About Safe Start

Safe Start Initiative

The Safe Start Initiative is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The goal of the Safe Start Initiative is to broaden the knowledge of and promote community investment in evidence-based strategies for reducing the impact of children's exposure to violence.

Safe Start Promising Approaches II sites
Eight Promising Approaches II sites, funded in 2010, will provide evidence-based or theory-based interventions to prevent and reduce the impact of children's exposure to violence in their homes and communities. These interventions will address the needs of children and youth ages 0-17 who have been exposed to violence and their families through a comprehensive and collaborative approach that uses the current knowledge base to address children's exposure to violence.

Safe Start Programs 2005-2009
Map of Safe Start Promising Approaches Communities and Safe Start Demonstration Sites [PDF]
Fifteen Promising Approaches Pilot Sites, funded in 2005, focused on implementing and measuring developmentally appropriate services for children exposed to violence within the context of the systems that serve them. A process and outcome evaluation of these sites broadened our understanding of the impact of specific intervention strategies on outcomes for children and families.

Safe Start Demonstration Sites
Originally Funded Safe Start Programs
Eleven demonstration sites were funded from 2000 to 2006 to create a comprehensive service delivery system to improve the accessibility, delivery, and quality of services for children exposed to violence and their families at any point of entry. A process evaluation broadened our understanding of how communities can successfully implement policy and practice interventions to minimize the negative consequences of exposure to violence.