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Organization: Exchange Club CASTLE Program Name: Safe Families Funder: Children ' s Services Advisory Committee RFP #6067 C . PROGRAM DESCRIPTION (Entire Section C, I — 6, not to exceed two pages) 1 . List Priority Needs area addressed. : Focus Area II : Parental Support and Education 2 . Briefly describe program activities including location of services . 1 . Upon receiving a referral, a counselor visits the family, and assesses the need for home-based parent education (Safe Families) . This is accomplished through interview, observation, and completion of an initial needs assessment. To avoid duplication or overlap with other service providers, a review is done of all services being offered to the family. When necessary, and with consent, other service providers are contacted in order to coordinate services to the family. If eligible for Safe Families , the family will begin a program of regular visits, and a family plan, including specific goals, will be developed. The family is an active participant in this process, collaborating on the initial plan for services . 2 . Once a family plan is developed, the counselor makes weekly visits to address the family plan goals . Weekly visits take place for up to one year, with the visits taking place in the family ' s home, thus increasing the counselor ' s ability to assess the safety of the children, and evaluate improvements made by the family. Parents remain active participants during the weekly visits , teaming with their counselor to initiate improved parenting techniques . 3 . During the weekly visits, counselors use a multifaceted approach to teaching, including utilizing parenting videos , working through parenting programs , creating behavior management plans , and establishing family meetings , or other formalized methods to improve family communication. Positive discipline, and family stability are two over-arching goals . 4 . All weekly visits are geared toward reducing risk factors (characteristics that increase the likelihood that abuse will occur) , and increasing protective factors (characteristics that decrease the likelihood that abuse will occur) . Safe Families has identified the following risk and protective factors that form the basis of each counselor' s work with a family : Risk Factors: Lack of parenting knowledge/skills; Parent 's past history of abuse,- Parent 's buse,Parent 's history of drug or alcohol abuse, or mental health issues; Poverty/financial stress; Teen and young parent; Social isolation. Protective Factors: Housing stability; Delay of subsequent pregnancy; Enrollment in childcare and health care; Livable wage employment,% Involvement in child 's school. 5 . Families are tracked for one year after exit from Safe Families to determine if abuse or re- abuse has occurred. 3 . Briefly describe how your program addresses the stated need/problem. Describe how your program follows a recognized " best practice" (see definition on page 12 of the Instructions) and provide evidence that indicates proposed strategies are effective with target population . The stated need or problem is child abuse and neglect. Safe Families addresses child abuse and neglect by offering long term, home based, parent education and support to build on the parent ' s knowledge of child development, positive discipline, communication, behavior modification, and nurturing and bonding . The family ' s relationship with their counselor is a critical element to the success of the program . Over the course of the program, the counselor guides, supports, coaches and teaches the parent to create a nurturing, healthy environment for their children. Initially, risk factors are identified, and addressed, and then protective factors are built upon, so that the family can remain stable and abuse free long after they graduate from Safe Families . 6