Upper Murray Family Care history in brief
In 1980, the Melbourne Family Care Organisation, Upper Murray Family Care established a family group home at 3 Norah Avenue, Wodonga.
Upper Murray Family Care subsequently became autonomous and expanded its services to include foster care.
In 2016, Upper Murray Family Care still provides child and family services, aged and disability support services, family relationship services, community legal services and foster care services.
Warning about distressing information
This guide contains information that some people may find distressing. If you experienced abuse as a child or young person in an institution mentioned in this guide, it may be a difficult reading experience. Guides may also contain references to previous views, policies and practices that are regrettable and do not reflect the current views, policies or practices of the department or the State of Victoria. If you find this content distressing, please consult with a support
Disclaimer
Please note that the content of this administrative history is provided for general information only and does not purport to be comprehensive. The department does not guarantee the accuracy of this administrative history. For more information on the history of child welfare in Australia, see Find & .
Source
- Guide to out-of-home care services 1940–2000: volume one – agency descriptions, compiled by James Jenkinson Consulting, North Melbourne, November 2001.
- Upper Murray Family Care 2015, ‘Upper Murray Family Care’, 11 May 2016,
List of records held by the department
For information relating to the central management of care leavers and wards of state, please consult the guide to Central department wardship and out-of-home care records. These collections date back to the 1860s and include ward registers, index cards and ward files.
Voluntary children’s homes files (c.1930-c.85)
File; Permanent (VPRS Number 18069 / P0002)
Content: The files record interaction between the various voluntary homes and the government. This filing system was created in 1975, combining earlier correspondence and other records to create one system with ‘VH’ prefixes.
The specific file relating to Upper Murray Family Care (UMFC) is dated 1979–85 and includes:
file VH-122:
- submission by the Melbourne Family Care Organisation (MFCO) seeking approval in principal for establishment of a family group home in Upper Murray Area, 1980
- draft, agreement, guidelines, and other documentation relating to operation of 3 Norah Avenue, Wodonga, 1980
- drafts submission for a foster care service, Upper Murray area, 1982
- capital funding subsidy documentation, 1980
- minutes of meetings with the residential; child care section of the department and MFCO, 1980
- family aid program and additional child care facilities, 1980–82
- number of children accommodated in the family group home, 1981
- conversion funding application for early adolescent unit, 1981
- holiday placements for wards, including ward and host names, ward numbers and dates, 1982–85
- subsidy summaries, 1982
- subsidies, salaries and capital funding, 1983–84
- correspondence in which Community Services Victoria encourages MFCO to operate UMFC financially independently, 1984–85.
Reviewed 25 August 2016