Forestdale’s foster care services are part of an evolving tradition of activism and innovation in child welfare. Our roots extend to nineteenth-century Brooklyn, where in 1854, a group of church women founded the Brooklyn Industrial School Association and Home for Destitute Children. The goal of the Industrial School was to teach poor children basic trade skills and, in the case of girls, to “support themselves in the safety of family life and to escape the temptations of the shop and factory.” By 1880 the organization ran five separate schools in neighborhoods including Brooklyn Heights, Williamsburg and “Jackson’s Hollow,” near today’s Bedford-Stuyvesant.

In the late 19^th century, shifting immigration patterns and the emergence of the public school system lead to the closing of the Industrial Schools. The organization changed its name to the Brooklyn Home for Children, and focused exclusively on providing residential care for abused and/or abandoned youth.

In 1941, the Brooklyn Home for Children was bequeathed a parcel of land in Forest Hills, Queens to construct a five-building residential campus. That same year, the agency launched its foster boarding home program. During the second half of the 20^th century, more and more orphanages closed their doors in favor of placing children with families from their community. In 1980, the agency closed its residential program to focus on foster care and adoption and eight years later changed its name to Forestdale.

Today, Forestdale is the only child welfare agency headquartered in Queens, with a mission to be a resource to all families in the borough.  In addition to ensuring the wellbeing of abused and neglected children through foster care and adoption services, we partner with schools, religious organizations, business owners and other community leaders to address the underlying causes of families in crisis. Our three-acre campus includes open fields, a basketball court and brand new playground where families and children can connect in a fun and peaceful setting. Every program at Forestdale is designed to strengthen families and reduce the need for foster care.