VPRS 17954 Client Management Records, Family and Youth Welfare Division

Full description

This series consists of a selection of estray files from the Social Welfare Department, comprising: Trainee Intake and Assessment Files; Trainee Information Files; Youth Division Case History Files. Most of these records document the case management of clients at Departmental level within the Youth Welfare and Family Welfare Divisions.

The Trainee Intake and Assessment Files comprise files for: children temporarily held at the remand sections of Turana Youth Training Centre and the Allambie Reception Centres and then transferred to Residential Training Centres like Langi Kal Kal or Winlaton; other institutions represented like Ballarat Children's Home and the Sunshine Boys Hostel. The files of children held on remand awaiting the outcome of a court case and later released, only have their admission / discharge and their personal effects or clothing issued recorded in the files. Children, who were placed into the custody of the Department after being charged with a crime or for child protection and given a custodial sentence, have case management documentation. These files do not have the detailed case management plans held on institution specific Trainee Information / Client Case History files. Other homes represented in this category include Ballarat Children's Home and Sunshine Boys Hostel.

The series also includes a few Trainee Information Files from Turana. Some of these files comprise photocopies of the Trainee Information File and would duplicate the client record retained by the intuition. These files include Classification and Review records which were compiled from staff in the institutions as part of the monitoring of clients in residential care.

The rest of the files are Youth Division Case History Files which were comprehensive case history records of each client recorded at the Departmental level, with copies of institutional monitoring and review reports that presented certain issues, whether behavioural or mental heath, that needed specialist attention. The Youth Division Case History Files include regional wards of state that were placed both in residential homes and with foster carers.

The Social Welfare Department's trainee intake and assessment files document the case management of clients at a Departmental level with the Youth Welfare Division and Family Division. These records hold the following types of enclosures:

- copies of personal or Departmental correspondence
- Admission Form
- Social Workers' assessments
- Report from the Superintendant of the Youth Training Centre providing recommendations for client assessment relating to parole or child protection orders
- Summary of Institutional Record form by the Superintendent of the Youth Training Centre
- Social Welfare Department Receipt of Warrant Specifying Imprisonment In Default Payment of a Fine
- Report on Absconding or Attempt to Abscond
- Inventory Profile Sheet with psychological profile and IQ summary
- Psychiatric Clinic Reports
- Psychological Assessment reports
- Copy of Police statements relating to charges against the trainee
- Medical Examination Record booklet
- Transfer Warrant - moving a young person from prison to a Youth Training Centre
- Stores Issues Voucher detailing clothes issued to Remandee or Trainee
- Interview Notes
- Notification of Movement of Young Person
- Parental requests for access and holiday leave with their children
- A copy of the Court Report.

The Trainee Information Files (mainly Turana) and the Youth Division Case History Files include all the enclosures on the intake and assessment files but also hold:

- Classification Review/ Personal Report, a form filled out by the trainee to appraise their own progress and set out their aims compiled by the youth officers (YACCOS) on each Reception Centre or Youth Training Centre's separate residential sections
- Copies of Reports from Case Planning Meetings
- Copies of Institutional Review Committee Reports
- Correspondence with foster carers and their families
- Requests from wards to locate their siblings.

These records reflect the ongoing monitoring of the client in residential care or copies of these records relating to certain issues e.g. mental health that were highlighted to the Department. Some of these files comprise photocopies of the Trainee Information File enclosures and would duplicate the client record retained by the institution.