The Inquiry has heard from a former member of the Children's Sub Committee, at the start of the latest phase of evidence.
Keith Barette, who's lived in Jersey all his life, was co-opted onto the committee as a volunteer in 1977 for a three-year term.
He explained that committee members would be asked their opinions but "we did not have a lot of clout."
The Education Committee would decide upon a course of action and Mr Barette said: "We accepted we were not childcare professionals and so key decisions should be left to those who were."
He added that the Sub Committee was not told about child protection issues or investigations.
Mr Barette was taken through his evidence by Counsel Cathryn McGahey from Temple Garden Chambers.
He described how he was given responsibility for Haut de la Garenne and said he was interested in the home because it was the largest childcare institution on the island.
He visited HdlG every Thursday and did not get the impression it was an unhappy place: "I never saw anything that caused me any concern."
In 1978 Mr Barette was asked to report to the Education Committee on the home. He reached the conclusion it was "not fit for purpose", mainly because of its size, but also the high staff turnover. He felt there were too many children and they weren't getting enough individual attention. He suggested they would benefit from being fostered or placed in smaller homes.
His report was not looked upon favourably by the Committee and he was told his criticism could imply it was not doing its job properly. When his three-year term on the Sub Committee ended, he was not invited to stay on and he told the hearing he suspected this was because of his criticisms of Haut de la Garenne.
Full transcripts and supporting documents will be uploaded when they're available.
Hearings resume tomorrow morning at 10.