This discussion paper reports a study of the ways in which short-term residential care services for mentally handicapped children are being developed by different agencies and in different parts of England. The idea behind such provision is to provide families with a break from a child who may be causing strains in family life because he is difficult to look after. Residential facilities available may include a local authority hostel, a voluntary society home, a mental handicap hospital, the paediatric ward of a general hospital or a foster home.