Unmet and Future Needs

Abstract

Cultural and economic changes have had an im pact on the American family that has resulted in new problems in child welfare. Aid to Families with Dependent Children, the nation's basic child welfare program, is failing to meet even minimum physical needs of children and their parents. The number of children under eighteen with working mothers, and with disorganized and inadequate parents, requires that day- care programs be established for children of all ages. Home maker programs should be expanded and protective services provided on state-wide bases under public administration. All states need additional services for unmarried parents, especially for nonwhites and poor whites. The number of children in foster care is rising; socioeconomic and cultural factors demand a re-evaluation of long-held assumptions regarding foster- family and group care. Methods of child care need to be studied systematically. A nationwide pattern for financing child welfare services is necessary to eliminate divided and confused responsibility among federal and state, public and private bodies. The shortage of professional and nonprofessional per sonnel in child welfare is critical. Unmet needs in child welfare services can be filled when these services are perceived in terms of basic national policy.