History of the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection

During his pediatric rounds in the early 1960's, Dr. Fontana saw children deprived of food, clothing, shelter and parental love. In 1963, he reported these observations in the groundbreaking article, "The Maltreatment Syndrome in Children" which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. In 1972, Dr. Fontana established one of the first residential temporary shelters and multidisciplinary treatment centers for abusive mothers and their children. In 1982, he founded the Crisis Nursery at the New York Foundling, an " Island of Safety " for abused and neglected children.

These programs served as successful models for the nation and for the branch of The Foundling that would become the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection, founded in 1998. In November 2004, the center was relocated into a converted four-story landmarked school building at 27 Christopher Street 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. Within The Fontana Center is another Foundling branch, Our Place, a clinic for children who fall victim to severe sexual and physical abuse.