Master index cards relating to clients - Families SA and predecessors (GRS/7956)

This series contains index cards that control client files created by the Department for Community Welfare, the Department for Family and Community Welfare and Families SA.

The cards give the following details:

- Family name and first name(s) of the client (primary person)
- Family name and first name(s) of the secondary person
- Names of the parents of the child (if the child is the primary person)
- Client number
- Numerical code of the file type
- Numerical code of the location of file

Client file numbers consist of a seven or eight digit client number, a forward slash, and the numerical code denoting file type. If a file was transferred it was tracked by recording the file type against a new location code on the index card.

Some of the cards also show:

- Date of birth
- Change of name

The numerical codes denoting file type include:
1 - Concession and Payments file, also known as Financial Assistance file
3 - Maintenance (Revenue) file - family maintenance - relates to the operations of the Department's Family Maintenance Branch
4 - Children under care and control of the Minister file, also known as State Ward file or Child file (re-numbered 40 by the Client Information System)
5 - Bond and Supervision Child file (Juvenile offenders) (re-numbered 50 by the Client Information System)
20 - Maintenance (Matrimonial) file - relates to the operations of the Department's Family Maintenance Branch
21 - Maintenance (Affiliation) file (i.e. children born out of wedlock) - relates to the operations of the Department's Family Maintenance Branch
40 - see description for file type 4
41 - Assessment and Treatment file
45 - Children in Private Care (Payments) file
50 - see description for file type 5
55 - Psychological Services file
60 - Adoption file
70 - Foster Parent file
75 - INC Parents (Intensive Neighbourhood Care - an alternative to institutionalisation for juvenile offenders)
80 - Special Care file, including Family Day Care file. When responsibility was transferred to Children's Services Office in 1985 this number was re-allocated to Funeral file, also known as Destitute Burials
90 - Family file, including children placed privately away from parents
91 - Aboriginal file, includes Aboriginal youth voluntary counselling
92 - Non-accidental Physical Injury to Children file
95 - Budget Advice file

In around 1988 the Department introduced an electronic Client Information System (CIS), which is a part of the SA Government's Justice Information System. By 2005 the majority of the information recorded on these index cards was extracted and entered into CIS by the Family and Youth Services (FAYS) Records Section. A lack of resources prevented the recording on CIS of details relating to client files of the Family Maintenance Branch and the Adoptions Branch.

The Family Maintenance Branch continued to use the card index system until its responsibilities and all active client files passed to the Commonwealth during the 1988/90 fiscal year. Its closed client files had been transferred to State Records as GRG 29/107, GRG 29/138, GRG 29/139, GRS 6634, and GRS 6635. The index cards of the Family Maintenance Branch are included in Consignment 1 of this series.

The index cards relating to the Adoptions Branch were removed and retained by that Branch and subsequently transferred to State Records separately as GRS 16062.

Arranged alphabetically by primary client name, then by secondary client name.