Our History

The history of Any Baby Can began in 1979 with CEDEN (Child and Family Resource Center) and Dr. Emily Vargas-Baron, a trailblazer in early childhood intervention and education.

MORE THAN 40 YEARS OF ANY BABY CAN

As our region grows, our agency also grows and adapts to serve more families and provide comprehensive services that range from healthcare and education to emotional support and basic needs.

Any Baby Can partners with families to build stability, develop skills, and unlock each child’s full potential. We believe strong families are at the core of thriving communities. All parents should feel supported, valued and empowered to ensure their children have the best chance at a bright future.

“Any Baby Can performs a huge service to the community and without our programs we’d see many more social problems. Any Baby Can employs some of the best early interventionists I have seen and worked with, and embodies the same passion and highly-skilled services.”

- Dr. Vargas-Baron

ANY BABY CAN THROUGH THE AGES

1979

Our Founding

In 1979, Dr. Vargas-Baron brought early childhood intervention (ECI) to Austin, making it one of the first cities in the United States—and the world—to offer ECI services, even before the program existed at the national level. Dr. Vargas-Baron designed and developed the home-based model that we still use at Any Baby Can. She was a trailblazer and the founder of CEDEN (Center for Development, Education and Nutrition) Family Resource Center.
1992

Any Baby Can Begins

In 1992, Any Baby Can of Austin begins serving the community after a Texas Department of State Health Services needs assessment determined that a significant population of children with special needs resided in the area. At the time, the annual operating budget was $120,000, we had 3 employees, and served 135 clients each year.
2000

CEDEN Mergers with Any Baby Can

On April 1, 2000, CEDEN Family Resource Center and Any Baby Can of Austin merge, forming the organization you know today. The merger capitalized on the strengths of both organizations to provide a continuum of services to children and families.
2002

No Estás Solo

Any Baby Can establishes No Estás Solo, a mental health counseling program.
2003

Candlelighters

Any Baby Can welcomes Candlelighters, a childhood cancer program.
2008

CHAT and Nurse-Family Partnership

Any Baby Can begins to offer Children's Hearing Aid Texas (CHAT) and Nurse-Family Partnership programs.
Our Healthy and Fair Start program adopts the Parents as Teachers model.
2015

New Location and Collaboration

Any Baby Can relocated to Sheridan Avenue and was awarded the City of Austin contract for the Ready Families Collaborative, a group of nonprofit organizations that provide home-visiting and parent education programs to support families of young children living in Austin.
2017

Program Expansion

Any Baby Can expands the service areas for Early Childhood Intervention, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Healthy and Fair Start.
2019

San Marcos Expansion

In January 2019 the San Marcos (The Village Main) office opened. Read more.
2020

Blanco, Bastrop and Hays Expansion

In February 2020, Any Baby Can opens a Blanco County office and Nurse-Family Partnership expands to Bastrop and Hays Counties. In addition, Any Baby Can’s Early Childhood Intervention expands its service area to include western Travis County.

Beginning in March 2020, the agency adopts telehealth practices to reduce barriers to health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022

Resumed In-Person Visits

With measures in place, we resumed in-person visits for families who need it most. We continue to offer hybrid options, which improve our reach, flexibility and service delivery.
2023

Where We Are Now

Any Baby Can operates with 160+ staff, $15+ million budget, and serves more than 3,400 clients each year.