After resolving to leave a violent partner, single moms want to make a fresh start. But they feel trapped tending small children if they have no family support or child care.
A nonprofit group, Safe Families for Children, allows such women to get on their feet without having to worry about what would happen to their children.
Safe Families places these children with volunteer families, on a temporary basis — from one day to a year or more. Parents can approve the caretakers, see their children whenever they want and get them back with no courts involved.
This unusual offer of extended respite to overwhelmed parents is part of a broader national trend in child welfare to keep many cases out of the courts and foster care systems.
Read the full story in the New York Times – Photo courtesy of Sun Star
Thanks to Kiama for submitting the link!
Not sure how I feel about this…there is such a danger here of unsuitable parents falling through the cracks. What is needed is supported housing for abused women and their children, such as is offered by a society called Atira.