The Children's Aid Society was founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace and a group of social reformers at a time when orphan asylums and almshouses were the only "social services" available for poor and homeless children.

Brace's theory of an organization devoted to helping poor children was radical. His progressive ideas translated into far-reaching services and reforms for poor and homeless children, working women, needy families and disabled boys and girls at a time when services for these groups were few and far between.

Educated to be a minister, Brace was determined to give children an alternative to life in the squalid slums and teeming New York City streets. His theories were grounded in the conviction that institutional care stunted and destroyed children. According to Brace, the answers to transforming New York's orphans and street children into self-reliant members of society were gainful work, education, and a wholesome family atmosphere.