Routledge Revivals Exploration into Child Care Originally published in 1971, this title explores childcare in the period betweentheChildrenActof1948andtheSeebohmReportof1968.During this time Children’s Departments and social work expanded beyond all expectations.Inthedevelopmentsofthesetwodecadestheauthorstudiesthe historyoftheChildCareServiceandakeyexampleoftheprocessesofsocial policy. The contents are a chronicle of events that shaped developments in theserviceinEnglandandWalesduringthattime.Todayitcanbereadand enjoyedinitshistoricalcontext. Exploration into Child Care Peter Boss Firstpublishedin1971 byRoutledge&KeganPaulLtd Thiseditionfirstpublishedin2023byRoutledge 4ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,Oxon,OX144RN andbyRoutledge 605ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness ©1971PeterBoss Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilisedin any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Publisher’sNote Thepublisherhasgonetogreatlengthstoensurethequalityofthisreprintbutpoints outthatsomeimperfectionsintheoriginalcopiesmaybeapparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondencefromthosetheyhavebeenunabletocontact. ALibraryofCongressrecordexistsunderISBN:0710069650 ISBN:978-1-032-44147-4(hbk) ISBN:978-1-003-37075-8(ebk) ISBN:978-1-032-44157-3(pbk) BookDOI10.4324/9781003370758 Exploration into child care by Peter Boss University of Leicester, School of Social Work LONDON ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL First published 1971 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane, London, EC4V sEL Printed in Great Britain by Northumberland Press Ltd., Gateshead 8 © Peter Boss 1971 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief passages in criticism Contents General editor's introduction vii 1 Introduction 1 2 The Children Act 1948 4 'Whose Children?' 4 The Curtis Report 12 Provisions of the Children Act 1948 22 Child care in the social services 25 3 The Children Act in operation 34 Startin9 the service 34 Numbers in care 36 Problems of accommodation 44 Foster care 51 Chan9es in residential care 53 Adoption work 56 Child protection 58 Approved school after-care 59 4 Policy developments-the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 63 The child ne9lected in his own home 63 The co-ordination issue 65 The In9leby Report 68 The~~Act ~ Effects on the service 75 5 Policy developments-future trends 81 The call for a family service 81 V CONTENTS The Seebohm report 85 'Children in Trouble' and the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 90 Home Office reorganization 95 6 Manpower and training 98 7 Postscript 108 Guide to further reading II3 Tables Table I Number of Children in Care and Received and Discharged 1949-1959, England and Wales 37 Table 2 Number of Children in Care and Received and Discharged 1960-1968, England and Wales 41 vi General editor's introduction In its modern form, the Child Care service started from the publication of the Curtis Report and the enactment of the Children Act of 1948. It was envisaged then as a com paratively minor service for neglected and deprived children, headed by a local authority officer, probably a social worker, who could stand in loco parentis to them. In the next twenty years, both Children's Departments and social work were to expand beyond all expectations. The acquisition of preventive powers by Children's Depart ments under the 1963 Children and Young Persons Act, and the merging of two systems of residential care under the 1969 Act, have widened the scope of the work of Children's Departments. Instead of providing a small, specialized service, they are now providing in many areas a broad, family-based service with a number of developing specialisms. In the same period, social work has changed. Case-work techniques have become more sophisticated, and have been matched by a developing interest in group work and community work. The Seebohm Report of 1968, with its emphasis on area planning, unification of responsibility at the local level, and citizen participation, gives a new twist to the kaleido scope. As Mr Boss says, the period between Curtis and Seebohm provides a distinctive period for study. In the vii