In government social services, a synonym for protective or emergency custody; in cases of child abuse or neglect, social workers generally file a detention request, calling for a detention hearing to be held, usually within 24 hours of filing, to see whether the child should be kept apart from the family until a full court hearing takes place, in education, detention refers to the practice of keeping students in school outside of normal school hours, usually for misbehavior or failure to do assigned work.