The awareness did not immediately penetrate all levels and aspects of society, bus as Leroy Ashby states in his book Endangered Children: Dependency,Neglect, and Abuse in American History, "[r] omantic sentiments about noble children, saintly mothers, and cloistered, loving families provided the cultural impetus for major welfare reforms in the early 1800's- (21). ... As Ashby states, the New York Children's Aid Society was " a free foster care system "free in the sense that families caring for children received no monetary reimbursement for their services- (40). ...

• Word Count: 1965
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate