| Brief History | Allendale started life as a boys’ cottage, but as times and policy changed, girls and boys were accommodated.
1967 10 children in total, all Wards were in residence.
1968 23 children in total, comprising 8 Wards and 15 private admissions.
1969 3 Wards were in residence.
Eight children in residence at June 30, 1975 (4 Wards and 4 private admissions). At this time, Allendale provided generally longer term care for boys and girls aged 10-17 years, but did take children for shorter periods if necessary. Sibling groups were accommodated. Allendale had a garden, play area, trampoline, access to an oval, tennis courts, one pet, bikes and a range of sporting equipment. Children were encouraged to build their own cubby. There were 5 bedrooms – 1 single, 2 doubles and 2 which would sleep three or more children per room; a lounge/dining room; 1 bathroom and 1 toilet for the children and separate facilities for the staff, including 2 staff bedrooms; and a verandah; a TV, piano, radio or radiogram, fish tank, library, magazines, books and toys were available. Homework was completed after tea and children generally took their lunch to school except one day per week when they could buy their lunch; children either walked to school or caught the bus. The average length of stay was 1.26 years. Holiday placements were actively sought for the children. Recreational activities included Police & Citizens, Scouts and Guides, swimming and going to the beach, and other activities arranged by cottage parents. The building was 10 years old in 1975 and was described as a ‘modern’ residence, of brick construction but was isolated from the community in which it was located. (Department of Child Welfare Submission to the Committee of Enquiry into Residential Child Care, July 1976).
“Caregivers in group homes comprise one couple who live-in, ideally caring for up to eight children. Generally, the husband continues in his existing employment, with the wife paid either an honorarium or wage. Group homes operate on a model where substitute care is provided until changes in the circumstances of the child’s original caregivers permit their return home. In some instances a child may move on to other carers on a more permanent basis (as in adoption) or with older youth to semi-independent accommodation. Group care services provided through the non-government sector fall under the mandate of the Consultative Committee on Residential Child Care, and provide cottage care via salaried child care worker staff. The contemporary trend towards community based group care services for children is resulting in the closure of institutionalized settings and campus-based residential facilities.” (Submission of the Department for Community Services to the Residential Planning Review Taskforce, March 31st 1987).
Mofflyn has its own entry in Signposts, and this should be consulted as it gives more information about campus life there. |