 In addition, appointed Aboriginal protectors in each state exercised wide-ranging guardianship powers over Aboriginal people up to the age of 16 or 21, often determining where they could live or work.Policemen or other agents of the state (some designated as "Aboriginal Protection Officers") were given the power to locate and transfer babies and children of mixed descent from their mothers, families, and communities into institutions for care.In these Australian states and territories, institutions (both government and missionary) for half-caste children were established in the early decades of the 20th century to care and educate the mixed-race children taken from their families.