The Children’s Center of Transylvania County works to protect children, strengthen families, and build a more resilient community through frontline prevention services for child abuse, neglect, family violence, and trauma. The need in Transylvania County is significant: the county’s child maltreatment report rate of 65.8 per 10,000 children is well above the statewide rate of 42.3 per 10,000, underscoring the importance of accessible, early intervention services.
At the core of the Center’s work is a supervised visitation and safe exchange program, which provides a neutral, trauma-informed environment for families navigating high conflict, domestic violence, or court-ordered involvement. In 2025, the Center facilitated 279 DSS-related foster care visits, serving 256 adults and 383 children, and provided 55 supervised visitation sessions for families across Transylvania, Buncombe, Henderson, and Polk counties. The Nurturing Parenting Program supported 41 adults and positively impacted 54 children, while emergency assistance reached 698 family units — distributing more than $65,000 in crisis-aversion resources including rent support, utility assistance, and eviction prevention. An additional 94 gas vouchers helped ensure families could access essential services despite the transportation barriers common in rural Western North Carolina.
Lake Toxaway Charities is proud to support the Children’s Center’s core operations, including staff salaries, facility costs, and insurance — the infrastructure that makes all of these programs possible. The Center partners closely with DSS, the courts, schools, and local organizations including SAFE, The Family Place, Vaya Health, Pisgah Legal, and El Centro to ensure families have coordinated access to housing, behavioral health, legal support, and culturally responsive services.
Volunteer Opportunities:
- Board Members
- Nurturing Parenting Program Mentors
- Grant Writers
- Office Assistance (weekly or fill-in)
- Fundraising Events
- Special Projects
Contact: Jody Tracht (jody.childrenscenter@gmail.com)
https://www.childrenscenteroftc.org/
