Private and local authority children's homes: a comparison

This paper compares residents and staff in 48 English local authority children' homes with those in eight private ones. On average, residents in private homes were further away from their family, more "difficult", more likely to be placed for "treatment", in less close touch with their families and less clear about and satisfied with their care plans. They were also more committed to their residential homes, less likely to be bullied and under less pressure to take drugs. Staff, particularly more experienced staff, in private homes had higher morale. The paper discusses the reasons for these differences and their implications.