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Organization: Exchange Club CASTLE Program Name : Safe Families Funder: Children ' s Services Advisory Committee RFP# 7052 3 . Briefly describe how your program addresses the stated need/problem. Describe how your program follows a recognized " best practice" and provide evidence that indicates proposed strategies are effective with target population. The stated need or problem is child abuse and neglect . Safe Families prevents child abuse and neglect by replacing patterns of abusive behaviors with non-violent, positive approaches to parenting; and by establishing long term supports so that families remain abuse free long after involvement with the program ends . 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, and teaches the parent to create a nurturing, healthy environment for their children. Best practices for home visiting programs include intensive services over a long period of time, a focus on parenting skills, frequent observation of the home situation, and frequent review of the family to determine the need for and intensity of the service . ' Safe Families incorporates all of these best practices . Here are conclusions from five independent studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of the home-based model of preventing child abuse and neglect : "There is strong evidence to recommend home visitation to reduce child maltreatment"" "Home visiting has a higher retention rate (70-90%) than center-based services (60-70%) "The positive effects of early home visitation re-emerge when the children reach age 8 """' "In Pinellas County Florida, parents enrolled in a home visiting program had abuse rates of 1 . 6% as opposed to non-enrollees who had a rate of 4 . 9% "" "Home visiting programs that target high risk and/or low income mothers and children are effective and return from $ 6 , 000 to $ 17,200 peryouth"' 4. List staffing needed for your program, including required experience and estimated hours per week for each staff member and/or volunteers (this section should conform to the information in the Position Listing on the Budget Narrative Worksheet). Safe Families Program Manager — 6 hrs/wk — MA/2yrs . supervisory experience in field . Safe Families Supervisor — 18 hours/wk — BA/ 1 yr. supervisory exp . in field. Safe Families counselors (3 . 0 FTE) - 40 hours/wk — BA/2 years exp . in services to families . Parenting Group Facilitators (3 ) — 3 hrs/wk BA/2yrs . experience providing services to families . Secretary/Receptionist — 25 hours/wk — 1 -year secretarial experience. Human Resources Specialist — 7 hrs ./wk — BA — 2 years HR experience . Development Director — 4 hrs ./wk. — 5 years development experience . Community Relations Coord. - 6 hrs ./wk. — 2 years experience in related field . 5. How will the target population be made aware of the program? Families are made aware of the program through referrals from agencies, schools , parents, the Dept . of Children and Families, and United for Families . In addition, the CASTLE participates in local outreach/networking efforts ; the CASTLE participates in National Child Abuse Prevention Month; the CASTLE affiliates with many local businesses through fund raising and service clubs ; and the CASTLE ' s speaker' s bureau does informational talks and trainin s . 6. How will the program be accessible to target population (i. e. , location, transportation , hours of operation) ? Families are visited in their homes, with no required visits to the CASTLE administrative offices . To enroll in the program, all a parent must do is call the office . An intake screening is done over the phone . If the family seems appropriate for Safe Families, a home visit is scheduled within the next 48 hours . Referrals from other sources are accepted by fax or by mail . CASTLE offices are opened from 8 : 00am - 5 : 0 m . Home visits are scheduled weekda s, and weekday evenings . 7