The Children Act 1948 was an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

that established a comprehensive

childcare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

service. The law followed the Curtis Report, which addressed child welfare and was released by a government committee headed by Dame Myra Curtis. The Act was strongly influenced by the inquiry into the

Dennis O'Neill case Dennis O'Neill (3 March 1932 – 9 January 1945) was a 12-year-old Welsh boy whose death at the hands of his foster parents led to an inquiry into and overhaul of fostering provisions in Great Britain. Circumstances of death Dennis O'Neill, ...

. The law reformed the services available to deprived children, consolidating existing childcare legislation and establishing departments “in which professional social work practice would develop in child care and, in due course, in work with families.” The Act made it clear that it was the duty of local authorities to receive into care any child who was without parents or whose parents could not care for him for any reason, if it was in the interest of the child’s welfare. The new duties imposed upon local authorities by the legislation (particularly to receive deprived children into care) resulted in childcare services working more closely with families. The Act also led to a new approach towards parent-child relations, encouraging the newly established Children’s Departments ‘to view children as individual human beings with both shared and individualised needs, rather than an indistinct mass.”Law and Ethics in Children's Nursing by Judith Hendrick

Notes

{{reflist United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1948 Juvenile law Youth in the United Kingdom