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In celebration of its 140th anniversary The Foundling will host a reunion of people whose lives have been touched by its work. Adopted Children, Foster Families, Foster Children, Orphan Train Riders, Nursing Students, Staff, Volunteers are all being welcomed back to revisit the past and to connect with The Foundling today. |
In celebration of its 140th anniversary The Foundling will host a reunion of people whose lives have been touched by its work. Adopted Children, Foster Families, Foster Children, Orphan Train Riders, Nursing Students, Staff, Volunteers are all being welcomed back to revisit the past and to connect with The Foundling today. |
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==External links== |
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[www.nyfoundling.org The New York Foundling Website] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 19:14, 13 July 2009
The New York Foundling , founded in 1869 by The 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, and other community-based services for families.
History
The Foundling Asylum (1869 – 1881)
A wave of Irish immigration into New York City and turmoil remaining from the Civil War were among the many societal conditions that led to an epidemic of infanticide during the late 1800’s. Realizing that something needed to be done to save the children who were falling victim to these crimes, Sister Irene Fitzgibbons, Founding Sister of The New York Foundling, placed a white whicker cradle on the doorstep of a small rented house at 17 East 12th Street in New York’s Greenwich Village of what was then called “The Foundling Asylum” with the goal of caring for children whose parents could not properly care for them. The Foundling’s first abandoned baby arrived on October 11, 1869, with a letter pinned to its clothing --- 45 babies followed in that first month. The need for this type of service was confirmed by the 126 babies that were left in that same white wicker cradle by January 1, 1870. After only 2 years, The Foundling had accepted 2,500 babies.
As the number of babies left to The Foundling continued to increase, the Sisters of Charity realized they would need a larger place to accommodate these children. Additionally, the children in their care were getting older and would need a need a new place to live. To solve this problem, they moved to a larger building and began to participate in a program that placed children with approved families in various regions of the United States of America. Parishioners in the destination cities were asked to accept children and the parish priests would provide applications to approved families – the practice was first known as the “Baby Trains” and later called “The Orphan Trains.” By 1879, over 1,000 children were placed in these homes through this program.
The Foundling Hospital (1880 – 1957)
In response to an increasing need for skilled medical and nursing care for young mothers and their children, The New York Foundling began to provide a wide range of health services in addition to the social services they were already providing. It was at that time that the agency changed its name to The New York Foundling Hospital as it was a more accurate reflection of its new services.
Among its medical programs was St. Ann’s Hospital (opened 1880), which provided unmarried mothers with medical treatment and St. John’s Hospital for Sick Children (opened 1881) which was at the forefront of the development of pediatric practices and approaches to caring for children in a hospital setting. For example, the Sisters developed a device that saved thousands of children from the life threatening disease diphtheria, which was an epidemic at that time. Beginning in 1945, The Foundling also operated a developmental clinic with the goal of observing, examining and analyzing what developmental norms for young children were, which became a learning center for hundreds of students from New York City area medical schools, nursing schools and psychology departments. These programs were the beginning, and subsequently incorporated into, what is now known as St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City.
While The Foundling was providing medical treatment in addition to adoption and support services for mother’s in-need, it wasn’t until the 1930’s that a Social Service department was formally established to assist those in New York City who could not properly care for their children. [1]
The New York Foundling
As the child welfare system in New York began to change its philosophies for addressing the needs of families and children, The New York Foundling continued to evolve alongside it in order to remain relevant and best serve the community. This was evidenced in part by The Foundling’s administrative headquarters located at 590 Avenue of the Americas. The building opened in Chelsea in 1988 and houses a portion of the multitude of programs provided by The Foundling, allowing for each program to operate directly out of the communities they serve throughout New York City, Rockland County and the Bronx. The community-based approach to service is highly encouraged by the City’s Administration for Children’s Services.
Among The Foundling’s current programs is the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection, founded in 1998 by the late Doctor Vincent J. Fontana who served as Medical Director of The Foundling for over 40 years. As the only center of its kind based in a family service agency, the Fontana Center is dedicated to furthering the understanding and detection of child abuse and neglect, and to teaching their prevention and treatment. It operates out of a landmark building in Manhattan’s historic Greenwich Village.
In 2008, The Foundling created The Mott Haven Academy Charter School. Haven Academy opened in September 2008 with 90 students in kindergarten and first grade, and eventually will grow to serve 314 students in grades K-8. The first of its kind in the nation, it is specifically designed to meet the needs of at-risk students who are currently in the foster care and child welfare system.
The opening of The Foundling’s new administrative building on Avenue of the Americas in the Chelsea section of Manhattan in 1988 marked a major change in the agency way of working. The new building only housed a small number of their 62 separate programs.
In November 2004, the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection, founded in 1998, was relocated into a converted four-story school building in the West Village. As the only center of its kind based in a family service agency, the Fontana Center is dedicated to furthering the understanding and detection of child abuse and neglect, and to teaching their prevention and treatment. This program is named for its founder the late Doctor Vincent J. Fontana who served as Medical Director of The Foundling for over 40 years. And was the driving force behind the creation of the center.
In 2008, The Foundling’s began a new phase with the creation of The Mott Haven Academy Charter School. Haven Academy opened with 90 students in kindergarten and first grade, and eventually will grow to serve 314 students in grades K-8. Haven Academy is specifically designed to meet the needs of at-risk students who are currently in the foster care and child welfare system. Eventually, we will co-locate all of The Foundling’s Bronx-based community services in an academic complex with Haven Academy so that we can integrate all the social services families need with the academic program of a community-based elementary school. This unique model will address the different life circumstances that negatively impact the academic performance of children “in the system” and will give our children their best chance at academic success. The school is operating at a temporary location (PS 43) in Mott Haven. During year two, the school will move to its permanent facility.
In celebration of its 140th anniversary The Foundling will host a reunion of people whose lives have been touched by its work. Adopted Children, Foster Families, Foster Children, Orphan Train Riders, Nursing Students, Staff, Volunteers are all being welcomed back to revisit the past and to connect with The Foundling today.
External links
[www.nyfoundling.org The New York Foundling Website]
References
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