The "Why"
of Safe FamiliesOutlining The
Problem
%
of children in foster care are removed for preventable causes, such as a lack of resources and poverty, not abuse.
%
of families reported to the social services hotline lack social connections and live in isolation.
%
of children entering the foster care system are never reunified with their parents.
Be A Part of the Solution
Our child welfare system is overwhelmed with too few licensed foster families and limited resources to help parents in their moments of greatest need. Too many families face hardship alone, isolated, and without a caring community to support them or bridge the gap when life gets unmanageable. Meanwhile, $31.4 billion each year is spent in child welfare services, yet families continue to struggle and children are caught in the middle. We need to think differently!
Many families, even when they are doing ‘all the right things,’ are just one crisis away from major instability in their lives. Under-resourced and under-served communities leave families in the throes of homelessness, unemployment, incarceration, substance abuse recovery, and other crises related to poverty without the resources and support to care for their children. These children are then at risk for trauma, abuse, and neglect.
The foster care system is overloaded with an estimated 438,000 youth, and the number of incoming children is outpacing the existing number exiting, with 270,000+ children entering every year, more than half of which are never reunited with their families.
The prevailing approach to supporting this population is not working, and the situation is only getting worse. 37 percent of children across the US will be subjected to a child welfare investigation before their 18th birthday, and over 50 percent of black children will be reported. On average, a child placed into the foster care system will spend 20 months rotating between multiple homes.
Safe Families for Children works with isolated families who are on the edge of government intervention before family separation, but also moves upstream to help families before they come to the attention of child welfare involvement.
While there has been significant movement for the church to foster children, we believe there should be a holistic approach to serving this vulnerable population, which is why early prevention should become a higher priority. We believe that when parents are supported, children can thrive.
Keeping families together
The Goal
The adverse effects on children caught up in the system are devastating and tragic:
Contact Us
To find the chapter closest to you, click "Locations" in the menu.
Safe Families for Children, National Office
4300 W. Irving Park Road
Chicago, IL 60641
info@safefamilies.net
Tel: 773-653-2200 | Fax: 773-355-5564
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