Financial Trends of Agencies Engaged in Giving Outdoor Relief in New York City: A Section of the Study of Financial Trends of Organized Social Work in New York City 9780231882279

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FINANCIAL TRENDS OF A G E N C I E S E N G A G E D I N GIVING OUTDOOR RELIEF I N N E W YORK C I T Y A SECTION OF T H E STUDY OF FINANCIAL TRENDS OF ORGANIZED SOCIAL WORK IN N E W YORK CITY

By KATE HUNTLEY

Study 4 of the Research Bureau of the Welfare Council

Published by the WELFARE COUNCIL OF NEW YORK CITY W. C. 37

November, 1931

Copyright, 1931 W E L F A R E COUNCIL OF N E W Y O R K CITY P R I N T E D IN T H E U N I T E D STATES

THE WELFARE COUNCIL OF NEW YORK CITY OFFICERS

President Charles C. Burlingham

Mrs. Nicholas F. Brady Henry G. Barbey Herbert H. Lehman

Honorary Vice-Presidenti Vice-Presidents

Felix M. Warburg George Mac Donald James H. Post

Frederic B. Pratt Secretary George J. Hecht Chairman Executive Committee Homer Folks

Treasurer Winthrop W. Aldrich Chairman Finance Committee James H. Post

RESEARCH

COMMITTEE,

Executive Director William Hodson Director Research Bureau Neva R. Deardorff 1931

Porter R. Lee, Chairman William A. Berridge Meredith B. Givens Bailey B. Burritt Ralph G. Hurlin Robert E. Chaddock F. Ernest Johnson F. Stuart Chapín Maurice J. Karpf Stanley P. Davies Willford I. King Godi as J. Drolet Harry L. Lorie Louis I. Dublin Rev. Bryan J. McEntegart Haven Emerson E. B. Patton Homer Folks Stuart A. Rice C. Luther Fry Arthur L. Swift, Jr. Edgar Sydenstricker S U B - C O M M I T T E E ON T H E S T U D Y OF F I N A N C I A L T R E N D S OF O R G A N I Z E D SOCIAL WORK, IN N E W Y O R K C I T Y

WiUford I. King, Chairman Samuel A. Goldsmith (1927-1930)

Ralph G. Hurlin

INTRODUCTION This presentation of the facts on the income, the expenditures and the property of agencies providing relief is one of the several sections of the Welfare Council's study of financial trends in the entire field of social and health work in New York City during the years from 1910 to 1929. This section of that study includes the data for the 39 private relief and family service agencies and for 3 public departments. The whole study encompasses 1,054 private agencies and institutions, 820 functioning in 1929, and 234 operating during the period but defunct in 1929; it includes also 58 types of activities of 17 departments of the city, state and federal governments; the data for hospitals are not included and are to be analyzed separately. The current expenditures of these agencies in 1929 amounted to 74 million dollars. To see this sizable establishment both as a whole and in its principal divisions, to see it in perspective and to see its changing size and emphases are the first prerequisites to an understanding of it. The nature of its support, the direction of growth, and the interrelation of its parts must be understood before there can be hope for its modification in the interest of greater efficiency and usefulness to the people of New York. The present study attempts to trace in broad outlines only that part of the picture of social work that can be told in terms of dollars. Within these broad outlines there arc many important details about which information would be most illuminating. They will, however, probably forever remain obscure for the years past and for the future ones as well, unless standardized accounting systems are devised and used currently by the agencies operating in the field. Incidentally it is hoped that the present study will make clear some of the points at which standardization is badly needed and would be of maximum use. But whatever the inadequacies of detail, the broad outlines are here and they are accurate and significant. These data on the finances of the relief and family welfare agencies have been used repeatedly in the autumn of 1930 and in 1931 for immediate and highly practical purposes. Many of the questions arising out of V

the necessity of allocating special funds and of measuring the increases in the total relief bill and in the relative proportions coming from public and private sources have found their answers here. These facts are offered in the hope that in addition to their immediate uses they will be materials for the social scientist who wishes to gain knowledge and perspective on the changes in t h a t part of the community life of New York City that we call its social and health service.

vi

WILLIAM

HODSON

NEVA R.

