An administrative study of the Los Angeles County Department of Charities

131 Pages·05.951 MB·English

by  Erickson, Eugene Robert

AN ADMINISTRATIVE STUDY OP THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF CHARITIES
A T hesis
Presented to
the F aculty of the School of PubliG A dm inistration
The U n iv ersity of Southern C alifo rn ia
In P a rtia l F u lfillm en t
of th e Requirem ents fo r the Degree
M aster of Science in P ublic A dm inistration
by
Eugene R obert1 E rickson
June 1950
UMI Number: EP64482
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This thesis, written by
.............EUGME..HOBEHT . ERI.CKS OE..................
under the guidance of k%3.... Faculty Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been
presented to and accepted by the Council on
Graduate Study and Research in partial fulfill­
ment of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
T...........................................H. J ♦ JDeue1.,. Jr ..................
Dean
____________
Faculty Committee
'hairman
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I* THE PURPOSE, DEFINITIONS, ORGANIZATION AND
SOURCES OF DATA . * • I
The purpose........................................................• • . . . . I
Statem ent of the purpose • . ............................ 1
Im portance of the study.......................... 1
D efin ition s of term s used.......................... 3
Public h o sp ita l and m edical c a r e ..................... 3
Public a ssista n c e ..................................................• • • 4
Public w elfare . .....................♦ .................................... 4
O rganization of the t h e s i s * ..................................... 5
Sources of d a ta ........................................................................ 6
I I . PHILOSOPHICAL AND LEGAL BASIS FOR PUBLIC
WELFARE............................................................................................. 8
Development of public w elfare in E ngland • • 8
Breakdown of p riv a te and church w elfare sys-
. te rn s ................................... 8
England and the E lizabethan Poor Law * . . 10
W elfare in co lon ial and growing America • • 12
Local ad m in istratio n of public w elfare • • 12
F actors influencing p u b lic w elfare develop­
ment ........................................................................................ 14
S tate supervision of locala d m in istratio n . 17
i i i
CHAPTER PAGE
Federal pu b lic a ssista n c e in the tw en tieth
century. . ....................................................................... 19
Federal h o sp ita ls in the tw en tieth century • 24
S tate and lo ca l p u b lic a ssista n ce in the
tw en tieth century. .................................................... 27
Public a ssista n c e fo r ch ildren . . . . . . 28
Public a ssista n c e fo r the aged, blind and
p o o r • • • • 30
Public a ssista n c e fo r the b lin d ......... 31
Public a ssista n c e fo r the a g e d ......... 33
Public a ssista n c e fo r the poor • • • • • • 34
S tate and lo c a l h o sp ita ls in the tw en tieth
century....................................................................................... 34
I I I . HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION OF THE ’ DEPARTMENT OF
CHARITIES...................................................................... 3-9
H isto ric a l development • • • • • 39
A dm inistrative a c tiv itie s of the Department
of C h a rities . . . • • • • • • . • • • ♦ 49
C h arities a d m in istratio n • • • • • • • • • 54
Bureau of H o sp itals......................................................... 56
Bureau of H o sp itals: Los Angeles County
General H ospital • • • • . « .......................... 57
Bureau of H o sp itals: Rancho Los Amigos. • 59
Bureau of H o sp itals: Olive View Sanatorium 60
iv
CHAPTER PAGE
Bureau of H o sp itals: Los Angeles County
Harbor General H o sp ital. • • • • • • • • 61
Bureau of H o sp itals: Los Angeles County
Long Beach General H o sp ital............................... 62
Bureau of H o sp ita ls: Acton and Warn Springs
Camps. • • • • .............................................................. 63
Bureau of Public A ssistan ce..................................... 64
Bureau of Resources and C o llectio n s. . . . 66
Bureau of M edical S ocial Service ..................... 67
Bureau of A doptions. .......................... • • • • • 68
Bureau of P hysically Handicapped Children* 68
IV. THE POLITICS OF PUBLIC WELFARE..................................... 70
Public w elfare In te re s t groups •• • • • • • 70
R elatio n of the Department of C h arities w ith
governm ental groups......................................................... 73
N ational a g en c ie s.............................................................. 73
