensation for loss of support, for injury and death, and for loss of insurability. Julian W. Mack, who drafted the bill, has said: "Congress wanted it under- stood that it is not a gift; it is not charity at all; it is additional compensation." It is certain that the bene- ficiaries of the law, and the people of the United States generally, will regard this law as Congress did. Home Service workers will be the first to keep this purpose of the law in mind and to refrain from any action that will complicate its operation, detract from its usefulness, or confuse its administration with the very distinct work and responsibility of Home Service Sections. IV Organization All the work of the Chapter which is for the benefit of civilians belongs to its Committee on Civilian Relief. This includes assistance to those in need because of disaster. Fortunately this is not the constant responsi- ORGANIZATION 47 bility of any Chapter and will never be imposed upon many of them. A "Manual of Disaster Relief" is being written which will deal with this duty of the Civilian Relief Committee as this Manual deals with Home Service. The work of Home Service, as described in the earlier sections of this Manual, should be concentrated within the Home Service Section of the Civilian Relief Com- mittee. Unless there is other civilian relief work to do, the Civilian Relief Committee and the Home Service Section may be identical in membership and the latter title used in the conduct of all work for the families of soldiers and sailors. It is desirable to use the name— Home Service Section—as a means of identifying the purpose and duties of this part of the Chapter's organi- zation, and as a means of allaying the opposition which may be created by any title including the word 'relief. When it is desirable to organize the Home Service Section as a subordinate part of the Civilian Relief Com- mittee, it is usually better that the most active members of the Civilian Relief Committee should be the nucleus of the membership of the Home Service Section. Not all the members of the Civilian Relief Committee need to belong to the Home Service Section, nor do all the members of the latter need to belong to the former. It is important, however, that the leading members of the Home Service Section should belong to the Civilian Relief Committee. As a matter of practice, many Chapters have organized only the one Committee which, concerning Home Service matters, acts in the name of the Home Service Section, and which is ready to act as the Civilian Relief Com- mittee at any time that other distinctive civilian relief matters arise. 48 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE The Home Service Section should have a membership as representative as possible of the various local interests —business, professional, church, and social work. Duties of the Section The Home Service Section should be responsible (through the Civilian Relief Committee, when such dif- ferent committee exists) to the officers of the Chapter for the proper conduct of its work for the families under its care. It should decide matters of policy as to its own work; it should prepare and submit the budget required for carrying on the Section's activities; it should have charge of the employment of the clerical and visiting staff of the Section, the enlistment of volunteers, the organization of the office system, and the making of required reports to the Chapter, and to the Division Director of Civilian Relief at the Division headquarters. The primary responsibility of the Home Service Sec- tion is the service which families of soldiers and sailors may need. In small communities this may be dealt with in its own meetings. Where the work is considerable a Consultation Committee should be appointed (See below as to these duties). The Section should have a chairman and a secretary. This chairman may well be the chairman of the Commit- tee on Civilian Relief. The secretary should be chosen with special reference to his or her ability to direct the work of the Section of which this officer should be the executive. In cities carrying on effective Home Service a meeting of the Section is being held once a week. The responsibility for raising funds for Home Service rests with the Finance Committee of the Chapter. The Finance Committee may find it desirable, at times, to ORGANIZATION 49 seek special contributions from the public for this branch of Chapter work. The Consultation Committee The Home Service Section may choose a Consultation Committee. This committee should include the persons engaged locally in public health work and in social service and having special experience and knowledge of local social conditions. It is important that, if possible, there should be upon this committee someone familiar with military and naval affairs, able to advise the Section about how to proceed in verifying the fact of a man's enlistment, and about the proper military or naval authority to whom to submit facts regarding the depen- dency of an enlisted man's family when this may be necessary. There should also be upon the Consultation Committee a lawyer ready to instruct the workers about the munici- pal and state offices from which copies of documents, such as marriage certificates, birth records, wills, court records of divorce proceedings, and the like, can be obtained. The principal function of the