Together, we are shaping the future of children’s mental health.

The Center for Children and Youth, a division of Jewish Family and Children’s Services, is transforming the way children’s mental health needs are addressed with the latest international research, evidence-based treatments, parent education, and public policies that help families thrive. As a preeminent leader of children’s services in the Bay Area, we bring together the best minds to advocate on behalf of families and ensure that children and teens have access to the support systems they need to grow into healthy adults.

The past decades have seen devastating increases in children and families experiencing mental health, learning, and developmental challenges. Our team of specialists provides comprehensive, best-in-class services for a broad range of issues—from toilet training and discipline to anxiety and ADHD. From everyday issues to challenges requiring specialized assessment and evaluation, we help parents, caregivers, and educators support children of all ages.

The Center for Children and Youth is reshaping mental health and social support systems in California by bringing the strategic vision and bold leadership necessary to provide the most advanced forms of care at scale across the state and ultimately the nation. Through partnerships with schools, medical providers, businesses, and community organizations, we support families where they live, learn, work, and play. In doing so, we aim to improve the lives of all children and families and to affect cultural change that positively impacts the destiny of the next generation.

Our History

As part of  Jewish Family and Children’s Services  (JFCS), a trusted nonprofit institution that has been caring for children and families since 1850, the Center for Children and Youth is able to connect our clients with comprehensive help for any issue they are facing. We serve people of all faiths and backgrounds, and our work is guided by the Jewish values of advancing human dignity for everyone, community responsibility, peace in the home, and repairing the world.

Building on the legacy of JFCS’ Parents Place, the leading resource for Bay Area families for over 40 years, the Center for Children and Youth continues to support families in San Francisco, the Peninsula, and Marin County through parent education workshops and the highest levels of clinical care—including child and adolescent therapy, occupational therapy, and psychiatry—provided by our expert team of licensed and board-certified clinicians.

In 2007, the Child Training Institute was established to provide clinical professionals with ongoing education and certified training. Now, the Center for Children and Youth is expanding our impact with national resources for parents, international expertise, training for professionals, and public policy advocacy to ensure all children have the opportunity to grow up in an environment that prioritizes their mental health and wellbeing.