Some of the earliest documentation of children being cared for in foster
homes can be found in the Old Testament and in the Talmud. These references
establish caring for dependent children as a duty under law. Early Christian
church records also show children were boarded with "worthy widows"
who were paid by collections from the congregation.
It was English Poor Law, however, that lead to development and eventual
regulation of family foster care in the United States. In 1562, these laws
allowed the placement of poor children into indentured service until they came
of age. This practice was imported to the United States and was the beginning
of placing children into homes. Even though indentured service permitted abuse
and exploitation, it was a step forward from almshouses where children did not
learn a trade and were exposed to horrendous surroundings and unsavory adults.
Various forms of indenturing children persisted into the first decade of this
century.
In 1636, less than thirty years after the founding of the Jamestown Colony,
at the age of seven, BENJAMIN EATON became this nation's first foster child.
In 1853, Charles Loring Brace began the free foster home movement. A
minister and director of the New York Children's Aid Society, Brace was
concerned about the large number of immigrant children sleeping in the streets
of New York.
He devised a plan to provide them homes by advertising in the South and West
for families willing to provide free homes for these children, whether for
charitable reasons or whatever help these children could be to them. In many
cases, these children were placed in circumstances similar to indenture.
However, Brace's daring and creative action became the foundation for the
foster care movement as it exists today.
As a result of the New York Children's Aid Society's placements, sectarian
social agencies and state governments became involved in foster home
placements. Three states led the movement. Massachusetts, prior to 1865, began paying
board to families who took care of children too young to be indentured. Pennsylvania passed the
first licensing law in 1885 which made it a misdemeanor to care for two or more
unrelated children without a license. South
Dakota began providing subsidies to the Children's
Home Society after it was organized in 1893 for its public child care work.
During the early 1900's, social agencies began to supervise foster parents.
Records were kept, children's individual needs were considered when placements
were made, and the federal government began supporting state inspections of
family foster homes. Services were provided to natural families to enable the
child to return home and foster parents were now seen as part of a professional
team working to find permanency for dependent children.
