Understanding the history of prevention services in the U.S. is important because it provides insight into the services about society has historically valued and funded, as well as highlights areas for prevention services to be improved through the implementation of the Family First Act. Additionally, the history of prevention services is fun to learn about!
Prevention in the 1800s: Prevention involved providing a safe place for children to reside, where they would no longer experience abuse
What did this look like?
- For children without living parents or who had low-income parents, it meant orphanages or being move out West to a family on the Orphan Trains
- For children with abusive parents, it often meant living in congregate care under supervision of private organizations
Throughout history, how society provided prevention services was impacted by what they viewed as the problem and the solution. In the 1800s, the problem was abusive fathers and the solution was removing children and placing them in a safe living enviornment.
But what happened after the 1800s? “The History of Prevention Services: Part 2,” will answer this question by looking at prevention services during the 1910s-1960s, which was shaped by a discovery made by “Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty for Children” in the late 1800s..
Want to learn more about the history of prevention? Check out our sources and additional resources below:
Check out the whole series!