You can trace the origins of Children’s Home Society & Family Services to a time when the railroads were fueling the rapid settlement of the Midwest. Numerous charitable organizations sprang up to care for orphaned children and immigrant families in need. CHSFS grew from a merger of two organizations with complementary missions – Children’s Home Society of Minnesota and Family Service, Inc.
In 1889, the Rev. E.P. Savage established Children’s Aid Society of Minnesota in St. Paul, intent on finding homes for deserted and neglected children at a time when many arrived in the Midwest on “orphan trains” from East Coast cities. As Children’s Home Society of Minnesota, the agency later operated a receiving home to care for children awaiting adoption.
In the 1950s, CHSM added international adoption services, and in the late 1960s, began counseling pregnant women and couples wishing to adopt. The agency was the first in the country to offer post-adoption services to support families beyond the initial placement of a child and throughout their adoption journey. In the 1970s, CHSM opened early-childhood education centers and established crisis nurseries to provide a temporary safe haven for children at risk for abuse.
Family Service, Inc., began in 1892 as Associated Charities, assisting immigrant families who ventured west on the railroads and settled in St. Paul. The organization became an innovator during the Great Depression and World War II by addressing the needs of the whole family, striving to regain self reliance.
Programs offered by Family Service, Inc., were created for children and adults of all ages, including financial and home ownership counseling; education and support groups; community programs for youth; individual, couples and family counseling; and learning disabilities consultation, all of which continue to be offered today.
Family Service, Inc., and Children’s Home Society of Minnesota merged in 2003 to form Children’s Home Society & Family Services, a stronger agency with a broader capacity to provide holistic and complete solutions to help our clients. CHSFS also expanded the national reach of our adoption programs in 2005 when Adoption Service Information Agency, located in Silver Spring, Md., merged with CHSFS to create an East Coast branch for our agency.
What began 120 years ago in response to the needs of orphaned and neglected children and immigrant families continues to this day. Although times have changed, our work remains vitally important – children still need strong families to love them, and struggling parents sometimes need help caring for their families.
Today, CHSFS is driven by a belief in the fundamental human rights of children to have security, opportunity, permanency and a loving family. Embracing the conviction of our founder, Rev. Savage, we work to make a difference, “one child, one home, one life at a time.”
