The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1944-04-05
UNWANTED CHILDREN
War HeiehtenS Need For Temporary Foster Homes
~ CAROL herman
MA RAAM CnPReanAndenH


: New York-A little girls cherubic
xaee Stares out of the morning
newspaper. The headline says "UN-
WANTED" The story explains that
lnhe was abandoned in . doorway.
Pinned to her clothing was q note:
|sPlease do what you can for my
baby. - have no means Of sup
port and can't stand to see her
1taxve."
Women read such stories every
day and yet fail to realize that
taxing care Of ''unwanted" children
IS one Of the most vital war jobs a
woman who has to stay at home
can do. SO declares Agnes Davis,
secretary Of the united campaign
sponsored by II private child-plac-
ing agencies in this city to find
foster homes for children blitzed
| out Of their own by death, Ill health
marital diScord, or the inability OF
their parents to provide for them.
The need throughout the country
3Oc substitute homes has become In
Increasingly more acute with the war.
iDiSiocations in family life have
caused more homes to be tempo
1arily broken, while the supply OF
women who might ordinarily board
children In their homes Is shrink
ing because husbands are drafted,
families are doubling up and wo-
men are going into war plants.
However, as a social worker at
the Children'S Service Bureau,
Brooklyn, N. r, pointed out, there
are many women who could and
should take these child victims OF
circumstances into their homes tenn
porarily. The children are not for
adoption, she emphasized, because
in most cases their own homes are
eventually restored.
Women with sons in service
have found that taking care Of a
foster child helps them from
brooding about the dangers to their
own child. Wives whose husbands
have gone to war find that board
ing a child gives them an interest
in keeping a home intact while
their husbands are away. Many wo-
men feel that taking care Of chill
dren Is the field in which they are
most skilled, and therefore where
they are most qualified to make a
genuine contribution to victory.
AL agencies pay foster parents
for the care Of the child. Amounts
here vary from $25 to $35 month.
Clothes, medical and dental care
are also furnished by the agency.
The Children'S Service Bureau
equips the children it places with
everything from toothbrushes to
winter coats, including such nice
ties as slack outfits and bathing
suits for summer wear and bright
suede bea1ieS for back-to-school
Sportswear. In addition, the Chill
drens Service Bureau pays shoe re-
pair and cleaning bills.
What kind of homes do social
workers favor for child placement?
They want home where the child
will get love and attention from
every member Of the family, have
a chance to participate In the
normal school and community life
that will prepare him to become a
well balanced citizen of the future,
instead of the malcontent into
which he might develop if left to
the streets.
They want foster parents who
are IN good health, not more than
90 years Of age, and with an I'M
selfish desire to do something for
someone else. The income of the
foster parents must be sufficient to
provide good living conditions in
dependent of the agency allot-
ment, and foster parents must look
j to the child's spiritual welfare by
providing adequate religious train
ling in the faith in which he was
born.