Richard Hess,
President/CEO
Pasco Kids First, Inc.
New Port Richey, Florida
Message from Our President & CEO
I am pleased and so very proud to be associated with an organization that has done such amazing work through the efforts of a tremendously dedicated staff for over 25 years. We truly care about the mission we’ve assumed of helping the community become a safer place for kids and a place where parents can get the help and support they need to raise their children in strong families. That is what we do: we help keep kids safe and we help strengthen families.
I hope you’ll find everything you want to know about us on this website, but if you want to know more about us, I hope you’ll contact me. You can reach me by phone at (727)845-8080 or by email at rhess@pascokidsfirst.org.
Rick Hess
President & CEO
Pasco Kids First Building in New Port Richey
Who Are We?
Pasco Kids First is a private, not-for-profit organization headquartered in New Port Richey, FL. Originally founded in 1989 as the Pasco Family Protection Team, the goal of the program was to provide objective, accurate assessments for children who had been allegedly physically or sexually abused or neglected. While that remains an important goal of our Child Protection Team program, we have taken on the additional goals of assisting new parents in providing nurturing environments for their children through our Healthy Families Pasco-Hernando program as well as providing therapy services by licensed, Master’s level therapists to those children traumatically affected by significant physical or sexual abuse through our Trauma Treatment Program serving clients in both Pasco and Hernando counties.
We are committed to continuing to advocate for the best interests of children through our work as a fully accredited Children’s Advocacy Center. We continue to seek out and establish partnerships and collaborations with other organizations in order to best serve that goal in our communities. We welcome your support of our mission.
Our Mission
It is our mission is to keep kids safe, strengthen families through empowerment and enhance our community by preventing child abuse and healing children from trauma.
Rick Hess (on left) accepting the “2013 Nonprofit Organization of the Year” award from Mr. Bruce Miller (on right) from the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce
Strengthening Our Communities by Strengthening Families
For over 25 years, the community has counted on Pasco Kids First to provide services that are helpful, timely and accurate in responding to the needs that exist. We’ve made a tremendous difference in the lives of many Pasco and Hernando children and families and take the responsibility of assisting them in leading safer, more rewarding lives very seriously.
We partner with and receive financial support from the Florida Department of Health, the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, the office of the Attorney General, the Florida Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, Pasco County, and the United Way of Pasco County. We also receive significant support from caring individuals, corporations and small businesses, local service organizations and the community-at-large who support our mission of creating a safer community for children and a stronger community that assists its families in fulfilling their responsibilities to their children.
Under the strong guidance of a local Board of Directors made up of leading, local citizens, we have a strong history of managing the funds that come to us with the utmost of care and fiscal responsibility. Our annual audited financial statements make it clear that the organization is fiscally sound and operates with very low administrative costs meaning that we do the maximum amount of quality services to kids and families at the lowest cost possible. Our IRS form 990 is publically available as well as being published on this website and our audited financial statements are always available upon request.
We would welcome your help in providing donations of any amount that will help us to help as many kids and families as possible. Donations made to Pasco Kids First, Inc., a 501 (c) 3 organization, are fully tax-deductible.
