TB -~~PH *»'WSL ** 6 DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF WELFARE* OFFICERS MILITARY GOVERNMENT PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE TECHNICAL BULLETIN PH&W GHQ SOAP APO 500 October 194-7 Notes This statement, concerning the duties of Welfare Officers, is provided for information purposes. This Bulletin‘supersedes TB-PH-ADM 2, February 194-7, concerning duties.of Military Government Welfare Officers, 1, General Welfare Officers of the Military Government Teams and Regions have re- sponsibilities which are both unique and difficult. Their duties cover the entire field of;-public and private welfare services. Although many of the welfare activities in Japan are not developed as fully as in other countries of the world, It is usually found that the basic principles of welfare admin- istration- are applicable. These principles must be applied with considera- tion being given to the stage of development end the peculiarities of;, the situations found in Japan, ■; 2, Objectives v ,v>. ; ... 4. ... .. . . \ 'j a, The aims of the welfare programs in Military Government in Ja- pan are to be obtained through Japanese agencies, using Japanese personnel end supplies with the aim of causing the Japanese program to be .self-, •. sufficient in all respects,- Surveillance is exercised by'Welfare Officers of Military Government Teams to insure compliance with directives "issued by SCA.P to the Japanese Government, The Welfare Officer supervises the exe- cution of the directives of the Supreme Commander and gives advice to the lo- cal Japanese Government on technical matters in the field of public and pri- vate welfare administration. The objectives of the welfare program in Japan include: - • • ■' (l) The establishment and maintenance of a program which pro- • > - vides for the welfare.of the civil population,to the ex- tent necessary to prevent unrest in order that the objec- , tives of the occupation are carried out, (2) The establishment and maintenance of a, system of adminis- tering public assistance (outdoor relief) on the*basis of individual need) regardless of the cause of such.need, equally and without preferential treatment,. r. (3) Improvement of the standard of care provided to inmates of public end private institutions (indoor relief). • b, • MA satisfactory public welfare orogr&ra in Japan will include: (Ref; AG 720 (22 Oct A5)PH. GHQ, SOAP, dtd 22 Oct U5, Subj: Public Health and Welfare Procedure in Japan;, T? (l) Adequate organization end integration of all available pub- lic and private welfare, social insurance and relief agen- cies at the national, prefecture! and local levels. "(2) Proper supervision (without interference with functioning of the agency) of Japanese civilian staffs by Occupational Forces personnel, "(3) Application of sound technical and administrative proced- ures, prevention of discriminatory practices and establish- ment of adequate financial and case load reporting proced- ures enforced by direction of the Supreme Commander,n 3 • Directives a. Many important welfare programs ere being carried out as a re- sult of directives issued by SOAP to the Japanese Government, These memoran- da or directives are numbered consecutively and have the short title of SCAPIN (SOAP Index Number), SOAP may instruct the Japanese Government by means of a memorandum to a particular ministry, or a program of action may be decided up- on by the Japanese after consulting with personnel of SOAP, When a directive (SCAPIN) is issued to the Japanese Government and surveillance is required, ap- propriate directions are issued to the Commanding General, Eighth Army, These directives (usually called coramrnd letters) are the basis of Operational Di- rectives issued by Eighth Army Military 6ovorno®nt'Section, which* specifically set forth what surveillance is required. b. In the field of public welfare a basic directive is SCAPIN 775 is- sued on 27 February 1946 which provides in part; ’’The***Japanese Government (will) •atrbllsh a single National Governmental agency which through prefcctur- al and local government channels will provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, and medical care equally to all indigent persons without discrimination or pre- ferential treatment." L,, Technical Bulletins In addition to directives, SCAP issues technical bulletins which are iden- tified with the symbol (TB-PH-WEI ), Translations of these bulletins are pro- vided to the Japanese when the subject matter is deemed appropriate. One of the purposes of the technical bulletins is to establish a common basis of un- derstanding between the Occupation Forces and Japanese personnel. 5• Weekly Bulletin The Public Health and Welfare Section (PHW) of SCAP also issues a weekly bulletin which is mailed directly to Military Government units. The purpose of this publication is to provide Military Government units with information concerning welfare, social security and public health activities in Japan, 2 6, Dutios Duties of Military Government Welfare Officers may be divided into two general classes; (l) specific duties which ere directed- by higher head- quarters end (2) general and technical dutios involving the guidance of,Jap- anese engaged in the administration of public and private welfare, programs. The following brief statements set forth the dutios of welfare officers with specific references indicating specific duties as opposed to general and/or technical duties, ... pPblfro‘Assistance■ The administration of the Japanese public assistance program, provided, by the Daily Life Security Law, is supervised to make certain that welfare services are provided equitably in accordance with need and that no preferential treatment is given to favored groups (Ref; SCAPIN 775, dtd 27 Feb A6), A continuing review of the, administration of pub- lic assistance is maintained to insure; (l) the right of the individual to apnly for assistance and receive a prompt decision as to his eligibility; (2) uniformity of procedure in determining-need and amount of assistance; (3) prompt attention to complaints and appeals from adverse decisions-;. (A) proper substantiation of all expenditures from public funds,. Memorandum*. GHQ, SCAP, dated 