1809 – 2024

Mission & History

For more than 200 years, The Village has been dedicated to building a community of strong, healthy families who protect and nurture children.

Established in 1809 by a committed group of women, the Hartford Female Beneficent Society, The Village’s name and services have changed but the desire to assist children and families has remained constant.

1809

The Hartford Female Beneficent Society (FBS) adopts its first child.

1813

FBS obtains Connecticut General Assembly Charter, allowing children to receive early foster care; FBS begins educating “Jane M.” exemplifying our founders’ commitment to advocating to change public opinion and never refusing or segregating a child because of color.

1833

Hartford Orphan Asylum (HOA) opens to care for boys.

1836

HOA moves to Washington Street, Hartford.

1865

FBS and HOA merge.

1879

HOA moves to Putnam Street, Hartford.

1892

Connecticut Children’s Aid Society (CCAS) founded by Virginia Thrall Smith, a visionary who fought poverty with kind words and practical aid. Smith organized sewing and cooking schools, a loan fund to help families in crisis, a free employment bureau, Hartford’s first free kindergarten and created precursors of some of today’s Village community programs.

1925

A 16-acre gift of land from Rev. Francis Goodwin became the nucleus of a new idea for The Village. A campus of brick cottages took shape around a central green in 1925 at 1680 Albany Avenue—back then, a part of rural Connecticut. The campus took the name Children’s Village.

1950

HOA, CCAS and Family Service Bureau of Norwalk renamed “Children’s Services of Connecticut”; Hartley Salmon Child Guidance Clinic and Woman’s Aid Society also merges into Children’s Services of Connecticut (CSC).

1950

A group of civic-minded women formed auxiliaries, many of whom had adopted children from one of The Village’s predecessors, creating opportunities to mobilize funds for charities. The Village’s auxiliary-run Second Chance Shops in Glastonbury, Simsbury, Suffield and West Hartford continue to prosper today.

1968

CSC changes name to Child and Family Services of Connecticut.

1970

Helping shape governmental social policies became a priority for The Village’s predecessor organizations. Focus changed to addressing issues of poverty, racial inequality and urban life matters in Greater Hartford, as well from a focus on adoption to placement of older children with special needs.

1978

Child and Family Services merges with Family Service Society of Hartford.

1980

DCF funds Child and Family Services to take over Albany Avenue Child Guidance; Child and Family Services renames the Albany Avenue Child Guidance clinic the Dr. Isaiah Clark Family and Youth Clinic.

1993

Incorporating more than a dozen predecessor organizations, Child and Family Services changes its official name to The Village for Families & Children.

1995

Four Family Resource Centers (FRCs) open throughout Hartford.

1999

Cottages at 1680 Albany Avenue are refurbished. A safe home opens in response to need for short-term placement for children removed from home to assess and plan for permanency.

2000

A sub-acute unit opens as a step-down program for children discharged from a psychiatric setting to prepare for community living.

2002

Village South—Center for Community Life opens in the old Trolley Barn on Wethersfield Avenue, Hartford.

2004

A food pantry opens at Village South.

2009

The Travelers Early Childhood Learning Center at The Village's 105 Spring Street, Hartford location opens.

2009

The Village celebrates its 200-year anniversary and launches the Champions for Children Bicentennial Campaign.

2010

The Shelter for Women became a subsidiary of The Village, expanding services for girls and young women.

2016

New adult mental health services are launched, furthering The Village's mission to support whole families.

2017

The Village partners with Connecticut Children’s to launch integrated primary care services that combine physical and mental health services with care coordination to support all aspects of clients’ health.

2019

Stronger Families, Stronger Futures (SF2) launches in partnership with community providers to create a comprehensive, home-visiting program for parents.

2020

The Village is designated as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC), offering a holistic approach of mental health and substance use services to seniors, veterans and other populations.

2020

To accommodate expansion of services, The Village transforms an 8,500-square-foot warehouse at Village South into an adult behavioral health services wing.

2020

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, The Village helps clients build resilience and navigate challenges to their mental, physical and financial health, expanded services to meet the increased need. With the growth of its telehealth program and increased pediatric referrals, The Village now serves clients in 59 towns, compared to 8 before the pandemic.

2021

The Village and DCF open first-of-its-kind Quality Parenting Center in Manchester, where parents strengthen skills and have family time with their children while they are not living together.

2023

The Village opens Hartford’s first-ever youth mental health Urgent Crisis Center.