Safe Families for Children-Greater St. Louis Area

Safe Families for Children provides temporary care for children with volunteer host families when their parents are navigating a crisis. Unfortunately, we are not able to support every parent in need due to a limited number of host families. Could you help fill in the gap?

Below are two of the families we recently had to turn away:
- 3&5 year old siblings needing care for 30 days so their parent could stabilize employment and pay rent to avoid eviction
- A 1yr old needing care for a few days so their mom could have a mental health break.

Ready to open your home to a child and help a parent keep their family together? Learn more and inquire at bethany.org/sffc today!

Did you know May is National Foster Care Month?
When people hear about Safe Families, it is often quickly compared to Foster Care. It does sound pretty similar! Both foster parents and host families care for children in their homes when their families are unable to.
At Safe Families, we think it's important to recognize the differences as we strive to focus on Foster Care prevention. Over the next few weeks, we'll outline some of those differences, but in the meantime, take a look at a snapshot of differences below!

Looking for a way to make an incredible difference in a child's life?
Our Safe Families volunteers are driven by radial hospitality to keep children safe and families together. If that sounds like something you want to be apart of, join us at one of our upcoming info meetings!
We'll spend just 1 hour sharing the history of Safe Families, how volunteering works, and next steps. Click the link below to register!

Events in St. Louis, MO Find events in St. Louis, MO.

We had such a wonderful time at our luncheon this past Tuesday! Thank you to all the Pastors and Community leaders who attended to learn more about Bethany's programs, including Safe Families.

Weren't able to come, but want to connect? Reach out to our Community Engagement Coordinator, Madison, at [email protected]

We believe prevention is the answer to fewer children entering the foster care system. Up to 70% of child welfare cases are due to neglect, which is often tied to poverty and a lack of basic needs, causing instability and vulnerability.

If we want fewer children in foster care, we have to start early. That means providing stability when it matters the most.

Not a removal.
Not a placement.
Not an investigation.

At Safe Families for Children, we recognize that facing life alone as a parent is hard. That is why we connect families with locally vetted volunteers who walk alongside them, offering a network of relationships and resources to stand in the gap and help them get back on their feet.

Because if we do not stabilize families before a crisis turns into the trauma of family separation, the foster care systems will always struggle to find enough homes for children.

Safe Families for Children seeks to relieve an overwhelmed child welfare system by supporting families before crises lead to separation. National estimates indicate that around 37% of children will face a child-welfare investigation by age 18. About three in four substantiated maltreatment reports involve neglect, and national data show that fewer than half of children exiting foster care reunify with their birth parent or primary caregiver.

Many children remain in care for more than two years, with the average stay nearing 20–22 months. These investigations and removals reflect a system struggling to respond to deep social and economic inequities. Children placed in foster care often experience multiple moves, disrupted relationships, and poorer educational, social, and emotional outcomes.

Safe Families provides an alternative path—one that surrounds parents with caring volunteers and practical support before crisis leads to removal. When parents are supported, and children are safe, families stay together, communities grow stronger, and the public system can focus its attention where it is needed most.

There are so many reasons people volunteer with Safe Families, but we thought we'd list a few we hear most often from those who help keep children safe and families supported.🩵

What's your reason? Share it in the comment section!

Learn more at https://bit.ly/3OX3kMx to join the Safe Families movement!

Save the date!
We'd love to serve you lunch on April 28th! Come here about Safe Families for children and other ways we can partner with you at Bethany.
For more information and to RSVP: bethany.org/llstlouis

Every month, Safe Families for Children serves hundreds of low-income families — most led by single parents doing everything they can to keep their children safe and their families together.

Child poverty has tripled to 13% since the pandemic, and many families may soon lose access to essential SNAP (food assistance) benefits. These circumstances will leave parents wondering how they will feed their children or keep a roof over their heads. In the coming days, some parents will face impossible choices: pay rent or buy groceries. No family should ever have to choose between stability and hunger.

This is where Safe Families comes in! We walk alongside families, providing both resources and relationships that create a Circle of Support to help parents get back on their feet. We want every family to have a support network to count on!

To learn more, go to bethany.org/sffc to learn how you can get involved in helping keep families supported!



https://bit.ly/4qx2RB1

U.S. Child Poverty Triples to 13%, Casey Foundation Reports U.S. child poverty nearly tripled to 13% in 2024, a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report finds, showing public policies can cut the rate by half.