Founded in December 1895, the Kentucky Children’s Home Society emerged from a vital need to provide a haven for orphaned and abandoned children in Kentucky. Before its establishment, children without homes often faced grim realities, relegated to penal institutions or poorhouses where their physical and moral well-being was severely compromised. The Society’s creation marked a significant turning point, championing the idea that every child deserved a safe temporary haven, a strong start in life, and ultimately, a loving private home.
In its early days, the Kentucky Children’s Home Society distinguished itself through progressive and compassionate approaches to child welfare. Initially located on Baxter Avenue in Louisville (originally named Von Borries), the institution adopted what was then a groundbreaking “cottage” concept for the care of homeless children. Unlike traditional institutional settings, the cottage system aimed to replicate a more homelike atmosphere. Children lived in smaller groups within separate residences, divided by age and gender, where they ate, slept, and engaged in daily activities. The Engelhard House served as the Receiving Home, where children spent their first two weeks. During this crucial period, staff were tasked with studying each child’s individual needs and personalities, while also addressing any health concerns.
Reception of Children
The Kentucky Children’s Home Society received children from various counties upon the order of a court of law. Voluntary parental surrendering of a child or children were not accepted; this was the case for many organizations. Case studies were part of the preliminary casework of all children entering the Home Society. Basic information was often provided by the courts of the county in which the child came from. Society agents worked to gather additional information as need or when required. According to the 1919 Slingerland report, it was highly encouraged to have the courts compelled to provide more information.
Between 1895 and 1918, the Home Society received more than 2,800 children as wards. Nearly half, 1,200, aged out, and 1,410 were placed into the care of families while remaining under supervision. As part of the ongoing field supervision when children were placed into a home, any child(ren) who were not happily located in foster care homes were placed back into direct care of the Home Society.
Even within its institutional framework, the end goal of the Society was to strive to make a child’s residence as non-institutional as possible. Beyond simply housing children, the organization was involved in aiding parents to keep their families intact. Its policies actively sought possible steps to prevent family separation, offering training and job assistance to parents. This approach often led to the reunion of children with their parents, and in some cases, prevented children from ever being removed from their homes. As a 1905 report stated, “the mothers who are in destitute circumstances are beginning to look upon our Society as the only means of relief and we try in every way to show the people that our work is to help the children.” Kentucky, in 1902, was notable for being one of the few states nationally to provide appropriations for indigent children, and the Kentucky Children’s Home Society was recognized as a leading state institution in that regard.
Aid Work
Fiscal funding was tantamount to the Home Society’s operations. A significant portion of assistance was given to children and families, especially those in the mountain counties. Aid work included providing food supplies and clothing to needy children and families, advice regarding employment and assistance in locating employment opportunities for those that were unemployed as well as financial help for either children or adults. The primary goal was to keep able-bodied parents, particularly widowed or deserted mothers, to maintain their own home, and keep their children in their own care.
“The natural home is the proper one for either child or adult; it is on this principle that the Aid Department [of the Kentucky Children’s Home Society] works. The closest blood relation is the logical guardian of a dependent one, and the Aid Department first directs its efforts towards finding such a person capable of assuming the obligations. Often this requires much labor and investigation, and many times relationships that were not previously known to exist have been developed. True to its name, the department renders financial aid to scores of mothers who are by it made able to keep their young children in comfort when their own earnings are combined with the aid given. During the past [eighteen years] more than 4,000 children and adults have been assisted by the Society through its Aid Department.”
Field Work
This could be considered modern social work in today’s society. The field work performed by the Society was an important part of the child-placing agency’s activities. From the field, or the Commonwealth of Kentucky, came all of the wards that were placed at the Society. And, in the field, must be found suitable family homes for the placement of the children. Additionally, field work involved the supervision of children who had been placed-out for several successive years. The Society employed five experienced field agents, referred to as District Superintendents, as well as two Financial Agents, who devoted their time exclusively to working in the field. Mr. George L. Sehon, District Superintendent (who would later become Superintendent), could spend more than a third of his time and efforts to statewide travels ranging from 500-2,000 miles per month. District Superintendents gave about 25% of their time to work related to the reception of new children; about 25% to the investigation of the homes of applicants of children, and the placement of children in such are approved, and about 50% of time and effort was devoted to the visitation and supervision of placed-out children and the home in which they resided. The estimated cost for field work alone in 1918 was about $18,550 or about $425,941.12 with inflation.
In 1923, the Kentucky Children’s Home Society relocated from its Baxter Avenue site to Lyndon, Kentucky, continuing its vital work in a new, expanded setting. Over the decades, as societal needs and child welfare practices evolved, so too did the Society. While it no longer functions as a traditional orphanage, its legacy continues today as a treatment center for children facing various challenges. The institution’s journey from an orphanage to a modern treatment facility reflects its enduring commitment to the wellbeing of Kentucky’s children, adapting its services to meet the changing demands of its community while upholding its founding principles of care, compassion, and the fundamental belief in the power of a safe and loving environment for children.
Note: considered “unplaceable,” some children had a significant number of mental/behavioral, development, or intellectual disabilities that required more intensive and consistent care. The Society, for years, were essentially compelled to take all children placed into their service, irrespective of “fitness” to be placed. The local county courts were often criticized for this as they were the only way to place children at the Society. “In some degree because defective children were found homeless and destitute, with absolutely no one to provide for them, and were taken into care by the Society as a matter of humanity, but mainly because of the careless casework of the county courts, a large number of unplaceables have come into its care and control.” In 1917, Dr. Thomas H. Haines, an expert from the National Committee for Mental Hygiene, studied the conditions of the receiving home at the Society. Below is an extract of his original report.
Child-Placing in Families (Slingerland)
Contributed by Shawn Logan | contact@kyhi.org
⁘ Works Cited ⁘
- Slingerland, W. H. Child Welfare Work in Louisville: A Study of Conditions, Agencies and Institutions. The Welfare League of Louisville. April, 1919.
- The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 23 June 1901
- The Louisville-Courier Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 21 March 1909
- The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 25 December 1909
- The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 18 September 1921
- The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 19 October 1930
Important note:
If you would like to use any information on this website (including text, bios, photos and any other information) we encourage you to contact us. We do not own all of the materials on this website/blog. Many of these materials are courtesy of other sources and the original copyright holders retain all applicable rights under the law. Please remember that information contained on this site, authored/owned by KHI, is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Photographs, text, illustrations and all other media not authored by KHI belong to their respective authors/owners/copyright holders and are used here for educational purposes only under Title 17 U.S. Code § 107.
Kentucky Historic Institutions 