A PROPOSED PLAN OF SCHOOL-COMM4UNITY' COORDINATION FOR THE
BOOKER HIGH SCHOOL OF SARASOTA, FLORIDA DESIGNED
TO COMBAT DELINQUENCY AMONG NEGRO YOUTH

A Thesis

Presented to

the Graduate Faculty of

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science

by

Roland W. Rogers

August 1952

1 r-c
17299

A PROPOSED PLAN OF S HOOL-COMTUNI Y COORTDNAT'1ION FOR THE
BOOKER HIGH SCHOOL OF SARASOTA, FLORIDA DESIGNED
TO COMBA' DELNQUENCY AMONG NEGRO YOUTH

A Thesis

Presented. to

the Gr.auate Faculty of

Flori 'a Agricultural an MIechanical College

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science

Roln ty Roger
RolanO h:. Rogers

August 1952

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION . . . 1

Statement of the problem . .. 3

Sub-problems . . . 4

Definitions of Terms ... 4

Assumptions . . . 6

Sources of Data . ........ 6

Method of Study . . . 7

Organization of the Study . 7

II. SURVEY OF LITERATURE . 9

Coordinated Community . 9

Chicago Area Project . .. .. 16

Police Type Action in Crime Prevention 21

Community Coordination . 26

III. PURPOSE OF INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDIES 29

Case Studies . . ... 38

Data Concerning Questionnaires ..... .. 53

Sur n ar . . . . 58

IV. THE PRESENT EFFORTS OF SARASOTA TO SERVE

ITEGRO YOUTH .. . . .. 59

Booker School an its Program . 59

The Community and its Program . 61

The Program of the Probation Officer . 63

CHAPTER PAGE

V. PROPOSED PROGRAM FOR CLOSER COORDINATION
THROUGH BOOKER SCHOOL . . 66

TWht Booker Proposes ........ 69

Organization of Council .. .... 71

Coordinating Council at Vork .. 72

VI. COiNCLUSIGONS AND RECOM 'NATIONS . 75

BIBLIOGRAPHY .. .... .. ...... 78

APPENDIX . . . . 79

LIST OF TABLES

TALE PAGE

I. Type ane Offenses By Year and Age Groups

Offenders as Revealed by Principals

Report at Booker School ....... .. 6

II. Offenders and Percentage of Offenders

For the School Terms 1917 1950 .50

III. Type of Offenses by Number ane Age

Groups of Offenders 147 1950 . 51

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE

1. Diagram of the Relationship Between

School, Home Church ani Juvenile

Officer . . .

PAGE

55

AC KNOWLEDGMENT

The author wishes to express his appre-

ciation to Dean T. E. McKinney and Dr. Edwin

Thompkins for their helpful suggestions and

criticisms. Acknowledgments are also due to

my secretary, Miss Juanita Neal, who typed and

retyped first crafts of this thesis.

Most deeply and most directly the author

is indebted to Dr. W. 5. Maize, Chairman of the

Division of Graduate Study, Florida A and M

College and Mrs. T. I. Lang for their many

suggestions and their careful recaing of the

paper curing its preparation for publication.

R. W.R.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Some authorities agree that the causes of delin-

quency are multiple and complex. The import of these causes

vary in significance. To understand the delinquent behavior

of an adolescent, it is necessary to learn about him. We

must secure objective information concerning his mental, as

well as his physical, make-up. We must be aware of the

social and psychological forces that have affected him from

the time of his birth. If we would attack effectively any

problem of delinquency, we must understand what forces have

influenced an individual's thinking; we must know what

prompts him to do the things he does; we must have a definite

knowledge of his cultural background. To obtain this in-

formation necessary for our study, we must be ready to

utilize all agencies which are concerned with the welfare

of youth. The homes, the schools, the churches, the rec-

reational centers, the health and guidance clinics, the

public and private social services must be resorted to in

order to obtain a sound basis for a well planned study.

The point of view in this study, however, is that these

1 William Healy and Augusta F. Bonner, New Light on
Delinquency and Its Treatment (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1936), p. 7.

2

agencies of society must do more than perform their tra-

ditionally specialized functions. They must plan and work

together in a coordinated program based upon the twenty-

four hour needs of all of the community's children. The

task of curtailing and preventing delinquency require the

united effort of everyone in the community.

Until all citizens develop a sense of civic respon-

sibility and cooperate with others for the common good can

we hope to achieve the kind of community life in which

delinquency will have little opportunity to thrive. The

position taken in this study is that Booker High School,

in Sarasota, is strategically situated to effect between

school and community a functional interactivity which will

insure the coordination required to cope with the rising

tide of delinquency among the Negro adolescent boys and

girls. There are several reasons why this is true. The

principal one, however, is the fact that "the greatest

intellectual resources for both personal development and

social improvement is organized knowledge which has been
2
systematically mastered".2 The organization referred to

here is one that is functional and related to lifets needs.

Also, the explicit statement of philosophy of the Booker

2
E. G. Olsen, School and Community (New York:
Prentice Hall Company, 1950), p. .

3

High School, coupled with the educational achievements of

its faculty, suggests that this agency is advantageously

situated to take the initiative in the proposed program.

The curtailment of delinquency among Negro adoles-

cent boys and girls is a problem of major importance in

Sarasota, Florida. A cursory examination of the files of

the probation officer, coupled with a glance at the

suspension records in the office of the high school

principal, is sufficient to document the aforementioned

fact. For example, more than seventy percent of the re-

ported cases of breaking and entering and larcency during

the period 1947-1950 were committed by Negro youth between

the ages of twelve and twenty years.

Statement of the problem. The problem of this study

is to formulate a plan of functional interactivity between

the Booker High School and its immediate community, Sara-

sota. The plan would be designed to improve coordination

among present agencies serving Negro youth to curtail and

combat delinquency among adolescents by:

1. Bridging the gap which exists in the present

essential services of agencies serving this group.

2. Pointing up and correcting needless dupli-

cation of effort in present agency programs.

3. Recommending widest and most economical uses

of present community resources.

Sub-problems

1. What is the extent of delinquency among the

Negro adolescents of Sarasota, Florida? (Types of

Offenses, frequency, and age of offenders).

2. What is the nature of the present working

relationships between the following in Sarasota: Booker

High School, the probation officer, the churches, the

homes, and the recreational center in combating juvenile

delinquency?

3. What constitutes essentials in a program of

school-community coordination designed specifically for

Sarasota?

Definitions of Terms

A proposed lan refers to an ordered scheme setting

forth the organization of agencies which will correlate

the interests and services of the participating groups for

a better understanding of youth problems.

The term school-community coordination refers to a

relationship of the school to other associational and in-

stitutional agencies such as the home, church, child

welfare center, and the recreational center in which the

school working with these agencies is continuously sharing

5

in the identification of community needs and the develop-

ment of subsequent action programs.

The term combat is used in the sense of perfecting

a program of eternal vigilance which will discourage

developments.

The term delinquency in this study, refers to the

misconduct of youth between the ages of six and twenty

which has come to the attention of the courts, school

personnel, and other associational and institutional

officials.

While it is recognized that all community services

must be drawn upon in any plan to cope effectively with

delinquency for this study only the following agencies of

Sarasota will be considered: The school, the home, the

church, and the probation officer and recreation center.

These constitute the principal agencies working with Negro

adolescents in Sarasota. The study is limited further in

the sense that only the misconduct of boys and girls which

has come to the attention of parents, teachers, and the

probation officer is considered. In the program of

coordination which is being proposed, the objective has been

to indicate schematically the recommended relationships

along with a statement of basic principles to serve as guide

6

posts in putting the program into action. Only records

for the period 1947-51 were used.

Assumptions

1. The institutional and associational services to

youth in Sarasota can be so organized and coordinated that

opportunity for delinquency may be progressively lessened.

2. Booker High School is strategically situated

to serve in the role as coordinator.

3. The records of the courts, coupled with confi-
dential interviews with officials of agencies serving

youth, are valid sources of data for identifying the status

of delinquency among Negro adolescents in Sarasota.

Sources of Data

The data for this study were obtained from the

following sources: (1) confidential records of the County

Probation Officer; (2) misdemeanor reports of teachers and

the principal of Booker High School; (3) questionnaires to

the parents of all children; (4) a second questionnaire to

parents of children reported as delinquent; (5) case studies;

(6) (a) interviews with County Probation Officer, (b) class-

room teachers at Booker High School, (c) parents of students,

(d) County Judge, (e) ministers, and (f) students themselves.

Other sources of data for this study were the many docu-

7

mentary references in books and magazines, describing

successful practices in school-community programs through-

out the United States.

Method of Study

In order to obtain data relative to the nature and

trend of delinquency among Negro adolescents of Sarasota,

the following procedure was used: confidential records of

probation officer, principal, and teacher were analyzed.

This was followed by interviews with the probation officer,

teachers, parents, ministers and students. Two questionnaires

were used, th4 first was a general schedule sent to all

parents; the second, a more detailed questionnaire sent to

parents of delinquent pupils. Case studies were made only

of a few of the delinquent pupils. The preliminary sections

of this thesis represent principally an analysis of the data

referred to above. The program proposed in the later phases

of the thesis reflects the emphasis and trends found in

successful school-community programs throughout the country.

