Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood
Helping Children Live Emotionally Healthy Lives
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Children’s mental health is our priority at the Lucy Daniels Center, where we help children with emotional, mental and social challenges succeed through in-depth evaluation and treatment, family involvement and education. Here are some situations we can encounter: -behavior and discipline challenges -attention deficit/hyperactivity challenges -childhood bereavement -reactions to abuse and other trauma -complications of adoption including attachment problems -adjustments in blended families -impulsivity and aggression -difficulties as a result of divorce -fears, anxieties and behavior rituals -sleep and toileting problems -social isolation and peer conflicts
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Lucy Daniels School
Preschool through 5th grade.
At the Lucy Daniels School, children and families are provided with wrap-around services that promote social, emotional, and academic growth. We serve students from preschool through fifth grade and offer tuition assistance options to remove financial barriers to services. Our students and families have typically struggled with unmet needs in their previous schools, but here, they are met with respect, understanding, and compassion. Students thrive in our stable and supportive learning environment that also provides individual therapy and regular parent counseling.
Farley-Manning Family Guidance Service
The Farley-Manning Family Guidance Service provides on-site and telehealth therapy for children ages birth through 11 years old and their families. Our clinicians specialize in children’s mental health and walk directly alongside children and families on their journeys to healthier lives and relationships. Clinicians build and maintain lasting connections that are rooted in trust, support, and stability. Financial assistance and telehealth options ensure a reduction in barriers to service access that many families in our community face.
SecurePath
Early intervention therapy for children birth through five years old in their home or pre-school setting.
SecurePath is a comprehensive mental health service for young children in Wake County provided at the child’s home or preschool. Our staff offers mental health assessments, interventions, and therapy for children ages birth to five and their parents who need help with their child’s social, emotional, or developmental challenges. Clinicians focus on addressing behavioral concerns and strengthening the parent-child relationship. Early intervention services can also be a valuable resource in helping pre-school children to become Kindergarten-ready.
SecurePath therapy services are provided at no cost to families through the generous support of Wake County Smart Start.
Services are provided in English and Spanish.
LDC 4 Early Success
Early Success encompasses community programs supporting emotional health for families. Included are First Friends social skills program for children; parent guidance workshops on a variety of parenting topics; Lucy's Link, where trained staff members assess children in their childcare or preschool setting and make recommendations; and Circle of Security parenting program (COSP), which provides a special hands-on training program for both at-risk and non-risk families to increase their healthy parent-child attachment.
Where we work
Awards
Hands of Health Award 2006
John Rex Endowment
Children's Program Award for Excellence 2006
The Association for Child Psychoanalysis
Healthcare Heroes Award for Outstanding Outreach and Education 2007
Triangle Business Journal
Charitable Parnter Award 2007
Cary, NC Chamber of Commerce Award
IMPACT Award 2009
GlaxoSmithKline Foundation
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Children’s mental health is our priority at the Lucy Daniels Center, where we help children with emotional, mental and social challenges succeed through in-depth evaluation and treatment, family involvement and education.
Lucy Daniels Center provides free observations and assessments at our center in Cary, North Carolina, or in the comfort of a child’s own home or preschool. We help parents identify their child’s challenges and guide them through the process of finding the right solution for their child and their family. Through our comprehensive therapeutic programs and outreach services, we meet challenges to healthy development by addressing issues such as social, behavioral, and disciplinary concerns; reactions to bereavement, abuse, or other trauma; and fears, anxieties, and behavior rituals.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Lucy Daniels Center provides a comprehensive range of therapeutic and educational programs:
• Lucy Daniels School—a therapeutic school serving Pre-K
through 5th grade
• Farley-Manning Family Guidance Service—individual and
family therapy on-site in Cary, North Carolina
• SecurePath Outreach—in-home therapy services
• Circle of Security Parenting Program—
parenting support workshops
• First Friends—social skills program in local preschools and
daycare centers
• Lucy’s Link—free observations and assessments
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
FOUNDED IN 1989, Lucy Daniels Center is the largest nonprofit provider of mental health services exclusively for children in the Triangle area. We serve more than 700 children and their families yearly and provide more than 20,000 hours of direct social, emotional, and mental health services to children from birth to age 12.
Our programs offer individualized treatment for each child, a rigorous academic program through Lucy Daniels School (Pre-K–5th grade), and community outreach programs that serve families across the Triangle. Our multi-disciplinary team, which includes recognized experts in mental health and education, works together with families to provide a uniquely comprehensive approach, delivering individualized treatment to each child.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our story began more than 30 years ago in 1989 with a generous start-up gift from Lucy Daniels, Ph.D., a local writer and clinical psychologist. And what a gift it was! Our story continues as we serve the needs of a diverse population through our on-site clinic, offsite therapeutic services, school, and community outreach programs. Through it all, we are raising the awareness of children's mental and emotional health, and educating the community about the importance of developing a good mental health status early in life. This must be the case if children are to truly live a life of full potential filled with positive experiences. It is our goal to instill a willingness to do what is best for themselves and the people around them.
In the upcoming years, Lucy Daniels Center will be diligently working to increase awareness and expand our services into neighboring counties in order to provide more North Carolina children with emotional, mental and social challenges the support and guidance they need to live emotionally healthy lives.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Lucy Daniels Center for Early Childhood
Board of directorsas of 09/26/2022
Mr. Derek Watson
Financial & IT Consultants
Term: 2022 - 2024
Sarah Cowan
Quanta Technologies
Term: 2022 - 2024
Lucy Daniels
Founder
Will Rike
International Farming Corporation, LLC
Ted Whiteside
Dynamic Videocasting
Tucker King
Baker Roofing
Diane Manning
Psychologist, Private Practice
Diane Niedfeldt
Carolina Donor Services
Vonne Jacobs
PHAROS Healthcare Consulting
Lori Jones
Jordan Price Law Offices
Amanda Lynde
Brennan, Wasden & Painter, LLC
Thomas Barrett
Psychologist/Psychoanalyst
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data