In 1908 the Government of Saskatchewan enacted the Child Welfare Act. It provided for the establishment of children’s aid societies and required cities with populations of over 10,000 to provide and maintain temporary homes or shelters for orphans, underprivileged, retarded and delinquent children.

The Children’s Aid Society of Moose Jaw was organized in December 1911, due largely to the efforts of Arthur Hitchcock. The first officers were president, Arthur Hitchcock; vice-president, J. W. Sifton; treasurer J.E. Chisholm; secretary, Mrs. E.H. Cuddy. The first honorary solicitor was H.D. Pickett and the first honorary physician was Dr. A. R. Turnbull. The first directors of the Society were Mrs. Sims, Mrs. H.C.Pope, Mrs. Wellington White, Mrs. Radcliffe, Mrs. W. H. Spotten, Mrs. E.N. Hopkins, Mrs. G.H. Maybee, Mrs. Navin, Mr. J.A. Hallan, Mrs. Tobin (later Mrs. J.F. Sheehan), Mrs. Clara Hansberger, Mrs. Nicholson, and Dr. J.M. Hourigan. The first matron of the shelter was Miss Richardson, replaced in little over a year by Miss Rose L Laughton.

The first annual meeting of the Society was held on January 9, 1912.

The work of the society was three-fold: 1) to care for neglected and dependent children. 2) to deal with and help juvenile delinquents. 3) to give temporary assistance to children.

The first shelter was the old nurses residence on the corner of Thirteenth Avenue and Fairford Street East. In 1918 a new shelter was built with money from the City of Moose Jaw, the Government of Saskatchewan and private donations. It operated until 1946 when it was no longer needed. It was returned to the city who sold it to the Moose Jaw General Hospital. Currently it is the Ina Grafton Gage Home for senior women at 200 Iroquois Street East.

In 1946 the Child Welfare Act was amended and the children became wards of the provincial government. Children were placed in foster homes. The work of the Society was lessened but continued to function in other capacities. The society sponsored a probation officer who gave counseling to delinquent children. His duties were eventually taken over by the police department. In 1950, the Children’s Aid Society assisted in the financing of the Housekeeper’s Service of the Family Service Bureau. It helped the bureau to find homemakers to take care of children and homes of mothers who were ill. It also gave legal advice to unmarried mothers.

The Society was approached by parents to establish a school for retarded children. In 1956 they opened a classroom in the basement of Ross Public School. In 1959 it was expanded to a second room and by 1961 they had three classrooms. They named it the John Chisholm School.

By this time the Society saw the need for a separate school for retarded children, but under its charter was unable to raise funds for this purpose, so the Society of the Education of Mentally Retarded of Moose Jaw and District was formed. In September 1964 the Public School Board took over the John Chisholm School that was housed at Ross School. In September 1965 the new John Chisholm School located at 1250 Eleventh Avenue N.W. was opened.

The Children’s Aid Society disbanded in 1965. All their funds and bonds were transferred to the Public School Board for the construction of the new John Chisholm School.

The last president of the Children’s Aid Society was William Whitell and the secretary was Mrs. J.H. Knox.