2017 Annual Report
A lot happened last year.
Most visibly, we changed our name to Safe & Sound. It was a tough yet necessary decision, and now, we proudly move ahead under our new identity.
Most importantly, over the past 15 years, the rate of child abuse in San Francisco has gone down 67 percent. While the demographics of San Francisco have surely changed over this time period, this reduction is, in no small part, the result of proven prevention practices that have been implemented at every level of our community.
Although we are incredibly proud of this achievement, we must remember that four children out of 1,000 continue to suffer abuse in San Francisco. Children need love and safety, and the support of a caring adult—and we will work tirelessly to make this a reality for all children.
Over the next five years, we will work with the City and County of San Francisco to bring the number four down to three—and, eventually to zero. We will also work with the State of California and its Office of Child Abuse Prevention to share our findings on the fiscal impact of child abuse—to inspire action throughout the Bay Area and the state.
Thank you for joining us on our journey.
Truly grateful,
Chief Executive Officer
Chair, Board of Directors
Levels of support
around every child:
Family
Doing the work
Safe & Sound’s family support center hosts a variety of engaging and helpful classes for parents. These classes are aimed at increasing caregivers' knowledge of parenting, improving their resiliency, and building social connections with other parents—all key tenets of strong and healthy families. The skills gained in our classes can create a safe environment for healthy child development, and empower parents to be the best they can be.
Last year, Alicia, a mom of two young children leaving an abusive relationship, came to Safe & Sound in search of resources to help support her family. Alicia and her Clinical Care Coordinator—a staff member who guides a client to needed services and offers support—decided as a team that Alicia should enroll in a parenting class called S.E.L.F. (Safety, Emotions, Loss, and Future) which helps individuals heal from trauma.
In S.E.L.F., Alicia found a space where parents from all backgrounds, genders, ages, and races could discuss themes like trust, safety, and the bravery it takes to leave bad situations. Over time, Alicia and the other group members shared experiences of loss, loneliness, and pain. Perhaps most importantly, they all learned that despite not knowing each other on the first day of class, their shared experiences transcended their different life paths.
Alicia and her classmates reinforced and sustained these connections through a text messaging group in which the class could send one another notes of appreciation and inspiration, and ask for help in times of need. Now, Alicia not only has the support of her Clinical Care Coordinator, but a full class of parents have her back.
"I've had the privilege of working with the S.E.L.F. group over the past year, supporting parents and caregivers. It’s an honor to share this journey of healing with the participants."— Sarah, Clinical Care Coordinator
City
Building a System
We are building a system of care that keeps children safe and families strong throughout San Francisco. By working in collaboration with partners around the community, we are building capacity for prevention. In 2017, Safe & Sound took a leadership role in the Sunset Family Resource Collaborative (Collaborative), a long-term partnership between three other community organizations. In this role, Safe & Sound can help the Collaborative implement our innovative systems for measuring and improving the health and wellbeing of San Francisco families.
The Sunset Family Resource Center (Sunset FRC) is a vital resource for the Sunset neighborhood and to many Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking families. By working hand-in-hand towards shared goals, the Collaborative has improved how the Sunset FRC provides a welcoming, supportive, and important space for families.
Now, Safe & Sound acts as a coach and advocate for the Sunset FRC, amplifying its visibility in the community as a space to support families in need.
When we come together, we are better able to support, listen, and respond to our fellow community members. That is the impact and importance of creating a community of care.
"Building a community of care stems from three essential values: communication, integrity, and centering family voices; the Sunset Collaborative spans multiple communities and does not view difference as dangerous, but rather an opportunity to build connection."— Erika, Community Partnerships Manager
Society
Calculating the Cost of Child Abuse
How much does child abuse cost us? Not just in futures and families or in our morality and humanity, but in dollars? It was this question that Safe & Sound undertook to answer.
In January 2017, Safe & Sound, in partnership with the University of California Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, published The Economics of Child Abuse: A Study of San Francisco. This 22-page report articulated the economic burden to the San Francisco community for children abused in one year. The report went on to identify risk factors endemic to San Francisco that put our children and families in vulnerable situations and at greater risk for child abuse. To build upon this work, we expanded this report to assess the cost of child abuse to the entire Bay Area—finding a total cost of $2.2 billion.
When we fully understand the impact of child abuse to our children, to our families, and to our entire community, we are better able to advocate for new policies, provide better services, secure more funding, and garner the attention that this important issue demands. Collaborating with the nine other Bay Area counties, we leveraged this report to do just that.
We must use every tool, statistic, and argument we have to advocate on behalf of children who cannot—and should not have to—speak out for themselves. It’s time that we shift our collective attitude and beliefs. We must regard children as individuals in their own right with all the humanity and liberty to which they are entitled—and our system, services, policies, and practices must reflect that belief.
"[We] finally have a tool to use to explain why prevention is so important!"— Greater Bay Area Child Abuse Prevention Council
Safe & Sound
Becoming Safe & Sound
Our journey to a new name was more than a year in the making. It was not an easy change, but we felt it was necessary for the future of our organization. So with great excitement (and a tad of trepidation) we embraced our new identity on September 26.
Here’s why we made this change:
Safe & Sound allows us to unify our work. We were so many things—and names—to so many different people (such as San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, TALK Line, Kids’ Turn, and more). By presenting our programs under a single name, we significantly enhanced the community’s ability to identify our organization and seek our services.
Safe & Sound allows us to focus on safety. Though our mission is focused on child abuse prevention, our work is focused on creating a future without it.
Safe & Sound allows us to expand our impact. Over four decades, we have woven child-focused policies and programs into the fabric of San Francisco. As we look to the future, we will continue to reach far beyond the borders of San Francisco.
There were also some very practical challenges with the name—length, geography, and more. You can read all about it here.
As you can imagine, there were meetings, whiteboards, sketches, loads of debate, and lots of laughs, but in the end we believe we got it just right. Each and every day, we work to create a society where kids are safe, families are strong, and communities are sound. We hope you love Safe & Sound as much as we do.
I truly feel grateful to have been a part of the process and to land on Safe & Sound. In the end, the name met all our criteria, felt incredibly positive, and evoked a warmth and welcoming nature that clients, fellow team members, and general community members rallied around. Put simply, Safe & Sound evoked an emotion that felt just right. "— David, Board of Directors (2010-2017)
Financials
- 2017 Revenue
- $2,450,856 Government Grants
- $1,752,801 Foundation & Corporate Grants
- $642,889 Fundraising Events, net
- $623,062 Donations
- $559,374 Rental Income
- $321,911 In-kind Revenue
- $71,630 Program Service Fees
- $29,241 Other Income
- $6,451,764 Total Revenue
- 2017 Expenses
- $2,825,979 Children & Family Services
- $1,740,564 Strategic Partnerships
- $735,756 Fundraising
- $614,143 Management & General
- $493,330 Community Education
- $6,409,772 Total Expenses
