About The Baby Fold

OUR HISTORY

The Baby Fold began through the generosity of Nancy Mason, a churchwoman in Normal, who donated her residence to the Methodist Episcopal Deaconess Society in 1899. Mrs. Mason intended for her home to be used to house both active and retired deaconesses. Deaconesses were women who were trained as nurses, educators, evangelists, social workers, and administrators to perform mission work, both in the U.S. and abroad. Methodist Deaconesses operated the Bloomington Deaconess Hospital from 1897 to 1901. The Mason Deaconess Home for Aged was incorporated as a not-for profit institution of the State of Illinois on May 1, 1902.

From 1902 to 1905 the Mason Deaconess Home was devoted largely to caring for retired deaconesses, although some young children were referred by the McLean County court and were cared for on a temporary basis. In 1904 the agency changed its name to N. A. Mason Deaconess Home and School. By this time the home was already being referred to as a “baby fold,” a biblical reference to Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The agency changed its name again in 1908, this time to Mason Deaconess Home and Baby Fold. The final name change occurred in 1941 when the agency officially became The Baby Fold.

Throughout the agency’s history children have been housed at The Baby Fold. Initially infants and young children stayed at The Baby Fold because there was nowhere else for them to receive care if they were orphaned or otherwise dependent. An infant nursery remained one of The Baby Fold’s programs until it closed in 1971. In 1961 The Baby Fold began caring for children with mental disabilities. A residential program for children with emotional disabilities was established in 1966, a precursor to the present Residential Treatment Center. Today’s Residential Treatment Center provides treatment for children ages 3 to 12 years old with severe emotional and behavioral disabilities.

Adoption is another core service of The Baby Fold that has continued throughout the agency’s existence. Adoption evolved from a rather informal home-finding service for orphaned and dependent children to a highly regulated service that has earned recognition for the quality and range of services provided to both children and families. When William A. Hammitt was the superintendent of The Baby Fold, he was instrumental in leading the way for legal reforms in adoption and child welfare in Illinois that occurred in the 1940’s. The Baby Fold aggressively sought adoptive homes for children with special needs due to their age, race, sibling status, or physical, mental, or emotional condition long before most other agencies considered these children “adoptable.” In the 1990’s The Baby Fold was recognized for its ability to find adoptive homes for children with severe disabilities. Beginning in 2001 The Baby Fold offered inter-country adoption services in response to the plight of homeless children around the world and the desire of local families to adopt these children. Post adoption services are available to anyone who received adoption services through The Baby Fold as a birth parent, adoptive parent, or adopted person.

Special education services, now offered through Hammitt School, were a natural outgrowth of the educational components that were formerly provided to children in residence at The Baby Fold. As The Baby Fold began to serve children with severe disabilities it was only logical to offer day treatment services to children who were able to live at home, but required special education services that were not available in their local public schools. Special education services were first offered through the Child Development Center in 1971. Following expansion of the Child Development Center in 1983 the program was renamed Hammitt School, in honor of Dr. William A. Hammitt and Gwendolyn Hammitt, who were superintendents of The Baby Fold from 1939-1974. Hammitt School provides a therapeutic setting for children with behavioral and emotional disabilities. Emphasis is placed on the learning of positive behaviors and carryover into the home environment. Hammitt High School opened in 2002 to provide high school students with severe behavioral disabilities the specialized setting and instruction to help prepare them for adult living.

From its early history The Baby Fold recognized that children flourished best in a home setting. That is why adoption was sought for young children who could not be returned home. As the number of infants in the nursery declined, The Baby Fold acted on its conviction that young children could best be cared for in foster homes rather than in an institutional setting. The Baby Fold’s foster care program expanded significantly in the 1980’s through a contract with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. As The Baby Fold’s foster care program developed, several distinct types of foster care emerged. Home of relative foster care allowed children to remain with relatives who could ensure their safety and became the most prevalent in The Baby Fold’s range of foster care services. Specialized and professional foster care focused on providing therapeutic services for children with severe behavioral, emotional, or medical needs.

Family-based services have existed throughout The Baby Fold’s history, but were first formally recognized in 1957 when The Baby Fold approved the provision of services to unmarried mothers. This program evolved into the Pregnancy Counseling program that continues today, assisting expectant parents with the necessary plans and decisions related to pregnancy and birth. In the 1990’s several other family-based and preventive services emerged. Adoption and Subsidized Guardianship Preservation Services help maintain families that are struggling due to the unique challenges of how their families were formed. Healthy Start educates and supports new parents in caring for their children. Family Services Initiative provides resources, referrals, and supports to families that are at risk for child abuse and neglect. Safe Child helps young children, their parents, and teachers recognize and avoid potentially abusive behavior.