6 Mar A6, Subj: Information of General Application Pertain- ing to Directive Number (SCAPIN 77$). states in part: ’’The following is a gen- eral statement regarding Occupation Force responsibility for■surveillance of the directive, - ’’Inspections mad?, of local relief administration should include a review'of record keeping procedures, type of investigations made, kind of per- sonnel employed as relief administrators end welfare i.nves tigs tors, controls established over financial expenditures,,methods of distribution of relief supplies and accuracy of statistical information compiled. Suggestions for improvements or changes should be included in reports rendered this headquar- ters through channels,” b. Institutional Care; Welfare and penal institutions are inspected to determine adequacy of care provided to inmates and necessary action taken to correct inadequacies discovered. Private as well as public.institutions are inspected (Ref; OD 3, dtd 6 Jan A7, Hq Bth A.rmy), Action is taken to im- prove the standard of care of existing institutions and to make certain that no new institutions are'built unless .the need for such has been established. c. Child Welfare: In most prefectures special v/elfare services have been established for children. In many places these services.have been estab- lished as a result of the interest of Military Government personnel. Respon- sibilities include' the surveillance of juvenile delinquency prevention pro- grams; day nurseries; recreational and club activities and the work of the Juvenile Court, With, the passage of the Child Welfare Law, Military Govern- ment welfare officers will have additional responsibilities for implementing the law in the prefectures. • d. Financing of Welfare Activities: Surveillance is maintained to insure compliance with existing policy that private welfare services are- net subsidized on a lump-sum basis. Insofar as practicable public funds are to be expended by public rather than private agencies. (Ref: Memorandum, SCAP, dtd 7 Nov 4-6, Subj: Information of General Application Pertaining to SCAPIN 775). e. Homeless Persons and Housing; Welfare activities for homeless persons and vagrants are encouraged including services and housing for repat- riates, Programs for the provision of needed additional housing are being developed and carried out. f. Disaster Plans: Prefecture disaster relief plans ere kept up-to- date by the Japanese and the Welfare Officer should be familiar with the pro- visions of the prefecture plan. In case of disaster, action is taken to in- sure that adequate emergency relief is provided and that prompt reports are submitted to higher headquarters. g. Foreign Nationals; Surveillance is maintained to insure compli- ance with directives requiring the Japanese Government to make available a supplementary food ration for purchase by foreign nationals. Action is taken to make certain that special relief programs for needy foreign nationals, such as that o-p the International Relief Committee, are being administered properly if such programs exist in the prefecture (Pef: OD S3, dtd 3 Oct 46, 0D 83/2 dtd 19 Nov 46, Hqs 8th Army, Subjs Ration for United Nations Nationals, Neu- tral Nationals, and Stateless Persons), h. Administration; The improvement of the organization of welfare activities is to be carried out in accordance with sound principles of public welfare administration. This includes; proper organization on the prefecture level (in the Kencho) end analysis of the organization of the separate unit of the prefecture! government responsible for administering welfare services; the relationship of the prefecture1 government to local units of government such as cities, towns and villages; sound financial policies end procedures; accurate and prompt reporting of statistics; and good personnel administration. Adequate financing, accurate reporting and trained personnel ere essential to public welfare administration. i, LARA (Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia); The Welfare Offi- cer should be familiar with the activities of Li FA within the prefecture and should report any misuse of these relief supplies furnished by this agency for distribution by the Japanese (Fef; SCAPIN 1169 dtd 30 Aug 46; Public Health and Welfare Technical Bulletin, Sept 47, Subj; Licensed Agencies for Relief in Asia, TB-PH-WEL 3), j, Japanese Fed Cross; Each of the prefecture! chapters of the Jap- anese Red Cross is being reorganized and may from time to time request the aid of the Military Government Welfare Officer, Reorganization of the Society is proceeding with technical advice and guidance of an International Activities, American Red Cross staff attached to Welfare Division, Public Health and Wel- fare Section, GHQ, SCAR, k. Former Military Installations; The use of former Japanese Army- Navy installations for welfare purposes will be recuested at times. Such ap- plications are encouraged when the need is established.for specific services not available from existing community resources. 1. School Programs: The Welfare Officer will encounter several pro- grams which will make it advisable to work jointly with the Education Officer of the Military Government team. These include; (l) the school lunch pro- gram and (2) sohocl programs for handicapped children (blind, deaf and delin- quent) and (3) the development in higher educational institutions of curricu- la which will give adequate training to persons who wish to enter the field of social service. 7, Training Responsible Japanese officials are being encouraged to develop in-service training urograms which include publications and conferences to provide infor- mation to all persons responsible for any. phase of administering the welfare program. Such training programs are often carried out by the Japan Social rork Association (Nippon Shakai Jigyo Kyokai) and the Minsei-iin Federation Zen-Nihon (Minsei-iin Renmei) under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Welfare, In some prefectures regularly established Japanese universities and colleges •re providing education in the field of social service. 8, Community Organization An important phase of the welfare program in Japan is the encouragement and review of Welfare plans developed by the Japanese both for the present and the '.future. Attention is given to the coordination of public and private welfare activities in the prefecture, particularly in the establishment of new agencies and programs. Planning is also needed in order that existing pro- grams and agencies will develop their activities to meet the particular needs of tho community and not waste their time and effort on work for which there is li+tle need. Long range planning is necessary so that local programs will fit into the programs which are being carried on by national agencies, yet be adapted to the community in which they operate. Such planning includes devel- opment of sound policies and procedures; training of personnel; maximum utili- zation of the abilities of personnel; a sound organizational structure; finan- cial and statistical policies and procedures. The responsibi1 ity for planning rests with the Japanese in the community. 9• Preparation of Reports An important function of military government teams is to Hobserve and re- port”, The reports are of great value in keeping commanders in higher head- quarters informed, especially SCAR where policy is set and corrective action taken, when necessary, on a national level. a. Regular Reports? In order to reduce the work required for report- ing all regular recurring reports concerning public end private welfare acti- vities are included in Annex B-2 of the Monthly Military Government /ctivities Report (Ref; OD 37, Hq 8th Army, dtd 30 April Ll) • b. Special Reports: Special reports may be submitted as desired, or may bo required by higher headquarters, In any event, such reports should be submitted when a local situation require* action on the national level. r-. 10 ■ Office Administration •' / *’** * . ' . , The .Welfare;- Of fleer is also responsible for supervision of personnel as- signed to the Welfare Section of the Military Government teem including Jrpan- , ese nationals assigned as interpreters, translators and as welfare investiga- tors. In general, it is recommended that the number of Japanese nationals used as welfare investigators be kept to a minimum (ordinarily not more then five). Usually the existing Japanese public welfare organization should be used to do this work. 11. Welfare Officers. Region In addition to processing routine correspondence, reports and directives, • the Regional Welfare Officers . .. - • a. Maintains staff•supervision of the welfare programs within-the region by means of frequent,1 detailed field inspections, and conferences b. Assists Welfare Officers of Prefectural Military Government Teams in understanding and carrying out their duties., c, Reports to higher headquarters problems which affect several •prefectures and recommends action to correct difficulties encountered. 12. Methods of Work: • The methods used by Military,Government Welfare Officers to carry out their duties vary according to the situation and judgment as to the method which would be most effective. The methods used by Military Government Wel- fare Officers include: conferences, field trips and review of reports. • r * • *, a* Analysis of Reports; Review and analysis of routine and special reports received by the Welfare Officer from the Japanese Prefectural Govern- ment is a valuable method of achieving the objective of the welfare program in Military Government. Reports from local Japanese welfare officials are fre- quently the basis of routine end special reports which the Welfare Officer ore- pares for submitting to higher headquarters. Since the translation of Japanese reports may be ambiguous, frequently further study of them is needed before they can be understood. Statistics submitted usually need to be reviewed rnd checked before they can be used. It is particularly important that the period of time covered by the reoort b$ specifically set forth and that items report- ed be carefully defined.- Time will be saved and misunderstandings reduced if an effort is made to secure adequate translations. Reports received may be the basis of-subsequent conferences with responsible Japanese officials and are used in field inspections to determine accuracy of facts reported. The re- ceipt and review of reports must frequently precede conferences and field trips in order that these activities be worthwhile, b. Conferences; It has generally been found effective for the Wel- fare Officer to have regularly scheduled conferences with the Japanese offi- cials responsible for the welfare'program in the prefecture. This conference may be scheduled for the same time every week in a designated place. It has been found advisable for a newly assigned welfare officer to make clear to the Japanese officials at the outset the extent of the programs in which the Wel- fare Officer is interested* This will ordinarily include all programs for which the we]fare unit of the prefecture is responsible. At times it will be advisable to hold conferences concerning special problems which arise# c, Field Trips: It is particularly important for all prefectural and regional welfare officers to examine and actually see conditions in tho field. Local officials who are responsible for administering welfare pro- grams in local communities should be interviewed in their own place of work. Field inspections are made of local offices administering the Daily Life Se- curity Tew in order to determine actual methods of operation. Inspections of institutions will also be necessary since a percentage of the persons receiv- ing welfare services are inmates of institutions. Assistance programs (out- door relief) in Japan provide aid to over 90% of all persons receiving bene- fits from welfare programs, while less than 10% are residing in institutions (indoor relief). In making field trips, special consideration should be giv- en to meetings which are held by the Japanese officials concerning special welfare urograms. Such meetings are held by the Minsei-iin rnd other groups in the prefecture, In many cases the interest of the welfare officer in such activities and his attendance at meetings give necessary support to a worthwhile activity which might otherwise not be encouraged by responsible officials, 7-