SLO County children’s center saved from closure threat — for now
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Martha’s Place will continue operations through June 2026 with temporary funding.
- The center avoids closure despite $38.3 million in SLO County budget reductions.
- Officials plan to explore long-term funding as health programs face deeper cuts.
Editor’s Note: This story mentions suicide.
San Luis Obispo children’s center Martha’s Place was one of multiple local nonprofits facing closure amid massive county budget cuts — but the facility has gotten a one-year reprieve thanks to a temporary funding source.
Martha’s Place, located at 2925 McMillan Ave Suite 108, is a San Luis Obispo County Health Agency program that provides both medical care and therapy to families and infants up to 5 years old who were prenatally exposed to drugs and alcohol, have experienced abuse or trauma and have behavioral and developmental problems.
Anthony Huffaker, a family therapist and the behavioral health program supervisor at Martha’s Place, said that early intervention is “vital,” for children who have experienced trauma or abuse.
“Many aspects of child development unfold in a time-specific way,” Huffaker told The Tribune. “Various traumas and missed opportunities that occur in infancy and early life interfere with this process and are harder to correct later. ... Martha’s Place is vital to help these very young children — birth to age 5 years old— reclaim their ability to attach and form healthy relationships with others.”
The center is named for the granddaughter of former county Supervisor Shirley Bianchi, Martha Johnston, who had neurological problems from prenatal alcohol exposure and died by suicide when she was 11, according to previous Tribune reporting.
It is also the only program in the county offering combined public and behavioral health services for a multidisciplinary approach to addressing young children’s and families’ needs, Huffaker said.
The center serves between 200 and 300 children a year and supports local families who are low-income, uninsured or on Medi-Cal.
“Without Martha’s Place, these children and their caregivers would have very few opportunities to learn how to improve their connection with each other and make their lives happier and more productive.”
Martha’s Place avoids closure amid county budget cuts
In order to avoid brutal budget deficits in years to come, SLO County was tasked with trimming $38.3 million and 168 jobs from next year’s budget — and county health services faces the deepest cuts.
Martha’s Place was originally slated to close its doors as a part of the proposal to cut $9.1 million and over 100 positions from the county health department. Closing the children’s center would’ve saved the county $849,613 and resulted in the loss of three full-time employees and one part-time clinician, according to the recommended budget and a public hearing notice regarding the cuts.
The hearing will be held during the upcoming Board of Supervisor’s meeting on Tuesday. In total, 14 county public and behavioral health program are proposed to be reduced or eliminated, resulting in $7.7 million savings for the county.
If closed, Martha’s Place’s services would have continued at three other locations across the county, according to the notice.
But according to the county, it found the money to keep the children’s center running for one more year.
“Our services are going to continue,” SLO County Behavioral Health Public Information Officer Caroline Schmidt told The Tribune.
Martha’s Place will remain physically open at its current location and services will be offered through the end of fiscal year 2025-26, Schmidt said.
Schmidt said the county identified a “one-time funding source” for the center, which is temporary for one year, until June 30, 2026. She said the coming year could be seen as a “transitional year” to prepare for being defunded in fiscal year 2026-27.
“In the meantime, we’re working really hard to explore other avenues and funding sources” to keep Martha’s Place open into the future, Schmidt said.
All decisions will become final at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, pending approval from the Board of Supervisors at its budget hearing set for June 9-11.
This story was originally published June 2, 2025 at 2:10 PM.
