Founded in 1923 by Florence Walwrath, the Cradle Society was among the first private adoption agencies to place infants with families. Before World War II, the Cradle's national reputation rested in part on its pioneering scientific methods in health care, which drastically reduced infant mortality. It also was praised and criticized for placing babies with Hollywood celebrities and out-of-state childless couples.

In the 1940s, the Cradle began to incorporate professional social work practices and evolved into a comprehensive adoption agency. In the 1990s the agency once again reevaluated its policies, incorporating “open adoptions” (in which birth families remain in contact with adopted children) into its program.

E. Wayne Carp