Adoption is the legal process by which a person legally becomes a child of the adoptive parent(s) and legally ceases to be a child of his/her existing parent(s). The first adoption law to be passed in Australia was in the Colony of Western Australia in 1896, and other jurisdictions followed with their own legislation. However,…
The assimilation policy was a policy of absorbing Aboriginal people into white society through the process of removing children from their families. The ultimate intent of this policy was the destruction of Aboriginal society. When Aboriginal Protection authorities around Australia adopted assimilation as a policy, there was a substantial increase in the already established practice…
Annexe is a term used to describe a smaller residential facility that is part of a larger institution. For example, the Victoria Park (Riverbank) Annexe was part of the youth detention facility, Riverbank, even though it was located many miles distant. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
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,…
An assessment unit was a short term residential unit in which a child coming into care was placed so that their care needs could be assessed. In South Australia, after the passing of the Community Welfare Act in 1972, assessment became the policy of the Department. It was introduced with the aim to ensure that…
The term Adoption Agency refers to any organisation involved in the adoption of babies and children, whether this was mandated by legislation or not. The adoption of children was, and is, controlled by state laws and the states of Australia introduced their first adoption acts at different times, beginning with Western Australia in 1896. Prior…
Asylum is a term used throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to refer to a place of refuge for the poor, destitute, aged and dependent, as well as for people with mental illness (historically referred to as ‘lunatics’). Asylums were generally run by charities or churches, but funded by the government. Some nineteenth century…
Adolescent Community Placement (or ACP) is a term used to describe a home-based care model for young people aged 12 to 18 years who are experiencing crisis and are unable to live with their families for a range of reasons. This type of placement enables young people to reside in a home-like environment with the…
Adolescent Care refers to models of out-of-home care geared to the needs of young people, including Adolescent Units, Early Adolescent Units, Teenage Units and Adolescent Community Placement. Services and programs specifically for adolescents became more common from the 1980s. Click here to see the full Find & Connect glossary
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
