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Founded in 1862, McQuade is a private, accredited not for profit organization dedicated to providing therapeutic residential care, special education, community group homes, emergency shelter services, and community based prevention programs for special needs children and their families. | ||||||||||||||||
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Our History
and The Inspiring Legacy of Dr. Milton Ash McQuade
Home for the Friendless
McQuade was founded by a group of women from various Newburgh
churches, who responded with their hearts in 1861, when a guest speaker from
a New York City agency told of their success in helping poor children. The ladies
formed the Newburgh Union Female Guardian Society, with the goal of providing
education for impoverished children, and by the end of the year they opened
an industrial school with 33 pupils. Soon it became necessary to provide homes
for these children, as many were homeless. A building at 271
Grand Street, Newburgh, was rented and, on April 7, 1862, a charter was obtained
from the New York State Legislature naming the agency the Home for the Friendless.
In 1864, the need for more permanent space was solved by a move to 165 Montgomery
Street, Newburgh. In the beginning, the main support of the Home was donations
from the community and the untiring commitment of the church ladies who conducted
the noble work of caring for the children. The schoolteacher also donated her
time. By 1900, more than 1,000 children had
been served by the Home.
Dr. Milton Ash McQuade
In 1914, a Canadian-born doctor, who would later become the
Home's benefactor, arrived in Newburgh to establish his ear, nose and throat
practice. The doctor, Milton Ash McQuade, who was an orphan himself, felt a
special kinship with the children in the Home, treating them at no charge. In
his time, Dr. McQuade was a popular public figure. Upon his death in 1928, headlines
in the Newburgh News purported that 2,000 people attended his funeral,
with automobiles lined up and down the streets of Newburgh. At his funeral the
following eulogy was read: "He had a sympathetic heart, and to those who
were in financial as well as physical distress he poured out his generosity
in such a manner that none could take offense. His charities were numerous and
he never permitted his left hand to know what the right hand was doing. In his
passing on to his reward, the poor have lost a friend who will not soon be replaced;
the city has lost a loyal citizen,
the profession has one less bright light to shine for them; the community will
find a vacancy that only time will possibly fill; and all, regardless of rank
or station must realize that the bereavement that has come at this time is mutual."
Within weeks of his death, it was discovered that Dr. McQuade had remembered the Home in his will, leaving $200,000 to ensure its good work could be continued and that all children will always have the care, treatment and support they need.
Without Dr. McQuade's legacy, it is doubtful that the Home for the Friendless could have withstood the Great Depression. His extraordinary support began the McQuade Endowment, now known as the President's Circle, and in 1945 the Home was renamed the McQuade Foundation in his honor.
After nearly a century of operation and growth, the Montgomery Street facility had been utilized and exhausted, so in 1958, the Foundation decided to purchase its current home, the 22-acre Harris estate on Route 94 in New Windsor.
McQuade Administration Building
Until 1963, both boys and girls were served by McQuade,
when a decision was made to care for boys only. Also in 1963, McQuade
hired its first social worker. On the heels of these changes came the
Talcott Report, which recommended that the direction of McQuade shift
from providing merely custodial care to concentrating on therapeutic counseling
for children who were troubled. A psychologist was hired and an amendment
was added to the charter, which specified that McQuade would care for
children in need of
supervision.
Therapeutic Residential Treatment Center
The Therapeutic Residential Treatment Center in New
Windsor provides round-the-clock care for 44 adolescent boys who live
in four cottages on the estate.
Fulton Cottage was named
for William Fulton (1888-1970), a lifetime resident of Newburgh who was
employed as a printer, for 40 years, at the Newburgh Evening News.
He served in the United States Signal Corps in World War I, and was a
member of the Newburgh Lodge of Masons, the United Presbyterian Church,
and Storm King Golf Club. Known for his concern for the needs of
children, Mr. Fulton bequeathed a sizable sum, in the form of Gannett
Newspapers, Inc. stock, to McQuade Foundation, providing contributing
funds for the 1974 construction of this residential cottage, which reflect
modern concepts in professional childcare.
Schaefer Cottage was named
for Mary Cornell Schaefer (1873-1970), granddaughter of John Cornell,
who founded Cornell University, and wife of Adolph J. Schaefer, of Pleasant
Acres Nursery in New Windsor. Mrs. Schaefer was an artist and horticulturist
who studied here and in Europe, graduating from Cooper Union in New York
City. She actively sponsored local art groups and activities; her exhibits
of watercolors and other art were well received and well known, as were
her contributions to environmental preservation and
enhancement. Her generous bequest to the McQuade Foundation provided contributing
funds for the 1974 construction of Schaefer Cottage, which, like Fulton,
was in keeping with current concepts in childcare treatment practice.
