The Children Act and the Local Authority

Date01 October 1935
AuthorW.J.O. Newton
DOI10.1177/026455053500200205
Published date01 October 1935
Subject MatterArticles
-
THE
CHILDREN
ACT
AND
THE
LOCAL
AUTHORITY
By
W
J.
O.
NEWTON,
Assistant
Education
Officer,
London
County
Council
AN
ADDRESS
TO
THE
TWENTY-THIRD
ANNUAL
-
CONFERENCE
OF
N.A.P.O.
Zit
is
a
privilege
to
be
asked
to
address
an
audience
so
interested
in
young
people
on
the
subject
of
the
Children
Act
from
the
point
of
view
of
a
Local
Authority,
because
the
subject
is
one
which
I
always
maintain
is
of
great
significance
to
local
authorities
which
have
duties
under
that
and
other
Acts
of
Parliament
for
the
education,
maintenance
and
care
of
children
and
young
persons.
Remand
Homes.
The
first
heading of
my
paper
is
Remand
Homes,
which
it
is
the
duty
of
local
authorities
under
the
1933
Children
Act
to
provide
by
themselves
or
in
conjiunction
with
other
councils.
Remand
homes
to-day
are
not
much
more
than
the
successors
of
the
places
of
detention
authorised
by
the
Children
Act
of
yo8,
and
although
attention
is
being
given
to
the
subject
by
some
local
authorities
it
is
not
saying
too
much,
I
think,
to
assert
that
a
remand
home
suitable
in
every
respect
for
modern
requirements
has
not
yet
been
evolved.
For
this
state
of
affairs
the
local
authorities
cannot
be
blamed.
The
Departmental
Committee
on
Young
Offenders,
which
made
the
most
comprehensive
survey
of
juvenile
delinquency
and
neglect
of
post
war
years,
recommended
State
observation
homes
for
the
sort
of
cases
in
which
we
are
interested
this
afternoon.
It
was
the
hope
of
many
thinking
and
informed
people
that
this
recom-
mendation
would
be
implemented,
but
when
what
is
now
the
Children
and
Young
Persons
Act
was
intro-
duced
as
a
Bill
it
was
seen
that
the
Government
had
not
found
themselves
able
to
propose
the
provision
of
State
observation
homes.
I
think
you
will
all
agree
that
the
cases
we
have
to
deal
with
can
be
broadly
classified
into &dquo;
ordinary &dquo;
and &dquo;
special.&dquo;
The
ordinary
cases
are
the
great
majority.
The
reason
for
the
delinquency
is
not
far
to
seek.
The
people
concerned,
whether
on
thd
Bench
or
advising
the
Bench,
can
see
pretty
clearly
the
motive
which
prompted
the
child’s
act;
they
can
see,
too,
fairly
easily
the
remedy
to
apply.
The
special
cases
are
in
the
minority:
the
boy
or
girl
gives
no
help
in
ex-
planation
of
the
misdeed,
or
perhaps
gives
an
ex-
planation
which
is
suspect.
The
lay
people
(and
in
these
I
include
tor
the
moment
the
magistrates
on
the
one
hand,
and
on
the
other
those
advising
them)
are
baffled.
The
parents
are
absent,
or
unhelpful,
or
themselves
puzzled.
For
these
special
cases
the
Bench
is,
quite
properly,
more
and
more
disposed
to
turn
for
help
to
the
experts,
and
in
these
I
include
doctors
who
have
specialised
in
mental
exainina-
tions,
psychologists
and
psychiatrists.
The
special
cases,
I
repeat,
are
in
a
minority--only
about
3 %
to
5 %
of
the
whole
number-but
they
are
the
cases
on
which
much
time
must
be
spent,
for
the
sake
of
the
individual
and
the
sake
of
the
State.
It
is
not
fair
to
the
expert
to
ask
him
to
give
helpful
advice
after
half
an
hour’s
consideration
of
a
case
which
has
already
baffled
the
lay
person.
The
expert
would
be
the
last
to
claim
that
he
has
a
magic
formula
for
resolving
such
a
problem
instantly.
He
must
have
time,
and
generous
time,
to
observe
the
case,
and
that
observation
is
best
given
in
a
home
where
the
cases
will
be
comfortably
housed,
their
minds
put
at
ease,
and
where
they
can
be
watched
while
at
work
and
at
play.
It
seems
to
me
not
to
be
a
practicable
pro-
position
for
a
single
local
authority
to
provide
such

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