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503 (566) children were referred by the Children's Officer for opinion as to their
suitability on medical grounds for adoption or boarding out. Four (2) children were
considered unfit and the remainder were grouped as follows :
(?) Referred for adoption : 173 (185)
(a) Fit for adoption 147 (158)
(b) Fit for adoption subject to certain
provisions 7 (7)
(c) Unfit for adoption but fit for board-
ing-out 15 (14)
(d) Cases still under consideration 3 (4)
(e) Withdrawn by Children's Officer 1 (2)
(2) Referred for boarding-out: 326 (379)
(a) Fit for boarding-out 324 (375)
(b) Withdrawn by Children's Officer 2 (4)
The figures in brackets are those for 1955.
Child life
protection
By arrangement with the Children's Officer responsibility has been continued for
duties under Part XIII of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, as amended by Part V
of the Children Act, 1948. The visiting of foster children and the inspection of premises
in which the children are living is undertaken by health visitors designated as ' child
protection visitors'.
At the end of the year, 661 children were being supervised under these arrangements
as compared with 647 at the end of 1955, 663 receptions and 613 removals being notified
during 1956.
General
arrangements
Voluntary
mother and
baby homes
Care of the unmarried mother and her child
Accommodation for unmarried mothers in mother and baby homes is provided
mainly by voluntary organisations. The Welfare Committee has one mother and baby
home and pays under the National Assistance Act, 1948, for individual girls accommodated
in homes maintained by the voluntary organisations. Grants-in-aid for the
maintenance and upkeep of voluntary mother and baby homes are paid by the Council
under Section 22 of the National Health Service Act, 1946. In 1956, 19 homes received
these grants, the total payments amounting to .£10,755 compared with £11,048 for
20 homes in the previous year. Each of these homes was visited by medical officers
of the Council at least twice during the year to ensure that satisfactory standards of
diet, staffing and accommodation were maintained. The Medical Officer of Health is
represented on the committees of these voluntary homes in London by divisional
medical officers. Mothers are encouraged to attend child welfare centres while they
are resident in the homes and regular calls are made by health visitors who follow-up
the baby on discharge. During 1956, the expectant or nursing mothers admitted to
these 19 homes totalled 1,308, about 85 per cent. of whom were referred by moral
welfare workers.
Moral
welfare
associations
Under Section 22 of the National Health Service Act, 1946, the Council paid grants
totalling £9,625 (£9,525 in 1955) to the five large moral welfare associations of the
major religious denominations. These five associations employ between them approximately
35 paid full-time moral welfare workers, most of whom are engaged solely
on outdoor visiting, and they also receive considerable assistance from voluntary
workers. The headquarters of these associations are visited periodically by the Council's
officers to review the service provided and to discuss matters of mutual interest. During
1956, a total of 2,908 expectant or nursing mothers applied for assistance to the welfare
workers of these associations ; the comparable figure for 1955 was 2,429.
Annual
moral
welfare
conference
For some years a conference has been held at the County Hall of representatives of
the grant-aided moral welfare associations and other voluntary bodies controlling
mother and baby homes in London, when the work of the previous year has been
reviewed. Problems discussed at the 1956 conference included :
(a) the need for the associations' workers to urge unmarried expectant mothers
to seek early ante-natal care. There has been considerable evidence that a very large
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