Children First Center

What Children First Center does

Children First Center is a private nonprofit agency headquartered in Auburn, Indiana, providing family support services across six counties in northeastern Indiana (Allen, DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, and Whitley). The organization serves families with children under 18, with particular emphasis on new and expectant parents through its nationally accredited Healthy Families home visiting program and on Department of Child Services-referred families through its HOME Program, which delivers home-based casework, supervised parenting time, and clinical therapy. Additional programs include a 16-week Celebrating Families curriculum for substance-affected families, Nurturing Parenting classes, Shaken Baby Syndrome prevention education, and the Community Partners program administered in partnership with IRIS. Service delivery relies on evidence-based curricula—Parents as Teachers, Nurturing Parenting, Motivational Interviewing, Baby Talk—and standardized developmental and postpartum depression screening tools, with Master's-level licensed therapists and certified specialists providing clinical interventions.

The organization's revenue model is dominated by charitable donations supplemented by fee-for-service revenue from court-ordered supervised visits and therapy. Most programs are delivered free of charge to families, with healthcare insurance not accepted. Go-to-market is referral-driven: families are channeled in through the Department of Child Services, local hospitals, schools, and interagency partnerships across the six-county region, with the management team actively participating in interagency meetings to build referral pipelines. The organization maintains a board of directors and an advisory board composed of representatives from partner organizations, and contracts with the Indiana Department of Child and Family Services to fund portions of its service delivery. Distribution is primarily in-person (home visits, office sessions, school-based programming), with virtual service delivery reserved for exceptional circumstances.

Name

Children First Center

Legal name

Children First Center

Website

https://childrenfirstcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Children First Center is a nonprofit agency in Auburn, Indiana that delivers home visiting, parenting education, supervised visitation, and clinical therapy to families with children under 18 across six northeastern Indiana counties, primarily through referrals from the Department of Child Services and community partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Family Support Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Home Visiting & Parent Coaching Programs (EDACALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ), Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH), Mental Health & Infant/Early Childhood Consultation (0–5) (EDACAFAO)

Keywords

• Family support services
• Home visiting programs
• Parenting education classes
• Supervised visitation services
• Child welfare services

Headquarters

HQ city

Auburn

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. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization relies heavily on community donations to fund programs including home visiting services, parenting education, and clinical support. Donations are tax deductible and donors receive a donation confirmation letter.
2. Fee-for-Service Programs: Revenue generated from court-ordered supervised visits and therapy services which have associated fees. Most other programs are provided free of charge to families.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Children First Center provides family support, parenting education, home visiting, supervised visitation, and clinical therapy services to families with children under 18 across six counties in northeastern Indiana. Core offerings include the nationally accredited Healthy Families home visiting program for families with children under age 3, the HOME Program for DCS-referred families, the 16-week Celebrating Families program for families impacted by substance abuse, evidence-based Nurturing Parenting classes, Shaken Baby Syndrome prevention training, Community Partners case management, and Master's level clinical therapy. Most services are provided free of charge, with fees applied only to court-ordered supervised visits and therapy sessions.

