White’s Iowa Manual Labor Institute was founded in 1851 by Josiah White, a Philadelphia Quaker. It was originally located near Salem, Iowa. For many years, the agency was operated as an orphanage and school, providing spiritual education and teaching work skills. During the late 1800s, the State of Iowa leased the facility for delinquent boys’ care until the State Training School was built in Eldora, Iowa. Later, the state leased the facility again while it built a facility for girls in its care. There was also a period of time when Quakerdale cared for Native American children. When a fire destroyed the dormitory in 1929, the home was relocated to central Iowa near New Providence. The name was changed in 1996 to White’s Iowa Institute, doing business as Quakerdale.

Over the years, Quakerdale has responded to the changing needs of children. Programs were added in Waterloo in 1973, Marshalltown in 1978, Manning in 1990, and Newton in 2001. Today, Quakerdale is a statewide, private, not-for-profit family and children's service agency providing a continuum of preventive and therapeutic services in a Christian environment. Youth and families are often referred to Quakerdale by the Iowa Department of Human Services or Iowa Juvenile Court Services.

In 2005, Quakerdale launched its privately funded Promise Program, which operates a Promise Home for children and families who were either not being served through the state’s child welfare system or who elected voluntary care.
Quakerdale is owned by the Iowa Yearly Meetings of Friends and is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees.
It is accredited by The Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc., and is licensed by the Iowa Department of Human Services. Quakerdale’s long history of caring remains driven by our commitment to meet the needs of Iowa’s children and their families. Today, Quakerdale makes a difference in the lives of 1,200 youth and their families annually from nearly two-thirds of Iowa’s 99 counties.