The wars, massacres, migrations, and epidemics in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries caused charity and philanthropy activities to come to the fore more than ever before, and childcare institutions like orphanages and industrial schools established by different political and religious factions served to recruit many orphaned and destitute children. Academic studies analyzing the emergence and spread of these institutions have analytically and methodologically remained within the boundaries of official discourse, which tended to foreground compassion, generosity, and humanity. Thus, they ignore their complex and intricate stories and their specific historicity. My paper addresses how childcare institutions can be conceptualized as one possible domain in which new techniques of discipline and surveillance mechanisms were carried out, power and interest relations were reproduced, and complex and contradictory politics between political and religious factions were created, legitimated, and challenged. It argues that these institutions were an important part of historical relationships and dramatic transformations. I present my argument by analyzing the history of an exemplary state orphanage, Dârüleytâm-ı Osmânî (the Ottoman Orphanage), established in Adana in the early 1900s for Armenian children orphaned due to the Adana massacres of 1909. My paper relies heavily on primary sources, including Ottoman archival documents, missionary and consul records, memoirs, and periodicals. While mapping out the distinctive roles of political and religious actors, such as Ottoman Armenians, local officials, and missionaries, I show that the Ottoman Orphanage became an important institution at the nexus of competition among different political and religious factions as they sought to legitimize their respective policies and that the history of the orphanage was part of the dramatic social, economic, and political changes taking place in the late Ottoman period. Through detailing the partnerships, disputes, and conflicts between different groups that emerged in discussion over the administration and control of the orphanage, I argue that this orphanage was established for control, surveillance, and a desire to raise “good Ottoman citizens” from Armenian children. In a broader context, my paper reflects upon the role of childcare institutions as concrete examples of the formation of identity, sovereignty, and capitalist processes. I believe that studying childcare institutions can contribute to our understanding of these significant issues in the context of the Middle East.