The Foundling – understanding that children thrive with loving families – participated in the Orphan Train Movement, which resettled hundreds of orphans with families across the country. The Foundling ended the Orphan Train program in 1919.
Camp Felix – an overnight summer camp that enables the young people in our programs to bond with their peers, learn new skills, stay active, nurture their creativity, and connect with nature – is established in New York’s Putnam County. Open for 4 weeks each summer, the camp provides an unforgettable experience for its campers and counselors.
Launched in the 1980s, the Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP) gives 3rd and 4th grade students the tools they need to recognize, report, and prevent child abuse. In 2014, this program – which uses life-sized puppets to provide school children with safety information – joined The Foundling’s family of child welfare programs.
Through a partnership with New York City’s Administration of Children’s Services and the City University of New York, The Foundling establishes the Dorm Project. This innovative program provides dormitory housing across multiple CUNY campuses, along with comprehensive academic and social supports, to help young people in foster care across all of New York City’s foster care system succeed in college and beyond.
The Foundling’s mental health clinic opens in East Harlem, providing the community with high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional mental health support and treatment. Like all New York Foundling programs and services, our clinic delivers research-backed tools and a nurturing staff that sets up families for healthy independence, prosperous and successful futures.
The Foundling took over management of over 50 residences for people with developmental disabilities (previously operated by THRIVE Network and Catholic Guardian Services). This expansion doubled of the capacity of The Foundling’s services for people with developmental disabilities, helping us reach more than 1,000 people in over 100 supportive residences and 15 day-habilitation sites and programs across Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, and surrounding counties.
The Foundling establishes family services for deaf children and adults, the first and only foster care prevention program for families who have a deaf family member.
The Foundling opens the first charter school in the nation specifically designed to meet the needs of children involved with the child welfare system. Haven Academy’s scholars consistently outperform similar schools in academic tests, and a special trauma-informed curriculum ensures that their social and emotional needs are met as well. In 2017, the school expanded to include a middle school, and now educates children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Learn more about Mott Haven Academy Charter School.
The Foundling launches its first alternative to incarceration program, using evidence-based practices to work with whole families to address challenges that lead to system involvement––allowing young people to pursue viable alternatives to conviction, jail time, and a criminal record.
Learn more about our Alternatives to Incarceration programs.
The Foundling establishes The Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection to honor Dr. Fontana’s contributions to the field of child abuse prevention. The center provides leadership in child abuse prevention and treatment efforts throughout the nation through its Education Center and Research Department.
Learn about our Research, Advocacy, and Public Education Programs.
© 2023 New York Foundling, Inc • 501(c)(3) • Tax ID #13-1624123
Terms of Use • Internet Privacy Policy • Notice of Privacy Practices • Financials • Report a Concern • Spanish • Website by Elefant
NYF