DIRECTOR
Lori Cox
executive.director@familysupportcenter.org
LOCATION
3663 South 3600 West
West Valley, UT 84119
(801) 967-4259
Monday-Friday: 8:00am - 4:00pm
To schedule the nursery during regular business hours, please call 385-231-1209
To schedule the nursery for a crisis after regular business hours, please call 801-635-8510
The Family Support Center - West Valley Crisis Nursery
The Family Support Center began in 1977 through a collaboration between the Junior League of Salt Lake City and the Utah Association for Children's Therapy (U-ACT). The founding project was the Crisis Nursery located in Sugar House. It was established in response to a pressing need for short-term crisis and respite care for children at risk for abuse or neglect. Since 1977, the Nursery program has expanded to include 2 additional locations in Midvale and West Valley City. Over the years, the Family Support Center has carefully changed, added, and expanded programs to meet the dynamic needs of our community.
Services Offered
Crisis Nursery Services
The Family Support Center is happy to offer free emergency care for children ages 0-11 to help parents who are overwhelmed. We provide this service in three locations throughout the Salt Lake Valley: Sugar House, West Valley, and Midvale locations.
About the Center
Meet the Director
Lori Cox, MACL, brings over two decades of experience across media research, higher education, and nonprofit leadership. She began her career at Nielsen Media Research, where she worked in media research from 2000 to 2008. Lori then transitioned into higher education program management, serving at both the University of Utah and Westminster College in Salt Lake City from 2008 to 2016, where she led Graduate and Executive Leadership programs.
In 2017, Lori moved into nonprofit leadership as an Executive Director, specializing in strengthening and restructuring Head Start programs that needed organizational and operational support. She served as Head Start programs in both Nevada and Utah from 2017 to 2024.
In September 2024, Lori joined The Family Support Center as its Executive Director. She is deeply passionate about teaching leadership, discovering potential in others, and helping individuals and organizations reach their full potential.
History & Impact
The Family Support Center began in 1977 through a collaboration between the Junior League of Salt Lake City and the Utah Association for Children's Therapy (U-ACT). The founding project was the first Crisis Nursery in Utah, located in Sugar House. It was established in response to a pressing need for short-term crisis and respite care for children at risk of abuse or neglect. Since 1977, the Nursery program has expanded to include two additional locations in Midvale and West Valley City.
Over the years, the Family Support Center has carefully added, expanded, and refined programs to meet the dynamic needs of our community. Some programs have come and gone in response to community needs and funding; however, one has stayed since 2003: LifeStart Village.
Life Start Village is a self-sufficiency program for single parents with a housing component. We house 39 single-parent families and enroll them in parenting, financial, life skills, and other important educational programs to help them develop the skills needed for successful transitions. Families may stay with us for up to five years as they transition back into their communities and into long-term or permanent housing.
Education, resources, and support are very important to our clients and our communities, so our newest program is the Family Support Center PERKS program (Parent Engagement, Resources, Knowledge, and Support). It provides ongoing parent education, opportunities for parent engagement, and connections to community resources to support family success.