<P> Few large international charities continue to fund orphanages; however, they are still commonly founded by smaller charities and religious groups . Especially in developing countries, orphanages may prey on vulnerable families at risk of breakdown and actively recruit children to ensure continued funding . Orphanages in developing countries are rarely run by the state . </P> <P> Other residential institutions for children can be called group homes, children's homes, refuges, rehabilitation centers, night shelters, or youth treatment centers . </P> <P> The Romans formed their first orphanages around 400 AD . Jewish law prescribed care for the widow and the orphan, and Athenian law supported all orphans of those killed in military service until the age of eighteen . Plato (Laws, 927) says: "Orphans should be placed under the care of public guardians . Men should have a fear of the loneliness of orphans and of the souls of their departed parents . A man should love the unfortunate orphan of whom he is guardian as if he were his own child . He should be as careful and as diligent in the management of the orphan's property as of his own or even more careful still ." The care of orphans was referred to bishops and, during the Middle Ages, to monasteries . As soon as they were old enough, children were often given as apprentices to households to ensure their support and to learn an occupation . </P> <P> In medieval Europe, care for orphans tended to reside with the Church . The Elizabethan Poor Laws were enacted at the time of the Reformation, and placed public responsibility on individual parishes to care for the indigent poor . </P>

When did the last orphanage close in the us