This springs from what used to be known as children's homes or children's institutions which in turn used to part of a city's "charitable" work for children and families who had no access to professional services. Resources for this were always extremely limited and minimally staffed and the service could seldom see beyond a bed with a bedside locker and minimal food and adult attention. There was little or no staff training, with child-staff ratios often being as poor as 1:30.