Windsor Cottage was built in 1958. Since Windsor Cottage was built at the same time the agency moved from Newburgh to the Town of New Windsor, it is called Windsor Cottage.
621 House was established in 2000.
Kaplan School for Special Education
In 1971, McQuade's on-grounds school was established.
Fifteen years later a major fund drive raised $500,000 to construct the
new Kaplan School for Special Education building, which opened its doors
in 1987. Forty-four residential boys attend the school, as do 40 boys
in McQuade's day treatment program, who live at home, but attend classes
at Kaplan and receive family and individual counseling during their enrollment.
Classes are small to allow individual attention to the academic, emotional,
and behavioral needs
of each child.
Community Based Therapeutic Group Homes
In 1970, a boys' group home was established at 403
Grand Street in Newburgh, where older boys could live until they graduated
from high school. And McQuade's first foster boarding home was licensed
in 1971, enabling McQuade to give children in care the option of living
with a foster family or living in a group home, if their own families
were not available to them.
When it opened, Drake House, the McQuade Boys' Group Home
in Washingtonville, was named after Gladys Drake, a longtime Newburgh
resident and wife of Walter Drake. Mrs. Drake dedicated countless hours
of her life to church and community service. As a member of the Board
of Directors of McQuade Foundation from 1969 until her death on September
6, 1982, she served as Corresponding Secretary to that body, actively
sponsored many programs to benefit the work of the agency, and volunteered
in various
capacities, including tutoring.
McQuade opened a group home for girls on Angola Road in Cornwall in 1975. Angola House, is so called because of its location, but McQuade hopes it will receive a donation from a generous donor, for whom Angola House could be named in honor. Local historians have noted that the name of the road derives from a very early settlement of freed Africans from Angola on a site near its junction of what is now Mineral Springs Road.
Emergency Diagnostic Assessment Center
A children's Emergency Diagnostic Assessment Center
was created in 1981 and housed in the Grand Street location, causing the
boys group home to be moved to Washingtonville. A $50,000 fund-raising
campaign in 1980 for the center was McQuade's first venture in major capital
fund drives, with support coming from many local individuals and businesses.
Almost from the beginning the center was filled to capacity, with children
in crisis situations being able to receive temporary respite there, while
professional diagnoses and recommendations are made for their future.
Lack of adequate space forced more than 100 children a year to be turned
away from the
center. In 1989, the Board of Directors decided to conduct a fund-raising
campaign to raise $250,000 to build a new, larger facility. Again, the
community rallied behind McQuade financially, and in 1991 the new center
was opened on Little Britain Road in Newburgh. An additional assessment
center was opened in the Fair Oaks section of Middletown in 1999.
Community Based Preventive Programs
The 1980s signified a new facet of growth by McQuade: providing
Preventive Services for troubled children and families. This early intervention
counseling begins before family problems become overwhelming. When successful,
it prevents children from having to be removed from their homes and placed in
residential treatment. These programs have served more than 10,000 children
since their inception, keeping countless families intact.
Orange County youths who have been in serious trouble in school or in the community may be referred to the Placement Diversion Program (est. 1982), to participate in intensive counseling while still living at home and attending their schools, as a last chance to change their negative behavior.
The Family Preservation Program (est. 1984) monitors the progress of Orange County families who have been referred to the program because of reports of child abuse or neglect in their homes. Caseworkers counsel family members, arrange diagnostic evaluations and involve them in drug or alcohol rehabilitation programs and/or parent aide and homemaker services. They also maintain contact with the schools regarding the children's status.
Children who have grown up in a variety of foster homes often haven't absorbed adequate independent living skills to support themselves when they turn 18. The Independent Living Skills Program (est. 1985) gives hands-on instruction to these Orange County teens about budgeting, job hunting, nutrition and other essential information
McQuade Children's Services
1985 brought about another name change for McQuade.
We became known as McQuade Children's Services - a name, which better
reflected our mission.
McQuade has undergone many changes since 1862. Today, we are recognized as a leading not-for-profit organization providing a broad array of services for children who have emotional, social and educational disabilities. More than 2,500 children and families a year benefit from McQuade's services.
