Necco

What Necco does

Necco is a Cincinnati-based nonprofit child welfare organization founded in 1996 that delivers foster care, adoption, kinship care, behavioral health counseling, independent living, and residential living services across more than 30 offices in Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. The organization operates through two wholly owned subsidiaries: ENA, Inc. (Necco Center), a 34-acre residential campus within Wayne National Forest in southeastern Ohio serving male youth ages 9-21 with developmental disabilities, and Community Behavioral Health (CBH), which provides individual, group, family, and psychiatric therapy including school-based and telehealth delivery.

Necco's service model is integrated under a single case management infrastructure: prospective foster parents are guided through a five-step licensing process, receive 24/7 crisis support, and are reimbursed via state-administered per diem rates; youth who age out are transitioned into furnished apartments through the Independent Living program with educational, employment, and financial literacy support (including a savings-account initiative with First Financial Bank that opened ~250 accounts in six months). Revenue is generated primarily through state government child welfare contracts (Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee) and Medicaid MCO reimbursement for behavioral health services, with services delivered at no out-of-pocket cost to Medicaid-eligible clients.

The organization is led by CEO Beau Necco, COO Mark Davis, CFO Jon Avery, and CPO Rob Goodwin, with subsidiary leadership including VP of Behavioral Health Tara Elsner and Executive Director of Residential Services Bianca Sexton. Necco maintains Council on Accreditation (COA) certification, HIPAA compliance, and a meritocratic internal culture that supports multi-decade career progression (e.g., PMHNP Kim DeMattie's 20-year trajectory through seven roles). Since founding, Necco has facilitated over 10,000 adoptions and currently markets services via community outreach, church partnerships, agency referrals, and a content/blog hub on its website.

Name

Necco

Legal name

Necco

Website

https://necco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Necco is a Cincinnati-based nonprofit founded in 1996 that delivers foster care, adoption, behavioral health counseling, independent living, and residential services through 30+ offices across five U.S. states, funded primarily by state government contracts and Medicaid reimbursement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Welfare Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Individual and Family Services (6241), Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093), Services-Business Services, Nec (7389)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAE

Child Welfare, Foster Care & Adoption Services

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Services & Community Support (Food, Housing, Family)

SECONDARYBPAGADAO

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDACAAAH

Inclusive / Special-Needs Childcare Centers

Education/Early Childhood Education/Daycare & Childcare Centers

SECONDARYBPAGADAA

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

Keywords

• Foster care services
• Child welfare services
• Adoption services
• Behavioral health counseling
• Independent living programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Cincinnati

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices37 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. State Government Contracts: Necco operates as a contracted child welfare services provider paid by state governments (Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee) for foster care case management, adoption services, and related programs. Funding comes from state children services agencies.
2. Foster Parent Per Diem Reimbursement: Foster parents receive bi-monthly reimbursement based on a daily per diem rate determined by each child's needs and county. This is passed through to foster parents and is not taxable income for them.
3. Medicaid / Behavioral Health Services: Necco's behavioral health counseling services are primarily reimbursed through Medicaid. The organization accepts all Medicaid MCOs with no out-of-pocket costs for Medicaid clients. A sliding scale is available for non-insured clients at some locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Necco is a multi-state child welfare nonprofit that delivers foster care placement, adoption services, kinship care, behavioral health counseling, independent living support, and residential living services across Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Founded in 1996, the organization operates 30+ offices and has facilitated over 10,000 adoptions, with services funded primarily through state government contracts and Medicaid reimbursement.

Product overview

Necco is a multi-state child welfare organization operating as a single integrated platform with multiple service lines rather than distinct modular products. The core offerings include Foster Care (temporary family placement), Foster to Adopt (permanent placement), Kinship Care (relative/family care), Behavioral Health Counseling (mental health services), Independent Living (transition program for aging-out youth), and Residential Living/Necco Center (specialized 24/7 campus care). These services share common infrastructure including crisis support, case management, referral systems, and training programs, and are delivered through over 30 office locations across five states (Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Necco Center: 34-acre residential campus within Wayne National Forest providing round-the-clock care for male youths ages 9-21 with developmental disabilities
• Community Behavioral Health (CBH)

Products and services

• Foster Care Temporary placement services for children in safe, stable foster families, including 24/7 crisis intervention, licensing support, and therapeutic assistance for foster parents. Available across Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
• Foster to Adopt Permanent adoption placement program for children who cannot be reunified with their birth families. Adoptions through Necco are largely state-funded with few or no fees for parents.
• Kinship Care

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10,000 adoptions facilitated since 1996
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• First Financial BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Financial Bank partnered with Necco to open savings and checking accounts for young adults in Necco's Independent Living program. Ebony Webb from Necco coordinated with the bank to open approximately 250 accounts within six months, providing financial independence to youth aging out of foster care. The bank also contributed a $50 bonus for each account opened.
• Westwood Preparatory Academy (WWPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWWPA is partnered with the Necco Center to operate Café Discover, a program where students use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices to learn life skills through a simulated café environment. Students practice money exchange using play money while staff supervise. The café offers coffee, tea, and lemonade inspired by participating students and staff.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health: One of the largest U.S. providers of behavioral health and residential services for children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and emotional disorders — directly comparable to Necco's behavioral health counseling line and Necco Center residential specialty.
• National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP): Multi-state nonprofit delivering foster care, adoption, behavioral health, and independent living/transition services — directly overlapping with Necco's full service menu and operating in several of the same states.
• TFI Family Services: National nonprofit providing foster care, adoption, family preservation, behavioral health, and residential services across 18+ states — closely matching Necco's integrated child-welfare model and state-government contracting approach.
• Bethany Christian Services: National nonprofit providing foster care, adoption, family preservation, and refugee services across more than 30 states, including several overlapping with Necco. Comparable in service breadth (foster care + adoption + counseling) and in operating as a faith-rooted child welfare agency.
• Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth (SAFY): National nonprofit offering foster care, adoption, behavioral health, and family preservation with strong Ohio presence — directly competitive with Necco in its home-state foster care market.
• KVC Health Systems: Large multi-state nonprofit child welfare agency providing foster care, adoption, behavioral health, and in-home family services across Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Nebraska, and West Virginia — directly comparable to Necco's integrated service model and overlapping state footprint in Kentucky and West Virginia.

Regional players

• Lighthouse Youth & Family Services: Ohio-based nonprofit operating residential, foster care, behavioral health, and juvenile justice programs. Directly comparable to Necco's Ohio footprint, particularly its residential and independent living services for at-risk youth.
• Buckeye Ranch: Ohio-based behavioral health and child welfare nonprofit providing residential treatment, outpatient counseling, and in-home services. Comparable to Necco's Ohio behavioral health and Necco Center residential offerings, though focused primarily on Ohio.
• Applewood Centers: Cleveland-based nonprofit providing foster care, adoption, behavioral health, and prevention services across northern Ohio. Directly comparable to Necco's Ohio service lines and a clear regional competitor for state-contracted foster care case management.

Broad incumbents

• Sevita Health (formerly The MENTOR Network): Large national provider of home- and community-based behavioral health, child services, and developmental disability supports. Comparable to Necco at the portfolio level across behavioral health and developmental disability services, though broader and for-profit-owned.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NeccoKids
• Facebookfacebook.com/NeccoFamily
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/necco-org

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Necco