Correspondence files relating to State Children with "SC" prefix, Northern Territory Welfare Branch and successors

Correspondence files relating to State Children with “SC” prefix is a series of files relating to State Children in the Northern Territory. The series includes records related to Aboriginal and non Aboriginal children in care in the Northern Territory and interstate. Each file carries the name of an individual child. The files include letters, reports and other documents about the placement of the child into an institution and/or foster care.

Access Conditions

Most government records in the Northern Territory are open for research 30 years after the end of the year in which the records were created. Some records, however, are subject to restrictions due to their sensitive or confidential nature. This is the case with many records related to children under the care of the government. These records are restricted for 100 years from the date of their creation.

To apply for access to closed records, you will need to write to the Northern Territory Archives Service. The government agency responsible for the records you wish to access will then consider the granting of access. This is done on a case by case basis. Please contact the Archives for assistance and further information about how to apply for access to closed records. A number of Fact Sheets for researchers are also available on the Archives website.

Finding Aids

The files in this series were indexed during 2011-2014. The kind of information collected in each index includes: client name (including aliases and nicknames), date of birth, birth parent names, names of foster and/or adoptive parents, sibling names, names and locations of other institutions (Northern Territory or interstate – non government or church organisation, and other state welfare institutions or hospitals), other file numbers or references, and whether there are photographs on file.

Records

Correspondence files relating to State Children with “SC” prefix are listed by number and year and have an “SC” in front of this number to identify it as part of the series related to ‘State Children’. Each file carries the name of an individual ‘State Child’ and although listed by the year of creation these files contain correspondence for the entire time that the child was in care.

The files relate to both Aboriginal and non Aboriginal children in care in the Northern Territory and interstate. They include letters, reports and other documents about the placement of children in care, their time in an institution and/or foster care and their eventual release. Many files include a small photograph of the child attached to the inside front cover. On many files a ‘Child Welfare’ form is also attached to the inside front cover. This provides basic information about the child including date and place of birth, names and addresses of parents and/or guardians and siblings. In many cases, correspondence from the Welfare Branch about one child also contains names and information about other children being placed in, or transferred to or from, the same institutions at the same time.

The previous Series Number given to these records was F944. The current Series Number is NRTS 3757.