Healing Trauma. Healing Lives

Every child deserves to feel safe. Every family deserves the chance to heal.

Our Mission

Every child deserves the opportunity to heal, grow, and thrive from the lasting effects of trauma. The Dawn Childhood Foundation helps make specialized trauma treatment accessible for children and families facing financial hardships. Through financial assistance and community support, the Foundation removes barriers to care so families can access the services they need during some of life's most challenging moments.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Foundation is built on three core commitments:

  • Expanding access to specialized trauma care

  • Healing families, not just children

  • Equipping families for lasting change

One Mission,
Two Dedicated Roles

The Dawn Childhood Foundation and Dawn Institute share a common mission: helping children and families heal from trauma and build brighter futures.

Dawn Institute provides specialized trauma-informed clinical care, while the Dawn Childhood Foundation helps make that care accessible through financial assistance and community support when cost might otherwise stand in the way.

Though each organization now has its own home, we continue to work collaboratively to ensure more children and families can access the support they need to heal and thrive.

The Dawn Institute will continue to provide clinical services through this website. Information about the Foundation's programs, leadership, community impact, and opportunities to give can be found on the Foundation's dedicated website.

Visit Dawn Childhood Foundation at dcfaz.org

How We Work with Kids

Welcome to a closer look at the heart of our work. This short video shares how we bring healing, hope, and a safe space for children and families to grow. We invite you to watch and see the impact this work has on the lives it touches.

What Makes DCF's Approach Unique

  • Specialized Trauma Care for Children DCF-funded care is delivered by clinicians uniquely trained to work with children ages 2–18 who have endured trauma such as grief, physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, self-harm, neglect, parental abandonment, or time spent in foster and kinship care. Every provider is trauma-informed, ensuring care that is both compassionate and effective.

  • Healing Families, Not Just Children. Children cannot out-heal their caregivers. For true healing to occur, the entire family system must be supported. That's why DCF helps fund wraparound services, giving caregivers and siblings access to the tools and therapy they need alongside the child.

  • Equipping Families for Lasting Change When possible, care is designed to restore and strengthen the family unit, giving them the skills to break cycles of trauma for generations to come. The goal isn't to keep families dependent on therapy, but to equip them to continue growing and healing together.

How Families Access Services

Families seeking support must complete a formal application explaining both the reason services are needed and the financial hardship preventing access to care. Funding is awarded based on these needs.

Services always begin with the child, but through assessments, additional support may be extended to caregivers and siblings.

Regardless of whether caregivers receive individual therapy, all guardians are required to complete a 12-week program called Breaking the Cycle: Trauma-Informed Parenting.

Requesting Financial Assistance

If your family needs help accessing trauma-informed care and cost is a barrier, the Dawn Childhood Foundation may be able to help.

The first step is a brief, no-obligation 15-minute phone call with our team. This call helps us understand your family's situation and determine whether you may be eligible for assistance — there's no cost and no commitment.

What to expect:

  • A short, friendly conversation — about 15 minutes

  • A few questions about your family's needs and current situation

  • Next steps if you may be eligible, including how to complete a formal application

We know reaching out can feel like a big step. Our team is here to make this process as simple and supportive as possible.

Want to Support This Work?

Giving opportunities, fundraising events, and information on how your support helps children and families heal are available on the Foundation's website.

Visit dcfaz.org to learn more or give.