Family fit for Christmas visits
published: Sunday | December 25, 2005

Not every family will be appropriate for a placement, and likewise, neither will every child. Ms. Morrison-Spence had to break off the interview to turn-down one prospective family, since she said the child had bonding problems and had not yet met the family's daughter. "Children will have to be disciplined enough to benefit from the exposure," she explained.

And what kind of families volunteer to take home a child? "Mostly middle or upper-class families who have a civic or Christian sense of duty. They also understand how it can benefit their own family and children through the experience of a child from a less privileged background," she said.

Names changed or removed to protect identity of children.