Consultation Committee should be to consider the difficult problems arising in the work with individual families. In any such discussion of family difficulties at committee meetings—discussion made necessary by some question of policy involved— it is urged that the name and identity of the family be suppressed. The affairs of the families under the care of the Red Cross should be regarded as strictly confidential and should not be repeated as gossip. In every way pos- sible the families should be protected from annoying publicity. The Consultation Committee should facilitate coopera- tion between the Red Cross and the agencies and persons regularly engaged in family work. 50 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE Meetings of this Committee should be held weekly, or at such other regular intervals as the work may require. The visitors engaged in Home Service work should attend such meetings and supply the information about families and about the plans for their welfare which will enlighten the discussion. The Consultation Committee is subordinate to the Home Service Section. The Section decides upon ques- tions of general policy. The Consultation Committee decides upon the application of these policies in specific instances. Summary Each Chapter should organize a Home Service Section, which should act also as the Civilian Relief Committee, except in larger cities. The Home Service Section should deal with the welfare of the families of soldiers and sailors. The Home Service Section may appoint, as a sub-com- mittee, a Consultation Committee. Simple and effective organization is desirable. Executive Secretary The secretary of the Home Service Section should be its executive and should direct the work with families. It is desirable that this person, whether salaried or un- salaried, should have experience, training, and aptitude for social work. Wherever the number of families to be helped is likely to exceed one hundred, the secretary should give his or her whole time to the work. It is probable that in most places it will not be possible to find such a qualified secretary, able to give his or her services without pay. Money thus spent will bring better results than an equal amount given in relief without the service of one well qualified to direct such expenditures. ORGANIZATION 51 In smaller cities there may be only two agencies to which the Section can turn for such a secretary. One of these is likely to be a health and nursing agency, employ- ing a trained nurse whose advice will be invaluable on the health side. The other will usually be an agency engaged in work with families, employing a social worker whose experience in helping individuals and in com- munity activity will be quite as serviceable in this new task as it has been in his regular work. Such a social worker knows existing community resources and how to make the most of them, and knows what it is reason- able to expect of people and what it is not. He, or more often she, is accustomed to getting a great deal of work done in an orderly and thorough way, and knows how to help volunteers to use their time to the best advantage of the families whom they would serve. Home Service Volunteers Some of these volunteers will be able to give their whole time to the work. Many who have had the advantage of training in social service are coming forward with the gift of their whole time. They make excellent leaders of other volunteers. That Home Service Section in which the volunteers are drawn from no one group in the community, but in which people of different ages, different religions, differ- ent incomes, different occupations, and different amounts of leisure are all utilized, will be the most successful. Soldiers' wives will some of them have more leisure than usual, some will have less, but many of them will be drawn by a strong natural interest to this work. Some stenographers have persuaded employers to let them give a stated half-day or two half-days a week to the office or field work of Home Service. Teachers are coming for- 52 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE ward, some of them giving their whole summer vaca- tion. Be sure to call upon someone competent to install a businesslike office system. Preparedness Each Chapter should have a Home Service Section, no matter how few men have entered the service from its territory and no matter how self-sufficient their families may appear to be. By no other means can the respon- sibility for Home Service be fixed. Without a group charged with this responsibility, there will be soldiers' children dropping out of school, and others deprived of timely medical treatment; there will be soldiers' wives wheedled out of their income by shrewd agents or cheated out of it by fakirs; and there will be soldiers' homes broken up during their absence by temptation or misfortune of one kind or another which the strong will and informed mind of a friend at hand might have over- come. There is a real task for helpful friendship in every community from which soldiers have gone, and from which more must go. Ten families have just as much right to Home Service as have one hundred families. It is not the volume but the character of the work that counts. Red Cross preparedness for Home Service must be commensurate with that of the Nation for military success. V Training In many cities the Home Service of the