Jessica Hipchen Bethany Christian Services: Safe Families for Children 1

Background/IntroductionBethany Christian Services is a 501c3 non-profit organization in Winter Garden, Florida. It works to assure that all children around the world have the opportunity to be a part of a loving, stable, and permanent family through providing family support and preservation, adoption, foster care, pregnancy counseling, training, and refugee services, as well as sponsorship and an infertility ministry. Founded 71 years ago as a single house for homeless children, Bethany Christian Services has expanded over the years to meet the needs of not only orphaned and vulnerable children, but also biological, adoptive, and foster parents. Today, Bethany Christian Services is the nation’s largest adoption agency, with 75 locations nationwide, as well as locations on five continents.

In order to meet the expansive needs of thousands of children and families who are in a time of crisis, Bethany Christian Services made the decision in 2000 to partner with Safe Families for Children, another 501c3 non-profit organization, that provides an alternative to foster care that helps parents who need to temporarily place their children with another family due to unmanageable or critical circumstances. Safe Families for Children works with adoption organizations and churches nationwide, creating access to a greater number of volunteers. A host family provides a loving and stable environment and serves out of a sense of compassion and love, giving the biological parents time to establish stability in their homes. Each volunteer family is assigned a coach who keeps track of information such as a change in address or phone number, employment, number of people living in the home, or any behavioral, medical, or other emergencies. Unlike foster care, volunteers of Safe Families for Children receive no compensation, and the biological parent(s) voluntarily seek their assistance. The volunteer family, biological parent(s), and child/children receive support before, during, and after the placement. Services provided depend on each family’s specific needs and range from rehab to financial management courses. These services are available due to the large network of providers within churches and the community.

With more families in need of assistance than there are trained families and coaches who are prepared to help, Bethany Christian Services would like to extend the opportunity for families to receive assistance from a coach. Thus, more coaches are needed, and we are seeking $15,000 to support a part time Recruitment/Training Coordinator focused on recruiting and training coaches from within churches for the Safe Families for Children program.

Statement of NeedThe parents with whom Safe Families for Children work are often isolated from society with no knowledge of the resources available. There is a positive correlation between isolation and child abuse. Parents who abuse and neglect their children were commonly abused and neglected as children themselves. The fact is, these parents simply do not know how to parent because they were not taught. With guidance and assistance from people in the community, these parents can work through these challenges and overcome them. Safe Families for Children does just that. It is a preventative program that allows families to reach out for help before the situation gets to the

Jessica Hipchen Bethany Christian Services: Safe Families for Children 2

point in which the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) intervenes. Since Safe Families for Children opened its doors in 2000, they have had the opportunity to place over 12,000 children in a home, as well as providing a network of resources to the parents. With over 400,000 children in the foster care system, it is clear that there is still a need for more Safe Families.

Children who enter the foster care system have experienced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect. They have been tossed around into multiple homes, having to interact each time not only with new families, but also new case workers. Without short and long term services, these children are likely to show the same negative behaviors throughout their lifetime, resulting in abuse and neglect being passed down through the generations. Our experience working with children and families in crisis has shown that when they are given access to resources, they are much more likely to utilize them, resulting in a positive reunification. Over 94% of children who enter the Safe Families for Children program return home, as compared with DFCS where less than 50% return to their families. The difference with Safe Families is not only the provision of resources for families, but also the positive outlook that both parents, volunteer families, and children have on the entire process. Safe Families is seen as a helping hand rather than a hand that takes away.

Currently, Bethany Christian Services has the resources to provide families with the connections to host families and resources within local churches, but does not have the capacity to continue to recruit and train Safe Families Coaches. This responsibility has been fulfilled by Bethany Christian Service’s staff in the past. With more families utilizing the program, the staff has recognized a need for a new position, a Recruitment/Training Coordinator, dedicated specifically to recruiting and training coaches to do the actual facilitation of the placements of children in to Safe Family homes. Without Safe Family Coaches to walk through the process with these volunteer families, the families cannot take in any children.

Objectives & CapacityBethany Christian Services is an organization which takes pride in self-evaluation. We know the importance of taking the time to take a step back and make sure that we are doing things as effectively and efficiently as possible, keeping in line with our mission, vision, and values. The overall goal of Safe Families for Children is to offer support in a time of need and reunite children with their families in a stronger home environment. An outcome for parents, volunteers, and children is cultivation of a positive view of the situation. Specific outcomes for biological parents are a decrease in feelings of isolation and an increase in access to services and a network of friends. An outcome for children includes an establishment of a healthy attachment to their Safe Family. These outcomes will be measured through the completion of several pre and post group tests and pre and post Safe Family home studies. The purpose of the home studies is to see the child’s interaction with the family at the beginning and end of their stay, focusing on attachment.

Jessica Hipchen Bethany Christian Services: Safe Families for Children 3

We will also be attentive to process-oriented objectives. We will increase the number of Safe Families by 20 per year, increase the number of Safe Families Coaches by 30 per year, and be open to feedback from parents, children, host families, Safe Family Churches, and Safe Family Friends. When children are placed back into their homes, parents will complete a survey about what they have learned through their process of working with the Safe Families for Children program and how they feel now that they have accomplished the task of being reunited with their family.

Bethany Christian Services has a history of partnering with other organizations to better offer services that fit the needs of communities. Not only have we worked with Safe Families for Children since 2003, but we have also been working alongside agencies in other countries in situations where children are without loving families. Bethany Global works to provide families through its Foster-to-Adopt program in countries with no previous tradition of adopting unrelated children. By partnering with local agencies, we ensure families are adequately equipped to care for foster and adoptive children so the entire family is strengthened. By mobilizing in-country partners, Bethany ministers to families in a sustainable and culturally appropriate way, helping to ensure that the positive outcomes can be maintained. It is this holistic approach that makes Bethany Global Services so innovative and so successful — and that makes Bethany such a trusted partner internationally.

