Safe & Sound is part of a national movement to co-create a family and child well-being system, in partnership with communities, to keep children and families safely together.
What if, instead of relying on children to be resilient, we create a community— equipped with services and systems— that is more responsive to the needs of children and their families?
This well-being system would:
Protect kids with their families, not from their families.
Redefine safety as freedom from abuse and neglect—not freedom after abuse and neglect.
Create a world in which all children grow up safe and protected, living with their strong and loving family.
In California, close to a half-million children per year are reported for abuse and neglect, with only a small percentage of allegations confirmed. Additionally, data shows that nearly half of the allegations are general neglect, which may be the result of a family’s limited access to resources and support.
Less than 15% of child abuse and neglect reports to Child Protective Services were confirmed.
Once a report is made, these families are significantly more likely to be investigated for abuse and neglect, and are also more likely to have their children separated from them and placed in foster care.
Black, Native American, and Latinx familes are significantly more likely to be reported to child abuse hotlines as a result of implicit and explicit racial bias.