DEARDORFF

PREFACE In general the annual financial statements of the agencies for the years 1910 to 1929 provided the data for this report. These statements were found in the offices of the agencies, in the offices or homes of the officials of the agencies, in the various Manhattan and Brooklyn libraries, in banks, trust companies and auditors' offices where they were available with the consent of the agency. The data for the schedules were compiled by members of the staff of the study after studying the accounts and material published in the annual reports, and interviews with responsible officers of the organizations. In a few instances only, the compilation of the data for the schedule was made by a member of the agency's staff. This latter method was avoided when possible. An executive, comptroller, or accountant of each agency was asked to clarify accounts and to review and criticize the finished schedule. Since the schedule used required complete data for income, expenditure, and property ownership each year, various checks on the data were automatically afforded. The field staff which collected the data included Gertrude Bagwell, Arthur T. Brown, Julia B. Collins, Florence E. Cuttrell, Lina Kahn, Faith L. Manley, Emily C. Majer, Caro H. Stowell, Miriam P. Suckow. The greater part of the information collected about "unorganized" relief agencies was the work of Miriam P. Suckow. Computations were made by Gertrude Bagwell, Sylvia W. Stark, and Miriam P. Suckow. The charts were drawn by the MerwinDavis Company.

vii

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION BY WILLIAM HODSON AND NEVA R . DEARDORFF

PAGE Ν

PREFACE

vii

SUMMARY

xiii

I . GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Total amount of outdoor relief unmeasurable Outdoor relief in organized welfare work Selection of agencies for this functional group Characteristics of 254 relief agencies excluded Plan of report I I . TOTAL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE OUTDOOR R E L I E F

Gross income of agencies Current expenditures for relief Current expenditures for service and administration Cost of living index Current expenditures in terms of constant purchasing power Current expenditures per inhabitant in constant purchasing power. . . . I I I . PUBLIC OUTDOOR R E L I E F

General provisions in Greater New York Charter Relief for soldiers, sailors, marines, and their families Relief for volunteer firemen and their families Relief for fatherless children Changes in the law relating to the causes of dependency of the mother. Conditions of guardianship Present status of requirements for citizenship and residence Rates and actual allowances per child Relief from public funds limited to specific types of needy persons. . . . Amounts given for t h e various kinds of public relief I V . PRIVATE SOCIAL AGENCIES ENGAGED IN GIVING OUTDOOR R E L I E F

Number of agencies in g r o u p . . . Type of data to be p r e s e n t e d . . . . Validity of data Gross income defined Gross income of 39 relief agencies Gross income of family service agencies . Functional expenditures defined Functional expenditures Functional expenditures by services in terms of constant purchasing power Total functional expenditures in terms of constant purchasing power. . ix

1

1 1 2 3 5 7

7 7 9 9 11 16 19

19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 22 23 27

27 27 28 28 28 32 35 35 35 40

PACE

Functional expenditures per inhabitant in terms of constant purchasing power Property ownership Securities Real estate

43 43 45 45

APPENDIX I.

Agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York C i t y . .

49

APPENDIX II.

Revision of the Cost of Living Index for New York City made b y t h e Federal Reserve Bank, derived from the Cost of Living Index for New York City of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the purpose of deflating outdoor relief

51

APPENDIX I I I . Rates and actual allowances paid per child by t h e Board of Child Welfare

53

TABLES I. Gross income, classified by sources, of agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City II. Current expenditures of agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City I I I . Expenditures in terms of dollars of constant purchasing power for outdoor relief given, and services and administration incident t o it, of public and private social agencies in New York City IV. Expenditures per inhabitant in terms of constant purchasing power for outdoor relief given and services and administration incident to it, of public a n d private social agencies in New York City V. Amounts expended for outdoor relief and service and administration incident t o it, by public agencies in New York City VI. Gross amounts received from all sources of income by private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City V I I . Percentages of gross income received from various sources by private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City. . V I I I . Gross amounts received from all sources of income by private family service agencies I X . Percentage of gross income of 39 relief agencies received by 15 family service agencies X . Functional expenditures of private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City X I . Expenditures for various functional activities of private family service agencies X I I . Functional expenditures in terms of constant purchasing power of private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City X I I I . Functional expenditures per inhabitant in terms of dollars of constant purchasing power of private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City XIV. Value of property owned by private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in N'ew York City XV. Increments in value of property owned by private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City χ

8 10 12 17 24 29 30 33 34 36 37 38 41 44 46

CHARTS PACE

1. Expenditures for outdoor relief given, and services and administration incident to it, of public and private social agencies in New York City. . .

