Aunt Martha's Center for Children's Services

The Center for Children’s Services, which began in 1894 with the founding of the Vermilion County Children’s Home, is one of Danville's oldest and most respected organizations. 

In July 2012, the Center for Children's Services merged with Aunt Martha's, forming a single entity whose ability to seemlessly integrate healthcare and social services makes it unique in the East Central Illinois region. 

Aunt Martha's is excited to build upon its partnership with the Center for Children's Services, and is proud to be a part of the story of its ongoing impact on the lives of youth and families in Danville and its neighboring communities. 

A Brief History of the Center for Children's Services The agency originally provided a safe home for the area's homeless and orphaned. Long-term care was the primary purpose of the agency until 1970. At this time, the Crisis Care Center was opened to provide a residential, short-term treatment program, primarily for teens. 

A mental health counseling service was formed to work in conjunction with this treatment program. Due to changes in attitudes toward institutional care of children, along with funding cuts, the original residential programs ended in 1973. 

The agency gradually expanded to form the Center for Children’s Services in March 1978, when its focus shifted to child welfare and child and adolescent mental health services.