Book Reviews and Notices : Citizen Participation in Government: A Study of County Welfare Boards. By HELEN E. MARTZ. ( Washington, D. C. : Public Affairs Press. 1948. Pp. 63. $1.00. )

• DOI: 10.1177/106591294800100352
• Date: 01 September 1948
• Published date: 01 September 1948
• Author: Elliott W. Guild
• Subject Matter: Articles

360
by the average college student or the American public that frequent use
of the dictionary may be necessary in order to fully understand the material.
E. E. MILLER.
University of Utah.
Citizen Participation in Government: A Study of County Welfare Boards.
By HELEN E. MARTZ. ( Washington, D. C. : Public Affairs Press. 1948.
Pp. 63. $1.00. )
In this booklet Dr. Martz examines in detail the day-to-day workings
of a number of citizen administrative boards responsible for the management
of a public aid program on the local level. These are chiefly county boards,
and particular attention is paid to their responsibilities in the fields of per-
sonnel, case review, policy formulation, interpretation and coordination, and
their relationships to the state agency.
The reader is made keenly aware of the need for continued sound evalu-
ation of the legislation creating boards of this type, for criteria for the com-
position of boards, and for analyzing the nature of responsibilities assigned
to boards. Further, such problems are pointed out as the political nature of
board appointments leading to poor representation from the community, the
unwillingness of some board members to delegate responsibilities to the
county director and staff, and the proper limits of board discretion.
The author tries to give objective answers to some central questions
such as: Do board members &dquo;get in...