Red Cross Chapter has been placed under a heavy burden. In some Chapters more than a thousand families have already been helped. TRAINING 53 Those who have taken up Home Service have been quick to see that it requires a familiarity with new problems and a facility in dealing with them which can be acquired only through training. They have also been eager to be trained, as is demonstrated by their general response to the opportunities offered by classes in many cities in the spring of 1917, by the Home Service Insti- tutes which have already an enrollment of more than three hundred, and by the Chapter Courses in many cities that have afforded instruction to more than a thousand earnest volunteers. Institutes on Home Service In order to assure to its local leaders the best possible opportunities for training, the Red Cross has already organized twenty-five Institutes on Home Service in as many different cities representing every section of the country. The sessions of these Institutes will be repeated according to the demand for them, and new ones will be organized where needed. The Institutes are open to executives and members of Home Service Sections, and to other qualified volunteers. The courses of the Institutes require the full time of those who attend for a period of six weeks. The programs of all the Institutes are practically the same. They are prescribed by the Red Cross and are given under its auspices. The course includes four hours of lectures and discussion each week, required readings, and the balance of the time—about twenty-five hours each week—is spent in supervised practical field work in the Home Service of the Chapter in whose city the Institute is held and in the local societies that do similar work. The membership of each Institute is limited to twenty- five, in order to assure adequate personal attention in classroom discussion and in the field work. 54 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE A certificate is granted by the Red Cross to those who complete the work with credit and, in the field work, show qualities fitting them to assume responsibility in Home Service and aptitude for it. Wherever possible, the Institute is affiliated with a well-established University, College, or Training School for social work. A full announcement of the Institutes, including an outline of the course of instruction and reading references, is contained in the "Syllabus of Instruction for Home Service Institutes" (ARC 205), to which the reader is referred for further information. Chapter Courses For those unable to attend the Institutes the Division Directors of Civilian Relief are establishing a series of Chapter Courses in those cities where competent instruc- tion and field work are available. These courses conform to a general standard prescribed and published by the Red Cross, but which may readily be adapted to local conditions and needs. Chapter Courses should always be related intimately to the work of the local Chapters. Many Chapters have conducted such courses and many more are planning to do so. The Red Cross strongly endorses the organization of such courses and believes that the volunteers connected with Home Service Sections will work longer and do more if they are given such training. The eager response which has been made to the Chapter Courses and to the Institutes proves that people no longer feel that good intentions are qualifications enough for Home Service. They want to learn how to do this work in the best possible way. Full information concerning Chapter Courses, includ- ing an outline of lectures, will be found in "Chapter TRAINING 55 Courses in Home Service" (ARC 206), which may be obtained on application to Division Directors of Civilian Relief. The Division Directors of Civilian Relief will welcome correspondence regarding both Institutes and Chapter Courses, and will give the fullest details possible in reply. Reading for Home Service Workers Those who wish to prepare for such training, or to supplement it, will find the following books and pam- phlets helpful and suggestive: Social Service and the Art of Healing. Richard C. Cabot. Moffat, Yard and Company, 130 West Thirty-second Street, New York. Social Diagnosis.10 Mary E. Richmond. Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East Twenty-second Street, New York. The Family and Social Work. Edward T. Devine. The Survey Associates, 112 East Nineteenth Street, New York. How to Help. Mary Conyngton. The Ronald Press Company, 20 Vesey Street, New York. What Social Workers Should Know About Their Own Communities. Margaret F. Byington. (Pamphlet.) Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East Twenty-second Street, New York. The Good Neighbor. Mary E. Richmond. J. B. Lippincott Com- pany, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Low Cost Cooking. Florence Nesbitt. American School of Home Economics, Chicago, Illinois. Relief. Frederic Almy. (Pamphlet.) Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East Twenty-second Street, New York. Treatment. Porter R. Lee. (Pamphlet.) Russell Sage Foundation, 130 East Twenty-second Street, New York. Social Work with Families and Individuals. Porter R. Lee. (Pam- phlet.) New York School of Philanthropy, 105 East Twenty- second Street, New York. The weekly issues of The Survey. The Survey Associates, 112 East Nineteenth Street, New York. 10 This is a book particularly valuable for those who have already had some experience or knowledge of work with individuals and families. VI Forms Effort has been made to reduce to a minimum the number of prescribed forms to be used by the Home Service Sections. Some such forms are essential in order that uniformity of method may be assured in recording the facts necessary for the making of plans for Home Service to families and in order to promote thoroughness and efficiency. Record Card The record card reproduced opposite page 62 is a modification of several used with advantage by those engaged in Home Service and is believed to meet the needs of the work. The card is eight and one-half by eleven inches. It indicates, and provides a convenient means of recording, the information essential for rendering effective and thorough-going assistance to a family in need. The record of the further information supplied by the family and by others interested in its welfare, and the record of the visitor's work and plans, should be written on blank cards or sheets of the same size, called memo- randum cards, and filed consecutively following this record card. (See illustration of this memorandum card and of its entries, page 65.) The correspondence per- taining to the family and to the work and plans undertaken for its welfare, should be filed with the record card. Reference should be made to these letters in their chronological| order on the appropriate memo- randum cards. All these papers in their proper order should be filed for convenient reference in an envelope or folder. FORMS 57 Each record card should bear a Home Service number at the upper right hand corner. This should be an accession number. The "Washington number," at the upper left-hand corner, can be filled in only after some communication bearing this number has been received from the Department of Civilian Relief at Washington. When there is occasion to send information, for instance, concerning the allotment of pay, or concerning a casu- alty, the Headquarters office will file the copy of that notification under a number which will then be reported to the Home Service Section concerned. Thereafter at the Washington office all information and correspondence concerning the same man will be filed in the same place and under the same number. It may often be a conveni- ence, as when making inquiry by telegraph, to have record of the "Washington number" of a man whose family is known to a Home Service Section. It is believed that the Record Card is so simple in form and so obvious in purpose that a detailed explanation of its use is not necessary. The reader is asked to study the illustration and its specimen entries. Monthly Reports Each Home Service Section should make a monthly report to the Chapter, and send a duplicate to the Divi- sion Director of Civilian Relief, showing the number of families under its care at the beginning of the month, the number of new families added, the number discontinued, and the amount of money spent for the relief of families during the month. This report should be prepared promptly after the close of each month by the secretary of the Home Service Section, and, when countersigned by the Chairman of the Home Service Section or by the Chairman of the Civilian Relief Committee, the original copy should be forwarded to the Division Office. The 58 MANUAL OF HOME SERVICE Division Headquarters will supply these blank forms11 to all Chapters as needed. Financial Accounting The "Uniform System of Accounting for Chapters" (Instruction for Chapters, No. A ioo) specifies the accounts to be kept for all the Chapter's financial opera- tions, both for military and for civilian relief. It requires a monthly financial report from each Chapter on a form prescribed for that purpose. It is assumed that each Chapter will allot to its Home Service Section a working fund, in cash or in bank, from which its relief disbursements will be made. The three forms described and illustrated below are designed to facilitate such a system, and to provide a complete record of and voucher for each transaction, and a continuing record of payments made for each family. The first of these (C. R. F. No. i) is the necessary voucher form to be used for each disbursement whether made to assist a family, to pay a bill for office supplies, or to pay a salaried worker. It affords opportunity not only to secure the receipt for the expenditure, but also to record by whom the payment was recommended, by whom authorized, and to which ledger account it should be charged. It may be desirable that recommendations made by visitors should be approved by the secretary of the Home Service Section, or if made by the secretary, then approved by the Chapter's treasurer. (See fac- simile, page 60.) This form is printed on paper or card stock. It may be satisfactorily printed on a multigraph or by any local printer. It should be five by eight inches in size for con- venience in filing in the treasurer's office. These vouchers become a part of his permanent records. 11 This report blank is Form No. 434. FORMS 59 When the secretary desires reimbursement for pay- ments made from his revolving fund, the form next illus- trated (C. R. F. No. 2) should be used. The voucher sustaining each item on this statement should be at- tached, and should be retained by the treasurer to account for his disbursement. (See illustration, page 61.) There should be a continuing record of the payments made to each family. For this purpose a form (C. R. F. No. 3) is provided. Its purpose and method of use are sufficiently indicated by the illustration. (See page 62.) The size of this form may be either five by eight inches or eight and one-half by eleven inches. If it is desired to file these forms in a cabinet, or index file, the smaller size is desirable. If it is preferred to file this form with the record of the family itself—and this will usually be the more convenient method—then the form should be eight and one-half by eleven inches in size. This form may be quickly and cheaply printed by any printer. In each Division Office a supply of all card forms to be used in Home Service work will be kept on hand. Inquire of your Division Manager for those needed for use in your work and for the prices to be charged which will vary with the quantities ordered and the cost of transportation. Records Are Confidential It may be permitted again to express the caution that all records concerning families, and the amount of finan- cial assistance rendered to each, should be held in the strictest confidence. Only by so doing can the Home Service Section justify its knowledge of these necessary facts, and win the good will and confidence of the families themselves, and of the people, generally, who will be intensely interested in the success of this work and who must be relied upon to support it. American Red Cross Home Service Section , 3a %ur3C*&; ■v.. \*4 '<>■ fM Received from The American Red Cross /Yua\ yyCr^K G0ytuj£~Gfr&j^U>\, 1 Name of cbaptei { A' QAfi^ ~~ —'--- "•* "" • - ■>.—.---------.-----.-------- Dollars Amount writleo in words Purpose ■■P^ *^ nillUUlK WHUSU HI wviiuj - for4e benefit nf 4^ OAJtf WKjg^Z---______________H S. No---/4^J M Si Name orfamliy Home Service record No ' Pnrnoie Recommended by /\feGz4\ £tX<*J7%, (n^f^<. Approved by C^/fr . //.V\A»^\ , f$-ZJZJU>JixjL^ ____USl Charge \^7J2sU&Aj2jPCrjri/jCLu /\z£jLf Name of ledger account ' A~ .account Page 6o C. R. F. No. i American Red Cross Home Service Section New York County Chapter. 30 East 36th Street* Primed local addresr here To the Treasurer: Attached are vouchers amounting to $ 75»00 for which reimbursement is requested. TW July 14. 1917,______ .covering the following described items of expenditure, H. S. No. 143 98 45 112 Family's Name Jones, Mary Curry, Ellen Meade, Helen White, Elizabeth Date July 10 11 11 12 Purpose Allowance Grant Loan Allowance (Jren.Civ.Rel. n n n Ledger Account fi n TOTAL *■"">•.„"...•—" Amount 15,00 20,00 30,00 10,00 Treasurer's Record Paid by check No. 2.ff Date. ^¥ C^^>7x^V^gA^ Secretary, Home Service Section Page 61 C. R. F. No. 2 American Red Cross Home Service Section New York County Chapter«, 50 Bast 56th Street. Man in Service Jones, Henry Given Name Date // ft Purpose Amount 6 AT' /S" fS- Page 62 Date Primed local address here Recipient Family Jones, Mary Purpose Date C. R. F. No. 3 143 H. S. Record No. Purpose Amount Washington No. Ho O__«.:~« New York County----Chapter ome Service Section The American Red Cross July 6. 19' 7. H.S. No. 139 Surname (Man in Service) Marsh Man's Given Name .lamftfl. Man's Family Status Single Married Widower Divorced Separated Color w Date of Enrollment in Service Place of Enrollment April 9, 1917.___New York City Enrolled as (Rank) Private Present Rank Privata Amount of Present Pay $30 mo. Date when Man Left Family April 22. 1917. Full Names of Persons in Family Including Boarders and Lodgers, Man in Service Mary (Doyle) 1882 1893 Regiment or Ship When Home Service is Asked 227th Regiment ff. Y. B. Q. CO. M. wife Occupation or school Ticket Ag»t Before Enrollment .7.50 Citizenship Date and Place of Marriagi Native Naturalized Non-Citizen X Jan.2.*ll N.Y.q Amount flnsorane Policy $2000 Nailve Country JL&. ir_fl_. Rcligio Ernt BuJL. Margaret 1212. cMld P. S.#23 U.S. James 1915 R.C. Prot Dorothy 1916 R.C. Delia Marsh 1850 mo. Prot Cataract Helen Atwood 1908 niece P.S.#23 Prot Adenoida If man is married, enter wife's bis, also giving her maiden nan Relatives Not Living in Household Marsh. Geo. & Ellen bro. Clerk 1.50 345 Western Ave.. N. Y. City Marsh. Benjamin uncle Watchman 16 Ash St.. Gloucester. Mass. Setts. John & Emma sis. Conductor 596 Thompson St.. Newark. N. J 911 RfS3 Henry Street. L^l5l 498 Snow Street, 9.50 1917 (Present) 802 E. 16 Street. 5__LI.50 List in this 6pace names and addresses of physicians,.employers, clergymen, lodges, benefit reported by the Social Service or Confidential Exchange at time of inquiry or later. Those per Name of Agency or Individual X St.' Elizabeth's Hospital Sunshine Dav Nursery_____ X Rev. Henry C. Sullivan X Dr. Arthur J. Bowers______ X Eve. Ear & Throat Hospital eties and social agencies knowing or referring the family or members of it. Enter also agencies i or agencies that have been consulted or whose cooperation has been obtained may be checked. Address 1304 Eastern Boulevard_______________ 25 Charles St.______________________ 102 Walnut Ave._____________________ 21 Main St.________________ 2010 Northern Ave. Knights of Pythias X The North Side Elevated R. R. Co. 1695 - 23 Ave. 1203 Northern Ave. Monthly Family Income Monthly Family Expenditures Man's Assigned Pay 25 11. 