Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Chicago Safe Start?

Chicago Safe Start began as one of 11 national demonstration projects funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs. It continues as a major program of the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention.

Chicago Safe Start’s mission is to prevent and reduce the impacts of exposure to violence on children ages six and younger by achieving “traceable change” throughout the systems that serve children and their families. Most, if not all, of our work is accomplished through an array of community, city, and statewide partnerships, all collaborating toward the same end…safe starts for children.

Chicago Safe Start has a network of service partners, which are funded by the Safe From the Start program of the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority. Two services partners, Casa Central and Heartland Human Care Services are organizing community based referral systems in west and north communities of Chicago respectively.

Two additional service partners, Family Focus, Inc and Metropolitan Family Services, Inc. offer family support and mental health services to young children and their families’ impacted by violence on the Englewood and Roseland communities.

What is CEV (Children’s Exposure to Violence)?

We define CEV as:

being a direct victim of abuse, neglect, or maltreatment

witnessing the abuse of caregivers in the home (domestic violence)

witnessing the abuse of others in the public (school, community, etc.)

Please note that young children can also be exposed to violence as result of natural disasters. For more information on working with children who have been exposed to natural disasters, see the resources offered from the web site for the National Safe Start Center (www.safestartcenter.org).

Can violence affect infants who cannot talk yet?

Yes! Infants can sense that something is wrong by the sounds they hear, and the pitch, tone and intensity of the voices in the environment. Infants are sensitive to the distress of those who hold and care for them; consider the caregiver’s quickened heartbeats, rapid breaths, perspiration and abrupt or rough handling.

Infants who are exposed to violence cannot talk about their feelings or verbally express their fears. Instead, they may tell us through their actions. In the short term, you may see infants cry more, sleep more/less, stop eating, or startle easily. In the long term, they may experience delays in exploring, learning, and general development.

Are services available for young children who are exposed to violence?

Yes, family support and mental health services are available to help children (and their families) recover from scary and traumatizing exposure to violence. Throughout Chicago, Chicago Safe Start Service Partners specialize in working with children exposed to violence.

You can find out more information by calling (312) 745.0381.

Additionally, there are Safe From the Start programs located outside of Chicago but throughout the state also serving young children who are exposed to violence and their families.

Call the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority for more information at (312) 814.1708.

What is the “Bringing the Kids Back Into Focus” program?

Bringing the Kids Back into Focus: A Community Response to Children’s Exposure to Violence is a training guide developed to provide caring and concerned adults with the deep understanding of what exposure to violence is and how it affects children.

It offers ways to respond to exposure including connecting children and their families with informed help to prevent future exposure to violence (when possible) and to minimize the consequences of this exposure if it does occur.