Safe Children Coalition program helps to keep families together

This month – July – is National Make a Difference to Children Month. For local child welfare organization Safe Children Coalition, though, every day is "Make a Difference to Children Day." Through its prevention and diversion program, Safe Children Coalition (SCC) helps to provide proactive and targeted resources that keep children out of the child welfare system and keep families together.

Approximately 60% percent of SCC’s work is in the realm of prevention and diversion. To more effectively serve the community, the prevention and diversion department has grown to nearly 70 team members, led by SCC VP Stacey Schaeffer.

Prevention and diversion programs are designed to provide proactive and targeted interventions to children and families at risk of entering the child welfare system. The programs focus on proactive, family-centered interventions to stabilize households, secure child safety, and reduce the likelihood that children will need to be removed from their homes.

Prevention programs work to identify families who are experiencing housing and financial hardships, or other stressors that may affect the safety of their children. Additionally, the programs focus on helping children with behavioral difficulties that may cause an interruption in their school attendance. Through case management, counseling, referrals to community resources, and more, these programs focus on helping families create safe and stable home environments.

Diversion programs help families by providing them with alternatives when they are on the verge of formal child welfare involvement. The programs collaborate with families to find safe, community-based solutions that keep children with their families. Diversion services may include referrals to resources such as housing assistance, childcare, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, and more. The goal of diversion programs is to help families resolve issues that could result in child removal, while at all times making the safety and well-being of children a priority.

Prevention and diversion efforts address issues related to mental health and substance abuse, lack of access to healthcare, homelessness and other issues, with the goal of keeping the issues from escalating into crisis requiring formal child welfare involvement. Some of SCC’s Prevention and Diversion programs are: ERAT (the Emergency Response and Assessment Team), Circuit 12’s program for families who are at high risk for entering the child welfare system; CAPTA (Children And Parents Together Always), which helps expectant parents or caregivers who may be struggling with substance misuse; Schoolhouse Link, which advocates for homeless students in Sarasota County; the Achievers teen leadership and workforce/college preparation program; and HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters), which supports parents in preparing young children for success at school and the Youth Shelter, which provides safe shelter and wrap-around services for homeless or unaccompanied youths.

“Through a combination of short-term counseling, education, case management, and community referrals, the programs focus on keeping children and youth safely in their homes and with their families,” said SCC’s VP of Prevention and Diversion, Stacey Schaeffer. “By promoting stability, our prevention and diversion programs help keep children safe, strengthen families, and reduce the need for involvement with the child welfare system.”

In fiscal year 2025, SCC provided nearly 47,000 hours – serving more than 4,750 children – in prevention and diversion services, focused on keeping children safely and securely with their families.

For more about Safe Children Coalition, visit sccfl.org.

About Safe Children Coalition, Inc.
Safe Children Coalition, Inc. (SCC) serves as the lead agency for community-based care for Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties. SCC is a collaboration between local community agencies who provide services to children and families in need. SCC is committed to protecting children, strengthening families, and building community. The core functions provided by SCC include child welfare case management, foster care, adoption, independent living, prevention, diversion, quality management, and support services. Visit sccfl.org or call 941-371-4799.