New York Foundling
A New York-based nonprofit child and family welfare agency founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1869.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
The New York Foundling is a nonprofit child and family welfare organization established in New York City in 1869 by the Sisters of Charity. It was created during a period of severe poverty, mass immigration, inadequate social services, and widespread child abandonment. The organization began when Sisters at St. Peter's Convent responded to infants left at the convent door and opened a small refuge for children whose parents could not care for them. Its first location was a rented house at 17 East 12th Street, where the organization received an infant on its first night and dozens more during its first month. The Foundling rapidly expanded. It introduced boarding arrangements, acquired larger premises, and created an adoption department in the early 1870s. Its historic work included residential care for infants and children, support for unmarried mothers, foster placement, adoption, and medical treatment. From the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century, it also operated so-called mercy trains, transporting children from New York to pre-arranged Catholic homes in other parts of the United States. These placements were intended to preserve Catholic religious identity and relied substantially on local clergy and host-family agreements. The practice became controversial, particularly after the 1904 removal of nineteen children from Catholic Mexican American foster families in Clifton, Arizona Territory. Litigation arising from that episode reached the United States Supreme Court in New York Foundling Hospital v. Gatti in 1906. The decision narrowly addressed the use of habeas corpus in child-custody disputes, and the children remained with the families to whom they had been redistributed. Criticism of the placement system, including allegations of improper documentation and coercive or discriminatory practices, contributed to the eventual discontinuation of western placements. The organization also became an important medical and social-service institution. It established St. Ann's Hospital for unmarried mothers in 1880 and St. John's Hospital for Sick Children in 1882. Medical work associated with the institution included the development of endotracheal intubation by physician Joseph O'Dwyer, a technique that helped treat children suffering from diphtheria. The Foundling opened an early day nursery for children of working mothers in 1881 and later developed child-development and clinical programs. Its medical and developmental work helped form part of the institutional heritage that was later incorporated into Saint Vincent's Hospital in New York City. A formal Social Service department was established in the 1930s, reflecting the organization's expanding focus on family support rather than only residential care. In its contemporary form, New York Foundling provides foster care, adoption support, preventive family services, educational programs, mental-health and behavioral-health services, developmental-disability programs, deaf and hard-of-hearing family services, juvenile-justice interventions, child-abuse prevention and treatment, and early-childhood education. Its foster-care work serves children from infancy through young adulthood and includes reunification, kinship care, and adoption pathways. The Child Success NYC model, launched in 2012, represents a more recent evidence-informed approach to improving outcomes for children and families involved in the child-welfare system. The organization operates across New York City and surrounding counties, as well as Puerto Rico. Its Puerto Rico operations include Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which have been operated since 1984. Other notable initiatives include the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection, founded in 1998, and Mott Haven Academy Charter School, opened in 2008 as a trauma-sensitive school designed especially for children involved with or at risk of entering the child-welfare system. New York Foundling received accreditation from the Council on Accreditation in 2006. It remains an active social-service institution whose work combines child protection, family preservation, education, health-related support, and community-based care.
History
New York Foundling was founded on October 8, 1869, by the Sisters of Charity in response to the abandonment of infants and the lack of adequate support for poor and immigrant families in New York City. Sister Mary Irene FitzGibbon brought the problem of abandoned children to the attention of Mother Mary Jerome, superior of the Sisters of Charity, while Archbishop John McCloskey encouraged the order to establish a dedicated institution. Sisters Irene, Teresa Vincent, and Ann Aloysia began the work in a rented house at 17 East 12th Street. A white wicker cradle was placed inside the entrance so that desperate parents could leave infants safely. The institution received its first infant on its opening night and forty-five additional babies during its first month. Demand quickly exceeded the capacity of the original site. The organization opened a boarding department in November 1869, placing some children with nearby caregivers, and moved to larger premises at 3 Washington Square within a year. By the beginning of 1870, 123 babies had been received; within two years, the institution had accepted approximately 2,500 infants. It also assisted unmarried mothers and established an adoption department, with the first recorded placement through that department occurring in May 1873. Construction of a major new facility began in 1872 on a site between East 68th and 69th Streets and Lexington and Third Avenues, supported in part by a state matching grant. Between 1875 and 1919, the Foundling became involved in organized child placements commonly known as mercy trains. Children, particularly infants and toddlers, were transported from New York to pre-arranged Roman Catholic homes in other states. Parish priests and local Catholic communities helped identify prospective families, and placement agreements required families to raise children within the Catholic faith. At its peak, the system placed roughly 1,000 children annually. The program formed part of a broader nineteenth-century movement that relocated children from crowded eastern cities, but the Foundling's Catholic orientation distinguished it from the Children's Aid Society's more Protestant-oriented