The Safe Families program provides support services prior to the abuse. The mission of the Safe Families program is to prevent child abuse and neglect in families experiencing crisis situations by providing safe, temporary homes for children and support services for parents. Children who are referred to the program are placed with screened and approved host families who voluntarily provide a home for the child while the biological parent maintains full custody of the child. The program also provides mentoring through “Family Friends”, who are trained parent mentors who come alongside and provide additional support to families in their own homes. The program's objectives are: to prevent child abuse, to support and stabilize families, and to deflect children from entering the child welfare system.
In order to meet pressing needs and to facilitate the placement of children into safe homes, the Safe Families program has integrated an innovative concept called youshare.org. Youshare.org is an online secure database that provides an outlet for giving between resource differentiated families by connecting the specific needs of local families with the resources and skills of their neighbors. The goal of youshare.org is to provide resource-limited families with tangible and social support at critical times. Neighbors can register to provide goods (beds, cribs, strollers) or services (free dental care, painting, babysitting, mechanical work) to those in need.
Lydia Home Association (LYDIA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit child welfare organization, classified under 509(a)(1), with the following mission: “Strengthening families to care for children and caring for children when families cannot.” LYDIA began as an orphanage in 1916 and has grown to become a multi-cultural organization that served over 2,600 at risk children and families last year regardless of race, gender, or religion. Most program recipients are low income and receive services at no cost. LYDIA's vision is that every child has a safe and caring home.
Over the years, LYDIA has expanded its scope of services to include: residential treatment, foster care, child abuse prevention programs, parental training and support services, clinical counseling, and academies for at risk youth. LYDIA has also expanded to provide direct services throughout the Midwest and collaborates with child welfare providers to provide services nationally. LYDIA is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and is licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
LYDIA's mission is “strengthening families to care for children and caring for children when families cannot.” The mission of the Safe Families program is to prevent child abuse and neglect in families experiencing crisis situations by providing safe, temporary homes for children and support services for parents. The Safe Families program serves low income mothers and their children throughout Chicago who are experiencing an immediate crisis and in need of temporary assistance. During our last fiscal year, the average length of stay was 27 days, the average child was 4.7 years old, and referrals came primarily from self (39%), public child welfare agency (22%), and other sources that include: social service agencies, shelters, substance abuse providers, medical providers, and correctional facilities. The program served a diverse population that includes: 51% African American, 19% Caucasian, 16% Mixed, and 14% Hispanic. Referrals were due reasons that include: homeless and/or unemployed, child safety, medical crises, mental health problems, and substance abuse problems.
Name of Organization:Lydia Home Association
Number of Paid Staff:102 full-time, 55 part-time
Number of Volunteers:1,906
Total Organizational Expenses:$8,380,075
% of Organizational Overhead Expenses:8%
The Safe Families program won the first-place prize for the 2010 Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation. The Drucker Award is a prestigious national award that recognizes existing programs that meet Peter Drucker's definition of innovation (“change that creates a new dimension of performance”) while making a real difference in the lives of the people they serve. The Safe Families program has grown to be a national model of caring for families in crisis. Nationally the program has over 2,300 approved safe families, has provided over 7,000 placements for children, and has expanded into 45 locations throughout the country and Canada in collaboration with 19 child welfare organizations.
The research department of Annie E. Casey Foundation decided to contract with University of Maryland School of Social work on our behalf to help us prepare for a multi-site evaluation that would meet the stringent standards for Safe Families to be an evidenced based child abuse prevention practice. This evaluation will review the program's theory of change, identify and possibly integrate other evidenced based practices, review and modify the program's logic model, consider various research designs, and begin to identify data collection procedures and outcomes monitoring.
When Dani asked Safe Families to care for her two children, she was frightened but determined to get her life together. She was only 22 years old and had endured months of abuse from a boyfriend, was living in a shelter, and was unemployed. Dani asked if we could look after her girls for just a month, maybe more. Two families stepped up to help. Kristin Martin and her family took the toddler, Julina, and Christine Wright and her family took care of Adella, age three. “We fell in love with Julina right away!” says Kristin. “My husband and I have three children ages nine, seven and three, and they gave her all the attention she could have ever wanted.” Christine and her husband enjoyed caring for Adella. “Jim played a game called 'catch you' with Adella, and she loved being 'caught' in a big bear hug,” Christine says. “We enjoyed every day with her.” Kristin and Christine had never met prior to this placement, but they scheduled weekly play dates and were thrilled when Dani was able to join them. Dani moved out of the shelter to live with a friend and was hired as a nurse's aide. After three months of uncertainty, she was ready to bring her children into their new, safe home.
Children
Clothing
Hunger & Nutrition
Poverty
Youth are able to get involved with Lydia Home Association in several capacities. First, there are various service projects that teams of volunteers are involved with at LYDIA every year. These include painting, cleaning, and volunteering in special events. Second, youth are able to promote LYDIA by “getting the word out” about our programs. Many youth are socially connected through social websites and other settings where they can promote LYDIA's causes.
Name:Nathan Medina
Title:Director of Foundation Relations
Address:4300 West Irving Park Road Chicago, IL 60641
Telephone:(847) 533-9729
Email:nmedina@lydiahome.org
Website:www.lydiahome.org