Changing Lives. Giving Hope.

Children First was built on a simple promise: to change children’s lives by giving them hope. That vision, carried forward from our founder, Mike Logan, continues to guide our work today. While many people know us through Children First Foster Family Agency, our organization has grown into something much larger. Today, we operate as a single, integrated agency with several high-impact divisions, each focused on supporting youth, families, and communities through trauma-informed, community-based care. Together, we serve thousands of individuals across Northern California each year, offering a continuum of services that meet people where they are.

An Evolving Mission, A Shared Vision

From its beginnings as a foster family agency, Children First has steadily expanded to meet the changing needs of youth and families in our communities. That foundation set the stage for continued growth, and today, the organization is led by a committed leadership team working to deliver an integrated, responsive continuum of care across Northern California.

Under the direction of CEO and Executive Director Shannon Pierce, the agency has broadened its scope, deepened its infrastructure, and strengthened relationships across counties and sectors. In 2025, Shannon was appointed to the Board of Directors of the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, where she represents foster family agencies statewide and contributes to broader conversations around policy, access, and equity.

Together, the Children First leadership team has advanced a shared vision: one that centers youth and families, fills long-standing service gaps, and evolves in step with community needs. From expanding behavioral health and school-based services to launching youth SUD treatment and building new public partnerships, this next chapter is not a departure from the agency’s roots, but a bold and coordinated extension of its mission.

Honoring Our Growth

Our journey has always been shaped by listening closely to the needs of youth, families, and the communities we serve. Over time, we’ve consistently expanded our services, not for the sake of growth, but to close the gaps we’ve seen firsthand. From mental health care and housing to school-based prevention and substance use recovery, each layer has been added with intention. When we recognize a need, we work to build a solution. That commitment to evolving with our community is what continues to guide us today.

A Unified Network of Care

Children First Foster Family Agency remains at the heart of our work. It’s where we began and where many still know us best. Today, we are one of the largest providers of both Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) and Transitional Housing Program (THP-NMD) services in the North State. Our ISFC program supports local youth with complex needs across Northern California, while our THP-NMD program welcomes young people from throughout the state, including many from urban areas, who need stable housing and support as they transition to adulthood. Whether they come from just down the road or from a city hundreds of miles away, these youth deserve more than a placement. They deserve consistent care, meaningful relationships, and the resources to move forward with hope. That’s what we commit to, every day.

Five Peaks Youth Solutions supports prevention and early intervention through school-based services. These include social-emotional wellness programs, mental health coaching, and connection points that help students thrive in the classroom and beyond. These services often reach youth before formal systems ever come into play, because sometimes, the right support at the right time makes all the difference.

Children First Counseling provides outpatient mental health care for children, teens, and transition-age youth. From trauma-informed therapy to family-based interventions, our clinicians offer a safe and steady space for healing. These services are often the thread that helps a young person process their story, rebuild their sense of self, and stay connected to those who care about them.

Lassen Counseling extends this care to adults and older populations, especially in rural and frontier communities where quality services are often hardest to access. Whether someone is navigating anxiety, grief, long-term trauma, or life transitions, this work ensures that healing is not limited by geography or age. It is our way of standing in the gap, quietly and consistently, for those who’ve been underserved for far too long.

Solutions for Youth, our philanthropic division, helps remove barriers for youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability, particularly those at risk of dropping out of school. Through tangible supports like clothing, hygiene items, transportation, and school supplies, SYF makes it possible for youth to stay connected to school and reach toward stability. It also creates opportunities for the broader community to give back, support healing, and be part of each young person’s journey forward.

Together, these divisions offer care that mirrors real life, complex, overlapping, and deeply personal. Every part of our agency is designed to meet youth and families where they are, with support that is responsive, coordinated, and grounded in dignity.

Why We Grew—and Where We’re Going

Families don’t experience their needs in isolation, and we believe support shouldn’t come that way either. What they need is care that’s responsive, local, and rooted in community. Our growth reflects a shared commitment, within our leadership team and across our public partnerships, to build something that truly supports families where they are. We’re not expanding for the sake of it. We’re growing with intention, alongside the counties, schools, and organizations that know their people best. A strong continuum of care isn’t just a good idea. It’s a shared responsibility, and one we’re proud to carry forward.

Still Children First

Even as we grow and adapt, our core values haven’t changed. We are still here for the same reason we always have been: to put children and families first.

Whether you’ve known us through foster care, school-based support, behavioral health services, or community partnerships, what unites it all is our belief that every person deserves a chance to be safe, seen, and supported.

We’re proud of where we’ve been. We’re grounded in where we are. And we’re inspired by where we’re going.

Want to Connect?

Whether you’re a provider, funder, educator, or community member, we’d love to hear from you.
If you’re interested in becoming a resource family, partnering with one of our programs, or supporting a young person through Solutions for Youth, there’s a place for you here.

Reach out at admin@childrenfirstffa.com