50 Government Allowance 36 50 State Allowance Fuel and Light 50 Total Wages of Family Clothing 50 Relatives' Contributions Carfares, Lunches Church Contributions 50_ Insurance Dues .Former Employer Balance Needed by Family Regular Visitor's Name 50 44 50 Payments on Debts 2SL Total 64 ASSIGNMENT TO HOME SERVICE VISITORS Name 50 Family under care From To Mrs. Robert E. Mills._____July 6. 1917. Substitute Visitor's Name From To HOME SERVICE VISITORS WILL PLEASE SIGN AND GIVE DATES FOR PERIOD OF THEIR RESPONS1BILITV FOR V1SI1AH- Marsh Source Home Visit Work record Health Church H. S. No. 139 7/6/17. Letter received from Mrs. Marsh asking visit. (See letter filed.) Same Date: Mrs. Marsh and her children were found at home in a clean, sunny apartment on the top floor of a six-family house in a good neigh- borhood. Mr. M.'s mother and orphan niece, who live with the family, were visiting friends for the afternoon. Mrs. M. is a small, rather frail appearing woman with blond hair and blue eyes. She has a pleasant smile and cordial manner. Margaret, who is a plump, dark-haired child, is said to resemble her father, while James and Dorothy look like their mother. Since the death of Mr. M.'s father last November his mother has lived with them. She is very helpful about the house, but is unable to do re- munerative work. She goes to Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital weekly for treatment of her eyes. Helen Atwood is the child of Mr. M.'s deceased sister. Her father died before her birth and she has lived with the M.'s since her mother's death three years ago. Mrs. M. has only one relative living, a brother who was in the English Army when she last heard from him ten months ago. Mr. M. was home on furlough over Sunday and is much worried over present inadequate income. His regiment is to leave the state for an un- known destination this week and Mr. M. told his wife to write the letter which was received this morning as he wanted to be assured of adequate care of his family. Since he left the family in April they have lived on their savings which are now exhausted. His brother, George, who is married and has one child, contributes $1.50 a week toward his mother's expenses. Other rela- tives are unable to help. Mr. M.'s former employers have been paying Mrs. M. $5.00 on the first of each month but she does not know how long they will continue. Mrs. M. is anxious to get plain sewing to do at home but is so worried and nervous visitor urged her to permit arrangements to be made for her to go to the country for a vacation and rest before trying to sew. She would be willing to go if the baby can go with her as her mother-in-law could care for the home and younger children during her brief absence. Visitor told Mrs. M. she would make arrangements for her to go with the baby to Good Rest Camp for two weeks. Mrs. M. said that the school nurse called just before the close of school to urge her to have Helen's adenoids removed but she has missed her husband so much and felt so worried she has not attended to this matter. Visitor agreed to call Monday to take Helen to hospital for examination and necessary arrangements for the removal of the adenoids. When visitor left, Mrs. M. thanked her for coming and asked her to come again soon as she will appreciate having someone to talk over her plans with; was assured visitor would call often. 7/6/17. Mr. Black, Supt. of North Side Elevated R. R., states upon inquiry that Mr. M. has been a faithful, honest employee for seven years. Company will pay family $5.00 a month for indefinite period. 7/6/17. Wrote Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital in re Mrs. Delia Marsh. (See copy of letter filed.) 7/6/17. Father Sullivan, when seen by visitor at St. Bernard's Church, spoke highly of Mrs. M. and the children. Does not know Mr. M., but Church will give $5.00 cash and $3.50 a month in groceries for a few months. Memorandum Card 65 Index Accounting, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62. Agencies: which are expected to notify Home Service Sections of families needing care, 10; from which execu- tive secretaries for Home Service Sections may be drawn, 50, 51. See also Social Agencies. Agriculture, Department of: home de- monstration agents under, 19, 33. Allied Forces: Home Service applies to families of men in, 6, 8, 28, 35; allow- ances to families of men in, 31, 32. Allotments from pay: must precede granting of allowances, 27, 31, 32; Home Service Sections should be in- formed regarding rules governing, 42. Allowances, Federal: and Home Ser- vice, S, 27, 28, 45; from Home Ser- vice Funds, 6, 27, 31, 32. See also Relief and Money Relief. Ambulance drivers in United States hospital units: Home Service applies to families of, 8, 35. Aviation Corps, U. S.: Home Service applies to families of men in, 8, 35. Birth record: use of, to prove relation- ship to enlisted man, 36. Boarders with family, 40. Books of value to Home Service Work- ers, 55- Boy Scouts: Home Service use of, 20. Budget, family: items included in, 33. Business advice by Home Service Sec- tions, 23. Canadian allowances to soldiers and sailors, 32. Chapter Courses for volunteers, 54. Chapter Courses in Home Service, n, 54. Child care: standards of, 13. Child labor law: Home Service Sections should have copies of, 42. Children: needing special sorts of care, 16; returned to school by Home Ser- vice, 20; special forms of Home Ser- vice for, 24, 25; should not come to Home Service office, 40; should not be