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The transformation of Cunningham Children's Home from
an orphanage into a residential treatment center began
in 1949 when Sarah English became superintendent. She
was not seeking to change Cunningham into a treatment
center. Her goal was to incorporate within the agency
the most modern child care methods in order to stand
up to all standards for institutions as well as make
Cunningham more able to meet the future needs of Illinois
children. To do this she introduced professional social
work philosophy and techniques to Cunningham. These
professional ideas and values were the principles that
guided the transformation.
Sarah English knew that the future was going to be different,
that the world was changing. The children coming to
Cunningham were getting older. In the future Cunningham
would need to reorient towards caring for adolescents,
and these adolescents would need different kinds of
care.
Cunningham adopted a new future vision based on the
professional child welfare values of a more "modern"
child care agency. The program shifted from custodial
care to the "cottage system" where children lived in
more family-like homes in groups of ten and where treatment
services in the form of casework or groupwork were available.
The congregate care philosophy gave way to the philosophy
of helping children become healthy individuals. 
By 1960 three of five planned cottages had been built
and the dormitory areas had been downsized to comply
with the cottage concept. Fifty children now lived at
Cunningham and the average age of the children was 15
years old. The foundation for becoming a residential
treatment center was complete.
Next: Becoming a Residential Treatment Center >>
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