Chapter 14 — Children’s Homes

Witnesses

Witnesses gave accounts of out-of-home care being provided for their siblings in a range of settings including Industrial Schools, foster care, special needs services, and Children’s Homes.

There were some differences in the admission circumstances of the 61 witnesses to Children’s Homes compared with those admitted to Industrial or Reformatory Schools. Most witnesses stated that they were admitted to the Homes on a voluntary basis without the involvement of court proceedings. A small number of witnesses informed the Committee that they believed they were placed in Children’s Homes on an order of the court under the Children Act, 1908 following an application by the local health authority or the Health Board.

Thirty nine (39) witnesses, 24 male and 15 female, reported that their first admission to a Children’s Home was directly from their family home. Many of the witnesses reported that members of their extended family had been involved in their care and that they were admitted in the context of parental illness, death, marital separation or abandonment. Five (5) of the 39 witnesses stated that they were admitted from the homes of extended family members. Three (3) female witnesses reported that their fathers, who were either widowed or had sole custody, were encouraged by local clergy to place their daughters in out-of-home care. They gave accounts of learning from family members that it was perceived to be inappropriate at the time for lone fathers to rear female children.

Fifteen (15) witnesses, eight male and seven female, reported that the Children’s Homes were their second or third placements having previously been in other settings, including hostels, county homes, foster care, and mother and baby homes. Three (3) of these witnesses reported spending up to four years in mother and baby homes along with their mothers and a further four witnesses stated that they were placed in mother and baby homes without their mothers. Some witnesses believed their working mothers had contributed financially for the care provided in the mother and baby homes. Others commented that due to a lack of family or State support their mothers had no alternative but to place them in out-of-home care. Four (4) of the witnesses reported being transferred to Children’s Homes following a brief placement in Industrial Schools where they were initially admitted on court orders under the Children Act, 1908 or the School Attendance Acts, 1926 to 1967.

Seven (7) witnesses provided no information or reported that they had no knowledge of their family circumstances prior to their admission to out-of-home care. A number of these witnesses believed they were abandoned as infants. Age on first admission to out-of-home care

Among the witnesses reporting abuse in Children’s Homes the age of entry to out-of-home care varied. Fifteen (15) witnesses reported being admitted to Homes before their second birthday, seven of whom reported being in out-of-home care, generally in mother and baby homes. A further 25 witnesses reported being admitted by the age of six years. Table 70 illustrates the age range of witnesses on first admission:

Age of entry to care	Males	Females	Total witnesses
0–5 years	23	17	40
6–10 years	13	4	17
11–15 years	2	2	4
Total	38	23	61

Witnesses admitted at a later age were generally placed in out-of-home care as a result of parental illness, separation or death.

The length of time witnesses reported being in out-of-home care ranged from one to 18 years, as shown in Table 71:

Length of stay in care	Males	Females	Total witnesses
0–5 years	4	2	6
6–10 years	14	8	22
11–15 years	18	10	28
16–18 years	2	3	5
Total	38	23	61

The average length of stay was 11 years for female witnesses and seven and a half years for male witnesses. Fifty five (55) witnesses spent more than six years in out-of-home care. A number of witnesses reported being transferred to other institutions and did not spend the entire period of their residential care in Children’s Homes.

The following table displays the age at discharge of witnesses who reported abuse in Children’s Homes:

Age when discharged	Males	Females	Total witnesses
<10 years	1	1	2
10–13 years	11	5	16
14–16 years	19	9	28
17+ years	7	8	15
Total	38	23	61

Fourteen (14) witnesses, 12 male and two female, reported being transferred from Children’s Homes to Industrial Schools. Nine (9) of those were transferred prior to the 1960s. The majority of these witnesses, who were discharged when they were aged between 14 and 16 years, had spent over nine years in out-of-home care. In general, male witnesses were transferred from Children’s Homes to senior Industrial Schools at 10 years of age.

A small number of witnesses who remained in Children’s Homes after 17 years of age reported being assisted with education and training. Others described being supported by the staff and continued to reside in the Homes until they were settled in accommodation and employment, during the 1980s and 1990s.

Everyday life in children’s homes

This section presents the information provided by 61 witnesses regarding aspects of their every day life in Children’s Homes, including education, work, health and recreation. The witnesses’ descriptions of everyday life in these Homes differed from accounts heard of Industrial Schools in a number of aspects. The physical structure of the Homes was generally smaller, there were fewer residents, and, with few exceptions, admission was on a voluntary basis. Further, in a number of Children’s Homes witnesses reported being encouraged and supported to attend second-level education and more often commented that professionally trained lay childcare workers were employed since the 1970s.6

Witnesses reported that, prior to the 1970s, classroom education was generally provided within the Children’s Homes and in boarding schools located on the same site. Witnesses also reported attending primary, secondary and vocational schools in the local community. Those who attended off-site schools reported that they valued the opportunity to mix with pupils from the local community and the contact it provided with the outside world.

With the exception of one female witness, all the witnesses gave accounts of attending primary school and the majority attained their Primary Certificate.7