ActivitiesSafe Families for Children’s curriculum and design is based on an original model in which biological parents maintain full custody. There is a commitment to reunite the family as soon as possible, with an average length of stay with the host family at six weeks. The volunteer families are extensively screened and supported, and there is a close working relationship among Safe Families, the local church, and the referring organization.

Children and families from all over the United States participate in this program. For the purposes of this project, we are focusing primarily on children and families from Winter Garden, Florida, as well as Kissimee, Ocoee, and Sanford, Florida. Many families are referred to us by members in the community, Safe Family Churches, and Safe Family Friends, or they come to us on their own. Currently there is one staff member of Bethany Christian Services of Winter Garden that facilitates the host families through the adoption process, also known as a Safe Family Coach. This person is the one notified if there are any changes in the host families basic information and will also support the family throughout the process. A case worker from Bethany Christian Services is responsible for completing a home visit with the family to allow the staff to get to know the family and make sure that the home is a safe place. Training is completed online, and all other parts of the process such as the background check/fingerprinting and letters of recommendation are the responsibility of the host families. The Coach notifies families when a child needs help. We request financial support for only one position noted above, a Recruitment/Training Coordinator, which will train volunteers in the community to

Jessica Hipchen Bethany Christian Services: Safe Families for Children 4

assist host families at no charge. The case management position is funded through existing resources. The remaining partners, Safe Family Friends and Churches, are completely voluntary and require no funding. With additional funding, we will be able to train more Coaches, making it possible to place more children with Safe Families.

We currently offer the services from a Coach to 50 families in Winter Garden and the surrounding areas. However, there are many more families that contact us on a daily basis who need our assistance with the Safe Families program. While we have identified a need for more Safe Family Coaches, we do not currently have the staff resources to provide these services. Funding will allow for a part-time staff member, the Recruitment/Training Coordinator, to recruit and train at least 30 new Safe Family Coaches per year so that waiting families can receive the services and help they need to provide a stronger home environment for their families.

EvaluationIn November and December 2015 and January 2016, we will recruit, screen, and assess Coaches. Training will take place in early February 2016 and by the end of February, Coaches will be trained and assigned to families. The second round of recruitments will be completed between March and May 2016. We will train this group of Coaches beginning early in June and they will have completed the training by the end of the month, followed by the assignment to families. The last recruitment of the year will take place between July and September 2016. Training will begin for this group in early October and will be completed by the end of the month, followed by the assignment to families. We expect 80% of all recruitments to complete training and 100% to be placed with a family within the first 6 months following the completion of training. Analysis of such statistics will document the success of the program.

Safe Families will also measure its success through pre and post group tests and home studies. A total of 95% of children, volunteers, and families in the Safe Families for Children program will have cultivated a positive view of the situation by the time the post-test is taken. A total of 90% of these children will have established a healthy attachment to their host families by the time of the post home study. A total of 100% of families will have a decrease in feelings of isolation, increase in access to services and a network of friends.

Success will also be measured by results in our process-oriented objectives. We will increase the number of Safe Families by 20 per year, increase the number of Safe Families Coaches by 30 per year, and be open to feedback from parents, children, host families, Safe Family Churches, and Safe Family Friends. When children are placed back into their homes, parents will complete a survey about what they have learned through their process of working with the Safe Families for Children program and how they feel now that they have accomplished the task of being reunited with their family.

Jessica Hipchen Bethany Christian Services: Safe Families for Children 5

Project BudgetPersonal ServicesName/Position Computation Cost Sources Mae Brennan $15/hr x 1000 hrs $15,000 GrantRecruitment/Training CoordinatorMae has a master’s degree in counseling and is employed part-time as a counselor at Agape Counseling Services. She will be responsible for recruiting and training Coaches to facilitate the placements of children into Safe Family Homes. Grant funds would pay for recruitment and training time.

Charlotte Cooper $15/hr x 520 hrs $7,800 Other grantCase WorkerCharlotte has a master’s degree in social work and is employed full time as a Case Worker at Bethany Christian Services. She completes half of the initial home studies and weekly home visits with the host families. Another grant funds her salary.

Rosie Smith $15/hr x 520 hrs $7,800 Other grantCase WorkerRosie has a master’s degree in social work and is employed full time as a Case Worker at Bethany Christian Services. She completes half of the initial home studies and weekly home visits with the host families. Another grant funds her salary.

Cheri Williams $20/hr x 260 hrs $5,200 Other grantProject CoordinatorCheri has a master’s degree in public administration and is employed full time as the Branch Director at Bethany Christian Services. She oversees Safe Families for Children to make sure that everything is functioning properly. Another grant funds her salary.

Sub Total $35,800

Operating CostsPurpose Computation Cost Source Supplies $300 x 100% $300 Other GrantSupplies include paper, ink, and pens.

Space $50 x 16 hrs x 3 $2,400 value ChurchDonated space for Coach training sessions

Sub Total $2,700Total for All Categories $38,500Grant Funds $15,000Other Sources/Donations $23,500

Jessica Hipchen Bethany Christian Services: Safe Families for Children 6

*This project is also supported by 50 volunteer Hosts, 7 volunteer Churches, 50 volunteer Friends, and 50 volunteer Coaches who combined donate 12,780 hours annually.