ABSTRACT
Most children are brought up by their natural parents. Some of the latter will be young offenders; others will be children who have been judged to be in need of ‘care, protection, or control’. It is the authority’s responsibility to provide shelter, guidance and care in its widest sense, for as long as is consistent with the children’s welfare and, if necessary, until they reach the age of eighteen. The rest were children who present some of the most difficult and chronic problems with which children’s departments have to deal. In addition magistrates were encouraged to use the method of removing children from unsatisfactory home environments rather than making approved school orders. After meeting the first extreme pressures the children’s departments were able to consolidate their efforts. The Home Office publishes summaries of the local authorities’ returns of children in care each year but only comments on the situation in the country as a whole.
