The heart of community care in Melbourne since 1896

Kids First is a proudly independent child and family services provider and early education specialist. A purpose driven organisation, our vision is for all children and young people to thrive in resilient, strong and safe families and communities.

We pride ourselves on pioneering and delivering ground-breaking, evidence-informed programs to children, young people and families. Everything we do is underpinned by our guiding principle of ‘HEART’ – Hope, Empowerment, Accountability, Respect and Trust - the values which bind our culture, purpose and vision.

Over the years, Kids First has partnered with thousands of families to bring about change and healing, strengthen family relationships and set children up for brighter futures.

We have child and family centres in Thomastown and Heidelberg and a growing network of early years centres based on our innovative early education and care model. We also operate The Orange Door in Heidelberg, which offers free services for adults, children and young people who are experiencing or have experienced family violence and families who need extra support with the care of children.

Our practitioners work across a full spectrum of community service engaging with parents, families, schools and referral partners through to providing one to one counselling and group programs for children and adults to overcome trauma.