Bethany Family Group Home (1969–76)

Bethany Family Group Home history in brief

In 1968, the Christian Brethren Family Care Committee established a family group home and foster care program.

In 1969, Bethany opened a family group home at 123 Shannon Street Box Hill North for up to eight children aged four to mid-adolescence, mostly state wards in long-term placements. The committee also oversaw a small pre-adoptive and longer-term foster care program.

In 1976, Bethany stopped accepting long-term placements and sold the cottage, so that Christian Brethren Family Care could concentrate on its temporary emergency care program, Temcare.

Temcare is a not-for-profit Christian welfare agency providing a range of support services in the Melbourne metropolitan area and parts of country Victoria.

Warning about distressing information

This guide contains information that some people may find distressing. If you experienced abuse as a child or young person in an institution mentioned in this guide, it may be a difficult reading experience. Guides may also contain references to previous views, policies and practices that are regrettable and do not reflect the current views, policies or practices of the department or the State of Victoria. If you find this content distressing, please consult with a support person either from the Department of Health and Human Services or another agency.

Disclaimer

Please note that the content of this administrative history is provided for general information only and does not purport to be comprehensive. The department does not guarantee the accuracy of this administrative history. For more information on the history of child welfare in Australia, see Find & Connect.

Source

• Guide to out-of-home care services 1940–2000: volume one – agency descriptions, compiled by James Jenkinson Consulting, North Melbourne, November 2001.

List of records held by the department

For information relating to the central management of care leavers and wards of state, please consult the guide to Central department wardship and out-of-home care records. These collections date back to the 1860s and include ward registers, index cards and ward files.

Voluntary children’s homes files (c.1930-c.1985)

File; Permanent VPRS Number 18069 / P0002

Content: The files record interaction between the various voluntary homes and the government. This filing system was created in 1975, combining earlier correspondence and other records to create one system with VH prefixes.

The specific file(s) relating to the Bethany Family Group Home date from 1966–76 and include:

• documentation relating to assessing the need for and the establishment of a family group home, purchase of premises and so on, 1966–69
• minutes of the Christian Brethren Family Care Committee, 1968
• correspondence regarding registration of Christian Brethren Family Care as an institution under the Hospitals and Charities Act, 1968
• inspectors reports and associated documentation, 1968–69, 1974
• annual report, Christian Brethren Family Care, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1975–76
• application and approval of declaration of Bethany Family Group Home as an approved children’s home, including a note that another home named Bethany already existed at Geelong, 1969
• medical benefits for eligible children at Bethany Family Group Home, 1969
• details of holiday placements, 1971
• appointment of cottage parents, 1972
• correspondence regarding a proposal to set up a second Christian Brethren family group home, 1974
• case and placement information on several children, including absconding references, 1974–75
• documentation regarding the type of care children were receiving in care and religious influence at Christian Brethren Family Care, 1974–75
• list of wards and holiday hosts, 1975
• documentation relating to the operation of Bethany, its financial situation and planned closure, 1975–76
• employment of a social worker by Christian Brethren Family Care, 1976.

Family Welfare Division funding and accounts files (1971-77)

File; Temporary

Content: These accounts and funding files are for individual children’s homes and are used to make allocations. They contain a monthly census giving names and dates of birth to calculate per capita expenses. There are annual reports of homes, income statements, reports on conditions of homes as assessed on visits.

The records are arranged in a broad chronological order.

The specific file(s) relating to this home date from 1971-76.