Discharge, Disposal, and Death: Outcomes for Child Inmates of the Scottish National Institution, Larbert, and Stanley Hall, Wakefield, to 1913

Abstract

This article surveys end experiences at two mental institutions catering specifically for young people up to 1913: the Scottish National Institution, Larbert, and Stanley Hall, Wakefield. The two establishments differed in the types of children received and in their time spans of operation before changes to the mental deficiency acts in Scotland and England in 1913. The aims and ethos of the two institutions are discussed, followed by exploration of removal of children from asylum registers. “Success” levels claimed by both institutions are considered by surveying outcomes upon discharge but tempered in acknowledging removal of children from registers through their deaths.