Family group Homes took care of children after their removal from their parents and before they had been placed in a foster home. Children in transit between Homes also went to family group Homes. The Homes provided emergency care for children who were neglected or in danger of becoming neglected because they could not be cared for in their own home, for instance if the mother was in hospital. These Homes were also used when the relationship between a child and parents had broken down and some respite time was needed. Prior to their establishment, children could be placed in institutions if they required temporary care.
In 1990, the Annual Report of the Department of Community Services described the function of family group Homes as:
'enabling children to live in a family home for short term periods, prior to either returning to their own families or until an alternative long term home is arranged for them, such as foster parents'
In a family group Home, a married couple cared for up to six children in a large family residence.
Many former receiving Home keepers became family group carers.
Family group Homes were situated throughout Tasmania.
In 1982, the Social Welfare Department had 19 family group Homes. It closed Lismore and Miroma, leaving 17. By 1989, it had 18 Homes.
We do not currently have any photographs linked to this entry. If you know of any additional photographs, please contact us.
The Find & Connect Support Service can help people who lived in orphanages and children's institutions look for their records.
Last updated:
03 August 2022
Cite this: http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/tas/TE00172
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License