Organization of the Study

This study consists of six chapters. The intro-

duction to the thesis is set forth in Chapter I. Here the

problem has been stated, the purpose of the study

delineated, the terms defined, and its organization into

8

chapters indicated. In Chapter II, a review of related

literature is provided. The literature is discussed under

two broad categories; namely: (a) Successful School Com-

munity Program for General Community Uplift, and (b) The

Role of the School in Combating Delinquency Through Com-

munity Interactivity. Chapter III furnishes a comprehen-

sive word picture of Sarasota, in regard to delinquency

among its Negro adolescents and the work of the local

agencies in coping successfully with the problem. In

Chapter IV, the writer tells what is being done in Sarasota

to serve its Negro youth. In Chapter V, a proposed program

for closer coordination through Booker School which is re-

lated to findings in Chapter III. In Chapter VI are con-

clusions and recommendations.

CHAPTER II

SURVEY OF LITERATURE

Education is much more comprehensive than the skills,

attitudes, and knowledges which are attained in the school,

In the educative process, six agencies make major contri-

butions to the growth and development of the school child.

Influence is brought to bear in different ways and with

great force by (1) the family, (2) the church, (3) the com-

munity, (h) economic agencies, and (5) the school. The

cumulative impact leaves imprints which must be considered

in the formulation of the school program.

Coordinated Community. Glueck1 has presented a

symposium of experiments in crime prevention. These are

classified largely on an administrative basis, as

(1) coordinated community programs, predicated upon the

recognition of the community or neighborhood or area as a

natural, cultural and social entity, necessitating the in-

tegration of all forces in an over-all program; (2) school

programs, ranging from coordinated community efforts

initiated by schools to the specialized schools for

children; (3) police department acting as crime prevention

Sheldon Glueck and Eleanor Glueck, Juvenile
Delinquency (New York: Bond and Noble Inc., 1949), p. 256.

10

bureaus collaborating with other constructive agencies;

(4) intramural guidance programs emphasizing group games,

exemplified in the George Junior Republic, Longview Farm,

Boy's Town, and various summer camps for delinquent boys.

These types overlap and can be variously classified,

but they indicate, each with varying degrees of success, the

range of efforts made to prevent crime and delinquency.

They are evidences of an awakening of the citizenry in

various communities to their responsibility in this matter,

and an evidence of a desire to participate intelligently in
2
the elimination of crime-producting conditions.
3
The work of Donald DuShane, superintendent of

schools in Columbus, Indiana, is an outstanding example of

what school leadership can accomplish in a to~wn of 10,000.

DuShane introduced psychological and behavior guidance ser-

vices, ungraded and special classes, a thorough going

health service, facilities for physical education and a com-

munity-wide program of organization and prevention. This

program was ultimately financed by the school board, the

recreation commission, and a voluntarily supported private

agency, the Foundation. Although the Foundation establish-

ed a boy's club, the schools, juvenile court, the churches,

Ibid.

Juilliard Carr Lowell, Delinquency Control (New York:
Harper and Brothers, 1941), p. 365-366.

11

the service clubs, the Chamber of Commerce, and the city

council all worked together to meet the problems of young

people in that community.

At the other end of the urban population scale in

the midst of the nations largest city, another school man,

Dr. Nathan Perser, from 1914 to 1936 put on an interesting

demonstration, first in Harlem and later in Brooklyn Public

School 181. In his Brooklyn school Peyser began by organiz-

ing a mothers' league which worked through a number of

committees dealing with relief, child health, pre-school

education, teacher cooperation, hospitality, social welfare,

neighborhood home visitation, and parental education. He

formed a men's league which combined with the mothers'

league to form the Brooklyn Community League. Later the

league's membership increased by other citizens of the

community, started making local surveys, and very soon had

twenty-five committees working on various projects. The

league with the cooperation of the Federal Nursery School

Committee, operated a day nursery. It surveyed traffic for

safety control purposes; established a dental clinic; enlist-

ed the cooperation of physicians, dentists, optometrists,

and druggists, in order that no family in the community need

go without medical and dental assistance. It set up offices

in the school building and functioned as a first-aid agency

for taking children to clinics to secure dental and surgical

12

treatment, and for providing clothing, food and other needs

for the family. Supported by the league, a number of play-

grounds were opened in the neighborhood. The Saturday Club

met at the school and the children were taken in small

groups to points of interest about the city. The League

organized a program of adult education and was active in

encouraging a community symphonic orchestra. It formed a

Junior Service League among the children of the school.

The Junior Service division in turn formed a Mothers'

Council composed of two parent representatives from each

class who met weekly during school hours to discuss ways and

means by which the association could contribute to the wel-

fare of the school. Dr. Peyser's final step was the

organization of a coordinating council with representatives

from forty-two organizations. Only highly skilled leader-

ship through the years could hold together the various

individuals and organizations working on this complicated

program.

Meanwhile the school was adjusting itself to the needs

of its own children and seeking to re-adjust its delinquent

cases. Courses of study were revised, remedial teaching was

stressed, creative activity was encouraged. Children were

early given experience in self-government. The school set

about developing personal inventories of all its children.

Periodically an accounting was taken of each child to

13

determine the individual's problem situation -- in what

subjects was he retarded, what physical defects did he have,

what behavior symptoms was he showing, what home diffi-

culties or community situations were causing trouble. In

1934 the New York City Principals' Association, after a

two-year study by a committee on delinquency prevention,

endorsed Dr. Peyser's plan. The Board of Superintendents

officially approved it. On the whole, it represents

probably the most extensive community-minded program that

has been tried in any American city. It is a program that

calls for a high degree of administrative ability on the

part of the school officials and grept skill in community

leadership. It does not include, however, an adequate

mental hygiene program for the children or the teachers or

for the parents in the community. Except for this one

omission it probably represents the most complete mobiliza-

tion of techniques that any school administration has yet

attempted.

A survey of Juvenile Delinquency was undertaken by

300 young people, students of the Benson High School, in

Omaha, Nebraska, as an extra-curricular activity. Partici-

pants ranged in age from fourteen to eighteen years.

Questionnaires were printed covering such topics as causes

Ibid., p. 367.

of delinquency, types of child offenders, definition of a

delinquent child, remedial work, and recent findings on the

subject. A separate group of children was dealt with in each

phase of the survey.

These questionnaires were mailed to forty-six institu-

tions in Omaha, including grade, high, industrial and paro-

chial schools, community centers, convents, Boy and Girl

Scout Headquarters, juvenile courts, and state institutions.

The answers were tabulated, and conclusions drawn which were

of great aid to officials and organizations.

It was only natural that some of the social theories

which poured over American education in the thirties should,

in time, have produced something of promise. Such, indeed,

were the community schools which appeared in various parts

of the nation. Stressing society rather than the individual,

they have become known as "Society-Centered Schools". Their

creatorst proposal was essentially simple. "Let us use the

school", they suggested, "to deal with the'real and practi-

cal problems found in our community every-day problems of

every-body". They beheld the community, not as something

divorced from the school, but as an actual part of it. The

community, they explained, was like a laboratory, full of

5 Paul R. Hanna, Youth Serves the Community (New York:

D. Appleton-Century Company, 1948), p. 216.

Ibid., p. 217.

15

problems "which will serve as an immediate and practical
7
program for every school system". On the other hand, the

schools purpose was to help young people to grow by offer-

ing them real help in meeting the larger and inevitable

problems arising beyond the fringes of the community prob-

lems affecting the nation and even the world.

In the Benjamin Franklin High School of New York the

link between school and community was forged through such

committees as Parents' Association, Adult Education,

Juvenile Aid, Youth Guidance, the Old Friendship Committee,

Housing, Community Health, Citizenship, and the like. More-

over, through a service bureau for education in human re-

lations, the school undertook a study of racial problems,

not as they were presented in the learned books, but as they

existed in all their reality in the community itself.

Through this study the school hoped to eliminate intolerance

and to enhance fairness and understanding among the people

of the community.

Margaret Patricia Meyer, The Development of Edu-
cation in the Twentieth Century (New York: Prentice Hall,
Ind., 19-9T, p. 9T.

16

COORDINATED COMMUNITY PROGRAM, PREDICATED UPON THE
RECOGNITION OF THE COMMUNITY LEADERS

CHICAGO AREA PROJECT

There have been many efforts to meet social problems

in the'United States through neighborhood organizations.

Such enterprises have become increasingly democratic with

local residents helping to initiate programs and in deter-

mining policies. In the field of delinquency prevention the

most important experiment of this type is the Chicago Area

Project, based upon decades of neighborhood research of

Professor Ernest 'T. Burgess and Clifford Shaw. This experi-

ment has imitators elsewhere.

The Chicago Area Project is an experiment to test the

soundness of principles derived from the research which pre-

ceded it. In addition it is a continuation of that research.

Its distinctive characteristics include:

1. Emphasis upon the fullest possible neighbor-

hood participation through its natural leaders in

planning their own program for the welfare of their

own children. Even the professional workers are, so

far as possible, taken from among the residents.

2. A program for the neighborhood as a whole.

3. Outside professional staff serves chiefly as

consultants.

17

4. Local residents are encouraged to utilize

existing institutions and agencies in the area "and

to co-ordinate these in a unified neighborhood program."

5. Efforts are made to create and crystallize

neighborhood sentiments on behalf of the welfare of

its children and the improvement of the community as

a whole.

