Make Sure You Understand THe Government Involvement in Foster Care

In the 19th Century, the orphanage system experienced its most widespread introduction in the United States. The orphanage had been an option that several nations had come to utilize due to poverty and plague, but it was not until the 1800s that the United States' religious leaders and congregations began to consider this type of structure as a viable means to care for the orphaned.

Many of the children were placed in orphanages in the United States because this seemed to be the best option to get children out off the street. The orphanages started off with much promise for many of the orphaned, but things began to fall apart.

Often, orphanages did not have the wherewithal to place the orphaned in homes as quickly as they would have liked. In addition, in instances where an orphanage were able to place these children, the orphaned were sometimes placed in an environment that was no more appropriate for a child than the street. This is when the Government determined that this was becoming a growing problem within the orphanage system and that they must step in to execute their role.

The first attempt for the Government to initiate their hand in helping the orphaned was to first tackle areas that did not have enough orphanages available for their children. Oftentimes the orphanage was created by advocates as an effort to help local children whom they identified with on the basis of religion and color.

Therefore, in order to first get these children out of the street, the State governments would fund the placement of a child in one of the orphanage residences in the State for which they were eligible. From there, the Federal Government began to extend their focus on making sure that these orphaned children would not have to suffer from abuse.