Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Cockrum, PhD.
Hi Janet, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband and I were returning from a two year church planting project in Spain, when I was asked to launch a local site of Safe Families for Children. My childhood best friend helped start this national ministry that was revolutionizing the child welfare system. I said no twice, but the third time I was asked, I decided to pray about it and be open to how God was leading me to start a ministry that could have a big impact on families in Knoxville and surrounding counties.
Navigating the lens of families living in poverty and brokenness felt much like the cultural changes I experienced in Madrid. In some ways, Spain was my internship for working with Safe Families for Children. I had no experience in social work, but I had years of friendships and mentoring internationals and working with families through our local church. I also taught family studies classes at the University of Tennessee and have natural gifts in networking, public speaking and teaching small groups. Directing a ministry, marketing, and fundraising were skills that I had aquired in previous jobs. What was new was the population I would be serving. I did research and asked lots of questions of people who were directly impacting Knoxville families through their ministries. I found out there was no agency with the same mission as Safe Families and was encouraged by these leaders to launch this vital ministry. Our goal is to keep families together, prevent child abuse and neglect, and keep children out of state custody when possible. The mission of preventing child abuse and strenthening families was a passion I already had and I knew I could recruit churches and families to volunteer to join this movement. Loving our neighbors is a foundational truth in the Bible and Safe Families is a beautiful way for folks to do this. It involves a short term hosting of a child who needs a safe place to stay for a short time while his/her parent is working through a crisis. This can be an addiction issue, homelessness, medical crisis, mental health crisis, or just needing respite as the pressure of single parenting with no family and friends to support leads to depression and fatigue.
I have been blessed to have strong churches supporting us, a talented passionate team, an active Advisory Board, and a diverse group of donors that faithfully support Safe Families for Children. There are many ways that volunteers can help Safe Families. Our staff do an amazing job of case management, connecting families to community resources, recruiting host families and helping meet tangible needs of the families we serve. Safe Families is a volunteer driven ministry with professional staff supporting them. Host Families do not receive any compensation for hosting a child. They are motivated by compassion and a desire to show God’s love to the children and the parents who need help. Our Knoxville team have hosted over 2500 children and provided over 18,000 nights of respite. We capture the Volunteer Spirit as we care for our neighbors! The team members are Cara Foster, Family Coach Supervisor, Katie Loftin, Family Coach, and Kathryn Ann Laux, Church and Community Engagement Lead. I am blessed to have this dynamic group of women leading the work in East Tennessee.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting a new nonprofit is a challenge. The first obstacle to overcome was sharing the vision for Safe Families with individuals and churches who could make referrals for help and support the ministry. Recruiting Host Families who would open up their homes to host a child was another barrier to cross. In our first year, we hosted 14 children with a handfull of volunteers that were trained, background checked, and supported by the staff. Doors quickly opened up for DCS to make referrals, local churches and schools reached out next. Navigating the referrals and fundraising were two big challenges. Our first big fundraiser we were blessed to have First Lady Crissy Haslam speak at. This laid the foundation for a yearly luncheon which has expanded our support base, provided new volunteers, and connections to community resources that help fuel Safe Families impact on the vulnerable families in our region. We added a yearly Pickleball Tournament in 2020 that raises funds to restore the smiles of the families we serve and give the gift of sight. A local dentist and optician partner with us to meet these needs. Over fifteen women have their smiles back (dentures) and almost fifty women have been blessed to have their sight restored. Our 2026 Safe Families Pickleball Tournament will be on April 10 -11 at POP in Knoxville.
As you know, we’re big fans of Safe Families for Children. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Our Mission – Started in Chicago in 2002 by Dr. David Anderson – over 120 sites in North America and 7 international countries
Safe Families for Children seeks to bring the church and community together to keep children safe and families together. Safe Families for Children is rooted in faith, fueled by radical hospitality, disruptive generosity, and intentional compassion, to build a network of caring and compassionate volunteers to support families facing social isolation. Our goal is to support and strengthen families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and reduce the number of children unnecessarily entering the child welfare system.
Families Helping Families
When a crisis strikes, many of us rely on relatives and friends for support. But for some parents, this is not an option. Safe Families seeks to come alongside parents in crisis get on their feet by providing short-term care for their children for as little as a couple of days to several months.
How does Safe Families work?
Safe Families surrounds families in crisis with caring, compassionate community. Our family of volunteers provide a loving, temporary home for children while their parents deal with their crises. We care for their children for as long as they need. We work quickly to connect children with a volunteer family. Often, we’ve been able to find a home the same day we receive a call.
Our goal is to keep kids safe and families intact. Once a parent’s life has stabilized and the home environment is healthy, we work with parents to reunite their family as soon as possible.
How to explain Safe Families for Children to a parent in crisis.
• Safe Families is NOT a foster care or adoption service.
• Parents maintain full custody of their children and can request their return at any time.
• Parents have regular visits and contact with their children.
• Volunteer families are extensively screened with a background check, home screening, and references.
• Volunteers receive no compensation and serve out of their belief of helping others.
• Children ages 0 – 18 can be hosted, including parenting teens.
• Children can be hosted for as short as a couple of days to several months.
• Every attempt will be made to maintain the child’s daily schedule.
• Safe Families is committed to reuniting parents and children as soon as possible.
To learn more about our East Tennessee ministry reach out to our office at: knoxville@safefamilies.net
What matters most to you?
My favorite part of Safe Families is that it is something a family does together. It is a living model of loving a stranger and opening our hearts and homes and setting another place at the table for a child who needs to see and feel love and acceptance. It is supporting a mom through her crisis by loving her child/children and giving her the peace from knowing that she can get them back. She knows her children are safe. I love knowing that Safe Families brings hope to vulnerable moms who don’t have hope for their families. I love seeing the children in Host Families welcome a child into their home, share their toys, their love, and their parents with the children that stay with them. I love seeing the generations within a family and in friend groups joining together to care for the families they serve. It’s a beautiful way to love like Jesus!
I love that my family supports and encourages me to invest deeply in this ministry. They help fuel me for the work and bring me great joy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://safe-families.org
- Instagram: safefamiliesforchildren
- Facebook: Safe Families for Children National
