History
The Children's Year Program, carried out across the U.S. in 1918, furnished Minneapolis with an entirely new viewpoint regarding our children. Instead of having the healthiest children in the country, it was discovered that approximately 25% of Minneapolis children were underweight for their height and age. In other words, one-fourth of Minneapolis children were suffering from malnutrition.

As early as the fall of 1918 the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense (now the Woman's Community Council) called for action, realizing the serious importance of children's health. Support for the plan came from a gift of one thousand dollars from Mr. J. L. Record of the Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company.

Mr. Record's donation made it possible to open the South Town Children's Clinic in January, 1919 at Lake Street and 27th Avenue South, in rooms on the second floor which had been occupied by the draft board during the war. Officers were chosen from among the twenty-three member board of directors and a dental clinic was put into operation three mornings a week. The Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) was greatly interested in this dental clinic and furnished the services of a nurse for two years. At the end of this period the Junior Board of the VNA volunteered to provide assistance, which they did from January to September 1921.

On January 1, 1919, the South Town Children's Clinic became a member of the Council of Social Agencies receiving support from the local Community Fund. On April 1, 1920, Mrs. Hurly took up her duties as Director of the Clinic. This made it possible to open two more clinics during that year: a pre-natal clinic by the Infant Welfare Society, and a nutrition clinic by the Woman's Community Council.

Minneapolis Children's Dental Clinics Association arose from the South Town Children's Clinic and was incorporated on February 4, 1954. From this Children's Dental Services Association was incorporated on December 30, 1965. Finally, in 1985, the program changed its name to the current Children's Dental Services.

In 1994, Children's Dental Services (CDS) merged with the Women and Children's Dental Program of the Minneapolis Department of Public Health. The Women and Children's Dental Program established school-based and Head Start-based dental clinics in areas accessible to low-income children. Today CDS continues the traditions of the programs from which it began by providing comprehensive, quality dental care to underserved children throughout the Twin Cities Metropolitan Region.