Keeping Families Together

We bring together advocates from across the political spectrum who have divergent views on many issues, but are united by our commitment to a future in which children and families find safety and support from community investment rather than government intervention.

Vision

Supporting family integrity is universally recognized as a bipartisan issue requiring bipartisan solutions, and families are rarely and never unnecessarily separated by the government.

Mission

To treat the child welfare system as a bipartisan justice issue by advancing bipartisan policy solutions that focus on strengthening investments in and support for families and communities.

Goals

  • Build public understanding

    Transform the framework that falsely places child safety in opposition to family preservation to one that recognizes the harm of separating families and acknowledges that family integrity is essential to child safety.

  • Increase families’ access to economic security

    Enhance family stability and self-determination and prevent unnecessary child welfare system involvement, and eliminate economic and social consequences that families experience at the hands of the system.

  • End the use of foster placement and termination of parental rights as common interventions

    Reserve their use only for when there are no other ways to protect children from danger and after careful consideration of the harms that separation can impose on families.

What we do

Research & Education

UFA educates policymakers and the public about the harms of the child welfare system and promotes direct investment in families and communities to support family well-being and keep children safe.

Policy Advocacy

UFA works across the aisle to advance legislative work that supports our policy priorities, activating networks well in advance of legislative impact opportunities.

Support Hub

UFA members support one another with rapid response feedback on draft legislation, amici briefs, position papers, and media strategy that advance our priorities at the state and federal levels.