We Advocate

Safe & Sound works at the local, state, and national levels to develop systems that strengthen families and promote healing.

Activated and interconnected systems can help families thrive

In partnership with government and community organizations, we advocate for laws, policies, and practices that keep children safe and families together.

By working across multiple sectors of society we are bringing awareness to the individual and societal impact of child abuse, neglect, and trauma, addressing their underlying causes and creating a strong community that protects and nurtures children.

Here’s How We Are Advocating With Partners

We Are Building a Community Pathway for families to access the support they need

As the backbone agency for the San Francisco Family Services Alliance, and in partnership with its members, Safe & Sound strengthens the ability of FRCs and other community-based organizations to access public funding and build the infrastructure needed to support families effectively. Through the Family Services Alliance, we have helped family support organizations secure up to $500,000 annually in reimbursements via the Medi-Cal Administrative Activities (MAA) program. We are also guiding several FRCs through the process of becoming Medi-Cal providers under the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative, enabling them to receive reimbursement for Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports.
Safe & Sound is at the forefront of efforts to reimagine mandated reporting systems in California. In 2022, we authored the issue brief Creating a Child & Family Well-Being System: A Paradigm Shift from Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting, which laid out a roadmap to shift from a punitive, fear-based reporting model to a supportive, community-based approach.
Building on this foundation, we led the successful passage of California Assembly Bill 2085, which amended California law to ensure that poverty alone is not treated as “general neglect”—a critical step toward reducing the overreporting of low-income families, particularly those identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
As a core member and facilitator of the statewide Mandated Reporting to Community Supporting Task Force, Safe & Sound continues to drive systemic change, helping lead the development and implementation of 14 reform recommendations recently presented to the California Child Welfare Council. We are also working with Assemblymember Jackson on Assembly Bill 601, which proposes requiring more strengths-based and trauma-informed training for all mandated reporters in California and supporting Assembly Bill 970, which pilots a new model of reporting by providing mandated reporters with the tools to connect families, without true safety issues, to resources instead of reporting to child welfare.
In partnership with the San Francisco Human Services Agency’s Family and Children’s Services (FCS)—child welfare—FRCs, and other community-based organizations, we helped to develop the county-wide FFPSA Plan, which was approved by the State in 2023. We continue to act as the lead community organization in San Francisco’s FFPSA prevention planning and implementation process. Currently, 11 FRCs, including Safe & Sound, are part of the initial testing phase, which began in May 2023.

We Are Researching and Reporting to strengthen national responses to Adverse Childhood Experiences

In 2020 the Center for Youth Wellness, in partnership with the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (NJAAP), was awarded a $2.6MM grant from the Maternal & Child Health Bureau of the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to study and provide recommendations on guidelines for screening for ACEs and providing strengths-based interventions in a pediatric primary care setting. This grant culminated in a report to Congress submitted at the end of 2023, and a report from Safe & Sound in 2024 outlining the results of all three years of the grant. You can read more on the TASIE project webpage.

We are Collaborating to break down silos and build a better response system for families

Children’s Advocacy Center of San Francisco (CAC) is a collaboration of Safe & Sound and the City and County of San Francisco. It provides support for victims of child abuse and their families. It ensures children have the help and guidance they need to heal from the trauma they experienced, and that families receive the services they need to create a safe future without abuse. The CAC is for victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as neglect. Learn more about the CAC.

We lead San Francisco’s Child Abuse Prevention Council and co-lead the Council in Marin to bring together government and community leaders to create best practices on child abuse prevention and response. A key member of San Francisco’s Family Violence Council, Safe & Sound works with community organizations and city agencies focused on child abuse, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse to create a comprehensive picture of the violence transpiring within families in our community — and promote unified strategies to prevent it.