The Safe & Together Model

Systems that touch on domestic violence and coercive control are often blind to the choices of perpetrators as parents. They are siloed in their practices and do not have the training or skills to work holistically in collaboration with other agencies in the domestic violence ecosystem for solutions that keep children safe and together with their non-offending parent.

The Safe & Together Model fills the gaps in knowledge and practice and assists all systems touching on domestic violence and child welfare to become domestic abuse–informed, supporting child well-being and safety across all partners in the domestic violence community.

Safe & Together Principles

  1. Keeping child safe and together with non-offending parent

  2. Partnering with non-offending parent as default position

  3. Intervening with perpetrator to reduce risk and harm to child

A smiling father wearing glasses holds two children, one on each arm, outdoors.

Model Effectiveness & Results

The goal of the Safe & Together Model is to create systems and practice change that is child-centered, keeping children safe and together with the protective parent. The effectiveness of the Model is measured by how domestic abuse–informed agencies make this occur as much as possible. We strive to measure and evaluate the Model to ensure its continued success.

To learn more about the successes of the Model, please check out these case studies and evidence reports: 

The Tools Needed for Success

While the threat of domestic abuse is a widely acknowledged issue, only a handful of countries and states around the world mention “domestic violence” in their child abuse and neglect statutes. And many systems are ill-equipped to deal with the problem in a comprehensive, holistic, family-centered manner.

The Safe & Together Institute offers concrete solutions and meaningful tools to support the integration of this model. Through training, certification, agency partnerships, professional development events, practice guides, organizational and system assessments, and more, the Safe & Together Model can be applied and practiced across all systems touching on domestic violence and child well-being.

Ready to transform your practice with Safe & Together?

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What People Are Saying

  • Time and again, I have seen experienced practitioners from the child protection and family violence sectors marvel at the changes that occur for the families they work with when they have a shared foundation for practice through the Safe & Together Model and training.

    Cathy Humphreys, Professor of Social Work, University of Melbourne, Australia

  • Safe & Together stops the needless suffering of mothers and children every day and gives fathers opportunities to change.

    Emma Shaw, Practitioner & Family Violence Team Leader, Odyssey House, Australia

  • I do the work a lot more calmly because the Safe & Together Model has given me the skills and tools that I can use so that I don't always feel that I am either having to solve things on my own or fly by the seat of my pants.

    Beth Ann Morhardt, DV Advocate, Connecticut, USA

  • By being in Safe & Together training, the healing process for me was to know that I did do some really important things to keep families safe. Because I had seen this deficit, and I started seeing this hole as being filled with positive things.

    Eloise Sepeda, Legal Advocate and Survivor, Texas, USA

  • This training provides the language that is needed to paint the whole picture. I feel like the Safe & Together Model should be given the opportunity to be viewed by all systems.

    Crystal Lopez, BIPP Program Director, Texas, USA