‘There's More to be Done; “Sorry” is Just a Word’: Legacies of Out-of-Home Care in the 20th Century

Abstract

This research explored the experiences of care leavers, who lived in institutions (such as Children's Homes and orphanages) or other forms of out-of-home care between 1930 and 1989. Participants included representatives of three sub-cohorts: Forgotten Australians, members of the Stolen Generations and Child Migrants. Employing mixed methods, this research used three forms of data collection: surveys (n = 669), interviews (n = 92) and focus groups (n = 77). This research concentrated on participants’ experiences in care, leaving care, life outcomes after care (education, employment, health, wellbeing and relationships), coping strategies and resilience, current service needs and usage and participation in organisations as well as the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Most participants experienced extreme neglect and abuse while in care. Leaving care, often after years of institutionalisation, was generally a frightening and demoralising process. Despite these challenges, a number of participants demonstrated remarkable resilience. For many, however, these experiences had negative consequences in adulthood including serious physical and mental health problems. This often made adult learning, paid employment and positive relationships virtually impossible. Most survivors carry high levels of trauma and complex unmet needs. Implications for policy, practice and services are drawn from key findings.

The case for trauma‐informed aged care

“…For example, genocide survivors tend to underestimate their own need for support and are reluctant to enter residential aged care especially when trying to avoid memories of their experiences . People who experienced abuse during childhood residence in institutional or out‐of‐home care have reported a profound aversion to what they consider “re‐institutionalisation” in residential aged care . A narrow view of aged care services as only delivered in residential settings may contribute to this problem.…”

“…23 People who experienced abuse during childhood residence in institutional or out-ofhome care have reported a profound aversion to what they consider "re-institutionalisation" in residential aged care. 24 A narrow view of aged care services as only delivered in residential settings may contribute to this problem. Lack of perceived accessibility of aged care services can delay engagement, despite the noted benefits of early intervention.…”

Untitled

“…Compared to previously published results about the transition of orphanage graduates to adulthood (Fernandez et al, 2017), we need to emphasize that all our IC participants were recruited in a large city through announcements in different organizations and social networks on the Internet. So our participants represent a group that had opportunities to receive government and charity support.…”

“…In 2017, a large Australian study was published (Fernandez et al, 2017) that included 669 adults ranging from 27 to 100 years who had experienced IC. Most of the participants (~ 60%) had accommodation problems in adulthood (were homeless or resided in shelters), and more than 1/3 reported having criminal records.…”

Mothers with a History of Child Welfare Involvement: A Brief Literature Review of Cross Generational Impact of Maternal Trauma

“…The long‐term effects of IC placement are more scarcely represented in the literature. It has been shown that people ranging from 45 to 73 years of age, with a childhood history of IC, report higher stress levels and somatic problems (Sigal, Perry, Rossignol, & Ouimet, 2003), as well as mental health issues (Fernandez et al., 2017). Adults with a history of IC report higher levels of depression, anxiety, and social adjustment problems, and have higher documented criminal history records than their community peers (Teyhan, Wijedasa, & Macleod, 2018).…”