Our Story

What started in 2003 in Chicago, IL with Dave and Karen Anderson opening their heart and home to host children, has blossomed into a global movement to keep children safe and families together. Safe Families for Children (SFFC) is an evidence-based, community-driven model that seeks to reframe how families are cared for and supported when facing challenging circumstances. The goal is to provide a safe and innovative alternative for isolated parents, building strong, resilient families for every local community.

Keeping Families Together

The Safe Families for Children movement was launched in Chicago. Our goal, then and now, is to engage families through faith communities to open their homes to care for vulnerable children. Since then, we’ve had nearly 7,000 children placed into 1,400 Host Family homes. We currently have more than 1,200 Host Families opening their homes to more than 1,000 children each year in the Chicagoland area. Seventy-five percent of children placed are under 6 years old. Over 98% of the kids return to their parents or a relative designated to take over.

The task of helping many families in vulnerable life situations to keep their children safer is immense. Thankfully, the Chicago area and Safe Families churches and volunteers have many dedicated partners who serve in both public and private agency capacities, often addressing specific life vulnerabilities such as homelessness, child welfare, education, domestic violence, mental health, and many more.

Our Objectives

Family Support & Stabilization

Many isolated parents struggle because of limited informal social supports and an unavailable extended family. The Circle of Support becomes the extended family needed to support both parents and children in stabilizing their families.

Child Welfare Deflection

The Circle of Support is intended as a preventive measure. Our volunteers provide temporary housing for children, giving parents the space they need to work through a crisis, allowing them to parent well, keep their families together, and avoid the foster care system.

Child Abuse Prevention

Providing an overwhelmed and under-resourced parent with a safe, temporary place for their children without threat of losing custody, along with a Circle of Support to help navigate the crisis situation and avert potential abuse/neglect episodes.

Our Core Values

We open our hearts, our hands, and our homes. We welcome strangers into our lives to find community, hope, and belonging. Staff and volunteers are willing to host and serve others, being role models as the hands and feet of Christ.

God’s generosity is evidenced all around us. Generous people are selfless, redemptive, and sacrificial, freely giving of their time, talents, treasure, and words. Giving to others helps us tangibly practice trusting in God rather than our riches or belongings.

Fuelled by mercy, we are moved to see and act to help those in need. Compassion allows us to “see” those in need and motivates us to respond with the love of Christ. Compassion means to “suffer with” and includes a desire to help alleviate that suffering.