The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) is a charitable foundation focused on improving the well-being of American children according to their ideals. 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, as they collect and publish most of the data on poor people in the U.S. annually, through its Kids Count Data Book. History The AECF was started in 1948 in Seattle 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. Originally a charity, chiefly focused on providing foster care, the organization gradually shifted to a broader role in attempting to advance child welfare through social experimentation, research and publicity. Along the way, it divested its foster care operations, while increasing its focus on family-preservation(which is a model that was proposed by the AECF) research, advocacy and action. Through its extensive publicity efforts, the AECF has become a major source of information on the welfare of children in the United States, Foster care and related services The AECF has had a long connection with foster care services, owning two such agencies. 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. Eventually, by 2012, the AECF had separated itself completely from its ownership of foster care and related operations, including: Casey Family Programs In 1966, the Casey family philanthropy started a child welfare agency (foster care and related services) in the Seattle, Washington area. In 1973, When Jim Casey's company, United Parcel Service (UPS), moved its headquarters from Seattle to New York City, Jim Casey gave the agency enough funds to become officially a separate, independent entity from the AECF. The resulting organization is known today as Casey Family Programs. Casey Family Programs today is a completely separate and distinct entity from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Casey Family Services From 1976 to 2012, the AECF operated a direct services arm called Casey Family Services that provided foster care and family services in the northeastern United States. Starting out in Connecticut and Vermont, the program expanded throughout New England and into Maryland before its closure in 2012. Child welfare publicity and publications Among the organization's practices is