ABSTRACT
Nine homes were selected to provide a representative sample of residential care for children looked after in England and Wales. This chapter describes them as they appeared to the researchers at the beginning of the study. Initially, selected data on residential care for looked after children are provided to allow readers to judge how the nine homes in the study compare. Department of Health statistics show that in 1996 there were 1,200 children’s homes in England. Warner found the average age of children looked after in residential care to be 14 years; local authority statistical returns show increasing proportions of older teenagers and Utting concluded that residential care is now a service mainly for adolescents. In terms of legal status and background characteristics, the young people varied considerably, making it difficult to define ‘a typical’ resident or specify a single reason for their being admitted to the homes.
