View report page

Children Act, 1908.
Under Part I. of this Act, the supervision of foster-children
and of the homes of the foster-mothers is carried out by the Municipal
Health Visitors in their respective districts. Application for
registration as a foster-mother under the Act is made to the
Maternity and Child Welfare Committee; registration is sanctioned
by the County Borough Council on the recommendation
of this Committee.
This Act is particularly difficult to administer efficiently. The
applicant for registration as a foster-mother has already received
and taken charge of the child before she is required to apply for
registration. Until her application is placed before the Committee
there is no power to remove the child from the care of the
applicant, even if she, or the home, is definitely undesirable.
Delay is unavoidable, under present conditions, before the application
is passed or rejected.
But the greatest difficulty arises in those cases where registration
is refused or cancelled; the practice adopted in this
Borough is to request the parent to remove the child forthwith
from the care of the foster mother. It has been found in several
instances that the foster-mother has not received the payment
promised, and that the parent or parents have disappeared, so
that it is impossible in such circumstances to get into touch with
the parents. An order for removal of the child to a Public Assistance
institution is then given, in which case the child becomes
wholly chargeable to the Public Assistance Committee until the
159