Forced boarding-out and fostering of children in state care 1788-1969
This subject examines the forced boarding-out and fostering of Aboriginal children once they were removed from their families. The process of boarding-out involved government agencies paying an allowance to foster parents for the care of children.
Until 1943, there was no explicit reference to Aboriginal children in laws providing for boarding-out or fostering children. The records of the State Children’s Relief Department (SCRD) and Aborigines Protection Board suggest that some Aboriginal children were boarded-out by the SCRD under the State Children Relief Act 1901 (NSW) (). However, Aboriginal children were predominantly sent to institutions or apprenticeships during this time, unlike non-Aboriginal children in the child welfare system ().
The introduction of the Aborigines Protection (Amendment) Act in 1943 gave the recently constituted Aborigines Welfare Board (AWB) powers to foster out Aboriginal children that were wards of the AWB, to provide accommodation and maintenance of the child, pay foster parents to take the children, and direct the removal and transfer of children (). The AWB often advertised for white families to foster children, but the criteria for fostering were not strict, resulting in mixed quality of care for these children (, ).
The most significant changes to the care arrangements for Aboriginal children in NSW occurred with the introduction of the Aborigines Act 1969 (NSW) (). Following the enactment of this legislation, the AWB was dissolved and the removal of children was governed by the Child Welfare Act 1939 (NSW) (see SUB0116).