What We Fund

The Children's Trust is here to partner with you on your parenting journey, offering customized programs to support every parent. Our trained educators, whether they are family coaches, social workers or nurses, will help you build the skills to nurture your child for lifelong success. We offer FREE support in various settings to suit your needs: personal guidance in your home, group interactions in community settings, or consultations in individual offices. These programs are designed to enhance your communication with your children, recognize developmental challenges, introduce effective disciplinary strategies, and promote health and nutrition. Find the program that's right for you here.

In addition to this, The Children's Trust Parent Club brings together local parenting experts to offer FREE workshops across the county. These workshops are 60 minutes, are available in English, Spanish and Creole, and cover a range of topics to help you raise successful, healthy and happy children. The workshops may also provide free child care for children aged 3-12, a snack, and a chance to enter raffle drawings with the completion of a short post-workshop survey.

The first 1,000 days of a child's life are the most critical, which is why programs in this area are intended to foster social, behavioral and academic skills, offering screenings and crucial early intervention services for children identified with developmental or behavioral issues.

Our early intervention portfolio includes supporting specialized psycho-educational autism assessments, short-term intervention for children who don't meet the criteria to receive state-funded services, and summer programming for children ages birth to 5 with developmental disabilities who receive school-year services.

Our Thrive by 5 initiative was formed in response to research showing that early reading experiences, opportunities to build vocabulary and literacy-rich environments are the most effective ways to support the development of prereading and cognitive skills, so children are reading at or above grade level by third grade. Get a head start by registering your child for the FREE The Children's Trust Book Club, for all children birth through their 5th birthday.

We know that most young children are in some form of outside care. That's why our Early Learning Quality Improvement System was created to elevate the quality of child care in Miami-Dade County. We work hand in hand with early learning programs and their staff to reach high standards.

Providing children and youth with safe spaces outside of school where they can thrive is a priority of The Children's Trust. The programs we invest in as part of our Youth Development initiative help with homework, reading, focused tutoring and fun activities, and are just part of a much bigger picture. After-school programs and summer camps offer children opportunities to strengthen life skills, learn about nutrition, make friends, and discover and cultivate new interests.

The Youth Development initiative also allows teenagers to benefit from vocational training and college prep, arts education, sports, mentoring, paid internships and leadership training through our Youth Advisory Committee.

More than 25,000 children and youth are being served at more than 1,000 program sites. These trusted havens provide safe and secure activities for youth while their parents or caregivers are at work and that contribute to raising healthy, happy and successful kids. To find more programs, please click on search programs.

The Children’s Trust understands the importance of your child's health and wellness, and its vital role in their learning and behavior. That is why it invests in comprehensive school-based health care that offers medical assessments, diagnosis, treatment, immunizations, counseling and referrals, as well as oral health and vision screenings, in addition to injury prevention education and insurance enrollment support.

The Children’s Trust's theory of change sets forth to promote positive childhood experiences, build family and youth strengths and relationships, and provide support for essential needs, so that children, youth and families will achieve better outcomes.

Investment in our Family & Neighborhood Support Partnerships (FNSPs) allows families to work with success coaches who help them navigate systems and support them by connecting them to the social services, therapies, beneficial programs and essential stabilization items they may need, like assistance with transportation and short-term housing help. This investment also builds upon important work with the collaborative partners of the programs to improve quality of life for children and families across Miami-Dade County.

Click here to download a list of funded partnerships.

The Children's Trust believes in empowering individuals by giving them the knowledge they need to make the best decisions for their families and to take positive action in their communities. By investing in community engagement, awareness and advocacy efforts, we are helping to make those we serve active participants in improving their lives and that of their families.

By investing in program and professional development, The Children's Trust is investing in children and families. Increasing the competency and effectiveness of programs and their staff leads to greater efficiencies, productivity, effectiveness and the delivery of higher-quality programming that results in a greater return on our investments and, most importantly, to better service to children and families.

A comprehensive system of training, online courses, coaching and peer learning opportunities help program staff build confidence in the work they do, which helps them build credibility as they continue to gain new skill sets and adopt new ideas and perspectives.

The Children's Trust regularly provides supports for quality program implementation and evaluation, as well as fiscal and administrative functions.

Training calendar

Click here for more resources for Trust-funded programs.

The Children's Trust has never wavered in its sustained commitment to supporting and advancing children with special needs. As we define special needs, the scope of our commitment includes both children with disabilities and those who are otherwise regularly identified as belonging to special populations, including:

• children in foster care
• youth in the juvenile justice system
• and families residing in neighborhoods affected by poverty, crime, unemployment, community violence and trauma.

Accordingly, it is our policy and practice to ensure that special populations are always welcomed into our funded programs, and that they are served effectively and with dignity.