St Louis Crisis Nursery

What St Louis Crisis Nursery does

St. Louis Crisis Nursery is a private nonprofit organization founded in 1986 and headquartered in Missouri that delivers free, 24-hour emergency childcare and family support services aimed at preventing child abuse and family disruption. Its programming combines residential shelter care for children from birth through age twelve with in-home family support, therapeutic childcare, and parent education, all delivered at no cost to families in crisis. The organization operates five nursery locations and ten Family Empowerment Centers across the St. Louis region, serving more than 4,000 children annually.

The operating model is human-delivered and facilities-based, with no proprietary technology platforms underpinning the service. Core infrastructure consists of licensed physical childcare sites, trained staff, and volunteer networks, augmented by referral pipelines from hospital systems, schools, and child protective services. Service quality is being formalized through the pursuit of Council on Accreditation (COA) accreditation with a target completion date of June 2026.

The organization is funded entirely through donations, corporate and foundation grants, and fundraising events; it generates no fee-for-service or commercial revenue. Named institutional funders include Mercy, Children's Services Fund (CSF), Children's Trust Fund (CTF), BJC HealthCare, SSM Health, and St. Louis United Way, supplemented by individual giving and event-based fundraising. CEO Molly Brown leads the organization, which has operated continuously for 40 years.

Name

St Louis Crisis Nursery

Legal name

Saint Louis Crisis Nursery

Website

https://crisisnurserykids.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

St. Louis Crisis Nursery is a 1986-founded Missouri nonprofit providing free 24-hour emergency childcare and family support across five nurseries and ten Family Empowerment Centers, serving 4,000+ children annually through donations, grants, and fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Welfare and Family Crisis Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (624410), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Emotional/Trauma-Informed Childcare (anxiety, PTSD) (HSAAAIAI)

Keywords

• Emergency child care
• Family crisis services
• Child abuse prevention
• Crisis intervention support
• Family empowerment programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Individual donors contribute monetary gifts to support emergency care and family services. The organization actively cultivates donors through its website, email newsletter, events, and community engagement.
2. Fundraising Events: The organization hosts annual fundraising events including the FORE the Kids Golf Tournament, Dine Out for the Nursery, Over the Top for Tots, Nursery Night, and a Razzle Dazzle celebration. Local businesses also host percentage-of-proceeds fundraisers.
3. Foundation and Government Grants: Major funders include Community Services Foundation (CSF), Children's Trust Fund (CTF), and government/civic partners including St. Louis United Way. The organization is pursuing national COA accreditation, indicating ongoing funder compliance.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery provides free, voluntary, 24/7 short-term emergency child care for children from birth through age 12 at five regional Nurseries, supported by a 24-hour crisis Helpline and ten Family Empowerment Outreach Centers that deliver counseling, home visits, parent education, and referrals. Programming is trauma-informed and includes Art, Play, and Music Therapy, Bright Beginnings early-childhood support, a Latinx Family Support Program, and an Unpaid Practicum Program for students in social work and related fields.

Product overview

The Saint Louis Crisis Nursery offers a comprehensive suite of crisis intervention and family support services, organized around five regional nursery locations providing 24-hour emergency respite care for children birth through age 12, complemented by a Family Empowerment Program operating through 10 outreach centers. The core offerings include a 24-hour crisis helpline, short-term shelter with therapeutic services (Art, Play, and Music Therapy), parent education, home visitation, and specialized programs for Latinx families. The organization has been operating since 1986 and serves families experiencing crisis caused by illness, homelessness, domestic violence, or overwhelming parental stress. All services are provided completely free of charge.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Crisis Nursery Centene Center: Located in South St. Louis City - one of five nursery locations providing 24-hour emergency childcare services
• Crisis Nursery North
• Crisis Nursery West
• Crisis Nursery St. Charles
• Crisis Nursery Wentzville

Products and services

• 24-Hour Crisis Helpline
• Emergency Respite Child Care (Five Regional Nurseries)
• Family Empowerment Program
• Bright Beginnings Program
• Latinx Family Support Program
• Unpaid Practicum Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 4,000 children served every year
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered community partner.

• Christian Hospitalcommunity partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerChristian Hospital hosts one of the Crisis Nursery locations (Crisis Nursery North) and is listed among major funders and partners.
• SSM Healthcommunity partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSSM Health is listed as a major funder and partner; their facilities host Crisis Nursery locations in St. Charles and Wentzville.
• BJC HealthCarecommunity partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerBJC HealthCare is listed as a major funder and community partner supporting the Crisis Nursery.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Child Care Aware of Missouri: Missouri-based child care resource and referral network, sharing the same operating region and family-facing distribution channel as the Crisis Nursery but focused on resource navigation rather than direct respite care.
• FamilyForward: St. Louis-area nonprofit providing counseling, foster care, and family preservation services, with overlapping service lines in family crisis support and therapeutic interventions in the same geographic market.

Broad incumbents

• Childhelp: National nonprofit operating the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline and residential treatment programs, addressing child abuse prevention and intervention at a much larger national scale with overlapping mission.
• Family Promise: National nonprofit addressing family homelessness through shelter, prevention, and stabilization programs — overlapping with the Crisis Nursery's family crisis intervention mission but focused on housing instability.
• Prevent Child Abuse America: National umbrella organization for child abuse prevention, providing advocacy, research, and a network of state chapters — overlapping with the Crisis Nursery's prevention mission at a national policy and awareness level.

Emerging players

• Parents as Teachers: National evidence-based parent education and early childhood home visiting program, directly comparable to the Crisis Nursery's Bright Beginnings / Family Empowerment home visitation and parent education components.

Direct peers

• Children's Home Society of California: Regional nonprofit providing adoption, foster care, and family preservation services including emergency childcare and family crisis support, paralleling the Crisis Nursery's integrated care-and-empowerment model.
• Children's Home & Aid: Midwest-based child welfare nonprofit offering foster care, adoption, family support, and crisis intervention services across Illinois and Missouri, directly comparable in regional scope and service mix.
• Safe Families for Children: National network offering voluntary host family placement and crisis childcare support to families in crisis, closely paralleling the Crisis Nursery's emergency child haven and family empowerment model.
• Crisis Nursery of Springfield: Operates a similar crisis nursery model in central Illinois, providing emergency respite care and family crisis services to families in the Springfield region. Directly comparable in service model and mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/STLCrisisKids

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 St Louis Crisis Nursery