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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.