Last week, Safe & Sound and the Family Services Alliance hosted Supporting Families Through the Maze: Connecting SF Families to the Case Management They Need, a webinar focused on helping providers better understand San Francisco’s case management landscape.
Watch the webinar recording
[Download the toolkit ]Supporting Families Through the Maze: A Guide for Frontline Providers Connecting Families to the Case Management They Need

We are thrilled to announce the publication of the Children, Youth & Family Summit: Aligning for Thriving Communities report, summarizing the event which was held on November 7, 2025 at UC Law San Francisco, co-hosted by Family Service Alliance and Prosperity Initiative and funded by Safe & Sound and the Crankstart Foundation. The Summit brought together nearly 350 nonprofit leaders, Mayor Daniel Lurie, Board of Supervisor members, City departments, philanthropy partners, and community members for a first-of-its-kind convening centered on honest, solution-driven conversations about what it takes to better support children, youth, families, and the nonprofit workforce that serves them. The report reflects four key themes and shared solutions that emerged from the day’s conversations — read it and share it with your networks! We’re planning to host the Summit again in 2026 — reach out to fsainfo@safeandsound.org if you’d like to be involved.

On April 14th, over 70 community members, parent advocates, and city leaders gathered on the steps of San Francisco City Hall to celebrate Child Abuse Prevention Month under the theme "Strong Families, Safe Futures." Seven supervisors joined us, and that same day the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution recognizing April 2026 as Child Abuse Prevention Month that. Parent voices anchored the event. Thank you to everyone who showed up and wore blue.

Safe & Sound’s 2025 Economics of Child Abuse report is out, and the findings for San Francisco are worth your attention. Child abuse and neglect cost our city $333 million in just 2025, spanning healthcare, child welfare, criminal justice, and a lifetime of lost potential for 431 children. These numbers make clear that prevention is not only the morally right investment, but it is also the fiscally responsible one. Explore the full San Francisco county data, as well as data for every California county, at economics.safeandsound.org

Chapin Hall has put together a policy toolkit for advocating for state and federal policies around economic and concrete supports. Included is current evidence that shows the effects of economic instability on child maltreatment and the positive effect of policies that mitigate economic instability for families.

This fact sheet from RAPID at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood found that two in three families with a young child with a disability struggle to meet basic needs. This percentage is the highest level recorded since RAPID began collecting these data. Check out the full report.

This news article from the California Health Report, How Bay Area Nonprofits Are Supporting Families During Stressful Times, highlights the important work of the Family Services Alliance, Safe & Sound, and FSA Parent leads during these challenging times for families.

This resource from Lutheran Services in America’s Family Stabilization Unit and Chapin Hall details learnings from the FSI Learning Collaborative—comprising six communities in four states— which launch, strengthen, and sustain evidence-based wraparound programs to support families in crisis. A main finding is that services to support families and prevent crises are often poorly coordinated, and too few resources, if any, are dedicated to building and sustaining a robust community network, particularly from the perspective of those impacted.

Safe & Sound, the backbone agency of the FSA, has released its 2026–2029 Strategic Plan that represents an evolution of its previous work. The plan restates Safe & Sound’s dedication to supporting family support organizations in San Francisco through an ecological framework of prevention that recognizes that child and family well-being is shaped by influences ranging from individual experiences to broader societal conditions. Through multi-level, interconnected work that prevents harm and fosters resilience, Safe & Sound’s strategic vision aligns perfectly with what the FSA strives to achieve.

A newly published, peer-reviewed study in Family Justice Journal demonstrates that a rural Family Resource Center delivered a 292% return on investment to its local child welfare system. Commissioned by the National Family Support Network and conducted by OMNI Institute and Casey Family Programs, the study confirms what many in our field already know: Family Resource Centers not only strengthen families—they also reduce public system costs. The research highlights how comprehensive, community-based supports can decrease child maltreatment and generate significant savings for county-based systems. By using a strengths-based, family-centered approach, the FRC in this study helped families meet basic needs, build protective factors, and reduce involvement with child welfare.

Youth who become disconnected from the child welfare and juvenile justice systems face a high risk of exploitation, especially commercial sexual exploitation, often within just 48 hours of being on the streets. In response, Bay Area service providers convened in October 2023 to develop local strategies for supporting these vulnerable youth, resulting in seven key recommendations grounded in lived experience. This new report outlines these recommendations, the progress made, and the next steps to establish a more youth-centered support system. Check out the full report online to learn how you can help move these efforts forward.

A May 14th op-ed in the San Francisco Examiner highlights the work of a citywide task force, of which the Family Services Alliance is a member, drawing attention to the urgent need for city investment in family-serving nonprofits. When families are supported, they thrive and make San Francisco a safer and stronger community for all!

If you are interested to know more about the cost of child abuse and neglect in California, Safe & Sound has published its landmark annual report, showing that child abuse and neglect cost California over $16 billion in 2024. This represents thousands of missed opportunities for prevention. Use the data from this report to see how your county compares to other parts of California to put data behind the need for better prevention services.

The latest edition of the Family Justice Journal features two important articles. The first is a significant study on the impact of Family Resource Centers, "Returns on Investment of a Family Resource Center to the Child Welfare System" (Page 10). It was conducted by OMNI Institute and Casey Family Programs and provides data on how FRCs strengthen families, reduce child welfare system involvement, and generate economic benefits for communities. The Journal also features an article by Janay Eustace, President & CEO Child Abuse Prevention Center and Katie Albright, Past CEO and President of Safe & Sound, “Building Pathways for Supporting Children & Families in Their Own Communities, A How-To Guide” (Page 32).

Drawing data from over 10 city agencies and 27 community organizations, the FY ’22-FY ‘23 report provides insight into family violence in San Francisco. It includes data on the SF Family Resource Center Initiative’s role in preventing child abuse and neglect. One of the five recommendations is to “improve and/or maintain access to basic and emergency needs to keep our city’s most vulnerable populations safe and help prevent family violence,” an essential element of family support organizations’ work. The FVC tri-chairs and representatives from MOVR have been meeting with members of the Board of Supervisors as well as the Mayor’s Office to advocate for FVC priorities, including ensuring that the city preserves existing services to prevent family violence.

We are pleased to share a new publication co-written by TONIC, a cross-sectional workgroup dedicated to preventing and treating toxic stress in San Francisco’s children. Safe & Sound is proud to represent child- and family- serving community based organizations in this group. The paper, titled New Opportunities with Enhanced Care Management: Increasing Success for San Francisco Families with Children Ages 0–5 in Family Maintenance, demonstrates the value of TONIC’s approach of breaking down silos and bringing together leaders across health care, county and city departments, and CBOs to grapple with how we can better keep children safe.

Casey Family Programs, a leader in child welfare and foster care prevention, released an updated version of its brief on Family Resource Centers (FRCs). This comprehensive document highlights the diversity and innovation of family service organizations. We recommend exploring this newly updated report, which presents compelling national outcome data demonstrating the effectiveness and impact of these organizations.

This report provides the data and recommendations for shifting from reporting families to supporting families.

Safe & Sound and the Family Services Alliance informed the development of this guide to help CBO leaders decide if pursuing CalAIM services makes sense for their organization from a mission and financial perspective.

This paper explores the experiences of families with children aged 0-5 in San Francisco who are in a Family Maintenance child welfare placement, and discusses ways to best support the unique needs of these families so they remain safely together.