[1] The school was in operation from 1984 through 2014, when it closed due to declining enrollment amid a raft of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse allegations made by alumni in a grassroots "truth campaign.

"[2][3][4] At least ten lawsuits have been brought by former students since 2019, in which plaintiffs claimed that strip searches, hard labor, isolation rooms, physical restraint, and sexual assault were rampant at the school in the 1990s and 2000s.

[4] A front-page New York Times article in 2018 reported a pattern of at least one hundred deaths by overdose and suicide among alumni, the vast majority before age 40.

After the number of foster children began to exceed the allowable limit for New York State, they sought and obtained legal status for their home as a licensed school.

[8] The school served high-school age (grades 9–12) children that had problems with various addictions (e.g. drugs, alcohol, food, sex, gambling or gaming)[9] and/or other psychological challenges.

[20] The Family Foundation School employed over three-dozen educational professionals, counsellors and support staff, and maintained a 4:1 student-teacher ratio.

[6] The school's English and Philosophy instructor and middle school principal, Jan Cheripko, is the author of nine books,[23] has won numerous national and international book awards and has been a featured speaker at the National Council of Teachers of English, the International Reading Association, and numerous other New York State and Northeastern U.S. regional education conferences.

[25] Family Foundation School alumnus Wells Thompson is a midfielder for the Colorado Rapids,[26] a Major League Soccer team in the United States.

Possessing little musical experience prior to his arrival at FFS, Nathaniel involved himself in the school's choir program and spent available downtime learning how to play guitar and songwrite.

[33] Beginning in 2007, Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth (CAFETY) conducted a campaign against the Family Foundation School.

In October 2009, a local newspaper reported that CAFETY had sent a letter to residents of Delaware County, claiming abusive conditions at the school, including excerpts from former student testimonials.

CAFETY disputes this claim, saying that its concerns about alleged abuse are based on written complaints by students who attended the school as recently as 2008.