Dane County Asylum Wis. State Historical Society Visual Materials Collection Neg #WHi (x3) 39899

Early Reforms

The social welfare practices of colonial America and the early United States were a legacy of English practice.

Appointed overseers of the poor in each community made provision for the needy: securing pensions, apprenticing wayward youth to tradesmen, and, in some cases, auctioning off care of people to the lowest bidder.The low bidder would be paid to care for an indigent person in his home, with little financial incentive to provide quality care.

This decentralized system was called "outdoor" relief because care took place in people's homes, outside an institution.

While at times abused by its disinterested overseers, outdoor relief was also criticized for delivering service in homes, instead of motivating the needy to get out and help themselves.

Reformers of the time stressed the environmental factors that shaped social ills, such as poverty and alcoholism. They built institutions to provide corrected, safe environments. Homes for the disabled, mental institutions, even prisons grew out of this movement.

Many states created institutions for the impoverished. "Indoor" relief was born, and the era of the poorhouse began.

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