The Children's Center Utah

Established in 1962, The Children’s Center Utah’s mission is to provide comprehensive mental health care to enhance the emotional well-being of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families.  

The Children’s Center Utah was founded by Dr. Agi Plenk, who was among the earliest practitioners to recognize the need for specific interventions, including group therapy, for young children with mental health needs. Dr. Plenk dedicated herself to training her team specifically in infant and early childhood mental health, providing children with the tools they need to be successful socially and emotionally. The Children’s Center Utah remains the only organization in Utah providing trauma-informed, research-based mental health services exclusively to infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their caregivers and families. We provide services regardless of any family’s ability to pay.  

For more than 60 years, The Children’s Center Utah has identified best practices and implemented leading modalities to provide the highest quality mental health services. Over time, our role has expanded to include providing consultation, training, and coaching for early childhood providers from a variety of backgrounds and public awareness efforts. Recognized as experts in the field of children’s mental health, The Children’s Center Utah’s multidisciplinary team of licensed clinicians provides compassionate, professional care that early childhood providers and others statewide seek out as a trusted resource. We collaborate with dozens of community partners to support high-quality mental health care for children and families.

Generous supporters, dedicated clinicians, and dynamic collaborative partnerships strengthen our efforts to improve early childhood mental health through Center-Based Clinical Services, including Outpatient Clinical Services and the Therapeutic Preschool Program; Statewide Provider Services, including Early Childhood Consultation, Training, and Coaching; and Capacity Building Work, including Workforce Development and Public Awareness and Program/Policy Development.