6. Whenever possible "natural groups are utilized

and children enrolled along with other members of the

group to which they belong. In the case of delinquent

groups, "the task becomes one of introducing construc-

tive value into the life and structure of the group."

7. Delinquents are not set apart as such, but

particular efforts are made to meet their needs, and

they are given a place in neighborhood activities.

8. The program involves continued research and

experimentation; and complete records are kept on all

activities, problems encountered, methods used, and

facts concerning known truants and delinquents.

9. It has been the policy to give all credit for

any achievements to local leaders and established

agencies.

Financed increasingly by residents in the neighbor-

hoods, but partly by private funds, the Chicago Area Project

18

is in operation in various areas of delinquency. Of these,

the projects in South Chicago, on the near west side, and

immediately north of the Loop, are of longest standing.

The specific, largely recreational activities

sponsored in these neighborhoods, have not been different

from similar activities developed by organizations of a

different nature.

The greatest cooperation and success has been ob-

tained in the South Chicago Russell Square community,

which has had somewhat less delinquency than the other two.

This community has supplied funds for a substantial number

of girls aged from eight to eighteen so that they might

participate every month in the activities of the Community

Center. "Every gang and play group among the boys in the

neighborhood is involved in the general activities program."

Local action has been taken against tavern keepers who sell

liquor to minors and persons who purchase stolen articles

from children,

The sponsors of this project insist that its success

should be measured primarily in terms of community coopera-

tion, It is interesting to note that in the Russell Square

area the percentage of boys arrested for delinquency de-

creased from ten percent in 1932 to three percent in 1938.

A basic query which this project suggests is whether

such local organizations can be permanently effective so

19

long as conflicting elements exist in the-larger culture of

which the delinquency area is a product. Can mere local

neighborhood organization be effective unless it is concern-

ed with meeting more basic economic needs, the satisfaction

of which involve legislation and collective action covering

industrial relations? It has been urged that influences

making for delinquency are not so much matters of neighbor-

hood organization as of gang and other smaller primary

group affiliations which may not have a neighborhood basis.

Since more basic changes cannot be achieved at once, the

area project constitutes one of the most significant develop-

ments in the field of crime prevention.

In Chicago, more recent than the Chicago Area Project

is the Back-of-the-Yards Neighborhood organization enter-

prise, directed by Saul D. Alinsky of the Industrial Areas

Foundation. Its distinctive characteristics include its

effort to deal with all aspects of community life as a whole

and its recognition of the importance of the economic

problems of the people. Though concerned with a neighborhood

with a very heterogeneous nationality composition this pro-

ject has the advantage in that most residents are employed

in the stock yards, and they are nearly all of the same

religions faith.

While the Back-of-the-Yards project seems to attack

the crime problem at a level deeper than the Chicago Area

20

Project, it may be questioned whether economic problems are

generally sufficiently concentrated geographically to per-

mit solution through community organization. It is perhaps

too young to show statistical results in delinquency pre-

vention; but its social achievements are already notable and

the movement is spreading.

21

POLICE TYPE ACTION IN CRIME PREVENTION

Dade County was the first Florida County to employ a

special probation officer for Negro children. The Negroes

of Dade County have problems peculiar to their situation and

having an officer of their own race on the staff of the

court has enabled many a Negro problem child to obtain aid

he would ordinarily not receive. Juvenile courts are wel-

fare courts, whose function is to aid the child, not to

punish him. Therefore, the court is to know hov; to rule in

each case. The Dade County Court does not make use of the

Dade County Social Service Exchange and therefore must be in

a position to gather itself all the background material it

needs. This lack of usage of the Exchange probably means

that the court does not get a complete case history, and

spends more time than necessary in securing the material.

Cases can be disposed of through commitments to institutions,

probation, dismissal with or without warning, fines against

the parents or guardians, or release to private institutions

or homes. The Dade County Home is operated by the court and

therefore commitment to it is by the Judge's order, without

the filing of a legal order. The court recognizes the fact

that to take a child away from his family and home is poor

welfare practice, and every attempt is made to permit the

child to remain at home before his hearing. When it is

22

necessary to retain possession of the child, the court

usually keeps boys on a separate floor of the County Jail

located on the nineteenth floor of the Dade County Court

House and girls at the County Home in Dendall. One needs

a pass to visit a child at either of these places. Usual-

ly such permits cannot be obtained by anyone except the

child's family. Dade County Juvenile and Domestic

Relations Court files its cases by families; thus every

child in a family will have the same case number. Cases

handled officially indicate that the child received a

hearing before the Judge and legal papers were filed in

the case against the parents or guardians of the child.

Cases marked "unofficial" indicate that any action taken

was done so by the Probation Officer who decided that the

complaint did not warrant a court hearing.

8
Norman F. Soloman, A Study of Juvenile Delinquency
In Dade County Florida, University of Florida, 68:24-38,
July, 1949.

23

COORDINATED MUNICIPAL COURT

The principal criticism of the administration of the

criminal law in the United States has been the lack of

organization on the principles of business-like efficiency.

The Illinois legislatures of 1905 authorized the establish-

ment of a coordinated municipal court to replace indepen-

dent Justices of the Peace and Police Courts. It was

organized,under a Chief Justice with wide powers. On

September 14, 1922, a similar unification plan was estab-

lished in the Federal Court System, with William H. Taft as

Chief Justice. The work of the district and circuit courts

remained disintegrated, each still functioning without

systematic supervision and coordination. Cases for trial

remained delayed for reasons unknown to many judges, as

there were no statistics to show the reasons.

9
Roy W. Russell, Individual Treatment of Delinquency:
A Study of its Development and Application, University of
Florida, 37:22, August, 19 l. .

24

Methods and Techniques in Rehabilitation. Social

therapy is an important adjunct to treatment processes.

The offenders are individuals who will not respond favorab-

ly to being told how to live and conduct themselves. The

probation officers must remember that treatment begins

always with the first contact with the client. Lasting

rapport may be established by letting the offender tell his

own story, from which the probation officer may obtain in-

valuable suggestions for formulating a treatment program

through an insight into the clients own attitudes, likes,

and dislikes. A knowledge of the individuals own cultural

setting and attitude toward his social realm may be obtain-

ed.

Physical examinations to determine handicaps, the

existence of chronic diseases, or pathological conditions

in need of correction are made. Many offenders, as we

shall see in the case study presentation, are suffering

from some deep-seated illness, perhaps a combination of

psychological, physical, environmental and emotional dis-

turbances, which finally expresses itself in such symptoms

as delinquency and crime. After these personal and social

problems and needs which are casual factors in the offend-

erts delinquency are determined, the next process is to find

substitute satisfaction for these needs which usually seek

25

satisfaction through conduct which is in conflict with the
10
rules of good society.

SIbd., pp. 27-28.

26

COMMUNITY COORDINATION

New York City now has a staff of twenty-four com-

munity coordinators who are assigned to the job of bringing

the school and the people of the neighborhood closer toget-

her. This staff has proved extremely effective in helping

parents understand the changing school programs and in

getting civic organizations to work closely with school

officials and teachers.

It is doubtful whether many other school systems in

the country have a comparable set-up. A special community

relations division created by the school board and headed

by Frances A. Turner, helps bridge the gap that frequently

keeps parents and teachers apart, particularly in under-

privileged areas. The community coordinators worked behind

the scene at last week's conference, and were effective in

creating greater interest in a permanent liaison between

educators and citizens.

Four major problems were considered by the 1,000

teachers, civic leaders and spokesmen for industry attend-

ed the sessions:

(1) What and how are community conditions affect-

ing school and after school activities for our youth?

The educators and citizens agreed that adequately

equipped school plants may be utilized not only during

regular hours of instruction but also in the after-

27

noon and evening under the guidance of well-trained

teachers to provide socially acceptable outlets of

activities for youth. This could become a major

factor in the reduction of juvenile delinquency.

(2) How should school administrators and community

organizations meet their responsibility to equip school

personnel and help improve school-community relations?

Two proposals were made: (a) The creation of teacher-

supervisors training courses which would include work

in school and community activities; (b) development

of more effective avenues of communication between the

schools and the community.

(3) What should be the relationship of the public

school system and the community or neighborhood council?

How should the council meet its responsibility to the

school and community? The conference recommended that

the schools take the initiative in setting up school-

community councils if the community is not prepared to

do so. The Board of Education was urged to provide

additional trained school-community coordinators assign-

ed to these community councils to provide professional

guidance and to insure continuity of program and action.

(4) How do we meet the problem of making more

effective use of community participation for the im-

provement of neighborhood conditions? It was

28

proposed that the Board of Education provide specific

leadership-training courses, which would show leaders

how to make best use of their talents. It would also

be necessary to develop the skills and abilities of

potential leaders, and encourage them to participate
11
more fully in meeting local problems.

11 Editorial in the New York Times, December 9, 1951.

CHAPTER III

PURPOSE OF INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDIES

The study of individual cases is necessary, first, to

determine what conditions produce offenders against the law,

and second, to investigate what method or methods of reha-

bilitation will work best for each person. Psychologists

from time immemorial have told us "all individuals differ

and respond differently only in degree." This fact is

evidenced throughout in the following case studies, which

have been made in an effort to determine just what type of

treatment techniques should be attempted in each individual

case. In selecting the offender for probation treatment, for

instance, definite consideration must be given to the ques-

tion of whether he has the mental capacity to profit from

certain types of treatment.

