1508 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [Cn. 600

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take
effect on June 1, 1947.

Approved April 25, 1947.

CHAPTER 600.
(Senate Bill 8)

AN ACT to add 14 new sections to Article 88A of the Anno-
tated Code of Maryland (1939 Edition), title "State Depart-
ment of Public Welfare", to be known as Sections 16A to
16N, inclusive, to follow immediately after Section 16' of said
Article 88A, and to be under the new sub-title "Child Care";
to repeal and re-enact, with amendments, Sections 10 and 11
of said Article 88A of the Annotated Code (1939 Edition and

1943 Supplement), sub-title "Board of Welfare"; and to
repeal Sections 622 to 626, inclusive, of Article 27 of the
Annotated Code (1939 Edition), title "Crimes and Punish-
ments", sub-title "Separating Young Child from Mother";
providing generally for the examination and licensing of
agencies, institutions and individuals having the care and
custody of minors, denning the rights and duties of such
agencies, institutions and individuals, prescribing the pro-
cedure to be followed by the State Department of Public
Welfare in such examination and licensing, and repealing in-
consistent laws.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Mary-
land, That 14 new sections be and they are hereby added to
Article 88A of the Annotated Code of Maryland (1939 Edi-
tion), title "State Department of Public Welfare", to be under
the new sub-title "Child Care", to be known as Sections 16A to
16N, inclusive, to follow immediately after Section 16 of said
Article, and to read as follows:

16A. (Legislative Policy.) The General Assembly hereby
declares as a matter of legislative policy its conviction that the
paramount consideration of this sub-title is the protection of
the children affected by it. The condition of childhood is such
that a child is not capable of protecting himself, and when its
natural parents for any reason have relinquished its care to
others, there arises the possibility of certain risks to the child
which in turn require comparable and offsetting measures.
When the interests of a child and those of an adult are in con-
flict, the doubt should be resolved in favor of the child.