ABSTRACT
It does not seem an exaggeration to say that the manifestations of deprivation and delinquency in society are as big a threat as that of the nuclear bomb. One resource will undoubtedly be the knowledge gained by anyone who has had to come to grips with the problems of deprivation and delinquency by taking responsibility for individual cases. Although the circumstances in which Donald Winnicott found himself were abnormal because of the war-time, the knowledge gained from the experience has general application because deprived children who become delinquent have basic problems. Moreover, the children who became Winnicott's responsibility were those who needed special provision. The majority of these children could be helped and prevented from further psychiatric deterioration, whereas he knew that the children who had gone over into delinquency needed more than clinical help. They presented a problem of care and management.