13

2. Expenditures in terms of dollars of constant purchasing power for outdoor relief given, and services and administration incident to it of public and private social agencies in New York City

14

3. Expenditures in terms of dollars of constant purchasing power for outdoor relief given, and services and administration incident to it, of public and private social agencies in New York City

IS

4. Expenditures per inhabitant in terms of dollars of constant purchasing power for outdoor relief given and services and administration incident to it of public and private social agencies in New York City

18

5. Gross income received from various sources by private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City

31

6. Various functional expenditures in terms of dollars of constant purchasing power of private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City

39

7. Functional expenditure per inhabitant in terms of dollars of constant purchasing power of private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City

42

8. Value of property owned by private social agencies engaged in giving outdoor relief in New York City

47

xi

SUMMARY The administration of outdoor relief in New York City in normal times has come to be largely the work of public agencies financed from either state or city funds. These public relief funds are designated for particular types of needy persons: soldiers, sailors or marines, and their families; the adult blind ; volunteer firemen and their families; dependent children. The restrictions upon the latter group have been considerably relaxed during the last eleven years, both in terms of citizenship requirements and in causes of dependency. For these specific and highly selected types of persons public outdoor relief funds have been appropriated in increasing and comparatively large amounts during the last 20 years. It has been left to the private agencies to secure funds to supplement the public relief when necessary and to provide for the many and varied needs resulting from other causes of family and individual dependency such as sickness and unemployment of the breadwinner, and, until 1931, old age. Outdoor relief agencies in New York City, the tax-supported and the privately financed combined, spent in 1929, a recent normal year, over 10X million dollars for direct assistance to persons in their homes. In current dollars this is over 10 times what was spent for direct relief 20 years ago; in terms of standardized dollars, calculated roughly from the index of the cost of living of the United States Department of Labor, the per capita expenditure is nearly 4 times the amount spent for this purpose in 1910. The growth is due largely to the increasing amounts disbursed by the Board of Child Welfare, the operation of which began in 1916, and which in each of the subsequent years increased its expenditures. In one year the relief given increased over 1 million current dollars, and in each of several years over one-half million dollars. Peaks in the trend for outdoor relief of the private agencies appear in the two depression periods 1914-1915 and 1921-1922, and in 1919, the first year following the war. The trend shows also a slight upward direction in each year since 1923. The emphasis on the effort of the relief agencies to solve the xiii

various family problems by contributing services other than relief is shown by the fact that the disbursements for relief plus the expenditures for service and administration associated with it, represent, for the 20 years as a unit, only a little more than half of the total current expenditures of the agencies. These services range over the whole field of social work. Some of the important ones are: shelter for the homeless and employment for the indigent, shelter for abandoned and neglected children, day nurseries and kindergartens, summer camps and vacation houses, protective and correctional work, health work, and work providing wages for the handicapped. For these services increasing amounts have been spent during the 20 years. The financial strength of the private agencies, as measured by gross income, increased from 2 millions of current dollars in 1910 to millions in 1929. The agencies earned about 6 per cent of their gross income in 1929, received about 7 per cent as income on property, and were dependent on contributions and bequests for the balance (87 per cent) of their resources that year. Comparing the proportions of gross income from the various sources, it is evident that these agencies have depended more and more on contributions (exclusive of bequests) and less on earnings for support during the 20 years. For the 20 years considered as a unit, 9 per cent of the gross income was received as bequests, an amount aggregating to about 12 million dollars. Why and when do relief funds become more abundant? In years of unusual conditions of unemployment, the sympathy and interest of the public are aroused to a realization of the poverty and hardship in the community through special drives and propaganda of the agencies, and despite the lowered incomes among contributors, more than the usual amount of money is raised for relief. Periods of prosperity likewise stimulate more generous giving; in these years contributors have more to give. More significant than either of these factors in the increased supply of relief funds is new legislation which may designate the use of revenue from taxes in amounts far beyond the sums that can be secured from voluntary giving. It seems probable that trends in relief expenditures express the generosity and social interest of the citizens, rather than reflect the needs of the community. Until some units of measurement of need are constructed, it will be impossible to judge the adequacy of the volume of outdoor relief and other social services supplied. The financial strength of the agencies is further indicated in the 32 million dollars'worth of property owned in 1929. Of this sum, xiv

