Making a life after care: The provision of support across the life cycle course

Little research has been conducted on the long-term support needs of people who grew up in orphanages and other forms of institutional care in earlier times. The research study that informed this article involved oral history interviews with 40 people who grew up in Catholic Children's Homes in Victoria and left during the period 1945 to 1983. We discuss both those areas where these people experienced difficulties, and the resourcefulness they drew on to address them. We highlight the life-long implications of growing up in care, and the long-term support needs of children in care today.