Agency history

Children's Service Society of Wisconsin was established in 1889 to provide homes for orphaned and abandoned children. Children's Service Society is now Wisconsin's largest, private, not-for-profit, provider of child welfare services. Children's Service Society believes every child is entitled to a permanent, safe and nurturing home. At more than 35 locations throughout Wisconsin, skilled professionals address the needs of children and families through a variety of programs to ensure permanency for all children served.

Since Children's Service Society was founded in 1889, the services provided have continually changed due to societal shifts. In the late 1800s, with the popularization of the orphan trains that brought homeless children from New York to the West, the Reverend J.P. Dysart founded the Children's Home Society of Wisconsin after becoming concerned with the plight of these orphaned or abandoned children. As legend has it, Dysart could often be found crossing the state on horseback with a baby in one hand and the horse's reins in the other, trying to find a home to take the child.

Timeline

1889 -- Children's Home Society of Wisconsin was founded by the Reverend J.P. Dysart to find homes for orphaned or abandoned children.

1910s -- Societal shifts caused the agency to modernize and begin dealing more with delinquent juveniles and young adults searching for their birth parents.

1920s -- Goals of the agency included strengthening the family, preventing out-of-home care placement and providing services to children in their own homes.

1940s -- Emphasis placed on strengthening educational programs, more preventative programs, increased efforts to find foster homes for older children and development of health program. In 1944, after four name changes, the agency became known as Children's Service Society of Wisconsin, following a merger between Children's Aid Society of Wisconsin and Children's Service Association of Milwaukee.

1950s -- Services provided included placing children in foster and adoptive homes; provided casework services to children, birth parents and foster parents; and provided birthparent counseling and child and family counseling services. Also on the rise were more children with emotional or behavioral problems that needed foster homes.

1960s -- With the emergence of the Women's Movement, more women decided to keep their children that were born out of wedlock. Children's Service Society shifted their counseling programs to assist these mothers with their choices.

1970s -- More children placed in foster care or available for adoption were racial minorities. The Treatment Foster Care Program was established and a mentor program for unwed mothers began.

1980s -- Expansion of the counseling program included support groups such as divorce counseling for children, groups for parents of hyperactive children, counseling for bereaved parents, treatment of sexually abused children and parenting classes.

1990s -- Children's Service Society's prevention programs grew rapidly and its Out-of-Home Care, Transitional Living Skills and Counseling programs served thousands of children throughout the State.

2000s -- Children's Service Society initiated a strategic planning process that examines the changes in the child welfare movement, the changes in our society and the commitment needed to assist the children of Wisconsin.

2004 -- Children's Service Society becomes a member of Children's Hospital and Health System.