($100 Bills with Bow - KIWA Staff Photo)Orange City, Iowa (Sioux County Radio) — Crittenton Center, which operates child care and preschool services in Orange City, has been awarded a $5 million federal grant to expand support services for children and families across Siouxland.
The funding will be provided over five years through the Children’s Bureau’s Regional Partnership Grant program. Crittenton’s Families Anchor Meaningful Solutions, or FAMS HUB, project aims to serve approximately 300 families.
The project will focus on families with children from birth through age 18 who are involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in, the child welfare system, particularly those affected by parental substance use.
Services will include family support, parenting education, behavioral health services, substance use interventions, and connections to community resources. The effort is designed to help families build stability, strengthen relationships, and receive assistance before challenges reach a crisis point.
Crittenton Center CEO Kim Scorza said the funding will help improve coordination between service providers and ensure families have access to support when they need it, rather than waiting until problems become more serious.
Crittenton will lead the project in partnership with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and Sky Ranch Behavioral Services. The organizations will work together to improve access to prevention, early intervention, and treatment services throughout the region.
The organization already has a presence in Sioux County through its Orange City Child Development Center. Crittenton began operating child care and preschool services there in September 2024 through a partnership with the Early Childhood Development group, which includes the cities of Orange City and Alton, the MOC-Floyd Valley School District, and Orange City Area Health System.
The grant is Crittenton’s second award through the Regional Partnership Grant program. The organization has served Iowa families since 1895 and provides services that include child card, preschool, family resource centers, emergency shelter, foster care programming, and homelessness outreach.
