the girls by six to
one, but among the older sex offenders 41 were girls and but 9 were
boys. This study is of particular value in showing that almost every
rural community, however prosperous and progressive it may be, has its
problem of delinquency, and in its analysis of the responsibility of the
home, the school, and the church, for wayward children.

_The Neglected._--The fourth class which require the care of the
community are the neglected. Although the aged occasionally require
neighborly assistance, even though they have means for their
necessities, most of the neglected are infants and children. Orphans and
foundlings for whom homes must be found, children who are over-worked or
abused, or who are living with dissolute parents, all of these must be
given proper guardianship and a chance for healthful growth and
education, or they are likely to become delinquent and thus become a
permanent liability to society. It is true that in the country the home
is at its best (see chapter II), but it is also unfortunately true that
some of the most shameful and almost unbelievable cases of neglect and
abuse of children are frequently found in out-of-the-way places in rural
communities. Where compulsory school attendance laws are strictly
enforced such cases may come to the attention of school officials, but
in many instances no one seems responsible for discovering neglected
children and ensuring their proper care. Most of the cities and larger
towns have Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children whose
agents investigate rural cases reported to them and bring them to the
attention of the courts when necessary, but there is a need for some
local agency in every rural community which will see that neglect is
prevented or stopped.

_Agencies for Rural Social Work._--When we examine the means for dealing
with these "misfit" members of the rural community, we find that in most
of our states there are few agencies either public or private, and that
as a rule they are poorly adapted to render the service needed.

For the care of the poor there is the township or county poor officer,
and the county poor farm as a last resort. But the poor officer, however
upright and well-intentioned he may be, usually conceives his job as one
for doling out sufficient groceries, clothing, and fuel to keep a family
alive, and of keeping the cost to the taxpayer as low as possible. He
feels little responsibility for furnishing suffici