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Orphanages

Historically, orphanages in the United States have been defined as institutional or group care facilities that house children who are unable to live with their parents from the time of their admission until adulthood. While there are still some orphanages in the United States today, child welfare systems are less likely to use orphanages as placements for children and youth in foster care. Preferred placements include family settings and, when necessary, residential facilities that include services to help the children and youth reunify with their families or find other permanent families.

Adult Psychosocial Functioning of Children Raised in an Orphanage
Myers & Rittner
Residential Treatment for Children and Youth, 18(4), 2001
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Experiences of 94 residents at the Florida United Methodist Children's Home, a traditional orphanage.

Building the Invisible Orphanage: A Prehistory of the American Welfare System
Crenson (1998)
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Analyzes the evolution of social policies regarding the use of orphanages for poor children and highlights lessons to be learned during the current effort to reform welfare.

The Impact of Orphanages on the Alumni's Lives and Assessments of Their Childhoods (PDF - 299 KB)
McKenzie (2003)
The findings of a second extensive survey of more than 800 alumni from five private and State orphanages in the South and Midwest who left their orphanages in the late 1960s and before.

Indian Orphanages
Holt (2001)
View Abstract
The evolution of Indian orphanages, specifically in the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma, the Seneca in New York, and the Ojibway and Sioux in South Dakota.

A Return to Orphanages? (PDF - 235 KB)
Freundlich, Morris, & Blair (2004)
A study was conducted to chart the current "orphanage" landscape in the United States, with particular focus on recent efforts to establish new institutions for the care of children and youth in foster care.

Updated on December 7, 2007