Support
The following groups provide support to people who were brought up in 'care' in Victoria: as state wards, foster children or Home children raised in orphanages, Children's Homes, and other institutions, and in foster care. (Some can also assist the families of 'care' leavers). This may include help accessing records, or finding and sharing stories with family or others who you were in 'care' with. Some also advocate on behalf of 'care' leavers, and host reunions.
Counselling and Support Services
- Open Place: Support Service for Victoria's Forgotten Australians - provides personal support, help with records and family searches, counselling, social activities, reunions, support groups, and opportunities to learn new skills (from 18 January 2010).
- Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) - a national network and advocacy group for care leavers.
- CREATE Foundation - connects and empowers children and young people in care, and provides an independent voice for children and young people in out-of-home care.
- Link Up Victoria, Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA) - assists Indigenous people, over the age of eighteen, who were adopted, placed in foster care, institutionalized or forcibly removed, to trace and be reunited with their families.
- Stolen Generations Victoria - supports and addresses the needs of people affected by practices and policies of removing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from family, community, country and culture.
Records and Information Services
People wanting to find information about their time in care, or access personal files can contact the following agencies:
- Adoption and Family Records Service, Department of Human Services (c. 1984 - )
- Adoption Information Service, Connections UnitingCare (2000? - )
- Anglicare Victoria (1997 - )
- British Child Migrants Trust (1987 - )
- Connections UnitingCare (2000 - )
- Corporate Integrity, Information and Resolutions Unit, Department of Human Services
- Glastonbury Child and Family Services (1984 - )
- GordonCare for Children (2000 - )
- Heritage and Background Information Service, Berry Street
- Heritage and Information Service, MacKillop Family Services (1997 - )
- Heritage Service, Melbourne Citymission
- Kildonan Uniting Care (2007 - )
- Koorie Records Unit, Public Record Office Victoria (c. 2001 - )
- Open Place: Support Service for Victoria's Forgotten Australians (2010 - )
- Orana Family Services (1989 - )
- OzChild (1993 - )
- Past Residents Support Service, Child and Family Services Ballarat (2000 - )
- Public Record Office Victoria (1973 - )
- Sisters of the Good Shepherd (1863 - )
- St Luke's Anglicare (1979 - )
- State Library of Victoria (1854 - )
- The Salvation Army Westcare (c. 1980 - )
- Victorian Archives Centre, Public Record Office Victoria
- Wesley Mission Victoria (2010 - )
Advocacy organisations
- Alliance for Forgotten Australians (AFA) - a national peak body promoting the needs of Forgotten Australians.
- Forgotten Australians (FA) - advocates on behalf of people who grew up in 'care'.
- SNAICC - a national peak body which advocates on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
- Wings for Survivors - an online community for Forgotten Australians.