Local Authority and Allied Personal Social Services
| Date | 01 September 1966 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455056601200308 |
| Published date | 01 September 1966 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
102
own
Place
of
Detention ...
run
by
a
representative
and
Voluntary
Committee,
working
with
the
sanction
of
the
Watch
Committee.
Such
a
Voluntary
Committee
was
formed,
and
on
it
were
Magistrates.
the
Chief
Constable.
Magistrates’
Clerk,
a
Church
of
England
and
Roman
Catholic
Canon,
workers
from
Nonconformist
bodies,
including
Quakers
and
Salvation
Army.
I
think
no
one
was
left
out.&dquo;
The
paper
concludes ...
&dquo;I
only
wish
some
of
you
could
see
some
of
the
children
when
they
arrive,
perhaps
with
on~ly
one
garment,
filthy,
verminous,
cowed,
sometimes
hardly
looking
like
human
beings,
and
see
them
again
after
their
warm
baths,
their
hair
(if
hair
it
can
be
called)
cut,
in
decent
clothes
and
well
fed.
Self-respect
has
come
to them.
One
feels
a
hopeful
future
’lies
before
them.
a
turning
of
the ways.
They
may
be
going
to
a
Reformatory
or
Industrial
School.
or
they
may
be
placed
under
probation;
and,
may
I
take
this
opportunity
of
saying
that
probably
no
one
knows
better
than
I
do
what
that
has
meant
in
the
lives
of
many,
many
children.
Sometimes
you
may
find
the
work
discouraging.
Looking
at
it
as
a
whole,
I
can
only
say
that
there
are
few,
if
any,
pieces
of
work
better
worth
doing,
and
I
count
it
a
great
honour
to
take
part
in
this
Conference
of
Probation
Officers,
those
who
are
working,
as
we
are
working,
in
Children’s
Courts,
and
those
who
are
working
among
juvenile
adults
(and
how
you
need
a
private
Court
of
your
own)
and
those
(whose
work
must
be
more
discouraging
and
more
difficult
than
ours)
who
are
trying
to
bend
a
tree
when
it
is
old.&dquo;
LOCAL
AUTHORITY
AND
ALLIED
PERSONAL
SOCIAL
SERVICES
[In
the
White
Paper,
The
Child,
I’he
Family and
The
Young
Offender,
the
Government
stated
its
intention
to
set
up
a
Committee
&dquo;to
review
the
organisa-
tion
and
responsibilities
of the
local
authority
personal
social
services,
and
consider
what
changes
are
desirable
to
ensure
an
effective
family
service&dquo;.
This
Committee,
now
known
as
the
Seebohm
Committee,
has
been
gathering
evidence
from
a
wide
range
of
organisations
during
recent
months.
The
following
is
the
memorandum
submitted
to
it
by
N.A.P.O.-Editor.]
THE
NEED
FOR
CHANGE
1.
There
is
a
clear
consensus
of
opinion
in
the
probation
service
that
the
present
pattern
of
organisation
of
the
local
authority
personal
social
services
is
unsatisfactory.
2.
The
local
authorities
vary
considerably
in
the
way
they
administer
their
services
so
that
the
public
receives
an
inconsistent
provision.
It
is
common
for
local
authorities
to
see
their
function
as
being
to
meet
a
statutory
obligation
(for
example,
to
provide
for
abandoned
children,
to
provide
part
III
accommodation,
etc.),
instead
of
seeing
themselves
as
offering
a
service
to
the
public,
to
help
those
in
need
and
where
possible
to
take
early
action
to
prevent
need
becoming
social
breakdown.
In
our
view,
the
social
services
should
be
seen
not
only
as
&dquo;services
for
breakdown&dquo;,
but
as
a
provision
available
for
all,
without
stigma,
and
with
an
emphasis
on
prevention.
The
public
and
the
local
authorities
must
recognise
that
many
people
will
at
some
stage
in
their
lives
need
to
make
use
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