Children's Service Society

On a fall day in 1881, several woman met together to discuss their concerns for the children in Salt Lake City. Utah was not even a state at this time and would not obtain statehood for another fifteen years. Horses and buggies were being driven on the streets and there were economic concerns that had made it necessary for many women to enter the workforce. There was no such thing as child care and many children were left to fend for themselves during the day until their mothers returned in the evening.

Meeting minutes from Monday, October 13, 1884 read “a meeting was held in the Presbyterian Church to organize a Day Nursery in Salt lake City. Thirty four ladies were present. The meeting was opened by reading from scripture and then a prayer was offered. Mrs. Dickey was asked to be chairman of the meeting, she called for a report from the soliciting they had been doing; $204.00 was reported as gifts for this year and $27.50 in monthly subscriptions, also some furniture for the dining room and meat for one day in the week from a butcher in the city.” In the minutes the names of each of the woman that would serve on that first board along with the names of their respected churches is listed. The churches were Congregational Church, Presbyterian, Methodist, Independents, Baptist, Hebrews, and Scandinavian Church. They  adjourned until October 18, 1884.

Virginia Bennett, Executive Secretary in 1958, talked about the history of the Children’s Service Society in her seventy-fifth annual report when she said:  “This first Board group of women had only the courage of their faith and hard work. Their financial back bone was their own $1.00 a month dues.”

They sought to make the lives of children better.  Little did they realize but this would be the driving force for the next 125 years. These women were good Christian woman who wanted to make the lives of children better and improve conditions in Salt Lake. They rented a small 5 room cottage near 100 South and 300 East. Here children could come during the day and have food, shelter, and supervision. The rent was $18.00 month; the quarters were large and furnished with a dining room table, 16 chairs, a rocker, a cradle, and carpeting for three rooms. They relied heavily on the generosity of the community, churches, the butcher, and the baker.

You’ve heard the phrase, “build it and they will come.” That certainly became the truth for these good women. They had only scratched the surface of what was to lay ahead. They had no sooner opened their doors; in fact it was only a couple days later when an infant was left on their doorstep. The Day Nursery was now a orphans home and a day nursery. This incidentally was the starting of the first adoption program in Utah. The minutes reflect that the first home had a “matron, caretaker, and 3 inmate babies.” The little cottage was no longer large enough, so 3 months after opening their doors it was necessary to move. Their second home, was a little larger (located approximately at 300 East 400 South) and rent was only $12.00 per month. It was in a much poorer neighborhood but it had city water. 

In 1909 they made their third move, to 100 South 1100 East. Mrs. Gorham made this statement regarding their many moves in those early years, “… whatever the location and no matter how many changes took place in external affairs … the object was ever the care and protection of helpless children.” The Salt Lake Tribune reported the following story of the dedication: “The laying of the stone was done by Mrs. Roylea charter member of the original organization. With stirring fervor this gray-haired woman consecrated the contents of the stone and wielded the trowel for the cementing of the stone. The services concluded with the singing of America by the entire assembly, by the end of the ceremony the heavy derrick from which was suspended the stone broke and fell among the audience. Fortunately no one was struck.”

It took the entire community to keep the orphanage running and the children sheltered, fed and clothed. Religious groups assisted with the upkeep, volunteer woman sewed clothing, and good hearted people in the community donated money, goods and services. According to the records of a previous executive director, public funds provided half the budget in 1922. The charges to the government consisted of $7.00 a month for older children and $10.00 month for younger children.

In the mid 1920’s, donations were being solicited. In 1921 the newspaper printed a plea for baby clothes. Later the society reported, “In 1921 the Society received $100.00 which enabled our children to have two pairs of stockings all around, fresh hair ribbons, and many other useful things.” To this day, Children's Service Society still relies on the donations from foundations and individuals to provide for the children and families that we serve.

In 1927 the name was changed from the Orphans Home and Day Nursery to the Children’s Service Society to better reflect the services that were being provided.  Donations were still needed. A newspaper article demonstrated this with the picture of 15 baby buggies that were donated so the babies could be “taken for airings.”

In the 1930’s, the caseloads of the social workers were swelling and budgets were limited, but the needs of the children were not to be overlooked. Mrs. Woodin approached the University of Utah’s School of Social Work for interns to train in social work. This enhanced the learning experience of the students, kept caseloads manageable, and most importantly - the children were being able to be cared for adequately. The Children’s Service Society continues to benefit from the services of students at the University of Utah. 

Children’s Service Society has always led the crusade for best practice in child welfare. In 1930, Executive Director Marguerite Woodin began advocating for the “de-institutionalized” orphanage. This meant that in the best interest of the child, Children’s Service Society would train parents in the community to house the children in their homes. The guidelines were, “not more than 4 children in a home, thus taking away the feeling of an institution and making the children feel they have a home and someone interested in their well-being.”

In 1931, the Tribune ran pictures of children celebrating a “lawn party” at the orphanage. Volunteers from the Liberty Stake Relief Society sponsored monthly birthday parties for the children in the orphanage. This was done in hopes of finding appropriate foster homes for some of the children. During this time, Mrs. Woodin began recruiting family members to take in their relative’s children and provide homes until the children could return safely to their own parents. It would take many volunteers to keep the home going including people like Dr. Samuel G. Paul who provided over 25 years of service to the children.

By the 50th anniversary it was estimated that over 6,000 children had been placed in homes. Funding continued to be a issue for the agency. This news article ran suggesting that if funding was not found a child would not receive services. It posed the question to the reader, “What child would you choose not to receive services?”

Children’s Service Society became the refuge for “way-ward” girls during the 30’s. Judges court ordered these troubled girls into the care of CSS because they were the premier place for children and youth to obtain state of the art mental health treatment.  Children’s Service Society hired the first child psychiatrist in Utah to provide treatment for abused and neglected children. Play therapy was being used regularly so children could obtain a voice for the tragedies, wounds and abuse they had experienced in their young lives.

By 1940, Children’s Service Society no longer needed the large orphanage home due to the use of foster homes. By 1943, lack of funding for the large home dictated the necessity of selling the orphanage and relocating to 576 East South Temple. The remaining offices and rooms were offered to other Community Chest Members. This centralized services and helped to defray the costs of maintaining such a large building. This location was used for the next 50 years. However, the Victorian building was old and needed large sums of money to provide the upkeep that this building required. In 1996 this building was sold and the agency moved to the current location of 124 South 400 East.

Through the years Children's Service Society has evolved its programs according to the needs of the children and families that they serve in the community. Today their vision is to enrich the lives of children and families. Children's Service Society is committed to meeting the growth and developmental needs of children, fostering quality child care, and promoting positive relationships in biological, adoptive, and kinship families without regard to ethnicity, race, income, gender, age, or religion. This is accomplished through their programs: Adoption Services, Grandfamilies Relatives as Parents, Child Care Resource & Referral ~ Metro, and Utah Parents as Teachers.