Spence Alumni Society –
Annual Report 1916
Here it might be well to point out the difference between our child
placing work and that of the Department of Charities; the State
Charities Aid Association and other public and quasi-public agencies
with which we cooperate. In general terms, it is their object to
place the largest possible number of the reasonably promising children
in respectable homes. Our primary purpose is to place children of
unusual promise in homes of uncommon opportunities. . . .
Out of 101 children referred to us for adoption 25 have been accepted
and placed; 7 are awaiting placement; 5 have been sent to Miss Barter
and Miss Spence for placement, 2 proved unfit for adoption, and
2 died. . .Of the remaining 60, some were rejected because
of their family history. In the majority of these cases the remaining
parent and relatives of the children decided to help them and to
make other arrangements. Most of this investigating has been done
by the Child Finding Committee. For those situations, however, which
we felt were too complicated we employed the services of Miss Ellen
Bablett a special investigator in work for babies. . . .
Applications have come from far and near, and represent States
as widely separated as Georgia and Maine, Virginia and Minnesota
and far away, Hawaii. Omitting those who applied and later withdrew
their application, we now have on file 61 applications, of which
six are for boys, 14 for either sex and 41 for girls. Why do so
many people prefer girls! The majority seem to feel that a girl
is easier to understand and to rear, and they are afraid of a boy.
But. . .there are now more boy babies available than girls.
|