Organised social service work under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand was begun in 1907 with the formation of a Presbyterian Social Service Association and the establishment of an orphanage. Later associations were formed in other centres. While P.S.S.A. work was at first connected largely with the carrying on of orphanages and of work among juvenile offenders in the Law Courts, since 1918, when Ross Home for the aged was opened in Dunedin, 20 similar homes (some with hospitals attached) have been established throughout New Zealand.