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parents of children whom they have looked after have defaulted in their
payments. Then, too, there is the case of the parent, probably the mother
of an illegitimate child, who cannot afford to pay the usual charges of a
foster mother. The uncertainty of the background in such cases must
give rise in the child to a regrettable absence of feeling of security. In
May, the Public Health Committee sought and obtained the sanction of
the Ministry to their accepting the responsibility for the payment of one
guinea per week to a foster parent caring for a child whose parents have
resided in the district for a minimum period of 12 months, the payment
being recoverable from the parent in whole or in part in accordance with
the Council's scale of recovery.
ADOPTION OF CHILDREN.
Welfare authorities are interested in the child under nine years of age
who is in the care of a person not the parent or guardian, in respect of
the placing of whom arrangements have been made by any person not
the parent or guardian, unless these were made by a registered adoption
society or local authority. As regards such children, any person taking
part in the arrangements, is required to give at least seven days' notice
to the welfare authority of the area in which the adopter resides. The
Harrow and Willesden Ruridecanal Association for Moral Welfare work
whose offices are at No. 4, Peterborough Road, Harrow, are a registered
adoption society.
During the year, only 25 notices were received under section 7.
At the end of the year 17 children were under supervision.
ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN.
In October, 1943, the Ministry of Health, in circular 2866, urged
welfare authorities to consider the problem. The Council participate
in a joint scheme with the County Council, by which suitable local cases
are admitted to a hostel (" Marylands," Hendon), for mothers and babies,
and to another home (16, The Park, Golders Green) for the expectant
mother. During the year 4 expectant mothers were admitted to the
one hostel, and 10 mothers with their children to the other.
SUPERVISION OF CHILDREN.
Day Nurseries.
The decision of the Council as to the future of the war nurseries
was (1) that the Vancouver Road Nursery should be closed on the 31st
March, 1946 ; (2) that the Buckingham Road and Rayners Lane Nurseries
would, as from the 1st April, be administered by the Education
Authority as nursery schools ; (3) that the remaining four nurseries
should continue as day nurseries until the time came when the demand
at any nursery for the care of the under two's had so fallen off that
consideration should be given to the question of its being closed as a
nursery, and the Education Committee taking it over as a nursery school.
These changes took place, so that whereas for most of the first quarter
there were seven war nurseries, for the remaining nine months of the year
there were only the four, namely, those at Spencer Road, South Harrow,
Kenmore Road and Headstone Drive, with respectively 49, 60, 60 and 50
places.