Social_Welfare_Annual_Report_1968-1969 — Page 29

Director of Social Welfare is required to advise the Supreme Court on the suitability of the adoptive parents. An adoption order may be applied for in respect of a child between the natural and adoptive parents but these form a small minority of cases investigated. The majority of local adoptions are in fact arranged with the assistance of the Department, in respect of abandoned children, orphans or children given up by their parents who have been received by the Department into its care. In this connection the Department's Chuk Yuen Children's Reception Centre receives and cares for any child under the age of eight who may have been found abandoned or wandering in the streets and who is in need of immediate care and attention. In the case of these adoptions, a family would normally apply for the adoption of a child: and the Department would then investigate the suitability of the applicants, with a view to finding a suitable home for the child. 213 children were adopted during the year and it is an encouraging sign that the waiting list of applicants exceeds the number of children available for adoption. However, there exists a small number of disabled children for whom suitable homes are difficult to find.

68. Requests made by overseas families for the adoption of local children are considered by the Department in conjunction with two voluntary welfare organizations namely, the International Scoail Service and CARITAS. During the year 47 children were adopted abroad as compared with 69 in the previous year. The International Social Service also embarked on an experimental project of finding suitable foster parents abroad for children and one child was sent abroad during the year. Foster parents can provide equally suitable homes for children as adoptive parents while foster parenthood avoids the binding responsibilities of adoptive parenthood.

69. Children may be 'adopted' in accordance with local Chinese customs and traditions and therefore without recourse to a court order, but for the avoidance of abuse female children so adopted are automatically placed under the guardianship of the Director of Social Welfare, in accordance with the provisions of the Protection of Women and Juvenile Ordinance, Cap 213, and each adoption is registered. The number of these registered adoptions decreased from 59 in 1967-68 to 43 during the year under review. The registration of male children is not required by law but new voluntary registrations have increased from 24 to 31.

23