Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1967-1968 — Page 34

76. New legislation for the control of day-care centres and residential homes is being drafted. It is intended that where control is to be exercised over the operation of day care and residential centres, it would serve as a means to safeguard the well-being of children being cared for and the maintenance of a more uniform standard to meet adequate but realistic requirements in child care.

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

77. As in previous years, two international agencies with offices in Hong Kong, namely the International Social Service and Catholic Relief Services, continued to act as sponsors in adoption placement overseas. During the year 69 children left for adoption abroad as against 73 in the previous year.

78. Fewer children were adopted overseas. The number of abandoned children free for adoption is very much lower than is com- monly supposed, and even among those available there are many who because of physical or mental defect are unlikely to find adoptive parents. However, special efforts were made during the year to find suitable homes for children of the older age group between 8 and 14 years of age and during the year 8 such children were placed overseas.

79. In order to prepare children who may be adopted abroad, the International Social Service in collaboration with the Department has initiated a new project of temporary foster care. A monthly fee of $100 is paid to local foster parents who care for a child under these arrange- ments. As this was only started towards the end of the year on an experimental basis, it will be some time before a proper assessment of its usefulness can be made. However if it proves to be successful it should be possible to arrange for more children to be cared for in this way instead of being kept in institutions.

80. Under the existing provisions (Section 30 and 37) of the Protec- tion of Women and Juveniles Ordinance, Cap. 213, female children who are adopted other than by a court order, namely by Chinese custom, are placed under the guardianship of the Director of Social Welfare whose office has kept a full register of those adopted by this arrangement. The registration of adopted sons is voluntary.

81. During the year, the number of new voluntary registrations of adopted sons increased from 24 to 31, but the number of new registra- tions of adopted daughters decreased from 59 to 43.

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