Shared Family Care
An Alternative to Conventional Services
for Children and Families At Risk

Shared Family Care (SFC) refers to a situation in which an entire family is temporarily placed in the home of a host family. The host family is trained to mentor and support the parents as they develop skills and supports necessary to care for their child(ren) and move toward independent living. SFC can be used for prevention--making it unnecessary to separate a parent from her or his child, for reunification--providing a safe environment in which to reunite a family that has been separated, or to help parents make the decision to relinquish their parental rights.

Currently, several shared family care programs exist in the United States. The SFC program operated by FamiliesFirst, Inc. in Contra Costa County, CA, serves families in the child welfare system who are at risk of having their children removed or in the process of reunifying with them. Growing Home in St. Paul, MN has a Whole Family Placement Program, recently restructured to serve adolescent mothers with severe emotional disturbances and their children. Crime Prevention Association operates A New Life program for drug-addicted mothers and their children in Philadelphia, PA. CHINS UP, Inc. in Colorado Springs, CO has a small SFC program for families who are involved or at risk of involvement in the child welfare system.

The following video, Shared Family Care: Creating Families through Community Partners (2003), is a 7.5 minute video produced by Athletes United for Peace Media in conjunction with the AIA Resource Center.

The video, designed for child welfare and private agency directors, provides a brief overview of the key elements of shared family care (SFC). Highlighting the FamiliesFirst Shared Family Care program in Contra Costa County, California, the video includes VIP testimonials about the benefits and cost-effectiveness of SFC. It also illustrates how SFC fits into California's overall child welfare redesign plan, sharing common elements such as: community partnerships, engaging families, and use of teams in decision making.

For more information, download our powerpoint presentation, which highlights key elements, outcome findings, and start-up information about shared family care.

Additional Information:

• SFC Annual Evaluations
• Mentor Newsletters
• Program, Policy, and Evaluation Materials
• Newspaper Articles
• Magazine and Journal Articles
• Humankind Public Radio:
  This is the fascinating story of two people from sharply different backgrounds who came together for a powerful purpose. In a living arrangement known as "shared family care," a woman with a troubled past moved in for six months with her young child to the Antioch, California home of a mentor and her children, for what amounted to a round-the-clock course in parenting.

Join the Shared Family Care Email List:

• The mailing list provides a forum for continuing discussion and education about whole family programs. The mailing list is open to anyone, and all members are encouraged to ask and respond to questions, share success stories, or post information that will be of interest to others.
• To join, send email to majordomo@listlink.berkeley.edu, with "subscribe healinghavens_sharedfamilycare" (without the "s) in the body of the email.

For more information, contact:

Amy Price, MPA
(510) 643-8383
amyprice@berkeley.edu