Family & Children's Service

What Family & Children's Service does

Family & Children's Service (F&CS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social services organization headquartered at the Honey Alexander Center at 2400 Clifton Avenue in Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 1943. It operates a portfolio of more than a dozen interconnected programs organized around four impact areas: Economic Empowerment & Stability (Connecting Forward, Family Focused Solutions), Support for Public Education (Community Schools in 20 Metro Nashville Public Schools), Child & Family Permanency (Relative Caregiver Program, Wendy's Wonderful Kids, permanency counseling), Mental Health (counseling, the 988 crisis line for Davidson County, Mental Health Awareness Training, Survivors of Suicide Loss support groups), and Access to Healthcare (Get Covered Tennessee, Health Assist, Language Services in nearly 30 languages, TennCare Advocacy). Across these programs, F&CS serves more than 90,000 Tennesseans annually across 28 Middle Tennessee counties, delivering services primarily through its own facility and an embedded case-management model in which Clinical Therapist Case Managers are placed inside partner organizations such as Goodwill, Catholic Charities, Nashville Rescue Mission, Neighborhood Health, YWCA, Salvation Army, and Thistle Farms.

The organization's underlying technology is limited to crisis line telephone, text, and chat infrastructure supporting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline for Davidson County, alongside standard website and donor management tooling (DonorPerfect). There is no disclosed proprietary software platform, mobile application, API, or AI/ML capability. F&CS holds Council on Accreditation (COA) and International Coach Federation accreditations.

F&CS's revenue model is a hybrid of government grants and contracts (TN Department of Human Services, TN Department of Children's Services, TN Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services), corporate and foundation sponsorships (Caterpillar Financial, HCA TriStar, The Danner Foundation, Integrum Wealth, Marjorie Neuhoff Foundation, United Way of Middle Tennessee), individual donations via the annual Biscuit Breakfast and Giving Tree campaigns, and fee-based Language Services paid by contracting healthcare and social service providers. The vast majority of direct services are provided at no cost to end clients. GTM motion is community-led: referrals flow from government agencies, healthcare providers, schools, and a 50+ partner nonprofit network rather than from traditional sales or marketing channels. Leadership is stable under President and CEO Michael McSurdy (since 2011), supported by a C-suite including CFO Kim Reese, Chief Advancement Officer T. Allen Morgan, Chief Program Officer Carly Southworth, and CHRO Peggy Yuker.

Name

Family & Children's Service

Legal name

Family & Children's Service

Website

https://fcsnashville.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1943

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Family & Children's Service is a Nashville-based nonprofit founded in 1943 that delivers counseling, crisis, child welfare, healthcare access, and economic empowerment services to more than 90,000 Tennesseans annually across 28 Middle Tennessee counties, funded primarily by state government grants, corporate sponsorships, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social and Human Services (Nonprofit)

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Welfare, Foster Care & Adoption Services (BPAGAEAE), Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH), Family & Parent Support Services (Parent Coaching, Advocacy) (EDAJALAK)

Keywords

• Mental health counseling
• Crisis intervention services
• Child welfare support
• Healthcare enrollment assistance
• Community social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Grants & Contracts: F&CS receives significant funding through grants from TN Department of Human Services, TN Department of Children's Services, and TN Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to operate programs including Connecting Forward, Family Focused Solutions, Relative Caregiver Program, and mental health services.
2. Healthcare Navigator Services: F&CS provides free healthcare enrollment assistance through Get Covered Tennessee and TennCare advocacy, funded through federal and state healthcare access programs. Services assist clients across the state with insurance marketplace, TennCare, and CoverKids enrollment.
3. Language Services Fee-for-Service: F&CS provides fee-based professional interpreter services in nearly 30 languages and dialects for healthcare and social service providers in Middle Tennessee. Fees are paid by contracting agencies, with services free to end clients.
4. Donations & Fundraising: Individual and corporate donations through annual Biscuit Breakfast event, Giving Tree holiday campaign, and general contributions. Corporate sponsors include Caterpillar Financial, Danner Foundation, HCA TriStar, and many others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Family & Children's Service is a nonprofit social services organization that delivers counseling, crisis intervention, child welfare, economic empowerment, healthcare access, and education support services to vulnerable children and families across Middle Tennessee. Its programs—Connecting Forward, Family Focused Solutions, Community Schools, Relative Caregiver Program, Wendy's Wonderful Kids, Counseling, 988 Crisis Line, Mental Health Awareness Training, Survivors of Suicide Loss, Get Covered Tennessee, Health Assist, Language Services, and TennCare Advocacy—are delivered free to end clients through the Honey Alexander Center and an embedded network of 50+ community partners.

