The History of The New York Foundling

When gas lights were in vogue and Ulysses S. Grant was President, a small group of devoted Sisters opened The Foundling Asylum of the Sisters of Charity to care for babies abandoned in the devastating wake of the Civil War. On October 11, 1869, on the first night in their small Greenwich Village brownstone, an infant was left on their doorstep. By January, 123 babies had been delivered into the Sisters' care. Within a year, a larger house was secured. But this also proved to be too small for the overwhelming need. In 1872 construction began on a large, attractive, well-equipped multipurpose facility devoted to the special needs of children and, eventually, their families.

1873 - The Foundling's first recorded placement of a child with a goal of adoption.

1921 - Pediatric Nurse training program was established.

1930 - Social Services program was established.

1958 - State-of-the-art building was erected on Third Avenue at 68th Street .

1960's - Several community-based programs across the city are developed, including programs for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents, a daycare center and Family Daycare service, and programs to help young mothers living with their babies achieve stability as a family. These programs greatly increase the reach and scope of the agency's services.

1970's - The Laurent Clerc Group Home was opened to provide innovative foster care services for youth who are deaf or have a hearing impairment. Today it stands as the only program of its kind in New York City .

1977 - St. Agatha Home for Children, a renowned Rockland County Child Care Agency with a long and distinguished history, merged with The Foundling. St. Agatha Home , also established by the Sisters of Charity, provided compassionate care for children in a cottage-based campus setting. Its services expanded over time to include foster homes and group homes, non-secure detention, as well as residential programs for the developmentally disabled.

1980's - The agency witnessed a growing need for programs focusing on troubled adolescents, runaway youngsters, and teen-aged parents. Additional group residences were opened for adults with physical and developmental disabilities, and a respite program was developed to ease the burdens of the families of those with developmental disabilities.

1988 - The Foundling moved its central office to its current site at 590 Avenue of the Americas . The building houses a shelter for young expectant mothers, a Crisis Nursery, a Diagnostic Reception Center for young children, and The Foundling's administrative offices.

1999 - The Foundling established The Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection to honor the contributions to the field of child abuse prevention of Dr. Vincent J. Fontana, whose career at The Foundling spanned more than 40 years. The Fontana Center provides leadership to child abuse prevention and treatment efforts throughout the nation through its Education Center and Research Department.

2004 - The Fontana Center moved into its own headquarters, a four-story landmark building in Greenwich Village .

2005 - The Foundling discontinued its Residential Treatment Program on the St. Agatha Campus, reflecting a citywide shift in emphasis away from congregate care. This permitted the agency to concentrate on those program areas, including foster care and adoption, where it receives the highest evaluations by New York City 's Administration for Children's Services (ACS).

Through the past 138 years, while our mission has remained clear, the means of fulfilling it have evolved with the changing needs of those we serve. Even the evolution of our name - which began as an "asylum," and was later changed to "hospital" - is reflective of our focus. As we look to the needs of today's children we have removed "hospital" from our name, reinforcing our identity as The New York Foundling: an agency that continues to care for the needs of the most vulnerable among us.