Program areas at SFCAPC
Strategic partnerships & policy - Safe & Sound's strategic partnerships & policy program focuses on enhancing services for children and caregivers by establishing and strengthening partnerships across the city. This includes supporting numerous policies and advocacy efforts that address critical issues such as child abuse prevention, nutrition investments, and tax credits for families. A key aspect of our efforts is leading the san francisco family resource center (frc) alliance, which brings together 40+ frcs and child-serving agencies that collectively support over 40,000 children and caregivers across the city. Through the frc alliance, Safe & Sound champions investment in frcs and actively advocates for budget allocations that significantly support family services. As a backbone organization, Safe & Sound plays a central role in the planning and implementation of initiatives like the family first prevention services act (ffpsa), collaborating with frcs and community-based organizations to provide essential upstream support for families and reduce involvement with the child welfare system. Safe & Sound is also the backbone agency of the children's advocacy center of san francisco (cac), which facilitated 133 forensic interviews last year, where a multidisciplinary team of medical, mental health, law enforcement, and legal professionals are there to help children and families by providing a trauma-informed best-in-class single forensic interview and referrals to the follow up care the child and family need to heal after cases of abuse. In 2022, the collective efforts of the team resulted in the engagement of 23 partnerships, and the enaction, adoption, or refinement of 33 agreements, policies, and procedures.
Community education & partnerships - Safe & Sound's community education & partnerships, in collaboration with the san francisco unified school district, focuses on child safety awareness training for both students and child-serving adults. The program empowers children to advocate for their safety and emphasizes to adults the understanding of responsibilities as mandated reporters and fostering action when child abuse is suspected, as well as advocating for necessary changes to the child welfare field. Additionally, Safe & Sound leads essential services for families with young children exposed to violence through the Safe start and sunset family resource collaboratives. Their communities of care (coc) project extends this work, aiming to prevent child abuse and maintain family strength through a collaborative, evidence-based framework. The coc model incorporates protective factor training and assessments, fostering a data-informed approach to enhance support for families through community partnerships. In 2022, we provided 5,857 children and child-serving adults with child safety awareness or mandated reporter training, and trained 2,728 providers with trauma-informed systems principles.
Children & family services - Safe & Sound's children & family services offers comprehensive trauma-informed interventions and direct, wrap-around services to improve the well-being of children, families, and communities affected by child abuse, neglect, trauma, and adverse childhood experiences. The program employs an intergenerational approach, empowering parents and children through early, focused interventions to disrupt the cycle of abuse. Services include a therapeutic children's playroom, parent and child education, a 24/7 parental stress talk line, concrete needs support, and integrated family services aimed at assessing protective factors and delivering tailored, evidence-based interventions to families in at-risk situations. In 2022 we provided in-person support, parenting education, support groups, skills workshops, and community events to 2,963 participants, and intensive services to 250 individuals.