The Neglected and Criminal Children’s Amendment Act 1874 amended the Neglected and Criminal Children’s Act of 1864. The main change was its introduction of the practice of boarding-out to Victoria’s child welfare system.
Boarding-out was introduced into the Victorian child welfare system as a solution to the overcrowding and poor health within the colony’s industrial and reformatory schools. In 1873, 600 children under state ‘care’ in Victoria were sent to foster homes even though the Neglected and Criminal Children’s Amendment Act, which made this procedure legal, was not passed until 1874.
This Act commenced on 15 May 1875 and was repealed by the Juvenile Offenders Act 1887 on 1 January 1888.