Jessica Hipchen

Bethany Christian Services: Safe Families for Children

Bethany Christian Services of Winter Garden, Florida, is asking for $15,000 by October 2016 to support a part-time Recruitment/Training Coordinator position. This position focuses on teaching Coaches from within local churches to facilitate the placement of children with host families for the Safe Families for Children program.

The biological parents with whom Safe Families for Children (SFFC) work are often isolated from society with no knowledge of the resources available. These two factors often leave the parents feeling helpless, stressed, and frustrated, many times leading to 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. Children who enter the foster care system have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and neglect. They have been tossed around into multiple homes, having to readjust 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. Safe Families for Children is a preventative program that allows families to reach out for help before the situation gets to the point at which the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) intervenes.

SFFC 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, and any behavioral or medical 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 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 communities.

The Project Coordinator, Cheri Williams, has a Master’s Degree in public administration and is employed full time as the Branch Director at Bethany. She oversees SFFC to make sure that everything is functioning properly. Charlotte Cooper and Rosie Smith are SFFC’s case workers. Both have Master’s Degrees in social work and are employed full time at Bethany. They each complete half of the initial home studies and weekly home visits with the host families. Mae Brennan, the Recruitment/Training Coordinator, 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. This project is also supported by 50 volunteer Hosts, 7 volunteer Churches, 50 volunteer Friends, and 50 volunteer Coaches, all of whom are trained by Bethany Christian Services staff.

Specific outcomes for the biological parents that participate in this program are a decrease in feelings of isolation and an increase in access to services and a network of friends. Outcomes for children include maintaining a sense of normalcy and the ability to form a healthy attachment to their Safe Family. Host families feel supported and have the skills to care for the child. These outcomes are measured through the completion of several pre and post group tests and pre and post Safe Family home studies. We will also be attentive to process-oriented objectives. With the addition of the part time Recruitment/Training Coordinator, 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.

The total cost of this project is $38,500. To date we have received a total of $23,500 toward this total cost. This includes contributions from board members, other donors, and private donations. As we evaluate the impact of this new position, we believe the increases in families served and children reunited will demonstrate an impact expansion, bringing in additional support from the Winter Garden community. We will be completely sustainable with the financial assistance coming from our local supporters once the $15,000 is acquired.