placement network. The placement system faced serious controversy. In 1904, nineteen children sent to Clifton, Arizona Territory, were removed from Catholic Mexican American foster families by white vigilantes and redistributed among local white households. The Foundling sought their return through habeas corpus proceedings. The dispute involving William Norton reached the United States Supreme Court as New York Foundling Hospital v. Gatti. In 1906, the Court held that habeas corpus was not the proper procedure for resolving the custody issue because the children were not being treated as persons exercising personal liberty in the legal sense relevant to the writ. The ruling did not return the children. The Arizona episode, along with broader accusations that placement records had been manipulated and that children had sometimes been placed across religious or family boundaries without adequate consent, intensified criticism of the system. The Foundling eventually stopped sending children to western communities. The institution expanded beyond custodial and adoption work into medical care. St. Ann's Hospital opened in 1880 to treat unmarried mothers, and St. John's Hospital for Sick Children opened in 1882. Staff physician Joseph O'Dwyer developed endotracheal intubation, an important advance in treating airway obstruction associated with childhood diphtheria. In 1881, the organization created an early day nursery for children of working mothers. A developmental clinic established in 1945 examined young children's development and became a training site for students in medicine, nursing, psychology, and related fields. The medical and developmental programs later contributed to the institutional history of Saint Vincent's Hospital in New York City. Although family support had been part of the mission from the beginning, a formal Social Service department was not established until the 1930s. The organization broadened its community services during the twentieth century. It began programs for people with developmental disabilities in 1974, starting with a group home in Nyack, New York. Services for deaf children and adults and their families began in 1982, with American Sign Language-fluent staff providing home-based assistance. Since 1984, the Foundling has operated Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Puerto Rico. The Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection was founded in 1998 to advance the detection, prevention, and treatment of child abuse and neglect, building on the work of physician Vincent J. Fontana, who served as the organization's medical director for more than four decades. In 2006, New York Foundling received Council on Accreditation accreditation. In 2008, it opened Mott Haven Academy Charter School, a trauma-sensitive school serving children connected to the child-welfare system and children at risk of entering care. Its foster-care model, Child Success NYC, launched in 2012 and reflects a shift toward evidence-informed interventions, family preservation, reunification, kinship care, and improved long-term outcomes. Contemporary programs include foster care, adoption, preventive family services, mental-health support, developmental-disability services, juvenile-justice interventions, child-protection work, education, and early-childhood programs. The organization maintains its administrative headquarters in Chelsea and operates across New York City, nearby counties, and Puerto Rico.
- 2012
Child Success NYC launches
[1]The organization introduces a multifaceted, evidence-informed foster-care model.
- 2008
Mott Haven Academy Charter School opens
[1]The Foundling opens a charter school using a trauma-sensitive model for children involved with or vulnerable to involvement in child welfare.
- 2006
Council on Accreditation accreditation
[1]The organization receives accreditation from the Council on Accreditation.
- 1998
Vincent J. Fontana Center is founded
[1]The Foundling establishes a child-protection center focused on preventing, identifying, and treating child abuse and neglect.
- 1984
Puerto Rico Head Start operations begin
[1]New York Foundling begins operating Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Puerto Rico.
- 1982
Services for deaf families begin
[1]The organization launches preventive family services for households that include deaf children or adults.
- 1974
Developmental-disability services begin
[1]New York Foundling opens a group home in Nyack, New York, marking the beginning of its developmental-disability service program.
- 1945
Developmental clinic begins operation
[1]The organization opens a developmental clinic that also serves as a training center for students in medical, nursing, and psychology programs.
- 1930
Formal Social Service department is created
[1]The Foundling establishes a dedicated Social Service department to assist families unable to care adequately for their children.
- 1906
Supreme Court rules in New York Foundling Hospital v. Gatti
[1]The Court rejects habeas corpus as the appropriate mechanism for the Foundling's custody challenge involving William Norton and other children placed in Arizona.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit, community-based child and family welfare provider combining foster care, permanency planning, prevention, education, health-related support, and specialized services for vulnerable children, adults, and families.
Child welfare · 1869
Foster care and permanency services
New York Foundling provides foster-care placements and support for children referred by New York City child-welfare authorities. Services may support reunification with birth parents, placement with relatives, long-term foster care, or adoption. The program serves children from newborn age through approximately age 21 and incorporates family-focused interventions intended to improve safety, stability, and developmental outcomes.
Foster-care model · 2012
Child Success NYC
Launched in 2012, Child Success NYC is a multifaceted approach to foster care that combines placement support, family engagement, permanency planning, and evidence-informed interventions. Its stated purpose is to improve outcomes for children and families rather than treating foster placement as an isolated residential service.
Permanency services · 1873
Adoption services
The Foundling created an adoption department in the early 1870s. Contemporary adoption-related work forms part of a broader permanency system that may follow reunification efforts, kinship placement, or foster care when a permanent family arrangement is needed.
