completed, its spokesman said yesterday.

Mrs. Lauren King made the comment following the home's announcement on Monday that operations would be suspended for work on the King Street home in Hamilton.

The home, which primarily provides foster care for children, will probably close in September.

In the weeks leading to the closing, Mrs. King said the home would work closely with Social Services to place the nine children currently housed there in private homes.

Directors and officers of the home intend to use the suspension period to assess the home's current role and the changing needs of the children put in its care.

Mrs. Glenda Edwards of Family Services said society was producing more younger children who, for various reasons, are "disturbed''.

The home's role, which has changed over the years, has been to take children whose parents have been unable or unavailable to provide care. In its early years, it was a place to house homeless males who frequented Hamilton docks.

Later it became a day care centre for children with working parents.

"Today, the need for foster care is still there,'' a Sunshine League press statement said.

"However, the trend is now to place the children in private foster care. It has been determined that more specialised trained personnel are needed for young people with special needs.'' Construction work at the home mainly aims to repair structural problems such as rotting wooden floors.

The Sunshine League, Bermuda's oldest charity, said it hoped the community would not decrease its donations. Sixty percent of its current funding comes from donations and private sources.