We don’t use the word “orphanage” very much any more. Children available for adoption may not be orphans these days, in the sense of having no living parents. Institutions that care for children in groups are now called group homes, children’s homes, or residential treatment centers. Perhaps most importantly, children in need of care usually go into foster care in modern times. The system has changed. However, there were orphanages in Arkansas in the past, and some are still functioning as care centers for children.
Vera Lloyd Home
Now known as Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Family Services, the initiative to be known as the Vera Lloyd Home began in 1910 as day care for women working in the mills at Monticello. When abandoned twins were brought to the nursery, founder Lulu Williamson realized that there was a need for residential carer. More children came to the center as parents were forced by poverty or other circumstances, and in 1923, the Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Home for Children was established.
Land for the home was donated by Annie B. Wells, and Vera Lloyd donated financial support with a request that her name be used for the home. Now Vera Lloyd still provides residential care, as well as providing services for foster families, troubled youth, and for families including adoptive families.
Arkansas Baptist Orphan’s Home
Another Monticello institution, the Arkansas Baptist Orphan’s Home was founded in 1896 on land donated by Helen Hyatt, the first matron of the home. Now known as the Arkansas Baptist Home for Children, the organization still houses children. The Monticellos campus now focuses on bringing and keeping siblings together. It is a community of foster homes, with support for foster families.
Arkansas Methodist Orphanage of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Founded in 1899, the Methodist organization in Little Rock cared for local orphans, and also for the orphans who arrived in Arkansas on the Orphan Trains. As they evolved into the Methodist Children’s Home, they continued to emphasize sort-term care for as long as children needed that, with an mission to help the children find permanent homes.
In the 21st century, this organization developed into Methodist Family Health, a cluster of care centers offering support for children who are abandoned or in need of psychological or psychiatric help. They also provide counseling, substance abuse prevention services for mothers, and more. Residential care is still part of the organization’s purview.
Arkansas Children’s Home Society
The Arkansas Children’s Home Society opened in Little Rock in 1912. They housed children and helped facilitate adoptions until 1923, when they reorganized as Arkansas Children’s Hospital, a nationally-recognized health care organization with two hospitals and five clinics across the state.
There were more orphanages in Arkansas, including St. Joseph’s in Little Rock and the Masonic Orphan’s Home in Batesville. Some focused on finding adoptive homes for the children in their care and some emphasized teaching children the skills they would need when they had to leave the orphanage — which could be very early by modern standards. Some orphanages would not shelter teenagers at all.
Modern adoption
The development of foster care and the modern adoption system has greatly improved the prospects of children in need of care apart from their biological parents, but we certainly honor the work of early orphanages as well as the social services into which they developed over time.
At Heimer Law, we specialize in adoption. It’s a beautiful way to grow or complete your family, a loving choice if you face an unplanned pregnancy, and a safe, legal process. Contact us for a free consultation.
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