The Priority Center

Our mission is to deliver life-changing programs to assist people in crisis by giving them the tools and support necessary to end the generational cycle of trauma- including prevention of child abuse and neglect, through early intervention and mental health services and advocacy.

Established in 1983 as the Child Abuse Prevention Center, The Priority Center was founded as a single volunteer-based parent-aid program and has grown, over the past 38 years, into the largest children’s services organization dedicated to preventing child abuse in Orange County.

Through its 8 life-changing programs, The Priority Center offers comprehensive services, including in-home prevention and early intervention, and crisis therapy and response to children and families in crisis, those affected by generational trauma, and those at a heightened risk of exposure to adverse childhood experiences. Our services aim to support children holistically by addressing their mental, developmental, and social well-being while facilitating caregiver healing and growth in order to promote positive parenting behaviors and practices. In providing these services, we hope to bolster parents’ efforts to create safe and nurturing homes for their children.

Our continuum of care reaches clients from birth through age 18, and also adults in crisis through our Adult In-Home Crisis Stabilization Program. We provide crisis intervention and trauma-informed care to children who have experienced abuse, while we act as advocates on behalf of children undergoing investigation to ensure a reduction in child trauma and prioritize their wellbeing throughout the judicial process. We also provide in-home crisis stabilization to children and adults experiencing mental illness.

Community outreach and education programs enable us to discuss topics such as child abuse with community members while connecting vulnerable families to prevention and early intervention services. Our prevention programs enable trained staff members to meet with families in their homes to facilitate healthy caregiver-child relationships and address unmet needs. The Priority Center also delivers basic needs supplies to support household safety and promote human dignity.

The Priority Center employs more than 120 professional staff, two-thirds of whom provide direct services to children, their families, young adults, and adult clients. Since our founding, we have provided services to more than 300,000 children and parents in our community. Last year, our programs directly served over 5,700 children and families from all walks of life–each of them coming to us to help break the generational cycle of trauma of abuse and neglect. Further, we center the needs of the community at large by organizing outreach and educational events that reach over 23,000 children and families annually.

The Priority Center’s services are available to families living in all Orange County cities, however a majority of our clients reside in historically under-resourced, low-income regions of the county. Most families reside in the cities of Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Garden Grove – areas designated by the federal government as medically underserved.

As part of our 2021 Ready Set Learn! Back to School Campaign, we delivered over 600 backpacks to Orange County children, providing at-risk kids with the tools they need for school to help them succeed in school both now and in the future. This year, our Basic Needs program expects to distribute 7,500 items, while our School Readiness program aims to provide 1,000 hours of case management services and host 600 parenting education workshops to promote the preparation of families entering the school system.

For the current year, The Priority Center, expects to provide 700 children and 500 adults with in-home crisis stabilization services, over 500 children with trauma-informed forensic interviews, and 400 children with early screenings and assessments for physical, behavioral, emotional, and social development. Meanwhile, The Priority Center aims to improve community awareness of child abuse prevention through 30,000 outreach contacts and 540 educational workshops.

The Priority Center secures funding through government grants and contracts in order to maintain a full operational capacity and sustainability of our life-changing programs.

In addition, we secure program funding through private and corporate grants, individual donations, and special events. With these funds, we are better positioned to provide a continuum of care that addresses the root causes of child abuse and empowers families to break the generational cycle of abuse.

The Priority Center relies upon the continued support of its volunteers, including Basic Needs volunteers, annual event committee volunteers, and board of director volunteers, as well as support in-kind of clothing, food, gift cards and household items.

The Priority Center continues to diligently and strategically raise critically needed funds to accommodate the needs of the families we serve.

The Priority Center serves families in crisis throughout the 34 cities and unincorporated areas of Orange County.

The Priority Center’s 8 different life-changing programs are designed to work with each family’s or individual’s unique needs to directly serve those in need, reach those we can engage in our work, and teach those whom we cannot directly serve.

Our continuum of care reaches clients from birth through age 18, and we now also serve adults in crisis through our In-Home Crisis Stabilization Program that is the only program of its kind in the county. Despite the recent name change, our number one priority is the same: creating stable, healthy family systems where all members can thrive!

Together with our community partners, we transform lives, and spark social change by changing narratives of the most disadvantaged children in our communities; our live-changing programs empower parents to become self-sufficient and help them provide optimal foundations for future academic, social and financial success. One child, one family at a time, we are creating stronger families and communities.

Dear Friends,

This last year at The Priority Center has been one of our best yet. Under some of the most pressing circumstances, we were able to continue providing support services to our clients who are members of the Orange County community. We are immensely proud of all that we have accomplished during the 2020-2021 fiscal year and are excited to share some of the highlights with you.

While this past year has not been easy on anyone, here at The Priority Center we continued to serve our clients during an unprecedented countrywide mental health crisis and the global COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to reach more families and individuals in crisis through our crisis stabilization and Basic Needs Programs. We brought more joy to families during the holiday season through Families Helping Families than any other year in history, and sent children to school with all of the supplies they need to be successful through Project Backpack. We cared for the most vulnerable in our community with compassion and sensitivity through our partnership with the County of Orange Social Services Agency as a part of our Child Abuse Service Team (CAST) Program. And we worked hard to provide families with the tools that they need to build strong, happy, and healthy homes - through our Home Visiting, School Readiness, and Outreach & Engagement Programs.

As the world continued to change, our stellar team navigated the challenges swiftly and continued providing in-person services wherever possible. While also caring for our clients in new innovative ways remotely - holding client visits over Zoom, Facetime, Microsoft teams, mobile phones or tablets. Together we collaborated with our incredible community partners and client to make people in need our priority.

We could not have done any of it without the support of our generous donors and partners in the community. As we look ahead to this coming year, we are optimistic that we will continue to increase our reach and impact in the community. We remain committed to the mission to end the cycle of generational trauma and are looking forward to another year phenomenal at The Priority Center.

With a grateful heart and sincere appreciation,

Hogiadi Kurniawan
2020-2021 Board Chair