The field study involved obtaining complete soil descriptions and data relating to the vegetation, relief, climate and geology of the area. The tests selected for the laboratory phase of the study were those thought most likely to reveal the degree of development of each profile and included mechanical analysis, apparent specific gravity, fusion analysis, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon, and soil reaction. The results of the study indicate that the soils form a sequence of profiles showing different degrees of development. The first soil examined shows little evidence of profile development since free lime occurs right to the surface and there is no evidence of translocation of any constituents down the profile. It is suggested that this soil be treated as an Alluvial soil in classification. The second profile, termed a Brown Wooded soil, shows slightly greater development than the Alluvial soil, but at the same time it has not reached the Grey Wooded stage of development, as represented by the third profile. Free lime has been leached to a depth of six inches but there is no accumulation of clay or sesquioxides in the B horizon of the Brown Wooded soil. It would appear that this soil should be separated from Alluvial and Grey Wooded soils at the family level of the classification system. The third profile has the characteristics necessary for classification as a Grey Wooded soil. The analyses show that there has been an appreciable translocation of clay and sesquioxides from the A₂ to the B₂ horizon. The apparent specific gravity and percent base saturation are also typical of Grey Wooded soils. The fourth soil studied is a polygenetic profile having a Brown Podzolic soil in the upper part of the solum and a heavy textured clay horizon typical of Grey Wooded soils in the lower part. It would appear that a Brown Podzolic soil has developed in the A₂ horizon of a Grey Wooded due to acid leaching. This soil is considered to be a Grey Wooded-Brown Podzolic intergrade. The fifth soil is the most mature soil in the sequence. This profile is characterized by the development of a Podzol soil in the A₂ horizon of a Grey Wooded. The laboratory analyses have confirmed field observations in this regard. There is an accumulation of sesquioxides and organic matter, typical of Podzol soils in the B_█(p@) horizon,while the lower B_2gw horizon shows the clay accumulation characteristic of Grey Wooded soils. The soil reaction, cation exchange capacities and percent base saturation are also in agreement with the accepted definitions of these soils. The fifth soil, therefore, is considered to be a Grey Wooded-Podzol intergrade. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

The soils of the Doukhobor lands of British Columbia were studied as a part of a research project undertaken by faculty members of the University of British Columbia at the request of the Attorney General of the Province. These lands comprise about 18,872 acres that occur in 16 parcels or communities in two general areas, 5327 acres near Grand Forks and 13,545 acres in the West Kootenay area. Soil surveys of these areas were conducted during the summers of 1951 and 1952. They were traversed by automobile and on foot and the soil type boundaries and related information plotted on aerial photographs of the scale of about one mile to 13 inches. From these photographs, soil maps were prepared of the scale of 400 feet to the inch. In the course of the field operations bulk and undisturbed soil profile samples were collected from the more important soil types and test were conducted relative to infiltration rates and field moisture capacities. The soil profile samples were used in the laboratory during the winters for the determination of soil reaction, organic carbon, nitrogen, mechanical composition, apparent specific gravity, pore size distribution, permanent wilting percentage and other properties. The more important soils of the valleys at Grand Forks were found to belong to the Black soil group while those in the West Kootenay were classed as Brown Podzolio. Small areas of Glei soils were also found. The soil parent materials were chiefly alluvium, glacial till and till derivatives and alluvial fan. From this information soil series were tentatively named and described. The Black soils have reactions ranging from about pH 7 in the A₁ horizon to pH 8.5 in the 0 horizon where free lime occurred. In reaction the Brown Podzolio soils were acid in all horizons and free lime was characteristically absent. The organic carbon content of the Black soils was significantly higher and the carbon to nitrogen ratio narrower than that of the Brown Podzolio soils. The mechanical analysis showed the soils to be low in clay and silt and high in sand in both areas, the exceptions being the soils derived from fine textured alluvium such as the Shoreacres, Glaybrlck and Claypit series. High macro-pore space, infiltration rates and hydraulic conductivities also characterize most of the soils. The field moisture storage capacity and permanent wilting percentage values showed that most of the soils have very low available moisture storage capacities which seriously limit their use for crop production without irrigation. When the soils were classified on the basis of their suitability for crop production without irrigation, only 3,037 acres or 17 percent of the area was classed as arable, and of this only 321 acres or 2 percent was Class 1. The land classed as nonarable without irrigation is suitable for forestry, wildlife, water storage, building sites and other uses. When rated on the basis of its suitability for crop production with sprinkler type irrigation 11,053 acres or 58 percent of the total area was classified as suitable for irrigation but of this only 635 acres or 3 percent was rated as Class 1, It is evident that Irrigation will be a very Important consideration in the use of these lands. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

