This work explores the implementation of Section 20 (1) of the Children Act 1989. Under this section, children who are lost, abandoned or for whom there is no parental responsibility, or whose carers are prevented from providing suitable accommodation, must be offered accommodation by the local authority. This enquiry returns to the same two local authorities which has been the subject of the Who Needs Care? research on decision-making in child care between 1980 and 1984. It revisits the examination and working practice of old data, and looks at the implementation of changes in the procedure of child care policies.