The Safe and Healthy Families Initiative (SAHFI), a project established in 2021, provides a coordinated response to domestic violence-related child maltreatment cases in Lancaster County. The project provides training and consultation to build the capacities of community professionals who work within the intersection of domestic violence and child welfare. SAHFI works in collaboration with the Safe and Healthy Families Court, led by Separate Juvenile Court Judge Elise White, the state's first domestic violence-centered child welfare court.
CCFL staff provide leadership, strategic planning, training coordination, and program evaluation while bringing their extensive child welfare and domestic violence expertise to the initiative. CCFL works alongside community partners, including the Family Violence Council, Voices of Hope, Friendship Home, CASA of Lancaster County, Child Advocacy Center, and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Project goals include:
- Improve child safety through a domestic violence-informed coordinated response while strengthening partnerships with parents
- Enhance the system's response to hold perpetrators more accountable
- Provide professionals with domestic violence education and professional development training
