A La Crosse Community Foundation grant will provide $58,000 for a new program to support area families in crisis. Safe Families for Children will serve families who are struggling to keep their children from entering the La Crosse County foster care program. Its goal is to provide temporary out of home care for the children, and mentoring support and resources for the parents.
“Safe Families establishes a community safety net to prevent kids from falling into the child welfare system. Having community members serve as hosts for children and mentors for their parents creates an extended family-like support system” said Safe Families Wisconsin Director Nicole Zorn. Safe Families has locations throughout the United States, including several in eastern Wisconsin. This will be the organization’s first operation in Western Wisconsin. It is also the first time Zorn has seen a community reach out proactively to Safe Families.
Safe Families will work closely with Family & Children’s Center’s Host Homes program. According to Tita Yutuc, President/CEO of Family & Children’s Center, “We see obvious opportunities to collaborate and increase the reach of both programs.”