Product overview

Children First Center offers a comprehensive suite of family support services across northeastern Indiana, primarily organized into home visiting programs (Healthy Families), DCS-referred services (HOME Program, Community Partners), parenting education (Nurturing Parenting, Shaken Baby Prevention), substance abuse recovery (Celebrating Families), and clinical services (supervised visitation, therapy). Most services are provided free of charge to eligible families, with some fee-based services available for private pay.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Healthy Families Program Nationally accredited home visiting program providing individualized support to families with children under age 3 across DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties. Families enroll during pregnancy or before the child turns three months old and receive free services until the child reaches age 3.
• HOME Program Helping Others Meet Expectations (HOME) program providing home-based casework, supervised parenting time, and Master's level clinical therapy for families referred by the Department of Child Services across Allen, DeKalb, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben and Whitley counties.
• Celebrating Families A 16-week program designed to help families and individuals impacted by substance abuse work on parenting skills, family functioning, and family relationships, with separate parent and child group sessions during weekly meetings.
• Nurturing Parenting Program Evidence-based parenting classes conducted in participants' homes using the Nurturing Parenting curriculum to build nurturing parenting skills as an alternative to abusive and neglecting practices, covering topics such as brain development, communicating with respect, building self-worth, and alternatives to spanking.
• Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Group training for parents, students, and community organizations on understanding Shaken Baby Syndrome, infant brain development, coping skills to keep babies safe, and techniques to calm crying infants.
• Community Partners Program A support program administered in partnership with IRIS for families with children ages 17 or younger, providing assessments and home-based case management services including housing assistance, financial education, job search support, and connection to community resources.
• Supervised Visitation Supervised parenting time for visits between children placed in substitute care and their biological parents, with a focus on parent education, coordination with Family Support Workers, and compliance with court order requirements.
• Therapy Sessions Clinical therapy services provided by Master's level licensed therapists with specialized training in Trauma Focused support services, offered for families referred by the Department of Child Services.
• Private Pay Services Counseling and supervised visitation services available to families seeking support independently without DCS referral.

Named customers6 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• IRIS (Indiana Resource for Infant and Family Services)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChildren First Center partners with IRIS to administer Community Partners services. This program provides assessments and home-based case management services funded by the Indiana Department of Child and Family Services, connecting families to resources for economic and family stability.
• Healthy Families AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChildren First Center's Healthy Families Program is part of the larger initiative of Healthy Families America and Healthy Families Indiana, providing nationally accredited home visiting services.
• Local HospitalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe organization maintains agreements with local hospitals and encourages representatives from helping organizations to serve on their Advisory Board and Board of Directors.
• Garrett-Keyser-Butler SchoolssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerContract to provide support counseling and case management services to families in need. Additionally, collaborate to offer Shaken Baby Education classes to health classes upon request.
• Department of Child ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFormal referral pathway for families requiring HOME program services including home-based casework, supervised parenting time, and therapy. Works closely to ensure families receive appropriate support and services.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Nurse-Family Partnership: National evidence-based home visiting model serving first-time parents from pregnancy through age 2. Comparable to Children First Center's Healthy Families Program in target population, evidence-based methodology, and government/Medicaid funding reliance.
• Parents as Teachers: National evidence-based parent education and home visiting program that Children First Center explicitly utilizes. Directly comparable in curriculum, screening tools, and family support model.
• Healthy Families Indiana: Indiana's state-administered affiliate network of Healthy Families America programs. Children First Center is a member; comparable accredited affiliates across the state operate the same model with similar funding and program structure.
• Prevent Child Abuse Indiana: Indiana statewide chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America focused on child abuse prevention through parent education, home visiting, and advocacy. Operates overlapping programs in the same geography and serves similar DCS-referred families.
• Adelante Family Services: Nonprofit providing home visiting, parent education, and family support services similar to Children First Center's portfolio. Comparable in target population and bilingual service capability.
• Healthy Families America: National accreditation body under Prevent Child Abuse America whose affiliates operate the same evidence-based home visiting program model that Children First Center's Healthy Families Program is accredited under. Operationally and programmatically nearly identical at the affiliate level.

Broad incumbents

• Children's Bureau: Indiana-headquartered nonprofit providing family preservation, foster care, adoption, and prevention services. Comparable in DCS-contracted family preservation work but operates on a much larger scale across multiple Indiana locations.
• Family Focus: Established Chicago-based nonprofit providing family support, early childhood, and youth development programs. Comparable in multi-program family services model though operating in an urban setting and broader scale.

Regional players

• Child Care Answers: Indiana-based child and family services resource and referral organization serving central Indiana. Comparable in nonprofit family support mission but focused more on childcare resource navigation rather than direct home visiting.

Others

• Indiana Association for Child Care and Family Services: Indiana statewide association supporting child care and family service providers. Functions as a peer network, training resource, and advocacy body for organizations similar to Children First Center.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ChildrenFirstC3
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChildrenFirstCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/children-first-center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Children First Center