One of the first principles affecting the selection

of the type of treatment to be administered is an appreci-

ation of the responsibility involved. The first responsi-

bility is to society, which believes the individual needs

moral rehabilitation; the second responsibility is to the

offender, who needs to be re-established and advanced in

social adaptation. There should be no conflict between the

two responsibilities. The fact that conflict exists may be

interpreted as a need for changes in our rigid prevailing

30

social viewpoints. The selective process for treatment

must not be based upon sentimentality, but upon the belief

that the offenders pattern of action may be changed with

the removal of those influences which caused the behavior.

In this connection, those known to be psychopathic or with

mental disorders which require permanent institutionaliza-

tion are considered as exceptions. Any crime factor must

be considered and analyzed in order to estimate the con-

tingent possibilities for treatment. The study of his

behavior patterns and previous experiences in attempts to

control his physical and social environment lends itself

to predicting the offender's probable response to the

treatment to be prescribed. In other words, it is neces-

sary, as has been done in the cases presented, to study all

those factors of the offender's past life from which we may

predict his future responses, as it is assumed that they

will determine to a great extent his response to any given

treatment prescription.

The Gluecks developed prediction tables, utilizing

those factors in the individual's pre-treatment life which

were found to be highly associated with outcome of treat-

ment.1 In studying successful parole, they assessed pre-

dictive value to work habits, the capacity for assuming

SIheldon Glueck and Eleanor Glueck, 5j0 Criminal
Careers (New York: Alfred A. Knopt, 1930), p. 278.

31

economic responsibility, the age at first delinquency, and

the presence or absence of mental abnormalities. Such pre-

diction norms cannot guarantee that failures will not occur

among these classified within the predictive behavior mode

nor that success will not attend many not conforming to the

mode. Thus, such tables may be regarded only as valuable

aids in the classification of offenders or the designation

and application of treatment.

Burgess analyzed three thousand male paroles cases

from the Illinois State Prison, and found the following

factors among the lowest percentage of violations:2

Married men: first or occasional offenders -- usually

involved in robbery, sex offenses, murder, and man-

slaughter, with three or more associates in the crime

committed; farm boys and recent immigrants with service

of less than one year in prison with no punishment record

before release on parole; persons with no prior criminal

record: regular work habits and favorable psychiatric

prognosis. His examination led him to the establishment

of a relationship between twenty-two pre-parole factors in

the lives of the men studied, and the outcome of parole.

2
E. W. Burgess, "Factors Determining Success or
Failure on Parole," in Andrew A. Bruce, et al, The Workings
Of the Indeterminate Sentence Law and the Parole System in
Illinois (Springfield, Illinois, 1928-, pp. 221-2W3.

32

The violation rate was determined and each pre-treatment

factor was compared with the average violation rate. The

percentage thus obtained would be regarded as the average

failure rate. The percentage rate on each of the twenty-

two factors studied was thus obtained, the score of which

would be a cumulative index of the relationship between the

individual's pre-sentence life and his response to super-

vision. Thus, he gave weight to all factors utilized in the

prediction table.

By using the Burgess method of factorizing, Robert

Schiedt analyzed five hundred released prisoners from the
3
Bavarian Prison System in Germany. He found the following

classification of factors to be favorable from the lowest

percentage of violations upon release; good home conditions;

regular work habits; increase of violation rate with the

number of previous sentences; non-psychopathic psychiatric

diagnosis; good prison behavior; decrease of failure rates

with increase of age beyond thirtyafive years at time of

release; and good social conditions after release.

The knowledge and use of rating scales and predictive

findings have advanced rapidly, thus, objective social in-

3
Robert Schiedt, Ein Beitrag Zum Problem der
Ruckfallprognose, dissertation, The University of Munich,
1936, reported in Franz Exner, Uber Ruckfallprognosen,
Monatsschrift fur Kriminalpsychologie und Strafrechtsreform
VTolT 27, 1936, pp. 04-406 .

33

vestigations and life histories, which are necessary for

making case studies, should be made more adequate for

statistical findings. Instead of comparable findings,

standardized comparable data should be obtained. Reckless

questions that the statistical approach to factor analysis

of human behavior will ever get at causative factors of

behavior, but predicts the use of inventories to gauge

reliably important factors related to the varying degrees

of delinquency and crime, and to indicate the risk or

reliability for becoming criminal. Such personal inventory

ratings have many advantages. They are easier administered;

the necessary information may be obtained in less time than

complete case studies may be made --thus lessening the coat

figures and becoming more standard in approach,

Selection of treatment necessitates the evaluation

of the offender against the background of a mass of alleged-

ly similar wrongdoers. However, the similarity in moti-

vation is usually less real than fancied, if one acknow-

ledges that individual differences constitute the essence

of treatment. The extent of physical and mental maturation

demands special consideration, as it is one of the most

influencing factors in general reformation; hence, complete

W. C. Reckless, Criminal Behavior (New York:
Mcgraw-Hill Book Company, 1940), pp. 329-93.

diagnosis of a case is imperative before deciding on the

type of treatment. It is important to consider the prob-

able results of each method of treatment, the psychologi-

cal needs and drives of the offender, his previous

relationship to companions, to family, to school, to work,

to conventions, and his outlooks and ideals. The foregoing,

plus a study of the causal factors motivating the action in

committing the offense or underlying the offenders down-

fall, his opportunities for growth, his possibilities, and

other significant episodes of his past life which portray

a vivid picture of his very character and personality,

lays a foundation upon which one may exercise reasonable

judgment in determining the most appropriate measure for

aiding in the rehabilitation of an offender.

Doctor Smith Ely Jelliffe, in an article on medicine,
5.
the law, and juvenile delinquency, reveals that a knowledge

of "causation" is essential for an understanding of "what"

needs to be done. By way of analogy, during past eras,

mankind judged human nature as an automobile may be judged

by the varnish instead of by the engine that runs it. To-

day, attempts are made to see the individual delinquent as

a bit of human machinery out of adjustment. As human

35

engineers, our first problem would be to inquire how the

machine got that way. What was the genesis and the develop-

ment of the disordered conduct? After an appraisal has

been made, some suggestions are offered as to what to do

with the instrument.-- repair it or junk it? Let it run on

a limited roadway or have someone else always on hand to

drive it? Either it will be given adaptive jobs or

shackled down to certain speeds. So far as the community

is concerned much of the damage has been done before a

situation involving anti-social behavior is presented to

special community agencies for consideration. If a real

and lasting service is to be rendered, issues must be

decided by a most painstaking inquiry into the character

of an individual, rather than by any "rule of thumb"

method. Doctor Jelliffe goes so far as to say that the

community gets what it deserves, sinbe what is observed as

juvenile delinquency is only that which exists in adult

modes of behavior. The presence of this and other forms

of illness is referred to as symbols of the defects of our

social developments. The most important feature of this

point of view is that the most effective type of treatment

of abnormal behavior constitutes a pooling of case studies

by the psychologist, the physician, the psychiatrist, the

Ibid., p. 512.

36

educator, the social worker, and the legal agents.

Even though our thinking within the field of

criminology may be of the most realistic kind, we must not

fail to take into account the popular public sentiments.

As Professor Logan Wilson has pointed out, the underlying

attitudes of the public may be circumvented but they cannot

be ignored, because in them is found the crix of many prob-
7
lems which baffle an effective program of action. Public

opinion has advanced little beyond the Beccarian dictum

that "Crimes are only to be measured by the hurt done to

society", and except in cases of obvious mental irresponsi-

bility the offender should be punished according to the

gravity of the offense and not otherwise. The average

layman is yet unwilling to give up the doctrine of freedom

of the will in the placement of social responsibility. He

must be shown that there is economy as well as justice in

the individual form of treatment which shifts the emphasis

from the crime to the offender.

The fact that our knowledge of character and conduct

has shifted the emphasis from the crime to the criminal is

further revealed by Nathaniel Cantor in "A Disposition

37

8
Tribunal". He points out that treatment should not depend

exclusively upon the personality of the offenders any more

than correction should depend upon the anti-social nature

of the act or social dangerousness of the individual; but

we do wish to treat the individual and not to punish the

crime. Such individual treatment can lead to concentration

camps as well as therapeutic guidance. The author believes

that the authorities mentioned have the same philosophy as

his regarding pre-treatment life and the outcome of the same.

38

CASE STUDIES

These are true reports of cases that occurred at

Booker School in Sarasota, Sarasota County.

April, 1951

Case Report on Willie

Address: Sarasota, County of Sarasota

Age: 17

Grade: Fourth

Reason For Referral

Willie was referred by his adopted mother because he

was not interested in school. He has served one year in a

reformatory school. He steals and uses profanity frequently.

He often approaches small girls with sex questions.

Statement of Problem

He developed undesirable habits at an early age. He

steals from his adopted parents. He takes money to bring to

school to buy things for the younger boys and girls. He

buys lunches and ice cream for his friends. He has had a

number of sex experiences and he tells them to other

children. He has fits of temper quite often.

Home Situation

His adopted parents run a restaurant in a "red light"

section. He works after school until late hours at night.

39

The family lives next door to a rooming house. He has told

the other children about several fights between his parents.

Sometimes he helps his mother fight his father.

