Kindred Partners

Kindred Partners administers the safe families for children program in the greater portland Oregon area. Encouraging, supporting and mobilizing the local church to host children of families in crisis. Safe families for children equips the local church to stand upstream of child abuse and neglect and to keep families together. Safe families for children provides a safety net for families in crisis through church mobilization. Through Kindred Partners' safe families for children program, the local church in the greater portland area hosted children of families in crisis for 1,150 nights, in addition to day hostings.

The sffc program served 267 children and supported over 150 families in 2023. In addition to hosting, Kindred Partners' staff Partners with local social services providers to connect vulnerable families to critical resources. This has been accomplished through direct service and coaching from staff, through training and deploying of volunteers from the local church, and also through forming collaborative relationships with local churches and nonprofit Partners. Kindred Partners mobilized hundreds of volunteers to surround families in crisis in the greater portland area. Additionally, in october 2023, Kindred Partners expanded to marion and polk counties.

Safe families for children in greater portland continued to serve vulnerable families. Our volunteers completed 267 hostings in 2023. These community-based hosting arrangements kept children safe and deflected children from entering foster care. Sffc has an average length of stay of one month, versus two years in foster care. Over 90% of children served through sffc return home, versus 50% of children served through foster care. Sffc can serve ten children through community-based hostings for the same cost as the state of Oregon pays to serve one child.