Between financial insecurity and increasing rates of homelessness, it is increasingly important to have services in place that can help struggling families not only get back on their feet, but stay there as well. 

The 2025 readers’ choice Best of the County winner is Canal Alliance (pictured above). For the rest of the Marin Magazine‘s Best of Marin County Family Services picks see below.

Our 2025 Philanthropy category sponsor is Marin Community Foundation. View the rest of the Philanthropy category here.

We’ve broken it down by region: Central and Northern Marin.

Central Marin

Adopt a Family

San Rafael

As the name would imply, Adopt a Family protects struggling families by, in their words “putting an arm around them.” For over 30 years, they’ve been working tirelessly to prevent homelessness, through rehousing services, emergency food assistance, utility payments and even providing holiday gifts.

55 Mitchell Blvd # 20, San Rafael, 415.456.7805

Canal Alliance

San Rafael

Since 1982, Canal Alliance has partnered with Latino immigrants and their families to best meet their needs and support their goals — from putting food on the table and to becoming U.S. citizens, to learning English and graduating from college

91 Larkspur St, San Rafael, 415.454.2640

Marin CASA

San Rafael

Marin CASA empowers trained volunteers to advocate for abused, neglected, or abandoned children in the Marin County Juvenile Court System. Committed to every child’s right to safety and a loving family, Marin CASA works to ensure all youth have the opportunity to thrive here in Marin.

1401 Los Gamos Dr Ste 130, San Rafael, 415.785.3862

Marin Foster Care Association

San Rafael

The Marin Foster Care Association started in 2003 as a chapter of the California State Foster Parent Association, and then in 2015 became an independent nonprofit. Going through the foster system can be one of the most stressful experiences that can happen to a child, and the Marin Foster Care Association wants to turn that time into an opportunity to heal.

55 Mitchell Blvd #2, San Rafael, 415.507.0557

Postpartum Support Center

San Rafael 

The PPSC works to aid new parents and mothers in need of assistance with perinatal mental health issues. The center helps new and expecting parents by reducing stress and building effective support systems with direct counseling and group social supportive services. 

4162 Redwood Hwy, San Rafael, 415.320.6707

Northern Marin

Gilead House

Novato

The warm halls of Gilead House have welcomed over a hundred women and their children since it opened in 1999. The group provides an environment that actually feels like a real home, and for many children is the first stable home they’ve ever had.

1024 7th St, Novato, 415.895.5575

Sparkle Foundation

Novato

In 2003, founder Samantha Tradelius committed herself to making a difference for children and parents struggling to make ends meet, eventually opening up the Sparkle Foundation in 2016. They’re helping to bring a sparkle back into people’s lives, whether that’s through giving a mother a basket of groceries or a child a birthday present.

448 Ignacio Blvd #128, Novato, 415.552.5600

Miscellaneous Locations

Make It Home

County-wide

For those who have been homeless for years, even once they get a house, something as simple as a set of pots and pans or a nice sofa can be unaffordable. Make It Home seeks to remove that uncomfortable empty-apartment feeling by providing furniture and household goods to those formerly in crisis.

415.578.3205

North Bay Children’s Center

County-wide

Early education is key to providing a stable economic future, and the North Bay Children’s Center works to ensure that all children have access to those much-needed early education opportunities.

Multiple locations, 415.883.6222

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