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Mallee Family Care history in brief
In 1977, the Melbourne Family Care Organisation (MFCO) started providing various forms of financial and consultative assistance to agencies in the Mallee region.
Following a needs survey of the Mallee region, MFCO provided financial support to the Sunraysia Marriage Guidance Council, developed day care facilities for the children of casual pickers, established a regional housing bond fund, and employed an Aboriginal liaison worker.
MFCO also established a family group home in Swan Hill and undertook a family and community needs survey of the Kerang district.
In 1979, the agency opened an office in Mildura to assume closer control and coordination of the family group home in Swan Hill and the regional housing bond fund scheme.
MFCO's Mildura operation was involved in emergency housing in Sunraysia, volunteer family aid in Mildura, family support in Kerang and the development of financial counselling services in Mildura, Robinvale and Kerang.
Melbourne Family Care Organisation formed Mallee Family Care in 1979. Initially, Mallee Family Care focused on preventing children’s removal from their families, and on supporting dysfunctional families within their own communities.
Mallee Family Care now provides a wide range of child and family services, community services such as legal advice and financial and problem gambling counselling, and disability support services. The agency has offices across north-western 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 & .
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.1930–85)
File; Permanent (VPRS Number 18069/P0001)
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 relating to Mallee Family Care is dated 1978-84 and includes:
File VH 123, MFCO Mallee Family Care:
- departmental memorandum re intention to open a family group home in Swan Hill to care for a particular named family, 1978
- correspondence regarding Swan Hill family group home, 88 High Street, Swan Hill, staffing subsidies, and other funding, 1982–84
- file note, status quo at MFCO, 1983
- MFCO triennial report, 1983
- MFCO newsletters, vol. 4, no. 4, c.1987.
Reviewed 10 August 2016