Centers for Youth and Families*

Multiple Agencies Combined for Efficiency

Centers for Youth and Families is an nonprofit service organization whose history dates back to 1884, when Sarah Elizabeth Latta Mitchell persuaded members of her Little Rock social set to open their homes to homeless, hungry children.

Mitchell’s act of charity led to the founding in 1886 of the Children’s Home of Little Rock, which eventually became known as Elizabeth Mitchell Children’s Center.

In 1987, the Elizabeth Mitchell Children’s Center, the Parent Center and Stepping Stone, Inc., merged to form Centers for Youth and Families. Woodland Therapeutic Children’s Center joined in 1991, followed by the Scottish Rite’s Dyslexia Center in 1993 and the Shepherd’s Ranch, a long-term prevention and mentoring program for at-risk youth, in 1998.

“The real impetus was to try to pull together agencies that were doing similar things with kids… and bring them together under one administrative umbrella to save money and to offer more services,” says Doug Stadter, president and chief executive officer.

Centers for Youth and Families has more than 400 employees and 370 active volunteers serving some 8,300 people each year. It’s mission includes specialized prevention, intervention and treatment services that promote emotional and social wellness for children and families in Arkansas.

The agency operates on about $15 million a year, with Medicaid payments being a primary source of revenue. The arrival this spring of Benefit Arkansas, the Medicaid managed care program for child behavioral health care programs, means reimbursements will be lower.

Stadter says CYF will be looking for grants to make up the difference. But he doesn’t think the change in Medicaid is all bad.

“It’s finally pushing the funding toward giving us more flexibility to provide care in the community,” he says.