over 29 millions had been acquired during the past 20 years. A value of 2 4 ^ millions of the total property owned was in the form of securities, about 5 millions in real estate, and the balance in current funds. Sixty-six per cent of the property owned in 1929 was held by the group of 15 family service agencies. These "relief" agencies comprise IS family service organizations, 24 other private agencies engaged in organized social work, and 3 public departments. The number of private agencies operating increased from 22 in 1910 to 34 in 1929. Five went out of existence and 17 began work during this period.

XV

I.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Total amount of outdoor relief immeasurable The practice of giving outdoor material relief to the needy is one of the oldest, and to the average benefactor today, one of the most satisfactory forms of personell benevolence. A vast amount of money, real estate, securities, material goods of all kinds is undoubtedly transferred from one person to another, but that amount is incalculable in terms of dollars, not only for a small organized community but even for smaller groups of people. The important obstacle to a study of this type of benevolence is the common desire, on the part of both the giver and the recipient, to conceal the facts. This kind of philanthropy is not recognized by the government, either state or national, as suitable for deduction in an accounting of net income along with contributions made to organized welfare work and other types of philanthropy; consequently no knowledge can be gained of its extent by a study of the reports of the income tax returns. It is possible, however, to find out about organized relief, and this report relates to that type of welfare work. Outdoor relief in organized welfare work The practice of giving assistance through organized means in the form of material relief appeared at an early date in the history of public welfare work in New York City, but the means for caring for the indigent varied from the almshouse to types of boarding out, and supplying food, clothing and other necessities in the home. Because outdoor relief given from public resources appeared inadequate, various private agencies sprang up to supplement this relief. The origin of the private agencies may be accounted for by efforts to provide for (1) general community needs, (2) local or neighborhood poverty, (3) needs of indigent persons in groups having common nationality, or (4) relief requirements of individuals with common religious beliefs. The earliest examples of group 1 were the Associations for Improving the Condition of the Poor in New York and Brooklyn, both of which were organized in 1843 and have been non-sectarian in character. Group 3 is represented by St. Andrew's Society of the State of New York organized in 1756 1

to assist the Scotch, and by St. George's Society of New York organized in 1770 to give aid to British immigrants. The St. Vincent de Paul Societies of New York and Brooklyn, both over seventy years old, are among the oldest and most important of the agencies in group 4. Most of the agencies in group 2 giving outdoor relief were, during the period studied, without a full-time paid worker or an office. Contact with persons in their homes in the process of giving outdoor relief led to a realization of the many factors involved in a program for rehabilitation ; and so not only the private agencies giving material aid initiated programs having a great variety of services, but, in New York City, hundreds of agencies sprang up to specialize exclusively in health service, recreation, employment, care of the convalescent, of the aged, etc. In spite of the fact that these agencies were organized to provide services, there seem to be very few of them which can be characterized as never giving outdoor relief. Incidental amounts spent in this way appear in the accounts of all varieties of organizations. An accounting of all such amounts will be made in a general report covering all types of welfare work in New York City. Selection of agencies for this functional group A study of outdoor relief as a function of welfare work is necessarily limited to those agencies which have this activity as an important part of their programs. In segregating those organizations which fall most logically into such a group, three types' are evident: 1. The agencies which are carrying the responsibility of the community for the use of public funds for the care of the indigent in their homes. 2. The private agencies usually classified as "family service agencies."2 These organizations give outdoor relief but are primarily interested in the rehabilitation of individuals and families; many of them substitute for relief, or supplement it with such services as day nurseries, clinical assistance, education of the handicapped, etc. 3. Other private agencies of which the chief function is the giving of outdoor relief and which may or may not maintain services supplementing the relief. These agencies, although not classified as "family service agencies" have been thought to be sufficiently similar to justify inclusion. 1 See list, Appendix 1, pp. 49, 50. ' These agencies are so classified in the Classification of Social Agencies by Function in the City of Sew York, by Edith Sbatto King. 2

