Maryland Coalition of Families

What Maryland Coalition of Families does

Maryland Coalition of Families (MCF) is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization founded in 1999 that provides free family peer support services to families who have a loved one experiencing mental health, substance use, or problem gambling challenges. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, MCF's core offering is delivered by Family Peer Support Specialists — staff whose value proposition rests on personal lived experience caring for loved ones with behavioral health conditions, rather than on clinical credentials alone. Services include emotional support, resource connection, and systems navigation, accessed via a self-serve referral intake system and delivered at no cost to families statewide in Maryland.

MCF's product surface spans multiple programmatic and advocacy offerings: Family Peer Support Services, Policy and Legislative Advocacy, the annual Family Day in Annapolis, Family Leadership Programs, and the Taking Flight young adult peer support program. The organization organizes its work around focus areas including Children's Mental Health, Substance Use, Early Childhood, Problem Gambling & Gaming, and LGBTQ+ family support, supplemented by support groups, workshops, publications, and a monthly Family Focus newsletter.

MCF operates a nonprofit revenue model funded by grants, donations, and public/private funding sources rather than client fees. There is no proprietary technology platform, app, or API; service delivery is human-led and community-based. The organization is affiliated with the Family-Run Executive Director Leadership Association and the National Federation of Families, and it received the 2026 Platinum Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health from Mental Health America. MCF is governed by a Board of Directors, maintains an 11-50 employee footprint, and reports no parent company, subsidiaries, or external institutional investors.

Name

Maryland Coalition of Families

Legal name

Maryland Coalition of Families

Website

https://mdcoalition.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Maryland Coalition of Families is a Maryland-based nonprofit founded in 1999 that provides free family peer support services to families of children and adults with mental health, substance use, or problem gambling challenges, delivered statewide by specialists with lived caregiving experience.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Peer Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAEAC

Family & Parenting Support Services

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

SECONDARYEDACALAH

Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services

Education/Early Childhood Education/Parent Education & Family Engagement Programs

SECONDARYEDACALAG

Parent Support Groups & Peer Networks

Education/Early Childhood Education/Parent Education & Family Engagement Programs

SECONDARYEDAKAMAK

Family Engagement & Caregiver Support Programs (SEL/Mental Health)

Education/Special Education & Learning Support Services/Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Mental Health Supports (School-Based)

Keywords

• Family peer support
• Behavioral health services
• Mental health advocacy
• Substance use support
• Community-based support

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Nonprofit Funding Model: MCF operates as a nonprofit organization providing services at no cost to families. Services are funded through grants, donations, and public/private funding sources rather than client fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Maryland Coalition of Families provides free family peer support services to Maryland families who have a loved one experiencing mental health, substance use, or problem gambling challenges. Family Peer Support Specialists, all of whom have personal experience caring for loved ones with behavioral health issues, deliver emotional support, resource connection, and systems navigation at no cost. The organization also engages in policy and legislative advocacy to improve behavioral health services and systems across Maryland.

Product overview

Maryland Coalition of Families is a nonprofit organization offering a unified set of family peer support services rather than a technology product platform. The core offering is Family Peer Support Services, where trained specialists with lived experience provide emotional support, resource connection, and systems navigation. Related programs include Policy and Legislative Advocacy, Family Leadership Programs, and Taking Flight (young adult peer support). Services are organized around focus areas including Children's Mental Health, Substance Use, Early Childhood, Problem Gambling & Gaming, and LGBTQ+ support. The organization also provides community-based Support Groups, Workshops, and Publications. Since 1999, MCF has delivered these services at no cost to families throughout Maryland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Family Peer Support Services
• Policy and Legislative Advocacy
• Family Leadership Programs
• Taking Flight: Young Adult Peer Support
• Support Groups and Workshops

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Family-Run Executive Director Leadership AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliation with family-run organizations led by individuals with lived experience, providing peer support and advocacy for families affected by behavioral health challenges.
• National Federation of Families (NFF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliation with the National Federation of Families, a national organization focused on the mental health and wellness of children and families.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Council for Mental Wellbeing: Large membership organization representing mental health and substance use providers, including peer support services. Operates as a broad industry association and policy advocate rather than as a direct family peer support provider.
• NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): Largest U.S. grassroots mental health organization offering family support groups, education, and advocacy. Overlaps with MCF's family peer support and advocacy work, but operates nationally with paid affiliate/state-chapter structure rather than a free, lived-experience specialist model.
• Mental Health America: National nonprofit focused on mental health promotion, screening, and advocacy, and the awarding body of MCF's Platinum Bell Seal. Operates broadly across the mental health ecosystem rather than specializing in family peer support.

Direct peers

• Parents Anonymous: National nonprofit providing parent and family support through shared-experience groups. Comparable in its use of peer-led mutual support and family-driven program design, though with a broader parent-strengthening rather than behavioral-health-specific focus.
• National Federation of Families: National umbrella organization for family-run and family-focused behavioral health groups, of which MCF is an affiliate. Highly comparable mission of supporting families of children and youth with mental health and behavioral health challenges through peer support and advocacy.
• FREDLA (Family-Run Executive Director Leadership Association): Network of family-run organizations serving children and adolescents with behavioral health needs, of which MCF is an affiliate. Directly comparable operating model centered on lived-experience leadership and family peer support.

Emerging players

• Child Mind Institute: National nonprofit providing clinical and educational resources for children's mental health, including family education and support content. Comparable in children's mental health focus but more clinical/digital in delivery versus MCF's lived-experience peer model.

Others

• Maryland Association of Nonprofits: Maryland's statewide association for nonprofit organizations, providing capacity-building, advocacy, and resources that directly support MCF's operating environment. Not a peer in service delivery but a key ecosystem enabler.

Regional players

• Parent to Parent USA: National network of state-based Parent to Parent programs offering peer support to families of children with disabilities or special needs. Comparable peer-support model and family-to-family structure, though typically disability-focused rather than behavioral-health-specific.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mcfamilies
• Facebookfacebook.com/MdCoalition
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maryland-coalition-of-families

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Maryland Coalition of Families