fbpx
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Impact
  • Take Action
  • News & Events
  • Subscribe
  • Español
  • Search
  • The New York Foundling
    • Programs
      • Child Welfare
      • Developmental Disabilities
      • Education
      • Health & Behavioral Health
      • Juvenile & Criminal Justice
    • About
      • Our Why
      • History
      • Board of Trustees
      • Leadership
      • Our Supporters
    • Careers
    • Get Services
    • Contact
    • Donate
    • Search
    • Menu Menu

    Who We Are

    Making History Together

    Our Why History Leadership Board of Trustees

    In 1869, three Sisters of Charity opened their doors to save the lives of babies being abandoned on the streets of New York, beginning the  legacy of The New York Foundling. Over the past 150 years, the Sisters’ ministry has continued evolving from a respite home for abandoned children, to a comprehensive spectrum of community support services designed to provide opportunities to the children and families of New York. While social situations and our approach to our mission have evolved, we continue to share our founders’ belief that no one should ever be abandoned, and that all children deserve the right to grow up in loving and stable environments.

    Explore our history further by purchasing The Foundling, our recently updated book. Penned by Martin Gottlieb with photos by Claire Yaffa, the book provides an engrossing historical overview of our extraordinary organization.

    Connect to Your Foundling Roots

    Do you have a family connection to The Foundling? Click here for video and stories from Foundling descendants and adoptees, details about our Historical Records Department, and targeted information specifically for those with Foundling ties.

    Our History of Excellence
    1869
    October 11, 1869
    The Foundling opens its doors as a home for abandoned infants. Sister Mary Irene Fitzgibbon and two other Sisters of Charity placed a cradle on the doorstep of their brownstone on East 12th Street. They expected that it would take some time for word to spread, but that very night, they welcomed their first baby – a girl named Sarah.
    1870
    The State Takes Notice

    The Foundling receives a state grant for $100,000 to build a home to children on the Upper East Side.

    1873
    The First Adoption
    The Foundling's first recorded adoption occurs, realizing the intent of the Sisters of Charity to place all of their children in permanent and loving settings.
    1873
    A New Home
    The Foundling moves to its new home on East 68th Street, a complex built with many special needs of children in mind.
    1875
    Pioneering Adoption and Foster Care
    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.
    1881
    Helping Working Mothers

    Sister Mary Irene Fitzgibbon establishes a day nursery for pre-school children of working mothers, one of the first of its kind to tailor to the needs of mothers in the workforce.

    1882
    Pediatric Hospital Established
    St. John's Pediatric Hospital is added to The Foundling's 68th Street complex to address the medical needs of the children.
    1919
    The Golden Jubilee
    The Foundling celebrates its Golden Jubilee. In those first 50 years, 70,100 children were admitted and 16,967 mothers were helped.
    1929
    Training More Caregivers
    The Foundling’s Pediatric Nurse training program is established. The nursing school became a large division of The Foundling, providing professional training for hundreds of nurses into the 1970s.
    1929
    Going Beyond the Child
    St. Mary's Shelter for Pregnant Women is established, beginning our the long legacy of caring for mothers in vulnerable situations. The program supported women from pregnancy through birth, helping newborns stay healthy and facilitating hundreds of adoptions.
    1945
    Supporting Child Development
    Dr. Joseph DiLeo opened the pioneering Child Developmental Clinic at The New York Foundling Hospital to observe and assess the emotional and intellectual state of young children living at The Foundling. Learn about our Health and Behavioral Health Programs today.
    1958
    A New Facility
    As The Foundling grows, more space is needed to serve the community. With the needs of children and families in mind, a state-of-the-art building is erected on Third Avenue at 68th Street in Manhattan.
    1969
    100 Years
    The Foundling celebrates its 100th Anniversary with Cardinal Spellman officiating a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
    1972
    Protecting and Healing
    Dr. Vincent J. Fontana establishes The Foundling's Child Abuse Rehabilitation Program as a short-term residential program for mothers and children to break the cycle of child abuse. Learn more about our research, advocacy, and public education efforts at our Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection.
    1973
    Expanding Beyond New York
    Many of the children in The Foundling’s foster care program begin to emigrate to Puerto Rico. To ensure children and families were supported in their new home, The Foundling opens a foster care oversight program in Puerto Rico. Eventually, we shifted service from foster care and now operate Head Start and Early Head Start sites on the island.
    1974
    Strengthening the Family
    The Foundling moved to community-based services, scaling back its central office and creating localized preventive programs within New York City’s five boroughs. The Staten Island Prevention Services Program, the first of these projects, is launched in Staten Island, aimed at strengthening families to prevent foster care placements.
    1977
    St. Agatha Home for Children
    St. Agatha Home for Children merges with The Foundling to provide compassionate care for children in a cottage-based campus setting. This program operated within The Foundling until 2005, and the site of St. Agatha’s continues to be used as part of The Foundling’s programs for people with developmental disabilities.
    1982
    Caring for Deaf Families
    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. Learn about our Deaf Services program.
    1982
    A Home for People with Disabilities
    The Foundling opens group residences for adults with physical and developmental disabilities in Rockland County. Since then, The Foundling has grown its Developmental Disabilities Division, now operating over 100 residences, multiple day habilitation sites, and a number of other programs to support people with developmental disabilities as they achieve their personal goals and live their best lives. Learn more about our Developmental Disabilities programs.
    1982
    A Safe Place
    The Foundling’s Crisis Nursery opens, offering temporary respite for children whose families are facing crisis that could threaten their children’s safety. Learn more about our Crisis Nursery.
    1984
    Giving Puerto Rico a Head Start
    The Foundling establishes a Head Start preschool program in Puerto Rico to serve the island's isolated, rural areas and low-income urban neighborhoods. The program has grown to work with more than 1,500 families every year. Learn more about our Head Start program.
    1987
    Evolving for the Child

    In response to changing needs, the Child Abuse Rehabilitation program, originally a residential program for children and their mothers, is reorganized and becomes a community-based program to prevent child abuse and neglect and includes a specialized child sexual abuse treatment unit.

    1988
    New Headquarters
    The Foundling moves its central office from East 68th Street to its current site at 590 Avenue of the Americas. The building houses The Maria Lucadamo Crisis Nursery and The Foundling’s administrative offices.
    1989
    Preparing for Adulthood
    The Foundling’s Independent Living Program is initiated to assist youth in foster care to prepare for independent living. Now known as our Supportive Housing program, The Foundling provides housing and social support to 18-25 year olds aging out of foster care, including counseling and connections to education and employment. Learn more about our Supportive Housing program.
    1990
    Helping Overcome Addiction
    The Foundling has always been committed to addressing the immediate needs of our neighbors and when substance abuse was occurring within many New York City neighborhoods, The Foundling launched the Pathway Center for Family Treatment in Harlem, a comprehensive community-centered program to help mothers overcome their addictions, become responsible parents, and keep their families together.
    1999
    Advocating for Children Everywhere

    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.
    2006
    Camp Felix Opens
    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.
    2007
    Piloting Alternatives to Incarceration
    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.
    2008
    Trauma-Informed Education Where it's Needed Most
    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.
    2014
    CAPP Program Joins The Foundling
    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. Learn more about the Child Abuse Prevention Program.
    2016
    Fostering College Success
    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. Learn more about the Dorm Project.
    2019
    Integrated Home of Behavioral Health Opens in East Harlem
    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. Learn more about the Integrated Home of Behavioral Health.
    2020
    Developmental Disabilities Division Doubled
    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.

    Our Programs Today

    Spanning five program areas, The Foundling’s current programs further our commitment to support children, adults, and families in reaching their full potential.

    Sandra
    Child Welfare
    DD Twins in Harlem
    Developmental Disabilities
    Education
    Delany and Melody
    Health & Behavioral Health
    Juvenile and Criminal Justice

    Leave Your Legacy with The Foundling Today

    By including The Foundling in your estate plans, you can ensure that The Foundling’s work continues for years to come.

    Legacy Giving

    Contact us.

    Find us  

    A list of our locations

    Get on the List  

    Receive our emails

    Donate  

    Multiple ways to donate

    212 633 9300

    Main Phone Number

    Employee Login  

    © 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

    Sponsored by SOC

    Scroll to top
    Skip to content
    Open toolbar Accessibility Tools

    Accessibility Tools

    • Increase TextIncrease Text
    • Decrease TextDecrease Text
    • GrayscaleGrayscale
    • High ContrastHigh Contrast
    • Negative ContrastNegative Contrast
    • Light BackgroundLight Background
    • Links UnderlineLinks Underline
    • Readable FontReadable Font
    • Reset Reset