History of CPS

The rescue of nine-year-old Mary Ellen in 1873 from the abuse she was experiencing launched the child protection movement in the United States. (Odyesseyware)

Mr. Bergh and his attorney, motivated by the Mary Ellen case, formed the NYSPCC on April 27, 1875, as a nongovernmental charitable society. This organization was the first child protective agency in the world. (Odyesseyware)

Concerned for the Children's welfare, the government was called in.

In 1912, the US Children's Bureau was created by a law signed by President William Howard Taft.

In 1921, the Sheppard-Towner Act, enacted by Congress, was passed in order to reduce infant and maternity mortality. Many women at this time were unable to afford adequate health services. Consequently, many mothers and infants died from lack of medical care. With the passage of this act, federal funds were used to make health services accessible to low-income women and infants. (odysseyware)

By 1922, inspired by the NYSPCC, about three hundred similar nongovernmental charitable Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (SPCC) were formed throughout the United States.(Odyesseyware)

As a result of the stock market crash, many businesses closed, and workers were left unemployed. Without jobs, many families fell into a state of poverty. In an effort to reverse the damaging effects the Great Depression was having on the US economy and society, the federal government for the first time actively became involved in social welfare by providing federal assistance to many families. (Odyesseyware)

under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Social Security Act was passed

the government slowly started to take over the responsibility of protecting children.

The year 1974 was a significant one for child protective services in the United States because it marked the moment that the government took a lead in the effort for child protection by passing the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). (Odyesseyware)