School Adjustment

Willie repeated third grade because of non-attend-

ance. He shows interest in all classroom work. He was

transferred to Booker fron another county. He steals

pencils and paper quite often and gives them to other

members of the class. When left alone he gets into mischief,

Physical Factors

His appetite is excellent. He has had all of the

childhood diseases. His arm has been broken. The school

nurse has given him considerable attention.

Mental Factors

He has been given three tests during the year which

revealed average intelligence. His grade placement is

4.6. He expresses himself well.

Emotional Factors

Willie has an adult brother. Their parents died when

he was ten years of age. He was then taken by an aunt in

another town. He was sent to reform school@ a the age of

twelve for stealing. His explanation is "everybody says

I am bad, so I am." He was adopted by a family in this city

40

after his return. His actions vary. Sometimes he acts like

a child of nine years and then he changes and acts like a

man.

May, 1951

Case Report of John

Address: Sarasota, County of Sarasota

Age: 9

Grade: Second

Reason for Referral

This child was referred because of continued ab-

sences, untidy appearance, and continued acts of eating

lunches belonging to his classmates.

Statement of Problem

His record of poor attendance began his first year

in school. It grew worse during his second year. At first

he was absent a day or two out of each week. Later he was

absent on several occasions a week or two each period.

Whenhe waw-in school his appearance was very untidy and

sometime offensive. He also created a social problem by

his inability to get along with others, and the repeated

act of stealing.

Home Situation

The family lived on a farm in another southern state

until 1940 when they moved to their present location. At

41

that time they rented a shabby four room house much too

small for the family. It was in this house that he andr

several more sisters were born and still live. For ten

years the father's income was 433 a week; and the mother

remained a housewife spending most of her time at different

liquor bars. Less than a year ago the father deserted the

family and moved out of town. The mother now seeks work

whenever she is sober. During the time that John's mother

and father were together he witnessed daily 'quarrels and

weekly fist fights between them.

School Adjustment

He began school at the age of five years and six

months. At present, this is his second year in school. It

was not until a few months ago that he began to show interest

in school. His social adjustment has been slow; however,

the last month shows remarkable social progress.

Physical Factors

Although he has suffered from malnutrition, his

health has been average. He has had mild attacks of child-

hood diseases. At present he is being fed in the school

lunchroom by an organization and given vitamins by another

organization.

42

Mental Factors

He has been given several tests in school. These

results have always been poor and show very little progress.

He is in second grade but according to recent test his

placement is 1.5.

Emotional Factors

He acts as a bully or gang leader. He give away

things that he really needs.

Interpretation

Before eating in the lunchroom, he would take lunches

belonging to others. Now he says that either he is not

hungry, or that he does not like what is being served in

the lunchroom.

May, 1951

Case Report of Joe

Address: Sarasota, County of Sarasota

Age: 10

Reason for Referral

This little boy was referred because of long absence

from school.

43

Statement of Problem

Joe became sick and was out of school for more than

two weeks. After he did not return another check was made.

This time his foster father was seriously ill. It was

during this time that his father died leaving him homeless.

Home Situation

He was born in a family of several children. Each

one has a different father. Unfortunately he does not'know

who his father is. His mother did not want him when he was

born; hence, she tried to kill him by leaving him to starve

to death. A family living near by investigated the home

after hearing the baby crying. This family later adopted

th4 child. Soon after the adoption, the foster mother be-

came an invalid confined to her bed until death five years

later. This was his second year in school. Thus a period

of normal life was quite brief for Joe, His foster father's

death was only a few months later. A friend took him in

with the intention of adopting him. A distant aunt claimed

him because of insurance money and the child did not act

normal; after an investigation proved there was no money,

he lost his home with his aunt. A half sister took him in

for several days but she decided that she did not want to

keep him. He is living with a cousin at present. Conditions

are fair. Yet, it is doubtful as to how long he will enjoy

the privilege of calling this home.

44

School Adjustment

Joe began school at the age of six years. He has no

interest in the basic subjects but enjoys the recreational

program. He has mpde fair adjustment socially.

Physical Factors

He has suffered from malnutrition for a period of

several years, had most of the childhood diseases, and was

born with a slight defect of vision.

Mental Factors

He thinks and acts on the level of a pre-school

child. He has not reached the reading readiness-stage.

Emotional Factors

He has a humble disposition. He says that no one

loves him. Joe states that he is not wanted. He says that

any day he may be without a home.

45

Table I reveals that delinquency trends move upward

during the year 1949-50. Records show that larceny by

breaking and entering increased from five cases in 1947-48

to sixteen cases in 1949-50. Damage to property increased

from thirty-seven cases in 1947-48 to fifty-eight in 1949-50.

In 1947-48 there were seventy-five fights and in 1949-50

there were ninety-one. Gambling cases in 1947-48 were seven-

teen, while in 1949-50 there were twenty-eight cases. In
1947-48 there were eight cases of insubordination, in 1949-

50 there were twenty-three cases. Fifty cases of larceny
in 1947-48; seventy-six cases in 1949-50. Loitering moved

upward from thirty-two cases in 1947-48 to forty-four cases

in 1949-0. In 1947-48 there were detected forty-five

instances of lying, and in 1949-50 the number of lies detect-
ed was fifty-six. In 1947-48 there were recorded six cases

of pregnancy, and in 1949-50 there were twenty-five cases.

Offenders through profanity were twelve in 1947-48 and twenty-

nine in 1949-50. Sex problems advanced from twelve in 1948-

49 to twenty-seven during 1949-50. There was a smaller in-

crease in truancy cases than in any other acts of delinquency.

There were thirty-five cases of truancy in 1947-48 and

thirty-six cases in 1949-50, an increase of only one.

There is a variation in the report of the principal

and the report of the probation officer. Since most of the

fights among students were reported to the principal and

TABLE I

TYPE OF OFFENSES BY YEAR AND AGE GROUPS OFFENDERS AS REVEALED
BY PRINCIPAL'S REPORT AT BOOKER SCHOOL

1947-48 1948-49 1949-50
Enrollment 739 747 822

Offenders 6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. 6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. 6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. Totals

Breaking
and 2 3 5 1 4 6 11 2 7 7 16 32
Entering

Damage to.
Property 2 25 10 37 4 30 12 46 lo 35 13 58 141

Fighting 30 35 10 75 33 38 15 86 35 40 16 91 252

Gambling 2 5 10 17 5 7 12 24 6 8 14 28 69

Insubordi-
nation 1 2 5 8 3 5 7 15 4 9 10 23 46

Larceny 25 15 10 50 27 18 11 56 31 25 20 76 182

Loitering 10 12 10 32 11 13 11 35 13 15 16 44 111

Lying 20 15 10 45 21 17 12 50 23 18 15 56 151
O

(continued on next page)

r

TABLE I (continued)

TYPE OF OFFENSES BY YEAR AND AGE GROUPS OFFENDERS AS REVEALED
BY PRINCIPAL'S REPORT AT BOOKER SCHOOL

1947-48 1948-49 1949-50
Enrollment 739 747 822

Offenders 6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. 6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. 6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. Totals

Pregnancy -- 2 4 6 -- 4 10 14 10 15 25 45

Profane
Language 1 5 6 12 2 8 8 18 4 15 10 29 59

Sex 2 5 5 12 3 7 4 14 5 12 10 27 53

Truancy 10 15 10 35 9 10 12 31 11 12 13 36 102

Total 103 138 93 334 119 161 120 400 144 206 159 509 1243

Note: Because the Principal of Booker School years ago recognized the need for this
study, he set up a record keeping system to help prove the extent of delinquency
in Sarasota County, Florida. The record above does not include several minor
offenses which the writer has not recorded. It will be noticed that there were
more truant cases in 1949-50 than there were in 1948-49. This was not because
of less cooperation between the Attendance Supervisor and School, but because
all of these were problems solely within the sChool's jurisdiction. Because &
the school has an equal interest in all its pupils, no attempt other than is
shown in the above record has been made to report separate findings according
to sex and age.

not to the probation officer, fighting takes first place

in the principal's report and larceny is the top offense

in the probation officers report. Larceny has second

place in the principal's report; breaking and entering

holds second place in the probation officer's report.

Lying holds the third place in the principals report.

The fact that the results shown in the Table were

revealed through a study of conditions existing in Booker

School may justify the author's belief that Booker School

should be in the foreground in any effort to reduce de-

linquency in Sarasota County.

Table II shows that breaking and entering increased

from two per cent in 1947-48 to three per cent in 1949-50.

Damage to property remained eleven per cent from 1947

through 1950. Fighting was twenty-three per cent in 1947-

48 but decreased to seventeen per cent in 1949-50. The

percentage of gambling rose from five per cent in 1947-48

to six per cent in 1949-50. Insubordination increased

three per cent between 1947 and 1950. The per cent of

larceny remained the same from 1947 through 1950. Loiter-

ing decreased one per cent in the course of three years.

Lying decreased two per cent in the course of three years.

In 1947-48 it was thirteen per cent, but in 1949-50 it

was eleven per cent. Pregnancy increased from two per

cent in 1947 to five per cent in 1950. Profane language

49

doubled in the course of three years.

As the Table indicates, fighting ranks highest among

offenses reported by the Principal's office. In 1947-48

fighting was twenty-three per cent of the total offenses.