Product overview

Family & Children's Service is a nonprofit social services organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs that create a safety net for children and families in Middle Tennessee. The organization operates multiple service lines including Economic Empowerment programs (Connecting Forward, Family Focused Solutions), Support for Public Education (Community Schools), Child & Family Permanency services (Relative Caregiver Program, Wendy's Wonderful Kids, Child and Family Permanency counseling), Mental Health services (Counseling, 988 Crisis Line, Mental Health Awareness Training, Survivors of Suicide Loss support groups), and Access to Healthcare (Get Covered Tennessee, Health Assist, Language Services, TennCare Advocacy). These programs serve over 90,000 Tennesseans annually across 28 counties through direct service delivery and partnerships with government agencies, schools, and community organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Connecting Forward

Quantifiable outcome

• 96% success rate in progress toward clinical treatment goals for Mental Health programs serving 41,000+ individuals annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• TN Department of Human ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS operates Connecting Forward and Family Focused Solutions programs funded by TN DHS grants. These programs help low-income families achieve economic independence through case management, workforce development, counseling, and wraparound support across 28 Middle Tennessee counties.
• TN Department of Children's ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS operates the Relative Caregiver Program in 13 counties and partners on Wendy's Wonderful Kids adoption program for children in DCS custody, providing emotional and practical supports for children and non-parental relatives.
• TN Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS partners with TN DMHSAS on Mental Health Awareness Training (MHAT) program and 988 Mental Health Crisis Line awareness initiatives including the Signs of Hope sign distribution program.
• Caterpillar Financial ServicesmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor for F&CS 2026 agency operations, one of 30+ corporate sponsors supporting the organization's annual Biscuit Breakfast fundraising event and general operations.
• HCA TriStar HealthmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor for F&CS 2026 agency operations, supporting the organization's mission to connect individuals and families to hope, healing, and one another.
• Neighborhood HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS embeds Clinical Therapist Case Managers at Neighborhood Health clinics across Davidson and Wilson counties to provide integrated behavioral health services alongside primary care.
• Goodwill Industries of Middle TennesseecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS partners with Goodwill Career Solutions centers across 20+ counties, embedding Clinical Therapist Case Managers alongside workforce development coaches to address barriers to employment.
• Catholic Charities of TennesseecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS partners with Catholic Charities to deliver Connecting Forward services in Bedford, Coffee, Marshall, and Montgomery counties, providing case management and clinical services.
• TN VoicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS collaborates with TN Voices for school-based therapy, Family and Adult Solution Treatment (FAST) program, and System of Care Across Tennessee (SOCAT) services across multiple counties.
• YWCA NashvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS partners with YWCA Nashville to provide Connecting Forward services including HiSet education, career services, and Dress 4 Success programs alongside domestic violence services.
• Metro Nashville Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS administers the Community Schools program for 20 Metro Nashville Public Schools, operating in-school family resource centers serving nearly 50% of total student population.
• Salvation Army NashvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS partners with Salvation Army's Center of Hope for Connecting Forward services, providing family/youth services, housing support, workforce development, and food assistance.
• Nashville Rescue MissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS embeds Clinical Therapist Case Manager at Nashville Rescue Mission to provide mental health support alongside emergency housing and workforce development services.
• The ContributorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS partners with The Contributor newspaper for housing navigation services in Davidson County, helping individuals experiencing homelessness access ID documents, benefits, and transportation.
• Thistle FarmsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS embeds a Case Manager at Thistle Farms to provide mental health services alongside the organization's safe housing and job training programs for women survivors of trafficking.
• 988 Lifeline (SAMHSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS operates the 988 crisis line for Davidson County as part of the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline network, providing 24/7 free crisis intervention.
• A Step Ahead Middle TennesseecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerF&CS partners with A Step Ahead to provide free clinical Long-Acting Reversible Contraception, well-woman exams, testing, and prevention education across multiple counties.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Oasis Center: Oasis Center is a Nashville-based youth-serving nonprofit that, like F&CS, addresses youth and family wellbeing through counseling and case management. Michael McSurdy served as VP of Programs at Oasis Center before joining F&CS, indicating directly comparable operating model and service mix in Middle Tennessee.

Direct peers

• Neighborhood Health: Neighborhood Health hosts embedded F&CS clinical therapist case managers and delivers primary care, behavioral health, and healthcare navigation in Davidson and Wilson counties. It is a directly comparable integrated social services and healthcare access provider serving similar uninsured populations.
• Catholic Charities of Tennessee: Catholic Charities of Tennessee is a current F&CS partner that co-delivers Connecting Forward services in Bedford, Coffee, Marshall, and Montgomery counties. It offers overlapping case management, counseling, and family stabilization programs funded by state contracts in the same Tennessee geography.
• United Way of Middle Tennessee: United Way of Middle Tennessee is both a funder and ecosystem partner of F&CS, operating in the same 28-county region across family stability, economic mobility, and education. It funds many of F&CS's downstream programs and helps set the regional human-services agenda.
• YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee: YWCA Nashville partners with F&CS on Connecting Forward services and runs complementary domestic violence and workforce programs in Middle Tennessee. It competes for similar state and local social-services funding while cooperating with F&CS on joint programs.
• Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee: Goodwill partners with F&CS to embed clinical staff across 20+ counties and operates Career Solutions centers focused on workforce barriers for low-income families. It is a directly comparable economic empowerment and barrier-removal operator sharing state contract funding.

Broad incumbents

• Volunteers of America Mid-States: Volunteers of America operates crisis hotlines, family stabilization, and housing programs across multiple states including Tennessee. Its Kentucky/Tennessee affiliates compete with F&CS for state human-services contracts and replicate the case-management-plus-clinical-therapy model.
• Mental Health America: Mental Health America is a national organization promoting mental health awareness, public education, and support services. F&CS runs comparable Mental Health First Aid and crisis-awareness programs at a regional level, mirroring MHA's national scope and portfolio mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/FCSNash
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fcsnashville
• Instagraminstagram.com/fcsnashville
• Xx.com/FCSNashville

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Family & Children's Service