May 1996, Vol. 2, No. 3

The Orphanage Debate
By Joan Criswell, second-year social administration student.

Upon assuming the role of Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of Newt Gingrich's first proposals was to resurrect the notion of using orphanages as a response to the problems of child poverty and maltreatment. Since then, the debate surrounding orphanages' reemergence as a policy option raises questions about the motives for the proposal's revival as well as its feasibility. Examination of the history of orphanages reveals that Gingrich and his supporters must not only disprove the criticism by professionals concerned about the impact of institutionalization of children, but also the feasibility problems presented by the population's treatment needs and the extraordinary cost of institutional maintenance. Despite these substantive issues, the "orphanage debate" among elected officials seems to have been thoroughly politicized and-as demonstrated by the selection of the term "orphanage" remains devoid of historical research, professional opinion, and feasibility analysis.

The traditional orphanage gained popularity in North America in the early 1800's and despite substantial criticism, continued to thrive into the middle of the twentieth century. Orphanages were originally developed as an alternative to almshouses where abandoned or indigent children could be raised within an environment that taught skills and values deemed appropriate by the larger society. The reports of abuse and exploitation which finally led to their demise surrounded orphanages throughout their history. Yet it was not until the institution of mother's pensions in the Social Security Act of 1935 that their closing became inevitable.

Although orphanages still existed after 1935, child welfare officials began placing children in foster homes where they could receive care in a "family-like" environment. Yet foster homes typically preferred "normal" children, and as a result, specialized institutions emerged to serve children with special needs such as the handicapped, defiant, and abused. Many of the orphanages developed into specialized facilities which emphasized treatment and resembled a smaller, cottage environment, marking a significant departure from the traditional institutions.

Despite this evolution towards the current "residential treatment centers," Republicans have purposefully chosen the term "orphanage" as a political tool to symbolize their solution to the so-called welfare problem. The Republicans used the term 'orphanage' to send a message that we are getting tough on welfare families. Gingrich's proposal is backed by a number of conservative social theorists, such as Charles Murray, who herald orphanages as a way to eliminate many welfare costs and to save illegitimate children from their morally deficient families and environments. What Willie Horton was to Bush, the teenage welfare mother is to the Republican proponents of the Contract with America.

The prospect of orphanages also raise questions as to the actual costs of such institutions. It is estimated that 140,000 or more children in Illinois would be affected by the implementation of the orphanage proposal, increasing Illinois' expenses by an estimated $200-500 million dollars per year for the construction of the facilities alone. The estimated cost per child, after securing qualified staff and implementing the quality of care needed for the intended population, is $75,000 per year versus $2,260 for that child to remain at home with his or her parent and receive AFDC.'

Despite the monetary cost, the orphanage debate also ignores research and professional opinion which demonstrate the social costs incurred from this proposal. By most standards, modern congregate care is a substantial improvement on the traditional orphanage. However, problems continue and practitioners consider these facilities a last resort, appropriate only for a small proportion of children whose needs cannot be met in a less restrictive setting. Raising children in orphanages as a means of discouraging illegitimate births among welfare mothers would deny children the interpersonal relationships and attachments which research has shown are essential to normal, healthy child development.

The highly political and inflammatory debate surrounding the resurrection of orphanages has ignored historical research, professional opinion, and criterion of feasibility including cost. Not only do the proponents of this proposal have much to answer, they have much to learn from revisiting the realities and research of orphanages of the past.

Notes
' The Orphanage Debate, Children and Family Justice Center, Northwestern School of Law. December, 1995.

Joan Criswell is a second-year administration student.
Her field placementis at the Field Foundation of Illinois, Inc.

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