led to talk of family problems, 40. Children's Bureau representative quoted, 15. Church: cooperation with, 10; strengthening ties with, 26. Churches interested in families, inquiry regarding, 41. Circulars to supplement Home Service publications, ir. City boards: information regarding, that is needed, 42. Civilian Relief Committee: scope of its activities, 46; Home Service Sec- tion and, 47, SO. Civilians: when Home Service applies to families of, 8, 35; all Chapter work for, under Committee on Civil- ian Relief, 46. Clothing, second-hand: distribution of, disapproved by Home Service, 30. Confidential character of information about families, 41; of Home Service records, 49, 59. Consultation Committee: specialists on, 26; personnel and functions of, 49; meetings of, 50; relation to Home Service Section of, so. Cooperation: of Home Service Sections with social agencies, 10, 43; Consul- tationCommitteeshould facilitate,49. Creditors: arrangements with, 23. Dental defects: importance of atten- tion to, 17. Dentists: utilizing services of, 26. Deserters: responsibility of Home Ser- vice for families of, 44. Desertion and non-support laws: Home Service Sections should have copies of, 42. Diet: Home Service and, 18, 33. Dietitians: utilizing services of, 26. Directories: kinds available for use in Home Service, 41. Disabled men: special services for, 6, 25, 26. Discharge from service will not be urged by Red Cross, 36. Discharged men: discontinuance of allowances to families of, 32; respon- sibility of Home Service Sections for families of, 44. Disasters: relief in, 47. Doctors in United States hospital units: Home Service applies to families of, 8,35- Don'ts: list of, 40. Duties of Home Service Sections, 48, INDEX 67 Education: points to bear in mind re- garding, 39. Education, Board of: information re- garding, should be available to Home Service Sections, 42. Educational standards, 19. Emergencies: Home Service aid in, 5, 27, 36, 41. Employment of Women and Juveniles in Great Britain during the War, 20. Engineering Corps, U. S.: Home Ser- vice applies to families of men in, 8, 35- Enlistment: establishing fact of, 36. Enlistments under age, etc.: Red Cross action in case of, 36. Exchange of information: importance of consulting, 37. Executive Secretary of Home Service Section, 50. Exemption Boards: as sources of in- formation regarding family situa- tions, 10. Eye defects, importance of attention to, 17. Families: importance of getting point of view of, 37; membership of, and outsiders living with, 40; affairs of, should be treated as confidential, 41; real names of, should not be used in committee discussions, 49. Feeble-mindedness, action in cases of, 19. Filing of Home Service records, 56, 57- Finance committees of Red Cross Chap- ters, 48. Financial accounting of Home Service Sections, 58. Financial forms reproduced, 60, 61, 62. Financial status of family: points to be borne in mind regarding, 40. Flat rates in relief unfair, 33. Food conservation: messages regard- ing, 18. Food demonstrators: utilizing services of, 26, 33. Forms, 56-65; of vouchers, 60; of accounting, 61, 62; of record, 63-65. Gossip: families should not ba exposed to, 41 49. Grants: for special purposes, 29, 30; for transportation, 34. Great Britain: United States Bulletins regarding industrial conditions in, 20. Handbook of Information for Home Ser- vice Sections, 5, n, 22. Health: of children, conservation of, 15; standards of, 17; points to be borne in mind regarding, 39. Health Boards: Home Service Sections should have copiesofregulationsof,42. Home demonstration agents of United States Department of Agriculture, 19. Home economists: utilizing services of, 33- Home Service: relation of, to morale of our armies, 3, 12; opportunities of, 5, 6, 7, 8; aid in emergencies by, 5> 27, 36, 41; to whom does it apply? ' 8, 35; how families in which it is needed will become known, 9, 10; in illness, examples of, 18; to be given only in response to invitation, 35; how to determine whether a family is entitled to, 36; and state aid, 44, 45; and federal allowances, 45; when it may be of aid to bene- ficiaries under War Risk Insurance Law, 46; preparedness for, 52; the burden of, 52. Home Service Institutes, 10, 53. Home Service publications, 10. Home Service Sections: varied forms of service by, 13; cooperation of, with other agencies, 43; action of, when a soldier's family is already under care of a social agency, 43; and Civilian Relief Committees, 47; duties of, 48; membership of, 48; Consultation and other committees of, 49, 50; executive secretary of, 50. Home Service volunteers, 51. Home Service workers: what they shouldknow about provisions regulat- ing working conditions, 21; no spe- cial costume to be worn by, 35; reading for, 55; should consult ex- change, 37. Home solidarity: Home Service help in increasing, 24. Home standards: conservation and ad- vancement of, 5, 7. 68 INDEX Home surroundings: cases cited illus- trating significance of, 30, 39- Hoover, H. C. 18. Housing conditions: maintenance of standards in, 19- Housing, Fatigue, and Health in British Munition Factories, 20. Housing regulations: copies of, needed by Home Service Sections, 42. Immigration law: Home Service Sec- tions should have copies of, 42- Industrial conditions: what Home Service workers should know about laws regulating, 21. Information service of Home Service Sections, 7. 