Postwar needs of men in Brethren civilian public service.

              POSTWAR NEEDS OF MEN IN BRETHREN CIVLIAN PUBLIC SERVICE
A study by the Elgin office of the Brethren Service Committee based on queetion- naires received from 270 men in Brethren Civilian Public Service.
INTRODUCTION
One of the chief interests of all Civilian Public Service men is demobilization. Helping C.P.S. men to reintegrate themselves into useful and satisfying community and occupational relationships on discharge from C.P.S.        is also of current interest to the administrative agencies.    Advance planning for this job is made necessary since the men involved will be scattered to many places and engaged in unrelated activities soon after discharge.    But advance planning has been very difficult because there were so many unknown factors in the situation — date of C.P.S, demobilization, postwar economic conditions and the present and future desires of the men as to education, occupation,  etc.
In order to shed some light on this last unknown factor, the Brethren C.P.S.  staff undertook to make a preliminary "Survey of Postwar Needs of Men in Brethren Civilian Service."    This survey does not furnish personnel information on the needs of each man nor does it furnish accurate statistics on tho total needs in B.C.P.S.;  it is rather,an attempt to make as estimate as to the total size and scope of the problem which may be used in planning until complete and detailed personnel information be¬ comes available.    The purpose of this study was to determine the approximate number cf men who will probably desire each type of assistance that the Brethren Service Commit¬ tee might be in position to offer.    On the basis of this information it has become possible to:
a. Estimate in the light of available manpower, administrative personnel finances of the Brethren Searvice Committee,  approximately how much and what type of assistance may be offered in each phase of demobilization.
b. Develop a series of personnel forms which will get from each man the informa¬ tion which is needed for giving him the most effective assistance.
In order to whittle a large job down to the size of our Elgin office  staff,  the questionnaire was not sent to every man in B.C.P.S.  Instead,  a sampling tcclmique was used;  from the alphabetical file of the men in B.C.P.S.,  each sixth man was selected to receive a questionnaire.    27O of these questionnaires were filled out and returned and this study is based on the answers given on those questionnaires.''*
The following information is therefore presented, not as accurate statistics, but rather as approximations of the actual number of men who would likely have the indicated postwar desires and needs.    It should furnish the background for intelligent consideration of the various problems involved in tho demobilization process.
*In addition to the 270 questionnaires returned,   complete,  4 men declined to complete the questionnaire,  35 men selected were no longer in Brethren C.P.S.  and 17 question¬ naires were unaccounted for.    The sampling of 27O men therefore represents 14.7% of the 1834 men in Brethren C.P.S.    In many cases the results from this 14.7% have been multiplied to make it an applicable estimate of the total number in B.C.P.S.