Ideally, the adopted child should be placed with parents and in a home that offers a reasonable guarantee for health and happiness. If this goal is not achieved, or is threatened, it is important to determine what factors in the placement procedure have been influential, or overlooked. With this theme in mind, this thesis makes an exploratory study of the cases of twenty-eight adopted children who attended the Vancouver Child Guidance Clinic in a period of two years (1953-1955). The social work foundations and principles of adoption practice are discussed in a preliminary chapter. Following this, the Child Guidance Clinic case records of twenty-eight adopted children are analysed, and the pertinent statistical material found therein is tabulated. Less tangible factors such as parental attitudes and feelings about the adopted child are dealt with descriptively. Case studies attempt an over-all picture of the adopted child's life experiences. The findings reveal (a) that in many of the cases studied, one parent had not been in favour of the spouse's plan to adopt a child, or that, one or both of the parents were disappointed in the child they received; (b) that many of the parents in the study group seemed to be over-demanding of the child; (c) that each adopted child presented a combination of behavious problems to the Clinic. The study underlines, for social workers responsible for placing adoptable children (1) the need for thorough investigation of the home and the prospective parents' attitudes about children as well as adults generally; (2) the responsibilities for helping prospective adoptive parents with their uncertainties about the whole adoption process; and (3) the need for supervision of the adoptive home during the adoption probation period. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The purpose of this study has been to review the development of public assistance in British Columbia; and to compare the present policies of (a) eligibility and determination of need, (b) assistance levels, and (c) service programs, in war Veterans’ Allowance, old Age Assistance, Blind Persons’ Allowance, Mothers’ Allowance and Social Allowance. Reference is made to American programs where a comparison of policies is helpful in clarifying Issues. On policy concerning such questions as residence, relatives’ responsibility, citizenship, assessment of resources, levels of assistance, and service programs, the policy Manual and the Acts and Regulations of the B.C. Social Welfare Branch are used as the basis for comparative analysis, interviews were held with authorities administering the programs and these were pursued in order to clarify apparent variation in policy between programs and administrative agencies. Information on the American programs was obtained through literature, correspondence; and a visit to one local office of the State Department of public Assistance, Washington. For the purpose of measuring levels of assistance, use is made of a standard budget developed in a previous Master of Social Work thesis. From this a monthly cost schedule is developed to suggest an up to date budgetary standard and to point up the evaluation of the adequacy of current public assistance allowances. Discrepancies between programs on such matters as exemptions and additional income are also examined. Service programs including the social and medical aspects are studied comparatively, and it is established that British Columbia is a leader in this respect. The more effective use of trained and untrained personnel in the social services appears to demand further research. The study leads to seven major suggestions; (a) abolition of local residence qualifications with appropriate financial arrangements; (b) standardization and liberalization of policies respecting assessment of resources and income; (c) use of the standard budget in establishing and meeting need; (d) use of a simplified budget - deficit method for determining grants; (e) more effective use of personnel in social services; (f) extended use of research in public assistance; (g) development of advisory - committee groups in public assistance. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The Western Division of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind offers a varied program of services to their clients, including casework, home teaching, vocational counselling, job training, certain kinds of employment and residential care. The present study undertakes to describe and make a preliminary evaluation of only part of these services, namely casework services, and only one important section of its clientele, namely, adult males whose numbers in the past few years have increased considerably. The study covers the registration of the blind client, the services of the Social Welfare Department, and the role of the social worker in offering casework services and co-ordinating the services of other departments. Casework services have been discussed under three classifications; (1) short-term, (2) long-term, and (3), intensive services, the division being made on the basis of the number and focus of interviews. Intensive services were offered to clients whose initial reaction to blindness was extreme, requiring more than supportive casework to assist them in their adjustment. Discussing the importance of employment in rehabilitation, problems that hinder the blind client vocationally have been identified, also the manner in which social work services aid in their solution. Areas of which the social worker has to be aware are: (a) the feelings of the client about his blindness, (b) the relationship between health and handicaps and adjustment to blindness, (c) family relationships and the acceptance of the client by his family, (d) social isolation, and (e) community attitudes toward blindness. Severe limitations of recording are discussed, and recommendations made for improving this aspect of casework services. A proposed registration inventory is submitted as a means to obtaining essential diagnostic information. While the study is of localized relevance it does point up the need for a more intensive study of casework services for the young blind adult male and for research in the areas of psychological, social, economic, and physical needs of the blind, for the establishment of future rehabilitation programs. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Housing conditions are, of course, mentioned frequently in social work files and case records, but there is no standardization of descriptive information, and few systematic or periodic surveys. Housing conditions among social assistance families have not been studied as much as might be supposed. A special point is that many social assistance families have only one parent; for broken families the influences of good or bad housing are more pronounced. The present study is a survey of housing conditions among social assistance families, based on a sample and revealing the types of shelter available, the costs of such shelter, and its quality and adequacy for the families who inhabit it. It is also an essay on method: (a) a simple schedule was devised, appropriate for summarizing basic housing information in case files: (b) classifications or subdivisions by which housing can be related to family circumstances were developed. By nature the families classify themselves into those who are paying more than the rental allowance and those who are paying less. The actual study divides itself into three areas: (a) criteria of adequacy, (b) budget aspects of rent and costs, (c) some tentative methods of relating housing conditions to effects on family life, differences In family stability and attitudes, and the family's ability to manage on a limited income. The latter involve ratings and judgements by social workers, but they are explorations in an area which has important welfare significance. Information for the study was obtained from the Vancouver City Social Service Department records of social assistance families, from interviews with the workers assigned to each family, and from relevant literature on housing and on welfare policy. Many of the families were found to be paying rent in excess of their shelter allowance. There is also considerable incidence of inadequacy of shelter. Payment of extra rent does not necessarily insure adequate shelter, because the available amount of satisfactory housing is limited. Suites, apartments, and rooms are the most prevalent type of housing for social assistance families, but also the most inadequate. Single-family housing is hard to obtain. Housing of this type may involve budget difficulties or expedients (including "doubling up") to make it possible. The implications of the study as seen in the concluding chapter Include (a) the adequacy of the social assistance grant, (b) the possibilities for social work services, and (c) the relevance of public "low-rent" housing projects. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The need for public low-rental housing is frequently discussed but there is little exact knowledge of the amount or kind of need, and few surveys of definitive type. The inauguration of the first subsidized low-rental project for family housing in Vancouver (Little Mountain) makes possible such a study. This survey is directed particularly to the housing and income circumstances of the families who applied for entrance to the Little Mountain low-rental housing project (only a small proportion of whom were actually housed in the finished buildings). Samples only could be used: the data relates to the kind of housing occupied by the applicant families, the costs of such housing, its quality and adequacy, the size and composition of the families, and their rent-paying capacity. It is -also an essay on method: (a) a simple schedule was devised, appropriate for summarizing the varied family and housing information contained in the registration forms; (b) classifications or subdivisions by which housing can be related to family circumstances were developed. A significant division is that between (1) 'normal' families which have both parents, (2) broken families which have only one parent, and (3) composite families which include other relatives. The analysis of the material is pursued in three directions: (a) adequacy or inadequacy of family accommodation, and its distribution, (b) summary methods of relating housing conditions to family composition, income, and rent, (c) budgetary aspects of rent and costs, and potential rent-paying capacities of families. Information for the study was obtained from the Vancouver Housing Authority registration forms filled by families who applied for accommodation in the Little Mountain project; from regional (B.C.) statistics of the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation; and from relevant literature on housing conditions in Vancouver and on housing policy in general, including the surveys and publications of the Vancouver Housing Association. Most of the families were found to be occupying accommodation unsuited to their needs. There is considerable incidence of inadequacy and inefficiency of accommodation; overcrowding is particularly pronounced. Many of the families are paying moderate rents, but the quality of the accommodation is low. Payment of higher rents does not necessarily ensure adequate shelter, because the available amount of satisfactory housing is limited. A major implication of the study is that rent-levels should not be used as a measurement of housing without proper relation to family composition and types of housing need. Wider implications of the study, discussed in the concluding chapter, include (a) limitations to the idea of "self-help" in housing, (b) the relevance of home-ownership, and (c) the relevance of public housing. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

The main purpose of this study is to survey a sampling of brief service cases in a child guidance clinic in an effort to discover why these cases could be treated on a brief or short-term basis. Because of the need to help more people in a given length of time and the limited agency staff and high case loads, it is very desirable that treatment on a brief service basis be expanded if it can be done without sacrificing good casework practice. Making use of the transcribed notes made during the Clinic Diagnostic Conferences, the presenting problems, diagnoses, number of contacts and person to whom service was given were tabulated for each of 62 cases which were designated by the Clinic as brief service cases. It was found that there is no formalized definition of brief service at the Clinic and the giving of brief service does not appear to be a planned part of the general program. The data assembled from the diagnostic conference notes indicate that there has been no organized effort to delineate properly what a brief service case is. Because of the success of well organized brief service programs in other agencies, it is suggested that such a program should be planned for at the Clinic and some of the steps in organizing such a program are suggested. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This is one of the first studies made, in a rural area of British Columbia, of the co-operation between the Provincial Probation Branch and the Social Welfare Branch of the Government of British Columbia in the allocation of responsibility for the probation supervision of, and the casework services to, certain male juvenile delinquents. The juvenile delinquents under consideration in this study are those who were known to the Social Welfare Branch or who were in need of a specific service provided by that Branch at the time that they were brought before the Court. The research material was obtained from the files of one probation office and cover all cases opened over a three year period from 1953 to 1956. This probation office served a territory that was also served by one district supervisor and six welfare workers of the Social Welfare Branch. The study compares the characteristics of a group of 28 juvenile delinquents who were known to both the Provincial Probation Branch and the Social Welfare Branch with those of a group of 99 delinquent juveniles who were referred to the Provincial Probation Branch by the Juvenile Courts but who had no contact with the Social Welfare Branch. The groups are compared on the basis of age, offence, family background, religious affiliation, school record, work record and recreational interests. The study then presents seven case digests in detail, to show how the decision was reached between the probation officer and the welfare worker as to who would provide probation supervision, casework services to the child and casework services to the parents. These cases present a brief social history of the juvenile delinquent, a tentative social diagnosis of his troubles, an evaluation of his needs and a suggested solution to his problems. The results of the study indicate that there is no hard and fast rule to be used in allocating responsibilities towards the juvenile delinquents in the group under study between the two Government Branches. Each case must be considered on its own merits so that the agencies can cooperate to function in the best interests of the client. The usual social work practise of dealing with each client as a unique individual must be carried over into the field of corrections if the needs of the child are to be met by the social workers. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This is an exploratory study of the problem of clients' discontinuation in a child guidance clinic. The problem is considered first in terms of its therapeutic and administrative implications for clients and social workers. Reference is made to the professional literature which suggests the multi-causative factors which operate in a client's decision to withdraw from social work services. The problem is also related to social work prinicples and concepts. This is done to demonstrate that, by their continued efforts to understand the meaning of behaviour, to study the client in as much of his total life situation as possible, and to refine and enrich methods of family diagnosis, social workers can sharpen their diagnostic skills and their ability to select effective treatment goals. A brief discussion of the history of child guidance together with a more detailed account of the Provincial Child Guidance Clinic in North Burnaby gives a broad perspective to the problem of discontinuation. The problem is illustrated in five selected cases in which clients withdrew themselves and their children from Clinic services. The case records are examined, highlighting both dynamic patterns within the individual families and also their attitudes towards the child's problems and their Clinic experiences. These areas are thought to be significant factors relating to the parents' decisions to withdraw. Five follow-up interviews are conducted and recorded which indicate the clients' verbal reactions to the Clinic, including their conscious reasons for withdrawal. An assessment is made of the degree of Clinic help which the five families were able to employ. Common patterns are elucidated in the five cases and are designated as "withdrawal indicators". These indicators may, in the future, have prognostic value in determining which cases are likely to withdraw. The indicators are applied to six additional cases (tabulated in Appendix D). The results show that two-thirds of the indicators are present in each of the six cases. A further study is recommended in which the indicators would be applied to a larger number of discontinued cases, thus determining their reliability as predictive tools. The clients' reasons for withdrawal are discussed together with the recommendation that an additional study be done both to validate these reasons and to demonstrate new ones. In light of the findings various recommendations are made which the Clinic social work staff might implement in an attempt to decrease the rate of discontinuation. The withdrawal indicators should be recognized as forms of resistance and should be handled by the workers in early interviews. Increased skills in the areas of family diagnosis and a more discriminating system of recording will help to expedite the workers' recognition of the indicators. Also, greater skill by the workers in recognizing brief service cases, in handling reassignment, in their interpretation of the Clinic and its functions, and in their choice of words, will help to strengthen the clients' motivation to a continued Clinic contact. Recommendations are also made whereby the waiting-period, which emerges as the strongest reason for discontinuation, might be utilized as a therapeutic tool in treatment. Withdrawal must, in nearly all cases, reflect the clients' dissatisfactions with the services of the Clinic. To attain their goals for their clients, the agency, and themselves, the Clinic social workers must strive to understand and decrease the rate of discontinuation. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate