Exceptional Children's Assistance Center

What Exceptional Children's Assistance Center does

Exceptional Children's Assistance Center (ECAC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, founded in 1984 by parents Connie Hawkins and Frank Graziadei. ECAC serves as North Carolina's designated Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) and Family Voices Affiliate Organization, providing free information, training, and support services to families of children and youth with disabilities from birth to age 26 across all 100 North Carolina counties.

ECAC's core service model rests on Parent Educators — staff who are themselves parents of children with disabilities — delivering 1:1 assistance via a statewide toll-free helpline (800-962-6817), online contact forms, in-person workshops, and live and on-demand webinars. The program portfolio includes the flagship Parent Training and Information Center; the ACHIEVE Transition Program, a statewide virtual Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) offering for students ages 14-21; the Family-to-Family Health Information Center (HRSA-funded) for health-system navigation; the NC DeafBlind Project; the NC State Improvement Project (NC SIP) for educator professional development; and Innovative Approaches 2.0, a regional systems-change initiative in Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, and Lincoln Counties. Supporting resources include the Dyslexia Tool Kit, Youth Advisory Teams (JYAT/YAT), and quarterly newsletters. There is no proprietary technology platform; service delivery relies on commodity tools including Zoom, YouTube, Formstack, and a multilingual WordPress-based website (English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Arabic, Russian).

ECAC generates no service revenue from families. Funding flows almost entirely from federal and state grants, principally U.S. Department of Education OSEP Grant No. H328M200039 (PTI), HRSA (F2F HIC), NC Division of Child and Family Well-Being (Innovative Approaches 2.0), and EIPD (formerly Vocational Rehabilitation) for ACHIEVE. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. The organization is led by Executive Director Aimee Combs (appointed December 2023), succeeding founder Connie Hawkins after her 34-year tenure, with a team of approximately 20 staff. ECAC has no parent company and operates with an independent board of directors.

Name

Exceptional Children's Assistance Center

Legal name

Exceptional Children's Assistance Center

Website

https://ecac-parentcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Exceptional Children's Assistance Center is a North Carolina nonprofit serving as the state's designated Parent Training and Information Center. It provides free, statewide information, training, and 1:1 Parent Educator support to families of children with disabilities from birth to age 26, funded primarily by federal and state grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability and Special Education Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

In-Service Professional Development (Workshops/Institutes/Short Courses) (EDACAIAB)

Keywords

• Special education support
• Parent training services
• Disability advocacy services
• Transition services
• Health information center

Headquarters

HQ city

Davidson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Grants: Primary funding from Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Grant No. H328M200039 through the U.S. Department of Education, and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funding for Family-to-Family Health Information Center

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Exceptional Children's Assistance Center (ECAC) is a North Carolina nonprofit that delivers free 1:1 assistance, training, and resources to families of children with disabilities and special health care needs from birth through age 26. Services include Parent Educator support, workshops, webinars, transition planning, health information navigation, and youth self-advocacy programs, all funded by federal grants and provided at no cost.

Product overview

ECAC operates as a unified family support organization offering multiple interconnected programs for North Carolina families of children with disabilities from birth to age 26. The core portfolio centers on the Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) as the flagship service, complemented by specialized programs including the ACHIEVE Transition Program for Pre-ETS services, the Family-to-Family Health Information Center for healthcare navigation, the North Carolina DeafBlind Project for sensory impairments, and Innovative Approaches 2.0 for community systems change. Supporting resources include the Dyslexia Tool Kit, Youth Advisory Teams (YAT/JYAT), and newsletters (YEP and Transition Trove). All services are provided at no cost to families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Parent Training and Information Center (PTI): North Carolina's designated PTI providing training and information to parents and families of children with disabilities
• ACHIEVE Transition Program
• Family-to-Family Health Information Center (F2F)
• North Carolina DeafBlind Project
• North Carolina State Improvement Project (NC SIP)
• Innovative Approaches 2.0

Products and services

• Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) North Carolina's designated Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) providing free information, support, and training to parents of children with disabilities from birth to age 26. Parent Educators (themselves parents of children with disabilities) provide 1:1 assistance to help families navigate special education systems.
• ACHIEVE Transition Program Statewide virtual Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) program for students with disabilities ages 14-21, covering job exploration counseling, self-advocacy, workplace readiness, postsecondary counseling, work-based learning experiences, and financial literacy. Accessible to students in all 100 NC counties.
• Family-to-Family Health Information Center (F2F) Family-led center providing health-related information and resources to help families navigate health systems in North Carolina, including children with special health care needs. Funded by HRSA.
• North Carolina DeafBlind Project Federally funded project providing free individualized support to families of children with DeafBlindness from birth through 21 years, including information, referrals, consultation, training, and networking.
• North Carolina State Improvement Project (NC SIP) Professional development initiative offering literacy and math evidence-based instruction training to improve educational programs for students with disabilities in North Carolina.
• Innovative Approaches 2.0 Family-driven system change initiative enhancing community care for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) in Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, and Lincoln Counties, focusing on health care transition and emergency preparedness.
• Parent Educator Services One-on-one assistance from Parent Educators who are themselves parents of children with disabilities, providing guidance on navigating special education, community resources, and parent rights.
• Youth Advisory Teams (YAT/JYAT) Youth-led advisory groups including Junior Youth Advisory Team (JYAT) for middle school and Youth Advisory Team (YAT) for high school, providing leadership opportunities and peer connections across North Carolina for youth with disabilities.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NC Division of Services for the Blind (DSB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACHIEVE Pre-ETS Program partner offering specialized services for students with visual impairments including self-advocacy training, postsecondary counseling, and work-based learning experiences
• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on NC DeafBlind Project and NC State Improvement Project (NC SIP). Provides oversight and partnership in exceptional children programs.
• East Carolina UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NC DeafBlind Project collaboration through the Teacher Education Department at East Carolina University
• North Carolina State Improvement Project (NC SIP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Exceptional Children Division of NCDPI offering professional development around literacy and math evidence-based instruction
• NC Works NextGenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransition resource partner offering work-based learning and employment services for young adults with disabilities
• Disability Rights NCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTransition resource partner providing legal advocacy and information for youth with disabilities
• Think CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational resource partner for inclusive higher education opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Easterseals: Easterseals is a national disability-services nonprofit network with chapters serving families of children with disabilities. It is a broad incumbent in the same family-disability support space, though its offerings center on direct services (therapy, camps) rather than federally funded parent training.
• The Arc of the United States: The Arc US is the national federation of The Arc chapters, advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Operates broadly in the same disability-rights space as ECAC but is primarily an advocacy organization rather than a training/information provider.

Others

• Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR): CPIR is the federally funded national resource center that supports the PTI/CPT network including ECAC. It is an enabling infrastructure partner rather than a competing service provider.
• Disability Rights NC: Disability Rights NC is the state's federally funded protection-and-advocacy organization and an ECAC transition partner. It overlaps on legal advocacy for students with disabilities but focuses on individual-case representation rather than training-delivery.

Direct peers

• SPAN Parent Advocacy Network: SPAN is New Jersey's PTI and family-to-family health information center, offering parent training, youth advocacy, and family engagement services. Operates under the same OSEP/HRSA funding structure as ECAC and shares the multi-program family-support portfolio.
• Federation for Children with Special Needs: Federation is Massachusetts's PTI and provides parent training, information, and advocacy for families of children with disabilities. Directly mirrors ECAC's model of Peer-Parent Educators delivering training and IEP navigation support.
• PACER Center (Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights): PACER is Minnesota's federally designated Parent Training and Information Center (PTI) serving families of children with disabilities. It is the closest functional analogue to ECAC as both deliver 1:1 parent education, workshops, and youth transition programming under the same OSEP funding mechanism.

Emerging players

• Hands & Voices: Hands & Voices is a national nonprofit supporting families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Directly analogous to ECAC's NC DeafBlind Project in mission and lived-experience family-support model, though Deaf/HoH focused rather than DeafBlind.
• Parent to Parent USA: P2P USA is a nationwide network of state Parent-to-Parent programs offering peer support to families of children with disabilities. Uses a similar lived-experience mentor model as ECAC's Parent Educators, sharing the family-support methodology.

Regional players

• The Arc of North Carolina: The Arc of NC is a state-level disability advocacy and services organization that has co-recognized ECAC's founder. Operates in the same NC geography with overlapping family-support and advocacy mission but focuses more on I/DD services and guardianship rather than PTI training.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ecacparentctr1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ECACorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/ecacparentcenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/exceptional-children's-assistance-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/ecacparentcenter

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Exceptional Children's Assistance Center