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Building the Invisible Orphanage : A Prehistory of the American Welfare System
Building the Invisible Orphanage A Prehistory of the American Welfare System Author:Matthew A. Crenson This book examines the connection between the decline of the orphanage and the rise of the welfare system that has recently been dismantled. Matthew A. Crenson argues that the prehistory of the welfare system was played out not on the stage of national politics or class conflict but in the micro-politics of institutional management. ... more »New arrangements for child welfare policy emerged gradually as superintendents, visiting agents, and charity officials responded to the difficulties that they encountered in running orphanages or creating systems that served as alternatives to institutional care. Crenson also follows the decades-long debate about the relative merits of family care or institutional care for dependent children. Instead of sheltering vulnerable children in institutions designed to transform them into virtuous citizens, the reformers of the Progressive era tried to integrate poor children into the larger society, while protecting them from its perils. "The virtue of Crenson's book is that it is a close examination of the sea change that brought the welfare system into existence in the first place." —David Warsh, Boston Globe "A valuable book, sure to leave its mark as an important and scholarly examination of the roots of American social policy, not without implication for today." —Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan« less