From the hundreds of societies located in all parts of the city there have been selected for inclusion in this group only those which meet certain requirements. Since the study of which this report is a section is concerned with "organized" welfare work, only those agencies have been selected for this group which have met this condition to the extent of having a full-time paid worker and an ofñce. Further than that, agencies have been excluded which may be characterized as (1) fraternal; (2) mutual aid; (3) organizations whose units in New York City are state or national in scope, or whose programs are not in general confined to work for persons in New York City; and (4) agencies whose work is primarily religious or limited to one parish. This selective process has resulted in the inclusion of 15 family service agencies, 24 relief societies, and 3 public departments. It has involved the investigation and exclusion of some 254 agencies. Characteristics of 254 relief agencies excluded In order to determine the agencies engaged in "organized" relief, it was necessary to investigate all agencies which have at one time or another from 1910 to 1929 been so classified in a directory of social agencies. Undoubtedly some are not listed because of the transient nature of their existence and so have escaped investigation. Others serve so few beneficiaries that it is only by chance that they are ever heard of at all outside a small circle. The list of agencies investigated for the purpose of this study was submitted to all district offices of family service agencies and other authorities for criticism. As a group, these small relief agencies raise their funds from dues of members and contributions; card parties, concerts and bazaars are very popular sources of income. Very few of them have accumulated an endowment fund. The outstanding exception to this is an unorganized agency that holds securities to the value of approximately $300,000. Some of them raise funds only as the need arises: few operate on a budget. Their expenditures are largely for relief, though the expense incurred by entertainments may be an important item. Sometimes this expense is specifically defrayed by gifts in kind from individual members. At times salaries are paid for part-time workers. It is difficult to speak in terms of average annual expenditures of the agencies in this group, but from the facts available, they seem to range from $100 to $25,000. Perhaps an amount between $500 and $1,000 is the most usual. Without attempting a thorough classification of these societies, 3

certain types may be noted that appear rather characteristic of the group. There is, first of all, a large class that corresponds to the relief agencies included in this study, except for the fact that they do not have an office and a full-time paid worker. They give relief wherever they feel it is needed, limited only by their amount of income. Others limit themselves, just as many organized agencies do, to aiding particular groups of people such as widows, old people, the sick, or the crippled. Perhaps the next largest group is made up of societies which have grown up as auxiliaries to larger institutions, such as schools, churches, homes for the aged, and orphan asylums. These range from sewing circles to the exceptional case where the unorganized society almost entirely supports the organized institution, such as the Ladies Benevolent Association of Greenpoint, which finances the Greenpoint Home for the Aged. Interest in unfortunate fellow countrymen in the city has led to the formation of another type of agency. Almost every nationality represented in the city has a society of this sort, e. g., German Women's Aid Society, Danish Aid Society, Hungarian Association, not to mention a great number of mutual benefit organizations to which many of these people belong. Many of the sisterhoods or women's leagues connected with the temples and synagogues conduct social work. They frequently extend assistance beyond the persons and families connected with the particular synagogues or temples with which they are allied. And, aside from these, there exist numerous small Jewish relief societies helping limited groups of people. Occasionally one finds societies which are purely personal philanthropies. The founder may not be the only worker but often he is the leader in the society, and at his decease or at the time he becomes dissociated from the organization it dies. Following the war, many organizations sprang up for the benefit of ex-service men, some originating among the men themselves, others among citizens interested in their welfare. A few of these still exist. The purpose of these societies is perhaps as much recreational as philanthropic. Annual benefits and holidays have led to the formation of such organizations as the Passover Relief Society, the various Christmas funds, the Orphans' Automobile Day Association, and others. Such agencies have been created to function only at a particular season of the year. 4

To collect reliable financial information for a current year about all of such relief agencies in New York City is wholly impracticable. To estimate even roughly the trends in total expenditures of these agencies over a period of years would be sheer guesswork. It is probably true, however, that at no time within the period studied would the addition of the income, expenditure, or property valuation of these "unorganized" agencies to the totals given in this report have changed radically the trends indicated. Plan of report Section II of this report summarizes some of the financial aspects of this group of agencies as a whole. The amounts and purposes of expenditures from public funds for outdoor relief are further reviewed in Section III. The financing of relief giving and other supplementary services of the 39 privately organized relief agencies are analyzed in Section IV.

5

II.

TOTAL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE OUTDOOR RELIEF

Gross income of agencies Significant comparisons between amounts of income received by the public and private agencies for relief purposes are difficult because the private agencies engaging in various activities which have in general a common source of income with the relief work usually have no way of earmarking income for a single function. A calculation from Table II shows that, taking the 20 years as a unit, nearly half of the total current expenditures of these agencies was made for services other than outdoor relief and its administration. Table I, therefore, has general significance as indicating the financial strength of these agencies but does not indicate the amount of money the people of New York provided for outdoor relief purposes. The income tabulated in this table shows increasing amounts received over the period from most of the sources of income. Remarkable increases have taken place in the supply of city funds for public relief as well as in contributions to private agencies, and in income from property of this latter group.1 While the amounts available for the work of public agencies rose from 212 thousand dollars in 1910 to over 8 millions in 1929, the private agencies expanded their supply of 2 million dollars in 1910 to over millions in 1929.

Current expenditures for relief More enlightening than an analysis of the income of the public and private relief agencies is a study of their expenditures, since in these terms valid comparisons are possible between the two groups. Table II shows the amounts given out as relief by the public and the private agencies, and a total of the two, together with the expenditures of each for service and administration. In calculating the amounts spent for relief, the figure sought was an approximation to the amount of money given through an organization's resources, including general relief, relief from special funds, and Christmas expenditures. Expenditures for such activi1

Sources of income of private agencies are further analyzed in Section III.

7

TABLE

I.

GROSS

INCOME, C L A S S I F I E D

B Y SOURCES, OF

AGENCIES

E N G A G E D IN G I V I N G O U T D O O R R E L I E F IN N E W Y O R K

CITY

Thousands of dollars Gross income of 39 private agenciesb

Gross income of public agencies Year

Total gross income*

Dividends, Receipts from Total· interest, city contrifunds butions

Special tax on foreign fire insurance companies'

