Safe & Together Model Overview & Evaluation Data Briefing: Evidence and Outcomes Across Four States

This Safe & Together Institute briefing compiles outcome and training data from child welfare systems in Florida, Ohio, Connecticut, and Colorado that implemented the Safe & Together™ Model, anchored by an independent third-party evaluation conducted in Ohio.

The National Center for Adoption Law and Policy and the HealthPath Foundation of Ohio, working with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, evaluated Safe & Together training across Ohio’s 88 counties using five data sources, including a pre/post survey of 837 CPS caseworkers and supervisors and desk reviews of 191 case files. Evaluators found strong evidence that trained caseworkers assigned less blame to victims for staying in abusive relationships and increased their documentation of children’s exposure to domestic violence, along with mixed evidence of improved safety planning and perpetrator accountability practices.

Florida’s Bay and Gulf Counties tracked a drop in domestic violence–related removals alongside a rise in verified domestic violence maltreatment reports over a one-year period following Safe & Together implementation and co-located advocate staffing. Connecticut surveyed supervisors months after training and found a majority reported positive changes in their own practice and their workers’ practice. In Colorado, the large majority of trainees rated the training positively and said it changed how they work.