“The future depends on what you do today.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Each year, we support 12,000 of our region’s most vulnerable children, families, and older adults. We bring early learning to the zip codes that need it most, help families build a bridge over the safety net, and ensure older adults are thriving. Join us in strengthening our community by securing opportunity, financial stability, and wellness for all.
Early Learning
How do we prevent the zip code a child is born in from determining the quality of their future? At Peninsula Family Service, we believe the answer is early learning.
Our nine child development centers in San Mateo County provide quality preschool for 500 children whose families face extreme adversity. Despite homelessness, trauma, or financial instability, our parents remain dedicated to helping their children dream huge. That’s why we go beyond the classroom, uniting parents and educators through a comprehensive family engagement program to empower mothers and fathers as they become their children’s first teachers and strongest advocates.
We combine that support at home with a STEM-focused curriculum—science, technology, engineering, and math—in the classroom to cultivate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. By encouraging children to explore and ask questions, we ignite a lifetime love of learning and set the youngest members of our community on the path to limitless success.
To qualify, parents should be working, actively seeking employment, or unable to maintain employment due to illness or disability. Families should also demonstrate a gross montlhy household income that falls within our guidelines (e.g. less than $3,613 for a family of two or $5,314 for a family of four).
Fees for full and part-time care are based on household income levels (e.g. fees for a family of two range between $0 and $362 per month.)
Priority is given to:
- Families with household incomes at or below poverty level
- Families who are homeless, enrolled in SSI, CalWORKS or TANF
- Children in the foster care system
- Children with an IFSP or IEP
Need help applying? Call us at 650.403.4300 or send us an email
To achieve our goal of securing the right to opportunity for every child in our community, we concentrate our early learning efforts on the neighborhoods and populations that need it most. Our nine child development centers are located between Menlo Park and Daly City, with two centers dedicated to children living in transitional or emergency housing, and one for teen parents and their children.
Our programs focus on children ages 0-5 years old, a critical growth stage when more than 80 percent of their brain development occurs. We fuel that growth by providing nutritious meals—a healthy morning and afternoon snack, and lunch—connecting families to physical and behavioral health resources, and working one-on-one with parents to ensure their needs as a family-unit are met.
The result? Confident parents eager to take an active role in their children’s education and young boys and girls ready to take kindergarten—and life—by storm.
Our nine child development centers are located throughout San Mateo County. Click on the name of the center to learn more about it.
Financial Empowerment
Safety-net services provide vital resources for the hungry, the homeless, and the unemployed. But, what if instead of catching the fallen, we build a bridge over the safety net, one that offers people the support they need to achieve and maintain long-term financial stability?
At Peninsula Family Service we’re working to permanently break cycles of debt and vulnerability through financial workshops, credit-building tools, and alternatives to predatory lenders. Our multi-faceted financial empowerment program helps hard-working individuals navigate the extreme costs of living in our region. To maximize our impact, we collaborate with nonprofit partners, acting as a central hub to give participants unparalleled access to community resources.
Our research shows it’s working. Our participants are opening savings accounts, they’re qualifying for better loans with lower interest rates, their credit scores are improving, and the path to financial stability is becoming clearer than ever.
Interested in applying for one of our Financial Empowerment programs? Click the button below to fill out an application form. Once submitted, a member of our Financial Empowerment team will contact you to assist with the next steps in the process.
Have questions or need help applying? Call us at 650.403.4300 or send an email to info@peninsulafamilyservice.org
Peninsula Family Service takes a unique approach to improving the financial outlook of our community by getting to the root of instability. We focus our efforts on offering programs that build credit, increase assets, and improve financial literacy. These are not hand-outs, but hand-ups; tools that come alive when our participants apply their inspiring dedication and hard-work.
Our programs begin by laying a groundwork of financial education. Every year, we offer over 70 financial workshops to participants in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. With a strong foundation in place, we layer on credit and asset building opportunities through affordable car loans, no-interest peer lending, matched savings accounts, and pre-paid debit cards.
These programs are as much about building hope as they are about building bank accounts. With a financial plan in place, and approachable tools to see that plan through, our neighbors can confidently walk the path to financial stability.
Our Financial Empowerment programs are offered at our main office in San Mateo–24 Second Avenue, San Mateo–and our San Jose office–2635 N. First Street, Suite 248, San Jose.
Older Adult Services
Getting older may be inevitable, but no one should face the challenge of aging alone. Here at Peninsula Family Service, we believe togetherness is the key to living well at any age. That’s why our Older Adult Services help people stay connected to their community, their neighbors, and their passion for life.
To keep the shine in people’s golden years, we offer a wide array of services that break down the barriers to our vision of opportunity, financial stability, and wellness for everyone, at every age. From zumba classes at our activity center to peer counseling, we provide the tools our neighbors need to navigate their advancing years with ease.
Through our programs, we reduce rates of illness and injury, maintain mobility, promote independence, and ensure aging members of our community live better, together.
Our Older Adult Services each have unique qualification criteria and areas served. Click on the name of program you’re interested in to learn more and submit your online application.
Fair Oaks Adult Activity Center
Senior Peer Counseling
Transition of Care Programs**
**Please note, Transition of Care participants are identified by staff at our partner hospitals. Peninsula Family Service cannot accept applications for this program. Interested parties should contact hospital staff for enrollment information.
Sit in on our tai chi class and you might see a new face of strength, one full of character and a laugh line or two. The older adults in our program are strong, vibrant people, and they are tackling the challenges of aging thanks to our help.
Each of our programs provide older adults the tools they need to thrive. At our Fair Oaks Adult Activity Center, we offer fitness classes, nutritious meals, and a club for every interest. Our Senior Peer Counseling Program connects older adults with a volunteer counselor who makes weekly home-visits and we partner with local hospitals to coach older adults returning home after a hospitalization.
To sum it up, we do a lot of good for a lot of people in a lot of different ways.Through our diverse services, we’re able to personalize support and develop an individualized approach to help each older adult in our community thrive.
Our Older Adult Services are located throughout all four counties we serve: San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo. Click on the program for more information, including service locations.
24 Second Avenue