Total·

Earn- Dividends, Contriinterest, butions ings rent

191 0 191 1 191 2 191 3 191 4

2.280 3.033 2.507 2,491 2,864

212 221 210 196 243

8 8 5 5 3

101 100 101 122 143

103 112 104 69 97

2.067 2,812 2,297 2.295 2,621

387 383 331 381 441

117 111 177 166 194

1,563 2,318 1,789 1,749 1,987

191 5 191 6 191 7 191« 1919

3,444 3,708 3,124 7,802 9,290

262 740 1,515 2,187 2,472

1 5 4 5 5

174 555 1,352 1,995 2,314

86 180 15» 187 154

3,183 2.967 3.609 5,615 6,817

550 651 846 774 716

189 194 210 314 294

2,444 2.122 2.554 4428 5.808

192 0 192 1 192 2 192 3 192 4

13,126 10,718 12,373 12,087 12,716

3,099 4,321 5,139 5,448 5,556

4 4 6 18 19

2,925 4,102 4.912 4,956 5,268

171 215 221 474 269

10,027 6,397 7,234 6,639 7,160

685 632 625 621 696

514 501 591 614 603

8,828 5,264 6,018 5.404 5.861

192 5 192 6 192 7 192 8 192 9

13,418 14,952 16,035 18,648 26,710

5,895 6,198 6,628 7,626 8,112

19 20 22 23 24

5,617 5,905 6,356 7,359 7,848

259 272 250 244 240

7,522 8,755 9,407 11.022 18.598

778 853 889 998 1,032

718 806 922 1,034 1.304

6,027 7,096 7,596 8,990 16,262

• Data from Annual Reporta of Board of Child Welfare, Department of Public Welfare, Comptroller of New York City. For the Exempt Firemen's Benevolent Fund for the yeare 1916 to 1924 estimates were made through the use of reporta of the borough funds to the Fire Commissioner and suggestions from the office of the City Fire Commissioner; complete reports were available for the years 1910 to 1915, and 1Ç2S to 1929. b Data from financial reports of agencies. For list of agencies, see Appendix 1. • Derived from data carried to more places, therefore differs elightiy from totals of items recorded in thousands. H This tax is collected by the City Fire Commissioner, from those foreign fire insurance companies which are companies incorporated outside of New York State, but doing business in New York City.

ties as day nurseries, and camps, which have been substituted for relief, are not considered as relief expenditures but as disbursements for services extended by the agency. Deficits incurred in maintaining such services are also not considered as part of the relief bill. A remarkable growth in the total number of current dollars given directly for outdoor relief by both types of agencies is evident as shown in the upper graph of Chart 1. The amount rose from slightly less than 1 million dollars in 1910 to over 1 0 X millions in 1929. 1 Significant increases in the amounts given occurred almost every year after 1916. T h e steady upward climb of relief amounts during that period was largely due to the increasing amounts disbursed by the Board of Child Welfare. 1 A d i s t r i b u t i o n of relief b y b o r o u g h s , a c c o r d i n g t o residence of b e n e f i c i a r i e s , w a s n o t a c c o m p l i s h e d b e c a u s e s e v e r a l of t h e l a r g e r a g e n c i e s h a v e g i v e n relief in t w o o r m o r e b o r o u g h s a n d t h e i r a c c o u n t s d o not r e a d i l y show t h e n e c e s s a r y distribution.

8

Current expenditures for service and administration During the period of 20 years, the annual expenditure for service and administration amounted to a sum ranging from 3.4 to 7.5 per cent of the disbursements for relief in the public agencies. For the private agencies, whose program for relief is closely bound up with the processes of rehabilitation, an annual amount varying from 35.3 to 66.0 per cent of the amount of relief given was expended for investigation and service by the family service departments. (These amounts include a pro-rated share of administrative expense.) Considering the period as a whole, these amounts spent for investigation and service average about 4 per cent in the public agencies, and about 56 per cent in the private agencies. The "investigation and service" referred to here has to do only with the relief department of the agency, exclusive of other specialized services of the private agencies such as clinic assistance, recreation, and day nurseries.1 The trend of the total of these expenditures for services and administration was steadily upward for most of the period.

Cost of living index In a study of material relief for a series of years, an accounting of the number of dollars given does not present a true idea of the benefits received by the individuals aided. This is because the dollar varies from year to year in its ability to purchase these benefits. A study of the cost of living in New York City, made by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, discloses that the cost of food for families in income groups of $2,500 and under, rose from December, 1914 to December, 1929, 55 per cent; that clothing rose 86 per cent; rent, 66 per cent; fuel and light, 95 per cent. To correct the amounts in current dollars to represent more nearly actual relative values received from year to year by the beneficiaries of these sums, an index combining the fac1 The current expenditures relating to each function—family service, clinic assistance, day nurseries, etc.—are made up of the expenses for services and administration definitely relating to the function, and an additional share of general administrative cost. The amount of this latter sum for any one function is determined by the proportionate share that the expenditures for that particular function form of the total functional expenditures, exclusive of this general administrative expenditure. In 1929 the general functional expenditure to be pro-rated amounted to 8.4 per cent of all current expenditures. In some instances no pro-rated share of general administrative expense was added to a functional expense; these instances were exceptional, and occurred when a department was entirely independent of any general supervision from the executive and his immediate assistants. Information necessary to make decisions of this kind was secured from the executive of the agency.

9

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