S ta te of C alifo rn ia : the G overnor’s o ffic e 74
S ta te of C alifo rn ia : le g is la tu re . . . . . 75
S tate of C a lifo rn ia : s ta te agencies . . . 77
County of Los A ngeles: Board of Super­
v iso rs 78
County of Los A ngeles: other departm ents. 79
County of Los A ngeles: Grand Jury • • • . 80
R elatio n of the Department of C h a rities w ith
V
CHAPTER PAGE
nongovernmental groups . • • • • • • • • • 80
Newspapers and m a g a z in e s.......................................... 80
Taxpayers* groups.............................................................. 82
P ro fessio n al groups. . . ......................................... 83
R elatio n of the Department of C h arities
w ith organized citizen s* groups.......................... 87
C alifo rn ia In s titu te of Social W elfare • . 87
C itizens* Special Committee on Communicable
D is e a s e ............................... 88
R elatio n of the Department of C h arities
w ith advisory boards and com m ittees. . . . 89
Boards served by p h y sician s. • • • • • • • 89
Committees served by p ro fessio n al and lay
persons. ........................................................................ 92
V. AN EVALUATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHARITIES
ADMINISTRATION . . . .................................................... 96
H ospital care and p u b lic a ssista n ce c e n tra lr
ized in th e same departm ent................................... 96
Should Los Angeles County adm inister p u b lic
a ssista n c e ? . ................................................................... 101
Has Los Angeles County adequately provided
public h o sp ital f a c i li t ie s ? .............................. . 108
BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................. 117
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE
I* O rganization C hart, Los Angeles County
Department of C h a rities . . . . . .
CHAPTER I
THE PURPOSE, DEFINITIONS, ORGANISATION AND SOURCES OF DATA
Through, the y ears the Department of C h a rities of the
County of Los Angeles has grown, because of new fu nctions
th a t have been added and as a re s u lt of pop ulation in creases
in the County, y et no study has been made of the adm inistra­
tiv e p ra c tic e s of th is Department w ith I ts extensive a c tiv itie s *
Public w elfare agencies in o th er ju ris d ic tio n s have made ex­
haustive analyses of a d m in istrativ e o p eratio n s, and there is
a need fo r a management study of the Department of C harities*
I* THE PURPOSE
Statem ent of th e purpose* I t Is the purpose of th is
study (1) to determ ine on what p h ilo so p h ical and leg a l bases
pu b lic w elfare is adm inistered today, p a rtic u la rly in Los
Angeles County; (2) to p resen t the development of the D epart­
ment of C h a rities and the range of i t s ad m in istrativ e a c tiv i­
tie s a t p resen t; (3) to show p o litic a l and p u b lic re la tio n s
in flu en ces in h eren t In p u b lic w elfare ad m in istratio n ; and (4)
to evaluate the e ffic ac y of c e rta in a d m in istrativ e programs
of the Department of C h a ritie s and the County of Los Angeles*
Im portance o f the study* A dm inistration of the many
p u b lic w elfare programs is one of the m ajor functions of
government today, e sp e c ia lly a t the s ta te and lo cal levels*
In C a lifo rn ia , where public w elfare is adm inistered e n tire ly
by c o u n ties, the financing and operation of these programs
has become an acute burden to lo cal taxpayers*
Los Angeles County is la rg e r in population than th irty -
nine of th e s ta te s in the n a tio n . The County stan d s above
many s ta te s in w ealth, and in value of a g ric u ltu ra l and manu­
factu red goods produced. A dm inistration of public w elfare
by the Department of C h a rities is , indeed, "big business*"
N early h a lf of the twenty-two thousand County employees work
in th is D epartm ent. Of 218 m illio n s appropriated fo r a l l
County purposes during the f is c a l year 1948-49, some 117
m illio n s, or fif ty - fo u r p e rc e n t, was expended by the D epart­
ment of C harities* ^
One of the n a tio n ’s a u th o ritie s on public w elfare
s ta te d , in 1938, th a t "Pew fe d e ra l o r s ta te p ublic w elfare
agencies employ as many persons and perform as many fun ctio n s
p
as does th e Los Angeles County Department of C h arities* "
Because of the increased County population and fu n ctio n s
th a t have been added since 1938, the number of employees
today is a th ird g re a te r.
**■ Los Angeles County. A uditor. County Budget. 1949-
1950 (Los A ngeles: Board of S upervisors, 1949), pp* 27-29.
2
M arietta Stevenson, Public W elfare A dm inistration
(New York: The Macmillan Company, 1938), p . 96.