Founded in 2002, the COMPASS Family Center was originally conceived as a program out of the University of San Diego (USD). COMPASS Founder, Dr. Moisés Barón, is the Assistant Vice President for Student Wellness at USD. He also has a son with autism.

Dr. Barón partnered with Margaret Dalton, Esq., Director of USD's Legal Clinics and Mary Baker-Ericzén, a Research Scientist at the Child and Adolescent Research Services Center at Children's Hospital and also a clinical psychologist, to conceptualize and implement a program dedicated to providing family-centered supports for those caring for children with special needs. Originally called the Center for Families of Children with Special Needs (CFCSN), the center changed its name to COMPASS Family Center in 2006.

In 2006, COMPASS also became an academic center of USD's School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES). At the direction of COMPASS' Strategic Development Committee, the center's leadership decided to create a separate non-profit entity to provide the same services that it had been providing through USD.

COMPASS still maintains an academic center, COMPASS at USD, and will continue to provide trainings through USD. All other services and administration are run out of the new non-profit entity: the COMPASS Family Center.

Find out more about services offered.