An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusive. There may be substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home, or the parent may simply be unwilling to care for the child. The legal responsibility for the support of abandoned children differs from country to country, and within countries. Government-run orphanages have been phased out in most developed countries during the latter half of the 20th century but continue to operate in many other regions internationally. It is now generally accepted that orphanages are detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of children, and government support goes instead towards supporting the family unit.
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of a "foster child" is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home, or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member.
World Vision International is an ecumenical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. It was founded in 1950 by Robert Pierce as a service organization to provide care for children in Korea. In 1975, emergency and advocacy work was added to World Vision's objectives. It is active in over 100 countries with a total revenue including grants, product and foreign donations of USD $3.14 billion.
Charles Loring Brace was an American philanthropist who contributed to the field of social reform. He is considered a father of the modern foster care movement and was most renowned for starting the Orphan Train movement of the mid-19th century, and for founding Children's Aid Society.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 19, 1997, after having been approved by the United States Congress earlier in the month.
Children's Aid, formerly the Children's Aid Society, is a private child welfare nonprofit in New York City founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace. With an annual budget of over $100 million, 45 citywide sites, and over 1,200 full-time employees, Children's Aid is one of America's oldest and largest children's nonprofits.
Orphans International Worldwide (OIWW) is a charitable organization created to house and educate orphans and abandoned children. In response to the crisis facing orphaned children around the world, former investment bank employee Jim Luce founded Orphans International in 1999. OI's headquarters are in New York City.
Elizabeth Hamilton was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was the wife of American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and was a passionate champion and defender of Hamilton's work and efforts in the American Revolution and the founding of the United States.
The Orphan Train Movement was a supervised welfare program that transported children from crowded Eastern cities of the United States to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest. The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating from about 200,000 children. The co-founders of the orphan train movement claimed that these children were orphaned, abandoned, abused, or homeless, but this was not always true. They were mostly the children of new immigrants and the children of the poor and destitute families living in these cities. Criticisms of the program include ineffective screening of caretakers, insufficient follow-ups on placements, and that many children were used as strictly slave farm labor.
Dream House For Medically Fragile Children was a Georgia-based organization dedicated to providing financial support and homes to children with severe health issues. It is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit. The organization was founded by Laura O. Moore, a pediatric nurse. The organization eventually served "children [who] had been abandoned by their families because they didn't have the means to properly care for the child. In other instances, the child had been taken from the parents or caregivers because of abuse or neglect." Children could stabilize and improve with good care, and then returning them to their families, placing them in foster homes and/or obtaining adoption would be possible.
The Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services is one of the United States' largest nonprofit mental health and social service agencies, and New York State's largest social services nonprofit.
Children's Institute Inc. (CII) is a nonprofit organization that provides services to children and families healing from the effects of family and community violence within Los Angeles. Founded in 1906 by Minnie Barton, Los Angeles's first female probation officer, the organization was first designed to help troubled young women who found themselves adrift in Los Angeles. The organization has since expanded its services to at-risk youth in Los Angeles who are affected by child abuse, neglect domestic and gang violence as well as poverty. CII is a multi-service organization that combines evidence-based clinical services, youth development programs and family support services designed to address the whole child and entire family. The organization provides various forms of trauma support—including therapy, intervention services, parenting workshops, early childcare programs and other support services offered in English, Spanish and Korean.
The New York Foundling, founded in 1869 by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity, is one of New York City's oldest and largest child welfare agencies. The Foundling operates programs in the five boroughs of New York City, Rockland County, and Puerto Rico. Its services include foster care, adoptions, educational programs, mental health services, and many other community-based services for children, families, and adults.
DePelchin Children's Center, founded in 1892 in Houston, Texas, is a nonprofit organization focused on supporting and sustaining children and the families who care for them. DePelchin provides a range of services for children and families — it is an accredited foster care and adoption agency, and it also provides residential treatment for youth in foster care, as well as serving youth who are about to age out of foster care or have recently aged out of foster care. DePelchin’s services also include counseling, parenting classes, and other services focused on protecting children and keeping families strong. The center continues to be recognized at the state and federal level for cutting-edge programs, including a federal grant as a leading child trauma expert in Texas.
Joint Council on International Children's Services, founded in 1976, was a nonprofit child advocacy organization based in Alexandria, Virginia. The organization "work[ed] to end the suffering of children who live every day without the protection and love of a strong permanent and safe family. Our 142 Partners in 52 countries do the same."
Deinstitutionalisation is the process of reforming child care systems and closing down orphanages and children's institutions, finding new placements for children currently resident and setting up replacement services to support vulnerable families in non-institutional ways. It became common place in many developed countries in the post war period. It has been taking place in Eastern Europe since the fall of communism and is now encouraged by the EU for new entrants. It is also starting to take hold in Africa and Asia although often at individual institutions rather than statewide. New systems generally cost less than those they replace as many more children are kept within their own family. Although these goals have been made internationally, they are actively being working towards as reform and new reforms are put into practice slowly as is fit for each country.
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward or a non-minor, typically aged 18–21, who volunteers for placement, is placed in a relative placement, a non-related extended family (NREFM) placement, a community family home, an institution, a group home (residential child care community, residential treatment center, etc. Relative, NREFM, and community caregivers certified by the state are typically referred to as "foster parents," "kin caregivers," "resource parents," or other local terms. The placement of the child is usually arranged through state or county social services. The institution, group home, or caregiver is reimbursed for the expenses related to caring for the child. The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions, while the caregiver is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. Even while their child is in Care, typically birth parents retain Education and Medical rights and the right to contact with their child unless parental rights are terminated by the Court.
The New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) is a New York City government agency that prosecutes parents, caregivers, and juveniles in child protective service and delinquency proceedings in New York City. ACS has been the subject of numerous civil rights lawsuits involving the wrongful removals and deaths of children as well as constitutional violations of both parents and children.
Phillipa Anne Soo is an American actress and singer. Known for her leading roles on Broadway primarily in musicals, she has received two Grammy Awards along with nominations for a Tony Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Rising Ground is a large human services organization in New York City, with approximately 1,600 employees supporting more than 25,000 children, adults, and family members annually. Founded in 1831 as the Leake and Watts Orphan House, Rising Ground focused on providing child welfare services for much of its existence. Currently, Rising Ground services include child welfare, juvenile justice services, services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, special education school programs, services for survivors of gender-based violence, early childhood services, and services for unaccompanied minor children, among others. The organization has approximately 50 programs located at about three dozen sites in New York City and Westchester County, New York. In April 2018, the organization changed its name from Leake and Watts to Rising Ground.
