When a person shall apply for relief for himself or another to an overseer or deputy, the overseer shall inquire into the facts, conditions and circumstances of the case, and also into the matter of the person's settlement if it shall appear that the person is unable to earn a livelihood by his own labor and is a poor person and requires temporary or permanent relief.
The overseer shall also ascertain the direct or indirect causes of poverty, and whether or not the person requiring permanent relief is without adequate home or without children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, or husband who are by law required and able to maintain him and other persons who are willing to do so.