Child protection · 1998
Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection
Founded in 1998, the Fontana Center advances professional and public understanding of child abuse and neglect. Its work is focused on detection, prevention, education, and treatment, building on the long medical and child-protection history of New York Foundling.
Education · 2008
Mott Haven Academy Charter School
Mott Haven Academy is a charter school opened by the Foundling in 2008 in the Bronx. It uses a trauma-sensitive curriculum for students affected by the child-welfare system. The school includes social-work and behavioral support, arts programming, after-school leadership activities, and summer programming.
Juvenile justice
Juvenile Justice Programs
The Foundling's juvenile-justice portfolio includes Blue Sky, Arrow, Kids Experiencing Young Successes, Families Rising, and Way Home. The programs use community intervention, psychiatric support, functional family therapy, and family-based approaches to reduce detention and improve outcomes for young people involved with the justice system.
Disability and family services · 1982
Family Services for Deaf Children and Adults
Operating since 1982, this preventive program supports families that include deaf children or adults. Staff fluent in American Sign Language provide home-based services tailored to assessed family needs.
Disability services · 1974
Developmental-disability services
New York Foundling provides residential, family, and community support for people with developmental disabilities. The program began with a group home in Nyack in 1974 and later expanded to serve individuals and their families in the organization's operating regions.
Early-childhood education · 1984
Puerto Rico Head Start and Early Head Start
The Foundling has operated Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Puerto Rico since 1984. These programs combine early education and family support to improve social, developmental, and educational prospects for children in economically disadvantaged communities.
Healthcare · 1880
Historic medical services
During the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the Foundling operated hospitals and clinics serving mothers and children. St. Ann's Hospital treated unmarried mothers, while St. John's Hospital for Sick Children contributed to pediatric medicine. A developmental clinic opened in 1945 and later became part of the institutional heritage of Saint Vincent's Hospital.
Controversies
1904
Arizona child-placement controversy
Nineteen children transported by the Foundling to Clifton, Arizona Territory, were forcibly removed from Catholic Mexican American foster families by white vigilantes and redistributed among white households. The Foundling attempted to recover the children through legal proceedings, but local and territorial authorities did not prosecute the removals. The dispute generated litigation culminating in the 1906 Supreme Court case New York Foundling Hospital v. Gatti. The episode, together with broader criticism of western child placements and allegations of improper documentation, contributed to the eventual end of the Foundling's western placement system.
Brand decisions
2012
Adopt Child Success NYCStrategyBackground
Contemporary child welfare increasingly emphasizes evidence-informed practice, family stability, reunification, kinship care, and measurable developmental outcomes.
Action taken
The Foundling launched Child Success NYC as a multifaceted foster-care model intended to support children and families across placement and permanency decisions.
Aftermath
The model represented the organization's continuing transition from institution-centered care toward integrated, family-centered community services.
2008
Open a trauma-sensitive charter schoolProduct launchBackground
Children affected by foster care and family instability often face educational and behavioral needs that conventional schools may not be designed to address.
Action taken
New York Foundling opened Mott Haven Academy Charter School with a trauma-sensitive curriculum and integrated social-work support.
Aftermath
The school became a distinctive education initiative connected to the child-welfare system, reserving places for children in foster care and for children receiving preventive services.
1930
Formalize family social workStrategyBackground
The organization's experience with children and mothers demonstrated that residential care alone could not address the circumstances leading families to relinquish or lose custody of children.
Action taken
The Foundling established a dedicated Social Service department.
Aftermath
The organization moved toward a broader family-support and prevention model in addition to institutional care and placement.
1880
Add hospital and medical servicesStrategyBackground
Growing demand for skilled medical and nursing care for mothers and children expanded the institution's role beyond shelter, boarding, and adoption.
Action taken
The organization opened St. Ann's Hospital and later St. John's Hospital for Sick Children, broadening its institutional identity and health-care activities.
Aftermath
The Foundling became an important center for maternal and pediatric care, clinical training, and medical innovation.
1875
Expand into organized Catholic child placementsStrategyBackground
New York's overcrowded institutions and the desire to place Catholic children in Catholic households created pressure for a placement network beyond the Foundling's own facilities.
Action taken
The Foundling began sending infants and toddlers to pre-arranged Catholic homes in other regions, relying on local parish structures and family agreements.
Aftermath
The mercy-train system grew substantially and placed large numbers of children, but later faced criticism over consent, religious requirements, recordkeeping, and discriminatory outcomes. Western placements were eventually discontinued.
- Children's Aid Society — The Foundling's Catholic placement network developed alongside and at times rivaled the Children's Aid Society's child-relocation efforts, which had stronger Protestant associations.
Sources1 sources
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