Humble Beginnings
Arizona’s Children Association was founded in 1912 by a group of community leaders in Tucson, Arizona. These women opened their own homes to care for the state’s homeless and orphaned children. Two years later, in 1914, Julia Attix made a gift of property to these women. The land was located in what would become South Tucson. Several communities in the state then joined together to raise money to build an orphanage called Arizona Children's Home.

The Arizona Children's Home was constructed in 1923 by architect Henry Jaasted, the Tucson mayor and Arizona Children's Home board members. Designed in a graceful Spanish Colonial style, the building became home to thousands of homeless and troubled children. Restored in 1985 by Angel Charity for Children, it now houses the state administrative headquarters of the agency.

Statewide and Strong
As the needs of children began to change, so did Arizona Children's Home. An orphanage no longer solved the problems of families in crisis. Child abuse, juvenile crime and many other major issues were having a serious and detrimental impact on children. In order to meet those changing needs, Arizona Children's Home created an Association. Through the Association a number of services were born that extended well beyond the residential program in Tucson, and well beyond Tucson itself.

No longer just an orphanage, the Arizona Children’s Home has evolved into the state's largest child welfare and behavioral health agency. In 1997 it was christened with a new name: Arizona's Children Association.

Today, the vast majority of our services are delivered not in a treatment center, but in the homes of the children and families who come to us.

Click here to read what Arizona’s Children Association President and Chief Executive Officer Frederick J. Chaffee has to say about the past, the present and the future of Arizona’s Children Association.