ounded in 1875, the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants (MABYS) supported girls discharged from London workhouses up to the age of 20, and steered them away from prostitution and alcoholism. MABYS was set up by Jane Nassau Senior, Britain's first female civil servant, and Henrietta Barnett, a social reformer. After 1876, Poor Law unions could appoint outside officers or agencies, such as MABYS, to visit and report on the condition, treatment and
