Without the unflinching commitment of managers, social workers and those who work in them, they won’t be proper homes, writes John Burton I congratulate the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism for exposing the disgraceful state of residential childcare and the use of illegal children’s homes (Councils pay more than £125m a year placing vulnerable children in illegal care homes in England, 8 September). However, this is a symptom not a cause. While there are good private children’s homes (I’ve worked with some), they are defined by personal and family commitment, not profit. The same relationships are required whoever runs a children’s home, whether a charitable organisation or local authority. Without the personal, unflinching commitment of councillors, managers, social workers and, crucially, the grownups who work in the home, it can’t be a loving home. Continue reading...