[1] She helped reform Connecticut's child welfare policies and founded the first free kindergarten program in the state.
[1] During the early years of her marriage, Smith became involved in local charities and wrote short fiction for newspapers.
Smith expanded the services offered by the Hartford City Mission, giving it many of the programs included in a settlement house.
[1] Smith's work focused on empowering the poor and one of her first acts as administrator was to create a loan fund so that "self-respecting persons might obtain small sums to meet their most pressing wants.
By the standards of the day, Smith's call for national public kindergartens and fresh air funds was revolutionary.
[2] As she said, "Every community stands under a moral obligation to give to every helpless child born within its border the best possible chance to grow into honesty and virtue.