Annie E. Casey Foundation

The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) is a foundation (philanthropic organization) focused on improving the well-being of American children. The foundation's goals are to build better futures for disadvantaged children, and their families, in the United States.

The AECF is one of the dominant organizations in child welfare issues in the U.S., and one of the most influential "watchdogs" for child welfare — famed for its publication of U.S. child welfare data, annually, through its KIDS COUNT Data Book – the most widely used reference on the subject.

The AECF was started in 1948 in Seattle, Washington, by UPS founder James E. Casey and his siblings George, Harry and Marguerite. Their foundation was named in honor of their mother. The foundation moved to Baltimore in 1994. (only partial article is viewable as web page; Download full article here (PDF).).

Originally a charity, chiefly focused on providing foster care, the organization gradually shifted to a broader role in advancing child welfare through social experimentation, research and publicity — particularly gaining notoriety as a "watchdog" over child welfare conditions across the nation. Along the way, it divested its foster care operations, while increasing its focus on family-preservation research, advocacy and action.

Through its extensive publicity efforts, the AECF has become the leading independent source of information on the welfare of children in the United States, and one of the dominant organizations for advancing child welfare in the U.S.

The AECF has had a long connection with foster care services, owning two such agencies.

However, this eventually resulted in some conflict-of-interest with the AECF's later role as a "watchdog", publicizing data on child welfare issues (including the quality and quantity of foster care in states, nationwide). By the early 2000s, foster care was falling somewhat into disrepute, and child welfare advocates increasingly focused on family preservation initiatives; the AECF was among those organizations.

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