The Children's Aid Society

Location & Contact:

105 East 22nd Street
New York, NY 10010
212-949-4800
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Description:

The Childrens Aid Society helps children in poverty to succeed and thrive. We have been serving children for more than 150 years, a longevity that is a testament to our ability to adapt to the ever-changing needs of todays youth. After all, you dont succeed for 150 years by being old-fashioned.

Today Childrens Aid serves New York's neediest children and their families at more than 45 locations in the five boroughs and Westchester County. Our caring begins even before birth, through prenatal counseling and assistance, and continues through the high school years with college and job preparatory training programs. All aspects of a childs development are addressed as he or she grows, from health care to academics to sports and the arts. And because stable children live in stable families, a host of services are available to parents, including housing assistance, domestic violence counseling and health care access.

Throughout Childrens Aids history, programming has been driven by the needs of the children we serve. This proactive approach started in 1853, when Childrens Aid founder Charles Loring Brace established the Orphan Train Movement in response to an epidemic of homeless children. This approach, which moved children from New York City streets to the homes of farm families out West, has been deemed the beginning of the modern foster care system.

Childrens Aid has continuously been at the forefront of childrens services. The first free school lunch program, the first industrial school for poor children, the first day care program for working mothers and the first visiting nurse service were all Childrens Aid initiatives.

Even today, Childrens Aid remains on the cutting edge of childrens services. The Carrera Adolescent Sexuality and Pregnancy Prevention Program has been replicated or adapted at over 50 locations in 21 different states. The community school model has been adapted by public schools throughout the U.S. and as far away as Vietnam. Childrens Aids concurrent planning approach to foster care became the basis for the federal 1996 Adoption and Safe Families Act, which defines todays modern foster care system.

Childrens Aid accomplishes all this while maintaining a commitment to fiscal integrity. Childrens Aid commits an admirable 91 cents of every dollar donated directly to childrens services. This has earned Childrens Aid a four-star Exceptional rating for ten consecutive years from Charity Navigator, which rates the financial responsibility of non-profit organizations.

Childrens Aids ability to adapt to the changing needs of children and their families has kept us a relevant and vital component in the lives of New York Citys children for over 150 years. Our future, and the opportunities we will provide, are truly limitless.