about to be inspected. The laws relating to it will be found in the State Charities Law, and other statutes, and in the act of incorporation, and the amendments thereto. The rules of the Board will be found in its manual or in other form at the central office. Inquiry should be made as to whether a copy of the Board's manual is in the hands of the managers. Three classes of institutions are now operating under the rules of the Board, namely: 1. Institutions wholly or partly under private control, authorized by law to receive payments from any county, city, town or village for the support, care or maintenance of inmates. 2. Homes, retreats and asylums for the care and maintenance of aged, decrepit and mentally enfeebled persons who are not insane. 3. Dispensaries. (Chap. 57 of the Laws of 1909.) 6. Its methods of industrial, educational and moral training, if any, and whether the same are best adapted to the needs of its inmates. The methods of industrial, educational and moral training in practice in an institution can be learned by inquiry and observation, but it requires large experience and good judgment to determine whether they are best adapted to the needs of its inmates. Inspectors should make very accurate notes of the method of training in each of these branches, and report the facts, with such observations as they may have made as to the effects upon the inmates. 7. The methods of government and discipline of its inmates. It is difficult to determine definitely the government and discipline of an institution, as in obtaining information the inspector is limited to inquiry, for by his observation he can determine only the most superficial facts. His inquiries must not be limited to officers and attendants, but must include such inmates as, in his opinion, will make truthful statements. Inquiries of inmates should be very judiciously made, in order not to prejudice them against attendants. In general, they should be examined singly and in private, that they may not be actuated by fear. 8. The qualifications and general conduct of its officers and employees. The opinion of the inspector in regard to the qualifications and general conduct of officers and employees must be formed chiefly by observation and intercourse with them. In his examination of the different departments of an institution he should carefully discriminate as to the officer or employee who is personally responsible for the conditions found, and thus he can very accurately determine his qualifications and general conduct. In his intercourse with officers and employees, the inspector can form a very accurate judgment as to their fitness for their position by the discussion of topics relating to their duties. 9. The condition of its grounds, buildings and other property. This information is obtained only by personal inspection. It is very important that these inspections be made in a methodical manner, in order that nothing shall escape thorough examination. Each matter or thing undergoing inspection should be exhaustively examined before another is undertaken. 10. Any other matter connected with or pertaining to its usefulness and good management. During an inspection many incidents will occur and many observations will be made bearing on the usefulness of the institution and its management. Ample notes and full reports should be made of everything that in any manner comes to the knowledge of the inspector illustrating its condition and management. III. RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE BOARD RELATING TO INSPECTORS AND INSPECTION. 1. Relation of inspectors to District Committees. 1. All inspectors will be under the special direction of the District Committee to which they are assigned by the Board, and will receive their orders either directly from the chairman of the District Committee or the Superintendent of Inspection, or through their District Superintendent. 2. All assignments of inspectors for ordinary inspection will be made by the District Committees, while special inspection duties may be assigned by the Board. 2. The relation of inspectors to the institutions which they inspect. 1. In all visitations and inspections, inspectors, while maintaining their statutory privileges, will so conduct their investigations as to avoid unnecessary friction on the part of the officers of institutions, or to disturb the usual daily routine of the service. The establishment of cordial coöperation on the part of the managers and officers of institutions will facilitate the work of inspection. 2. Inspectors must not criticise the management of institutions, either publicly or privately, but in their reports to the Board they shall accurately describe such defects as, in their opinion, require to be remedied; nor shall they direct or advise changes to be made of any matter or thing in any institution unless first specifically authorized by the Board, the District Committee, the Commissioner of the district, or in his absence, some other Com missioner. 3. The conduct of inspections. 1. Special inspections. A special inspection is a visit to an institution to inquire or examine as to some particular fact or condition. It may be made at any time, the hour selected being the best adapted to obtain the desired information. For example, the inspector might wish to learn by his own observation of the kind of food served to the inmates at dinner. This information could be secured only by a personal visit unannounced at the dinner hour. 2. General inspections. All general inspections should be made in accordance with a plan which, while it economizes the time of the inspector and officials, and creates the least possible disturbance of the ordinary details of daily management, will secure a thorough inquiry into the operations and condition of every department of an in stitution. The inspector should always carry a notebook and make an immediate entry of every observation. The following scheme of a general inspection is best adapted to secure reliable results: 1. Before visiting an institution, the inspector should familiarize himself, as far as possible, with the law relating to it, the objects it is designed to accomplish, as set forth in its charter and its previous history. This information can be obtained at the offices of the Board and will enable the inspector to anticipate the defects of management which may exist. 2. On entering the institution the inspector should first call on the chief officer and inform him of his intention to make a general inspection. If this officer volunteers to accompany him he should accept the offer, but the inspector should not be diverted from the plan of inspection proposed, unless the suggestions of such officer would manifestly facilitate the work or accomplish some other useful purpose. 3. In order to see the institution in its usual every-day working condition, the inspector should at once visit those parts where such changes may readily be made in existing conditions as will give false impressions if there is any delay. The changes more likely to be made are in the clothing, location or surroundings of certain troublesome inmates. The inspector should, therefore, first make a rapid tour of the institution and endeavor to see all of the inmates in whatever place and condition they may be found. He should next pass rapidly through the dormitories, the kitchen, the laundry and other departments. Having completed this preliminary survey, he should commence a detailed, exhaustive examination of the entire establishment. Every room in the entire building should be examined in regular succession, with the single exception of the chief officers' living rooms. No attendants' rooms, no closets or clothes room, no pantry or cupboard, no wardrobe or recess, no cellar or attic should be exempt from inspection. Every inmate should be seen, and those whose appearance indicates diseases of the eyes or scalp, or uncleanliness of person, or deficient clothing or any other evidence of neglect, should be made the subject of special inquiry. If there is a farm connected with the institution, inquiry should be made as to the crops raised and their value, the amount of labor of inmates, and the cost of hired labor, and the final disposition of the products of the farm. The inspection may close with the examination of the books, records and papers. i FIELDBOOK FOR INSPECTORS OF CHARITABLE PREFACE. This manual is not designed to supersede or to be in any sense a substitute for the larger manual published by the Board in 1903, with which the inspectors of the Board are expected to be entirely familiar, but is intended to supplement and interpret for the use of inspectors the laws and those portions of the manual which relate to the scope of inspections. The Department of Inspection was organized for the purpose of carrying out the following provisions of the State Charities Law: ARTICLE I. Section 11. Powers and Duties of the Board on Visits and Inspections. On such visits inquiry shall be made to ascertain: 1. Whether all parts of the State are equally benefited by the institutions requiring State aid. 2. The merits of any and all requests on the part of any such institution for State aid, for any purpose, other than the usual expenses thereof; and the amount required to accomplish the object desired. 3. The sources of public moneys received for the benefit of such institution, as to the proper and economical expenditure of such moneys and the condition of the finances generally. 4. Whether the objects of the institution are being accom plished. 5. Whether the laws and the rules and regulations of this Board in relation to it are fully complied with. 6. Its methods of industrial, educational and moral training, if any, and whether the same are best adapted to the needs of its inmates. |