History
Our commitment to caring for children has lasted generations. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Kelso Home for Girls, Strawbridge Home for Boys and Swartzell Methodist Home for Children provided a safe and caring place for vulnerable children to live. These homes eventually merged into the Board of Child Care in 1960.
We have seen the children who grew up at Kelso, Strawbridge and Swartzell thrive through the decades, and our youth today are following this legacy by leaving the Board of Child Care prepared to meet the world and live fulfilling lives. Through patience, love and care, we are continuing to help future generations transform themselves and become productive citizens.
MILESTONES 
1874
Baltimore businessman Thomas Kelso founds the Kelso Home for Girls in Baltimore. The home later moves to Towson, Md.
1912 
The Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church organizes the Swartzell Methodist Home for Children in Washington, DC. A Board of Trustees incorporates the home in 1921.
1924
The Strawbridge Home for Boys opens in Eldersburg, Md.
1943
The Baltimore Annual Conference of the Methodist Church creates the Board of Child Care to supervise the Kelso, Strawbridge and Swartzell homes.
1953
The Board of Child Care Auxiliary volunteer organization is established.
1960 
The Board of Child Care campus opens just outside Baltimore, bringing together residents from Kelso, Strawbridge and Swartzell homes.
1969 
The DC Foster Care Program is established.
1981-82
The Baltimore campus emergency shelters open.
1993
Thomas L. Curcio becomes Executive Director (later President and CEO)
1997 
The Strawbridge School opens as a private special education school on the Baltimore campus. The Adoption Services Program is reborn.
1998
The Semi-Independent Living Program opens on the Baltimore campus.
1999
The Outpatient Mental Health Clinic opens in Pasadena, Md.
The Maryland Treatment Foster Care Program is established.
2001-2009
The Tide Point Early Learning Center serves children in Baltimore City.
2003
The Falling Waters residential campus opens in West Virginia.
The Washington, DC, office opens and includes the DC Foster Care Program and the new DC Early Childhood Education Center.
2008
The Ways to Work car loan program opens in Baltimore City.