In 1948-49 fighting dropped one per cent, but it still rep-

resented the highest offense. In 1949-50 seventeen per cent

of the total offenses centered around fighting. Although

fighting was reduced six per cent by the school over a

period of three years, fighting still represented the

greatest offense. Next to fighting came larceny. It is

shown as representing fifteen per cent of the total

offenses in 1947-48, fourteen per cent in 1948-49 and re-

turned to fifteen per cent in 1949-50. The lowest offenses

as reported by the office of the principal over a period

of three years were breaking and entering, insubordination,

and pregnancy. Breaking and entering was only two per cent

of the total number of offenses in 1947-48. For the years

1948 through 1950 it remained three per cent.

Table III shows that there was only one delinquent

act of killing in 1947 through 1950. Breaking and entering

increased from seven in 1947-48 to twelve in 1949-50. Larceny

increased from eleven in 1947-48 to thirty-one in 1949-50.

There was no robbery from 1947-1949, but in 1949-50 there

was one case of robbery. The unfounded or unsettled cases

were seven in 1947-48 but increased to seventeen in 1949-50.

The figures show a steady increase in delinquency in Sarasota,

TABLE II

OFFENDERS AND PERCENTAGE OF OFFENDERS FOR SCHOOL TERMS 1947 1950

Offenses
Number of:Percentage Number of:Percentage Number of:Percentage
Offenders: of Total Offenders: of Total Offenders: of Total

Breaking and Entering 5 2 11 3 16 3

Damage to Property 37 11 46 11 58 11

Fighting 75 23 86 22 91 17

Gambling 17 5 24 5 28 6

Insubordination 8 2 15 4 23 5

Larceny 50 15 56 14 76 15

Loitering 32 10 35 9 44 9

Lying 45 13 50 12 56 11
Pregnancy 6 2 14 4 25 5
Profane Language 12 3 18 4 29 6
Sex 12 3 14 4 27 5
Truancy 35 11 31 8 36 7

All Offenders 334 100 40 100 509 00

<

J\
O

TABLE III

TYPE OF OFFENSES BY NUMBER AND AGE GROUPS OF OFFENDERS 1947-1952 *

Frequencies by Years and Ages
Offenses 1947-48 1948-49 1949-50
6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. 6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. 6-12 13-16 17-20 Tot. Totals

Assault and
Killing 1 1 1

Breaking and
Entering 2 5 7 2 7 9 4 8 12 28

Larceny 7 3 1 11 8 3 2 13 15 7 9 31 55

Robbery 1 1 1

Unfounded 2 5 7 1 8 9 5 12 17 33

Total 7 7 11 25- 8 6 18 32 15 16 30 61 118

*Source of figures Probation Officer's Records

Note: According to the figures above, as taken from the records of the probation officer's
files in Sarasota, delinquency has increased each year. This table does not give
a clear breakdown of the ages, but it complies with requirements of Florida Laws.

H
ta

52

Florida from 1947 through 1950. These problems may be

traded to poor home conditions.

According to the information given by the probation

officer of Sarasota, there was more larceny in 1947-48 than

any offense. This was among the six to twelve year old

group. Larceny was at the head of the list of offenses in

1948-49, and still is greatest among the six to twelve year

old group. Larceny more than doubled in 1949-50. This, too,

was within the same age group.

Next to larceny was breaking and entering. The

youngsters in the seventeen to twenty age group were the

principal offenders.

Robbery, and assualt and murder were the fewer

offenses over the three year period. There was one of each

These were committed by members of the seventeen to twenty

year old group.

53

DATA CONCERNING QUESTIONNAIRES

In order to determine the parents and guardians who

were willing to cooperate with the school, the ministers and

the juvenile office in combating juvenile delinquency, there

were Pent to them 550 questionnaires pertaining to inter-

views between parents or guardians, and principal, teacher,

minister and juvenile officer. Of the number sent out,

approximately 200 were returned. The following information

wts received from the returned questionnaires: (1) There

were 500 children under twenty years of age in the homes;

(2) Five parents or guardians had visited the school to

discuss the behavior of their children. Each of these

parents made one visit to the school; (3) No parent or

guardian reported. visiting a minister to discuss with him

the behavior problems of their children; (4) No parent had

approached the juvenile officer to discuss with him the

problems of their children. Answers to the questionnaire

support the opinion that neither the home nor the church nor

the juvenile officer is doing as much as may be expected from

it in its efforts to reduce the number of delinquents in the

community.

It is -worthy of attention that while the juvenile

officer dealt with one hundred eighteen problem cases, the

Booker School dealt with twelve hundred forty-three cases.

The school has automatically taken its rightful place in

attempting to reduce delinquency and its position as leader

54

in the coordinating council of Sarasota to combat delin-

quency should be recognized.

Questionnaire number two intended to gain additional

information concerning the causes which contributed toward

delinquency in Sarasota County disclosed the fact that in

dome families there were from five to ten children and a

few parents had as many as seventeen children. The study

did not strengthen the idea that delinquency is prevalent

in large families.

Questionnaire number two did not show that Question-

naire number one had done much to improve parents' interest

in delinquency in the relationship between the principal

and the parent. According to Questionnaire number one

there had been five interviews between parents and princi-

pal; Questionnaire number two reported five such interviews.

55

DIAGRAM I

The diagram below shows the position that Booker

School is to hold in Sarasota's Program of Coordinated

agencies to combat delinquency.

JUVENILE
OFFICER

SCHOOL

CHURCH

HOME

DIAGRAM OF THE RELATIONSHIP
EETETEN SCHOOL, HOME, CHURCH AND
JUVENILE OFFICER

Because the school knows more about the child than any
other agency, except the home; and because the parents are not
trained for thiss position, end do not have the tine, Booker
School will serve as head in coordinating the social agencies
in Sarasota County to combat juvenile delinquency.

56

The institutions of which the coordinating council

will be composed are the home, the church, the probation

officer and the school.

A survey is taken of the Negro families of' Sarasota,

each year, by the teachers of Booker School. The surveys

have shown the following:

1. One per cent of the heads of homes have a

college education.

2. Two per cent have high school training

3. Seventy per cent leave home at day break and

return at sundown; the children care for themselves

all day.

4. A great number of the parents live on their

jobs.

5. Eighty-five per cent of the parents use the

telephone, write notes or meet the principal on the

streets to discuss problems concerning their children.

The Negro churches of Sarasota are concerned with

their own church problems. These problems are mostly those

of finance. In the thirteen Negro churches, one minister

states he has a college education, two have special train-

ing in connection with church work. The other ten have not

completed the tenth grade.

57

The probation officer of Sarasota was formerly a

deputy sheriff. Only after the Children's Committee of

of Sarasota became aware of juvenile delinquency in Sarasota

was this gentleman appointed probation officer. Because his

office is to be abolished soon, and his duties merged with

the duties of the County Judge, the probation officer is

now seeking election to the office of Sheriff of Sarasota.

Booker's faculty is composed of teachers certified

by the State Department of Education. Fifty per cent of its

teachers hav: had training in guidance programs. No teacher

on Bookerts faculty bas less than four years of college

training. Four members of Bookerts faculty have Rank II

Certificates. The school day is seven hours. Many days

the pupils are in school more than seven hours. Therefore,

Booker School can take the lead in the coordinating council.

58

SUMMARY

In order to clarify the findings pertaining to

juvenile delinquency among Negroes in Sarasota County,

Florida a random selection of case studies has been pre-

sented.

In attempting to choose a method or methods of

rehabilitation, a careful study of individual cases should

be made in orcer to determine what factors contributed to

each individual's becoming an offender against the law,

The causal factors, the general characteristics and con-

duct have been the phases for emphasis in the treatment.

Individual differences have been very noticeable.

In many instances treatment in controlled environment

vould be necessary.

The tables show that delinquency in Sarasota County,

Florida has increased each year from 1947 to 1950.

The diagram shows that the school is in a good

position to bring about a closer relationship among the

agencies to combat juvenile delinquency in Sarasota County.

CHAPTER IV

THE PRESENT EFFORTS OF SARASOTA TO SERVE NEGRO YOUTH

The Booker School includes grades one through twelve.

with an enrollment which during the last three years has

varied from approximately six hundred fifty to eight hun-

dred fifty students. There are thirty-two teachers pro-

viding instruction for these students in thirty-two rooms

located in fifteen different buildings. All instructors

hold at least the Bachelorts Degree from an accredited

institution.

A. Course Study

The course of study at Booker School is of the

traditional type. Although as many as twenty-five percent

of the students enrolled are involved in cases considered

delinquent behavior, no special provisions commensurate

with the needs are being made to cope with the situation

through the instructional program of the school. The

following subjects are offered: Mathematics, Science,

Social Studies, Language, Art, Music and Physical Education.

The health classes have dealt with factual material per-

taining to health but this teaching has had little or no

effect on the unsanitary and slum conditions prevalent in

the Negro section of the city.

60

B. Guidance Program

The time allotted for this important aspect of the

school program is a daily period of ten minutes known as

home room period. Two or three minutes of this period are

used taking the daily attendance. No period of the day is

set apart specifically for counselling. Only three members

of the staff have had special training in educational

guidance.

C. The Recreational and Athletic Program

The recreational and athletic program of the Booker

School consists essentially of the following activities:

Football and Basketball. These activities are supervised

by only two members of the faculty and less than seventy-

five of the school's approximate enrollment of eight hundred

fifty students participate in the program. There is no

gymnasium and these activities are practiced in the open

fields adjoining the school.

D, The Music Program

The program in music at the Booker School is under

the supervision of an instructor certified in music by the

Florida State Department of Education. She is regarded as

a regular teacher in the elementary department and, as such,

presents the materials usually found in the public school

program. Her contact with the high school pupils is mainly

in the role of chorus director.

E. Marriage and Family Relations Program

The program of family relations at Booker School is

promoted through its Home Economics Department. The girls

in grades nine through eleven cook one semester and sew the

other. There is no program designed for the boys of these

grades nor for any pupils in grades one through eight and

grade twelve.

F. Ethics and Etiquette

Booker School has no block in its curriculum for

ethics and etiquette.

G. Audio Visual Aid Program

The program of Audio Visual Aid at Booker School is

directed by two members of the faculty who have a full

teaching schedule. Films are shown in the chapel. When-

ever a suitable film is available, the elementary and

high school teachers are notified by the teacher who

directs the program for each group.

H. The Community

The Negro community includes thirteen churches,

approximately ten secret organizations, twenty-five business

places, three hotels and red light districts. The Negro

community which consists of approximately 3,741 persons or

62
twenty percent of the total population of Sarasota, is

divided into two sections. One section is called Newtown

and the other Oldtown. Sarasota was once a part of Manatee

County. Although Sarasota is now a tourist town, Negroes

first settled here to do farm labor. Even now several of

Sarasota's Negro inhabitants are migrants.

J. The Program of the Parent-Teachers Association

The Parent-Teachers Association was re-organized at

Booker School in September, 1946. The purpose of the first

meeting was to ask the School Board to furnish a bus to

transport pupils from Oldtown to Newtown, a distance of two

miles. This meeting was a success and the bus was given.

During the school term 1947-1948 the P.T.A. met once per

month. In 1948-1949 the P.T.A. helped to secure a fence

around the athletic field. During the school terms 1949-

1950 and 1950-1951, the P.T.A. encouraged the organization

of a band, and raised a little more than $500 toward this

project. The association attempted and failed to assert

its right to "hire and fire" the school's personnel.

K. The Local Recreation Program

The local recreation program of Sarasota's Negro

community is under the supervision of a young man who

received his training in business. The building available

for recreational purposes consists of a recreation room

63

approximately 40 ft. by 25 ft. (used also as a reading room)

a kitchen, office and porch which is nearly 100 ft. by 15 ft.

The playground area is about 400 ft. by 200 ft. On the

playground is one set of swings, a barbecue pit, and stakes

for horseshoe throwing. Adjacent to these grounds is a

baseball diamond with bleachers and a new wire fence on two

sides. Various social activities for young people are

scheduled weekly by the director of recreation. The city

pays the director. The director endeavors to have softball

teams for all who desire to participate. Working with the

director and some city officials is a three committee ad-

visory board. Booker's principal serves as chairman of the

board. The board members are appointed by the city manager

of Sarasota.

L. The Program of the Probation Officer
The office of the probation officer was initiated a

little more than three years ago. Before this time the

attendance supervisor endeavored to perform the probation

officers duties in connection with her school attendance

duties. The probation officer works through the sheriffs

office. He visits the school whenever there is an offender.

The probation officer, with the aid of the city police de-

partment, attempted to start a Negro Junior softball

league in the summer of 1950. This effort did not

materialize.

64

M. The Churches in Sarasota

Each church's program is designed to work with those

individuals who attend a particular church. There are two

teachers on Bookerts faculty who teach Sunday School.

There are thirty-two members on Bookerts faculty, including

the principal. There are approximately nine hundred fifty

youngsters in Sarasota between the ages of four and twenty.

According to Booker's school report, a few less than fifty

percent of the school population attend Sunday School.

There are thirteen churches in Sarasota for Negroes.

Approximately twenty percent of the churches have junior

choirs in which Booker School pupils participate. Only one

pastor of these thirteen churches has visited the school

in the past three years.

N. The Program of the Boys and Girls' Clubs

According to the knowledge of the writer, there are

no boys' and girls' clubs in Sarasota for Negroes.

0, The Program of the Families

According to the records of Sarasotats Chamber of

Commerce, the population of Sarasota for 1951 is 18,705.

The Negro population consists of approximately 3,741 or

twenty percent. The records on home visitation, taken each

term by the members of Booker School's faculty, show that

over eighty percent of Booker's parents or guardians are

65

engaged in either domestic or farm labor. These jobs re-

quire that the employees work from twelve to fourteen hours

per day. The farm laborers work for six and occasionally

seven days per week. With such a schedule, the family has

little time for home projects in connection with the develop-

ment of its youth.

P. Present Role of the Probation Officer in Working with
Youth in Sarasota

The probation officer works with the youth only when

there is an offense. He has no regular schedule in Booker

School's program.

Q. Present Role of the Local Churches in Working with
Youth in Sarasota

The local churches have for their functions definite

-programs set up within the churches of their denomination.

These have been afore mentioned in Community Projects.

Besides those mentioned earlier in this chapter, the

churches have no projects in connection with Booker1s

youth or the youth of Sarasota.

CHAPTER V

PROPOSED PROGRAM FOR CLOSER COORDINATION
THROUGH BOOKER SCHOOL

Four groups of people in Sarasota must be considered

in plans for improved relations between the school and the

community in combating juvenile delinquency. These groups

are the school, the church, the home and the probation

officer.

Among the significant movements in modern society,

one is the trend toward community organization. The

changes in rural life, the rapid growth of cities, accom-

panied by widespread social disorganization, have created

a need for the unification and coordination of local groups

to increase their efficiency and to adjust the community to

the larger units of which it comprises an integral part. 1

In a broad sociological sense, community organization

is the process whereby people in a given area build up

common centers of interests and activities, and tend to

function together in the chief concerns of life. In a more

technical sense, as used by social workers, it is funda-

mentally a method of coordinating institutions, agencies,
groups and individuals to make collective adjustments and

H. Martin Neumeyer, Juvenile Delinquency: New York
In Modern Society (New York: Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 1949),
p. 301-302.

67
to cooperate in meeting common needs.2

In Sarasota, community organization is chiefly ex-

pressed by "conflicting situations". For example, (1) some

churches charge that school activities interfere with church

activities; (2) Parent-Teacher Association versus the school

board on the administrative policies of the school. Con-

flict is one of the major social processes in Sarasota's

community life.

Judging from the records at Booker School, from the

information the Principal gathered from the teachers, the

ministers, the Juvenile Officer, several old citizens and

some parents of Satasota, little has been done toward a

community coordinated program to combat juvenile delinquency

in Sarasota.

At present, the Booker School works in part with the

city recreation program, which is headed by a young man,

whose training is not recreation, but business education.

This definitely is not qualification enough to do an

adequate job. The school gives a few musical programs at

some of the churches during the year. The teachers and

principal make some home visits to determine the background

of Bookerts pupils and to evaluate them in terms of their

2 Dwight Sanderson and Robert Polson, Rural Community
Organization (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1939),
p. 50.

68

home conditions.

The church has no program in this connection.

The Juvenile Probation Officer is consulted only

when a case arises.

Because most of the parents have to work, a great

number of the homes in Sarasota are without any kind of

guidance most of the time. Several parents leave in the

morning before their children get out of bed and return in

the late afternoon or early evening. With some exceptions,

the parents who work on fafms leave home about 6:30 A.M.

and return around 9:00 P.M. or later. There are instances

in Sarasota where parents, who do domestic work, eat and

sleep on the job sixty percent of the time. These cases

and others give tremendous opportunities for continued

delinquency. For these reasons and those indicated by the

Tables of this thesis, supplemented by other afore mentioned

reasons presented within this paper, Booker School proposes

a program for closer coordination in the community of

Sarasota to combat juvenile delinquency.

69

What Booker Proposes

Nest to the home, the school is in the most strategic

position in the community for the combating of juvenile de-

linquency. The school differs from other social institutions

and agencies in that it has close, frequent and continuous

contact with most of the children in the community. In most

cases, the teachers have the respect and trust of the home,

so that cooperative programs which are necessary to any

really successful preventive work should be feasible. More-

over, the training that is possessed by the teacher, what-

ever its present inadequacies, is adaptable to the wider

and more specialized skills in dealing with children and

could greatly extend the role of the school in preventive

and ameliorative work for the maladjusted. The school en-

joys a potentially promising place in the community as an

agency to coordinate and cooperate in programs of aid to

children who suffer from maladjustments,

The writer does not propose that the school be over-

burdened. There is much that the school cannot and should not

be expected to do. Some agencies, and often educators them-

selves, are sometimes addicted to quite unrealistic extensions

and elaborations of the teachers functions in placing upon

the school burdens that some other social institution is

attempting to avoid. The school is not to take over the

total parental training, religious and moral inculcations,

70

juvenile court functions, nor many other tasks. The writer

does propose, however, a closer coordination of the home,

the church, the juvenile probation officer and the school.

Such coordination will motivate the child to live a more

wholesome life thereby combating juvenile delinquency. One

of the best methods by which this can be perfected is

through a coordinating, council.

