Introduction to Safe Passage for Children
Safe Passage is a Minnesota nonprofit corporation created to protect and improve the well being of children in child protection, foster care, and public adoption programs.
Why Safe Passage is Needed
Federal audits and state data indicate that the state’s performance on a number of core child welfare metrics has declined significantly since 2001. This trend affects children of color disproportionately. While African American children are twice as likely as white children to be in some part of the child welfare system nationally, they are four times as likely in Minnesota. The disparities for Native American children are even greater.
How Safe Passage Works
Our strategy is based on two principles: citizen involvement and data.
On the grass roots level Safe Passage recruits volunteers to lobby local and state elected officials in a grass roots campaign to improve the child welfare system. We train them to use reports that highlight key state and county performance measures.
Going forward Safe Passage will engage civic and business leaders in a broader reform campaign that will complement the grass roots effort.
Strategy and Goals
The overarching goal of Safe Passage is to reform the child welfare system so that:
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Fewer children actually need child protection and out of home care
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Those that do are reunited safely with their families as soon as possible or, when that is not in the child’s best interests, find permanent homes quickly
During the 2010 state legislative session our goal is to educate legislators about emerging problems in child welfare programs through our grass roots efforts.
In 2011 and following years we plan to work with
other partners to introduce legislation based on best practices in other states. The purpose of the legislation will be to refinance the program to focus more resources on prevention, and redesign the delivery system to improve performance measurement and accountability. This stage will include both the grass roots and the broader civic campaign.
Interested persons may contact Rich Gehrman at gehrm001@umn.edu, or (651) 303-3209. | 
