The detention home shall be in the charge of a person or persons who shall be under the supervision of the judge of the district court. The inmates of the detention home shall be controlled as far as possible through parental care. The children shall be placed in the public schools if possible, or the commissioners may provide for separate instruction within the home. The detention home is to supplement the work of the district court and to be used instead of any jail or prison, but it shall be the policy of the judge of the district court, court services officer and the person or persons in charge of the detention home to make the detention home a temporary home and as soon as possible to provide for the return of the inmates of the home to their biological parents, adoptive parents or legal guardians.