D.A. Blodgett for Children was established as the first Children’s Aid Agency in West Michigan in 1887 by the Blodgett and Clark families to care for children in our community who were "nameless, homeless, sick babies needing special nursing care and the children of parents who were temporarily disabled or without means."

The Agency was established as a non-sectarian agency and today continues to hold the distinction as the only provider of foster care and adoption services in all of Kent County, not aligned with one particular faith, but a ready provider to all peoples.

In 1908 Mr. Delos Abiel Blodgett built a large children's institution on Cherry Street near Diamond Avenue. The building was donated to Mary Free Bed Hospital in 1949 in recognition of D.A. Blodgett Home's transition from an orphanage to a foster care and adoption agency.

D.A. Blodgett Home for Children in 1910 became one of the first orphanages in the United States to recognize that children were best raised by families in the community, rather than in institutions and began placing children in foster and adoptive homes.

In 1917, the Agency became a charter member of the Federation of Social Agencies in Grand Rapids which ultimately became the Heart of West Michigan United Way.

In 1921 forty acres on Lake Michigan were generously donated by Mr. and Mrs. John W. Blodgett and Miss Helen Blodgett to establish “a summer fresh air camp” for the orphans of D.A. Blodgett Home. The Babies’ Welfare Guild took an early interest in the health of children at the Home and in providing for capital items of the Camp. The cost of completing the camp was largely financed by members of the Babies’ Welfare Guild, a group of Scottish Rite Masons, and the Blodgett family. Camp Blodgett became a separate, independent agency in 1952.

In 1965 the Agency started the Big Brother Program of Kent County and eastern Ottawa County, and added the Big Sister Program in 1974.

In 2004, the Agency changed its name and logo to D.A. Blodgett for Children, recognizing its 120 year commitment to serving the best interests of each individual child, while continuing to honor its founder and strong historical leadership as the first agency if it’s kind in Western Michigan.

Agency Historical Timeline 1887-2007

• 1887 - A group of Grand Rapids women organize to assist "nameless, homeless..." children, leading to the establishment of the D. A. Blodgett Homes for Children, with an emphasis on institutional care.
• 1908 - The agency occupies new home at 920 Cherry SE, the gift of the Delos A. Blodgett family.
• 1910 - D.A. Blodgett Homes for Children helps to pioneer a national trend toward foster care of orphans and neglected children.
• 1911 - Experimental infant breast feeding project initiated. Research work explores the cost of epidemics. Work begun in establishing the first city feeding clinics.
• 1919 – The first summer fresh air camp begins, with Camp Blodgett eventually to become an independent agency in 1952.
• 1920 - The first social worker is employed.
• 1930's - The homemaker placement service is initiated.
• 1941-45 - Day boarding care and nursery facilities for children of working mothers are established.
• 1949 - D.A. Blodgett agency's offices move to 215 Paris SE, and the administration building on Cherry Street is turned over to Mary Free Bed.
• 1954 - The agency is admitted to full membership in the Child Welfare League of America. The D.A. Blodgett Guild is formed.
• 1956 - Foster Care Program is opened to neglected and dependent children referred by the Public Welfare Department and the Juvenile Court.
• 1957-67 - Program services are classified into four main areas: Foster Care, Adoption Placement, Problem Pregnancies, and Family Rehabilitation. The Big Brother Program is organized by urging and support of the United Way. The Betty Shaw Guild is formed.
• 1969 - D.A. Blodgett and Catholic Social Services jointly open foster group home for children.
• 1972 - Specialized foster care is provided for children who are physically and mentally disabled.
• 1974 - The Big Sister Program is formed by invitation of the United Way.
• 1975 - D.A. Blodgett and Catholic Social Services jointly open a short term foster group home as an alternative to juvenile detention.
• 1979 - D.A. Blodgett initiates a specialized treatment foster care program, the Parent Therapist Program, and is one of two such initiated programs in 1979 to become the first such providers in Michigan.
• 1985 - The agency enters into a new Special Needs Adoption program, with assistance from the Spaulding for Children Agency.
• 1986 - The Sisters-In-Support Program is established to assist adolescent mothers. The Family Reunification Project is created to support permanency planning and family preservation.
• 2006 – D.A. Blodgett for Children becomes the first in Kent County selected to provide an evidenced based practice, Multi-Systemic Therapy, home based services to children and their families.
• 2006 – The Agency is selected to provide Resource Connector social workers in 8 Kent County schools, as part of a revolutionary collaborative, the Kent School Services Network, a partnership of public, private, foundations, and schools to bring services beyond academics into the neighborhood school for the whole family.
• 2007 – The Agency is awarded its first ever Federal grant support for two Big Brother Big Sister initiatives, School based mentoring and Amachi mentoring.