In 1998 a group of American adoptive parents led by Jenny Bowen created Half the Sky Foundation (HTS) to provide nurturing care and education for children living in Chinese orphanages (known as children's welfare institutions). Jenny, a former screenwriter and film director, and her husband Richard wanted to ensure that the children still waiting in Chinese orphanages would not be forgotten. The foundation, founded upon a solid base of American volunteers and supporters, has developed into a successful, multinational non-governmental organization. HTS has grown to include five major programs (Infant Nurture, Little Sisters Preschool, Youth Services, Family Village, and China Care) spread over 47 sites, and has served more than thirty-five thousand children in orphanages, from birth to adulthood. Since 2007 HTS has worked in partnership with China's Ministry of Civil Affairs to provide professional development to staff at hundreds of institutions across the country. The government's long-term plan is for the institutions to become community centers that will serve orphans, children with disabilities and serious illnesses, and children of migrant workers, families living in poverty, and single parent households. By opening institution doors to the community, the government will also address the problem of children in orphanages growing up in isolation.