22. Institutes on Home Service, 10, 53. Instruction for Chapters, 58. Insurance: Home Service help in ad; justing matters of, 23, 25. Insurance Act, War Risk, 5. 27, 28. 29. Investigation: first steps in, 37; pur- pose of, 38; should not expose family to gossip, 38. Laws and ordinances: that should be available in Home Service Sections, 42. Lawyers: utilizing services of, 26; needed on Consultation Committees, 49- Legal advice: by Home Service Sec- tions, 23. Loans: when advisable, 28, 29. Lodgers: with family, 40. Mack, Julian W., 46. Manual of Disaster Relief, 47. Marines, U. S.: Home Service applies to families of, 8, 35. Marriage records: use of, to prove re- lationship to enlisted man, 36. Meetings: of Home Service Sections, 48; of Consultation Committee, 50. Membership: of Home Service Sec- tions, 47, 48; of Consultation Com- mittees, 49. Memorandum Card, 65. Mental defect and disturbance: action in cases of, 19. Method, 34-46. Military affairs: need of someone familiar with, on Consultation Com- mittee, 49. Military authorities: facts asked for by, to be supplied by Home Service Sections, 36. 'Missing' men: temporary continuance of allowances to families of, 32. Money Relief, 27-34. Monthly reports of Home Service Sec- tions, 57- Morale of our armies: Home Service in relation to, 3, 12. Moratorium for soldiers and sailors, 23. Mothers: special needs of, 14. Mothers' allowances: laws regarding, 42. National Conference of Social Work, 34. Naval affairs: need of someone familiar with, on Consultation Committee, 49. Neighbors: inquiries not to be made of, 41. Nose and throat defects: attention to, 17- Nurses in United States hospital units: Home Service applies to families of, 8.35- Officers of Home Service Sections, 48. Orderlies in United States hospital units: Home Service applies to fam- ilies of, 8, 35. Organization, 46-52. Pamphlets: of use to Home Service workers, 10. n, 55. "Passing on": objections to. 34. Physicians: utilizing services of, 26. Plans, permanent: should not be made on first visit, 41. Preparedness for Home Service, 5a. Psychiatrists: utilizing services of, 26. Psychologists: utilizing services of, 26. Publications, Home Service, 10. Public Health workers: Cooperation with, 49. Reading for Home Service Workers, 55. Record card. Home Service, 56, 57, 63- 65- Records, Home Service: confidential character of, 59. INDEX 69 Recreation for mothers and children, 14. 25. Red Cross: attitude of, toward dis- charges from service, 36; what it means to men in service and to home folks, 3; who are entitled to services of, 35- Relationship to enlisted man: how to establish, 36. Relatives: contributions from, to be taken into account in determining Red Cross allowances, 32. Relief: what is adequate? 33; in emer- gencies, by Home Service Sections, 5, 27, 41. See also Allowances. Responsibility of Home Service Sec- tions for families under care of other agencies, 43, 44. Rules and regulations of government regarding soldiers and sailors, 42. Sailors: in United States or allied armies. Home Service applies to families of, 6, 8, 35; in allied armies, allowances to families of, 31, 32. Saving: encouraging, 25. School: returning children who have worked illegally to, 20. School attendance: assuring regularity in, 15. 19. School attendance law: Home Service Sections should have copies of, 42. School records of children: importance of obtaining, 39. Secretary, Executive: of Home Service Section, qualifications of, 50. Service, 13-26. Social agencies: allowances from, to be taken into account in determining Red Cross allowances, 32; interested in families, inquiry regarding, 41; Red Cross action where families already under care of, 43. Social workers: as executive secretaries of Home Service Sections, 51. Soldiers: in United States and allied armies, Home Service applies to families of, 6, 8, 35; in allied armies, allowances to families of, 31, 32. Specialists: utilizing the services of, 26. Standard working conditions, 20. Standards: of child care, 13; of physi- cal and mental health, 17; educa- tional, 19. State Aid and Home Service, 44, 45. Sub-committees of Home Service Sec- tions, 50. Syllabus of Instruction for Home Service Institutes, n, 54. Teachers: Home Service should estab- lish an understanding with, 9; re- ports from, 15. Training for Home Service volunteers, 52-55- Transportation: conditions on which it should be granted, 34. Transportation agreement, 34. Tuberculosis: points to be considered in guarding against, 17. Uniform System of Accounting for Chap- ters, 58. Uniforms, soldiers': not to be worked on in homes, 21. United States Department of Labor Bulletins on industrial conditions in Great Britain, 20. Unmarried mothers of soldiers' chil- dren: within scope of HomeService,i6. Vocational guidance, 16. Vocational training for disabled men, 26. Volunteers, Home Service: experiences of, used in this Manual, 4; some of those who have become, 51; training for, 53. 54- Voucher form for Home Service Sec- tions, 58, 60. War Risk Insurance Law: passage of, 5; allotments to relatives having no claim to allowances under, 27; pro- visions of, 28, 45; delays under, 29; purpose of, 46. Widowers' children: care of, 16. Widows' allowances: laws regarding, 42. Women and the question of work out- side the home, 21. Working conditions: standard, 20; what Home Service workers should know about laws regulating, 21. ■/■■-<& %