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in seven subsequent parties. These children have been placed by the Superintendent in the care of suitable persons to whom the guardianship may, in certain circumstances, be transferred after six months. Pour of the children were discharged from the control of the Child Welfare Superintendent, leaving 161 under his control at 31st March, 1950. (b) " Refugee " Children. —Also under authority of the Child Welfare Amendment Act, 1948, the Superintendent has assumed control of 8 refugee children who arrived in accordance with arrangements made between the Government of New Zealand and the International Refugee Organization. All these have been placed in homes with a view to their adoption. In order to ensure that the children in both these categories are placed only where their particular needs will be met adequately, persons who submit applications to take children are interviewed and their homes are inspected by field officers of the Division. Sufficient suitable homes have so far been available for all the children. (c) Polish Refugee Children. —In accordance with arrangements completed last year with the appropriate authorities, the Child Welfare Division assumed administrative responsibility from Ist April, 1949, for the Polish children who came to New Zealand during the war and who were formerly accommodated in the Polish Camp at Pahiatua. A development of interest to the Child Welfare Division during the year is the commencement in March, 1950, of the two-year course in the School of Social Science at Victoria University College, Wellington. Of the first fourteen students who have commenced the course, two are members of the field staff of the Child Welfare Division. The Child Welfare Division furnishes facilities for some of the practical work required to be undertaken by the students. Honorary Child Welfare Officers An important part of the field-work of the Child Welfare Division is carried out by the Honorary Child Welfare Officers. Especially in areas distant from the District Child Welfare Offices, the honorary officers render a valuable community service. Under the authority of their appointment by the Minister, 208 men and women were serving in this capacity at 31st March, 1950. Child Welfare Institutions Although the large majority of the children coming under the control of the Child Welfare Superintendent are placed in individual foster-homes, there is always an appreciable number who need the care and training which can be provided only in an institution. The Child W T elfare Division administers several institutions, diversified in their function and facilities to meet the needs of the several categories of these children. The staffing of these institutions continues to present difficulty, but all the children requiring admission to an institution have been accommodated satisfactorily. Extracts from the annual reports of the officers in charge of the institutions are as follows : Girls' Training Centre, Burwood Every effort is made to maintain a desirable active relationship between the Centre and the normal life of the community. To foster a correct public appreciation of the work of the Centre, the Principal has, during the year, given addresses to twenty-one groups of persons representing Churches, kindergartens, parent-teacher associations, Plunket mothers, and the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union. A large number of girls formerly in residence have visited the Centre this year; often they have brought their husbands and children with them.

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