CATHOLIC SOCIAL SERVICES HISTORY - A SUMMARY TIMELINE
- 1797 - 1899: Institutional Care of Children: Orphanages and Trade Schools
- 1797: Yellow Fever Epidemic - St. Vincent de Paul Society and Catholic Women's League established the Roman Catholic Society of St. Joseph for the Maintenance and Education of Orphans, in private homes
- 1806: St. John's Orphan Asylum established for boys and girls; Sisters of Charity under St. Elizabeth Ann Seton assumed staffing and administration in 1814 (now part of St. Joseph Catholic Home for Children)
- 1829: St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum for Girls established by Sisters of Charity; St. John’s Orphan Asylum for Boys assumed by Sisters of St. Joseph, and merged with St. Vincent’s Male Orphan Asylum in 1836
- 1855: St. Vincent’s Orphan Asylum of Tacony founded with help of St. John Neumann and Drexel family funds; staffed by School Sisters of Notre Dame since 1859 (now St. Vincent’s Home)
- 1863: Catholic Home for Destitute Children established with Drexel funds to care for dependent and neglected girls, staffed by Sisters of St. Joseph (now St. Joseph Catholic Home for Children)
- 1888: St. Joseph’s House for Homeless Industrious Boys founded in Philadelphia, staffed by Holy Ghost Fathers and Immaculate Heart Sisters (now in Bensalem, as St. Francis—St. Joseph Homes for Children)
- 1889: St. Francis de Sales Industrial School (De LaSalle Christian Brothers) in Eddington, PA; (now in Bensalem, as St. Francis—St. Joseph Homes for Children)
- 1895: Philadelphia Protectory for Boys founded in Audobon, PA to care for delinquent youth, staffed by the De LaSalle Christian Brothers (now St. Gabriel’s Hall)
- 1900 – 1949: Social Services for Children and Special Needs Populations
- 1912: Catholic Charities Office created in Philadelphia as part of nationwide charitable efforts
- 1916: St. Edmond’s Home for Crippled Children established in Philadelphia to serve polio victims, staffed by Sisters of Bon Secours (moved to Rosemont in 1956, now St. Edmond’s Home for Children)
- 1919: Catholic Children’s Bureau incorporated to centralize child welfare efforts, find foster homes and adoptive families for neglected and dependent children; in 1920 Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Trinity assumed administration and staffing (incorporated as Catholic Social Services in 1964)
- 1948: St. Mary of Providence School established in Elverson by Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence to care for women with mental retardation (moved to Springfield in 1984, now Divine Providence Village)
- 1950 – 1969: Serving New Needs in the Community within Developing Social Work Model
- 1950: First suburban county Family Service Center office established to offer counseling and emergency assistance (now 11 centers located in all five counties of Philadelphia area)
- 1954: Casa Del Carmen opened to serve new Puerto Rican immigrants (now serves all Latinos)
- 1955: Catholic Charities Corporation formed to consolidate archdiocesan charity works
- 1958: Catholic Charities Appeal established to fund charitable and social services
- 1960: Don Guanella School opened in Springfield to serve boys with mental retardation, administered by Servants of Charity
- 1963: St. John’s Hospice opens to provide shelter and meals to homeless men on “skid row”
- 1964: Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia incorporated; lay men and women recruited for administration, supervisory, counseling and social work staff
- 1967: Services to the aging initiated at Star Harbor Senior Center (now four Senior Centers)
- 1970 – 1979: Expansion of Services and Movement to Community-based Services
- 1972: St. Gabriel’s System created to unify services to delinquent youth; community-based services and day treatment program, De la Salle Vocational School, opens in Bensalem
- 1973: Nutritional Development Services created to manage school food programs and community cupboards
- 1974: Catholic Social Services Board of Directors established; dedicated funding partnership with United Way established
- 1975: Refugee Resettlement Services established to respond to Southeast Asian newcomers; program expanded to full range of immigration services in early 1980’s
- 1976: Cardinal Krol Center opened on Don Guanella Village campus to serve adult men with mental retardation
- 1976: Mercy Hospice opened as shelter for homeless women (now women in recovery)
- 1980 – 2005: Reorganization, Accreditation, Changing Needs, Community Development
- 1981: Public funding cuts in child welfare result in downsized institutional residences, move toward community group homes, family preservation programs, and services in home
- 1985: Women of Hope founded to serve homeless women with mental illness; Housing and Homeless Services created to unify independent shelters and gain government funding
- 1986: CSS first accredited by Council on Accreditation for Services to Families and Children
- 1987: Reorganization creates Secretariat for Catholic Human Services to unify Catholic Social Services, Catholic Health Care Services, and Nutritional Development Services
- 1989: Children’s Residential Services created to coordinate foster care and family preservation programs with residential corporations serving dependent children; Mental Retardation Services created to integrate various MR facilities into CSS, gain ICFMR licensing, and open community living arrangements (CLA’s)
- 1998: Good Shepherd Program and McAuley House established to serve medically fragile homeless men and women, primarily those with HIV/AIDS
- 1998: St. Gabriel’s System opens Brother Rousseau Academy for young first-time offenders, and Mitchell Program in Audubon as short-term residential agricultural program
- 1999: CSS reorganizes into six service divisions to enhance operational efficiency: Administrative Services, Children’s Services, Family Services, Housing and Homeless Services, Juvenile Justice Services, Mental Retardation Services
- 2001: Office for Community Development established as division of Catholic Human Services, to promote neighborhood revitalization projects in conjunction with CSS & CHCS
- 2003: Cardinal Bevilacqua Community Center opens under administration of CSS, as first completed building project of Office for Community Development
- 2004: Visitation Homes opens, to provide transitional housing for women and children
- 2006: Beacon Centers open at five Archdiocesan parochial schools run by CSS (now ten sites)