Mid-nineteenth century the child-savers movement began. This                                                      movement brought a combination of Christian principles and                                                         a strong emphasis on the worth of the individual.

The reform school was a product of this movement, which                                                        embodied the atmosphere of a Christian home.

In the 1860s, the Chicago Reform School opened and acted as                                                      an early model for the reform school movement. The movement                                                    focused on pre-delinquent youths that showed tendencies                                                   toward more serious criminal involvement.

In the 1870s, the case of O'Connell v. Turner put the reform                                                                     school movement out of business.  Daniel O'Connell was                                                     committed to the Chicago Reform School for "misfortune".                                                             Being classified as "misfortune" didn't mean that O'Connell had                                                    committed any offense, but that his family could not care for                                                    him or that he was seen as a social misfit.  Because O'Connell                                                   had not committed a crime the Illinois Supreme Court ordered him to be released, their reasoning was that the power of the state under parens patriae could not exceed the power of the natural parent except in punishing a crime.