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Records
The records in Departmental Children's Homes Files document interactions between children's Homes run by the Victorian government with the various departments responsible for child welfare for the period 1955 to 1987.
This filing system was created in 1975 combining earlier correspondence and other records to create one system with 'DH' prefixes.
There are several file types: general, staff, works and statistics.
The information about institutions found in Departmental Children's Homes Files includes: declarations regarding the establishment of an Approved Children's Home, inspectors' reports, health inspector and hygiene reports, research studies, applications for grants, reports from interviews with staff, progress reports of programs, agency plans, reviews, financial information, works information, staffing matters, proposed constitution of Home, complaints against staff, proposals for future development, purchase of properties, and closure of Homes.
The information about children found in Departmental Children's Homes Files includes: State Ward placements, holiday placements for State Wards, allegations and investigations of abuse against children, lists of children's names for placement, consents for medical treatments, child admissions and discharges, incident reports, lists of child absconders, and closure of Homes.
Finding Aids
The Finding Records website has detailed information about the contents of Departmental Children's Homes Files - the pages on Finding Records about particular Homes provide listings of any files within the Departmental Children's Homes Files series relating to that Home.
