Mission Statement

FamilyForward’s mission is to move vulnerable children in the direction of hope by delivering comprehensive therapeutic and educational services to support biological, foster, and adoptive families in the St. Louis region. We utilize a comprehensive and respectful approach to prevent and treat the impact of significant trauma on children.

Impact

At FamilyForward, we are committed to making a transformative difference in the lives of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Our dedicated team works each day to build safer, healthier relationships for children and families by offering a comprehensive range of services, including trauma assessment and psychological evaluations; individual, family, and group therapy; education and training opportunities for professionals, educators, and caregivers; foster care case management; therapeutic preschool programs; home visiting services; and integrated occupational therapy. In 2022, we served 4,395 children, their families, and members of the community.

Dana Brown has been generous with awards for many years. In 2022, we received an award to specifically support programming for our Developmental Trauma Center (DTC), which serves children (ages zero to 19 years) with chronic abuse or neglect early in life, in foster care/adopted through the child welfare system, or who experienced institutional care during infancy and early childhood. These children and their foster/adoptive families participate in psychological assessment/behavioral health diagnostic evaluations; individual, family, and group therapy; therapeutic preschool services; and parent education and training services to help children heal and parents/caregivers meet the child’s needs/incorporate them into family functioning. With this Funding from the Dana Brown Charitable Trust, FamilyForward was able to provide individual counseling and therapy to children in the St. Louis region who have experienced early complex trauma due to abuse and neglect.

Most recently, DBCT awarded us the funding for new programming for caregivers on our extensive waiting list. This is an innovative program to support families on waiting lists for children’s mental health services. In collaboration with local child service agencies, we will develop and test a digital-learning training model for caregivers that includes resources and opportunities for live training and support by experts, starting with those serving foster and adopted children and then expanding to include caregivers waiting for other children’s mental health services.