Scatter Cottages were a model of out of home ‘care’ where a group of children lived in a cottage with houseparents. Scatter cottages were run by institutions but were not located on the same property as main institutional buildings. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
The Farm School was a model of residential ‘care’ for children, based in a rural area, which trained children (typically boys) in agricultural duties. A Western Australian newspaper article from 1935 described the purpose of farm schools: The policy has been to remove unemployed youth from the scrap heap of idleness, train them, and place…
The Community Support Hostel program was introduced in Western Australia in 1984 by the Department for Community Welfare. These hostels were for children and young people with complex needs who couldn’t be placed in foster care. They accommodated up to 8 children aged from 6 to 17. From 1987, community support hostels also accommodated children…
A borstal (or borstall) was a reformatory for young offenders aged about 16 to 21. The term was used between about 1920 and 1970. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
Emergency care, being short term, immediate care for children in need, was provided in different ways. Government and non-government Homes provided emergency care. Emergency foster care was also sometimes available. A state’s main children’s ‘depot’ or receiving Home was sometimes used for emergency care. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
Lying-in Home was a term to describe a maternity home from the late nineteenth century, a place ‘for the accommodation of females during their confinement and lying-in’, to quote the Western Australian State Children Act 1907. At a lying-in home, a mother could give birth with the help of a midwife (who might not have…
Approved Children’s Home was a term applied to Homes that had been certified for the care of children under the relevant state legislation. In Tasmania, under the Child Welfare Act 1960, Approved Children’s Homes were run by volunteers on a not-for-profit basis. The government paid Managers maintenance for each child accommodated in the Home. In…
Admission Units were established by the South Australian Department for Community Welfare after the passing of the 1972 Community Welfare Act. A number of existing cottage Homes became units. Admission units were used for short term crisis care and for children deemed to have behavioural problems. Although units were intended to provide short term accommodation,…
Group Home was a term used in the late 1970s to refer to a Home for children and young people who required ‘therapeutic care’. Group homes could be either scattered (ie in the community) or clustered (located with other group Homes on a campus, usually where there had previously been a children’s Home). This type…
A Leprosarium was an institution or hospital specifically for people suffering from the disease, leprosy. As leprosy was incurable and infectious, lepers were generally placed in confined and/or isolated places. Institutions for people with leprosy were also called lazarets. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
