About CHSW

Our Services

How You Can Help

Family Support and Education Resources

The Children's Gift Catalog

Contact Us

A New Philosophy
When the Reverend H.D. Brown and his wife, Libbie Beach Brown, founded the Washington Children's Home Society (WCHS) in 1896, they became pioneers of a new philosophy in child-helping work.

Inspired by an Illinois minister, the Browns set out to create a statewide organization to find homes for homeless children. Their plan was to follow a relatively new idea of placing orphaned children for adoption in family foster homes rather than in orphanages. Envisioning the modest family homes of farmers and villagers taking the place of institutions, the early mission was to provide "a family home for every child" as orphanages were viewed as "too lacking in heart to respond to the love demands of human nature."

The idea of placing children for adoption was entirely new to Washington. With numerous orphanages in place, this method of care was firmly imbedded in the public mind. Additionally, there existed a prejudice against dependent children, specially those from nontraditional situations. Efforts of unusual character were required to open the way for the "more modern methods" of the Society. Ultimately, it was the people of the state's many churches that determined its success.

Though the Society was never a denominational organization, it was deeply rooted in princilpes of faith. Like Rev. Brown, many of the early staff members were ordained ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church; though there was continuous effort to attract workers qualified by experience in children's homes and aid societies of other states.

"Built in the hearts of the people"
In the early years, the Society was in large part sustained by churches. It was due to the careful laying of this foundation that the Society gained the respect and confidence of Washington's citizens.

A reprint of a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article appearing in an 1899 edition of the Society's newspaper The Homefinder gives evidence to the generally successful character of the work: "Mrs. Libbie Beach Brown, of Seattle, has erected an invisible orphanage in Washington and placed therein over 100 waifs who are now enjoying all the comforts and advantages of a home. This institution is not enclosed in walls of brick, stone, wood or iron, but is well established and is growing rapidly, and will endure forever, because it is built in the hearts of the people."

Early Homes
Initially, the Browns cared for the children in their own home until they were placed in foster or adoptive homes. However, within just a few short years homes could not be found fast enough for all the children in need, and arrangements were made for boarding the children at the rate of $1.50 per week in a privately owned receiving home. The Society soon established its own receiving home in a rented building. However in 1907, a fire destroyed the home and two children died in that tragedy. Subsequently, funds were raised and property donated for a "proper fireproof building." In 1909, Brown Hall, the Society's first permanent receiving home, was completed in Seattle. It was joined by a second permanent receiving home, Galland Hall, in Spokane in 1931 to better serve the children in Eastern Washington. Both buildings stood on property that is still home to Children's Home Society offices in Spokane and Seattle.

Organizational Structure
Until the 1920s the organizational structure was such that territory representatives (staff positions) and regional voluntary boards performed all of the necessary functions of the organization, including: investigating reports of abuse and neglect; retrieving children from potentially harmful environments; placing children in foster homes; monitoring the foster homes; fundraising; and frequently giving lectures and addresses in the interest of the Society.

The year 1938, was a turning point in agency history. Under the direction of John F. Hall, the Society's first professional director, care and services improved along with public support. At this time, the Society devoted most of its energies to adoption, non-institutional unmarried parent services, and adoption-related foster care. Each year, the number of children placed for adoption by the Society grew steadily until it reached an all-time high in 1969 with the adoption placement of 568 children.

Shift in Services
Through the 1960s, the Society's adoption and unmarried parent services were its best known. Almost one-fourth of all the children CHSW placed for adoption since it started in 1896 were placed with their adoptive families in the decade of the 1960s. In all, the Society is credited with having placed more than 22,000 children in adoptive homes.

However by the early 1970s, evolving social attitudes and legislation altered the adoption situation both locally and nationally. The number of children placed for adoption dropped from the high of 568 in 1969 to 148 only three years later. Already significantly involved in providing residential treatment for school-age children, the Society redirected its energy to the building of these services as well as assisting parents in providing adequate care for their children in the hope of averting out-of-home placements. To this end, in 1968-69 the Society engaged in a statewide capital campaign, raising $1.6 million for its residential treatment services. Along with the improved facilities and staffing, came public recognition of the Society's ability to care for some of our state's most vulnerable children.

Looking ahead, the Society also established a range of counseling services for children and parents, believing them to be an essential part of the future in child welfare. Because the state did not yet have a system for reimbursing private agencies for such services and because most of the users of the service could not pay fees to cover all of the costs, CHSW was again dependent on private contributions to support its innovation.

In 1985 with the introduction of the Adoption Resource Center, CHSW led the country in establishing services that recognized and responded to the lifelong impact of adoption. Children's Home Society was again positioned as a leader, when in 1989 it was selected from over 300 applicants to participate in one of the nation's most significant social research and demonstration projects ever funded. One of 34 model projects, the Society's "Families First" program is currently demonstrating that families can and do make the transition from dependency to self-sufficiency when they are supported by a range of services that respond to their multiple needs.

CHSW's most recent recognition (12/94) has come from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation when it was selected as a participant in Kellogg's $21.7 million foster-adopt reform initiative called "Families for Kids." Awarded $3 million, CHSW in partnership with DSHS, will lead Washington's Families for Kids Initiative.

Since its incorporation in 1896, Children's Home Society of Washington has continually evolved in response to the changing needs of children and their families. In the last forty years, the Society has evolved dramatically from the state's premier adoption agency (1950s and '60s), to a leading provider of residential and group care for troubled children (1970s and early '80s), to a nationally-recognized multi-service agency providing a range of family support services. This capacity to evolve and adapt, in concert with a strong commitment to the Society's mission, accounts for the Society's continued viability after a century of service to children and families.