INFANT LIFE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 20, 18 October 1919, Page 9

INFANT LIFE

STATE PROTECTIVE MEASURES. The report, of the Education Department on" infant life protection states that tho purpose of the system is to provide supervision and ■ protection for infants boarded out by. their parents orguardians in circiHnslances that might lead to, their neglect or ill-treatment. Unless licensed as a foster-parent, no person -in consideration of any nayment or reward may receive or.take charge of an infant for the purpose of nursing or maintaining it. apart from its parents or guardians for longer than seven rnrisecntive days. "Infant'-' means a child under -six "years of age. Besides the district agents, duly appointed officers-who are ! qualified uiirscs have full power to ; inspect the licensed homes'. If n.vessary the Education Department may takeover tho maintenance of a child, recovering the. cost from .the. parents or guardians, -and ,-the foster-narent'a license' may, be ~T.evbked, tho, children .in, the home, being -otherwise- provided • for *ns the. Minister ntay direct. Payment of a premium 'on :the adoption- of _ p. . child brings tho case within, the provisions -of the. Act. -

The number- of homes licensed at the end of the year-was 1060,. and the total number of- children in theni/during the year was 13-f!), a- decrease of 12' for , the year. Of this total,. the number of in'fniifs, under one year was 293: C children died, "beincr. 0.44. per cent, of those in the homes. Of . that number, .3 died in foster homes and 3 in hospitals or nursing homes to which they had. been removed for treatment, so. that the deaths in foster homes represented 0.22 per cent, only of the total number dealt with.