71

Organization of Council

As an initial step, a small group will be called

together to discuss the general functions of the coordi-

nating council and to consider the particular needs of

Sarasota for such a coordinating agency to combat juvenile

delinquency. This small group will include the school

principal, the faculty, the Juvenile Probation Officer,

ministers from all thirteen Negro churches, city recreation

representatives, the president of the Parent-Teachers

Association, parent representatives and student representa-

tives.

After the initial meeting, at which time an outside

authority will be invited to explain the operation of

coordinating councils elsewhere and the group has discussed

its problem, a coordinating council will be formed. Its

purpose, as will be stated in the by-laws, will be "to

coordinate the various organizations of Sarasota in a

unified program to combat juvenile delinquency."

The writer sees fit to use the chosen persons in

connection with the small group because they represent a

cross section of the entire community of Sarasota. In order

that the members of the coordinating council will feel that

they are making definite contributions to the success of

the program, a committee of the group, headed by one

72

familiar with by-laws, will state the specific duties of

the officers and the council.

Coordinating Council At Work

A list of pertinent problems which contribute to

juvenile delinquency of the community will be made and dis-

cussed. After this discussion the council will be divided

into four tentative committees for additional specialized

study and recommendations for action. The names of the

committees will be as follows: Home Survey, Church Survey,

Child Problem Survey, and School Survey. The functions of

these committees will not be discussed here. It might be

said, however, that generally these functions are as those

included in the usual meaning of their names. Because the

community should be aware of the work of the council, a

public relations committee, which will be responsible for

preparing a monthly calendar of community events and will

give publicity to all important community affairs, will be

created. The total group will function similarly to other

organizations. An executive committee will be chosen as

the general governing committee of the council.

One of the most important outcomes to be expected will

be the beginning of an effective program of cooperation be-

tween Booker School and various organizations in Sarasota

As the school broadens its participation in community affairs

73

its understanding will increase with respect to the prob-

lems of the community and those of the individual pupils

within it. Likewise, all agencies coordinated will

develop greater ability to contribute democratically to

the solution of community problems and will perhaps

develop more effective personalities in the community and

in this manner, combat juvenile delinquency. From its

free discussions, surveys and other forms of cooperative

work, the program of the coordinating councils, as a de-

vice for developing community solidarity and single-

purposeness in combating juvenile delinquency in Sarasota

will be increasingly effective.

This organization will function as long as there is

need in Sarasota for combating juvenile delinquency.

Every group exists as a means of .satisfying certain

purposes, wishes, or interests, of furnishing certain goods

or values, to its members. If Booker School is going to

succeed in its proposed plan, it must first organize the

community of Sarasota. Having considered the nature and

and structure of Sarasota's community, it must determine

what is meant by community organization, and what are the

circumstances or Conditions which give rise to a sense of

need for a better organization of the community to combat

juvenile delinquency.

74

After the council has agreed on what is meant

by community organization and what the circumstances

and conditions are which give rise to juvenile delin-

quency in Sarasota, it will then formulate some specific

objectives of community organization to combat juvenile

delinquency.

The principal of Booker School suggests the follow-

ing should be the objectives of the council:

1. To obtain consciousness of community identity.

2. To satisfy unmet needs.

3. To obtain social participation as a means of

socialization.

4. To obtain social control through community

spirit and loyalty.

5. To coordinate groups and activities, so as to

prevent conflict and promote efficiency and cooperation.

6. To preserve the community from the introduction

of undesirable influences or conditions that will

encourage delinquency.

7. To cooperate with other communities and agencies

to obtain common needs (complete in athletics, et6.)

8. To establish a means of obtaining interest

(community meetings, to discuss community problems).

9. To develop leadership under which the community

can act to combat delinquency.

CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The conclusions and recommendations herewith sub-

mitted are confined to those which grow out of the data

presented in this thesis. This data showed that the lack

of coordination, poorhome conditions, the lack of guid-

ance for youngsters, poor examples set by adults and the

like have contributed toward delinquency in Sarasota.

From these fundamental facts it is clear that any-

thing which makes the community a better place in which to

live will reduce or combat delinquency. The better we can

make our schools, the more recreational facilities we can

provide, the more happy homes we have with good housing,

and incomes sufficient to provide the necessities for

modern living, the less delinquency there will be, Since

the data presented show there has been no program of

coordination in Sarasota to combat delinquency, and since

it has been further indicated that no individual agency

has had a sound program for combating juvenile delinquency,

the writer recommends three simple and direct proposals

for combating delinquency.

1. Locate the vulnerable. At the earliest possible

age see that they are chosen for special help. The

schools, because they reach all children between six

76

and twenty are particularly important in carrying

out this function.

2. Make full use of all existing resources to meet

the needs of children. This will involve strengthen-

ing and coordinating existing agencies to serve better

this special group of children.

3, Create and support services not now available

through existing agencies and groups.

Booker School recommends the following:

The School

1. Discover the problem cases

2. Change the curriculum as often as needed to

help the child.

3. Keep the school open for twelve hours per day

(7 A M to 7 P M)

4. Make more frequent home visits

The Church

1. Include some wholesome recreation for young-

sters in its program.

2. Ministers work closer with school program.

3. Ministers counsel more often with parents and

young people.

4. Seek to find better prepared ministers

77

The Probation Officer

1. Should have a definite program with the

school schedule

2. Should be considered as a member of the faculty

3. Should attend regular P.T.A. Meetings

4. Should become qualified for his position

5. Should endeavor to have pupils understand his

position.

The Home

1. Parents endeavor to leave their children in

custody of a neighbor

2. Parents conduct themselves in a respectable

manner at all times, especially before children

3. The home should afford love and protection

for each child

4. Parents should endeavor to beautify their

homes inside and outside.

5. Know the type of movies the child sees and

the literature he reads

6. Visit the school weekly, if possible

7. Meet all teaching personnel.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Apovian, Harry Shury, Delinquency Conciliation In A Small
Urban Community: Function and Operations of a Juvenile
Aid Board, New York University, 1948

Armstrong, Clairette P., Why Boys Desert Their Homes, New
York University, 1931.

Benson, John L., The Immigrant and Juvenile Delinquency
University of Chicago, 1912.

Brennan, James Joseph, The Juvenile Aid Board of the
Police Department of the City of New York: An
Historical and Critical Analysis. New York Uni-
versity, 1947.

Cain, Emma Mary, Environmental Factors in the Lives of
100 Problem Negro Bo of Junior High School 139,
Manhattan, New York University, 1948.

Deshay, Lewis J., Relations of Male Sex Delinquency to
Later Behavior; A Statistical Analysis of Current and
Follow-up Records of 2fi Juvenile Delinquency Cases
Segregated for Comparison into Two Essential Tgpes,
New York University, 190.

Martin, Robert E., Relations of Juvenile Delinquency in
Areas With or Without Playgrounds, New Xork University,
1939.

Perkins, Richard, Treatment of Juvenile Delinquents,
University of Chicago, 1906.

Ross, Robert, A Study in Testing Moral Judgement, University
of Chicago, 1927.

Sollins, Irving V., Juvenile Delinquency, A Historical
Study, New York University, 1931.

Solomon, Norman F., A Study of Juvenile Delinquency,
University of Florida, 19~9.

Zabel, William, Street Trades and Juvenile Delinquency,
University of Chicago, 1918.

78

APPENDIX

79

NUMBER OF OFFENSES BY YEAR AND AGES OF
OFFENDERS AS KEPT BY BOOKER SCHOOL'S PRINCIPAL

Enrollment

Offenders

Breaking and

Entering

Damage to

Property

Fighting

Gambling

Insubordination

Larceny

Loitering

Lying

Pregnancy o

Truancy

Slipping off Campus

3 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

These records are kept so that the principal might use them to
help evaluate the progress the school is making in improving
citizenship at Booker School.

10 o _m - -o

...~

--

_ --

,

---

-

80

QUESTIONNAIRE NO. I

QUESTIONNAIRE TO PARENTS OR GUAPDIANS

Instructions:

Please give the correct answer to the
following questions by placing same in
the opposite blank.

I. How many children under 20 years of age are there in

your home?

II. Teachers and/or PrincipalT

A. Have you ever visited the school to discuss with
the teachers and/or principal behavior problems
of your child (children)?

B. How many times have you visited the teachers add/or
principal for this purpose?

C. When did you visit the school last?

Month Year

III. Minister:

A. Have you ever visited a local minister to discuss
with him behavior problems of your child (children)?

B. How many times have you visited the minister for
this purpose?

C. When did you visit the minister last in this connection?

Month

Year

IV. Juvenile Officer

A. Have you ever visited the Juvenile Officer to discuss
with him behavior problems of your child (children)?

B. How many times have you gone to see him for this
purpose?

C. When did you visit the Juvenile Officer last in
this connection?
Month Year

-- -- -- ----s---- --

81

QUESTIONNAIRE NO. II

CASE STUDY ON DELINQUENT PUPIL

INTRODUCTION:

Please give the correct answer to the following
questions by placing the same in the opposite
blank

Number in family

Number in family working_

Number in family in school

Does Father work? Type of work

Does Mother work? Type of work

Mother and father living?

If living, are they together?

Family income

High

Medium

Low

9. Living conditions
Excellent Good Fair Low

10. Parents Church membership

11. Pupil's homeroom teacher

12. Have you discussed your child's behavior problems with

the teachers and/or principal?

13. When did you discuss the behavior problem with them last?

Month Year

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.