Bethany Community Support, a child and family welfare agency, was formed in 1977. Formerly, Bethany operated as an adoption agency and babies home, and was known as the Bethany Babies’ Home. Bethany Community Support was an independent, voluntary organisation with no political or religious affiliations. In April 2023, Bethany merged with Barwon Child Youth &…
The Victorian Children’s Aid Society was established in 1920. It was formerly the Victorian Neglected Children’s Aid Society. It ran the Victorian Children’s Aid Home, located in Parkville until around 1966. In 1966 the Society moved the Home (which was renamed Swinburne House) and headquarters to Black Rock. From the 1970s, the Society expanded into…
The Victorian Neglected Children’s Aid Society was established in December 1894 as a non-denominational child rescue organisation. It dealt with hundreds of cases every year. The Society ran a Receiving Home in La Trobe Street, Melbourne. In November 1901, the Society opened a children’s Home in Parkville. In 1920, it changed its name, and became…
Family Focus was established in 1991, when the Victorian Children’s Aid Society amalgamated with Foster Care Westernport. In 1993, Family Focus amalgamated with Family Action and the National Children’s Bureau of Australia to form a new organisation, OzChild.
The Social Welfare Branch was established under the provisions of the Social Welfare Act 1960 (No.6651) which was proclaimed in stages between 6 July 1960 and 21 June 1961. The Social Welfare Branch sat within the Chief Secretary’s Department and assumed all of the functions of the former Children’s Welfare Department and the Penal and…
The Social Welfare Department was established under the provisions of the Social Welfare Act 1970 (No.8089). The Department came into being in 1971, assuming responsibility for all functions previously administered by the Social Welfare Branch. In 1978, it became the Department of Community Welfare Services. The Social Welfare Department’s charter was to develop and coordinate…
The Children’s Welfare Department was established in 1924 to replace the Department for Neglected Children. The renaming of the Department signified the Government’s awareness of the stigma which had become attached to the term ‘neglected child’, and did not reflect a change in functional responsibility or status. In 1928 the Department became responsible for the…
In 1887 following the proclamation of the Neglected Children’s Act (No.941) and the Juvenile Offenders’ Act (No.951) responsibility for ‘neglected’ children was assumed by a Department for Neglected Children while the Department for Reformatory Schools assumed responsibility for convicted juveniles.
The main responsibility of the Department for Neglected Children upon its establishment was the maintenance and management of ‘neglected’ children including: supervision of State wards in receiving houses and probationary schools, provision of trade apprenticeships programs, ‘boarding out’ of children in the service of persons willing to take charge of their maintenance and education, provision…
In 1995 the Victorian Department of Human Services (DHS) became responsible for dealing with children placed in the care of the state. This child welfare ‘function’ has been the responsibility of many different government agencies in Victoria since 1864. Most records of the predecessor agencies of DHS remained in the custody of DHS. Other records…
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
